Page 24 of When I Had You

“If this isn’t you, I can’t wait to see the other side, then.”

That lightens her mood, and she’s smiling when she gets up and crosses the room. Other than leaving, she can’t get much farther from me. “I have a feeling you’re one of the reasons I’m acting like this.” Her eyebrow peaks as she watches me.

Rubbing my thumb over my bottom lip, I chuckle again. “I’ll take the blame anytime for you.”

Her smile is the biggest I’ve seen since we met, but it fades with our laughter. Suddenly, even seconds feel like too much time, and space has been left between us, and questions rush in. “What are we doing, Cash?”

I think about it. I’m exhausted, yet nothing I can say will relieve the worries that have snuck into her tone. “You tell me.”

“I should have gone to my room instead of coming to yours. Why did you let me stay?”

I sit back in a chair, resting my arms on the tops of my legs as I rub my brow. I can’t answer carelessly. One thing leads to another with her, and my words could be used against me. It was okay in daylight when I was sharper, but the timing is off tonight. “You looked like you needed a friend.”

Walking to where she removed her shoes and left them earlier, she picks them back up, leaving the pair to dangle from two fingers. “We’re tired and—”

“Nothing good happens after two a.m.”

Something comes over her, tempering her smile but not making it any less potent. Pride maybe? “Exactly,” she replies.

She’s making moves, grabbing her purse from the dresser, and angling to leave. I walk over, catching her just before she reaches the door. Her hand is on the knob when I anchor mine above her head, keeping it closed just a moment longer.

Turning around, she tilts her head and smiles up at me. “Can I help you?” A giggle frequents her throat.

“Yeah.” I run my knuckle under her jaw, taking in her pretty face. “You all right?”

“You don’t need to worry about me, hotshot. I always land on my feet.” She’s an actress and a good one by how she has everyone else fooled, but I see through her, especially when her gaze falls to the wall beside us.

I lift her chin between my fingers until her eyes meet mine again. “I’m not talking about the song and dance you put on for the rest of the world, Marina. I’m talking about the inside, the part you hide from everyone else.”

“What makes you think I’m hiding?” She struggles to hold eye contact, and slow blinks give her the reprieve she needs. Her lips part as frustration creeps in, and she pulls away, only stopped by the closed door behind her. “I’m not hiding.”

I lower my arm, straightening my back. “Okay, you keep telling yourself that lie, and you might start believing it.”

I’m poked in the chest before I can stop her, and then she pokes me again. “You don’t know me any more than I know you.” She turns away, tugging open the heavy door. “I don’t know why I trusted you—”

“Because you couldn’t trust your family.”

“I can trust my family,” she snaps with her voice rising and whips back after slipping into the hallway.

I lean against the doorframe, watching her heavy step her way down the hall, sulking. “Okay.”

She stops again because now she’s really fired up, and from what I’ve witnessed of her personality, she doesn’t give up. “Stop saying that. You don’t know anything about me or my family.”

“On a personal level, I know a little.” I dip my head and watch as she crosses her arms in protest, her shoes in one hand and her bag in the other.

“Oh yeah, what do you know?”

“I know there’s an expectation put on your shoulders. You’re the star of the family, the baby that got all the attention, and you don’t want to let them down now that you’re all grown up.”

“Isn’t that everyone? No one wants to let their family down. Try again.”

Flipping the slider to keep the door from locking behind me, I walk a little closer cautiously, not wanting to send her running toward the elevator. “I saw you at dinner. I heard you tonight. You pretend for them.” I stop with two feet left between us and say, “But you open up to me.”

“That was clearly a mistake I won’t be making again.”

“That’s too bad. I quite like that side of you, the more vulnerable, real part of you. The one who doesn’t wear a crown on her perfect head parading around the place like she’s the queen.”

“Don’t you mean princess?” she snarks, pursing her lips.

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