Page 9 of His Sacrifice

Tatum glanced at me. “You okay?” she whispered.

“Great,” I managed to squeak out. I set the white bag on the counter and gripped my coffee in my hand.

“What do we owe the honor of having two of you keeping an eye on me today?” Tatum asked.

Murphy glanced at Creed. “Creed has taken a sudden interest in reading, it seems.”

“You like re–” Tatum’s eyes bugged out, and she almost dropped her drink still on the tray. “Creed!” she exclaimed. “He’s your Creed!”

He was my Creed, but why the heck hadn’t Tatum known that my Creed and the Creed of the Banachis were one and the same?

“Well, I guess that helped clear everything up.” Murphy grabbed the tray with Tatum’s drink in it and handed the drink back to her. “Uh, why don’t you show me the back room?” He tossed the empty tray at the garbage can and nodded to Creed.

Tatum wrinkled her nose. “Why on earth do you want to see the back room?”

Murphy grabbed her hand and pulled her to the back of the shop. “Because I’ve missed you, and I think these two need to talk.”

“You know something I don’t know, don’t you?” Tatum hissed as they slipped into the back room.

I didn’t know what to do.

I didn’t know what to think, let alone what to feel.

It wasn’t like there was anything between Creed and me.

He had simply come into the shop for a gift for his mother, and he had been… nice to me. Flirted a little, but one could say that he really was just being nice to me.

I had obviously read too much into it.

“Uh, hello again.” I pasted a fake smile on my face.

“Jada,” he called.

“Did you already finish the book?” Small talk seemed better to do than to talk about anything else. Maybe a hole could open up, and I could jump in it to disappear. Anything would be better than standing here confused, shocked, and slightly angry at the same time.

Creed shook his head. “I haven’t had the time to crack it open.”

“Yes, yes. You did say you had a busy life.” And I knew for a fact that he did. Tatum had been keeping me up to date on everything with Candace, and then of course I had Candace on my butt wanting to know everything Tatum was telling me. The same Candace that was determined to take out all of the Banachis. “So busy that you didn’t have time to tell me who you really were?” Yeah, see, I should have kept that last part to myself.

Creed eyed me closely. He took a step toward me, closing the distance between us. “Come out to dinner with me tonight, and I can explain.”

“Explain what?” Creed didn’t really owe me an explanation. And why couldn’t he just tell me whatever he wanted to right now?

“A lot.”

“Explain a lot about what?” I countered.

“Come to dinner with me, and you’ll find out.”

“Is that where I’ll find out you’re really the King of England or something you could easily tell me now?” Okay, so I was a little perturbed that Creed hadn’t told me who he was. He obviously had to have known who I was, but I had been at a total loss when we had met.

I didn’t like someone having the upper hand over me.

I was much more comfortable with an even playing field.

“Just a Duke,” Creed jested.

I rolled my eyes. “I think I am busy tonight.”

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