Page 49 of Kiss Me Forever

"Yes."

"I thought we were having fun."

"We were, but fun time is over."

"Because…"

"Because I can't have sex with you and write about you at the same time."

He nodded. "And…"

She frowned. "There doesn't have to be more. That's enough."

"There is more," he said with a certainty she couldn't deny.

"Fine. You want me to say it—I'll say it. I don't want to get involved with you, because I don't want you to hurt me. You're way out of my league, like you and Shari. And I don't want to end up naked in the pool."

"I would never do that to you, Andrea. Never."

"Maybe not intentionally, not in a mean way, but I think you could hurt me, and I don't want to take that risk."

He gave her a long look, his eyes filled with emotions she couldn't decipher. "Fair enough. I wouldn't want to hurt you."

She blew out a breath at his response, not quite sure now how she felt about his acquiescence. She'd wanted him to say that he liked her, too, that he saw something in the future, long after the article was done. But he didn't say any of that. Why would he? They'd known each other for a couple of days, and he'd just been having fun with her.

She certainly seemed to be good at putting an end to fun, she thought, feeling a little annoyed with herself. Had she really needed to make such a big statement?

Too impulsive, once again.

Alex glanced down at his watch. "We both need to get to work."

"You go ahead. I'm going to take the way back a little slower."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. I can go at my own pace and not hold you back."

Her words brought a frown to his mouth. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking now, but he took a quick turn and ran down the path.

As he disappeared around the next curve, she felt a sense of loss. Had she been wrong to push him away so quickly? Would a casual relationship have been better than nothing?

She knew the answer to that—no.

She couldn't do casual with Alex, because she already liked him too much. She just wished he felt the same way, but it was clear now that he didn't. At least he hadn't lied to her. She supposed she should be grateful for that.

Chapter Ten

That afternoon Andrea realized that Alex had lied to her, maybe not about his feelings but about everything else. The information she'd just heard from her private investigator rang through her head like a clanging church bell at high noon.

"Hang on, Joe," she said, holding the phone away from her ear as she took a much-needed breath.

She stared bleakly out the window of the newsroom. The skyline of San Francisco met her gaze, the tall buildings standing out against a clear blue sky. At the edge of the city a blanket of fog was creeping in, ready to cover the city as day turned into night.

"Andrea, are you there?" Joe demanded. "Andrea?"

She put the phone back to her ear. "Sorry. Tell me again what you just said."

"There are no death records for Rose and Harold Donovan," he repeated. "The last address I have for Rose Donovan was in Los Angeles, California. At that time, Alex was nine years old and enrolled in the fourth grade at Carver Elementary School. The next time Alex appeared in my search was when he was ten years old and a ward of the state."

---