Page 108 of My Irresistible Enemy

“Nolan’s not someone who trusts easily,” Mal said. “But that’s not because he doesn’t care. He just doesn’t want to get hurt.”

“Doesn’t he know by now that I wouldn’t hurt him?” I whispered.

“He might. But it might take him some time, too. That’s not a mindset that’s easy to change.” Mal smiled. “But if he’s avoiding you, I don’t think it’s because he’s the one who told the judges about your CamFans account. Frankly, I can’t imagine Nolan ever doing something like that. He’s the most trustworthy person I know, and he understands wanting to keep things private.”

“Then why hasn’t he come to talk to me?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t he even look me in the eye?”

I could hear the panic in my voice. The fear and sorrow, driving it up an octave. But I couldn’t stop it.

“Because he’s terrified, Aiden. Because you have the power to hurt him more than anyone else ever could. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Mal held my gaze, his eyes gentle as his words sank in.

Was that really possible?

Fuck, if it was, I’d gone and done the exact opposite of what I should have. I’d lashed out. Yelled at him. Tried to act like I didn’t need him, when nothing could be further from the truth.

“If I were you,” Mal said slowly, “I’d wait until he comes back tonight—because he will. I’ll drag him back here myself if I have to. And then I’d talk to him. Really talk.”

“What if he doesn’t want to talk to me?” I asked helplessly.

Mal squeezed my shoulder. “He will. Trust me.”

I set the tray Mal had brought me down on the bed after he left, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything. I was too heartsick to be hungry. I just stared at the sandwiches, wishing they would tell me what to do.

When another knock sounded at the door five minutes later, I assumed it was Mal again.

“Back with more advice?” I said as I opened the door. “Or just more sand—”

The words died on my lips. It wasn’t Mal. It wasn’t even Nolan.

It was Tanner.

“Advice?” he said, tilting his head to the side. “What kind of advice do you need?”

I blinked and took a step back. What washedoing here? He leaned up against the edge of the doorframe, his powerful form relaxed but ready to pounce.

A leopard watching its prey. The image flashed into my mind, and once I’d thought of it, I couldn’t get it to leave.

“I uh—no, uh, never mind. I just—sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

Tanner smiled and arched an eyebrow. “Nolan?”

Mal had asked me the same question half an hour ago, but that eyebrow made a world of difference in how it came across.

I flushed. “No, I just—”

“Because I thought you would have realized by now that carrying a torch for him is pointless,” Tanner continued.

“I’mnotcarrying a torch for him,” I objected—even though, let’s be honest, I very much was. It just wasn’t any of Tanner’s business, and with everything going on, he was the last person I wanted to talk to. “I just, um, have to pack.”

“Ah. Of course. That’s what I was hoping to talk to you about, actually.”

“About me leaving?”

“About you not leaving.” Tanner’s smile broadened.

I stared at him, confused. “But I got kicked off the show.”

“Exactly.” He put a hand on my shoulder—again, echoing Mal, again, far less comfortably. “There’s no reason to keep beating around the bush now. There’s nothing inappropriate about the two of us getting to know each other a little better.”

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