Page 125 of Hunt for You

Sam shrugged as he pulled the coffee pot out of the machine and poured himself a mug.

“I like it. It’s… calm,” he said, then looked up at me with a smile that was small and a little nervous.

Which just made me more nervous.

Shit.

“What did you end up doing yesterday?” he asked as he picked up the coffee and started towards me.

“I had to go see my therapist.”

His brows pushed up. “So that was real? I thought—”

“Yeah, I told him about you,” I said. “I wasn’t joking.”

“Only good things, I hope,” he said.

I laughed more than it needed, then shrugged. “Yeah. Like I said, he thinks you’ve… got a good head on your shoulders. I think that’s how he phrased it.”

Sam shrugged humbly, but then took a sip from his coffee and we were just standing there and it was awkward as hell and I didn’t know what to do. So I turned away from him to look out the window again. And then I lost my nerve.

“You know, I’m actually pretty tired and I’m sure you’re busy. I wonder if we should do this another time and—”

“Bridget, don’t,” he said, his voice low and dark in a way that made my ribs go tight. I turned to look at him and heard the clunk of the coffee mug being plonked on the table, then he stepped right up to me, his expression serious.

“Don’t what?” I asked lamely.

“Don’t run.”

“I’m not. I’m just—”

“I’m not unsure how to do this, I’m just being careful with you because you’ve got a lot going on and I don’t want to make that worse.”

I frowned. “How would you make it worse?”

“By moving too fast, or in the wrong direction. It doesn’t matter, look, I’m just saying, every conversation we’ve had has been in the middle of some crisis. I want to talk to you. Get to know you. Just… be normal,” he said with a wry twist of his lips that wasfucking adorable.

But I winced. “I don’t really donormal,Sam.”

“I know. I don’t usually either. Let’s have an adventure together,” he said quietly, smiling, but his eyes were intense and locked on mine.

My heart rate slipped up another notch and I swallowed. “I like adventures,” I offered carefully.

He nodded. “I gathered. Have you heard from… your friend?”

My breath whooshed out of me and I slumped. “No,” I muttered, cursing myself for the fierce reaction I had at any thought of Cain.

“Good.”

“It’s not good!” I said sharply, then closed my eyes. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Yes, you did,” he said dryly. “But that’s okay. I’d rather you were honest than trying to pretend.”

“I’m not much of an actor, unless it’s role play,” I said—unable to resist.

Sam’s brows rose a hair and he went still. His Adam’s apple jumped. “Is that what yourarrangementis with Cain? Some kind of… role play?”

I shook my head. “I don’t really want to talk about him—”

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