Page 77 of The Re-Proposal

He sounds so stern, so calculative. “Is that all?”

“Yup.”

“Why can’t you just admit you went the extra mile because you care about her?”

“It’s just business.”

“Is that why you blushed when she hugged you?”

His head rams up. “I did not blush.”

“Right.”

“That was sunburn.”

“Of course.” I laugh.

He tries to glare at me, but it’s diminished by the way his lips turn up into a ghost of a smile.

“You felt good helping someone in need. I saw it. Why can’t you just admit that there’s a heart beating under that cold, cruel robot armor?” I nod to his chest.

“Robot armor?” He smiles fully.

The sun shines a little brighter and I swear it’s like that moment in the movies when the hero shows up for the first time, backlit by light, rainbows and singing birds.

For a second, I wish we were just Clarissa and Cody.

No painful past.

No canceled wedding.

No impossible future.

But we’re not.

I pull back a little. “It’s nice to take a break from ruining lives every now and then. Everyone needs balance.”

Cody shuts off his phone and twists his body so he’s facing me. “You really have a terrible opinion of what I do, don’t you?”

“I don’t think I’ve made that a secret,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “Besides, if what you did was so amazing and helpful, would you need to take in Joel as damage control?”

“That was Vargas’ idea. Not mine.”

“Vargas works for you.”

His eyes narrow. He knows I’m right. “You got a lot mouthier since college. I remember you being more agreeable back then.”

“That’s because I was blindly in love. Everything you did was like gold to me.”

He stares into my eyes but doesn’t say a word.

I tack on. “Things are different now. Obviously.”

He frowns.

The air turns darker.

Bringing up the past shifted something between us and the tension is palpable.

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