Page 12 of Throne of Secrets

“Well, hello,” he said smoothly.

Star lowered her phone and forced a polite smile. “Hello, Kyle. How are you today?”

“Well, I’m better now,” he said, his signature move—a lazy grin—firmly in place.

She barely resisted the urge to sigh.

“Excuse me, please,” she said, glancing around him. “I need to grab some varnish remover for the floors.”

Before she could maneuver around him, he reached out and placed a hand on her cart, stopping her in her tracks.

“That reminds me, Star,” he said, his tone laced with something far too familiar. “I know you were looking for a lighter stain for the floors. We just got a huge new display of stains in at least five different honey or cherry tones. I can take you over there.”

Her interest was immediately piqued—but not in Kyle escorting her.

He wasn’t a bad guy, and he was attractive in an okay kind of way. Maybe four inches taller than she was, decently built, and overall not unpleasant to look at. But hewasn’tEthan. Over six feet of yummy muscles, a handsome face, beautiful eyes, and a smile that could melt the panties off her. Oh boy, she had a huge crush on Ethan.

Kyle could never measure up to that.

And she wished she could just tell him outright, “Sorry, Kyle, I have a completely unreasonable, borderline obsessive crush on the brooding, too-intelligent-for-his-own-good, secretly-soft-hearted tech genius next door”—but that would be rude. And she wasn’t a rude person.

Usually.

Instead, she gave him another polite smile as she shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m sure I can find the display by myself. It’s in the paint section, right?”

Kyle leaned in slightly, bracing his arms on her cart, his gaze lingering on her face.

“But I’d like to spend some time with you,” he said smoothly.

Oh, for the love of …

Star barely refrained from rolling her eyes. The Star Curse was real. If anyone was going to get hit on in a hardware store while standing just past the caulking tubes, it was her.

She cocked her head at him. “Aren’t you working?”

Kyle glanced around the store and shrugged. “There are only four or five people here. Pam’s at the cashier’s station.” He flashed what he probably thought was a charming smile. “How about I take you out to dinner tonight?”

Star closed her eyes for a moment, bracing herself and mentally reminding herself to be kind. When she opened them, she shook her head. “Thank you, Kyle, but I’m not interested.”

His smile didn’t falter. Instead, he leaned in slightly, that ever-present flop of dark brown hair falling into his eyes. “I think you are. I think you’re just trying to play hard to get.”

She let out a slow, measured breath and placed her phone in the upper compartment of the cart. Both hands gripped the handle firmly as she met his gaze. “I am not interested,” she repeated.

Kyle chuckled like she’d made a joke instead of a clear statement. “Are you dating anyone else?”

Lifting her chin, she offered a bright, unwavering smile, replying, “There is someone else, yes.”

Kyle’s expression shifted, his smile dimming slightly. “But are you dating him? Or is it like what we have? Are you still playing cat and mouse with him?”

Her patience thinned, but she forced herself to take another calming breath. “Kyle, I do not want to go out with you. I do not know how to make that more clear.”

He chuckled again, rocking back on his heels. “If you keep saying things like that, I’m gonna get a bruised ego.”

Star’s eyes popped open wide. “I don’t want to bruise your ego, Kyle, but I also don’t want to date you. Now, if you’ll excuse me?”

“Hey, Kyle! Somebody needs help over in power tools!” Pam’s voice rang down the aisle, saving Star from yet another round of rejection.

Kyle turned his head and lifted a hand. “Got it!”

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