Page 20 of Hooked on Marshall

She rolls her eyes and growls. It’s fucking adorable.

“Of course not,” she sighs. “Just…come on.”

She yanks her hand from mine and jumps out. I’m quick to follow but I have to rush to catch up with her. When I do, I place my hand on the small of her back to guide her along. Not that she needs it, but it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. And my father might come after me if I didn’t behave as such. She’s fishing for her keys as soon as we mount the steps, but I gently grip the inside of her elbow and turn her toward me.

I have got to figure out why she’s so hot and cold with me. Because I’m going to get whiplash at this rate and we’ve only been on one date.

“What can I do to make this easier for you?” I ask.

“It’s not you,” she sighs. “It’s me.”

“Cliché, much?”

“I’m serious,” she says. “But I’m trying.”

“Are you really?”

“Fine, no, I’m not,” she grumbles. “But…I think I want to.”

This makes me smile. And when she sees it, she smiles, too. A real, genuine smile that makes her look…

“You’re so beautiful,” I say.

“Marshall,” she sighs as she looks down. “I told you to-”

“I know,” I say quickly. “But I’d rather you’d just get used to my compliments, instead of asking me to stop.”

She sighs again and shakes her head. I touch my fingers to her chin and tilt her face toward mine. Something is reflected in her eyes right now that I can’t name. But whatever it is, I don’t like it. And I want to find a way to make it disappear. Maybe then, she can let this, letus, happen.

“Do you want me to leave without kissing you?” I ask.

Tears fill her eyes. Then the doorknob turns. She rises up and presses a hard kiss to my lips before turning and running inside. Almost knocking her father over in the process. I keep my eyes on her until she’s out of sight. When I turn to look at her father, I do the only thing I can.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I don’t know-”

“We don’t either,” he says gruffly. “She’s hiding something. We think it has to do with her supervisor from her job in the city. His name was Jonas. All we know is that he was helping her with a promotion and they seemed to have gotten close. Then a few weeks later, she resigned and came home. She hasn’t been the same since.”

Lightbulbs start to go off in my head. Maybe that’s why she freaked when I joked about a fraternization policy at the Alehouse.

“Don’t tell her I said anything to you,” he says softly. “I just thought you should know given your intentions.”

“Yes, sir,” I nod. “I won’t say anything. But I’m damn sure going to try and find out if he’s the reason she’s been so upset lately.”

“When she checks her phone?”

“Yes, sir,” I nod. “She’s had a negative reaction more than once while she’s been on her phone. And I don’t like it.”

He gives me a small smile at this. Then he nods.

“Well, maybe my father-in-law was right about you,” he says. “You’re welcome here time anytime, Marshall.”

“Thank you, sir,” I nod.

I offer my hand, and he takes it. After we shake, I head home. And I decide to do some digging on this Jonas motherfucker. If I disliked him before, then I’m running full tilt toward hate right now. The fact that her parents are suspicious is fueling my emotions in the worst way. As soon as I get into my house and lock up, I grab my tablet and get to it.

Since I don’t have a last name for Jonas, I look up the marketing firm first. As I had hoped, there’s a staff listing. It’s large, but when I come across one Jonas Freeman, I click on his name. There’s a picture of him. A shit-eating grin on his perfect face with blonde hair and blue eyes.

I hate him even more now.

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