Page 33 of Save Me the Trouble
“Embers launched your profile this morning,” I explained, each word like a small cut. “And Alicia was your first match.”
The confusion on his face turned to something sharper than hurt.Betrayal.
“And you invited her here?”
“I had to,” I said, my voice miraculously steady. “It’s my job, Killian.” My lip quivered as I forced a smile, adding softly at the last moment before Alicia reached us. “You can’t be anything more than my job.”
Chapter Ten
Killian
Alicia was perfect. So perfect, it made complete sense that a computer program spit her out for me.For my profile.
I suppressed another surge of anger, nodding politely at something Alicia said, something that I should be paying attention to. But her voice, the hum of the exhibit, even the photographs themselves felt like nothing more than a distraction. Like a fog in front of the fucking sun.
“You can’t be anything more than my job.”
Grace’s words were like the smallest blade levying a thousand cuts over my skin, one for each time my mind recalled them.
Except her job wasn’t the reason she stayed.
After introducing Alicia and me, Grace lingered along the perimeter. Maybe she knew if she left, I’d go after her. Or maybe she wanted to see the Embers algorithm work its magic; she’d be waiting a very long time if that were the case.
As Alicia spoke, my only focus was Grace. How could she not see this was pointless? There was nothing—no spark between me and this woman.
Because she was afraid.
Afraid of being taken advantage of again.
“Killian?”
I turned to the pretty brunette at my side, her brow raised, indicating she was waiting for me to answer a question I hadn’t been paying attention to.
“I’m sorry.” I heaved a sigh and ran my hand along my jaw.
“Is everything okay?”
My head tipped, catching Grace’s gaze once more.
“No,” I murmured, a passing couple forcing me to step closer to Alicia, and I swore I heard Grace’s breath catch from across the room. If I lowered my head just a little, I could see her reflection in the glass of the photograph on the wall—her hand to her chest and her lips parted. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to work. I can’t—I don’t?—”
Alicia put her hand on my arm, offering me a sad but knowing smile. “It’s okay, Killian. I don’t either,” she admitted. “I was so hopeful about this profile, but meeting you…I guess what looks perfect on paper doesn’t always come out perfect in real life.”
A small smile tipped my mouth. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Then you better go after her.”
I spun and realized Grace was gone. She’d watched Alicia touch me—come close to me—and she’d bolted.
Shit.
Grace couldn’t have left more than five minutes ahead of me, but by the time I excused myself from the gallery crowd, my polite swiftness bordering on curt, she’d had a good head start.
I found Lester parked at the end of the block, and the door wasn’t even closed behind me when he asked, “Where’s Miss Grace?”
“In denial,” I clipped. “Can you take me to her apartment?”
His eyes met mine in the rearview.
