Page 100 of The Young & the Sinner

It was the kind of innocence a man like me would kill to keep. And I didn’t want to be the one to take that away.

Because I knew of her infatuation with me.

It would be so easy to get her into my bed and keep her there.

I both wanted that and didn’t want it at all.

It was thoughts like this that made me feel like the worst kind of monster.

Logan took me in, his eyes inquisitive. I didn’t miss the look he shared with Gage. I resisted the urge to squirm. I didn’t need him to look too closely into my feelings for Olivia. Not when I still haven’t quite figured them out yet.

I took a long sip of my now lukewarm coffee.

“We’re going out tonight. You should come,” Logan said.

I tsked. “On a Monday night?”

“What are we, sixteen? Do you have a curfew I don’t know about?”

I almost rolled my eyes. “I don’t know. I have a lot of work to do tonight. I’m sure you do, too.”

He scoffed. “That’s never stopped you before. I remember a time when we went out partying all night and attended our eight o’clock class the next day.”

“Yes, but you and I are almost pushing thirty. I doubt we have the same stamina we did when we were twenty.”

“Speak for yourself, old man. I haven’t had any complaints about my stamina.”

“Yet,” Gage added. I snickered.

Gage turned to me. “Aside from his fib about his stamina, I think Logan might be right. You should come out with us. Find someone.” He didn’t say it, but the “else” was implied. Find someone else.

I looked away, avoiding their eyes. I should have known better than try to hide anything from someone who made their living being astute. We were all trained to see what others didn’t say.

Shame tightened my cheeks. I knew I shouldn’t be thinking these things about Olivia, I shouldn’t have held her in my arms. Hell, I shouldn’t be doing half the things I’d been doing with a teenager.

I should have been stronger, and now I was afraid it might be too late.

Was I already in too deep?

Perhaps it would be a good idea to go out. I hadn’t been out since I moved in with Max and Olivia, and it had nothing to do with my workload. I liked spending time with Olivia. I like eating dinner with her, seeing her laugh at one of her jokes, even if I sometimes didn’t get it, and I liked the way she stared at me when she thought no one was paying attention.

But I was paying attention.

I’d been paying attention since the very start.

I shook out the thought and opened my mouth to answer them, when movement to my left caught my eyes. Caylee, the paralegal who had been here way before I even started, stood near the doorway. She was probably only a few years younger than me.

Someone age-appropriate.

Tall and blonde, with baby-blue eyes, she was the exact opposite of Olivia in every way possible. She was someone I should be interested in, yet there was nothing about her that held my attention, despite the fact that she was unbelievably sexy.

Logan and Gage turned to where my attention was, and I caught a glint of interest in Gage’s eyes. Though I knew his fascination with her was superficial at best.

“Hey, Mason. I have the case file on IBM you asked for. I left it with Ted.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Caylee.”

Her eyes lingered on me for a bit, before she offered a flirtatious smile and walked away, her hips swinging seductively.

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