Page 23 of Seduced By You

The car I’d ordered from the concierge was waiting for us as we emerged from the hotel. Driving in Paris was difficult enough at the best of times, so I’d had the rental picked up earlier today.

I held the door for Lee, then hopped around to the other side. The boat launch was within walking distance, about thirty minutes from here, but as the sun dipped, it’d gotten a little chilly. And while I wouldn’t mind Lee asking me to warm her up, I feared where that might end.

Every time I touched her, I had to steel myself not to encircle her waist, tug her flush to my body, stare into those mesmerizing eyes, and kiss her. I was in a constant battle with my libido, but if I wanted to keep our friendship alive, I could not let it win.

It. Like my desires were a separate entity. Sometimes I wished they were so that I could leave them at the hotel and enjoy a fun-filled evening with my best friend without all the baggage of a permanent semi and the streak of lust that had set up home in my stomach ever since she’d agreed to my fake-dating suggestion.

“Are you planning to tell me where we’re going?” she asked as the car smoothly set off, merging into the busy Paris traffic.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll find out soon enough.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

I gave her a wide-eyed, incredulous stare. “Annaleesa Alarie, did you just flat-out lie to me?” I clutched a hand to my chest, hamming up my reaction. “I can’t believe you’d look me, your best friend, in the eye and tell such a great big lie. I hope you’re ashamed of yourself.”

A peal of laughter fell from her lips. I didn’t think it was possible to love her any more than I already did, but she seemed intent on proving me wrong, even if she wasn’t aware of the effect she had on me.

“Fine. Ilovesurprises, but I also have an above-average level of impatience, and right now, that’s winning.”

“Too bad.”

She pretended to pout, but she couldn’t keep it up for long. A running commentary ensued of places she’d modeled but hadn’t had time to truly appreciate. Lee didn’t talk about her modeling days very much, but whenever she did, it always struck me as the loneliest of professions. She’d traveled extensively yet seen nothing.

If she were mine, I’d show her the world.

But she isn’t. And neither should she be. You deserve to spend your life alone after what you did.

I squeezed my eyes closed, my brain throwing up an image of the lifeless body, lying there, a pool of blood spreading beneath his head, matting his dark brown hair.

I snapped my eyes open, nausea a whirlwind in my stomach.

The visions weren’t as strong as they used to be, but when they came, they were a sucker punch to the gut. Would I ever find peace, or would the guilt I couldn’t shake remain with me for the rest of my life?

I didn’t even know if the kid I’d saved that night had made it. His parents had removed him from the school the very next day, and that was the last I’d heard. I’d asked Dad about him, but he’d said he didn’t know. After a while, I’d stopped asking. Josephhadto find him. Hehad to.

If he didn’t, I wasn’t sure where I went from here.

To hell, probably.

Then again, I was already in hell.

“You’ve gone awfully quiet.” Lee touched her pinkie to mine. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I forced a brilliant smile. “You’re doing enough talking for us both.”

She made a face at me. “Ha ha.”

The car slowed, and I jerked my chin. “Okay, Miss Impatient. We’re here.”

I unclipped my seat belt and climbed out. She joined me on the sidewalk, her gaze on the cruiser in its mooring. “We’re going on a boat?”

“A boat? Wash out your mouth. This is a beautiful sixty-foot cruiser that will make you feel as if you’re floating on air. Paris from the water is stunning. What better way to spend the evening than with good food, a city built for love”—I risked slipping my arm around her shoulder—“and the best company a man could wish for.”

She blinked up at me. The moon, in all its luminous glory, reflected in her eyes. Her lips parted, and for a split second, I thought she was going to rise up on her tiptoes and kiss me.

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