Page 19 of One Secret

I roll my eyes.

'Yeah, far be it for me to be your equal.'

'You know what I mean.' Cyrus spreads pleading hands. 'A girlfriend isn't a threat.'

I snort.

'Spoken as someone who's never had a long-term relationship.'

This time, Cyrus is the one to roll his eyes.

I sigh.

We're at an impasse.

Begrudgingly, I'll admit that Cyrus did what he could to retain my privacy. But good intentions do nothing to resolve the current issue of bozos with big guns checking into my history.

'What's the trip for?' I eventually ask, trying to come up with a game plan.

I watch as Cyrus's jaw pops and locks from one direction to the other before he answers. He seems to be deciding how much to tell me. How much he trusts me.

'A man I hope to work for is holding an annual party or something at a hotel he owns. He wants me there.'

'And why do you want to be there?'

'To secure the job.'

'Bullshit.'

He raises an eyebrow at me.

I shake my head.

'Please. You don't expect me to believe you're the low-rung kind of guy who has to go begging for work, do you?'

Everything about Cyrus is collected. Confident. Assured in his own skin. Whatever it is he does for a living, he's damn good at it. He doesn't need to follow the crooking finger of potential clientele.

'You must be in it for something else.'

To my surprise, Cyrus is grinning. Actually grinning. Dual slanting dimples split down the sides of his cheeks. He's almost holding back a chuckle.

'What's so funny?'

'Nothing,' he says, shaking his head. 'Just that you're the first one to notice that.'

I snort.

'Yeah well, Mr. Blue Suit seemed too impressed with himself to notice much about anyone else, so that tracks.'

Cyrus's grin melts away.

'He seemed to notice you just fine.'

I pause, startled, whilst Cyrus rubs a palm over his face. Like the smiling thing has made him itchy. Was that jealousy biting at the edges of his words? I'm usually pretty good at reading people but Cyrus's ironclad control makes everything muted and much harder to infer.

'Cyrus…?'

He meets my gaze and I pause. We stand there in the dark together and let the teasing and the tension melt away.

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