Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(33)

Silence. I started to stand, figuring after my rant he didn’t feel like talking anymore, but he stopped me. “It’s your turn.”

Instead of sitting back down in the recliner, I sank onto the couch next to him. Closer than I’d intended. There was one question burning at the back of my brain. It was a risky one, given the subject, but I had to know. “Did you love her?”

“Who?”

“Meredith. Were you in love with her?”

He didn’t answer right away. Gazing into his mug like it held the secrets of the universe, he sighed. “No. She was beautiful, yes, but she lacked substance. There were never any surprises.”

“Then why marry her? Why talk her out of running off with someone else? If she left, you could have been free.”

“Because we were promised to each other. It was the right thing to do. I could never have dishonored my mother by refusing.” He set the empty mug down and leaned forward, resting both elbows atop his knees.

“I can’t imagine being with someone I didn’t love.” I laughed. “I can’t even stand to be in the room with someone I don’t like.”

“You’ve been in love?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“What you said—I assumed—”

“Hell no. I’m not stupid.” This was a sore subject for me, but fair was fair. He’d spilled about Meredith, so the least I could do was even things out. “I see what my parents go through. They love each other more than the air they breathe, and it’s done nothing but cause them pain.”

“So then you haven’t agreed to be courted?”

I choked, sending hot cocoa shooting from my nose. Better than soda, but it still stung like a mother. “Courted? We call it dating now, and, um, no. I don’t date.”

“Why don’t you—date?”

I tried to squash the happy little wiggle that squirmed in my stomach at his question. Why was he asking? Was he interested? “First off, there’s no one at my school I’d even consider dating.”

“Why not?”

“They just can’t appreciate a girl like me.”

He smiled. “Beautiful, but unbelievably annoying?”

Major pulse spike. Maybe I’d been a little lax in the male attention department if the first guy to call me hot to my face sent me into a hormonal frenzy. I held my breath. Keep it together, Jessie.

Gesturing to myself, I said, “Beautiful?—hardly. Cute, maybe. But I was referring to my deeper characteristics.”

“Such as?”

“Oh, I dunno—funny, smart—able to kick most of their asses.” I snorted. “That bugs all guys.”

Lukas’ smile faded. “Not all.”

The wiggle in my stomach came back and, this time, I did nothing to push it away. Craps. The truth came stomping through the room like a were on steroids…

I was totally falling for one of The Seven Deadly Sins.





Chapter Fourteen




Three days left…

“Jessie!”

At first, all I saw was a mass of black hair. I smelled fabric softener and the faint, lingering hint of chocolate. When I tried to move my legs and found them stuck, I pulled back.

Oh, hell in a hail storm…

Now I understood why Mom sounded so pissed, and under the circumstances, I really couldn’t blame her.

My leg wouldn’t move because it was wrapped around Lukas’.

“Whoa. Whatever it is you’re thinking, this isn’t it.”

Lukas stirred. When he opened his eyes and saw me, he paled and tried scooting away, but we were too tangled. He tumbled off the couch to the floor, pulling me down, too. I landed hard with my arm folded awkwardly behind his back. Something metallic under the couch caught my eye. I untangled myself and pulled it out, giving it a quick shake. “Oh, look. I found your keys!”

She didn’t look particularly thankful. “Not my keys.”

I managed to stumble upright and stuffed the key ring into my back pocket. “I couldn’t sleep. Lukas was awake. I guess we fell asleep talking.”

Without taking her eyes from me, she said, “Lukas, do you mind giving us a moment?”

Ah, craps. I knew that tone. The demon crap was about to hit the fan.

With a quick nod, Lukas scurried from the room. He got to the doorway and looked back once with a frown before disappearing around the corner.

Mom stepped around the couch and came to stand in front of me. “Would it be redundant for me to ask what the hell you’re thinking?”

I forced a smile. “That’s a dumb question. I don’t think, remember?”

“Jessie—”

“Seriously. This wasn’t anything. I couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t sleep.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You looked pretty sleepy to me.”

“It really wasn’t what it looked like, you know. I felt bad for the guy. Trust me, it was painful. He’s seriously annoying. Likes to insult me every chance he gets.”

“So annoying that you curled up on the couch with him?”

I rolled my eyes. “I was on the other end of the couch. It was probably the teddy bear syndrome.”

Eyes wide, she asked, “The what?” I’d stumped her with that one.