The Dangerous Thief (Stolen Hearts #3)(9)

And that would still give her access to all her music. A few minutes later, she was back in the living room and turned on her rock playlist. Well, pop rock. Something with a good beat. Something cheery that she couldn’t resist moving to.

She took a deep swig of water and then started to sway her hips to the music. She wasn’t doing any type of coordinated dance and had to imagine she looked like a tool, but it felt good to move and the thought of just tearing up some stranger’s living room with her crappy dance moves had her giggling to herself. God, it had been too long since she’d smiled.

She closed her eyes as she took in the music. She remembered the last time this song had come on at a club. AJ and Stephanie had both been there with her. AJ hit on anyone in a mini skirt while Willa and Stephanie had chosen to ignore the opposite sex and just danced with each other. Back before she’d met Jules. Back before any of this.

Her hands were in the air and she swayed her hips as the bridge of the song got slower. As she did a little turn, her eyes opened and she realized she wasn’t alone. Her dance came to an abrupt end as she saw James Weston watching her.

She half expected him to burst out laughing at the sight, but he didn’t. He was absolutely still and stared at her.

“I’m sorry. I was just really bored and I thought that if I could move a bit, it would work some of the tension out and the living room is so much like a dance studio. Which you probably never realized, but the hardwood floors and no furniture kind of make it a great space for moving around in and it was nice to kind of get away from my thoughts for a bit and I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything but I just....” She realized he still wasn’t moving. And he didn’t seem annoyed. He looked.... Oh good Lord, he was turned on. The signs were so subtle, but there was this heat in his eyes as his gaze went up her body, from her feet right up until he met her eyes. She shifted her weight awkwardly. She had been confused that he hadn’t shown any signs of attraction to her before, but she’d since become used to that.

Now that the heat was there, she was... flabbergasted. James Weston didn’t like her. James Weston was a robot.

“I....”

He turned and walked away before she could start on another rambling explanation. The rock song was still playing. Willa ran over to the phone and stumbled through the screens as she hit the wrong thing and rushed to turn the damn thing off. She wanted to just turn back the clock a few minutes before the entire awkward exchange ever happened.

But if she couldn’t run, she could avoid. Avoid and ignore. Yep. The next time she saw James Weston, she was just going to play oblivious and act as if nothing had changed.

Because nothing had changed. She was still his annoying charge and he was still her quiet, frustrating host and protector.

But before she could go to her room to truly get a handle on the situation, he was back in the living room. “Did you still want to get some basics?”

She blinked at his casual tone. Even though she had been determined to sweep the awkwardness under the rug, she was still surprised at how easily he did it. Right back to being a robot.

Which is a good thing, she told herself. Just confusing.

“Yes. When are we leaving?”

“As soon as you’re ready.”

He walked away and Willa frowned. Maybe he wasn’t as okay with this as he acted. Because she was willing to bet anything that he hadn’t been planning on a supply run a few minutes ago.

Huh. So maybe James Weston was a runner too.

––––––––



Willa had come to terms with the fact that walking away on foot hadn’t been a good idea. But after the fifty-minute drive into town—and by town, she meant an outcropping of a truck stop, small-town diner, and one looming big box store—she fully comprehended how idiotic the little excursion had been.

“I don’t get it,” she said as James Weston pulled the truck into the parking lot of the big box store.

“Don’t get what?”

“Why you live out here. There’s nothing to do. Nothing to see. Nowhere to shop....” For real, where was the nearest mall?

“Some people like the scenery in the desert.”

“Yeah, it’s great. But that’s all there is. Pretty scenery and nothing. What the hell do you do?”

“Maybe I like the peace.”

“If you need that much peace in your downtime, that means your job is way too stressful.” Considering what he did for a living, maybe that was it. He told her what happened on his last job. Someone had died. Maybe the only way to get away from that kind of guilt was to escape into the middle of nowhere. Not that it was helping her at the moment.

“So, how small of a town is this?” she asked once the car was in park.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, if you go out shopping with some strange girl, are people going to ask questions? I can say I’m your cousin, visiting from out of town maybe?” Even though Chicago was about as far as you could get from a small town, the gossip mill was everywhere. And Willa had a feeling that an attractive guy like James Weston, caveman or not, probably had an army of matchmaking women who had a pool going on how long it would take him to settle down.

At least if they gave the pretense that they were related, they’d be left alone.

“You can’t be my cousin. Just let people think we’re together.”