True Colors (The Masks #1)(37)

I cleared my throat, striving for cool when all I felt like doing was dancing around the room like an idiot. Eric Shore just might become my boyfriend one day! “Well, I feel like a very lucky neighbor right now. I'd feel even luckier if you were just over the fence at this moment, but that's okay."

His chuckle was soft. “Yeah, well I'd be getting luckier if you were just over the fence right now."

What did he just say?

The way he cleared his throat and nervously tittered made me think he hadn't meant to say it that way.

I giggled. "You're blushing right now, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry." His voice was stretched tight. "I didn't mean to sound like some depraved jerk. I just meant I'd want to, you know, kiss you."

“Don't worry about it." I grinned. "Maybe you can show me what you meant this weekend." Ugh. My flirty voice was so lame.

Eric hissed. “Actually I’m going to see my grandpa this weekend, so I won’t be around.”

I did my best not to sound totally gutted and focused on the fact that I was even talking to Eric Shore, my possible future boyfriend, which certainly helped ease the sting.

“That’s cool.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“You don’t have to. It’s your grandpa. You have fun and I’ll spend my weekend pretending to be a PI.”

“Cait—"

“I’ll be a safe private investigator. I can read people, remember? I’ll know if they’re going to attack.”

My joke was obviously no comfort to him.

“Promise to call me if you need me, okay? San Diego’s not that far away.”

“You’re not coming back because of me. Go see your grandpa. Have fun and don’t think about me.”

“Not think about you? That’s not gonna happen. I’ll see you next weekend, girl next door.”

I hung up with a grin, gently placed my phone on the desk and threw my head back with a swoon.





Chapter 17




I spent the rest of the night and most of Friday researching Liam Donovan and got nowhere. The guy was an enigma. No one knew his history and none of my friends seemed bothered by the fact he was so mysterious. If anything, it made him more appealing.

In the hopes of finding out more, I decided to spend as much of the weekend with my usual crowd as possible. Surely I’d spot something new outside of the school setting.

I traveled with Stella to the Friday night away game. It was at Malibu High School. Stella was still flirting with the role of ice queen when it came to our friendship, but it was nothing I hadn’t experienced before. I kept the conversation focused on her, reading her the entire time in an attempt to keep her happy.

It was probably slightly selfish of me, but I needed to stay close to Stella in order to stay close to the people I was investigating. I grinned. Investigating. What was I? A cop?

We eased across the bench seat and found a place next to Indie. She seemed lighter tonight, less stressed somehow.

“Where’s Liam?” Stella asked as we took a seat beside her.

“He’s hanging out with his brother tonight. We’ll see him after the game.”

She was lying.

Not about seeing him after the game, but about what he was up to.

She took a sip from her water bottle and grinned at me. I smiled back, wanting to put her at ease. This was a good chance to make her feel comfortable with me. Maybe if I kept the chatter light and easy, she’d let something slip.

“So, who do you think’ll win?”

“Us, of course.” We chuckled. “With Micah playing we’ve always got a good shot.”

I liked the way she said his name. There was a gentle admiration to it. I was already reading her, but had to peel back a second layer to see a soft blush lighting her cheeks. Did she like Micah?

As our team ran onto the court we all stood to cheer. Her mouth opened with a big whoop. She was watching Micah, his large hand held the basketball easily as he pointed at his team, directing them through a few quick warm ups.

Indie couldn’t take her eyes off him as he easily danced around the court. I peeled back another layer, past the affection and spotted the caged longing. Tears glistened in her eyes, her face pinching tight as she tried to deny herself the desire she felt. Another layer later and I was once again looking at that stark, white fear.

It unnerved me, so I quickly layered her back up until I was looking at the Indie everyone admired.

“So, I didn’t know Liam had a brother.” Poor girl, I knew the last thing she felt like talking about was her boyfriend when she finally had a night to herself.

I spotted a flash of irritation as she cleared her throat. “He’s in college, I think. I’m not sure. Liam doesn’t talk about him much. I haven’t met him.”

Liar.

“Have you met anyone else in his family?”

Indie brushed the bangs out of her eyes, keeping her gaze on the court. Her jaw clenched. “His father lives in Burbank. He never sees him.”

“So who does he live with?”

“Me, mostly.” Indie’s voice was soft, but her eyes were blazing blue as she turned to face me. “Don’t judge okay? He had a tough time growing up. His father’s a loser. His mother’s dead. His brother and me are all he has.”