Page 15 of Caught Looking

“Next time?”

He grinned. “Oh, your secret is out, Annalise. You think I haven’t noticed that you’re a regular? If you don’t invite me I’ll just be here anyway, sitting in a different booth, devouring this food.” He glanced down at Roscoe. “But I’d prefer the company.”

Well shit. So much for the diva behavior I’d hoped for. “Seriously? You like this?”

“Is it so hard to believe?”

Yes.No. “Who are you, Seth Butler?” The mystery was killing me.

His cocky smile fell. “Do you really want to know?”

The look in his eyes was wary. Vulnerable. And damn it, I really did want to know. “Is that so hard to believe?” I used his line against him.

The corner of his lips twitched but he didn’t smile. “Some of my reputation is earned. I’m sure Rhett has glowing things to say about me.”

My cousin was a man of few words. When it came to Seth all he told me was that he’d break Seth’s dick off if he touched me. And when I rolled my eyes and told him to be real with me, all he could offer was that Seth looked out for Seth, except when Seth looked out for everyone else.

When I asked him to explain, Rhett shrugged.

“Rhett didn’t say anything.” Not anything useful anyway.

Seth’s eyebrows shot up. “Somehow I believe that.” Then he dropped his gaze to the empty glass in his hands. “I won’t hurt you,” he said softly.

If this was fake it wouldn’t matter. Shouldn’t matter. My heart skipped a beat and I swallowed hard past the lump that had formed in my throat.This isn’t fake.“Is that what you tell all the girls?”

His gaze shot back up to lock with mine, sending a jolt down my spine. “I never say that to them.”

” What do you say?” And why did I want to know?

“I tell them that it’s just sex. I tell them that I don’t do the boyfriend thing. I warn them that I don’t stay. I don’t make promises.”

But Seth was my boyfriend. Even if it was fake, it was something he didn’t do. And he was here, talking about still being here days and weeks from now.

He mademea promise. That he wouldn’t hurt me.

“Why me?”

“I like you.” His eyes dropped back to the table, one shoulder lifting in a shrug. “I haven’t liked anyone in a long, long time, Annalise.”

Holy shit.Seth liked me. Even with the threat of broken dicks and murder, he…liked me. “Is it an act?”

He flinched. “The man I’ve been for the last eight years is more of a caricature than an act. I wasn’t faking anything.”

Eight years covered pretty much his entire tenure in professional baseball. “What happened eight years ago?” That’s why people changed, right? Something happens. They get hurt or lose someone or…come into millions.

His Adam's apple bobbed with each thick swallow. “Something I’m not ready to talk about.”

So maybe not the millions. His pain was deeper than sudden fame. Wherever it came from, it rocked this man to his core. “Will you tell me one day?”

He nodded once. “Eventually. Yes.”

“Okay.” Nothing had gone as I expected tonight. I certainly never thought I’d be receiving quiet confessions and bare vulnerability over midnight pancakes. A quick diner dinner to get our story straight had turned into a deep conversation about the past and the future.

He reached across the table, his fingertips brushing mine, sending tendrils of heat racing up my arm. “I want to clear the air, Annalise. Before we get in too deep and this starts to fester. I—I need to explain the situation with Montgomery.”

And there went my dinner. It soured just like everything Owen touched. “I really don’t want to talk about him.”

“Neither do I, but I want you to understand. I don’t want this rotting between us if…” his words faded away and he swallowed hard.