Page 16 of Caught Looking

“If?” This was it—his chance to lay his cards on the table. If this was a stunt to Seth then he could tell me now before things got complicated.

Instead he shocked the hell out of me. “If you end up liking me half as much as I like you.”

I blinked. Then I blinked again. Did Seth just say he liked me?

He threaded his fingers between mine. “I like you, Annalise. I haven’t said that to anyone in a long time. I’m happy to be your fake boyfriend for as long as you want or need. But if you ever want to see if there’s something more here…I’m all for it.”

I stared at our hands. Marveled at the way my heart pounded wildly in my chest because we were touching. There was no mistaking that look in his eyes either. Seth meant every word he said. He was raw and vulnerable. Maybe even a touch nauseous.

In all my life I had never had such a nice night with a man. Never had such easy conversation. And certainly never had a man be open and honest with me about his feelings. Maybe that was a sad fact, or maybe it was normal, either way it floored me.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He smiled, a little relief on his face. “I appreciate it. Now…Montgomery.”

“Fuck.” I let my head fall back so I could stare at the ceiling. “He’s an asshat. He’s self-involved and loves himself. He uses his fame and power to manipulate everyone around him.” Then I took a breath and returned my attention to the handsome man waiting on the other side of the table. “Did I get that about right?” As far as I knew, Owen’s ego had only grown in the years since we dated.

“That’s right.”

“Then we’re on the same page. No need to talk about him.” I started stacking my empty plates together.

But Seth was damned determined to tell me something. Which…couldn’t be good. “Annalise.”

I huffed with frustration, folding my hands in my lap. “Fine. Say what you need to say.” Then I braced.

“Montgomery liked to play a game. He would tell a story about one of his conquests, but he’d use a code name and make us guess who it might be.”

My mouth fell open. Somehow, Owen still had the power to shock me. “He…he makes youguess?”I pictured two golf carts with four men laughing as Owen told them how he woke me up with sex, convincing me it was romantic.

It wasn’t romantic. Not the way Owen did it, anyway. I felt manipulated.

Did the men laugh and shout out names in rapid fire? If they guessed correctly did they win a prize?

“Babe.”

I shoved my feet into my boots while Roscoe jumped up with a huff and a growl at the sudden change in my mood. “What? Is your boys club less fun when you admit the horrible things you do?” Where was my wallet? I fumbled around for the black pouch and Roscoe’s leash.

“This is why I wanted to clear the air.” Seth whipped out his wallet and dropped plenty of cash on the table. “Please don’t leave mad.”

“I’m not leaving mad. I’m just leaving.” I clipped the leash on Roscoe’s collar and made for the door.

I was almost to my car when I felt him behind me. Roscoe, for some reason, just kept on walking instead of barking or eating Seth alive. “Annalise.”

“Nope. No fake boyfriend kisses goodnight, Seth.” I opened the door and Roscoe hopped inside.

Seth’s hands landed on either side of me before I could yank open my door, caging me in. “Annalise, please talk to me.”

He had me trapped sideways, his lips enticingly close. He smelled like soap. Clean.Masculine.Why did he have to smell good when I needed to be mad at him?“Say what you need to say so I can go home.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was an asshole. I didn’t encourage him but I didn’t discourage him either. I covered my own ass and didn’t give a fuck about anyone else. I regret it.”

That was nice and all but there were men out there, probably dozens of them, who may not know my name, but they’d laughed at what Owen did to me.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again. I heard the pain in his voice even if I couldn’t acknowledge it now.

“Is that why you’re helping me? Penance?”

“No,” he said quickly. “There’s no penance for me or any of the things I’ve done. All I can do is make better choices now.”