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She raised a shoulder. “I just realized I barely know you. Or Vaughn. But Vaughn wears his heart on his sleeve, so I feel like I at least know what makes him tick. You hide yours.”
The idea was baffling. “I’m an open book. What do you want to know?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I can ask you anything?”
“I need to sleep, so limit it to your top three.”
She wandered over and perched on the edge of the bed. I tried not to notice her smooth, bare legs as she crossed them up underneath her. An oversized sleep shirt swamped her slight frame, and she tucked her arms inside it while she mulled over her questions. “You’ll tell me the complete and honest truth? Even if I don’t like it?”
“Sure.”
“Have you ever had an affair?”
I blinked at the shot she’d fired. “Okay, not going to lie, I didn’t’ realize we were going deep right off the bat. I thought we were going to talk favorite colors or foods, but sure. Let’s rattle some skeletons in the closet.”
“You’re hedging.”
She was right. I was in avoid mode while my brain worked overtime. “I’m just trying to work out how best to answer the question so you don’t hate me.”
She bit her lip. “Just tell me straight.”
I sighed, really wishing she hadn’t gone there until she knew other things about me. The less douchey things in particular. “Yes. I’ve had an affair. But in my defense, it wasn’t me in the relationship. They were, I wasn’t. Doesn’t excuse it. I knew they were with someone else.”
She didn’t say anything. Her face became totally unreadable.
“Do you hate me now?”
I almost didn’t want to hear her answer. She’d barely been in my life a couple of weeks, but in that tiny space of time, she’d become someone I didn’t want to disappoint.
She shook her head. “No, of course not. But this is what I mean by I don’t know you. I wouldn’t have picked you as the type.”
Guilt swirled in my gut. “I’m not. I made a mistake. With one person. I never did it again. And I don’t plan to.”
She nodded, but I could see she wasn’t quite convinced.
“Ask me your second question then.”
I needed the chance to prove to her I was more than just that one mistake.
“I asked you this once before and you turned it into a joke. But now I’m asking seriously. Was there something going on with you and my mom?”
The question rang in my ears. “Miranda?” I choked out. “Are you seriously asking if I was sleeping with your mom?”
Rebel nodded.
I laughed. I could hear the relief in it. “Your mom loved Bart more than life itself.”
“People have affairs behind the backs of people they love all the time.”
Yeah, they did. Just ask Vaughn. I’d been sucking his cock while his high school girlfriend got drunk with her friends in the next room. But that hadn’t been Miranda and me. She’d adored her fiancé. “Your mom was one of the good ones. She never would have cheated on Bart.”
Rebel hugged herself a little tighter. “So you didn’t kill her then?”
I let out a low wolf whistle. “Wow. How long have you been wondering that?”
She gave a small shrug, her petite shoulders rising then falling. “I don’t know. But I really want you to tell me I’m crazy for even considering it.”
That was easy. I grabbed her chin and held her firmly. “I didn’t kill your mom, Little Demon. And I have no desire to hurt you. You’re safe in this house with me. Those locks I put on your doors were just to make you feel better. You don’t actually need them.”