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He didn’t look my way. He kept his focus straight ahead, and his feet slapped against the ground in perfect unison with my own. I had no idea what he was doing. Why didn’t he overtake me? Why didn’t he turn and run the other way? Why, oh why, did he have to run just inches from me? My body buzzed at his proximity, and I had to believe he was doing this to torment me.

I was so tempted to stop. Either to shout at him or to let him carry on without me. My legs refused to cease moving though. They appeared to have a mind of their own, as if they wanted to help give me the space I so desperately needed from him.

As my irritation at Noah’s presence grew, my speed increased and my breaths came in quicker. Before long, I was again sprinting as fast as my legs would carry me. Noah kept pace easily at my side, which only angered me more. He was tormenting me on purpose. He had to be. And I didn’t want any part of it.

Just when I felt my legs couldn’t move any quicker, I slammed to a halt. Noah stopped just after me. Thunder rumbled from somewhere in the distance, almost as if the sky was warning me to stay clear of him. Noah’s eyes were pained and heated, and I wondered if he was as tortured by my presence as I was by his. Did he enjoy the pain?

“I told you to stop messing with me,” I growled at him. “I don’t want to play this game anymore.”

“I’m not messing with you.”

“How is this”—I waved between us—“not messing with me? Is this some kind of payback for who my father is? Are you trying to torture me?”

“I’m not. I…” He huffed out a hard breath and paced away from me before he turned and quickly closed the distance between us once more. “Can’t you see how much I’m struggling with this? How hard it is to stay away from you? You may think I’m torturing you, but I can assure you I’m the one who’s tortured.”

Mere inches separated us, and those inches were only getting smaller with the rapid rise and fall of our puffing chests. We were both breathless from running so fast, but I thought maybe my emotions were just as much to blame for the way I was panting. Fire and lust surged through me as I stared into his green eyes. They were lit with so much desire, and I could see he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. That he wished for nothing more than to eviscerate the small gap between us.

It would be so easy to reach out to him. To pretend for just one moment he wasn’t Noah and I wasn’t Isobel and our families didn’t exist. That we were simply two people who desperately wanted one another.

Would it really be so bad to give in to the temptation? To kiss him one more time, like my body so desperately wanted. Like I desperately needed. Noah must have been considering the same question because the longing in his eyes was mixed with obvious indecision.

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be this way,” he murmured.

“And how would it be?” I whispered.

He reached out to touch me, but his fingers stopped just before they caressed my face. They hovered there a moment before they dropped to his side, and his gaze turned more serious. “I can’t go against my grandfather, but what if he didn’t know...”

I swallowed a heavy lump that had formed in my throat. I thought I knew what he was suggesting, but I needed him to be clear. “What are you saying, Noah?”

“I’m saying what if we stayed together, but in secret?”

“Noah—

“It could work,” he said. “No one would have to know. We might not be able to sit together in class or in the cafeteria, but we could go for morning runs and watch the sun rise before anyone wakes up. We’ll spend our weekends down at the old boathouse or disappear completely and fly to Rapid Bay so we can lay together on the beach.”

I clenched my eyes shut as the images he was conjuring up overwhelmed me. It sounded like bliss. Just Noah and me, shutting out the world so we could be together, just the two of us. I wanted to be with Noah so badly, but was I willing to have him no matter the cost? Deep down, I knew his dream would actually be a nightmare. My life would turn into a lie, just so I could be with him. I’d already made the mistake of hiding parts of myself, as though I was ashamed of who I was, and I couldn’t do that again. The stupid part was, even if I did what he was asking, I wouldn’t have all of him. I’d only get the fragments of a relationship he threw my way behind closed doors. I deserved so much better than that.

“It could work,” he repeated. “As long as my grandfather doesn’t find out.”

I opened my eyes to look at him again. “You want me to be your dirty little secret?”

“I just want you.” He moved closer to me as he spoke. His hands gripped my waist, and he pulled me against him. I pressed my hands on his firm chest to stop us from colliding, but we were just a hairbreadth from each other as he looked down at me. “I know this isn’t fair, but I can’t imagine my future without you.”

I shook my head and lowered my gaze from his. “Can you really see a future with someone you have to hide?”

“Yes.” He sounded so sure of himself as he gripped me tighter, but I didn’t share an ounce of his certainty. “It wouldn’t be forever. I—”

“I’m not going to be with you that way,” I said, lifting my head to lock eyes with him once more.

“Isobel...” His gaze pleaded with me to reconsider.

“No. We’re either together or we’re not. I deserve better than some half-assed secret relationship.”

He suddenly loosened his grip on my waist, and the distance between us seemed to grow, like the conviction in my words had struck him in the chest and forced him to take a step back. Ever so slowly, his shoulders sagged and his arms fell back at his side.

“Please, Isobel,” he murmured. “I’ll do anything to make this work.”

“Anything?” I challenged him. “Can you tell me what happened between your grandfather and my father?”