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“Admit you like me,” he dares.

“Kingston,” I sigh.

“Twinkle.”

Oh, how I have been dying to hear my name on his lips. Spoken in that rich and masculine voice, it awakens goosebumps along my arms. Thank God, he can’t see. His closeness isn’t letting me think clearly. So, I take a step back.

He takes one forward.

My heart hammers inside my chest.

“The truth changes nothing.” Another step back. “We still aren’t compatible.”

“We can be.” He inches closer. “That kiss was proof.”

“Like I said, the truth changes nothing.” I remain stubborn.

But so is he.

“You’re not denying you want me and that we have chemistry.” His voice drops an octave. “Don’t lie to me. Don’t tell me that you don’t feel it. Our paths have crossed again for a reason. I believe it deep in my bones.”

“It’s my best friend you were interested in.”

His gaze flashes with something dangerous. “I haven’t been interested in another woman since I saw you sitting on the bar in a pretty sundress six months ago. Except for your name, everything’s the same.”

The revelation short-circuits my brain.

He’s been thinking about me too.

“Yet you said no to me at the agency.”

“That’s because I didn’t know the truth.” He cages me against the couch as my back smacks against it. “The last thing I wanted to do was chase after a woman adamant on wanting nothing to do with me, who’d go as far as toactlike she hated our kiss. Trust me, I came really fucking close to hunting you down and begging for another chance. And, darling, Ineverbeg.”

My stubbornness becomes a puddle on the floor.

My pulse skyrockets at the raw honesty in his confession. I can sense the palpable restraint he practiced to stop himself from chasing after me. It doesn’t matter, though; he wouldn’t have been able to find me once he saw the real Tina.

But the fact I reduced him to wanting to break his own rule is enough to deepen my attraction to him.

The thing holding me back from exploring our connection is our different visions for our futures.

He wants marriage; I’m unsure and carrying baggage.

My parents’ divorce has damaged and skewed my views on love and relationships so fiercely, there’s no fixing them. I know my parents’ failed marriage isn’t my fault and that I might not end up like them, but the small chance I may, it scares the bejesus out of me.

Fuck. I didn’t come here to work on my deep-seated issues.

Before Kingston can dig up more of my broken parts, I summon the wall that keeps people at a distance. “You shouldn’t. Because no amount of begging will work on me, Kingston.”

I completely forgot about his ability to stay unruffled because he gives me a challenging smirk. Leaning back, he crosses his arms. “Is that right?”

“Yes. Very much so.”

“Sounds almost like a dare.”

“It’s not a dare!” I snap.

He groans low in his throat. “God! I forgot how fun it is to push your buttons.”