Page 12 of Accidentally Mine

“But you did.”

She finished stirring sugar into her coffee and looked around again. “I probably shouldn’t have.”

“And why not?” When she didn’t answer, I tried a different subject. “What brings you to Boston? Are you here for school?”

“I…yes. For school,” she said woodenly.

I knew it was a lie the moment it left her lips. What I didn’t understand was why she wasn’t telling me the truth. I could have asked her what school, but I didn’t want to embarrass her by catching her in that lie. She seemed worked up enough as it was.

“So, you’re not from around here?” I asked.

She leaned over to blow on the full cup of coffee without lifting it from the saucer. “No.” She turned to me. “Are you?”

“Grew up in Woburn. North of the city. I live in Beacon Hill now. What about you?”

She tore off a piece of her cheese pastry and popped it into her mouth. “Do you always come here at the break of day?”

“Yeah. Early riser.”

“Really? Why?”

“Insomnia, mostly, but mornings are my favorite time of day. And the early bird gets the worm. Or, like my dad used to say, the venison. My family was big into hunting for food. But the insomnia…that’s only been the last couple of years.”

She sighed. “I know what you mean. I usually stay up half the night and finally fall asleep at three in the morning.”

“You still come in here early with that little sleep? Must be some important work you’re using the Wi-Fi for.”

She didn’t bite, but said, “Yesterday, I couldn’t sleep at all. But usually, I get really great sleep from three a.m. to about eight.”

“That’s funny,” I said, slumping over my coffee.

She laughed. “Yeah. You put the two of us together, and we’d probably have a good night’s sleep.”

I raised an eyebrow. I had absolutely no objections.

She realized what she’d said, and her eyes widened. “I mean, you put our sleeping schedules together, and together it would equal—”

Damn, she was adorable. I placed a hand on her arm, laughing. “I got it, I got it.”

The muscles that had tensed in her face and neck relaxed, and a soft laugh rolled out.

It lit her up, and I was fascinated. She was so damn cute.

Gorgeous. Unique. I found myself wondering what she’d look like without that baseball cap, with her hair loose.

Even in my dream, she’d had it on. I wanted to see her run her hands through her hair.

Or better yet, I wanted her to let me do it, wanted to fist my hands in those long strands and pull her in, claim her with my mouth.

“So what’s on your mind that you can’t sleep?” I asked her, forcing my thoughts away from that direction.

She shrugged and stared into her coffee.

“Classes?” I offered.

She hooked her legs behind the foot bar of the stool and nodded. “Right. Classes.” Another lie. She kept her gaze on her coffee every time she lied. “What about you?”

I chuckled softly. “Right now? I keep thinking of this girl I met. I don’t know why, I can’t quite explain it. But she does things to me. And I want to find out more about her.” I watched her lick her lips, her eyes still down. “But she’s not the easiest person to get to know.”

She gave me a guarded look, and her hand snaked out and found mine atop the counter. Her fingers were warm and fragile. “I’m sorry…what would you like to know?”

Someone dropped a plate behind us, and we both jumped. She yanked her hand back from mine—a fucking tragedy—and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Closing my eyes to ward off the sound of ceramic meeting tile, which was now echoing through my head, I said, “Everything.”

She scanned the café, and even though there was no one near us but a mother with a baby and a few college students, she shook her head. “I can’t talk here.”

“Why?” The edginess she carried suddenly came sharply into focus, and I knew it wasn’t nerves. She was afraid of something. A ball of anger formed in my gut for anyone who would frighten this beauty. “What is it? What’s scaring you?”

She gave me a look that I couldn’t decipher. Sad. Like she wanted to tell me, but some invisible force was compelling her not to.

“Then let me buy you dinner, get to know you before you tell me all your secrets.”

She hopped off the stool, her eyes shooting around the café. I could tell there was something about the people around us that she was worried about. Was she afraid of someone recognizing her? Was that why she wore the ball cap? Who? An ex? “I have to go.”

I jumped off the stool, and as she fished in her purse, I gripped the bill of her cap with two fingers, forcing her to look up into my eyes.

A look of longing in her blue ones made me want to kill anyone who might entertain hurting her.

“Come on,” I said without thinking through the consequences too much.

“Don’t go yet. What if we just went back to my place? ”

Her eyes widened further. “Um…”

Terrific. Way to calm her down. I’m sure she’d love to accompany a strange guy to his house.

“That’s not what I meant, Roselynn. I just don’t want you to leave. What’s so important that you have to go so soon?”

“I watch my aunt,” she said softly. “And she’s not doing well. I’m afraid if I leave her alone for too long, I’ll be the not-so-proud owner of a shit-ton of soft-porn movies.” She let out a pathetic laugh and smiled in a way that didn’t reach her eyes.

I let go of the cap and plunged my hands into my pockets, trying to make heads or tails of that. She finally shared something that sounded real. So, maybe the fact that her elderly aunt was a porn addict wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting, but it was a start.

“Is that so? That’s…interesting.”

“Seriously,” she muttered. “My Aunt Marie’s an…um, feisty woman. She’d probably be itching to get with a guy like you.”

“A guy like me?” I repeated, testing the words out. “What, exactly, do you mean by that?”

She flushed, pressed her lips together. Once again, I could tell she thought she’d said too much. Hell, at this rate, I’d probably get to first base with her by the next millennium.

I gave her a playful bob of my eyebrows. “Maybe I should take your aunt out instead?”

She sighed and hitched her bag onto her shoulder. “Look. I’ve got to go.”

But she lingered there, biting her lip indecisively. I was beginning to think that she wasn’t regretting showing up here as much as she was regretting having to leave.

She felt the same pull I did.

This woman was into me. I could see it. Feel it.

And just like that, a calmness settled over me.

“Can I walk you home, at least?” I said to her back as she turned to leave. I knew she’d say no, but I had to try.

She paused, hesitating at the doorway. I held my breath, silently pleading for her to turn around and come back to me.

She didn’t. Not fully, at least. She did turn, but it was only enough to meet my gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

I got the feeling that might have been the first thing she’d said all day that was authentically what she felt.

Even as the door slammed shut behind her with a final thud, and I watched her disappear from view through the frosted windows with the words Common Café – Uncommonly Good! written at sidewalk level, I made up my mind that I hadn’t seen the last of Miss Roselynn Reid.

She was a mystery, and I might just be the man to solve it. I had so many questions, and I wasn’t one to be kept from the truth. What was she sorry about? And why the fuck did those eyes haunt me like the ones from my dreams? She was obviously scared, maybe even in trouble. But why?

Was it possible I’d found someone in this city with scars deeper than mine?