SECRETS THAT WE KEEP

2. Gracen-2

“Um…hi?” I told the guy, sounding confused before I c****d my head curiously to the side. “What’s going on?”

He lifted his hands as if to prove he hadn’t been touching her, which honestly only made him look guiltier. “Nothing,” he answered with a defiant kind of tone, even as he backed off. “You here with her?”

I lifted my eyebrows and glanced at the snacks in my arms before returning his gaze. “What’s it look like to you?” Then I hitched my chin toward Yellow but kept my eyes on him. “There a problem here?”

“Nope.” He shook his head and turned sideways in order to step out of the row and into the aisle without brushing against me. “No problem at all.”

“Good,” I said, staring him down and turning with him as he stepped around me so we could keep eye contact. “Because it looked like you were backing her into that wall and touching her against her will.”

“Well, I wasn’t,” he snapped, narrowing his eyes before he started away to return to his own seat. “Get some glasses, man. And don’t leave your girl alone in a theater like that next time.”

“Yeah, thanks for the advice,” I snarled after him, glaring until he found his old spot. Then I slumped heavily into the seat next to where Yellow had been sitting and muttered, “Dipshit.”

Beside me, she slowly sank back into her chair, too.

I was too busy still glaring at her harasser to pay her much attention. But I did have the presence of mind to lean toward her and hiss, “What a f*****g weirdo. He needs to take a class in learning how to read body language because you were throwing out some serious back-the-hell-off signals. Am I right?”

When I finally deigned to glance her way for a response, I’d completely forgotten all about the fact that she was breathtakingly gorgeous. Or maybe I just hadn’t realized she’d be so much prettier up close like this.

But damn. My heart gave a big ol’ kathump in my chest when our gazes clashed, and I went momentarily brain dead.

What’s worse, she was still shaking from her encounter with the harasser. Her lips trembled and her shoulders heaved and stuttered as she hiccupped out a frightened breath.

I’d been on track to dislike her because of that. Only someone weak and spineless would’ve handled the situation as poorly as she just had. She hadn’t stood up for herself at all.

Except…

Instead of downgrading her in my mind, all I could seem to think was: You’ll be alright now. I’m here. No one’s going to hurt you, not on my watch.

Stupid protective instincts. They made me want to pull her into my arms and hold her until she stopped shaking, then maybe kiss her temple and smooth the hair down her ponytail before I pressed my nose to the side of her throat to inhale that intoxicating scent of hers straight from the source.

She blinked big brown, trusting eyes at me and answered, “You’re definitely right.”

I was? Wait, what had we even been talking about?

Fucking hell. Why did she have to look so innocent and hopeful when she looked at me? Something inside me must be wired all wrong because this electric current of desire shot straight to my core, and my limbs went heavy and liquid as primal urges stirred.

“I, uh…” Damn, this was bad. This was very, very bad. Clearing my throat, I widened my eyes and lifted my brows before sitting up straighter in my seat to physically force myself back into thinking logically mode. Then I asked, “Are you okay?”

“I…” She shook her head, then blew out a breath. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she finally answered glumly before blasting me with a smile that would’ve knocked me on my ass if I hadn’t already been sitting. “Thank you, though. For helping out. I was kind of bombing that, wasn’t I?”

“No,” I immediately gushed, not wanting her to feel self-conscious. But then I shrugged because sometimes I was too honest for my own good. “I mean, yeah, you pretty much suck at turning guys away.”

Well, s**t. Now I was the one who sucked. At encouraging downtrodden damsels into feeling better about themselves. I had nothing motivating to add at all.

Not that I should boost her confidence. She was the enemy.

Wasn’t she?

Jesus, I was getting confused.

I needed to abort this mission pronto before I thought one more good thing about her.

Yellow sent me a kind, forgiving smile. “You probably can’t tell, but I’ve actually been training for this very thing.”

What thing? I wanted to ask.

Rejecting men?

Talking to her nemesis’s brother?

Turning a guy to mush with a mere smile. Because she was definitely excelling at number three.

With a rueful shrug, she confessed, “It’s a work in progress, I guess.”

I nodded stupidly. What the hell was it about her that had me feeling so inept? And yet alive?

Grinding the back of my teeth together, I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “I should, uh, I should probably get back to my seat now.”

Except I didn’t move, and when she said, “Wait,” then gripped my forearm, every muscle in my body tensed with anticipation.

I couldn’t have gone anywhere if I wanted to. The light press of her fingertips rendered me immobile. It was as if she’d just f*****g branded me. I belonged to her now, whether I liked it or not.

Completely oblivious to the spell she’d just put me under, Yellow cringed, and her big brown eyes begged. “Do you think you could—I mean, would it be okay if you stayed? Here. Through the rest of the movie. That guy just…” She glanced over my shoulder toward him and gave a horrified shudder. “He really creeped me out.”

“Yeah,” I murmured, agreeing. Then I cleared my throat, shook my head, and returned to the present. “I mean, yeah. I could stay. No problem.”

But as soon as I said the words, I internally winced. Because what the hell was I doing?

I should not stay anywhere near this woman, ever. So I quickly added, “But this is a one-time deal. Alright?”

When she sent me an odd look, I nearly groaned and smacked myself in the forehead. “I mean…” I rolled out a hand to get her to understand. “I can’t help you again. Because I—you know. Because you and I are…”

Jesus, was it hot in here? I tugged at my collar, thinking everything I said only seemed to make me sound more and more idiotic.

So I paused—full stop—rewound and started over fresh with, “You probably don’t remember me.”

“You’re Gracen,” she answered immediately. “Lowe. Isabella’s brother, right? We met when you were pulling her off me as she tried to literally scratch my eyes out.”

“Right,” I said slowly. So she did remember. “That is who I am.”

“So really,” she told me with a chagrined smile. “This is more of a two-time deal, don’t you think?”

“What?!” I gasped in horror. “No! No, no, no, no. I don’t two-time. I’ve never two-timed before in my life.” And I absolutely would not start with her, the woman who’d slept with Bella’s fiancé, even though I didn’t have a girlfriend I could actually two-time on. It would be a betrayal to my sister. Which would be worse.

So much worse.

Two-timing was totally off the table.

“I, uh…” Yellow blinked at me as if I’d lost my mind. Then she flushed a little and shook her head. “I meant two times as in twice. Not the unfaithful, cheating kind of two-time. Since, you know, this was the second time you’ve stepped in and helped me out.”

I gaped at her, totally lost.

“You saved me when you stopped your sister from kicking my ass,” she reminded me. “And then again just now with that guy.”

“Oh,” I mumbled, only to straighten. “Oh!” Right. “Well, I…” I waved a dismissive hand because it was decided; this was the most humiliating, awkward night of my life. “The first time was more about saving Bella, to keep her from going to jail for assault, you know. But I guess—”

“It benefited me too,” she surmised on a nod.

“Well, good,” I murmured, only to wince.

Because, no, that was not good. I wasn’t supposed to be doing anything to benefit Yellow Nicksen. What the hell was wrong with me?

“So your sister...” she murmured, glancing past me. “Is she, uh, is she coming to see the movie with you?”

I frowned at the question and wanted to ask why. Did she want to try to seduce me away from Bella too? Just as she had seduced Ethan from her?

Except her expression was full of so much fear that I realized she was merely worried about facing the wrath that was my twin.

So I found myself having mercy and shaking my head. “Nah. It’s just you and me tonight.”

Just me. And her. And no seats between us.

Seriously, was it only me, or was it furnace-hot boiling in this theater? Or maybe that was simply hell, knocking on my soul and giving me a taste of my future because I’d certainly be burning there someday for all these wrong, traitorous thoughts I was having right now.

Bella would never forgive me for being attracted to her nemesis.

Relief eased Yellow’s shoulders, however, as she shifted her gaze around the theater with a wild kind of reprieve. “Oh, thank God.”

Not that I blamed her. If I were her, I wouldn’t want to see Isabella Lowe right now—or ever again—either.

But the way she seemed so f*****g relieved about not having Bella around struck a nerve.

“Yeah,” I muttered dryly, finally recovering my true loyalties. “It’s only me stuck sitting next to you for the rest of the movie. That’s just fan-freaking-tastic, isn’t it?”

She swung her surprised gaze to me, only to wince. “Hey, I’m sorry. I bet this puts you in a tight spot with your sister, doesn't it? You honestly don’t have to stay here with me if you don’t want to. I’m fine.”

She was right. Only a horrible, terrible, no-good brother would want to stay sitting next to her.

And I was an awesome brother. So I was going to dislike Yellow if it was the last thing I did.

Though, it would really help if she’d stop acting so damn sweet and understanding.

I had a serious soft spot for sweet things.

“I’ll stay, but you’re absolutely right,” I leaned in to whisper, “Bella would probably castrate me if she even knew I was talking to you right now. And she’s pretty much the most important person in the world to me, so I’m really not allowed to like you. Alright?”

When she merely blinked at me, I fumbled and tried again, hoping to revise my statement enough not to sound as if Bella owned me and controlled everything I did, which she didn’t. “I mean, I have to be mean to you.” Then I frowned because that didn’t sound any better at all. It sounded kind of worse. So I blew a disgusted breath and added, “You know what I’m saying, right?”

“I…guess so,” she said slowly.

“Good.” I nodded. “Okay, then. Great. Glad we got that cleared up.” I lifted the butter-stained tub between us and asked, “Popcorn?”

She glanced down at it, then back up again, frowning in confusion. “Um, offering me popcorn isn’t really being that mean,” she explained.

“s**t. You’re right.” Pulling the tub back to me, I offered her a rueful cringe. “Hey, being mean’s a work in progress for me.”

Repeating her own phrase back to her made her grin.

God, she had a beautiful smile. It lit up her entire face.