A Case of Extreme Mistaken Identity - Victorine E. Lieske Page 0,50
He was acting so cringy. It was too much for her and she turned from him. “I need some air.”
“Sure. Let’s go out on the deck.”
She stalked toward the door, not caring if Austin was able to keep up. She kind of wanted to lose him in the crowd anyway. She was so naive. When would she wake up and see people for who they really were?
The last thing she wanted was to fall for another scumbag like Rafael.
Chapter 24
Austin had to rush to keep up with Dani. He lost her for a moment on the deck, but spotted her a minute later standing at the railing, looking out at the setting sun. The clouds in the sky were lit with orange and purple. He stood for a moment to take in her silhouette.
She was angry at him. That was obvious. He just had no clue as to why. It couldn’t still be the kiss, right? They’d moved past that. At least, he thought they had. It had been hours ago. Sure, things had been awkward since, but she hadn’t been acting angry.
He joined her at the railing. There was nothing left to do but get it out in the open. “You’re angry.”
“And you’re a fantastic detective,” she spat out.
“What did I do this time? Offering dessert? Did I upset you with my comment about food?”
She huffed, but didn’t say anything, which was infuriating. Why was it so hard to understand women? He leaned on the wooden rail. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”
She turned to him, her gaze burning. “If you don’t know what you did, how can you be sorry?”
“Easy. I don’t like upsetting you. So no matter what it is, I am deeply sorry for it because you’re severely agitated.”
“Huh. Agitated. That’s an understatement.” Her lips turned down into a scowl.
“Okay. Ticked off. Is that better?”
“Getting closer.”
“Geesh, Dani, what happened? What did I do? You look like you want to rip my throat out.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “No. I just want to rip the Adidas off your feet.”
Confusion clouded his brain. Was she spouting nonsense on purpose? Did she get hit in the head on the way to the restroom? “What does that even mean?”
“It means I know about your desires to get an advertising contract.” She gave him a once-over, a look of disgust on her face.
“Wait, what?” He was hoping to land a couple more contracts, but what did that have to do with this conversation?
“That’s right. I know all about it. So, you can drop this act of yours.”
“I’m so confused. What do advertising contracts have to do with you being mad at me?”
“Claire told me everything. You’re just using me to get an in with Adidas. Admit it.” She pushed on his chest as her voice cracked, and she blinked back tears.
“Claire?” Things were starting to make sense. Whenever Claire got involved with anything, things got messed up. He should have known it had to do with her. “Don’t believe anything she says. She’s a manipulator and a liar.”
“That’s what she said about you.”
“And you believed her?” He ran a hand through his hair. How could Dani think he was using her? He was helping her. Couldn’t she see that?
Dani gripped the railing, her knuckles turning white. “I don’t know what to believe.”
“So, you believe that I’m trying to take advantage of you?” That seemed extremely unfair given all he’d done for her.
“Why else would you help me? You don’t even know me.”
He swallowed and dared to put his hand on hers. “I do know you.”
“But you didn’t when we first met. Before. You took me out to dinner, and gave me a place to sleep. You took me shopping, and…” She shook her head. “How can I think anything else? It doesn’t make sense for a person to do all that.”
Austin had no words. She was probably right. He had no reason to do anything for her in the beginning. He actually hadn’t wanted to take her out to dinner. That had been an accident. But then, he couldn’t let her stay in a dangerous place. And then she fell asleep on his couch, and he was stuck. He had to let her stay with him. After that, he got to know her and she grew on him. He liked her tenacity, and her determination. He realized there was much more to her than a spoiled brat. And now…well, his feelings had deepened.