A Case of Extreme Mistaken Identity - Victorine E. Lieske Page 0,51

unsure of how to say all that. “I know. But I’m not what you think. How could I be? I had no idea you’d be stranded here.”

She paused and dropped her gaze. “I know.”

“It makes no sense that I would do all kinds of things for you in order to get a commercial. I’m the quarterback for the Los Angeles Demons. I get offers to sponsor products all the time. Why would I need your father, who isn’t even involved with Adidas anymore?”

Dani blinked and her shoulders fell. “Then why are you being so nice to me?”

Austin shifted closer to her. A sudden wave of sadness enveloped him and he put his hand on her shoulder. Dani had endured people taking advantage of her for years, maybe even her whole life. How depressing that she couldn’t take his kindness at face value. “I can’t just be nice because I was raised that way?”

“No.” Her brown eyes searched his. “That doesn’t make sense. You’re doing so much for me. You feed me. You’re letting me crash at your place. You even took me on this day cruise so I wouldn’t feel so creeped out.” She squinted at him. “Why are you doing all this?”

“Because I…” He stopped before any more words could come tumbling out like clowns from a car. He hadn’t realized what he was about to say until the words were almost out. He loved her. The realization struck him and he blinked. How had that happened?

He didn’t know. All he knew was that right now his heart was racing at his close proximity to her. He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her lips. He wanted to protect her from the paparazzi, and from the world. He’d fallen completely for her. But he couldn’t tell her that. She’d reacted so poorly to the kiss and his confession earlier. She would definitely think he was crazy.

“Because you what?” She looked at him with such an accusing gaze, he balked and stepped back.

“Because I…” He searched for something plausible to say. Something that didn’t sound like he was a lunatic, because who fell in love with someone in three days? That was ridiculous. And yet, he was definitely falling for Danica Jordan. Just looking at her, he knew. He loved that she tried to clean a Jacuzzi tub with concentrated soap, filling the room with bubbles. He loved the way she jammed out to her music as she cleaned. He loved the way she’d squared her shoulders and taken on her circumstances, even though she was an heiress. She was bright and funny, and he loved her.

But right now she was looking at him like he’d just confessed to eating newborn kittens for lunch, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “I couldn’t let you starve to death, or sleep on the street. What else was I supposed to do?”

Chapter 25

Dani stared at Austin as he worked his jaw. “You had no money. No place to go. How could I not do anything? And now that you know who I am, you can understand, right? I felt guilty not helping you.”

She slowly blinked as she processed the words that Austin said. He couldn’t let her starve. That made sense. She thought back to Friday when she’d found out her father was cutting her off. She’d been so terribly hungry. What would she have done had Austin not taken her to get food?

Guilt snaked through her and she turned back to the setting sun. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For accusing you.” She now felt foolish. What if he was simply helping her because he didn’t want to see her on the streets? What if he were being kind out of the goodness of his heart, and all she could do was suspect him of something nefarious?

He shrugged, then placed his hands on her arms. They were warm, and the contact made her heart stutter. “You have every right to question anyone’s motives. Just p-please…”

He cringed, and her heart went out to him. She knew he only stuttered when he was flustered. He leaned closer and she wasn’t sure how he was going to finish that sentence. He stared into her eyes, and for a brief moment, she was ready to believe anything he said.

“Trust me,” he whispered.

A vision of a young boy materialized in front of her. The one she imagined when Austin was telling her about the incident with the jersey his mother had bought for him,