The Last Good Liar (Carolina Kisses #3) - Sylvie Stewart Page 0,87

I can. I don’t want someone fighting my battles for me.” I turn so I’m fully facing him and he understands the importance of what I’m telling him. “You need to know that about me if we’re going to, you know, whatever this is.” I pass a finger back and forth between us.

He watches me for a few seconds. “I’ll try.”

Not good enough. “I’m not the weak little girl for your big strong man-arms to swoop in and rescue. I hate that shit.”

“Okay.” He nods. “I’ll do my best to keep my big strong man-arms to myself.”

He’s trying to make me laugh but I won’t let him lighten this one until he gets it. “I’m serious.”

“I know.”

When I’m sure he’s gotten the message, I stand and hold a hand out for my payment.

Ponch grins and pours a half dozen M&Ms into my palm. “Can I ask you something that’s sort of related?”

I choose a yellow candy and respond before eating it. “If you can do it while I get ready for work.” Then I signal for him to follow me to the guest bedroom where several of my Austrian folk dresses hang in the closet and on its doors.

When he doesn’t say anything at first, I glance over to find him leaning against the door jamb looking like that Thirst Trap Monthly centerfold again. Geez. This guy must get a shitload of tail. Nope. Not gonna go there. My uterus actually pulses at the intensity in his eyes. I am so dead.

He finally speaks, seemingly oblivious to his effect on me. “Why did you need me to pretend to be your boyfriend for your parents? Because I know it wasn’t for Camille.”

Shit. “Oh, that?” I turn and direct all my focus on flipping through the dresses in the closet, as if my decision of work attire might influence the fate of the world. “I lied and told Winona I had a boyfriend, so I had to produce one.” Eager to change the subject, I yank out a dark blue dirndl with little white flowers on it. “What do you think of this one?”

He ignores my question and the dress. “That’s a weird thing to lie about.”

Since distraction isn’t working, I decide to go on the offensive. “Is there something going on here I need to know about?”

His head jerks back. “No, I just thought it was strange.”

“Hello.” I shove the dress back on the hanging rod. “Half the things that come out of my mouth are bullshit.” Shit. Fuck. Time to backtrack. “Well, not with you, of course.” I throw him a weak smile.

“Of course,” he repeats before pushing off the door jamb and approaching me with his devastating slow stalk that gets me every. Damn. Time.

Naturally, I fidget, then prop myself up all casual-like with a hand to the wall when I realize how the fidgeting makes me look. This is why I don’t share during circle time. I don’t want people in here. I allow myself to look at Ponch’s face again and get sucked into the warmth of his melty brown eyes. As usual. My chest begs for air, so I inhale so deeply it swells and then let it all out in a slow, steady stream as Ponch keeps his eyes locked on mine and stops with only two feet between us.

“Can we make a deal?” He sounds like the devil himself now. Too intense! Abort!

“I don’t know. The last time we did that, all hell broke loose.” I try to joke, but he’s not going for it.

“This one’s a little simpler.” His voice is low and gravelly. I can almost feel it scrape against my skin.

“Okay…”

“Can we promise not to lie to each other?”

Wait. What? “About anything?”

“About anything,” he confirms, voice still on gravel mode.

Ironically, I decide to be honest. “That’s asking a lot. Transparency isn’t really my thing.”

“I know.” He’s challenging me. I don’t like being challenged—doesn’t he know this about me from all the times I’ve yelled and shoved and evaded? I suppose that’s his entire point, though. “Consider it a fun new project.” Now he’s teasing, and it allows me to calm the hell down.

“If that’s your idea of fun, I just remembered I have herpes. Oops. Bye.” I snag the first dress my hand touches and swerve to the side and past him, heading for the privacy of the hall bathroom. Phew.

“It can’t be that hard to be truthful with each other, can it?” His voice sounds from the other side