I hopped over a paver, my pace just shy of making me pant. "If not now, when?"
"How about never?"
"Yeah, that's not going to work."
He snorted with feeling. "You're operating under the misconception that I owe you anything. I don't."
Definitely touchy.
"And I didn't owe you anything when you asked about Dark Castle. But I told you how I felt anyway."
"That's on you."
We rounded a corner, heading toward the tennis court. I had no idea where he was going; maybe he simply thought he could wear me out and pull away.
"You're right." I stopped on the trail, my arms falling to my sides as I caught my breath. To hell with it. I didn't need to be chasing a man who didn't want to be bothered.
Weirdly, as if compelled, Lucian came to a halt and half turned my way to glare at me from over his wide shoulder. His body remained tense and poised to take flight once more.
"We owe each other nothing," I said, raising my voice enough to be clear over the ten feet that separated us. "But no one lives in a complete void. Your grandmother and Sal walk on eggshells around you."
Oh, but that got him. Red suffused his neck, and he stalked back my way, coming within touching distance. "You know nothing about them. Or me."
Yeah, that hurt. It shouldn't have, but it did.
"I know enough. They worry about you. They love you."
Lucian's nostrils flared. "I mean it, Emma. I do not do well with guilt trips."
"If you feel guilty, that's on you."/>
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