Chapter 33

‘Highlighted why we should keep our distance.’ – Did the kiss affect him as it did me? Is this him admitting it wasn’t as straightforward as he made out?

He also never denied having feelings for me.

In fact, everything he has said has done nothing to rule out he might have an inkling of attraction. He’s playing word games. He’s trying to blindsight me, but I can see through it.

“Do you have feelings for Charmaine? Real ones, or is this just a tool to make me stay away from you by using her as a shield?” I ask in a puzzled and thoughtful way, turning over his words and trying to read between the lines. My eyes are on him now, studying him hard to dissect his mannerisms and body language. I feel like he’s not being honest with me, and what he says is veiling another meaning. “If you are, it’s a shitty thing to do to her and me.”

Dane dips his head and seems to stiffen before moving off to push at my books on the shelving beside my desk, being deliberately evasi