Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Kira
Okay, it was midway through dinner when I realized just how much I liked Rex.
There were several times when I could have casually slid in the fact that I was not Lila. I felt like he would have been okay with it. Probably laughed it off. We were vibing so well.
And that was why I didn’t do it.
What if I ruined it? Of course, I knew how stupid the charade was. It didn’t make any sense.
Say we ended up really hitting it off. It’s not like I could go the rest of my life impersonating Lila Merriman.
Rex and I have kids. “Hey kids, I’m your mom—Lila. My maiden name is Merriman. Let’s go meet your fake grandparents.”
This was truly the dumbest thing I’d ever done.
“You want a t-shirt?” he asked after paying for our meal and getting up from the table.
The restaurant part was dimly lit with no windows, and even though it was midday, it was kind of cozy. The rock-and-roll memorabilia that adorned the walls was pretty cool and I’d snapped a few pics and sent them to Carrie.
“Nah. I’m good.”
“Come on. You gotta get a t-shirt at Hard Rock.”
“I need to save my money.”
I wasn’t about to admit that I didn’t have a job. But I was on a limited budget. I had to be careful. He’d paid for lunch—which was super nice—but I didn’t want him paying for everything.
Apparently, he had other ideas. “Would you let me buy you one? Please. Again, I know this place is touristy. But it’s quintessentially Hollywood Boulevard.”
After studying his eyes a moment, I said, “You really love this town, don’t you?”
“The good, bad, and the ugly. For whatever reason, it has a hold on me.”
Shifting on my feet, I thought about it some more. “Rex, I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
I already was! I was freaking lying to him and impersonating someone else. How slimy could I be?
“I appreciate that. But hey, it’s not taking advantage of me if I’m offering. Come on. Let me buy you this. I promise I won’t do this at every store we go in.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. Something told me he’d love to spoil me.
And, if I was being honest, I’d admit that I would have loved for him to. But again, I couldn’t use this man.
Well, I couldn’t use him more than I already was.
“Sure,” I reluctantly told him.
I perused the vast selection of shirts in the gift shop and finally settled on one. It seemed to make Rex happy as he paid for it, so I didn’t protest any further.
Outside, the amount of people on Hollywood Boulevard had increased. “Whoa! Is it always this busy?”
“It stays fairly crazy. I want you to stay right with me. Don’t wander off. It’s pretty safe. But with this many people around—well, I want you close where I can see you.”
“Yes, Sir!” I snapped with a giggle.
Okay, he was kind of being… I dunno… bossy? But also, I sort of liked it.
What did that say about me?
There wasn’t time to explore that, so I just did as he’d told me to and stuck so close we bumped into each other a few times.
Yeah, I didn’t mind that either.
There was something about how protective he was that made me feel close to him. I had the notion that I should confess my misdeeds right there and own up to everything. But there were so many people around. It wasn’t the right time to have that kind of conversation.
My dishonesty couldn’t go on forever. Time was running out. I would have to tell Rex soon enough.
For the moment though, I just stuck close to him and kept my mouth shut.
Enjoying the protection and presence of the strong and oh-so-sexy man.