“Like the ones of us?”
He grumbles under his breath. “Are you free this weekend?”
My eyes widen. “Why?”
“Why do you think?”
I shake my head. “Corbin—”
“I love you,” he says, cutting me off. My heart pounds in my chest hearing those words. He told me the very same thing not long ago. He’d botched lines during filming just to look me in the eyes and tell me how he feels. But I don’t know if he really feels that way or not.
I don’t want him to.
I do want him to.
I just … sigh.
He keeps going when I make no effort to speak. “We need to see each other and talk. I got you those birds because I’m proud of you and want to share your success. You’ve accomplished so much, Little Bird. Let me be there to cheer you on like you always did for me.”
Staring down at my bulging stomach in the tight camisole covering it, I blink back tears and grind my jaw. “It’s not a good idea.”
“That seems to be our thing.”
I close my eyes when I hear the humor laced into his words. “Do you think this is funny? It’s not. This is my career on the line. If you come here and somebody sees you…”
“Nobody will—”
“Stop!” Do I have to remind him of the disguise he insisted would hide him at the hotel? Or at the pharmacy when we were there? If he isn’t going to think straight, I need to. “You may not have anything to lose, but I do. If you want to support me, then don’t come.”
There’s a knock at the front door. “Shit,” I murmur, putting the birds down and walking into the foyer. “Please just listen to me for once.”
I grab a blanket from the back of the couch and wrap it around myself before unlocking the door and pulling it open. My jaw drops when a pair of silver eyes greets my frazzled dark ones.
Corbin smiles at me. “What would happen if I didn’t listen?”
Chapter Eleven
Corbin / Present
She’s pale as she stares at me, her hands winding the blanket tighter around her body. I figured it was a risk showing up unannounced, but I didn’t know what else to do. It took a lot of work trying to figure out where she lived without owing Zach a kidney or being seen by the press without draining my bank account from bribed silence.
He cares about her. Enough so to hesitate before giving me her address and I understand why. Mom told me over the years that he’s always been there, cementing the biggest reason I stayed away following my encounter with her brother. She made her choice and I respected that the best I could.
“You told me you weren’t okay when I called the first time,” I say softly into the phone.
Hers is still pressed against her ear as she blinks at me. Slowly, I lower mine and hang up. I wait for her to do the same, but when she doesn’t I take the phone and do it for her.
“Kinley?”
Her throat bobs. “You cannot be here.”
Ignoring the comment, I step forward and gesture toward the inside of the house. “Can I come in?”
She let’s out a sharp breath and stands aside, clenching the blanket to her. My brows pinch as I walk past the large green plant in a wooden pot outside her front door, stepping on the welcome mat with whiskers that says home is where my cat is. I smile when she closes the door behind her, and a small calico purring loudly struts over to me.
“You got a cat,” I praise, kneeling to pet its head. It nudges my hand for more attention, turning in a circle and twitching her tail.
“I’ll be right back,” she whispers, disappearing around the corner. I hear footsteps against creaky wood and assume she’s going upstairs.