“I was expecting you to run back home to your boyfriend the instant exams are over,” he says, through gritted teeth, yanking me out of my head.
Panic flares to life in my chest at his words. “I don’t have a boyfriend,” I croak, glancing around to ensure the others are out of earshot.
“Don’t you?” he asks, eyeballing me again.
“Not anymore,” I whisper.
His gaze turns dark as his eyes bore into mine. Tension filters into the air, and I swallow the painful lump in my throat to force more words out. “You know who I am.”
He nods, and I try to control my errant breathing, gripping the rail and exhaling heavily.
“Breathe,” he says, placing his large palm against my lower back. Heat seeps into my body from his touch, even through my clothes. “I’m not going to tell anyone, if that’s why you’re panicking.”
“You’re not?” I inquire, raising my worried eyes to his. He shakes his head, looking sincere. “Why not?”
“Because it’s no one’s business but your own, and I misjudged you at first.”
“Did Ash tell you?” I ask because I need to know if she betrayed my trust.
He turns to face me, peering directly into my eyes. I fight the urge to drown in the hypnotic depths of his gorgeous green eyes. “There is one major thing you should know about my sister, and that is she’s the most trustworthy person you will meet. I know she told you about Cillian. He took her trust and abused it. She would never do that to someone else.”
I instantly feel bad for doubting her for even a second. “I know. And she can trust me too, because I’ve had my trust abused and I could never do that to another person either.”
Lowering my eyes, I lean over the railing, wondering if he’s trustworthy or if his words are as flimsy as the air circling around us.
“I saw the photo by your bed, and I recognized your mum. Google told me the rest,” he admits.
I rest my head on my hands, ashamed to face him, even though I know I’ve done nothing wrong. I just don’t want to see the pity on his face.
“Don’t hide from me,” he says, his tone gruff. “I cannot stand people who run away from the truth.”
Anger bubbles to the surface as I whip my head up. “You think I’m running from the truth?”
“Aren’t you?”
I straighten up, biting the inside of my cheek. “You think you have it all figured out because you’ve read some shit on the internet, but you don’t know anything.” My voice rises a few notches, and I work hard to rein my emotions in. Just when I thought Dillon and I were finding common ground and getting along, he has to ruin it with his narrow-minded half-assed assessment.
“Who were the roses from, Vivien?” he hisses, glaring at me in a more familiar way.
“My ex,” I bark. “And he’s my ex for a damn good reason, but you were right about one thing,” I say, jabbing my finger in his hard chest. “It’s no one’s business but my own.”