“Enough about my demons.” His voice was low when he spoke again. “Tell me what you got up to while I was gone.”
She felt selfish. He carried an invisible weight on his shoulders, and she was going on about things like art and whether or not she knew what love was. If he wanted to change the subject, though, she wouldn’t push back. “That’s an open-ended question.”
“So pick something to start with, and we’ll go from there. Like what made you decide to get more serious about the manga or work or anything. Except maybe Archer. I think I know enough about that.”
She pulled his arms tighter around her. Maybe if she wrapped them both in normalcy, it would help. “Well, it did start in his comic shop...”
He stiffened.
“I promise, that’s where the Archer part of things ends.” She drifted into the explanation. In the back of her mind, Zane’s story about his past still taunted her. Not only what he said, but the things he kept to himself. And as much as she tried to pretend it wasn’t there, the nagging voice in her skull knew it gnawed at him, and wondered if he’d be able to handle whatever he hid before it devoured who he was.
Chapter Ten
Riley blew a loosestrand of hair off her forehead and let the tension of the workday melt away. She loved handling accounts, helping customize benefits packages, and working with clients, but it still took a lot out of her.
She wove her way through the pack of coworkers leaving for the day, pausing for the occasional car before continuing toward her own. It was a gorgeous evening—sun, a few clouds, and the perfect temperature. Too bad she’d been stuck inside for most of it.
Her exhaustion melted away as she rounded the corner in the aboveground parking garage and her car came into view. She couldn’t hide her smile at the unexpected sight of Zane leaning against the hood, legs crossed at the ankles and hands shoved in his pockets. The casual posture elongated his thin frame but drew the eye to the definition under his shirt.
Too bad they were somewhere public. Memories of their bet the other night mingled with fantasy and teased her with possibilities. He met her halfway and wrapped an arm around her waist to steer her in a different direction. This was much better than the Zane who was lost in a world she couldn’t reach.
She leaned into the warmth, unable to hold back her amusement. “Do we have plans?”
“We most certainly do.” He stopped next to his truck and held the passenger door open for her.
A brief image raced through her thoughts of him pressing her against the door, pulling her hair, and kissing her hard. It sent a tingle to her belly. She tried to push the feeling aside but didn’t manage completely. She slid into the seat.
“Do I get to go home and change first?” she asked as soon as he was seated.
“Nope. I can’t give you a chance to decide not to go.”
“I can’t decide not to go if I don’t know what we’re doing.”
He nodded to something behind the seats, and then backed the truck out and navigated with the rest of the after-work traffic. “Drawing.”
She arched her brows when she saw what he was talking about. “Why do you have my sketchpad?”