No One's Hero (Chadwell Hearts) by Kelly Walker Page A

anything, but please, humor me. Lexi, I’m sorry. Truly.”
    She’s quiet a moment, studying me. At last, she nods, to herself more than to me. “All right, if you mean it, then I forgive you. It’s water under the bridge.”
    “That easy, huh?” I really figured she would make me work harder for it, but I should have known better. Beneath her desperate-to-be-loved exterior, Lexi has a good soul. She’s kind, and has spent her entire life catering to the needs of others. Why should I, and now, be any different? I suddenly feel even guiltier.
    She nods again. “I know you meant well, and I know I probably come off like a fool. But it isn’t that I don’t value myself, Kevin, I do. I’ve just been valued a little too much, for reasons that are at war with who I want to be. I need this part of my life to be less about placing heavy value on who I am, and who I’m going to be, and instead be a little more light-hearted. I guess it’s like all my life I’ve been wanted just because of my sister’s absence. I need to feel wanted for nothing more than what someone can see of me, before I can care if they like what they see underneath.”
    Oh, they can definitely see, I inwardly grumble even as my eyes dip down to her plunging neckline without my permission. As messed up as it is, though, I get what she’s saying. Lexi doesn’t know who she is or what she wants. She’s spent her life as the one who lived, living for the one who died. And that’s so much pressure—something I more than understand.  “I get that.” It’s a tragedy that this beautiful, lively girl has never been given the chance to spread her wings. Part of me wants to help her with that. At least until Axel kills me. But Axel be damned. Somehow, Lexi is becoming more than a job to me. Maybe as she learns to live, I can remember how to as well.  And at least I’ll be there to catch her when she inevitably falls. Maybe through this I can make up for my past mistakes.
    The effortless way we’re moving together is building to something, something I don’t want to fight. I’d be stupid if I didn’t realize what was happening, and more stupid if I stopped it. Her head tilts up toward me, and her lips part, slightly opened. I think she feels it too. The music, the moment, we’re falling over a cliff and neither of us is willing to reach out for a safety rope. My God, I came here to save her, but I think Lexi may be the one to save me.
    I lower my head, about to brush her lips with mine, when she spins away. What the fuck? For a moment the world is titled, skewed on its axis as I struggle to get a hold of myself. Blinking, I realize what happened. Megan is standing beside Lexi and she startled her, tapping her on the shoulder. My heart, along with my hopes, sinks like a lead bullet in a bucket. I almost fucked up. Again. What if that hadn’t been Megan that approached? I was completely captivated by Lexi, and caught off guard, unaware.
    That can’t happen again.
    I won’t let it.
    Megan’s talking animatedly to Lexi, gesturing back toward our table. “A couple other people are here. Wendy and Charlotte so far. And Tanner.”
    Lexi swallows hard. “Okay. We’ll be over in a minute, if that’s all right?” She glances pointedly in my direction.
    “Oh of course, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Meg scurries away after giving Lexi a sheepish look.
    Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the moment between us is gone. At least for me.
    Lexi presses close against me again, and her warmth is cloying, threatening to overwhelm me with things I can’t feel. “Sorry about that.” She lifts her face to me expectantly.
    Hating myself, I put my hands on her shoulders and take a step back. “Don’t be. I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away. It puts you at too much risk and it won’t happen again.” My voice is hard—maybe harder than it needs to be—but I’ve got to convince not only her, but myself. It doesn’t matter if I