The Fiction of Forever (A Stand By Me Novel Book 2) by Brinda Berry Page A

eyes and then lifts one eyebrow as she waits for my response.
    Oh yeah. She mentioned weddings. “I don't believe in marriage.”
    Kiley flinches. You’d think I had made some jab at her personally.
    “But if you found someone you loved, you'd reconsider. Wouldn't you?” she asks with this hopeful expression.
    “Nope. A man asks for trouble when he gives his life over to a woman.”
    “I'll give you overnight to think about it,” Ed says. “We'll need your answer by tomorrow. Tony can send you the compensation packet by email. That will surely add some incentive.”
    “I appreciate the offer, but…” I look away from everyone in the room and then back at Kiley. “I'll think about it tonight,” I lie.
    Lord help me, but there's only one thing I'll be thinking of tonight.
    I'll think about how she makes my blood run hot every time I look at her. I'll imagine showing her my new hot tub on the other side of the deck. We could have fun if she would forget about getting me on the show.
    I half-turn toward the entry so they'll know I'm done with this talk about a show that has nothing to do with me. “I have to get back to work now. Ed, I wanted to let you know we're finished with everything. Let me know if there’s anything else you'd like done. Otherwise, I'll send you a final bill.”
    I walk from the room, ready to have some time alone to plan how get her back over to my place. These people talk too much.
    All she's worried about is whether or not she can make the damned show. I stayed away from Kiley for days to give her plenty of time to be sure about me. Time to make sure she doesn’t regret what happened between us in her kitchen. I refuse to be her rebound guy—even for a hook-up.
    But I knocked on that door today knowing she'd be inside and I couldn't wait.
    I’m infatuated with her, the same as in high school. Now she's ready to sacrifice me to another woman to further her career. Won’t I ever learn?
    This is why a man should only look out for himself.
----
    A soft rapping sound startles me. I glance up at the clock. It's almost midnight and I never have visitors, unless you count the raccoon that raids my trashcan and periodically attempts to break through the back deck.
    The first thing that pops into my head is Veronica, my stepsister. Maybe something bad has happened. A wreck. A shooting. Something with that new fiancé of hers.
    My life has been too much on the upswing lately and I'm due for a swift kick of reality. In two seconds, I'm at the door. My heart pounds, despite the fact that I know I'm overreacting. I jerk the door open with sweaty palms.
    “Hi.” Kiley says, appearing disheveled as if she's recently crawled out of bed. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and folds her arms over her body like she doesn’t know what to do with her hands.
    Fear squeezes around my chest, making it hard to breathe. “What's wrong? Are you all right?”
    And even though Kiley didn’t cheat on her ex, that fucker Moneyclip couldn’t stand the thought of me getting his girl and he’s done something to her. He’ll be sorry he ever laid eyes on me.
    “Sure.” She smiles, a real smile, not that wide fake one. “Couldn't sleep. Are you busy?”
    I gulp to grab a bit of air. She's fine. Dragging one hand over the top of my head, I step aside so she can enter. I'm disconcerted by how scared I was that something was wrong with her.
    I need to get a grip. She’s OK, but here for some other reason. The only one that springs to mind is the conversation at her house today with her dad and that director fella.
    My heart and voice harden in defense. “If you're here to try and convince me to do the show, you can go home.”
    “You think that's the only reason I'd talk to you?”
    “Maybe.” I've spent today thinking about how she threw me under the bus in favor of keeping her spot on the TV show.
    She takes timid steps into the cabin. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. You have a low opinion of