“And you yelled at me, Lacie. Twice. You’ve been angry with me before, but you never yelled at me. Scowled at me, told me I was wrong, walked away, sure - but never yelled.” He gave her a look of such suffering she felt a slight twinge of guilt. “I was only trying to look out for you.”
If she didn’t know better, she might think Craig was actually pouting. Those pills he gave her last night must have hallucinogenic side effects. Had she not felt like Alice in Wonderland falling down into the rabbit hole she might have laughed, but her instincts told her this was no laughing matter. She decided to go with her instincts on this one.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you, Craig,” she said slowly, carefully, gauging his response. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Damn right you shouldn’t have,” he agreed, slightly mollified, and she knew she had made the right choice. She would have to be very careful until she understood more about what was happening, because at that moment, she was well and truly lost.
“I know you get stressed out sometimes, Lacie. And that’s okay. You can always vent to me, baby.” He stroked her hair. “But I knew something was really wrong when you brought a man back to your apartment. The Lacie I know would never have jumped into bed with a man she’d just met.”
Lacie stiffened, ignoring her body’s protests, her cheeks flaming. “How did you know about that?”
“I saw him leaving your apartment at six a.m., babe, and he was smiling and whistling. There’s only one thing that makes a man smile like that at six a.m.” He sighed. “My Lacie wouldn’t have given herself away so easily.”
She was speechless, torn between embarrassment that Craig knew what she’d done and rage that it bothered her. She was a grown woman; a responsible adult more than capable of making her own decisions, and what happened between her and Shane was a beautiful, wondrous thing. It was hard to feel any shame for what she and Shane had shared, not when it felt so right, so perfect. The feelings she had for Shane – even after only a week – was the stuff of fairy tales. Never before had she felt a connection with another quite so strongly, and she would not apologize for it.
That didn’t mean she wanted everyone to know that he’d spent the night. No matter how right it was, there were still those who wouldn’t understand. Craig’s reaction was a prime example of that.
“That’s really none of your business,” she said, ignoring the little red flags her common sense was waving, her voice noticeably cooler.
“The hell it isn’t,” he retorted, his voice louder than it had been. This was more like the Craig she knew. He might be mad, but at least this was a familiar field they were playing on now. “Everything you do is my business, Lacie.”
“How do you figure that?” Lacie was getting angrier with each passing tick of the clock, ignoring the warnings firing left and right in her addled brain. The red flags were multiplying and waving frantically now.
“Goddamnit, Lacie!” He stood up and paced away from her, attempting to get himself under control. “How can you even ask me that? Christ, I’ve been looking out for you since you could barely walk.”
Lacie flinched as if he had slapped her. “I’m not a kid anymore, Craig,” she said.
“No,” he agreed, his voice oddly strangled. “You sure as hell aren’t.” He paused near the window and exhaled heavily, dragging his hand down over his face. “You are a beautiful, sweet, grown woman, Lacie. And I ... care for you. I always have.”
Whoa. Lacie was stunned by his blatant admission. She’d been expecting him to argue with her, or to give her yet another lecture on her poor choices, but this? Nothing could have prepared her for this.
Feeling off-balance, she took a minute to regroup. Had she, at some level, suspected he’d had feelings for her? Maybe. But deep down she’d refused to accept them as anything more than brotherly affection. It would have complicated things too much. She didn’t want things to be weird between them. But now he was giving her no choice. He was forcing her to address the issue head on.
She steeled herself for the words she’d hoped she’d never have to say. The last thing she wanted to do was come across as ungrateful or to hurt his feelings. Yes, he could be arrogant and overprotective, but she had known him forever. And despite being loud and overbearing, she did love him as if he really was her brother. That’s how family was. You loved them, regardless of their faults.
Still, she owed him the truth. “I care for you, too, Craig, but not... not like that. Not like I do for Shane.”