SEBASTIAN picked up their used dishes from the dining room and took them into the kitchen. Dinner with Alexandra was unnaturally quiet. She was distant, distracted, and could barely keep eye contact with him this evening. He quickly washed the dishes and put them to dry on the rack, mentally running through everything that had happened. Before the fire, they had this connection. As crazy as it seemed, her disguise made it easier for him to get to know her. Now under his roof, she wouldn’t get anywhere near him.

She’s giving me the cold shoulder, and I’m tired of acting like I don’t notice.

When Alexandra had agreed to stay with him for a week, he wasn’t sure what he envisioned—well, maybe he knew what he had hoped for. He had pictured her slipping up enough for him to call her bluff about who she was, and then everything else would progress naturally. He would have told her he had known all along, and probably add that he had a crush on her for years. Then he would take her to his bed and work through all that pent-up sexual tension that had been building up between them over the past month. After that, everything else was up in the air, but in that sequence of events, they would have some closure if she never saw him ever again. Overall, it was a good vision—maybe a little lofty, but at the very least, they could continue their friendship in some way. The last few days were nothing like he had imagined. The distance between them was growing, and he couldn’t understand why.

He walked into the living room and found Alexandra frowning at her laptop.

“Why won’t you give me the answers I need, dammit?” she huffed to the screen.

Sebastian took it to mean she clearly wanted to engage in a conversation with him, even if she didn’t show it, and he casually sat on the sofa next to her. He ignored her surprised expression when she pointedly looked at him as though she hoped he would go over to the chair on the other side of the room.

“What’s wrong, dude?” he asked. “Tech problems?”

“No, I’m looking for…wait, don’t you have something else you need to do?”

“At the moment? No. Well, we did talk about hitting the video games this evening, but that’s no biggie.”

Alexandra shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Maybe I can help with whatever’s bothering you, and afterward, we can kick back and relax. You seem pretty preoccupied. You’ve been acting so weird the past few days.” Sebastian said the last part with a slight chuckle, hoping it was light-hearted enough that Alexandra wouldn’t have any hard feelings.

She closed her laptop and set it aside. “No. There’s nothing weird going on. I’ve just been busy the past few days, bro.”

Sebastian lifted a brow, unconvinced. Alexandra tried to hold his gaze, but was the first to look away.

What’s going on with her?

“I’ve checked so many local construction websites, and spoke to a dozen people today, and I still have no idea which one I should hire to do the repairs next door. I think I just need a carpenter, but God, the people I talked to keep throwing around that they’re contractors, construction workers, brick layers, cement companies. I just need them to come out here and give me a damned quote.”

Wait, is she changing the subject?

If she was, he went along with it. “No, you need to look for someone with the right credentials. Looking for just a carpenter, you might come across anybody with a hammer. Give me a second. I think I have my contractor’s business card here. It’s the company that did the renovation work here at my place.”

He found his wallet and rifled through its contents. Pushing aside a random assortment of business cards, he found the right one and returned to the living room. “Yeah, here you go. These guys remodeled the kitchen and the third floor master suite a couple of years ago. I can take you over to their office tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” Alexandra asked, taking the card from him.

“Positive. It will keep me from sitting around the house all day.”

“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

Alexandra relaxed. She kicked up her feet up on the coffee table, getting comfortable as she lounged back. It was the first time Sebastian had seen her decompress since she became his house guest. He studied her face, riveted by her eyes and the smile that finally crept up her face.

“Now, how about that game, Bash? I don’t want you thinking I’m being weird on you by ducking out early again.”

“Aww, I’d let any weirdness slide tonight on account of that smile.” Alexandra blushed a beet red, so he left it alone. “So seriously, that construction thing…is that what was bothering you?”

“More or less. I wanted to make sure I get this right, you know? I don’t want my uncle to have all that to worry about when he gets out.”

“I hear you. Okay then. Game time.”

“Deal,” she said.

When Sebastian glanced over, she was yawning. He remembered she had been up quite early, and now it was pretty late. Even he wasn’t in the mood for this. What he wanted was to spend time with her—ideally in his bed. Alexandra was barely holding on to consciousness. Her eyes were already fluttering shut.

“Alex?”

She shook her head. “I’m not trying to fall asleep on you.”

“Let’s try this some other time. I’m beat, too. You go ahead, get some sleep.”

“Don’t think I can’t still beat you,” she said, yawning again. “Okay. Another time is fine. Hey, about tomorrow, I think I’ll take you up on that offer to introduce me to your contractor. That will be a big timesaver if they’re available.”

“Not a problem.”

“The clean-up crew finished today, but that puts me a little behind schedule. The sooner I can get the repairs started, the better.”

“Cool. Whenever you’re ready in the morning just let me know. By the way, I have a friend who wants to meet you. Two of them, actually. Beth and Clint. Clint’s a retired firefighter I’ve known for years, and Beth is his girl. Maybe we can hang out with them tomorrow after we get back from running that errand.”

Alexandra seemed puzzled and reluctant. “Why do they want to meet me?”

Sebastian eyed her closely, wondering if he could pull this off for Clint, and possibly for Alexandra’s benefit too. Back when he had suggested Clint and Beth should meet Alex Roberts, he was sure this game would have already been done with. Plans had changed when Alexandra told him she was leaving Tucson, so Sebastian had called it off. Now that she was staying at his house, it made sense to squeeze in the dinner meeting.

“Can you keep a secret?” he asked, knowing full well he wasn’t going to tell her the real reason.

“Sure.”

“My friend Clint is a big fan of your cousin, Lexxi Rock. When he heard you were related to her, he begged me to introduce you so he can feel like he met Lexxi by proxy. Don’t mention it if you do meet him, though. He will deny his secret fascination with celebrities at all costs, and then he’ll hold it against me for a while. The guy’s a big, burly firefighter. He doesn’t want to come off like a super fan.”

Alexandra perked her head up, alarmed. Sebastian pretended not to notice. He glanced at his watch.

I’m sure she knows she can’t fool a Lexxi Rock fan the way she believes she has fooled me.

Alexandra’s face was on magazines, splashed across websites and all over MTV and celebrity TV news programs. It would be impossible for a discerning fan not to see the striking similarities between Alex Roberts and Lexxi Rock.

I wonder how much longer she’ll stick to her act. After she meets Clint, she won’t be able to keep this up.

Hopefully she won’t be too upset with me if he innocently outs her.

Alexandra agreed reluctantly.

Amused, Sebastian smiled. “Well, it’s late and we’re both tired.”

“Yes. I’ll head up too. I could use a full night’s sleep.”

“Is the guest room okay? I thought I heard you moving around in the middle of the night.”

Standing to leave, Alexandra nearly dropped her laptop at the question. “Yes,” she answered in a snap. “It’s fine.”

He gave her a puzzled look, trying to figure her out. He followed behind her as she nervously climbed the staircase. Pausing on the second floor landing, he said, “I’ll be upstairs if you need anything. Enjoy your night, Alex.”

“Goodnight, Bash,” she mumbled.

This is ridiculous.

No, it’s pointless.

She’s not going to clue me in.

Sebastian was so sure Alexandra would have told him by now. She seemed so close that night at the hospital, after the fire. For some reason, she wasn’t ready to be honest with him, and now they were right back where they started. He had gone along with it because she had a good reason for hiding her identity in the beginning. The thing was, she had been around him for over a month, and she was going back home in a week.

Why hide from me?

What does she plan to do, wait until the day she leaves so she doesn’t have to face me?

It occurred to him that perhaps she was holding off to save his feelings somehow.

Maybe I let her to take this gay thing too far.

For fuck’s sake, she could be in my bed right now.

He decided right then—if Alexandra didn’t fill him in within two days, he would confront her. It couldn’t be any worse than watching her leave with this new wall she had erected.