Page 74 of The Stalker Snafu

I laughed a little at that crazy thought. “Noah doesn’t really chase.”

Oliver’s gaze held mine, and I was a twelve-year-old hero worshipper again as my face heated.

“He doesn’t date either, but you’ve already proven that wrong. You said you two were together now.”

I crossed my legs, glancing at the kitchen doorway the other guys had disappeared through. “Oliver…”

“Why him?” Oliver asked quietly, and the low tone of his voice reminded me of when he played the piano sitting right beside me. It was painfully intimate.

I shrugged lightly to try and play off the gravity of his question.

“I’m a closet masochist who gets off on humiliating myself?” I answered jokingly, but neither of us laughed. I sighed, slumping back against the armchair and forcing a smile. “It just kind of happened.”

“And it’s been happening for months now?”

It was a painful reminder of how long Noah had kept me a secret from them, but I nodded. “A couple.”

Oliver shrugged off his jacket. He wore a grey shirt underneath with a band logo I didn’t recognize. “I’m surprised he didn’t bring you to my concert with him, since he knows you play. I wouldn’t have seen you from where he usually sits, if he was so adamant about hiding you from us.”

A hollow laugh pushed itself free, and I managed a tight smile. “That would’ve been a little tricky considering he was supposedly in New York last night.”

Oliver’s eyebrows drew together. “Come again?”

“He lied to me and said he was on a business trip.” I looked down, picking at a piece of loose fuzz on the armrest. “I’m guessing it wasn’t the first time he lied about a trip either.”

“But you were both at the cocktail party…” He trailed off as realization dawned. “And I’m guessing he didn’t expect you to be there. You saw him, didn’t you?”

My throat forced out a sound between a laugh and a cry. “Oh yeah. You could say I saw him. I’m surprised you didn’t hear complaints about it. We ran into each other, had a little chat, and then he ended up on the FBI Most Wanted List the next morning.”

That was a sentence I’d never thought I’d say in my life.

“Yeah, Julian texted the details, so we were warned.” Oliver cleared his throat as his eyes lingered on me. “He didn’t mention you, though.”

“That seems to be the trend,” I muttered. “What’s really crazy is how unbothered you guys seem about this whole FBI thing.”

“It’s hard to surprise me these days.” He studied me for a long moment, and heat crawled down my neck. “You okay?”

No. No, I wasn’t okay. I hadn’t slept all night. I was emotionally drained. I had no clue what was going on. It was tempting to laugh again—either that or cry. When my lower lip started to tremble, I bit down hard on it. “This is the strangest day of my life, and I’m still not convinced I won’t wake up from it soon.”

A slow grin spread across his face, warming the room and my cheeks. “You think you’re dreaming again?”

This time I really did laugh as I remembered pinching myself to try and wake up in the music room when we first met. “If I am, then you need to stop making a habit of showing up in my dreams.”

His grin widened into something even warmer. “I’ve always hated people telling me what to do.”

My heart liked the way he said that far too much. I made a point of looking away, staring at the drizzle of rain starting outside.

“Guess that covers my questions. I just didn’t want the guys to get the wrong idea if they heard me asking.” Oliver slipped his hands into his back pockets. He leaned in, dropping his voice to a whisper as I went still as a statue. “Which they probably would if they heard me say I’m happy to see you again, ’cause I am.”

The butterflies in my stomach unfurled their wings at the warmth in his tone, and I fought back a smile.

Oliver called the rest of the guys back from the kitchen before I could form a response, which was probably a good thing. The others brought drinks back with them, including a refill on the water I’d barely sipped from.

Oliver made an excuse about having needed to clear something private up with me, and I played along, mostly because it was kind of true and I was still a little starstruck.

“Something private?” Julian asked Oliver, setting my water on the coffee table and raising a brow at me. “I wonder what that could be.”

My hands remained firmly buried under my thighs to hide their trembling. “It’s nothing.”