Secrets - [Guardian Trilogy 01] by Liz Schulte

the guy I saw outside the bar the other night—Holden.”
     
    “I can’t believe I missed him . And his number?”
     
    “I didn’t get it, no. . . .” Honestly, asking for it had never even occurred to me.
     
    “Damn! Hopefully he bought something and you can get his contact info from the sales slip.”
     
    I laughed and shook my head. “He was with a model. Didn’t you see her?”
     
    “Yeah, but he hardly looked at her. She's an obstacle at most, not a wall. Olivia, if you were ever going to take a risk, this would be the time.”
     
    “Well, risks aren’t really my thing.”
     
    “Liv! You saw him once and started dreaming of him. You somehow manage to run into him again in a matter of days, and he comes to your rescue while ignoring his supermodel girlfriend. I don’t see the problem here. The universe is practically throwing him at you. And now all you want to do is ignore him?”
     
    “That’s the plan.”
     
    Juliet started protesting again, but I gave her a look telling her to drop it. She held her hands up, but shook her head disapprovingly.
     
    “Well, I caught Mr. Reporter Guy before he left and he got my phone number.”
     
    “You gave him your number?” I was amazed.
     
    “Don’t be so judgy. He was nice and had half a brain.”
     
    “That's why I'm surprised. Definitely not your type.”
     
    “Ha, ha, very funny.”
     
    The rest of the evening went by in a blur of names, handshakes, and smiles. Outwardly I played my part, making appropriate responses and displaying proper attentiveness to my surroundings. Internally I was a jumble of curiosity and thought. Somehow though, I made it through the night. Juliet and I shared a cab home and to her credit, she refrained from saying anything to me about Holden until we were in the stairwell.
     
    “What's going on in your head?”
     
    “I’m just tired,” I mumbled.
     
    “Bullshit. You haven’t gone out with anyone since Christopher. I know you're not still hung up on him. You can't give up on all relationships because you had one crappy one.”
     
    “Having two dreams and seeing a guy in a bar does not qualify as a relationship. I'm not you. I don't function the same way. It's easier for me to be alone.”
     
    Juliet was quiet for a while. “Two dreams?”
     
    “They're really strange and so real. I can’t shake the feeling that I am missing something.”
     
    “You are—a life.”
     
    I rolled my eyes. “This is different. I admit he is completely hot, but …”
     
    “But what?”
     
    “He scares me.”
     
    “Scares you how?”
     
    “I don’t know. Maybe ‘scares’ isn’t the right word. I haven’t even figured it out. I have the feeling there's more to him than I'm seeing. I need to be careful.” We had finally made it up to our apartments somewhat winded. “I'll see you in the morning.”
     
    “Liv, no one is what they seem. Don’t let that hold you back—and if you need me, I'm right next door.” Juliet looked concerned, but knew enough not to push me.
     
    “I’m fine—but thanks. And thanks for coming tonight. Goodnight.”
     
    “Night.” She waved.
     
    I shut and locked the door behind me, then went through my nightly routine, though I wasn’t particularly tired. I pulled my camera bag onto my lap. I hadn’t had a chance to really look at the pictures. I flipped through them casually. A lot of pictures were from the night I was scared and using the flash on my camera as a light. I tossed those on the bed beside me while I continued to flip through my pictures from the park. When I made it through the stack, I collected the wasted shots from the bed. And I noticed something on one of them. At first, I thought it had to be my mind playing tricks on me. I picked up the photo and held it under the light, studying it carefully. Outside my window there was a hand. It was such a small detail of the picture I was convinced I was imaging it. I was on the ninth floor. It wasn’t