13: Harriet.

Oh God.

This is even worse than I thought.

I am deceiving this man. I am turning him into a twisted mess, like me.

And he wants to give me legitimacy.

Wants to take me out on a date, maybe even wants me to be his girlfriend. Lord, the very idea of that is intoxicating. A dream I never thought could really come true.

It's further proof that he's too kind, too honorable for me.

"No." I drop my legs from around his waist, stepping away on shaky ground. "I have a lot of work to do here, Locke. And..." My hands wring together, misery lancing me in the side. "And I just don't think that it's a good idea. I'm not looking for anything serious."

Liar. You would throw yourself in front of a bullet for him.

It doesn't get more serious.

Locke's brows draw together above the black frames of his glasses, as if he's going through a math problem, looking for where he made a mistake. And he doesn't find one. "You're not looking for anything serious?" he repeats, his skepticism obvious. "Don't lie to m