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Doesn’t he know you’re taken?”
    “Of course he knows. Everyone at school knows about you. I’m always bragging about the hot photographer I live with.” Rand chuckled. “This hot photographer is hungry, and I’m not talking about the chow mein either.”
    Her temperature spiked. “Be good.”
    “I’m always good.”
    His voice skated over her body in an erotic caress. “I think you’re very, very bad,” she whispered, hoping the cabbie couldn’t hear.
    “Come home, baby. I miss you.”
    She forced herself to remember her determination to talk to Rand. She needed to put her life on track. She couldn’t live the carefree cover-model existence forever. She needed stability. Love.
    A family. It was now or never. She wanted what her parents had, kids and a loving relationship that could withstand the test of time.

    And if she couldn’t have that, then it was time to move on.
    “Rand, we need to talk. Tonight.”
    There was silence over the line for several seconds and Lucy was afraid the call had been lost. “That sounds serious,” he finally said, his voice filled with concern.
    Oh god, her heart hurt. It actually hurt. She’d put that note of concern in his voice. How would she ever be able to move out if just hearing his voice had her second-guessing herself? “I’ll talk to you when I get home, okay?”
    “You know I care about you, right?”
    Care, not love. He’d never once said the ‘L’ word. “I know, Rand.”
    “Be careful.”
    “I will.”
    They ended the call and Lucy felt the first tear trail down her cheek. This wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, it just might kill her.

    Reckless Exposure: Chapter 3
    She wanted to talk. That couldn’t be good. Rand paced the length of the living room as he imagined every scenario known to man and came up empty. He couldn’t figure what he’d done wrong, and surely he’d done something. Women didn’t say they needed to talk if there wasn’t something pissing them off. Lucy rarely got mad at him, though, and more often than not, she talked it out with him.
    From the minute she’d come awake to his camera snapping in her face, he’d known something was off. She’d been different. He shouldn’t have tried to take her picture before she’d had her coffee.
    He knew better, damn it. She’d just been so fucking adorable, like a sweet angel from heaven in his bed. He loved watching her sleep.
    She snored a little and hogged the blankets, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. With Lucy cuddled up to his side, Rand slept like the dead. He was a hard man, used to life delivering him the shitty end of the stick, but with Lucy he felt happy, warm and content.
    He’d die without her.
    He shoved his fingers through his hair and paced some more.
    When he heard the key slide into the lock, his heart nearly stopped beating. Lucy strode in and smiled at him, but there wasn’t any light behind the action and she looked as if she’d been crying.
    Damn, what the hell had he done?
    He went to her and took her in his arms. Her body melted against him for a few seconds before she pulled away. She put her keys on the table next to the door and set her purse and satchel on the floor. Rand waited, unsure what to do or say. As she perched on the edge of the couch, he walked silently to the chair facing her and sat on the arm.
    “I don’t know how to say this, except to just say it.” She wrung her fingers together and kept her head down.
    Both gestures were very bad signs. “You can tell me anything,” he encouraged. “Talk to me, Lucy.”
    “I want to know where I stand with you. We’ve been together four years, Rand. Four wonderful years, but where is this relationship headed?”
    He knelt on the floor in front of her and took her hand in his.
    Entwining their fingers together seemed as natural as breathing.
    “You’re my girl, Lucy. I care about you. I don’t see what the problem is here. Things are great the way they are. Why fix it if it’s