Crossing the Line (The Baltimore Banners Book 1) by Lisa B. Kamps Read Free Book Online Page A

it."
         It took a second before Alec understood what she was talking about, that she was only answering his question from not even a minute ago. He raised the soda can to his lips before realizing it was already empty, then hastily sat it down on the coffee table in front of him. He searched for something to say, but nothing came to mind readily, so he reverted back to a question he knew he had already asked her.
         "So, what is that stuff you're so engrossed in, anyway?"
         AJ reshuffled the papers in her lap then arranged them into a neat pile before placing them on the side table next to her. She reached around and turned off the reading light behind the recliner, suddenly casting herself in shadows. She winced, then quickly rubbed her temples before facing him. Her blue eyes were suddenly darker as she turned her gaze on him.
         "I told you, just background stuff I might use for filler. Not that there's much background info out there on you. At least, not much more than what I already knew."
         "You do know that it's really weird to hear you talk about me like that, right? Like I'm some kind of...of...I don't know what. Like an object or something."
         "Trust me, Alec, you're not an object. All that's in here," she looked away long enough to tap the pile of papers to her left, "is a bunch of dry, boring statistics. You know: when you were drafted, games played, average saves, blah, blah, blah. Absolutely nothing personal or informative or even interesting. It's all superficial. I told you before that you were more than welcome to look it over if you wanted to."
         "No, I'll pass."
         She tilted her head to the side and quietly studied him, her expression thoughtful. "Suit yourself. But I'll be honest. For someone who's been in the public eye for as long as you have, it's remarkable that there's nothing more out there about you. It's like...I don't know, it's like you've deliberately hid behind this blank wall, and you've done it so well that people stay away from you."
         "I happen to like my privacy. My life is my business, nobody else's." Alec hadn't meant for the words to come out so harsh, but she had hit too close to the truth.
         "Alec, there's nothing wrong with privacy. I like mine, too. But there's a difference between being private, and hiding." She gestured again at the papers. "This stuff isn't just boring, it screams that you're hiding from life."
         Again, her words hit too close to the truth. But phrased the way they were made him sound like a recluse, a hermit who wanted no involvement with the world around him. But that wasn't him. He just liked...being private. He stood up, planning on getting another drink, but stopped. He cleared his throat and then asked his own question to change the subject.
         "So if it's all that boring, how you could get so wrapped up in it for the last few hours?"
         AJ laughed, a soft sound in the surrounding quiet that had a surprising effect on Alec, one that he didn't even want to acknowledge. She lifted herself from the recliner and walked by him, passing so closely he imagined he could feel the heat radiating from her. Alec stepped back involuntarily, once again caught off-guard by his body's reaction to her. And once again, he blamed it on stress and lack of sleep.
         AJ stopped less than a foot from him, staring up at him with those blue eyes that suddenly sparkled in the low light. A half-smile curved her lips and she folded her arms across her chest. Alec's eyes automatically drifted down, and he had to force himself not to stare at the fullness of her chest and the painfully appealing amount of cleavage revealed with her arms crossed like that.
         "I wasn't 'wrapped up' in it, as you say. I was thinking about the best way to approach this whole interview, the best way to get you to open up without having you think I'm going to cut your heart out and use it to finger