Page 72 of Exposed

I follow her in and slam the door behind us when she turns to me. “Why did you tell him that? I’ll have to create an entire breakup story when this is all over. I’ll never keep up with the lies.”

“You’re a hell of a storyteller. I have confidence in you.” I tossmy bag on the floor and loosen my wrinkled tie. “Are you changing first or should I? I can’t wait to get out of this.”

Goldie stands on bare feet in the middle of her apartment and stares up at me. “You’re a lot.”

I ignore that, go to her fridge, grab a beer, twist the top off, and hold it out to her. “You want one?”

“No.”

I narrow my eyes. “Wine?”

She rolls hers. “Since I’m not actually pregnant, yes. I would love a glass of wine.”

“Red? White? I got you both.”

“I’ve never met a wine I don’t like,” she says. “Fill me up—I’m going to need it. We need to talk. It’s one thing to act like we’re engaged in front of Dex, but you cannot carry on like that in front of Mr. Elrod. Or anyone else in my life for that matter.”

I dig through a drawer where I swear I saw a cork screw this morning. “Who else is in your life that I can’t tell?”

“That doesn’t matter, King. We’ll pretend for the cartel, that’s it. This is getting too complicated. Lying is bad enough. When it’s all over, I don’t want to have to lie further to cancel out the first lie. I can’t handle that.”

I pour her a glass of cab and fill it almost to the brim. With a drink in both hands, I go straight for her. She doesn’t hesitate and takes a gulp. Since I know what that tongue tastes like, my mouth actually waters when she licks a drop off her bottom lip.

Her big brown eyes angle up at me. “This is really good.”

“You’re welcome.”

She sighs. “Thank you.”

I move on from the conversation that’s happening out of order. “Here’s the thing, Goldie. I investigated you long before you knew me as Daniel Armstrong. Remember, your name is on the bank accounts. I watched you. I followed you. I studied you. Besides your mother and a couple friends in Virginia, I’ve never seen youwith anyone else when you weren’t working or trying to land an event to work. You don’t go out. You come straight home, sometimes talk to Mr. Elrod, and avoid the cartel and The Pink like the plague.”

She stares up at me with blank eyes.

I cup the side of her face and run my thumb along her cheek. “Am I wrong?”

Her voice trembles. “How long did you follow me?”

I lower my voice. “Long enough to know I’m right, and long enough to know you’re innocent when it comes to the Carter Cartel.”

“So you know everything about me.” Tears brim her dark eyes. Her words are not a question. They’re an accusation.

I shake my head. “No, baby. But I’m going to make it my goal to make that happen. And not because of my case. What just happened in my car was not for show. It was for us, and I’m a selfish bastard. That’s why I want to know everything there is to know about you.”

Her tits rise and fall with heavy breaths in that damn dress that I’d like to frame so I’ll never forget tonight.

Pretending she’s mine.

Pretending she’s pregnant with mine.

And protecting her like she’s mine.

That last … there was nothing to pretend about that. Nothing has felt more real than that for a long time.

I take her wine and set our drinks on the coffee table and frame her face in my hands, just like I did in the car a few moments ago. “I’ve got to be honest, Goldie. There was something about watching you. About knowing that you removed yourself from that situation with the cartel, and you did it on your own.”

“Now I’m back,” she says.

“I’ll take care of you. Besides Becerra trying to touch you, theyweren’t going to do anything to us. Your brother wanted to flex, and he did.”

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