Page 291 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Alex shrugged. “As much as I could.”

Seth laughed and ran a hand over his beard. “I don’t know. I kinda like not having to shave every morning.”

Aaron glanced at Seth and shook his head. “I’m not used to either of you guys being so hairy.” He shrugged and rubbed his neck.

Alex motioned to the couch and they all sat down, Aaron on the couch next to him and Seth across from both of them. Simon had arranged “blind dates” for Greg and Tony so they could get out of the house. “I understand you’re dating someone?” Alex had learned that the man he’d first seen Anna with at the bar was Aaron’s boyfriend. A good guy and very flamboyant. Alex had never imagined Aaron as a dominant partner with another man, but seeing them interact with one another, it was obvious he was. Oh, how time had changed things.

“Yeah,” Aaron said slowly. “Cameron.” He tilted his head. “Does that bother you?”

“Why would it bother me?”

“Well, I wasn’t . . .” Aaron shrugged. “. . . gay when you left.”

Alex laughed. “You were bi.”

“There’s a difference. I never went trolling for other guys.”

“Aaron, it doesn’t matter how I feel about it. If you’re happy, that’s what I care about. And if Cameron makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.”

Aaron nodded, staring at the floor and then looked back up at Alex. “I’ve never met another woman like Anna,” he said softly, his eyes pained.

He was still in love with her. After all these years, he still loved her. Alex nodded. “She’s special.”

“I kept hoping—‍” Aaron shook his head. “I guess I know why things never worked out between us.”

“But you’ve been there for her. She’s had you to depend on while I was gone.”

“I didn’t keep her very safe.”

“You did what you could. You got her out here and away from Devin.” He put his hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Thank you, Aaron. Anna is here and safe because of you.”

“I hardly did anything.”

“You told Peter the truth. If you hadn’t...” Alex shuddered. “I don’t want to imagine what would have happened.”

Anna tossed and turned on her bed. One minute, she wanted to find Alex and fling herself into his arms. The next minute, she wanted to hit him again. She loved and loathed at the same time.

He’d lied! He’d hidden from her! Was he trying to get his jollies off by taking advantage of her need for sex? How many other women had he slept with while he was here? Why didn’t he call her as soon as he’d escaped? How could he claim to love her while keeping his distance from her?

At long last, the sun started to rise and Anna had hardly slept. She hadn’t heard Aaron come home last night. Had he snuck in during her few moments of sleep?

She got up and went to his bedroom. Cameron was there, asleep, but no Aaron, so she went to find her phone and called him.

It took a few rings before he answered in a very groggy voice. “Hello?”

“Aaron, are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh . . . yeah . . . fine . . .”

“Where are you?”

“Um . . . Alex’s place.”

“You’re with Alex?” What was he doing there?

There was a pause. “Yeah, I came here last night, and we started talking until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I slept on the couch.” Another pause. “Anna, he has a really good reason for not coming to us when?—‍”

Rage flooded her body. Alex had talked to Aaron, but not her? “I don’t care.” She ended the call and tossed the phone on her bed, chest heaving as she glared at the offending device. At least, she told herself she didn’t care.

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