Page 23 of Indiscretion

“Nothing. But you’re not wearing a bra. So you should probably just walk straight to your room and not turn around.”

“The dress isn’t going to fall off because the zipper is open. I’m still covered in the front. I’m decent.”

“You might be. But I’m definitely not anymore.”

She turned, laughing, and her eyes grew wider. “Oh, wow.” She hiccupped. “That thing got even bigger.”

I pointed to the hallway. “Go!”

She nibbled on her plump bottom lip and took another look at my very full underwear.

“Go now,” I said sternly.

“Why?”

“Because I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

Naomi pouted. “You suck.”

“That’s better thanyousucking when you’re drunk. And I’m about five seconds away from putting you on your knees and showing you all the non-gentlemanly things I want to do to you.”

Her pouty lips parted. When her eyes grew hooded, I knew she was imagining what I’d just said. I dragged a hand through my hair. “You really need to go in the other room. And lock the damn door.”

“Will you at least kiss me goodnight?”

I shook my head. “Definitely not. You’re drunk.”

“I was tipsy earlier when we kissed.”

“That was make believe.”

Her face fell. “It didn’t feel make believe to me.” After a long moment, she sighed. “Goodnight, Dawson.”

I hated that I’d hurt her feelings, but it was better to have her walk away a little hurt than do something she might regret in the morning.

“Goodnight, Naomi. Take care of yourself.”

Chapter 7

DAWSON

2 weeks later

I reluctantly clicked on the photos I’d been tagged in a few days ago—for what is probably the tenth damn time.So far, I’d managed to stay on the outer rim of the rabbit hole by limiting myself to the wedding photos Lily had posted. But I craved more. And it was the second time I’d found myself back on social media in as many hours this afternoon. I had damn work to do. But maybe if I fed my curiosity a little, I might be able to focus.

Yeah, that’s it.

Ineededto click through the tag and check out Naomi’s page—get it out of my system once and for all. I was doing a smart thing, not a stupid one…

Knowing full well that I’d only be able to buy my own bullshit for so long, I scrolled to one of the group photos and clicked onNaomi Heartbefore I changed my mind.

The first picture that popped up was her and that rat dog. It had been posted two days ago. It must’ve been one of their birthdays because both Gumby and Naomi had on bright purple party hats with furry pom-poms at the top. It was ridiculous, yet I found myself smiling.

I kept digging. A photo labeledHappy Mother’s Dayled me to her sister, Frannie Heart-Mason, and that vein led me to a shitload of family photos. Naomi and her sister looked alike, though her sister was taller and bordered on too thin, whereas Naomi had sexy curves. Her sister had a couple of kids—a boy and a girl. Both looked under ten, and the boy seemed to be older. Further back, I found one of Naomi in a cap and gown with a big sign behind her that said University of Virginia. She had multiple tassels looped around her neck, so she’d probably graduated with honors and maybe was in a sorority, too. There were pictures of family barbecues, vacations, lots and lots of birthdays—typical shit that women post. But what was noticeably absent were couple’s photos. Ben had mentioned that Naomi had been engaged, and I was curious about the type of guy she went for.

Naomi’s Facebook page went further back than her sister’s—she’d been a cheerleader in high school, and the top of her graduation cap had been bedazzled with something, but I couldn’t make out what. More digging brought me to her law school graduation and pictures of her and Lily smiling. But I still didn’t see any photos of her and her ex—no engagement photos or photos of her with a guy at all. Probably she’d deleted them when they split up—the modern-day equivalent of scribbling across someone’s face in a photo.

I was just about to dig into another folder of pictures when I heard the door open and close in the lobby. There were no appointments left on my calendar today, and the staff were all long gone. So that meant one of two things—either I was getting robbed, or my partner was here,Emily.

---