Page 125 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“What’s the history between you two? I don’t want to sound like this, but the dude seems below you.”

April huffed out a breath and leaned back in her chair. “Are you sure you want to hear this?” I nodded encouragingly, and she shrugged. “We met at a fashion show in New York. I was walking, and he was an up-and-coming model, trying to get his foot in the door. He was trying so hard, and all he wanted to do was succeed. After that show, I sort of took him under my wing, you could say. I was his mentor at first, then we became friends. After that I took him out partying and… one thing led to another. After a while, we were an item.

“I found out he had an eating disorder. A lot of models have that. Male and female. I thankfully never did. I tried to help him, but the disorder led to drugs, and I guess I fell into that same life. I’d been in it a while. I’d tried things and done stuff, but once Igot with Luca, it totally changed. We’d party really hard. I’d get so high that I didn’t even know where I was in the morning.”

I held my breath as she told the story. My heart hurt, and my bear’s sadness surged through me. She’d gone to such a dark place, and put herself into so much danger.

“I’m not proud of it. That part of my life didn’t last long. It was maybe a year before I told Luca I was going off drugs. Told him I was going cold turkey. I wasn’t a full addict, so I didn’t have any withdrawals or anything. Luca didn’t like that. My career was still going stronger than ever because I only used every now and then. Mostly at parties or”—she looked uncomfortable, like she’d almost said too much—“other times. His career wasn’t going anywhere. Even with me throwing my name around. He was always too high or drunk to get to showings or auditions. That led to him forging my signature on some documents and stealing about forty grand from my bank account. Then he dug through my computer and phone for a bunch of photos and videos I thought were in secure folders.”

I growled, then quickly cleared my throat to mask the sound. “Sounds like more than just an asshole. More like a living, breathing pile of shit.”

April nodded. “He ended up selling the photos and his information on America’s favorite model. Larry said he probably made close to a million bucks, maybe more. He sold me out, and once all that info came out, there werewaymore stalker occurrences. Anyone who’s famous deals with it at one time or another, but it got crazy. Guys telling me all the stuff they wanted to do to me, or me to do to them. It’s bad. Sexual threats, physical threats, the whole nine yards.”

I had trouble keeping my face and breathing composed and calm. Miles had dug up a lot of the information, and I’d gleaned a little more from the papers and TV. Most of the background stuff had been left out. I berated myself.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “If I hadn’t done what I did back then, none of this would have happened.”

April leaned forward. “No, you can’t take that on yourself. I chose Luca. That was my mistake. Nothing you did could make me choose a guy so shitty.”

April was trying to make me feel better, which actually made it fucking worse. She sat there and told me about how god-awful her life had gotten, and she was here trying to comfort me? What the hell?

“I was supposed to protect you, though.” Tears stung my eyes. “I was the one who was supposed to keep you safe, and I wasn’t there. I wasn’t fucking there to keep the darkness of the world away from you.”

Before I could register what was going on, April had my cheeks in her hands, and she was looking into my eyes. “You can’t take those burdens on, Steff. I made my own mistakes, and I paid the consequences. This isn’t on you.”

I turned my head and kissed her palm. “I’m sorry I made this about me.”

She smiled at me. “You wouldn’t be Steffen James if you weren’t protective.”

I pulled her close and kissed her. It surprised both of us. The kiss was one of passion, desire, longing. It was a kiss I’d dreamed of for years. Night after night I’d lain in bed dreaming of having April like this again. Of having the velvety softness of her lips against mine.

Her body melted into mine. My body reacted, and I was getting hard. This wasn’t how I wanted our first time to be. I pulled back and nibbled her lip. “What are your plans tomorrow?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “It’s the Fourth of July weekend. I thought I’d hang out with the family.”

“Do you think there’s a way to carve out some time for me?”

She nodded eagerly. “Of course.”

I kissed her again. “Call me if that idiot is dumb enough to bother you again. I’ll take care of him if I need to.” With one last lingering kiss, I headed home.

SEVENTEEN

APRIL

The downtown portion of Lilly Valley was packed with people. It was the biggest weekend of the year, and every year was like this. I remembered it from when I was a kid. I always thought it was strange that so many people came here for vacation. When I was younger, the place seemed boring beyond belief. After so long away, and so few visits, it held a new appeal for me. Now I could understand why tourists flocked here. The lake, the mountains, the lush forests. The town did seem like a little paradise. It was gorgeous and quaint.

Chelsea was taking me around the big grassy area that was full of food trucks, ice cream vendors, cotton candy carts, and popcorn wagons. We’d come out to pick up a bunch of different things for us and the guys, so we could each try a little of everything. It was hard to decide, so I chose to follow her around and see what stuck out.

We were standing at a truck that specialized in different types of egg rolls, and Chelsea went to get in line. I stood back to wait for her, when a massive guy walked up to me. Built like an NFL linebacker, the gorgeous man carried a baby boy, and that made him all the more handsome.

Surprisingly, he extended the hand that wasn’t holding the baby. “Tate Mills, You’re April, right?”

My surprise gave way to understanding. I recognized the name. It was on the business card from Steff’s security firm. This was one of his friends and business partners.

I shook his hand. “Yes, nice to meet you. You’re Steff’s friend?”

He nodded and held up the baby. “Yup, and this is my little buddy. My son, Tory.”

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