Page 115 of Never Kiss and Tell

“Bailey, let me in.”

My heart flutters and I want more than anything to open the door, but I need some time away. I need to capture my emotions and bottle them so that I can get through this with dignity.

“Go away, Charlie.”

“Baby, I didn’t fucking touch her. I wouldn’t,” he bites, slapping what I assume is his palm against the door.

Baby? The only time he calls me that is when some part of him is in some part of me.

I stand on shaky legs, but don’t move from the shower.

“Bull shit,” I snap. “There’s lipstick on your cheek.”

“Let me in and I’ll show you what happened.”

I shake my head, my voice quivering. “I don’t need to see what happened. It was pretty clear.”

“If you don’t let me in, I’ll break this goddamned door down. I’m going crazy out here.”

Good.That makes two of us.

“Bailey,” he warns.

I ignore him, knowing he won’t do it. The door is made of thick, heavy wood. Breaking it would take too much force—

A crash erupts in the bathroom and the door slaps against the wall.

He moves in, stepping around the steam covered shower door and right in the spray of the water. He towers over me, his breath ghosting across my skin, sending goosebumps up my spine as he blocks the water.

“You can walk away after this, but youwillhear me out, first.”

His expression is wild, like a hurricane in his eyes and I see something that makes my heart stop. Panic.

“I didn’t fucking touch her.”

“The lipstick on your cheek suggests otherwise. And your clothes were messed up.”

He takes a step toward me, his fully clothed body, mere inches from my completely naked one. He holds up his phone, showing a clear picture of the two of them in the alleyway. She trades him something for a wad of what looks like money. They talk for a moment, then she makes a move toward him, attempting to kiss him and he pulls her off, much to her dismay.

I bite my tongue, tasting blood in my mouth.

Goddammit, I’m an idiot.

“Why was she there in the first place?” I snap, my voice low.

He places his phone on the bathroom counter and reaches into the front pocket of his shirt, pulling out a little velvet black box. Dread wells inside me and the room swirls.

“It’s not what you think,” he murmurs, unclasping the end and opening it. “I wanted it to be a surprise. I didn’t think she would show up in the middle of your meeting.”

Inside the box is a gold chain, almost identical to the one Dad gave me, with my locket, sparkling like it’s brand new again.

“Why would you do that?” I ask, quietly. Tears burning in my eyes. I take a shaky breath and reach out, but not daring to touch it.

He places a finger under my chin, lifting my face to his. “I saw how upset you were when it broke. Her father is a jeweler.He was able to find the same chain.”

I take a step back, needing to put some distance between the two of us.

“I’m sorry I made you break the door.”

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