Page 89 of Masquerade

“I went to give him an author’s copy of my book.”My grand, bloody reveal.

“Congratulations. What did he say?” Anna hugged her tighter, knowing what a big deal revealing her alter ego was.

“He pounced on me as soon as I arrived. Accused me of going to see Futureproof Mining.” She’d been stunned and then defensive.

“From what you’ve just told me, he’s got very good reasons for not trusting Futureproof Mining. Why didn’t you just tell him the truth?”

“It hurts, Anna,” she whispered. She swiped at her wet cheeks with the backs of her hands. “I need him to trust me even if things look bad.”

“Trust is tricky,” Anna said. “I know people I trust not to cheat me over money. That doesn’t mean I’ll trust the same person with my heart. Think about it from his side. You didn’t trust him enough to tell him about the meeting in advance.”

“For a split-second, when he said he saw me at Futureproof, I thought he’d been following me. I froze.” Kate’s skin crawled remembering the split-second she’d compared Liam to Andrew. “I remembered all the reasons I’d stopped trusting. Controlling behaviour in a man makes me go a little crazy.”

“Fair enough.” Anna frowned. “It’s not always easy to recognise the signs, even if it’s happened to you before.”

“I’ve studied all the literature.” Kate turned to face Anna. “You’re right. You can never be one hundred percent sure. But he wasn’t following me. He walked out of a bookshop opposite as I walked into Galena’s building.” She released a long, shuddering breath, digging for the joy that had propelled her to his office. “I went to Clelland’s today to share my success with him.”

“Believing he’d be happy for you?”

Kate nodded.

“And the happy blew up in your face.”

“It happened so fast; I couldn’t keep up.”

“Storming off in a huff and having the last word won’t keep you warm at night. Exorcising past shit is a dirty business. If he’s worth it, you have to stay in the arena.” Anna hugged her. “And maybe, just maybe, Selina isn’t the only person who’s lied to him.”

“I told him I didn’t betray him, and I gave him my book.” Kate pleated the bottom of her sweater.

“Did you throw it at him?” Anna lifted an eyebrow. “Not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s the kind of thing I’d do if I thought the love of my life wasn’t listening to me.”

“I put it on his desk as I was leaving.”

“That’s your quieter version of throwing it.” Anna nodded in satisfaction.

“I was a coward. Ayou’ll be sorry when you find out why I was there, instead of telling him the truth,” she confessed. “It would serve me right if he binned it.”

“He won’t do that,” Anna soothed.

“I don’t know how to make the next move.” Kate clung to her sister. “I don’t even know if he cares.”

“If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t be so angry. Our parents were lousy examples. We never knew if a fight was real or display.” Anna shook her gently.

“I’ve skirted around the truth too many times,” Kate whispered, remembering the look on his face when she left. He’d looked like she’d felt, a boxer stumbling, punch drunk in a ring. “What if he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Make him listen,” Anna insisted.

“He said ‘no commitments.’” She knuckled fresh tears away. The need to keep Ms. Sexy Higgins a secret had been Kate’s go-to excuse for avoiding relationships. Before Liam.

“I’m guessing you repeated it right back to him. You’re both morons. Adults have been known to change their minds in the face of new information. Talk to him.”

“He might not want to talk to me anymore.” Kate confronted her fear head on. “You’re right. He deserves an explanation. You’ll hate me if I don’t try.”

“I love you, honey. You’ll hate yourself if you don’t try,” Anna countered. “You needed time to tell him about Ms. Sexy Higgins. He might have other issues. Any blonde bombshells in his past?”

Selina had been a redhead. Had Kate’s appearance as a blonde been a trigger for his disgust as much as the location?

“A man like Liam can’t have only one skeleton in his closet.” Anna elbowed her in the ribs. “Those strong, silent, protective types are red meat for lots of bad girls.”

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