Page 68 of The Promises We Break

“Oh, wow, okay, professional dodgeball player today, I see. I’ll be at my desk with all your reports and details for the completion of the construction—that I’m handling while you’regone this weekend at your parents’ party. Which I wasn’t invited to, by the way. So, when you want to go over those, I’ll hand them over…afterI get a spicy story.”

“Cruz,” I yell at him as he saunters out of my office. “That’s blackmail.”

“No, no, it’s more like extortion. But, like, barely. Let me know when you’re ready.”

I need those reports, like, this morning.

“Hudson literally made me pass out from an orgasm,” I spit out and instantly want to retrieve it.

He flips around, a full one-eighty degree U-turn, on the ball of his foot, so eloquently he should have been a ballerina.

“That freaking devil. The quiet ones are always so dirty. How? Details?”

“Oh, god.” I press my palms into my face.

I’ve learned to be comfortable with Hudson, but talking about everything with someone else is entirely new. I need to get used to it, being that I’ll have to do that when the club opens.

“So, he had me wear this remote control vibrator,” I whisper as he slides back into the chair in front of my desk. “Like, all day, around the house, and even when we went out to lunch.” I lean in closer, whispering lower. “He almost made me come when we were at the restaurant.”

His jaw slacks. “You dirty girl, that’s so hot.”

“So, needless to say, by the time we got back home, neither of us could wait any longer. He fucked me for so long and drew out my orgasm to the point that, when I finally came, I just blacked out.” I bite the corner of my lip. A little embarrassed that I’m admitting all this to Cruz, but feeling a little sexual freedom at the same time.

“You need to make your fake husband become your real husband. You know he wants it.”

Panic sears through me instantly with his words. Mymother flashes in my mind; the years ofserviceto my father. Like he’s her own personal religion. God, I don’t want that. I don’t want everything to revolve around the man in my life and marriage. Yet, lately, it’s just been Hudson and me living in our own world.

Suddenly, it’s like everything nearby is closing in on me. Even the air feels claustrophobic.

Breathe.

“You okay? You’re sheet white,” Cruz asks as he tilts his head, looking at me.

I inhale, close my eyes, and physically envision a wide open space, then exhale and release the heaviness in my chest.

It takes only a few seconds to reel myself in before I get my bearings again.

“Oh, yeah, good. I just don’t have any desire to be married long term. We’re only helping each other out. It’s a simple arrangement,” I tell him, avoiding his gaze, because I know he’ll see right through me. “So, do you have those reports?”

“Sure,” he replies cautiously, “I’ll bring them in,” he stands slowly then pauses for a moment as I side eye him, still avoiding his gaze, before he turns to exit.

“Em…” I stop mindlessly shifting benign accessories on my desk and peer up to where he is standing. I stare at his shoes and expertly steer clear of his gaze.

“It’s okay to let go of people that don’t bring you peace and allow in those who do. Family is what we create for ourselves sometimes. It might not always be what we envision for ourselves, but if it protects our peace, well, it’s worth… everything.”

His statement forces me to look at him, and the sincerity in his face is blinding. He’s not just giving me advice based on some old Chinese proverb out of a daily desk calendar or a self-help book he has read. This is raw emotion, love and loss,based on life experiences, for him. I open my mouth to reply, but stop at the interruption of knocking.

Tap. Tap.

I tilt my head to look behind Cruz. Christian and Elena step through the doorway, and my spine instantly perks up. I stand as they enter my office, because what the hell do I do? They never come to my office.

“Good morning.” Confusion laces my greeting.

Christian smiles, that gorgeous smile he gives when he’s trying to make you feel comfortable. Elena’s smile is directed straight at me, with some kind of look I can’t quite read.

Her eyes flicker toward the doorway behind her, and another man I’ve never met comes through.

I put my best smile on and round my desk. My spine still ramrod straight and chin held high, exuding the confidence I’ve gained with every meeting, appointment, and conversation I’ve had since I started here. As the unknown man walks through the door, my jaw slacks slightly in recognition of who this man is.

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