Page 37 of Secret Admirer
“Lying isn’t you at all.” Aurelia's flushed face lost some of its color when she asked, “Why didn’t you tell him?”
Seriously? They'd grown up next door--that neighborhood was nothing at all like this. She had to see how different this family was to everything Rebecca knew. “It just hasn’t come up in conversation yet. Bart’s life is nothing like mine and I’m struggling to explain how different we are, but I will.”
Aurelia touched her gold earring--a nervous habit. “I know you will. But Bart had to deal with my father, which left scars. It seems everyone in the room did.”
Rebecca had no idea how it was to be raised by an evil man. Her father was great and her mother, absent. But that didn’t stop the ice racing through her veins as she thought about telling him that she worked with her hands as a mechanic. “What if it's a deal breaker?”
Aurelia nudged her shoulder. “If he treats you bad about your family, let me know.”
She still seemed like her old friend, Melissa, and the new name would be hard to get used to. “Please don’t tell him. I want to tell him myself.”
Aurelia raised her hand up like a girl scout. “Good. I won’t say a word, Rebecca. I trust you’ll make the right decision, as you always do.”
Finally. She could breathe again as she said, “Thank you.”
“We’re friends.” Aurelia straightened.
Rebecca hugged her and then they quickly said goodbye. Rebecca walked to where Bart stood, alone. “Are you and Aurelia done?”
Tell him about her past? Maybe. Once she proved her love she’d explain her poor beginnings. She looped her arm with his as she said, “For now. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
He tugged her to walk with him as he said, “Good, because the car is outside. We have one more night at the hotel.”
Wow. They hadn't stayed long. They said goodbye to Axel and Emily, as if they were regular folks--but they weren't.
Talking to stars seemed surreal.
They walked outside and the tropical breeze relaxed her. Bart stopped her near the musical fountain and said, “This time when we take that dress off, you won’t have to put it back on.”
She laughed and hugged his neck and shoulders. He lowered his face to kiss her and she batted her eyes. “Bart?”
“Yeah?” He held her close and she could feel his hardness already.
How was he ready so fast? But a thrill raced through her, stronger than a spark. “I’m happy.”
“Good.” He claimed her lips.
His kiss burned into her soul. Life as his girlfriend for now was more than enough. Love came later, with patience.
Chapter 12
Bart untangled himself from the white sheets that still held Rebecca and tried to stay quiet.
He glanced down at Rebecca’s cherry-red hair with blonde streaks underneath splayed across her pillow.
Last night they'd come together many times, so she had to still be tired.
She was beautiful, sweet and kind. At the party she’d maneuvered beside him as an expert, not getting bogged down in too many conversations. The skill was valuable in his life, and she was a natural.
He kissed her cheek and headed into the shower. As the water hit his body, he sang an Italian love song he hadn't heard in years.
Bart never sang, but for once he had almost everything. A good woman, a promising tech, and a way to leave a lasting legacy that might somehow cure all the evil his father had privately done.
Today, he was buying a house closer to his Miami family, which wasn’t something he'd intended to do, but now that he had Rebecca, it was like he had a right to stay here and take his place as a real Morgan, not one that lived on a different continent.
Rebecca was still asleep when he returned to the bedroom and found his suit. He dressed and ordered breakfast for them.
He decided to wait for her in the dining room and took out his tablet to work.
