Page 135 of Attached At Heart
“What?” Noah frowned. “You’re not married?”
“No. We are, just…it’s complicated.”
“I see.”
He didn’treallysee.
“It’s a convenience thing,” I tried to explain. “For her inheritance.”
I didn’t really have it in me to go down the long rabbit hole of our situation. Hopefully, that would suffice.
Noah’s brows shot up as more understanding washed over him. “A convenience thing,” he repeated. “And you’ve just, what, beenpretendingto be in love with her whileactuallybeing in love with her and hoping she doesn’t notice?”
I glared at him, annoyed at how ridiculous it sounded when he put it that way.
But I couldn’t really be mad, considering he wasn’twrong.
“Yeah, that was pretty much the plan. Until tonight. When we had dinner at her parents’ house,” I said before turning back to the bag and serving it a right hook.
“I take it dinner went well,” Noah said dryly.
A dry laugh slipped out of me. “Her parents aren’t…entirely supportive of us. With the elopement and everything. Didn’t believe any of it was real, so I tried to tell them the truth.”
“Like the real truth?”
“Yeah, the real truth.”
“I take it that was what didn’t go well?”
“I think it went well with her parents.” I threw another punch. “But Delaney…I don’t think she ever expected to hear me say what I did, and I think I made her uncomfortable, which I’d been trying so goddamn hard not to do this entire time. I’ve beenso careful, man. Because I am well aware that I want her in a way that she might not be ready for. Might noteverbe ready for.”
“For fuck’s sake, you didn’t make me uncomfortable.”
The sound of Delaney’s voice—her stilted breathing and forceful words—caused me to whirl around with my heart in my throat.
She stood there, the front door to the gym closing behind her, looking like she’d run through the rain to get here. It pounded harder against the pavement outside, a depressing backdrop for the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and ever known. The damp ends of her hair were dripping onto my old U of M alumni shirt. It was half-soaked, sticking to her skin. Her chest heaved, her eyes bright as she stared me down.
“Delaney…God, Lane, did you walk here?” I scanned her from top to bottom, inspecting every inch of her to make sure nothing was wrong. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay!” she cried, and alarm spiked through me. I lurched toward her, but she put a hand out. “No, stop.”
I stopped, even though it felt wrong. So, so wrong. “Lane?—”
“Just stop and let me talk. Without interrupting me and without telling me it’s fine and assuming what I’m going to say before I say it,” she pleaded before inhaling deeply. “Christ, Blake, I know I told you earlier that you were right, but you’re not right about everything. Okay? Because Idon’tthink we should just forget about this. Idon’tthink that would be for the best.”
My jaw dropped; my heart pounded. I did as she asked. I was quiet, waiting for her to go on, and every second that passed was torture. It felt like my heart was in a vise, and I needed her to release the tension pushing in on me from all sides.
“I’mnotuncomfortable,” she said finally. Forcefully. It should make me feel better, but relief was hard to come by when she looked at me like that. “You’ve never once made meuncomfortable. In fact, I’m so unbelievably comfortable with you I never ever want tonotbe with you. And I’m only pissed because I was trying to tell you that, but you wouldn’t let me. I was confused, Blake. You made me think that you’d say anything to convince my parents, so I didn’t know what to believe at first. And just because I didn’t immediately know how to put my feelings into words after learning the truth abouteverythingyou’ve been keeping from me doesn’t mean I don’t have things I want you to know, too.”
Pain leaked from her eyes on the last words, and I felt both elated and like something had crumbled into pieces inside me.
“I thought you?—”
“I know what you thought, but you were wrong, Blake.”
My lips parted, but words didn’t come out.
I’d never experienced such happiness and such guilt at the same time.
