Page 104 of Secrets That We Keep (Forbidden Descendants 2)

Wow. I think Dad had turned my room into his personal office the second I moved out. Not that any of that mattered.

I finally found Bella in the back, master suite, pacing Pick and Eva’s room and muttering to herself.

“Just calm down,” she ordered sternly. “Stop overreacting. It probably doesn’t mean anything.”

“It doesn’t,” I promised her as I stepped inside and shut the door behind me.

Bella jumped and spun to face me.

“How much did you hear?” I asked, going to her. “You heard she was just a client, right?”

She nodded. “Yes. She’s who you leave me every Saturday morning to go see, isn’t she?”

When I nodded and took her hands, she swallowed loudly and nodded with me, squeezing back on my fingers. “I just—I never realized—I mean, you never mentioned that that specific client was a woman. A beautiful, apparently-fit woman who you hug all the time.”

“I don’t hug her all the—” I cut myself off, realizing from the expression on her face that I wasn’t helping myself with that line of explanations. So I paused, took a breath, and started fresh.

“She was cool about me taking off early last week to go to your place, and then I left my sports bag behind, so she ran it out to me, and I just—I hugged her in gratitude. That’s it, I swear. And I don’t talk about any of my clients—their genders or names or anything—to anyone. It’s just a courteous, confidential thing.”

“Is she as pretty as Dad made her out to be?”

I cringed, and Bella groaned before grabbing the front of my shirt with both hands. Then she leaned in to press her face against my chest. “At least tell me she’s vain and annoying with a bad case of halitosis or something.”

With a soft chuckle, I cupped her head in my hands and kissed her forehead. “Sorry, baby doll, but El is a total sweetheart. She’s probably my favorite client, too, because she’s such a special case. She had some serious issues when I first met her. I thought it was going to be a lost cause for sure. She was so fragile and afraid; I honestly wasn’t sure how she’d ever get over her hang-ups. But she’s made such great strides. Every time she’s had a setback, she’s just dug in and worked harder. She’s taught me what true strength and perseverance look like. But there has never—I repeat, never—been anything even slightly romantic or sexual between us. And I knew her maybe three or four months before you and I ever hooked up, too, so I had plenty of chances to make a move if I had actually wanted to.”

Bella blew out a long exhale, even as she looked up at me with sad eyes and said, “Okay.”

I furrowed my brow. “You believe me, don’t you?”

She couldn’t say anything aloud, but after a second, she gave a slow nod.

“You sure?” I asked. “You don’t look so sure.”

“I’m sure,” she told me quietly. “I believe you.”

She still wasn’t okay with this, though; I could tell. I wanted to assure her that I’d try to get my client assigned to a different life coach in the agency, but I couldn’t do that to El. El depended on me to be there for her.

Pressing my brow to Bella’s, I took both her hands into mine again and lifted them to my mouth so I could kiss her knuckles. “For a minute out there in the front room, it looked like you were coming to me.”

“I was,” she admitted.

“Yeah, but I thought you were actually going to come out and let everyone know we’re together.”

Lowering her gaze, she murmured, “No. Not yet. I’m sorry.”

When she looked up apologetically, I blinked in confusion. “You’re sorry? What? You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who’s sorry that you had to hear everyone teasing me about another woman. That wasn’t right.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have had to listen to them if I’d just let them know a long time ago that you and I are together.”

“We’ll publicize it whenever you’re ready, not a moment sooner, and that’s perfectly fine,” I assured her steadily. “Don’t feel guilty about that. Okay?”

“But if I could just get over this stupid insecurity and fear of commitment, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“Shh.” I curled an arm around her waist and tugged her up against me so I could dip my face and kiss her lips once. “We don’t have a problem. After our talk, I’m okay with everything, and my opinion is the only one that matters in this situation. Alright? Don’t let this worry you.”

She nodded mutely, then rose onto her toes to kiss me back, curling her hands around the back of my neck and holding me close.

Our breaths mixed and tongues dueled. She lifted higher onto her toes and arched against me, her breasts pushing insistently at my chest. I groaned and clung to her mouth needfully.

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