Page 59 of Revelation (Love Isn't What It Seems 3)

“Car accident.”

“Must have been a bad one,” I chimed in, pretending to study the document. “It says here that he was a surgeon. Shock trauma. What happened?”

Her lips tightened, her shoulders stiffened. I had to fight the urge to go to her and wrap her into my arms, protect her. I wanted to offer her comfort. Instead, I forced myself to sit still, waiting.

She chewed on her lip, clearly fighting the urge to tell us both to fuck off and mind our own business.

“I don’t really remember that much,” she finally responded. “One second, my boyfriend and I were in the car, my mom driving, and the next I was waking up alongside his dead body.” Fuck, she kept her voice even but a barely detectable quiver of her chin told me everything. She still hadn’t gotten over it. She cleared her throat, before continuing. “Anyhow, my mom and Brian didn’t make it, I did. Doctor Mack patched me up.”

“Did you know he was in the military?” Daniel’s question had Layla raising her eyes to meet his.

“No, not at that time. I looked him up a few years later and found out he was deployed and then killed.”

I wanted to ask her why she searched for him, but she was clearly uncomfortable talking about it so I let it go. Besides, the fact that she brought him up and laid it out in the open her uncertainty about objectivity meant more.

“Include him,” I told her. Daniel nodded his agreement too. We rarely disagreed on business decisions.

“Great,” she muttered and offered a small smile.

She offered another file. “Here are some ideas for fundraisers. The year is coming to an end, so there will be companies looking for tax deductions. If we start now, we could get those going. Let me know what you think. Since it’s Friday, I’ll go get these disbursements going so you can approve them before the weekend. Does that sound alright?”

“Perfect,” both Daniel and I agreed.

With a nod, she turned around and left us both in the conference room.

“You two, huh?” Daniel teased. “I’m guessing she doesn’t know it’s you.”

I scrubbed my face with the palm of my hand, traces of my beard there. I didn’t have enough time to shave this morning.

“No, she doesn’t know yet,” I admitted. “And keep out of it.”

“You’re welcome, buddy.” I wanted to wipe that grin off his face, but at the same time thank him. Last night with Layla was everything. I would never let her go. It would seem I was more like my brother than I initially thought.

“What made you invite her to Revelation?” I questioned him.

Daniel shrugged his shoulder. “I thought it would be interesting. Sparks that flew between you two at your brother’s wedding. It was amusing. Besides, if you didn’t bid… I’d have taken her.”

I knew he was jerking me around. But still, I wanted nothing more than to punch him hard. Break his nose. Maybe scar up that face that women liked so much.

“She’s off limits, Daniel.”

Chuckling, he stood up and went to the window with a folder in his hands, his eyes scanning through Layla’s fundraising recommendations.

“I figured as much. Don’t worry, that woman is all yours. I don’t think she’d blink an eye at me,” he appeased my ego. I had never been very jealous. But just thinking about Layla being touched by any other man was enough to send me into a raging fit of jealousy.

“Any good suggestions there?” I switched the subject.

“Actually many,” he retorted. “She really knows her shit.”

I leaned back, releasing tension in my shoulders. My whole body was tense, needing the release that I had a suspicion only Layla could offer. Except, she didn’t know it was me. It was really stupid to add another layer of secrecy to our relationship.

Could I even call it that?

We had slowly started to come together. She let me kiss her a week ago but then went cold on me. Goddamn it, I wanted her passion, her surrender. Not a cold shoulder.

Last night, I should have taken my mask off and told her I had wanted her from the moment we met. Instead, I played it safe, but it was a short-term solution.Stupid move, Maxim.Now, I was acting as dumb as Alexander when it came to Liberty.

Layla was the only woman that succeeded in making me think with my dick instead of my brain. But if I was to have her for the rest of my life, I had to do better than this. I didn’t just want her body, I also wanted her heart. And here was my own revelation.

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