Page 61 of Unmasked

His lip twitched. “I have my ways.”

“Are you trying to tell me you gate-crashed a party in a mask just to talk to me?”

His soft chuckle rolled over her like a wave, threatening to pull her under and hold her there until the last bit of air was suffocated out of her. “I wish I could say I was as successful a gate-crasher as you, but no. I pulled strings...a lot of them. All of them, actually.”

“All of them?” She tilted her face up, terrified of the glimmer of hope in her voice.

“I bribed Imogen and Corinna to find out where you were. I called every person I knew on this side of the world until I found someone who could get me into this party, and I got a call with the lecture of my lifetime from Jerry McPartlin because I bumped his meeting to get on the earliest possible flight.” He laughed. “The bastard fired me and went back to Ben.”

And he didn’t sound the least bit cut up about it. Lainey blinked and shook her head. “But you worked so hard to sign him.”

“It was all worth it to see you.” His hand came up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and she shivered—not from the cold, but from fighting the need to launch herself into his arms. “I love that you kept your hair red. It’s perfect on you.”

“Damian, stop.” She closed her eyes for a second, trying to ground herself. “Why did you do all that?”

“Because you were right. I was chasing revenge and clinging to the past. I wanted to sign him for all the wrong reasons. I would never have pretended to be engaged for any other client, but I was so hell-bent on getting back at Ben that I was willing to do anything.”

“Even pretend to be engaged to me,” she whispered.

“That part wasn’t a hardship, trust me. But it was still wrong.”

“And you came all this way to tell me that our fake engagement was wrong.” Bitter disappointment clawed at the back of her throat. “Sounds like a waste of a flight.”

“I came here to tell you I’m sorry.” He cupped her face, brushing at her cheek where an errant tear had fallen. She hadn’t even realised her eyes had welled up until she saw the moisture on his thumb when he pulled his hand back. “I shouldn’t have involved you in my personal problems. I especially shouldn’t have asked you to act for me. But more than that, I’m sorry I was too fucking stupid to acknowledge that you stopped being a friend a long time ago.”

“How long?” she whispered.

“Too long. The night you kissed me... God, I wanted to kiss you back. But it wasn’t appropriate.” He shook his head. “You were so young and vibrant, and I was terrified I was going to drown you with all my baggage.”

“Screw being appropriate. I left school the second I could because I was sick of all that thou shalt behave bullshit. I won’t be forced to fit into someone else’s box.”

She knew that now. Trying to mask her feelings—whether with a physical mask or with loud clothing and lewd jokes—wasn’t working for her. Some of it was real, but much of it was a front. A way for her to pretend like nothing hurt.

But it did. Walking away from Damian that final night had been as painful as any real blow.

“You always danced to the beat of your own drum, didn’t you?” he said.

“Yeah. Too bad you wanted some perfect wife who wouldn’t buck the rules.” She was baiting him. “I can’t be that person. I won’t be that person. I need to be me.”

She had to—it was the only way she could be happy.

“You should be you. But I do love that you’re crazy enough to dress up in disguise and take what you want.” He lowered his forehead to hers. “I love that you don’t take no for an answer and you find your own solutions when life doesn’t give you what you want.”

“Even if I fooled you into sleeping with me?”

“If you hadn’t, we probably wouldn’t be here now. And I’d still be blind to the fact that I’ve wanted you for too goddamn long.”

“What are you going to do about it?” She squared her shoulders and met his gaze, telling him with her whole body that she wouldn’t settle.

The rain fell, drenching them with fat, pelting drops. Her tights clung to her legs, chilling her and making her yearn for the warmth of his lips and hands and tongue. But she wouldn’t move an inch until she had what she wanted. Him. All of him. The only man she’d ever loved.

“I’m going to be honest with myself. With you.” He gripped her hands, the water running in rivulets over them. “I love you, Lainey Kline. I love your antics, your determination, your loyalty, your incredibly sexy body. I wanted you and I always have, even when I couldn’t admit it.”

“Why now?” Her voice trembled.

“Because I lost you and it was the single most painful experience of my life.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “It felt like someone had ripped my heart out, and I wasn’t prepared for it. So I’m here. I gave up McPartlin & Co. and I will give up everything else in my life if it means I can have you. I will move my whole fucking life to this godforsaken storm cloud of a country, if that’s what it takes.”

The flicker of hope had turned to a blaze, the fire in her heart kindled by his words and his touch. “You’d move here for me?”

---