Page 55 of Unmasked

“Bullshit.” She folded her arms.

“You think I’m lying?” He planted his hands on his desk, his fingers curling against the polished wood.

“I think you’re deluding yourself. If what you said was true, you would have broken things off with her before you found her cheating. Or if you knew things were going to end anyway, you wouldn’t still be pissed about it years later.”

Her ability to see right through his facade was borderline terrifying. No one had ever done that before. He was damn good at projecting the image he wanted, cultivating a persona that kept the real him safely tucked away, protected from harm. But Lainey was smashing through his defensive walls with a battering ram.

“And I’m supposed to take relationship advice from you?” He regretted the words the second they slipped out in a misguided need for self-defence.

Way to go, dickhead. You’ve attacked the person whose opinion you care about.

The realisation chilled him. He did care about Lainey’s opinion. A lot. Why else would he be airing his dirty laundry to her? He didn’t want to lie.

“The thing is, I know where my issues come from. I’m not in denial about who I am.” Her voice wobbled, and that unsteady sound was like a knife through his heart. “The reason I date all those idiots is because I know I can’t have the man I truly want.”

The blood stilled in Damian’s veins. She could only say one of two things next, and he didn’t want to hear either of them. Because if she loved someone else, he wasn’t sure he could stand it. And if she loved him...

Shit. How could he have let this get so out of control? He never should have taken her back to his place the night of the dinner. It was the stupid strength of lust and desire that had allowed him to ignore his own rules. No other woman had gotten to him after Jenny. He’d only ever satisfied physical need. Sure, he’d felt attracted to other women. But that was it. Something he could swallow down as easily as a pill.

But with Lainey his control slipped away like water through his fingers.

Her lip trembled. “Aren’t you going to ask me?”

She’d led him to a fork in the path, forcing him to stop and look ahead. Forcing him to decide. When she left his office, something would be cemented—either she would be part of his life or she’d leave for good.

“I’m not sure I want to know,” he said.

“Well, I need to tell you.” She dropped her hands into her lap. “I love you, Damian. I always have.”

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