Page 54 of Beneath the Blindfold

He’d stayed quiet for more than a year. Couldn’t I be silent for one night?

I gave him a hard, determined look before launching to my feet. I pulled the towel off my head, shoved it in his chest, and pushed him toward the door. “I’m changing, so get out.”

EIGHT

COURTNEY

Candles flickered on the tabletop and added to the subdued lighting of the Italian restaurant Julius brought me to. It was a white tablecloth kind of place, with a fancy wine list as long as a novel, and tables tucked into quiet alcoves to make it feel intimate.

Our little table for two was romantic as fuck, and if he’d brought me here last week, I’d have climbed over it to get on him. But everything was different now. His withheld secret was a wall too tall for me to get over without his help.

So far, so good. I didn’t talk during the ride here. I’d sat in the passenger seat of his Range Rover wearing the red dress, and tried not to think about what we’d done on Friday night.

He’d told me the truth, when he could have continued to keep me in the dark. It was doubtful I’d have figured it out on my own. Why had he told me? It would have been so much easier for him if he hadn’t.

The only time I spoke was to order my drink and then dinner. Julius bypassed the wine list. The front for his illegal business was a wine club. It had been the first thing to make me question his story because Julius didn’t even like the stuff.

When I didn’t talk, he didn’t either, but he acted as if it was no big deal. He was comfortable with the lack of conversation, but it drove me insane. I made it until the salads were delivered, and then . . . I pathetically broke.

“You knew my husband was cheating on me,” I blurted out.

Julius stopped mid-sip of his cocktail. He lowered the glass slowly and looked at the ice cubes floating inside, resigned. “It’s worse than that.”

Oh my God.My hands curled on the armrests and I dug my fingernails in. “How the hell is it worse?”

If I wasn’t already so hurt, I would have been overwhelmed with sadness at his expression. He looked crushed. “I took his money.”

I closed my eyes, which were burning with tears. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe this was too much to overcome. Too much damage for our friendship to survive.

“I’m a proud man, but I’m not too proud to tell you it made me sick. Fucking sick to my stomach about what he was doing, and that I let the asshole get away with it.” He plunked his drink down on the table and the ice sloshed in the glass. “It’s a shitty excuse, but my club went through some scary shit last year. Legal stuff. I was worried if I cut Tariq off, he’d fuck everything up.”

Julius leaned forward across the table and his gaze was focused. “Now, me? I don’t care about me. I can handle my problems. But the folks who work for me . . . they’re good people. I didn’t want none of them dragged down if the club fell.”

That sounded like typical Julius. He’d fall on his sword before he let anyone else die by it. I stared at the empty appetizer plate before me on the table, unable to look my friend in the eye.

“You should have told me,” I choked out. “You’re my best friend, right? I thought you were in my corner. I mean, you helped me through this whole thing . . . but you didn’t say a goddamn word.” My throat grew scratchy as the emotions welled up. “I can’t handle any more lies, Julius. I won’t deal with another guy who breaks my trust.”

“I know. You deserve a hell of a lot better. I made a huge mistake, but you can trust me, I swear.”

I didn’t know what else to say. “You should have fucking told me.”

“Yeah. I’m so sorry.” His sincere tone drew my gaze up like it was magnetic. “I’ll make it right if you’ll let me. Please tell me you can get past this. Maybe not tonight, but eventually. I gotta know. If this is the end, I wanna get it over with.”

I swallowed a breath.The end?I was angry and hurt, but he knew he’d fucked up. He was trying to apologize, and I believed in second chances. Didn’t I?

You gave Tariq one, and look how well it turned out.It wasn’t fair to compare them, thought. Julius was nothing like my ex-husband. I knew in my heart Julius was a good man, and I couldn’t stand the idea of losing him.

“It’s . . . not the end.”

Relief poured through his handsome face, and I fought back the next swell of emotions. I wanted to forgive him. It was in my nature to be forgiving, as long as there was regret. It was something Tariq had never shown me. Guilt? Sure. But he didn’t apologize. His only regret was at getting caught. Losing me felt like failure, and my ultra-competitive ex-husband didn’t like that.

“Is that it?” I asked. “You didn’t tell me the truth because you thought Tariq was going to fuck everything—”

“No.” Julius cut me off, but his eyes shifted away. He was nervous about something.

“Tell me the truth,” I demanded. “No more secrets.”

His gaze settled back on mine, and he looked like a man who was heading for his doom. “I didn’t say nothing because I thought you’d forgive him again and I’d lose you.” He made a face. “Not like you were mine, but I couldn’t stand you being with him while you knew he was running around with girls on the side.”

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