Page 57 of You Are Enough

“Sounds good.”

They walked hand in hand across the parking lot, but Adler stopped abruptly when he opened the door. His face fell.

Leila followed his stare, and standing at a high tabletop were two girls. Both were beautiful brunettes who looked like they could be swimsuit models. She glanced back at Adler. Seriously? Which one had he gone out with now, or was it both? A rock took up residence in Leila’s stomach, but she pushed her shoulders back and breathed in deeply. “You good?” she asked as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

He gathered himself and gave her his sexy smile. She stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips. If someone was watching them, they’d get the clue that he was no longer available. Neither of these girls said anything as they waited for their coffee, but the looks they shot their way were pure ice.

They walked to his car in an uncomfortable silence. Leila sipped at her drink to calm the lump in her stomach.

As soon as they got on the road, she turned toward him. “What was that about?”

“What?” He glanced at her, then put his eyes back on the road.

“Did you date one of those girls too? Or both of them?” She needed to know, though couldn’t ignore a feeling that squeezed at her heart.

“It doesn’t matter. Leila. They’re in the past.”

They. She couldn’t ignore it. Three girls in one night. Plus, if she thought of Desiree, that would be four women she’d met, or run into, that he had been with. He hadn’t admitted to sleeping with them, but he didn’t have to.

He wrapped her hand in his, and she turned toward the window, blinking back the tears that made her vision blurry.

Finally, they made it to her apartment. She had received a text from Diane saying she’d put Skylar to bed, so she put her finger to her lips as she unlocked the door. As soon as she closed it behind them, she was engulfed in Adler’s strong waiting arms. This was where she loved to be. His presence always affected her, and his brown eyes pulled her into his hypnotic gaze, but tonight it seemed different. She knew she needed to ignore the women they saw. That was a different Adler. This one saw only her. But ignoring his past was easier said than done.

“I’m sorry about tonight.” His voice was deep and throaty and made a small smile crawl up the corners of her mouth.

Her hands were on his chest, and she could feel his muscles beneath his shirt as his warmth radiated from it, but even his warmth couldn’t help relax the squeezing that still constricted her heart, making breathing difficult. Her eyes held his. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. You can ask me anything.” He squeezed his arms tighter around her.

“Please be honest.”

He raised his brow.

“Did you have sex with all those girls? Becca at the restaurant and the two in the coffee shop?” There. She asked. She wasn’t sure how knowing details about his past would make her feel better, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe they just went out a couple times, but there was nothing serious. Sex wasn’t a part of things. But her memories of her first impression of him came back and slammed into her, reminding her how much like Ben he was. She knew the answer before she saw it on his face.

His jaw flexed, and his gaze fell from hers. “Leila.” His voice was flat.

That’s all she needed. Why was it a surprise? She knew everything about him before she fell hard.You promised yourself you wouldn’t get involved with an egotistical asshole again, yet . . .She walked away and leaned on the counter.

“Leila. You knew you weren’t my first. You heard about my past. Those women meant nothing. Why are you letting it bother you?” His voice was calm, yet his words were clipped.

Leila didn’t know what she liked less. The fact that he didn’t deny having sex with them, or the fact that she knew this about him but fell for him anyway.

Adler moved next to her. “They don’t matter. The only ones that matter to me are you and Skylar. You know that. I’ve told you, you made me a better person.” He placed his hand on her back. “If anyone should be concerned and jealous it should be me.”

What? Her eyes went wide, and she backed away.

“I might have slept with those women, but I don’t have any babies with them. You have a connection with a man I won’t ever be able to sever.”

His words leaped at her. She didn’t like his tone at all. “Seriously? Ben isn’t now, nor will he ever be, a part of Skylar’slife. I learned to late that sex and women were just a passing interest for him. As soon as he got what he wanted, he moved on to one of the many waiting in the wings. Women meant nothing to him either.” She spat the words without thinking. “Anyway, it’s not anything the same. Ben was only the second man I ever slept with. I don’t have a history a mile long showing up in every corner of every town I go to.” There she said it. Now Adler knew how inexperienced she really was and how different their backgrounds were.

Adler took a step away from her and blinked rapidly. “You really think that way? You’re still comparing me to Ben. I thought you said the old Adler was gone. I thought you saw me here and now.”

Leila’s pulse was racing. All the feelings from the restaurant came back to her like a whirlwind. How she’d been invisible in the other woman’s presence. How she could see the impeccable Hollywood beauty in her and the two at the coffee shop. She was nothing like them. There was no way Alder could like her after being with them.

She swallowed the lump in her throat as her emotions threatened to get the best of her. “What I see now, and reality are totally different. I see those women, and I also see I’m nothing like any of them. I don’t know what this is, but you can’t really be interested in me, not after having them.”

Adler raked his fingers through his hair and linked his hands behind his neck. “How can you say that after last night, after how I’ve shown you how much I care for you and Skylar? You’re being so irrational right now. Those women meant nothing, which is why I’m not with them.” Irritation oozed from his words, and his voice became louder.

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