“It’s not that simple,” he grits. “We’re beyond repair, okay? I made sure of that the night I fucked Olivia.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Do you still love Morgan?”
Noah doesn’t answer my question, his mood shifting immediately. “And if Dominic wants an exclusive relationship with you, would you say yes?”
“That’s the problem,” I mumble. “And if you want honesty, then here goes, I never wanted that from him. I learned to take the good and leave the bad.”
“So, you fuck him, and that’s it?” Noah grunts.
He makes it sound worse than it is. Or maybe, just maybe, it does appear that way. Yes, he satisfies me sexually, but Noah repeating the facts to me makes it sound ten times worse.
“Look, okay, we both got a lot going on. It’s great you came, but I’m not the same Kate you became friends with years ago.”
“You’re right,” Noah says, pulling away. “The Kate I loved would never have degraded herself to a man who offers her nothing but shame.”
Noah begins to walk away, leaving me to stand alone with his harsh words.
And a call from Dominic waiting to be answered.
KATE
An empty feeling in the pit of my stomach grows larger with every step closer toward the hotel.
As I stand outside the main doors, I stop and stare at the building before me, giving myself a few moments to regroup. Behind the doors is a man who will use his power to control the energy around us in his favor. Yet for years, we’ve been sneaking around, allowing him to do just that, and it never bothered me. Until now.
My lips press together in a slight grimace, struggling to take the next step forward. On top of my already heightened nerves, my earlier argument with Noah only adds to the stress of it all. I hate the fact that I’m even thinking about him right now. All of a sudden, he strolls back into my life, and I’m supposed to factor in his opinion?
You hate that he’s right.
With my shoulders back while inhaling a deep breath, my feet move forward and through the doors into the lobby. I agreed to meet him at the bar inside the hotel rather than the room. It was that or nothing. Despite his resistance to doing so, he finally agreed.
The bar is located just near the main desk, small with dim lighting creating an intimate environment for patrons enjoying a drink. The walls are a deep red with velvet chairs in the same color scattered around the round tables inside. Toward the back corner is a booth where Dominic is sitting. His head is bowed, and the thick black mane of hair which is normally styled perfectly, looks messy and misplaced. The weight of his gaze is fixated on the tumbler in his hands. As I move closer, the amber liquid appears to be whisky—his choice of drink.
I slide into the booth, his head rising to meet my eyes, though without a greeting or even a welcoming smile. Sitting on the table is a glass of wine he pre-ordered. Raising the glass toward my lips, I drink the entire contents before even speaking.
“I never explained to you why I married Allegra.”
“You said you got scared,” I so easily remind him.
“Yes, I did, to an extent,” he admits with a hoarse voice. “About five years ago, I helped an old friend of mine who was in trouble financially. I was naïve to think loaning the money would’ve solved the problem. He owed the wrong people, and when they found out I had some tie to him, I was on their radar.”
I’d heard the story too often in the corporate world—corrupt dealings, hands in the black market, all sorts of trouble which is fatal to any reputable business.
Dominic runs his finger along the edge of the glass before continuing, “Allegra’s father offered me a lifeline… marry his daughter, and the problem will disappear.”
“So, your marriage is somewhat a business deal. Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
He simply nods his head, keeping his words at bay. “Kate, I want you, but ending my marriage is complicated.”
“But where’s this coming from? I don’t understand, Dominic. You made it clear from the beginning that you didn’t do relationships. Period.”
“You don’t understand love?”
I never in my wildest dreams expected Dominic to say the four-letter word. When told in the right circumstances, this word can seal your future, fill it with joy and happiness. And then there are moments like now when a man carelessly uses the word like it means nothing.
Staring at the table, I have nothing positive to say right now. A sudden feeling of heaviness expands within me, causing my muscles to turn numb. I’m unable to smile, laugh, cry, or evoke any emotion besides shock.
Dominic places his hand on mine, a loving gesture, unlike his usually distant self. “I think about you all day and all night. When she’s lying beside me in bed, I picture it being you. It always comes back to you. I’ve never felt this way before. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”