Free Indiscretion: Volume Three (Indiscretion #3) by Elisabeth Grace Page A

together by the beginning of next week.
    “If you need me to get involved, just say the word,” I told him, taking a long drink of my beer.
    “Will do. I can handle it, though.” We sat in silence for bit, watching the game on the television behind the bar. “So how come you didn’t want to go to Geddy’s, man? That place is a regular feeding frenzy for single guys on Friday nights.”
    I knew I shouldn’t tell him anything, but my secret would be safe with Paul. I needed to confide in someone. Not only was I falling for this woman and could use the advice of my friend, but I was concerned for her safety. I’d already taken measures into my own hands to protect her, unbeknownst to her. I didn’t think I was overreacting, but another opinion couldn’t hurt.
    I filled him in on everything—our one night stand in New York, the sneaking around, and the threatening activities centered around Chloe.
    “Man, you’ve been hitting it regularly here and this is the first I’m hearing of it?” He laughed.
    I shook my head in mock disgust at him. “You’ll never change.”
    He shrugged. “Probably not.” He took a pull of his beer, then spoke. “You care about her.”
    Apparently, I was pretty fucking transparent. “Why do you say that?”
    “The way you talk about her. How concerned you are about all the weird stuff happening. Even when you were engaged to Sarah, I never saw you talk about her like that. In fact, you hardly spoke of her at all.”
    I reflected back on my relationship with Sarah and realized he was right. When I wasn’t with her, I was content to have time to myself. Even when we’d first started dating. Not with Chloe. With her, I thought of her constantly, wondering what she was doing, was she thinking about me, how long would it be before I could see her again. No, I couldn’t get enough of Chloe, regardless of how much time I spent with her.
    “I suppose.” I shrugged, not wanting to show him just how deeply this was all affecting me. “There’s nowhere for it to go, though. I’ll be out of town in a few months, and she has a life here.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “You sure you want to continue on with this thing? You could just as easily end it with her and find some other pussy to play with until you leave.”
    I shoved his shoulder, nearly knocking him off his chair. “It wouldn’t be the same.”
    “Oh, shit.” A slow smirk crept onto his face. “You really have fallen for her. She must have some magic pussy, man.”
    I gave him a what-the-fuck look. “Piss off.”
    He laughed at my expense. “Seriously, though. That shit going on with her is messed up. Are you really concerned that she’s in danger?”
    I sighed. “I don’t know, but I’m not willing to take any chances. I hired a body guard to keep an eye on her.”
    Paul smirked at me. “Does she know?”
    “Fuck, no. She’d never be cool with that.”
    He let out a low whistle. “Better hope she doesn’t find out.”
    “Don’t I know it.” I took a pull from my beer. “It’s for the best, though. Even if she does find out.”

Chloe
    The remainder of the week had flown by as I tried to catch up on all things real estate, as well as get all the last minute arrangements together for the charity gala. I was stressed to the max with everything going on, and thinking of the acting job I was going to have to pull off tonight wasn’t helping. Pretending to be indifferent to Max’s presence was going to prove challenging. It would be worth it, though. Max had proved instrumental in helping me relieve stress, not to mention the fact that I really felt like I was coming into my own.
    When my sister had left for college, my entire role in life had been a big question mark. I was no longer responsible for her day-to-day. And while I had at first resisted the temptation to live for myself and what made me happy, Max was helping me to see that fulfilling my own needs didn’t make me a selfish person.
    I smoothed the