Free VAIN - Part Three (The VAIN Series Book 3) by Deborah Bladon Page B

you the same girl who stripped naked for me right after we met?"
    "I didn't love you then." I stop. My eyes fill with tears. I said it. Not the way I wanted to. It's not the romantic scenario that I envisioned but the words are out there now. He knows it.
    "You love me, Alexa." There's no hint of a question there. He's not asking me anything. He's simply stating the obvious.
    I pat the bed next to me, wanting him beside me. He quickly acquiesces. "When did you know?"
    I can't say the words again right now. I need for them to settle in the air between us before I do that.
    "When you came to get me to take me to New York."
    "You knew then?"
    "When we were in my office." He pulls his hand around my waist, his cock settling next to my thigh. "I knew then that you were in love with me."
    I was. I hadn't been able to admit it to him or myself, but he's right. I did love him then. "How did you know?"
    "You wanted to fight for me." His voice cracks slightly before he regains complete control. "You wanted to give me a life outside of my apartment."
    I pull my head down to the sheet, hoping to ward off all the conflicting emotions that are rushing through me. "I still want that."
    "It's hard for me."
    "I know." I do know. I know that he's scared of what people will think when they see the scar. I know venturing out to Axel NY tonight was a huge step for him. I know that if I push this too much, he's going to pull back so hard that I'll feel alone and miserable again.
    "Alexa." His hand cups my jaw. "I need to tell you something."
    "What?" I study his expression trying to find anything that might indicate what he's about to confess. "Is it about Ari?'
    "Ari?" Her name sounds as distasteful coming from his lips as it does in my own mind. I haven't thought about her since he's been in New York. He hasn't mentioned her at all, which seems misplaced given the fact that he's confessed in the past that they're close friends.
    "It's stupid, but there's something…" I stall. "I wanted to ask you about the woman that Bernie saw at your apartment."
    "When?" His eyes scan my face. "When did Bernie see a woman there?"
    "You called the restaurant there a few weeks ago and asked for me to bring you a sandwich and then Bernie did and he told Hunter there was a woman there." Christ, that sounds as stupid coming out of me as it has when it's been bouncing through my random thoughts for weeks.
    "That was Ari." Again with the no-holds-barred answers. "She was there picking up some shit she left there."
    "What kind of shit?"
    "Magazines, some picture she gave me that she took of herself. I kept it in a drawer because her selfies shouldn't see the light of day." He cocks a brow along with a grin. "She was leaving town and wanted her stuff so I told her to come get it."
    "She left town?"
    "Weeks ago." He shrugs his shoulders. "She hooked up with some guy and they took off for California. I haven't heard from her since."
    I don't know where the wash of relief that flows over me comes from, but it's welcomed. "I'm glad."
    "You're glad?" He jokes. "I'm fucking over the moon ecstatic."
    I laugh gently. "That’s not what you wanted to tell me, is it?"
    "No." His expression immediately shifts from carefree to stoic. "It's not about Ari."
    "It's not about Brighton, is it?"
    "Brighton went back to Paris days ago." Noah brushes his fingers through my hair. "He's giving it another shot with Liz. He was here visiting his newborn nephew."
    I feel even more relieved now knowing that Brighton isn't going to pop up without warning to derail everything. "Good."
    "Can I talk now?" he asks. "I want you to understand something. It's something I've never told anyone."
    I can feel the seriousness of his words bore into me. "Tell me, Noah. Tell me." I roll to my side so I'm facing him directly.
    "Alexa." He reaches for my hand, pulling it into his. My lips skirt over my palm. "I hate my scar."
    I nod. "I know." I pull my hand from his to cradle his cheek. I run my index finger