AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ana’s fine.”
“Then what?” This was not the man she had spent lunch sharing kisses with. This man looked like he wanted to...
Oh, no. She spied the crumpled papers in his fist. Pain began spreading across her chest, sharp like a heart attack. Why couldn’t the past have stayed buried for a little while longer?
“I can explain,” she said.
“Oh, I bet you can.” His voice had gone dead. “I bet you have a whole slew of explanations at the ready.”
“Stuart—”
“I trusted you,” he spit. “When you said you told me everything, I believed you, but you were lying.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I was telling the truth.”
“Oh, yeah?” He stalked closer, waving the papers in his fist like they were a club. “Then tell me. Why do I have a police record telling me you were a prostitute?”
CHAPTER TEN
THE ACCUSATION HUNG between them, a fat, ugly cloud. Patience wished she could turn herself into Nigel. He’d run under the bed when Stuart slammed the door.
“This is what you were really hiding, wasn’t it? You didn’t want Ana to know who she’d hired. What she’d hired.”
What she’d hired? How dared he? “I am not a prostitute.”
“Your police record says otherwise.”
“Police records don’t tell the whole story.” A few sentences typed on a form. How could it possibly cover all the details?
Tell that to Stuart, though. His outburst seemed to let out some of his steam, making the anger more of a slow boil. Patience preferred the outrage. Folding his arms, he settled in a nearby chair, his eyes burning holes in her skin.
“Then by all means, enlighten me,” he said. “I can’t wait to hear the long version.”
“Why should I bother? You’ve obviously made up your mind.” Worse, she wasn’t entirely sure she could blame him after hiding the truth the way she had.
“Try me.”
Patience almost laughed, the comment was so close to his words the night of the dance. The night she should have come clean. He’d been willing to listen then. Now she wasn’t so sure.
In his chair, Stuart sat waiting. Her own personal judge and jury.
She took a deep breath. “You ever been to a place like Feathers? It’s not some upscale bachelors’ club. It’s a dive, with divey people. Some of the girls—a lot of the girls—did stuff on the side to make extra cash.”
“But not you.”
“No!” she snarled. She got it. He was angry and hurt, but to even suggest... How many nights had she spent in his arms offering herself to him, body and soul? She didn’t share herself like that with just anyone, and he should know that.
Stuart must have realized he’d crossed the line, as his voice lost its sharp edge. “How did you get lumped in with the others then?”
“One night, the cops raided the club, and hauled us all downtown. My lawyer said it would be too hard to fight the charge and I’d be better off pleading out to avoid jail time.”
“Too hard for whom? You or him?”
It was the first civil thing he’d said since walking in, and it was a question she’d asked herself dozens of time. “I just wanted the whole thing to go away so I did what he said. I didn’t want to risk breaking my promise to Piper.
“And that,” she said, sinking onto the edge of the bed, “is the long version.”
Neither of them said anything for several minutes. Patience stared at the floral duvet, counting the various blossoms. A tail brushed her ankle. Nigel making his escape to the kitchen. The lucky guy
Finally, Stuart broke the silence. “If all this is true, why did you lie? I might have understood if you’d told me first.”
“Because I wanted to forget the night ever happened. I felt dirty enough. To admit I not only danced like a cheap whore, but I was arrested like one, too?” No matter how tightly she wrapped her arms around her midsection, her stomach still ached every time she thought about it. “Do you have any idea how it felt the other night, having to tell you about my pathetic past? I wanted to salvage a little bit of dignity.” And also cling to him a little bit longer.
None of that mattered now. Patience had seen the loathing on Stuart’s face when he walked in.
“All I ever wanted from this job was respect.”
“You had my respect.”
Had. Past tense. Her insides ripped in two. Hadn’t she known from the beginning getting involved with Stuart was a bad idea. Don’t drop your defenses, she’d told herself. The crash would be worse if you let yourself care.
