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I chuckled and she playfully slapped him on the chest.
“Where’s your boss?” he questioned.
“In his office, being an asshole to someone.”
Belle smirked, understanding my retort far too well.
I swear Tristian and Adrian were cut from the same cord. The little time I worked with him at their office after they got married, he was as alpha as Adrian. No wonder they were friends.
Adrian strode into the room, looking every bit the man of the house. For the next few hours, we ate dinner and caught up. It felt natural, easy, as if we’d done this hundreds of times before, the double dating. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together, I knew this was probably part of his intent on having them over for dinner.
His plan worked like a charm.
Adrian looked good in my world.
And I wanted him to stay there.
“You’re staring at him,” Belle muttered under breath for only me to hear.
I must have made a tormented expression because she loudly questioned, “Paige, can I have a tour of the penthouse?”
I smiled. I loved her. “Adrian, is that all right?”
“I already told you, Paige. What’s mine is yours.”
I smirked, and we excused ourselves. Once we were alone and out of sight in Adrian’s bedroom, I nodded to the couches in the corner of his suite for us to sit on.
“Spill. Tell me everything and don’t you dare leave anything out.”
I profoundly sighed, basically falling onto the sofa with her.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Okay, I’ll do it for you. There’s more going on between the two of you other than you just being his EA, isn’t there?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Which one? The sexual tension or the unrequited love?”
“Wow. No sugarcoating, huh?”
She shrugged. “I can’t help it. It’s in my nature.”
“It’s why you’re one of the best businesswomen in the world.”
“You’re trying to butter me up. This is bad.”
“You could say that.”
“Paige, you’re keeping me in suspense here. I could go into labor.”
I chuckled. “You’re still a few months away.”
“I know but do it for the baby.”
“Does that card work on Tristian?”
“Every time.”
We laughed.
“Fine. I’ll confess, but before I get into any of that, you have to promise you’re not going to get mad?”
“I don’t like this introduction.”
“I know, but it’s all I got.”
“Okay.” She reluctantly sighed. “I promise.”
“I’m just going to come right out and say it.”
“You’re scaring me. Are you in trouble?”
“Well… I sort of have a stalker.”
“You what?” she shouted a little too loudly.
“Shhh! I think they heard you across town.”
“You have a stalker?!”
I grabbed her hands. “Keep your voice down!”
“Paige, what the fuck?”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I didn’t want you to worry about me. You had so much of your own drama going on with Tristian. You didn’t have to take mine on too.”
She stared at me flabbergasted. “That’s what best friends do.”
“Don’t make me feel worse than I already do, Belle.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Umm…”
“Paige,” she sternly stressed. “How long?”
“Over a year.”
“A year?!”
I raised my hands in a surrendering gesture. “You promised you wouldn’t get mad.”
“I take back my promise. I’m livid.”
“That’s not how promises work. You can’t take it back.”
“You need to start explaining before I murder you for not telling me in the first place.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am on your side, but that doesn’t mean I’m not furious I’m only just now hearing about this. I can’t believe you hid this from me.”
“I just… I didn’t… I know.” I squeezed her hands, placing them on my lap. “I’m so sorry. I won’t keep anything from you again.”
“I’m assuming Adrian is aware.”
“More than aware. He’s completely taken control of my life.”
“Well… I could think of worse things. How do you two know each other anyway?”
I bowed my head, feeling ashamed as I shared…
“He was my best friend’s brother.”
Twenty-Three
Paige
“Was?”
“Yeah, we’re not best friends anymore. We haven’t been in a very long time. I haven’t seen him in ten years and up until I saw Adrian in your kitchen, I hadn’t seen him either.”
“What happened?”
“So much.”
“And you haven’t moved passed it?”
“I can’t. It’s staring me in the face every time Adrian looks at me.”
“You mean his love for you?”
“Adrian doesn’t love me.”
“Are you blind? I could see his love for you from the minute he saw you in my kitchen.”
“I don’t…you just don’t know Adrian. He’s…complicated.”
“What about your stalker? What’s happened there?”
“We can’t figure out who it is.”
“How bad is it?”
“Bad enough to where I’m scared all hours of the day.”
“Oh, Paige… Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It wasn’t that bad up until Adrian came back into my life. He obviously doesn’t like that.”
“He? It’s a man then?”
“Adrian’s convinced it is.”
“Do you have any leads on who it could be?”
“Not one.”
“Jesus, Paige. What about a PI or a—”
“Already done.”
“So the guards at your door? That’s for you?”
