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“Oh! Okay,” Harry laughs. “Good to know.”
I drop onto a bench and my eyes follow him around as he continues his never-ending workout. I get plenty of ogling time in so I don’t complain.
We talk and we laugh and we joke the whole time, ignoring all the funny looks we earn from the few people using the equipment around us. Apparently these gym-goers just want to brood and grunt through their workouts in silence. Our laughter and joking is getting on their nerves.
Harry comes and plops down on the padded bench beside me. “Do you ever take a break?” He nudges my shoulder with his.
“A break from what?”
“From being so damn sexy.” He lifts my chin and covers my laughing lips with his.
His face goes somber and he looks into my eyes. “I’ve been thinking about our living arrangements…”
“Oh…?” My chest immediately starts to go tight.
He carries on. “We wake up together every morning and go to sleep with each other every night. It’s time to make it official and move in together.”
“I…I…” I clear my throat, not even knowing what I’m trying to say.
“I could put in an offer to buy my house and you could move in with me. But if you don’t want to give up your place, I understand. I’d be more than happy to move in with you. I just want us to be together. For real.”
I stare down at my manicure, my heart pounding.
“Nadia,” he softly calls my name. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I feel like we should…we should…not rush into anything.”
“Baby…” he says and in that one word, I can hear his heart breaking.
I pull in a breath. “I haven’t talked to Liam yet, Harry.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” I hear the edge in his voice. I deserve it for dragging my feet this long. “Look—I told you, I can handle it. I’ll talk to him if you don’t want to.”
“It’s complicated,” is all I say.
His jaw ticks as he watches me, carefully studying my face. “You’ve been acting strange for days now. What’s going on? Does it have anything to do with me? With the way you feel about me?”
“No,” I rush out. “Never. How I feel about you hasn’t changed. It will never change. There are…things happening…at work.” I choose my words carefully. “I can’t talk about them. By law. But I can tell you this—I will figure it out. All of it. Don’t worry.”
“Butyoulook worried, Nadia. Christ—you’re freaking out in there.” He taps my forehead. “I can see it.”
He deserves the truth. And I can’t give it to him. Not yet. My hands are tied. It’s tearing me apart.
I knew that this would turn into a mess. But all the foresight in the world couldn’t have prepared me for this—the magnitude of my feelings for Harry. The sensitive nature of what’s going on at work. What Liam has asked me to do.
If I had talked to Liam sooner, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad. If I had approached my boss before he divulged his intentions to trade my husband, we could have taken the appropriate measures. We could have erected an ethical wall, we could have implemented the necessary procedures, Liam could have consulted with outside counsel about Harry’s trade instead of coming to me.
Hell—he could have reported me to the bar association and kicked my ass to the curb. Eventhatwouldn’t have been as bad as the position I currently find myself in. I’m betraying my husband’s trust.
But instead of quickly coming clean, I dug this hole. And this is where my dreams will come to die.
Still watching me with concern, Harry runs a knuckle down my cheek. “I hate it when we fight.” He slips a kiss on my face. “Look, I understand that there are things you can’t share with me because of work. So I’ll back off. But you need to talk to Liam.”
“I will. Tomorrow. I promise.” I fucking mean it this time. This thing has dragged on for way too long.
Harry pulls me into a tight hug. “Love you.”
“Love you.” My heart aches.
