AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bright sunlight dances on my closed eyelids.
I yawn and bring a hand up to my face, pressing two fingers to my temples. I rub in slow, circular motions, a feeble attempt to ward off the splitting headache.
Then I pry one eye open and the other, wincing when my vision goes white. A pair of hands settles on my shoulders and squeezes.
I pry my tongue away from the roof of my mouth and mumble something incoherent.
Slowly, I open my eyes again and breathe a sigh of relief when I realize the room is actually dark.
Adrian shifts into focus, a smile hovering on the edge of his lips. Wordlessly, he hands me a mug of steaming hot coffee, a glass of water, and an aspirin.
With a sigh, I place the pill on my tongue and wash it down with the water.
Then I take a sip of the coffee. It trickles down my throat and settles in the pit of my stomach.
Smiling, I prop myself up against the pillow and set the mug down on my nightstand. “I wasn’t expecting you to still be here.”
“You slept for a few hours, and I thought we could have dinner together later tonight. I went out to take care of some business and I just got back in a little while ago.” Adrian perches on the edge of the bed and takes my hands in his. “Unless you still want me to go.”
I frown. “Dinner sounds good, but when did I say that I wanted you to leave?”
“In your sleep,” Adrian replies, his eyes moving steadily over my face. “Danielle, I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to do. And I had no idea keeping us a secret was weighing so heavily on you.”
I swallow. “It isn’t.”
Adrian gives me a pointed look.
“It doesn’t, most of the time,” I clarify, with a sheepish smile. “Look, I understand that you have a ranch to run. And that you have some difficult stuff to worry about, like your relatives for example. And I know why we need to keep things low key. But sometimes you take it too far.”
Adrian shifts closer and squeezes my hand. “What do you mean?”
“Like when we’re in public and you pretend like you don’t know me.” I say it with hesitation. It’s not the most comfortable thing to admit. And I don't want to cross any lines with him, not yet at least.
Adrian lifts my hands up to his mouth for a kiss. “I’m sorry if I did that, Danielle. I didn't mean to. It was never my intention. This is new for me too, and I’m trying to navigate all of this as well.”
I squeeze his hand back. “I guess we both need to work on it. You know you can tell me anything and you know we can overcome problems together, right?”
Adrian nods and crawls into bed with me. He tucks me into his side and strokes my hair. “I want you to know that you can come to me with anything, Danielle. You don’t have to hide things from me. And you don’t have to get drunk at the bar to get my attention either.”
I twist to look at him, and my heart misses a beat. “I want to believe you, Adrian. But between your behavior and my past experiences, I’m having a hard time.”
I’m opening my heart to him, and I don’t want to regret it.
But I can’t live with so much fear and uncertainty.
And being kept in the closet like some dirty little secret isn’t easy on me either. The longer we keep hiding our relationship, the harder it’s going to be to come clean about his behavior.
A part of me wants to continue to respect Adrian’s decisions and his desire to protect his business.
But another part of me feels stupid for agreeing to the arrangement in the first place.
Would you really have said no if you knew what you know now? Who are you kidding, Danielle? You were a goner the second you laid eyes on Adrian.
He squeezes my shoulders. “Okay, how about this? We’ll both talk about these things together. Whenever you’re having doubts, or you feel like I’m not being honest with you, just tell me.”
I search his face. “Are you being completely honest with me?”
Adrian pauses and glances away. “I’m being as honest as I can be.”
