Exposed - Part Three (The Exposed Series, #3) (2 page)

"How did you know about the party?" He leans forward, resting his elbow on the table.

"I knew there was a party. I just thought it was the opening of a restaurant that Hunter, or, Zander was helping with." I grimace at the fumble of his name.

"One of his restaurants?"

"One of the ones that he's been consulting on," I push back. I didn't come to talk about him. I came based on the tone of the text messages that Clive had written last night. I felt I could help him deal with the pain of losing Coral. Now it's all turned into an inquisition about Hunter.

"He owns Axel. You know that right?" he snaps.

His words hit me like a sharp slap across the face. I feel as though I'm a sitting duck and he's the hunter with the rifle. In this case, the ammunition is the truth and it's hitting me square in the face.

"The one in Boston too?" I ask sheepishly.

He nods. "He didn't tell you that?"

I shake my head slightly. He didn't tell me anything. I don't even know him and I shared so much of myself with him. 

"What's going on with the two of you?" There's a dark edge to his voice.

"Nothing," I whisper. "Nothing."

"He told you he was Coral's boyfriend, right?" He leans back in his chair and I feel as though the room suddenly has more air.

"Yes and that I had her heart." I instinctively look down at my chest.

"Did he tell you my sister and mother wanted desperately to meet you?" His arms are crossed. I can sense that he's shifting into an offensive mode. Maybe he knows that something is going on with Hunter and me.

"He told me about them." I sit up and stare directly at him. "He told me about you too. He said you were an asshole."

He laughs and I see something shift in his eyes. "He's the asshole," he counters.

"I won't argue with you." I smile.

He cocks a brow and a sly grin runs over his lips. "My mother wants to see you. She called me twice already today asking me to arrange it."

"I want to see her too." I give him a brisk nod. "I have to go back to Boston today. I can come back in a week or two." I mean it but right now I can't even imagine seeing Coral's mother.

"I can bring her to you," he offers. "She'd like to talk to your parents if they're open for that."

I exhale sharply. I haven't even considered the thought of my parents meeting Coral's family. "I'll need to talk to them first."

He runs his index finger over his lips as he takes in my reply. "Just let me know when the time is right."

I move to push myself back from the table. As much as I wanted to help him by talking about Coral's heart, I need to get back to the room so Alexa and I can make it to the train station on time. "I have to go."

"He didn't say a word about you to any of us." He stands at the same moment I do. "Nothing. We didn't realize he'd found you."

"He's full of secrets," I whisper before I turn and walk away.

"W
e need to talk."

I jump at the sound of his voice behind me as I lock the heavy door of the bistro. I should have taken Alexa up on her offer of a ride home but I wanted to walk to clear my head. Now, after avoiding him for days, I'm finally going to have to face Hunter face-to-face.

"Zander," I pull the name across my lips slowly. "Leave me the fuck alone."

"Don't call me that." He grabs my shoulder.

I pull back harshly as I twist my body so I'm facing him. I don't look up. I can't. I don't want to face him after realizing how easily he played on my emotions. "That's your name," I spit back.

"Look at me, Sadie." He takes a step towards me and I retreat so my back is pressed against the door.

I pull my gaze up so I'm staring directly into his face. "Why?" I seethe. "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be with your fiancée?"

He doesn't flinch at the words. He doesn't move an inch. His gaze darkens as he runs his eyes over my face.  "I need to explain."

I laugh at the suggestion. "You can't possibly explain everything." I try to push past him but his stance is resolute.

"I can and I will." He sighs and shoves a hand through his hair. I use the opportunity to quickly escape. "You're not leaving." I feel his hand grab my elbow just as I take a step towards the parking lot.

"Let go of me, Zander," I say his name again. It's giving me the emotional distance I need to keep myself in one piece.

"Never." He pulls me into his chest with both hands. "I will never let you go."

I stand silent for a moment soaking in the words. When he said that to me last week it offered an oasis of comfort and desire. I got lost in the words. I was so lost in him.

I twist abruptly until I'm free of his grasp. "It's not your choice." I turn and face him.

"Sadie, stop this," he pleads. "Come to my place. Let me explain."

"You've got to be kidding." I'm startled by his bold suggestion. Does he not understand that I'm never going back there? "We're done," I state boldly. "Done."

"No." He's shaking his head wildly back and forth. "Don't say that."

"You are marrying someone else," I scream. "You're engaged to her and you fucked me. That's disgusting."

"I don't want to marry her." His hands are trembling. "I want to be with you."

"You're unbelievable." I take a step back to gain distance. I can't listen to him telling me he wants to be with me. He doesn't mean it. He can't mean it. She's wearing his ring.

"Please," he begs. "Give me an hour to explain. One hour."

"No." I turn to walk away. "You're a liar. I don't want to hear it."

"I can't lose you." I hear him calling after me as I run through the parking lot towards the street. Once I'm certain he can't see me, I crumble to the grass and let out a deep, guttural cry.

***

"I
want to go visit Dylan." I try to sound convincing. I doubt my father is going to buy into this. He knows that whenever my older brother and I are in the same room, the air is filled with tension and resentment.

"Since when?" He drops the newspaper he's reading so his eyes are peering over it. "Maria, get me another coffee, please."

Maria throws me a sympathetic look. After running my speech about how much I missed Dylan past her in the kitchen a few minutes ago, she warned me that my father would have more doubts about my sincerity than she did.

"I thought it would be good to go see him before school starts again." I sit across the table from him hoping he'll just agree so I can go upstairs to pack.

"What are you running away from?" He places the paper on the table, pulls off his reading glasses and stares directly at me.

"Nothing," I spit back a bit too eagerly.

"Last week you and your friend hopped a train to New York." There's no discernable emotion in his voice.

"You make it sound like we stowed away on a freight train." I laugh awkwardly. "We wanted to go explore the city."

"No." He leans forward and lowers his voice. "You wanted to go see a man."

"It doesn't matter anymore," I say fiercely. I refuse to tell my father about what happened. I don't want to confess that I was sleeping with a man who was engaged to someone else. I still have to broach the subject of my parent's meeting Coral's mom.

"It does." His tone is insistent. I'm regretting ever bringing up the subject of running off to see my brother.

"It's over, dad." I stand to leave the room. "It's not worth talking about."

"You were seeing Zander Reynolds, weren't you?"

I fall back into my chair. How did my father know that? How does he know his name? "How?" I manage to whisper.

"I warned him to stay away from you." He slams his clenched fist into the table. "I told him there would be hell to pay if he went anywhere near you."

I shake my head hoping to escape the horror of the moment. My father knows Hunter? He's spoken to him?

"You know him?" I suck in a trembling breath. This can't be real. We can't be having this conversation.

"He's been trying to talk to you for years. Years, Sadie." He bolts from his chair and walks towards me. "He wanted to use you to relieve him of all the guilt he felt over her death."

"Wait," I bark at him. "You knew about Coral. You lied." I stand and point my finger directly at him. "I asked how much you knew about my donor and you lied."

"It was better that way." His tone is dismissive and terse. "You're too emotional for your own good."

The words bite. He's lied too. Every day since I got Coral's heart has been filled with lies.

"H
unter," I whisper his name as he steps over the threshold into his apartment.

He jumps at the sound and the overnight bag in his hand falls to the floor with a dull, empty thud.  He stares at me as if he's trying to register what I'm doing in his home.

"I used this." I point to the key I placed on top of the piano. "I wanted to return it and talk to you."

"How long have you been here?" He slides his suit jacket off.

"I'm not sure." I shrug my shoulders. "Hours, I guess."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here." He moves towards me. "I should have been here."

"Don't be silly," I say as I walk to the bank of windows so I can distance myself from him. "You have a life in New York." I know the words will sting but I don't care. He can't grasp all the pain he's caused me.

He pulls in a heavy sigh and sits on the piano bench facing me. "I deserve that."

"I deserve the truth," I counter. "I don't expect it from you. I really don't but there is something I need to understand."

"What's that?" He rests his elbows on his knees as he cradles his face in his hands. "Whatever it is, I'll help you understand."

"When did you meet my father?" My voice cracks even though I rehearsed the question countless times before he arrived.

His head shoots up and his eyes catch mine. I can see the shock in them but it's still only a fraction of what I felt when I was hit with the realization that he was marrying Coral's sister.

"How do you know about that?" He clears his throat. "Who told you I know him?"

"It's the reason you didn't come to dinner that night, isn't it?" I toss the words carelessly at him. Ever since my father said Hunter's name I've been replaying that night in my mind. It's no wonder he backed out at the last minute. How could he have come to that restaurant and faced my father after he was warned to stay away from me?

He nods. "I couldn't. He hates me."

"I can't believe you know each other." I reach to the edge of the piano to steady my balance. "You're both such good liars."

"Stop that," he hisses. "You haven't let me explain. Don't put me in the same category as your father before you know my side."

"Your side?" I glare at him. "What's your side? That you somehow forgot to tell me that you were getting married? That you actually own the restaurants you pretend to be helping with? Clive said you were an asshole and I have to agree with him."

"What?" He pulls the word through his clenched teeth. "When did you talk to Clive?"

"That's none of your business." I exhale harshly. "Who I talk to about you or anything else is no longer your business."

"He hates me," he snaps back. "They all hate me."

"Hardly," I laugh as I reach for my purse on the piano. "You're marrying one of them."

"You're not leaving until we settle this." He jumps to his feet and steals my purse from my grasp.

I cross my arms across my chest. "Hunter, I don't want to settle anything. You're a liar and a cheat. That's all I need to know."

"I am an asshole. Clive was right about that," he says in a rush. "I'm an asshole for letting things with Christina get as far as they have."

"You mean asking her to marry you?" I almost laugh at the audacity of the words. "You realize you're not making any sense, right?"

"It's complicated, Sadie." His jaw tightens. "I don't love her."

My heart jumps at his announcement but any joy is brief and fleeting. He's marrying her. I saw the ring. I saw her rush into his arms. I was at their engagement party.

"Then end it," I push back.

"I can't." His shoulders tense and he heaves his head forward. "I can't."

"Then we have nothing left to say to each other." I pull my purse from his grasp and march towards the door.

"I love you, not her," he says as I put my hand on the doorknob. "Only you, Sadie."

I shake my head as I step through and listen to the door slam closed behind me.

"H
e told you he loved you?" The giddiness in Alexa's voice is both misplaced and unnerving.

I pull both my eyebrows up in mock surprise. "This isn't a cause for celebration."

"Why not?" She genuinely seems shocked.

"He's marrying someone else." I lean forward as if my stance is going to help her to absorb the words. "Did you forget that part?"

"He won't marry her if he's in love with you." She turns to refill a napkin holder. "He's going to end it with her, rush in here and sweep you off your feet."

"If we were part of a scripted reality show that would happen." I smooth my hands over my apron. "He said he couldn’t end the engagement."

"He actually said that to you?" She turns so quickly that she knocks the napkin holder onto the floor.

I wait for her to bend down to retrieve it but she stands stoically staring at me. I sigh before I kneel to pick up the holder and all the wayward napkins that are now strewn everywhere. "He said it."

"Leave that alone." I feel her grab the top of my apron trying to pull me to my feet. "This is an emergency."

"What is?" I glance up at her. "That Hunter is a cheating bastard who has no intention of leaving her for me? How can you be surprised by that?"

"Stand up," she barks. "Now, Sadie."

I pull as many of the napkins into my hands as I can. "Why are we debating this?" I stand and look directly at her. "Why bother?"

"You think he's not breaking up with her because she's better than you." It's a statement, not a question and it irks me.

I train my gaze over her head. I can't look her in the eyes when I respond or she'll see right through my thinly veiled attempt to be strong. "He's marrying her. That's what he said. End of discussion."