Exposed - Part Two (The Exposed Series, #2) (8 page)

"You're cold." He pulls away from to retrieve the suit coat he pushed off his shoulders before we made love. He wraps it tenderly around my body. "Wear this. Let's get you home."

I smile at how loving he's being with me. "Can I have my key back?"

"It's in the pocket." He gestures to the jacket. "Keep it until I'm back. I like the idea of you wearing my stuff."

"S
o all is good on the Hunter front?" Alexa is looking through my dresser drawers. "Where's that pink t-shirt you bought last month? I want to borrow it."

I point to a pile of clothes on the chair by my desk. "Somewhere in that mess and you can have it. Once you wear it, it's going to be stretched out." I motion to her chest.

She grins as she reaches to pick up Hunter's suit jacket from the top of the messily stacked clothes. "Since when do you wear men's business suits?"

"That's Hunter's. He gave it to me the other night. I was cold."

"This is premium." She slips it over her shoulders. "Not only is he a great fuck, he has good taste in clothes."

I laugh as I join her at the desk. I start rifling through the pile of clothes trying to find the pink t-shirt that she's suddenly claimed as her own.

"Seriously, this is gorgeous." She runs her hands over the fabric of the jacket. "This suit costs a lot of money. I can't afford anything nice on a teacher's salary. Maybe I need to go into the restaurant consultation business too."

I laugh at the suggestion of her switching careers at this point. The reason she wanted to be a teacher in the first place was for all the vacation time.

"He left his keys in here." She whips the keys he gave me out from one of the pockets. "He should have noticed by now that he didn't have these."

"They're mine." I beam. "He gave me keys to his place."

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up," she says slowly. "You have keys to his apartment. You can come and go as you please?"

"I guess." I realize when I answer that Hunter and I never defined any rules for when I can go over there. "He didn't say otherwise."

"This is way more serious than you've been letting on." She sits next to me. "You're practically living with him."

"I'm not," I scoff. "It's just keys."

"What's this?" She pulls a white piece of paper from the inside pocket. "He's full of surprises. Is it a love note?"

I reach to grab it from her grasp but she's too quick. She scrambles over the bed as she pulls the note open.  I watch as she scans the paper and then throws it on the bed. "It's nothing. Something about an appointment."

I pick it up and instantly recognize Hunter's handwriting. It's the same curved letters that were on the card when he sent me flowers. It's scrawled recklessly but I can make out tomorrow's date and a Manhattan address.

"This must be the new restaurant opening that he had to go to New York for." I stare at the paper finding some brief thrill in touching something Hunter held in his hand.

"We should go." Alexa blurts out as she slides the suit jacket off her shoulders.

"What?" I shoot back. "You're kidding."

"Why?" She smiles brightly as she pulls the pink t-shirt from the pile of clothes. "You told me he said he wanted you to go to a soft launch with him one day. What better chance are you going to get?"

I feel excitement run through me at the suggestion. "Do you think he'd be pissed if we just showed up?"

"He'd be thrilled that you surprised him." She pulls the white t-shirt she's wearing over her head, revealing her bright red bra.

"I don't know, Alexa." I'm wary of the idea. The sharp chime of my phone breaks our conversation.

"He's hot for you. He'd want to see you if he could." She pulls the pink shirt over her head and it hugs her curves like a glove. I instantly regret buying it when I see how much better it looks on her than on me.

I glance down at my phone.

I miss you so much. I wish you were here. H

"He misses me," I whisper.

"That's our sign." She scoops her purse off the bed and reaches for the doorknob. "We're taking the train into Manhattan tomorrow to surprise your boyfriend."

"D
o you think he'll be excited to see me?" I pull the belt on my blue dress tight around my waist. I peer at myself in the mirror. This is the first time I've gone anywhere since the transplant with so much of my scar on display.

"He's going to ravage you on the spot." She motions for me to zip up the sleek red dress she brought with her. "With any luck he'll have a friend who is as hot as him. I need to get laid."

I laugh out loud. "If things go well maybe you'll be back here alone with a guy tonight."

"Count on it." She traces a tube of pink lipstick around her mouth. "I'm ready to paint the town red or pink or whatever."

"Thanks for suggesting we do this." I settle onto the edge of the bed as I watch her play with her hair in the mirror.

"He's made you trust yourself more." She piles her hair on top of her head before she turns to each side to survey how it looks.

"I'm not sure I understand that." I look down at my lap. "I've always trusted myself."

"He's helped you believe that it's okay to have fun. He helped you trust that people don't care about the scar as much as you think they do."

I nod. "I guess that's true."

"Do you think we should pin my hair up or should I wear it down?" She lets her hair fall back down around her shoulders.

I instantly pull her hand to my straightened dark hair. This is the first time in a long time that I haven't wished I looked exactly like Alexa. Maybe she's right. Maybe he has helped me trust in myself more. I trust that I'm enough now.

"Let's pin it up." I reach to grab her overnight bag where she's stored all of her hair accessories. "Your neck is so beautiful. You should show it off."

She reaches to grab my hand. "You're beautiful too. You believe that now, don't you?"

"I do." I squeeze her hand as I smile at her reflection in the mirror.

***

"T
his is the place," Alexa shouts through the barrier at the cab driver as he pulls the car to a sudden halt next to the curb.

"You're sure?" I glance out the window into the street and I don't see anything even remotely notable. I pull a few bills from my purse and hand them to the driver. My heart is beating so hard I can hear it in my ears.

"It's the address that he wrote down." Alexa squints at the note that Hunter left in his suit jacket. "It's a restaurant so this has to be it."

She pulls me towards the bank of windows and we both peer in. It's full and I can't imagine how we're going to weave our way through that crowd. People are laughing and as I scan the faces I don't see Hunter's anywhere. Maybe this was a mistake after all. Maybe we should just turn around and go back to Boston.

"Mr. Reynolds invited us." Alexa has snuck over to the door and she's talking to an attractive man stationed there. I listen intently as she tells him she's single and asks what he's doing after the party. The fact that he now has her phone in his hand suggests she's already collected her first number of the night. It's impressive considering the fact that we haven't even gotten inside the building yet.

"Sadie, let's go." She motions for me to follow her and I hesitate briefly before I step towards the entrance. I won't turn back now. Once Hunter sees me, I can't control his reaction. I just want so desperately for him to be as excited to see me, as I am to see him.

We're greeted with the smell of delicious food and a warm ambiance. The restaurant is decorated in the same tones and warmth as Axel, back in Boston. I smile as I think back to Hunter taking me home that night and asking if I wanted to kiss him.

"This is so much like Axel." I whisper into Alexa's ear, hoping she'll hear me above the noise in the room.

"It's called Axel NY," she calls back towards me. "Did you know he was working on this?"

I shake my head even though her gaze is cast forward and she can't see my reaction. Why wouldn't he have mentioned this was one of his projects when he saw me at the Boston location?

"Let's grab a drink." She grabs tightly to my hand and weaves her way through the crowd to the bar. "Two of those," she yells to the bartender and I shudder at the thought of what she's just ordered for us. I don't let go of her hand as I search the room for Hunter. I still don't see him within the crowd.

"I haven't noticed either of you lovely ladies in here before." A blond man grabs my arm and I recoil at his touch. He's older than us. Closer to Hunter's age I'd guess. Why would we have been here before tonight? It's the soft launch.

"We're just in town visiting." Alexa spins back around so she's practically touching his nose.

I tune out their conversation as I reach into my purse to fish for my phone. After checking for any messages from Hunter, I contemplate sending him a text telling him I'm here. I don't want to ruin the surprise though. I didn't come all this way to miss the reaction on his face when he sees me in the crowd.

"Alexa, I'm..." my voice trails as I realize she's no longer standing next to me. Panic rushes through me. There are so many people in the room. It's so noisy and I'm alone. I wish I could find Hunter. I need to ask someone where he is.

I push my way away from the bar towards one of the open windows near the street. I pause when I see a flash of red hair in the crowd. I recognize the hue. That's the same red hair that Coral had in the picture.

I maneuver my way towards her and I'm rewarded with the silhouette of a woman near the window. She turns to face me and I instantly can see the distinctive curve of her nose. This has to be Christina. She must be Coral's sister.  It would make sense that she'd be here. Hunter is like family to her family.

"Excuse me," I say quietly hoping she'll turn. She stands silent, her gaze cast to the street.

"Miss." I tap her on the shoulder and it causes her to jump.

"Yes?" Her voice is lovely. She's regal. The deep blue dress she's wearing highlights the color of her eyes.

"I'm looking for someone." I try to level my voice. This has to be the woman Hunter told me about. She knew and loved Coral.

"Who might that be?" The way she pulls her gaze over my body suggests she doesn't think I measure up to her. He did say she was pretentious. He was right.

"Hunter Reynolds."

She raises her left brow before she laughs. "You're not one of those, are you?"

"One of what?" I try to hold onto my composure. Hunter wasn't kidding when he said she was difficult. I haven't been speaking to her for more than a minute and I can already feel her displeasure in my disturbing her.

She inhales sharply. "One of those people who still calls him by that wretched nickname. He hasn't been Hunter since high school. "

"Nickname," I whisper. Hunter is his nickname?

"Do you know where he is? He's handling the launch of the restaurant, isn't he?"

"This restaurant?" She furrows her brow in confusion. "We've been open for months."

"This isn't a launch party?" I scan the room searching desperately for any sign of Hunter. Maybe that note in his pocket had nothing to do with his job. Maybe I've stumbled into a private party for Coral's family.

"What's your name?" she asks without any reservation in her tone.

"Sadie."

"You're Sadie? The Sadie?" Her voice is louder now and I can see people turning to look at us through the corner of my eye.

"Sadie Lockwood." I offer.

Her gaze falls from my face to my chest. Her eyes are glued to the top of my scar. "He brought you here for me, didn't he?" She pulls her hand to cover her mouth. "Are you the surprise he promised me?"

I can't understand what she's saying. "Am I what surprise?"

"My engagement present." She reaches to touch my chest and I pull back sharply. I look behind me for Alexa. I want to go. I can't do this. I don't understand what's going on.

"You have Coral's heart." Her voice cracks as she says her sister's name.

"You're Christina, aren't you?" I ask even though I already know the answer.

"He told you about me?" She smiles brightly.

I can only nod in agreement. I feel as though I've stepped into an alternative universe.

"You
are
my present." She pulls me into a tight embrace. "Zander promised us he'd find you before the wedding and he brought you to our engagement party. Wait until my mother sees you."

The light above us catches on her diamond ring, just as she gasps loudly. "Zander, you're finally here..."

She rushes towards the doorway and I take the reprieve from her to once again scan the room behind me. I have to find Alexa. I need to leave before Hunter gets here.

"Zander, you don't know what this means to me." Christina's voice rises above the low hum of the room. "I love you so much. It's so perfect you brought her here."

My eyes leave the crowd as I turn to look at her once again.  My gaze slowly snakes up her back to settle on her head. She's embracing a man tightly. My legs give out as his eyes lock on mine.

It's Hunter.

Her Zander, the man she's marrying, is my Hunter.

Thank you for purchasing and downloading my book. If you enjoyed it, please remember to write a review on Amazon. Let me know your thoughts! I love reading all of the reviews, so keep them coming in. Your words inspire me to be a better writer.

Exposed – Part Three
will be released shortly, so please stay tuned to my website
http://www.deborahbladon.com
for more information.

If you want to chat with me personally, please LIKE my page on Facebook. I love connecting with all of my readers because without you, none of this would be possible.
http://www.facebook.com/authordeborahbladon

Thank you, for everything.

T
o receive exclusive updates from Deborah Bladon and to be the first to get your hands on
Exposed – Part Three
, please sign up to be on her personal mailing list!