Page 84 of The Truth About Love

Summer-Raine swings her gaze to me, her brows raised and I swear I detect a slight glint of amusement twinkling in her emerald eyes. “Er, I think I’ll leave Auden to answer that one,” she says, tapping me twice on my bicep as if to wish me luck, before ducking under my arm and disappearing to give us some privacy.

“What the actual fuck, Auden?” Cara stands on the other side of the threshold with her fingers on her hips and murder in her eyes. “If she’s not your cousin then who the fuck is she?”

“Um,” my voice croaks, “I think we should talk about this somewhere else.”

Her red-painted lips fall open in shock. “I think we should fucking talk about this now.”

I cast a glance over my shoulder to find Summer-Raine staring right at me. She looks away instantly, but it’s too late. I already caught her watching us.

I’m a couple of seconds too slow to drag my gaze back to my girlfriend. “What are you doing here anyway?” I ask, taking in the sight of her in her white tuxedo style suit and sky-high red stilettos. She’s wearing nothing underneath her blazer, not even a bra by the looks of things, and the fastened buttons are the only things protecting her from exposing her breasts. She looks incredible. Like an A-list celebrity or catwalk model.

So, why is it that I had a stronger physical reaction to Summer-Raine’s fresh face and pink gingham pyjamas?

“I can’t believe this,” Cara says with an exasperated shake of her head. “I came by to surprise you and see your new place before our date tonight. I wasn’t expecting to find out that my boyfriend is a goddamn fucking liar.”

I flinch, but it’s in response to her continuous swearing rather than from being caught out. “Come on,” I talk gently, reaching out to take her elbow to guide her down the corridor away from the apartment. I curse inwardly when I realise that I’ve forgotten my keys.

Just great.

Even if Cara were to forgive me tonight, it wouldn’t be fair to let her. I’ve treated her too badly to allow this relationship to continue regardless of whether or not she’d want to stay with me after learning who Summer-Raine really is to me. Because I’ve sworn to myself to answer any and all questions that Cara hurls at me tonight. I owe her that much at least.

And later, after I’ve dropped her back to her apartment for the last time and dried the tears on her cheeks gently with the back of my hand, I drive back home. I know that I should use the time to reflect on my failed relationship and the way I broke Cara’s heart, but I don’t. Because my thoughts are too full of someone else, the way they always have been.

But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve spent the last five years thinking about Summer-Raine, why would that change now?

Chapter Twenty-two

Summer-Raine

I shoot up in my seat at the sound of keys in the door.

Auden stumbles into the apartment and curses as he stubs his toe forcefully against the doorframe. I can’t help but smile at the sight of him hopping up and down. I breathe in the colour of his shirt that is the perfect shade of blue to bring out his eyes and the way his hair sticks up in all directions like he’s been running his hands through it all night. It reminds me of the way he used to look in the mornings after making love to me all night.

I would worry that his dishevelled appearance is due to him fucking Cara in an alley somewhere if it weren’t for his hunched shoulders and downturned lips. He’s not wearing the expression of a man who’s been freshly fucked, though he brightens when he catches sight of me sitting on the couch.

“Thanks for leaving my keys out for me,” he says, the gentle smile on his face morphing into that cocky smirk I love so much as he breathes in the sight of me sitting cross-legged on the couch. “Did you wait up for me?”

I don’t even try to deny it, just shrug my shoulder. He lifts a brow at my obvious lack of denial, but says nothing more about it. Instead, he walks the few yards to the kitchen and pulls two beers from the fridge, uncapping them both and passing one to me.

“Bad night?” I ask once he’s taken a seat in the armchair across from me.

He freezes with his bottle halfway to his lips, his long eyelashes fluttering as he blinks at me. “Wasn’t the best.”

I’m dying for him to tell me more. What happened when he told Cara how he really knows me? Did he even tell her the whole truth or placate her with another lie? I worry my bottom lip painfully between my teeth at the possibility of them having broken up, or worse… at them having made up.

My heart had stopped when I opened the door to her earlier. There I stood in my pyjamas with unbrushed hair as this willowy gazelle of a woman with flawless skin and sleek, shiny hair looked me over with narrowed eyes. It was only when she’d obviously decided I was no threat to her that she’d allowed herself to smile.

I’d hated her instantly.

“Did you work things out?” I ask hesitantly, avoiding meeting his eye though his gaze never wavers from my face. I watch him watching me from the edge of my periphery.

“Not really your business, is it?”

“Oh.” I gulp, hating the way his words instantly make me nauseous. “Sorry.”

“Are you?” he asks and I finally allow myself to look at him.

Though the events of the evening are clearly weighing on him, he seems lighter somehow. His face is slightly haggard but his eyes are shining brighter and it’s that extra little twinkle that encourages me to answer his question honestly. “No.”

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