Page 42 of Evidence of Secrets

What could she tell them? Laura sighed. Yes, they were dating. Yes, she liked him—a lot. More than a lot. But they hadn’t discussed being a couple.

“Don’t be modest,” said Hailey. “I heard Hank volunteered an apartment in the building he owns when your building was fumigated.” Hailey looked at the women and nodded. “Laura and Hank have had dinner and talk all the time.” She winked at Laura. “Probably do a lot more than talking.”

“Have you been talking to Hank?” asked Laura. She didn’t think he would talk about relationships.

“No. But he talks to Danny.” She put her finger up. “Before you ask, Danny doesn’t tell me anything about your relationship. It’s just what I gather from conversations.”

“Oh. I don’t mind if you know that we’ve been dating. Nothing serious. We enjoy each other’s company.” She sure wasn’t telling them that she and Hank had made love several times. The girls would be planning a wedding, and their relationship wasn’t quite ready for that.

“Hank hasn’t been a one-woman man. Usually, he sleeps with them and then goes on to someone else. If you’ve been dating, he’s serious,” said Hailey.

Laura listened to her friends discuss her love life and smiled. These were her friends. They only had her best interests at heart.

But something was said that disturbed her. What was it?

She took a sip of wine and tapped her fingers on her leg.

What had Hailey said about Hank? It wasn’t about having them having dinner or talking to each other all the time. Laura scratched her head. The thought was eluding her.

Oh, right. The apartment! Hank owned the building. Why didn’t he tell her that, and what else was he keeping to himself?

Sure, they weren’t an official couple, but Laura thought she and Hank had something special developing—but not if he kept important information like that to himself. Did he think she was a gold digger like Heather? Is that why Hank never mentioned it, because he thought down deep that she might be too? Didn’t he know that she never took a dime from anyone in her life?

Laura felt foolish now. She remembered telling Hank and Manny that she wanted to thank the owner. That would have been the perfect time for Hank to mention that he owned the building. Manny knew Hank owned it, and he hadn’t said anything. Although it wasn’t his place to do so.

Laura felt a flood of anger coursing through her body. If Hank misrepresented something as small as owning an apartment building, what else was he keeping from her? Had the rent even been paid for three months, or did Hank absorb it?

Trust was a huge issue with her. Charity another. Now she felt like a fool for trusting Hank.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO

Hank opened his living room patio doors to a gray, dismal day. It wasn’t raining, but the air was heavy with moisture. The weather was very much like his mood. Laura was so busy Saturday that she never returned his calls.

However, his conversation with Laura on Sunday left him feeling unsettled. He had stopped by the bistro to say hello and see if he could get Laura to sit with him for a few minutes. He walked into the kitchen where Levi and Laura were cooking. She was startled when she saw him but kept working.

“Can you get away for a few minutes?”

“Hank, I really don’t have time.” She bit her lip and stared at the pastry she was making.

“Will you have time later?”

“Afraid not. I’m flat-out busy today.” He’d been dismissed.

When she finally looked at him, he was devastated. What happened?

It wasn’t until he called Hailey that he realized the shit he’d hoped to avoid had hit him full force. Laura did go to the party and someone must have been said something. Hailey couldn’t remember what the girls talked about but Hank had a feeling his owning the condo was mentioned.

It was his insecurities that caused the hurt in her eyes.

Laura never asked him for anything. He knew she had trust issues. Even Jake warned him that Laura was not a one-night stand woman. Of course, Hank thought he had that with Heather, and look how that turned out. But after spending time with too many women to count, he had an uneasy feeling that he might have lost the best thing that had happened to him.

Laura was everything he wanted in a woman: intelligent, hardworking, honest, and gorgeous, and he couldn’t forget sexy as hell. She was his equal in bed. She was giving and yet demanding in bed—the complete package. And he ruined it. Or not.

Today, he’d go to her apartment and grovel—a lot. Hopefully, Laura would forgive him and they could talk about their relationship, because he definitely wanted one with her. An exclusive relationship. No more one-night stands, no dating others. Hank wanted Laura to understand that he was serious about her and hoped she felt the same.

The phone rang. Hank walked back into his condo and found it on the table.

“Hank. Glad you’re up,” said Sam. “I have an emergency assignment for the next week. Can you get up to Atlanta by this afternoon? Logan’s coming with you.”

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