Page 55 of Evidence of Secrets

Hank sat on the sofa across from her. Even angry, Laura was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. But beauty wasn’t everything. She was tenacious, hardworking, generous, and hopefully, by the time he stopped groveling—his.

“I made a huge mistake when I invited you to stay at the apartment.” He grimaced. “I don’t mean the inviting part.”

Laura opened her mouth to say something, but Hank raised his hands.

“Let me finish. I omitted the fact that I owned the building. But by the time I realized I should have said something, I forgot or had a job. I never meant to deceive you.”

“Fuck.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “In all honesty, I did. I wanted you to feel safe and not worry about rent or food. I’m sorry. I don’t want any secrets between us anymore.”

“Humph.”

“I was also stuck on my history with my ex-fiancée. She thought she had it made. Heather loved my money, not me. Truth is, I have a lot of money. I have two trusts, one of which bought and maintains the building upkeep, and the other I use for donations to nonprofits. I live on what I make at KnightGuard Security, but I never have to work if I don’t want to.”

“So what am I?” A tear slipped down her cheek. Hank reached over to wipe it away, but she turned her head. His heart broke. “Just another one of your charities to make you feel good?” Her lips trembled, and she stood.

Hank’s heart was torn into pieces. He never wanted this to happen.

“No.” He reached for her, but she stepped back. “Laura, you’re the woman I love. The woman I bare my soul to.” This time he stood in her personal space. He placed his hands on her shoulder to look her in the eyes. “The woman I would kill to protect.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks. Hank pulled Laura into his chest and whispered, “I never wanted to hurt or deceive you. This omission of details is on me. I haven’t trusted anyone in such a long time. Please forgive me.”

He hugged her closer, feeling her soft body meld into his, and kissed her head. “I'm begging you to forgive me.”

CHAPTERFORTY

Love?

“You love me?” she asked, her heart racing.

Hank nodded. “I love you, and I’m hoping someday you’ll say you love me, too. I’m in this relationship for the long haul.”

Laura stared at Hank. He was in love with her! All the excuses she would have used before with other men, like “It’s too soon,” “We’ve just started dating,” etc., went out the window. Hadn’t she known the first time he touched her and she felt the warmth of his touch that Hank was someone special? She hadn’t been on a date with another man since they met.

However, his not telling her he owned the building rankled her. Not because he owned it but because he didn’t trust her with the information. Laura understood his discretion, but she’d been embarrassed, especially when she asked who she could thank.

And she couldn’t forget the rent. That was a lie. Hank said it was paid up. She never took charity in her life. On the other hand, she had been sleeping in her office. Not the best of choices. The apartment was a special treat.

“I don’t want your money or your charity. I’ve always paid my own way, and I’m not about to stop.”

“Laura, sweetheart. Helping you is not charity.” Hank reached for her hands. “And I’m not going to say sorry for helping you. Everyone needs help once in a while.”

“Do you?” Laura pulled her hands back and sat in the chair.

“Hmmm. Help comes in many forms.” Hank retook his seat on the sofa. “I’ll tell you a story that I’ve never told anyone. When I was in middle school, I was the typical nerd, a favorite subject for the bullies in school.”

“Oh, my. I find that hard to believe.”

“Believe it. I was that skinny, afraid of my own shadow kid. There were a couple of things that happened. One day, I had enough and fought back against the bullies.”

“I hoped you whupped them.”

Hank’s eyes crinkled, and he gave her a small smile. “Hate to disappoint you, but no. The other thing that happened was an attempted kidnapping. I was at a private school and had a bodyguard who picked me up from school. Two men tried to grab me, and Jerod, my bodyguard, fought them off. The police came and arrested them.”

“Is that why you became a bodyguard?”

“Yes. That experience was the impetus for me becoming a bodyguard, to protect the weak and innocent.”

“Then what happened?” Laura couldn’t imagine Hank as a skinny, bullied kid.

---