Page 15 of Lust & Lies
CHAPTER FIVE
NOELLE
I STARED AT AIDEN,but his face kept morphing into the stranger from my memory, the one who’d been cooking for me, smiling at me, making me laugh. The memory felt too vivid to dismiss, too real to be a fabrication.
I’d never seen that man before, yet the warmth in his eyes, the familiarity of his presence, all felt genuine. Had I been... had I been cheating on Aiden? The thought made my stomach churn.
Surely, I wasn’t that type of person, was I? A sudden tap on the counter nearly made me jump out of the chair. Blinking, I stared up at Aiden. My husband.
“Are you tuning me out?” he asked.
“Oh, uh...” I struggled to find words. Looking at him now, all I could see was the man from my memory. “I...”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern etched into his expression. “Are you feeling okay?”
I guess I didn’t answer fast enough because he quickly moved around the island to stand before me, reaching out. Instinctively, I leaned back, unable to help myself. And I’d just promised him that I would try not to do that.
I could almost feel the disappointment coming off him, saw it in his eyes, in the way he slowly pulled his hands back, shoving them into his pockets. I hated this disconnect. But that naggingfeeling was back in full effect. And now, I had a solid reason to feel it. Who was that man in my memory?
“Sorry,” Aiden apologized. “I didn’t mean to reach for you so abruptly.”
Again, he’d done nothing wrong. I was the problem. Aiden stepped back, and just like that, the wall between us started going up again. This time, I was the one who wanted to reach for him. My fingers twitched in my lap, but I held myself back.
Instead, I clasped my hands together, squeezing until my fingers ached. I didn’t know what to do, think, or feel. I wanted my memories to return, but I hadn’t imagined myself remembering being with another man.
Now that I had, I couldn’t just ignore it. My stomach roiled. My throat tightened. I truly felt like I was about to be sick.
“I...” I said at the same time that Aiden started to say something. “You first,” I told him, wanting more time to process my thoughts.
It wasn’t like I could tell him what I’d remembered. What if he didn’t know I’d cheated? What if he knew, but we’d moved past it? What if it had broken us once, and now we were just barely putting the pieces back together?
Ugh!After just promising to be more straightforward with him, I was already keeping things to myself, becoming more withdrawn. After all that talk about being honest, here I was, hiding things.
Aiden cleared his throat, then started to speak again, only to be interrupted by his phone this time.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath, pulling his phone out. He stared down at the screen and said, “Why does he want a video call? What has he done?”
I was curious to know what and who he was talking about. But I also wanted a moment alone to process my own thoughts.
“You can step out and take the call if you need to,” I said, keeping my voice light, trying not to reveal just how shaken I was. “I’m okay.”
“You sure?” he asked, eyebrows lifting.
I nodded. He sighed and looked at the stove before returning his gaze to me.
“Would you mind stirring the food for me while I step away?” he asked, phone still ringing.
“I don’t mind at all.”
I stood and strode around the island with him following behind me, the music from his phone still playing.
“Be careful and don’t burn yourself,” Aiden told me. “Let me get you a glove.”
He opened the drawer. This man was really getting me a glove. I almost laughed.
“Aiden,” I said, turning to him. “I remember how to stir food, and I’m pretty sure I don’t need a glove just to stir.”
“Right,” he mumbled, sliding the glove back into the drawer.
