Exposed - Part Three (The Exposed Series, #3) (6 page)

"Who is sick?" I shoot back. I know so little about his life other than his never-ending drive to make everything right in Coral's family's life.

"I don't know when I'll be back." He ignores the question so effortlessly. It's another lie of omission. He won't let me in. He's never let me in.

"I hope they'll be okay." I offer.

He nods. "I heard you talking to Alexa. If you want to stay at my place for a few days, I can give you back your key."

"I want nothing to do with you." I stifle the harshness of my response. Even though I'm livid with him over everything that's happened the past few weeks I can't recall a time when he looked so haggard and worried.

"We'll talk about that when I'm back." He reaches to kiss me on the forehead.

"D
id you like the one on Preston?" I pop a cherry tomato into my mouth.

"It was really small." Alexa shrugs her shoulders. "You don't want a roommate?"

I shake my head slightly. "I'm looking forward to living alone."

"In that case, it was the best deal and close to campus." She pushes the spoon in her hand around the rim of the bowl of soup she ordered.

"I'll send an application for that one when I get home." I smile. As much as I was dreading apartment hunting today, it's turned into a fun adventure. Watching Alexa work her magic on all the prospective male landlords we met is the distraction I was longing for. It's been four days since Hunter showed up at the bistro and I haven't heard a word since. I'm beginning to believe that his story about a sick friend is real.

"What's going on with you and Hunter?" She laughs at her own joke.

"That's a horrible nickname." I bite my lip to hold back a giggle.

"He left a few days ago because of a
sick friend.
" I pull air quotes around  'sick friend.' "It might be a rouse because he's getting married right now."

"He's not getting married." She scoops some soup into her mouth before letting it dribble back into the bowl. "It's cold."

"He might be," I counter. "It's not as if he's good at telling the truth."

"Cory is really sick," she mumbles.

"Cory?" I wince at how close the name is to Coral. Who is Cory? Yet another of Coral's vindictive relatives?

She silently reaches for her purse that is perched on the chair between us. I watch as she scrolls quickly through it before holding it up for me to view.

It's a text message from Clive:
Rain check? Cory is sick. Pray for us. xx

"Who is Cory?" I pull my eyes from the phone to her face.

She places it down carefully on the table before she looks at me. "I don't know. I thought you'd know."

"Why didn't you mention this before?"

She pushes the soup away from her. "Maybe because you freak out whenever we talk about Hunter and them."

"Do you think Cory is a man or woman?" My curiosity is peaked and if this person's illness is hitting both Hunter and Clive that hard it has to be someone incredibly important.

"It's like Jordan or Billy." She taps her finger on the table. "You just never know."

"I guess," I respond.

"I bet it's another sibling. Coral's mom does like her names that start with the letter C."

I smile at the statement. I've thought the same thing too. "I asked Hunter about her siblings. He only mentioned Christina and Clive."

"Weird." She reaches across the table to pull my half eaten salad towards her. "If you're done with this, I'm going to finish it."

I nod as my mind races around the mystery of who Cory is.

***

"W
hat does Google say?" Alexa is thumbing through a photo album of my brother's she found in the shelf by the television.

I glance up from my laptop briefly. "Nothing about Cory Parker."

"Odd." She pulls one of the pictures from its place and tucks it into her purse.

"My mother's going to notice that's missing." I raise an eyebrow.

"She won't." She laughs as she slams the book shut. "Google Clive and see what that shows."

I nod before I punch his name into the search engine. "Let's see. It says that he owns a company that does some techy stuff, he's single and wow."

"Wow?" Alexa bolts across the room so she's sitting right next to me. "What's wow?"

"Look at all these images of him with women." I scroll through at least two dozen images of Clive at different events, each with a different striking woman on his arm.

"Wow is right," she whispers as she leans in closer to the screen.

"Just think," I tease. "That could be you."

Her eyes dart up to meet mine and I see a flash of disappointment. "He's too old for me."

I laugh at her response. "What happened to his thirty-year-old dick being irresistible?"

"Look at them." She points to the screen. "I'm not anywhere near their league."

"They're dates." I try to offer some reassurance. "Obviously none of them were serious or he wouldn't be chasing after you right now."

"He did say I was different." She sighs. "I don't even know what he means by that."

I push the laptop to the couch beside me. "He means that you're special and unlike any woman he's ever known."

"You're great at this." She laughs before standing. "It's probably the same thing he says to every woman."

"Don't think like that." I push back. "You're always the one telling me not to sell myself short."

"You shouldn't." She bends to kiss me on the forehead. "Don't worry about who Cory is. Hunter is part of your past. You're moving on and into that great new place."

I nod silently.

"T
hat fellow that is always lurking around here was in looking for you last night." Josephine says as she hands me the schedule for next week. My manager rarely talks to me. I'm actually shocked that she paid close enough attention to Hunter to recognize him.

"Hunter?" I ask even though I already know the answer.

"That's him." She smiles. "I hear Alexa talking about him to you sometimes."

I blush at the mention of our conversations about Hunter. They typically involve Alexa talking about him intimately. I really need to speak to her about reining that in.

"Sadie." She grabs my hand just as I'm ready to walk to the front. "He specifically asked me not to mention he was here."

"What?" I raise a brow. "He didn't want you to tell me he was in looking for me?" That made no sense.

"He did but I don't feel right about that." She drops my hand and throws her gaze back to her desk.

Why would Hunter be looking for me and not want me to know? As soon as my shift was done, I was going to find out.

***

I
glance down at the white sundress I'm wearing. It's so humid out and in my rush to get here, I'd thrown on the first dress I could find in my closet. I hadn't realized that the top of my scar was visible until I looked down. Seeing as how I'm already standing in the lobby of Hunter's building, now doesn't seem to be the right time to worry over it. I'll just find out what he wanted last night and be on my way.

"Can I help you?" The doorman rushes over. I thought I was coy when I snuck past him as he helped a young woman move a baby into her car.

"I'm just going up to see a friend," I say casually as I press the call button for the elevator. My mind jolts back to when Hunter and I stood here together. It was right before the last time we'd made love. Right before he'd taken me so hastily and with such raw desire.

"Miss?" The doorman is shaking my arm. "I asked who your friend is."

"It's Hunter." I stop myself. "Zander Reynolds," I say his name with as much calm certainty as I can muster.

"Do you want me to announce your arrival?" He pulls a phone from the pocket of his jacket just as the elevator arrives.

"No." I call back as I step into the lift. "I want to surprise him."

I pull in a heavy breath as I stare at myself in the mirror that adorns the elevator wall. I had taken the time to apply just a bit of makeup before catching a taxi to come here. Even though I know in my heart that Hunter and I are over, my body still craves him. I still want to know that he finds me as attractive as he did during those magical weeks we spent together.

I smooth my hands over the skirt of my dress as the elevator doors slide open. I march with determined steps towards Hunter's door.

I run my tongue over my lips, push back the hair that has fallen over my forehead and I knock softly on the door.

I turn around wanting to have a brief moment of solace to gather myself once he opens the door and greets me.

I listen as the door slowly opens. The silence is endless before a very small, and soft voice says, "Hi."

I
turn slowly and my eyes move downward in what feels like slow motion. Standing at my feet is a small boy. His hair a wild mess of red, his eyes the same brilliant blue as Christina's.

"Hello," I whisper back.

"I'm Cory," he announces proudly.

I smile at the softness of his voice. "I'm Sadie."

He pulls his hand to his mouth and lets out a gleeful squeal. "Are you Princess Sadie? Princess Sadie?" He jumps up and down, his hair bouncing with each movement.

"I'm..."my voice trails. I stare at him in wonder. He's beautiful. So perfect.

"Daddy," he screams loudly. "Daddy. Princess Sadie is here."

I pull my hand to my chest.  My eyes gloss over with tears. This is the Cory who was ill. This is the reason. He's the reason for it all.

"Sadie." Hunter is at the door now, the small boy scooped up into his arms. "Come in."

I take a step over the threshold and the apartment looks completely different than I remember it. Toys are strewn everywhere. A child's movie blares over the speakers on the television.

"Cory, Daddy needs to talk to Sadie." He places the boy down on his feet. "I need you to go into your room to play with your train."

"She's Princess Sadie," he corrects. "Call her that."

Hunter taps him on the top of his head. "Princess Sadie and Daddy are going to talk in here. I'll come get you right away."

"In ten?" He holds up both his hands proudly displaying his fingers.

"In ten." Hunter kisses the top of his head. "Go now."

The little boy races down the hallway and disappears into the guest room. His room. He's the reason Hunter wanted me to get my own place.

"I should have called," I whisper. I have no idea what to say.

"No." Hunter reaches for my hand. "Princess Sadie is always welcome here." He manages a small smile. He motions towards the couch and I sit down waiting for him to take a seat beside me.

"You must have more than a million questions." He sits on the coffee table so he's facing me directly. "I can't imagine what you're thinking."

I pull my eyes over his face. He looks different to me now. He's no longer the man who lied endlessly so he could carry on a sordid affair with me all while being engaged to someone else. He's someone's father. He's a dad. "He's so beautiful."

His face brightens. "He's amazing, isn't it?"

"How old is he?"

"Three." He holds up three fingers, mimicking Cory's movements.

"He's been sick?" I twist my hands together. Everything I knew has shifted so suddenly. Ten minutes ago I was coming up here to push Hunter into telling me why he was creeping around the bistro at night. All I want to know now is why he didn't tell me about Cory.

"Very." He pulls in a heavy breath as if he's tempering his nerves. "I was so scared."

"He's alright now?" I want to know more. I want to know everything he can tell me about his son but it's not my place. He shares this child with her. It's obvious he's Christina's son.

"Yes. He had a high fever. It was an infection with a complicated name." He doesn’t offer more and I don't push.

"Can Princess Sadie come play trains with me?" Cory pops up next to the couch and I jump at the sound of his voice.

"Maybe in a bit," Hunter pats him on the shoulder. "We just need five more." He holds up one large hand and Cory slaps it playfully.

He scoots back down the hallway before Hunter speaks again. "I tell him bedtime stories about Princess Sadie."

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth to stave off the rushing emotions. "That's really sweet," I whisper.

"He's my life." He reaches to clasp my hand in his. "I can't be away from him."

I smile realizing that the statement makes me care for him even more deeply. "You shouldn't be away from him. He's your child."

He casts his gaze downward as he nods his head.

"I understand now," I say softly. "I get why you're marrying her now. You want to be a real family." I squeeze his hand as tears well in my eyes.

"If I don't marry her, she'll take him." His voice cracks.

"She can't." I rest my head on his cheek. "You have rights."

"Sadie," he pulls me into a tight embrace.  "I can't be away from you either."

I pull back. I raise my hands to cradle his face. "That little boy needs you so much but you don’t have to marry her. You're his father. You have rights. Any lawyer will tell you that."

"No." He bows his head. "I don't have any rights."

"Did she tell you that?" I pull back, my anger rising to the surface. I'm tired of Christina using Hunter's guilt to goad him into doing things for her.

"It's the truth." He reaches to cradle my cheek.

"No. That's wrong." I search his eyes willing him to listen to me. I want to break the spell she has over him. I want him to be my Hunter again.

"Sadie," he whispers as his lips brush over mine. "Listen. Please."

"Yes," I murmur, lost in the brief taste of his lips.

"Cory is not my son. I don't have any rights." He stares into my eyes. "She got pregnant during a one night stand. She doesn't know who his dad is."

"How long have you two been together?" I can't connect any of this. "Did she cheat on you?"

"I've never slept with her," he says tightly. "I'm repulsed by her."

"You're marrying her." I spit back at him. "How can that be?"