Hidden Truths (Violet Chain Book 2) (10 page)

“Time to get up, sweetheart,” a voice whispered in my ear. I stretched and a delicious soreness ached through my body as I opened my eyes to see Chain hovering above me, dressed in boxers.

I flickered my eyes up at him. “What time is it?”

“5:00.”

I gasped in shock. “In the morning?” He nodded. “Why are you up so early? Why did you wake me up so early?” I asked him. Five in the morning! Was this man mad? I was an early bird, don’t get me wrong, but five am was definitely way too early for anyone to get up.

“I fell asleep before I could ask you if you would like to go to breakfast with me this morning. I am meeting with Sam, the architect from Minneapolis.”

I shook my head then buried it under the pillow. “I’m not getting up this early, sorry,” I said in a muffled voice. I felt the pillow being ripped away and looked up into the eyes of Chain.

“Come on, Violet, please. Callie is going with David and I would really like you to go with me.”

I sat right up. “Callie’s going?” Well that was a completely different story. One of the reasons why I didn’t want to attend the breakfast was because I knew it would be boring—listening to grown men talk business was just not my thing. However, Callie going put a whole new spin on things.

He frowned and then walked over to the chair, picking up a white shirt and sliding it on. He turned to face me, a somber look on his face. “Yes, she’s going with David, of course,” he mumbled as he buttoned up his shirt. There was obviously something wrong.

“What’s wrong?” I queried.

He lifted his eyes from his shirt. “I asked you to go with me and you were refusing but as soon as you heard that Callie was going you were all up for it. It seems you would rather spend time with Callie than me.”

I slid out of the bed and walked over to him, placing my hands on his arms. “That is not true, Callie isn’t good in bed.”

He stilled me with a look. “There you go again, Violet, making me feel like you are only after what I have hanging between my legs.”

I was shocked by his blunt comment. “Chain, why would you say something like that?”

He shrugged. “When you make those rude sexual innuendos it makes me feel like I’m just a piece of meat to you.” I was only joking, but I could see by the expression on his face he was seriously hurt and I felt bad.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled quietly.

He half rolled his eyes. “It’s alright. I suppose I’m acting a little foolish, being a little jealous, that’s all.”

“Of Callie?” I questioned.

“Yeah, it does seem like you love her more than me.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Not true, I love her differently, more like a sister, a best friend.”

His eyes thinned into a straight line. “I thought I was your best friend.”

I released him and walked over to the bed, sitting down for a moment. “You are but it’s different.”

“How?”

“I don’t know how to explain it, Chain.” I really couldn’t. I mean all I could say was she was my best girl friend and he was my boy friend.

I could tell he was still aggravated. “Okay, whatever.” He slid on his suit coat. “I have to run to the office to meet with David and grab a few things.” He walked over to me and as I stood up he hugged me before planting a light kiss on my lips. “I’ll be back in an hour, please be ready.”

I smiled as he released me. “I will.” Then with a quick wave he turned and walked away.  I sat back on the bed, trying to will myself to get ready. I decided that I would give myself fifteen minutes to wake up so I lay back on the pillow. I glanced around the room and Chain’s father came into my mind. I wondered if Chain resembled his father. I really wished I could figure out why he was angry with his father, why he hadn’t talked to him in years.

I couldn’t imagine not having family, not having anyone to lean on, it had to leave him empty inside. Maybe that was why he gave me his complete love? Maybe it was why he held me just a little longer than he should? But he deserved more than me. He deserved his family. Although he would never admit it, I knew he needed his father in his life and I had to find a way to make that happen.

But first I had to find the man. Chain had given me little to nothing to go on. I knew that his father’s name was Devin Michaels and that Chain had grown up in Ohio, but other than that, I had nothing.

I heard the front door open and hopped to my feet. He was back already! I ran into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I jumped in after it warmed, placing my face under the showerhead. I quickly washed and conditioned my hair, scrubbed my body, and rinsed off.

I heard the bathroom door creak. I turned off the faucet and saw Chain leaning against the opposite wall as I stepped out of the shower.

“So, I was thinking we should really move in together,” Chain blurted out as he handed me a towel. He really wanted to have this conversation now?

“Chain, you know how I feel about living together,” I murmured as I wrapped the towel around me.

“I don’t understand it. We have been together every night for three months. You have your clothes here, I have clothes at your house, we are practically living together as it is. Why can’t we just have one house together?”

“Because I don’t believe people should live together when they are not married,” I responded.

There was a pause for a moment, before he said, “Fine, then let’s get married. I was serious when I told your father I wanted to marry you.”

Was he out of his blasted mind? “You don’t just get married, Chain!”

I was a little annoyed by his comment. Marriage to me was a sacred institution, a commitment for life. I felt he was taking it too lightly and it really ticked me off.

“Why can’t we get married? I love you, what more do you need?”  

I rolled my eyes as I walked away from him and into the bedroom and to the closet; Chain followed of course.

“Marriage is a lifetime commitment, Chain.”

He leaned against the closet door. “Okay, so I want to commit to you for life. Why are you making a big deal out of it?”

I glared at him. “Because it’s a big deal. You may feel right now it is something you want, but down the line you may not feel the same way. And I am not ready to commit to something so permanent unless I’m positively sure that we are meant to be together forever.”

“And you don’t see forever with me?”

I shuffled through the hangers, checking out what I had available to wear. “I didn’t say that. We have only been together for a few months, Chain, don’t you think you’re rushing it?” I said as I grabbed a sleeveless tan dress. I turned to walk away when he placed his hands on my arms, stopping me.

“We have been together five months. Officially a couple for three months, four days and twenty hours…I’m not near a clock so I can’t give you the exact minutes,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

I couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape from my lips. “You’re so crazy.”

He looped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. “Crazy, yes, about you.” He pressed his lips against mine. “Marry me.”

I pulled away from him. “No.”

He laughed as he released me and I walked into the bedroom.

“I swear you are a very stubborn woman, but you don’t fool me. As much as you want to deny it, I know you love me and I also know we will be married,” he said as he walked to the dresser, grabbing a pair of socks.

I raised my brow. “You’re so sure of yourself,” I responded as I placed the dress on the bed then opened the nightstand, taking out a pair of champagne lace panties and a matching bra.

He walked into the closet. “Yes, I am very sure,” he bellowed from the closet. I dropped my towel, sliding on my bra and panties before stepping into my dress.

“Not going to happen, Chain, it took nearly four years before I even came close to marrying Harrison and you see how that turned out,” I muttered.

I felt a hand on the zipper of my dress and turned to see Chain as he zipped my dress up. He placed his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him.

“I’m not Harrison, Violet. I would never cheat on you.”

I sighed. “I know.” I felt that tug at my heart as my mind began to revisit the hurt and pain I had felt when I caught Harrison cheating on me. Although I was over Harrison completely, the pain still never went away. When someone you once loved hurts you as badly as Harrison had hurt me, the pain stays etched in your heart and mind forever.

I felt a hard slap to my behind, interrupting my thoughts, causing me to squeal. “Now go get ready, woman, we have to leave soon!” Chain said jokingly. That was what I loved the most about Chain, his ability to feel what I was feeling and his desire to make the hurt go away.

“Fine, fine, jeez,” I responded as I rubbed my backside and walked to the bathroom.

Chapter 3.0 – Chain

The restaurant was pretty busy for seven in the morning. Clutching Violet’s hand, I walked through the tables looking for David. He spotted me first and waved his hand and we made our way over to him.

I pulled out Violet’s chair and she sat down, then I slid into the chair next to her.

“I can see that Chain made you get up way too early like David did to me,” Callie grunted.

Violet shrugged. “I don’t mind, it’s important to Chain.” Now, how couldn’t you love a woman like this?  A woman who wasn’t afraid to admit to her best friend how important her man was. Yes, I was her man, one thousand percent! To think in the beginning I was paranoid, afraid she would never love me or accept me and now here I was, the luckiest man in the world to have a woman like Violet to call my own. If only I could convince her to marry me, that I would be a doting husband and excellent father to our children. I sighed.
Our children.
I grinned as I thought of Violet and our future family.

I gave her hand a squeeze. “You’re the best girlfriend ever, you know that,” I whispered in her ear.

“Yeah, I know that,” she responded. I chuckled lightly before leaning towards David. “Where is Sam?”

David glanced at his watch then shrugged his shoulders. “Search me. Let’s give him another half hour and if he’s not here by then, I’ll give him a call.

“Alright.”

The waiter walked up to our table.

“Are you ready to order?” he asked pleasantly.

Violet nudged me and I looked up into those big, beautiful eyes. “Chain, I have to be at work in an hour, so if I’m going to eat before I leave, I have to order.”

“Okay, we can order.”

The hour seemed to fly by, and after eating her breakfast, Violet left for work, leaving me with Callie and David. Callie left her job after she and David got married, to be a stay-at-home wife
—
it was what she and David wanted.

I knew Violet and her independence meant everything to her. I couldn’t see her as a stay-at-home wife and that was fine with me
—
as long as she was happy, I was.

After an hour and a half, I began to fidget. “Where is he?” I asked David.

David lifted his cell. “I’ll call him right now.” David tapped his finger on the table with his cell to his ear. His eyes lit up. “Sam, man, where are you, Chain and I have been waiting for two hours…I see…of course I understand…no problem…see ya later, Sam, good luck.” David placed his cell on the table.

“What’s going on?” I questioned.

“Well it seems he never left Minneapolis. His wife went into labor, and he has been at the hospital all night.” I used to feel sorry for men when they were tied down with a wife and children, but now that I had Violet, I envied them, wanting what they had.

“Did he tell you if she had the baby?”

“No, she’s still in labor.” David stood up and slid his suit coat on. “I guess we should get to the office.”

I stood up. “Yep, back to the grind,” I laughed.

***

After sitting in the parking lot waiting for David to say his twenty-minute goodbye of ‘I love you’s to Callie, we made our way to the office.

David and I walked into the office building, stopping at the receptionist desk to get our mail.

“Good morning, Candace,” David said politely.

She grinned. “Mr. Keller,” she responded.

I walked up. “Hello, Candace.”

She brushed her cherry-colored bangs from her forehead then inhaled. “Good morning, Chain,” she said, the tone of her voice seductive and warm. She held out the mail to me and I grabbed for it. Her hand brushed against mine, her fingers lightly smoothing across my skin. I looked up at her, confused, and she winked. I shook my head with my mail in my hand and walked away.

I plopped down on my chair at my desk and the first thought that came to my mind was Violet. I had asked her to marry me this morning and she had refused. Was it because she was afraid? Afraid that it wouldn’t work out? I wanted to push the matter with her, but I didn’t want to scare her away. Over the last few months, I had learned Violet was not a person to be pushed, but more a person that needed to be convinced. So I needed to do a lot of convincing if I was going to get her to marry me. I reached to my office phone and dialed Candace.