I hadn’t realized my distress was so transparent. But perhaps it was a good thing to disclose my past in Joe’s presence. Reeve would have to control his temper then, wouldn’t he?
“Nothing’s wrong,” I said, slowly. “Exactly. Just, if both of you are going to be looking into Chris and me, then there’s something I should tell you.” I took a deep breath and forced my eyes to meet Reeve’s. “We’ve been friends for several years, and, in the past, the friendship did have a… uh, physical nature.”
A shadow fell over Reeve’s face, but he disciplined his features.
Joe was smart enough to recognize the tension. “How long ago in the past?” he asked cautiously.
“Before I was ever on NextGen. Before he got engaged.” Before you, I added silently, my gaze never leaving my lover. “He’s made comments that have implied he’d be willing to have more now, but I’ve refused him.”
Reeve’s brow rose slightly.
“Then this might be coming from Blakely directly,” Joe suggested. “A sort of attempt at wish fulfillment or a way to get back at you for turning him down.”
I let go of Reeve’s stare and looked to Joe. “I hadn’t considered that. But no, I don’t think so. Even though Chris wouldn’t mind cheating on his fiancée, he wouldn’t want that out in the open.”
“Is that why you refused him?” It was the first time Reeve had spoken since my confession. “Because he was attached?”
“Yes.” It had been the reason I’d refused him at the awards. “And then I was attached.” Now I’d admitted that my meeting with Chris the month before had met with a proposition. It might have been a detail I regretted divulging, but there was no way I’d ever be able to trust Reeve if I didn’t give him a chance to prove himself.
And also I wanted to give him a chance to really trust me. Wanted to see if he could, and there was no way that would happen if I weren’t completely honest.
“Besides,” I said, attempting to lighten the mood with more truth, “he never really did it for me, if you know what I mean.”
“Not quite as much information as I needed, but thank you for your candidness.” Joe turned to Reeve. “I’ll look into the possibility of that angle as well. It’s hard to guess what someone might reveal about himself if his ego has been bruised.” Joe’s insinuation that Reeve might behave in the same manner was thinly veiled.
Wisely, he decided that it was time to end the conversation. “Looks like I have work to do. I’ll get on it.” Without waiting a beat longer, he made his exit.
I turned to follow, but Reeve called after me. “Emily.” He waited until I twisted my head in his direction. “Shut the doors.”
My hands were shaking as I did what he asked, so I kept them behind me when I pivoted my body to face him.
He studied me. “Come here.”
I took a step forward, but then stopped, paralyzed by both my attraction to him and the delighted fear of what he might say or do next. Wringing my hands together at the base of my back, I ventured, “Are you… mad?”
“Well.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. “I’m in a quandary about that, aren’t I? Your affair with Chris happened before you met me, so I suppose I have no grounds to be angry. Though, I am extremely unhappy – again – that you chose to meet with him, and now that I know he had openly declared his interest in bedding you, I have to question your judgment.”
He had a point. The problem was he didn’t understand what my motivation had been, and there wasn’t any good reason to keep that to myself anymore. “I met with him to see if I could get any leads on Amber. That’s the only reason why.”
His eyes widened in understanding. He nodded an acceptance. “And you’ve already promised to not be alone with him again, so I guess I have to swallow my jealousy and let it go, don’t I? If I want you to know that I believe you.”
It was hard not to get tripped up on his declaration of jealousy. It was something I knew about him, and it was annoying and inconvenient. Even so, it got my thighs humming in all the right places.
But more important were the words he’d said after. I’d given him the opportunity to prove himself, and here he was teetering on the brink of doing just that. I pushed him. “Do you believe me?”
“It’s impossible to think that smarmy piece of shit could satisfy your needs. So yes, I believe you rejected his advances.”
I rolled my eyes. “And that’s why you believe me? Because you know you’re a better lover than he is?” God, he was stubborn. The way he made me work for every drop of affirmation…
Well, I liked it. It made what he did give all the more genuine. All the more meaningful. So when he said, “I believe you because you say it’s the truth,” warmth scurried along my body, and I beamed.
“Thank you.” I lowered my head to hide the flush crawling down my neck.
“While we’re on the topic,” his words drew my eyes up, “is there anything else you’re keeping from me that I should know about?”
I paused, not because I was hesitant to answer, but because I was surprised by what my answer was. “No. I can honestly say I think you know everything now.”
“Good.” His smile was slight, but it lit up the dark that had rested over his face. “Now, come here.”
This time I came to him. Then, when he put his foot to the floor and patted his thigh, I climbed into his lap, straddling him with my knees at his sides.