Perfectly Inappropriate

“I already told you what happened.” She glanced down at her hands, instantly feeling all that tension expand in her chest again.

Noah’s finger gently tucked under her chin, and then she became lost in his gorgeous eyes. “You told me he cheated. I get the feeling there is more to that story.”

She sighed heavily, hoping that would ease the tension. It didn’t even touch it. “What exactly do you want to know?” she asked.

“The details that I’m sure you don’t want to share.”

A thousand things went through her mind. Most of all, she felt stupid that this was her life. She’d always been the composed one. The smart one. The one who made all the right choices in life. Things like that shouldn’t have happened to her.

But those things had happened to her. There was no turning back the time on that.

She sighed, noting the tenderness in Noah’s eyes. Figuring she had nothing to lose, she admitted a truth she hadn’t spoken aloud to anyone but her parents. “You’re going to have to let me look away,” she said honestly. “I can’t look at you while I explain what happened.”

He lowered his hand to his thigh but stayed perfectly quiet.

She dropped her head, her fingers fidgeting in her lap, and sighed heavily. “I found Cameron in bed with my best friend.”

Noah stilled. She glanced up, finding his expression entirely closed off. He arched an eyebrow. “Your fiancé slept with your best friend?”

“Ex-fiancé.” Olivia cringed, wishing she could erase that event from the timeline of her life. “And I know, it’s unbelievable, right?”

“It is unbelievable…” he said, voice hard, his expression still showing very little, “…considering you are living at her apartment.”

“What?” Olivia scrunched her nose. But seeing the fury in Noah’s eyes, she slowly understood. “Oh no, it wasn’t Paige.” She laughed softly.

Noah didn’t laugh. “Then who was it?”

“Our other friend, Lacie,” Olivia explained, even though saying Lacie’s name brought a bucket-load of emotion into her throat. “Growing up, it was always the three of us, but Lacie and I were neighbors, so we were super, super close. She was going to be my maid of honor.”

Noah’s brow wrinkled and his lips pinched, obviously understanding why she’d been so hurt. “How long were you and Cameron together?”

“Since high school.”

“And this woman, Lacie, what happened to her?”

Olivia noted that he avoided the use of friend. She hadn’t really noticed it before, but she slowly began to see how loyal Noah was. He seemed to have clear lines between good and bad, and he knew what side he wanted to be on. After Cameron and Lacie, Olivia realized how much she needed those lines too. “I haven’t talked to Lacie since that day I found them in bed together.”

“Are they still together?”

Again, she shrugged. “I don’t know. And to be honest, I don’t really care.”

At that, Noah cocked his head

, hardness crossing his features. “You didn’t approach them after and talk about what happened?”

“Are you kidding me?” She shuddered at the thought. “That was the very last thing I wanted to do. It’s very likely I wouldn’t talk to Cameron at all anymore, but he’s handling the sale of our house in the Bronx.”

Noah arched an eyebrow.

She couldn’t really gauge exactly what he meant by that gesture, so she moved along. “To be perfectly honest with you, I hope the house sells soon, and then I can put this all behind me. It hasn’t been a good time in my life.”

Noah hesitated then frowned. “You want to move on without actually facing any of it?”

“What’s to face?” she countered. “I saw them having sex with my own eyes. The shock of what they’d done, the hurt, it all happened on that day.” She inhaled deeply again, trying to get through this without crying.

She thought maybe he’d agree with her then.

Again, he surprised her.