Beauty From Pain (Beauty 1)

“Okay.”

“Promise me, Laurelyn. I don’t want to worry about coming in and finding you gone one day.”

“I promise.” He relaxes with my assurance and I know this is the end of it. He’ll never bring it up again because he believes me.

“What would you like to do today?” he asks.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here, so I asked Addison to meet me for lunch before the whole Audrey thing happened.”

“That’s fine. I seem to have fallen down on my office work since you’ve been around, Miss Beckett. My books could stand a little catching up.”

“Mr. Henry, you’re blaming your lack of productivity on me?”

“Only my lack of concentration,” he explains. “It always seems to be on you these days.”

“Then it’s probably a good idea for me to get out of your hair today.”

“Let’s call it a girls’ day out. You and your friend can shop or whatever it is you do when you’re together.”

I shrug because I don’t really have any extra money to spend. My budget is super tight after my lingerie spending spree before Christmas. “I don’t really need anything.”

He gets out of bed and takes his wallet from his pants. He places several hundreds on the nightstand under my phone. Wow, that really makes me feel like a hooker.

“When you buy for yourself, you’re buying for me because I like you in nice things.” He leans down and kisses my mouth. “I’m taking you somewhere next week, so buy some new things for our trip.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“New Zealand. It’s a business trip, but we’ll have plenty of time to play while we’re there, so buy some sundresses and a few new swimsuits. I’d like to request skimpy bikinis.”

No freakin’ way. Addison will be so jealous. “You’re taking me to New Zealand?”

“Yes. I have some business at one of the vineyards and my boss has a house on a private beach. He’s letting us stay there a couple of nights.”

“Lachlan. I don’t even know what to say.” And I don’t. I’d never get to do anything like this on my own. I wouldn’t have been able to come to Australia if Addison’s parents hadn’t bought my airline ticket.

“There’s only one word I want to hear.”

“Yes?”

“That’s the one.”

I hold my arms out and he lets me hop on him with my legs around his waist as I squeal. “We’re going to New Zealand,” I squeal in excitement.

I call Addison when I’m almost to the apartment. I don’t plan on going up because I don’t want to run into Ben. “Hey, I’m a block away. Are you ready to come down?”

“I need five or ten more minutes.” Of course she does. She’s never ready on time. Won’t I ever learn to tell her to be ready thirty minutes earlier?

“I’ll wait in the car.”

“No way. Come up, please.”

I know I shouldn’t, but I agree against my better judgment. “Okay. Buzz me in, but please hurry.”

Daniel stops in front of the apartment. “Addison isn’t ready so I’m going up. I shouldn’t be long.”

I reach for the handle, but it doesn’t work. Child safety locks, I guess. They’re probably activated because Daniel knows I don’t give a rat’s ass about having a door opened for me. I’m not helpless. I can open my own door, but that’s not the way Lachlan wants it.

Daniel appears displeased with me as he lets me out the car. I think he doesn’t approve of me going up to the apartment because he knows his employer won’t like it. “I won’t be long, Daniel.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, but you know he won’t like this.” Daniel knows about my run-in with Ben, maybe not the specifics, but Lachlan has told him something.

“I’ll hurry.”

“Take your phone and call me if you have any problems. Anything at all.”

Great. I have Lachlan and Daniel wanting to kick Ben’s ass. “I’ll take it, but don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll worry until I see you come out of that building safe and sound.” What did Lachlan tell him?

“I’ll be ten minutes max,” I promise.

“Make it five.” He sounds irritated.

I knock on the door and Ben answers. He gives me a crooked grin, but he’s embarrassed. He should be. “Hi, Laurelyn. Please, come in.”

I walk into the apartment and I can’t remember a more uncomfortable moment in my life. I stand there trying to think of polite conversation, but I can’t come up with anything I want to say to the man who called me a whore after he tried to kiss me.

“I’m gonna walk back and check on Addison.”

He touches my arm as I walk by and I go stiff. “Can I please have just a minute?”

I pull my arm from him. I don’t want to do this, but I feel like I have to because he’s my best friend’s brother. “I’ll give you one minute.”

“I’m not saying it’s any kind of excuse for what I did, but I was really drunk New Year’s Eve. I never would’ve acted that way otherwise. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” That’s all he’s getting from me.

I walk to the bedroom I once shared with my best friend and she’s sitting on the bed, ready to go. She jolts when she sees me in the doorway. I knew this was a total set-up. “Don’t be mad, Laurie. He wanted to see you so he could apologize and I knew this was the only way.”

“You lied to me.” As I accuse her, I think of all the half-truths I’ve told her about Lachlan and decide it might be a good idea if I’m not too quick to call the kettle black. “But it’s okay. I understand why you did it.”

“I had to, Laurie. He’s been so sick with himself since it happened.”

“Well, it’s over now. I told him I accepted his apology.”

“Thank you, Laurie.”

Addison and I haven’t seen each other since I moved out, so we have a lot of catching up to do. We decide it’s best to do it over cheeseburgers and shakes at the fifties diner on the square.

“So, how’s it going with the suit?”

That name is all wrong for him now. I’ve rarely seen him in a suit since those first few days. He’s all sexy, rugged wear these days, but I choose to not debate it with her. “He works a lot of hours, but things are good now.”