Page 108 of Betting on the Bad Boy

I let my cheek rest against his chest for a moment and breathed in his familiar scent. It would be so easy to climb back under the covers and pretend like everything was fine. For half a heartbeat, I considered it. But I needed to come clean.

In a few hours, Dante would know the truth. Although it would be the hardest thing I’d ever done, it might make it easier for him if he heard it straight from me. The chance to escape without having a major breakdown disappeared.

“We need to talk.”

His hands cradled my head and tilted my face up toward his. “Can it wait until morning?”

“No, unfortunately it can’t. Why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll make a pot of coffee?” That would give me a few minutes to figure out how to begin.

“Something happen? Is your family okay?”

The concern in his voice pulled at the edge of my resolve. I needed to get this over with. But as soon as I came clean, it would be over. Dante wasn’t the kind of guy to forgive and forget. Drawing it out was only making it harder. But every second I stalled gave me one more moment with him, with how things could have been if I hadn’t screwed them up so badly.

“They’re fine.” With a deep sigh, I broke our embrace. “Just give me a sec and meet me in the kitchen, okay?”

He pressed a kiss against my temple, and I battled the impulse to wrap my arms around his shoulders and cling to him. Instead, I closed my eyes, savoring the way his lips felt on my skin. This would probably be the last kiss of his I’d ever feel.

“Okay, be out in just a minute.” He turned toward his dresser and began to rummage through a drawer.

I made my way to the kitchen, stepping into my pajama bottoms and pulling my sweatshirt over my head as I went. By the time Dante joined me in the kitchen, I was fully dressed except for my coat. The pungent smell of fresh-brewed coffee permeated the air, and the dark liquid flowed through the ancient countertop machine. I poured a cup for each of us and sat down across the table from him.

Dante scooted his chair closer to mine and put a hand on my knee. “Is it theLword? Too soon?”

He leaned back and tunneled his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean to throw you. I’ve just been thinking, with Meemaw passing and everything. Life’s relatively short, you know? I know this isn’t what you wanted. But I’m not sorry I said it.” He put a finger under my chin and tipped my head up to make eye contact. “I love you, Faith.”

His eyes revealed everything: hope, happiness, love. A smile played at the edges of his mouth, encouraging my lips to lift and return the sentiment. This was it. This moment. I committed his face to memory, one square millimeter at a time. As the moment dragged on without a response from me, his smile tugged down. His brows knit together, and the hope dissipated.

I shook my head and focused on his feet. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean?” The tone in his voice shifted from an undercurrent of nervousness to confusion.

“I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen.”

“For what to happen? Why do I feel like I’m out of the loop here?” He made a move to take my hand, and I jerked it away.

I needed to spill it, fast. That would be the only way I’d have the nerve to get it all out. I took a deep breath in through my nose and opened my mouth to let the betrayal begin.

“I’m a writer. Our sex-only arrangement was a research project. I needed to get past a bad case of writer’s block and you were the perfect inspiration.”

I dared a glance at his face. Confusion flickered behind his eyes.

“I write erotic romance. Everything we did…everything…I wrote about it.”

“I don’t understand.”

I put a hand up to silence him. “It gets worse. I used our names. Eventually, I was going to change them, but someone found out and tried to blackmail me. They leaked it to the paper and there’s going to be an article tomorrow.”

“An article in the paper?”

I nodded.

“About us having sex?”

I cradled my head in my hands. “Yes.”

“They can’t print that.”

“I don’t know exactly what they’re printing. I just know that someone leaked it that I’ve been writing as Chastity Austen, and it’s all coming out.”