Page 129 of Never Tell Secrets

Somewhere in all the noise, I felt Alfie’s thumb rubbing gently on the back of my hand, that one touch soothed me and kept everything else at a distance. His team helped us to our car and flanked by vehicles front and back, we sped away from Heathrow and camera flashes.

“Baby…” Alfie took off his glasses, a worried expression on his face.

“I’m alright.”

“You’re shaking.”

“Oh…” I looked down at my trembling hands. I shook them out, trying to rid myself of the tension. “Will it always be like that?”

“No, they’ll have moved on in a few days. I can usually go about my daily life and they never bother me. It’s just when there’s?—”

“A scene?” I filled in for him.

“Right.”

If I hadn’t been filmed giving that girl attitude then the paparazzi frenzy probably wouldn’t have happened.

Accepting Alfie back into my life was accepting a lot more than I’d bargained for. I’d known he was somewhat in the public eye, but the reality of it had never really hit me untilnow. I swallowed, this was going to be an adjustment. Alfie was watching me process all of this, a worried line creasing between his brows. He needed my reassurance that I wasn't about to run away screaming.

“So, does this mean I’m actually going to have to listen to you when you tell me not to do something?”

He broke out into a wide smile. “Yes.” He tilted his head to keep Elliot from hearing. “I was serious about the spanking.”

Forty

Priya’s gaze was warm, her body unnervingly still as she observed us. Her sharp eyes didn’t miss our closeness on the couch, my hands relaxing in my lap instead of clenched at my sides as they had been the last time we were here.

She’d contacted Alfie on our way back from the airport requesting a session with both of us. I was exhausted and Alfie didn’t seem like he wanted to come either, but the last few days had brought about a huge change for us. It made sense to sift through it while it was still fresh.

“Lola, how did you feel when Alfie surprised you in Greece?”

I’d known that was going to be her first question and I had my answer ready to go. “Angry at first but then he reassured me that he was still going to follow the same rules we had in London and I felt better.”

“Why?”

“He gave me a choice.” I shrugged, it was a simple explanation.

“I see.” She nodded, taking a few notes. “When Alfie gave you a choice to see him rather than insisting that you do, what did that behaviour communicate to you?”

“That he respects my boundaries now.” I glanced up at the man that had been silently staring into the fireplace for the last five minutes. “That he’s secure enough in us and himself to let me make my own choices.”

Priya nodded again, her gaze flicking between the two of us. “Lola, during our last session there was a great deal of tension between you and Alfie. You seemed very uncomfortable to be around him. I wonder how you are feeling when you’re in his presence now?”

I took a moment to think, to find the right word to describe how I felt now compared to how I felt then. “Calmer. I trust myself more, I trust him more. That intensity between us is still there but it feels stronger now, better founded.”

She nodded, her eyes warm but her smile didn’t quite reach them. “That’s good, it’s really good. Alfie.” She turned to the mercurial billionaire at my side. “There seems to be something on your mind, would you care to share it?”

“No.”

I winced at his tone but Priya didn’t flinch. “It’s work,” I said. “He’s neglected his company recently to spend time with me and he’s paying for it now.”

Priya gave me a brief smile before returning her shrewd gaze to Alfie. “I see.” She studied him for a moment longer before moving on, “Alfie, your task was to work on moving yourself away from Lola, how have you been dealing with that?”

“I spent some time with my friends in Greece,” he replied, sounding as if he was on autopilot. “I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“That’s good, anything else?”

He paused. “I’ve almost finished a new build in Dubai.”