Page 68 of The Deception: Hercules Valentine and I

Thirty Minutes Later

I walk into my apartment and collapse against the door. Relief overwhelms me. I took the subway home. The entire trip, I felt as though I was detached from my body. It even started raining on my walk to my apartment building, so now I’m drenched.

I open my eyes. During the ride home, I tried to think about what to do but kept coming up blank. If only real life was binary code, then I could program what happens next.

I shuffle over to my credenza and set my purse on top of it. Then I slip out of my coat. I’m infused with Hercules’s scent. I’ll never again be as close to him as I was last night, and that truth breaks my heart.

I glare down at the hem of my dress. It’s wet.

Suddenly, Lark Davenport’s cellphone rings. I snap my head up and freeze. Without even looking at the screen, I know who’s calling, which is why I rush over to answer Hercules’s call.

My fingers tremble as I tap the screen. “Hello.”

“Where are you?” He sounds normal, not distant.

“Um… I had to leave.”

“Why didn’t you call me? I could’ve cut my run short and driven you home.”

I want to ask how my purse ended up on that table. I also want to know if he checked my phone or, even worse, answered Max’s call. But I can’t. I hate not being able to speak honestly with him. The fact that I can’t drives me crazy.

“I made it home fine,” I say instead.

He sighs. “I wanted to see you before you left.”

What to say next?“Sorry.” That’s all I can come up with.

Silence falls between us.Ask him, Paisley.

“I mean, listen, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about what’s happening between us because I’m one of the owners of the company you work for.”

“I don’t,” I say with a hefty amount of assurance.

“Because I like you, Lark.”

I close my eyes to stomach the dread that races through me. “I like you too.”

“And I don’t want to stop what we’re doing. How about you?”

I whisper, “No.”

In the silence, I can hear my heartbeats and feel the air on my face. My apartment has a different aura from Hercules’s. His place feels better. And it’s more than the price and scale of it that makes it so good—it’s him. Where he is, so is home.

“So, why did you skip out on me so soon?” he asks.

My eyes expand. “I have plans for the day that have to get started.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

What in the world? He’s being more persistent than usual.“Dinner with my…” I massage my throbbing temple.

“Who are you having dinner with?”

“Old friends. They’re visiting.”

“Any of them an old boyfriend?”

I picture him grinning. He sounds like he’s having fun with me.