More Exposed (The Exposed Series, #4)

by Deborah Bladon

  "There is." She turns on her heel.

  "Good to see you too, mom," I call after her. "Tell dad to fight his own battles next time."

  Chapter 9

  "Can I ask you something?" I stand in the doorway watching Hunter bend down in all his custom-fitted-suit-glory to pick up Cory's toys from the living room floor.

  "Anything." He drops everything he's scooped up in his hands and turns to face me. "Sunshine, ask me."

  It's been so long since he's called me that. Since the awkward encounter we had in bed about his trip with Cory, we haven't really talked. With my heavy exam schedule and his persistent need to be at a new restaurant that's opening in midtown, we haven't had time together at all.

  "Do you think about her when you look at me?" It's a question I've never asked directly. I haven't had to. He's always made me feel loved and adored just for me. It's never been a question of whether that love was directed towards Coral's heart or me.

  "Who?" It's the answer I wanted. I didn't want him to automatically assume that she was the woman I was speaking of.

  "Coral." I can't look at him directly when I say her name. I can't. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get myself to that point.

  Tugging me into his body, he sighs before he answers. "No, never. Not once."

  I wrap my arms around his waist, wanting to pull strength from him. "My mother said something about her." I don't want to confess everything she said. I don't want him to think that I put any weight in the words that she spoke to me.

  "You saw her?" He doesn't try and hide the surprise behind the question. Naturally, he'd ask. I've complained to him for hours about how she's been completely not accepting of my relationship with him. I was shocked when she gave him my address all those months ago when he came back to Boston.

  I nod and cling tighter to him. "At the bistro. She wanted to meet me to tell me that my father disapproved of my living with you and Cory." I hate the sound of the words coming from my mouth. I hate that she made me doubt this beautiful man even if it was just for a moment.

  "She's just being your mom," he offers while his hand runs up and down my back. "They both want what's best for you."

  "You're the best for me." I feel no doubt in the words at all. He is. He's always been the best thing in the world for me.

  He pulls back from our embrace so he can rest his hands on my shoulders. "What else did she say?" The question accompanies a raised brow. He's invested in this now. He's going to push until I tell him exactly what she said.

  I fidget slightly from foot-to-foot trying to find the strength I need to tell him. "She's just delusional about us." There. That feels right.

  "Delusional?"

  "She thinks you're hiding something from me," I say it with a chuckle. It sounds absurd and I know it. I hate that I had to repeat those words to him.

  "Like what?" His finger playfully pulls on my hair. "Did she say what it was?"

  I stop and stare right into his eyes. I see the mask within them. It's the same mask that's always there when he's holding something back. "No," I answer cautiously. Why isn't he laughing this off? Why isn't he telling me it's ridiculous and that she knows nothing about him that I don't know?

  "So she didn't elaborate at all?" What the hell? Elaborate on what if there's nothing to hide?

  "Why would she elaborate on nothing?" I feel my shoulders tense beneath his touch. This conversation has gotten so far off the track I thought it would be on that I can't think straight. Is there a secret? Is he actually hiding something that my mother knows? How is that even possible?

  "I don't think she likes me." He pulls a thin smile across his lips. "Actually, I'm sure she wishes I'd disappear."

  I want to tell him that it doesn't take a brilliant mind to see that, but I'm not going to engage him in anything until I get to the bottom of this. "That goes without saying, Hunter." I want the part of the conversation that focuses on my mother's dislike for him to be over. He's sidestepping and right now he's tripping over his own two feet.

  "Is there something?" Being direct is the only choice I see right now. I'll ask, he'll answer and we'll put to this rest.

  "Something that I'm hiding from you?" Bingo. There is. He wants to volley the questions back and forth to avoid whatever it is.

  I just stand in silence studying his face. I hone in on his eyes and that's when they drop. He can't hold my gaze. He won't hold my gaze. The man, who promised to love me forever and vowed never to keep secrets, is holding something within him that feels like a ticking time bomb.

  Chapter 10

  "I went to the store before I got home from work." He motions towards the kitchen. "I got everything you like so you won't even need to leave the house until we get back."

  "I have to go to work and school." I also have to go and talk to my mother. I don't add that last part in because frankly I don't give a fuck at this point. I can tell by the way he's racing away to California with Cory and the fact that he's been avoiding me since we talked about my mother, that whatever the secret is, it's not going to be something I'll embrace.

  "Sadie!" Cory comes running into the living room. "I'm taking this for my mom." He holds up a colored picture of a kangaroo with his name neatly spelled next to it.

  "She's going to love that." I reach down to tousle his hair. "Did you pack everything?"

  He nods excitedly before he scoots back down the hallway to his bedroom.

  "I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you that we were going to see her." His voice is low and calm.

  "I don't know why you thought you had to hide it." The words are pointed and direct and meant to sting. I hate this veil of secrecy that's surrounding him. "I brought up on his birthday that I thought they should at least talk to each other."

  He shuffles his leather shoes on the hardwood floors. "I thought you'd want to come along."

  Of course I would. I ached to be invited and it had nothing to do with seeing Christina. I would have avoided that if he'd asked me to go to see her with him and Cory. Just the joy of going anywhere with them was what I wanted and I knew if I was there, with them in California, I could give Hunter the emotional support he was going to need after seeing Christina again.

  Cory's back in the room with his small backpack slung over his shoulder. His bright blue suitcase is skidding behind him on the floor. "Let's go, daddy." He pulls anxiously on Hunter's hand coaxing him towards the apartment door.

  "You'll call me if you need me." The words sound so hollow and empty when he says them now. It's not like before. There's a weight hanging in the air between us. I know that he's aware that I suspect. He has to be. I can see it in his eyes.

  "I'll be fine." I move towards the door. "I hope it's a good trip."

  He leans down to brush his lips against mine before he pulls on the doorknob. "I love you, sunshine. Always."

  ***

  "Dad." It's so empty and heavy coming from my lips. I didn't want to call my mother to ask her to meet me again because I was fearful that would give her a chance to prepare for my questions. I wanted to appear out of nowhere. She's never been good under pressure.

  "Sadie." He only nods in response before he opens the door wide enough to let me in. I haven't been home since I moved into my own place last fall. It's exactly the same. Everything is prim, proper and in its place, including my parents.

  I don't reach to embrace him. That's never been part of our relationship. I know he cares for me. Deep within my heart I know he truly loves me but the wedge that was put there when I found out he had kept Hunter from me for all those years is unyielding. He lied about something as fundamental as my heart.

  "Is mom here?" I'm hopeful that I can get this over quickly and be back in Hunter's apartment before it gets too late. I'm falling behind in my studies and an empty place means extra study time over the course of the next few days.

  He studies my face as if he's about to launch into a tirade about the merits of running away from the man I love. I know m
y father doesn't approve of Hunter. He's the one who once had him arrested. "I'll go get her."

  I breathe a heavy sigh of relief that I've dodged one uncomfortable confrontation tonight. Now all that's left on my agenda is getting my mom to spill the beans. I have to find out what she knows about Hunter. I hate living with him not fully understanding what's going on and what he's keeping from me.

  "He's trying to protect you." The words reach me before she appears at the top of the staircase. She looks elegant even wearing her pajamas and a silk robe. It's rare to see her without her makeup. It's been years since that's happened and I'm stunned by how youthful she looks.

  "Daddy?"

  "No. Zander." She's standing in front of me now. I can see past the barrier she usually has surrounding her. There's worry skirting the edges of her beautiful brown eyes.

  I follow her lead into the large sitting room. She takes a spot on an ornate sofa and I settle in next to her. Although the home I grew up in is elegantly designed and decorated, the one thing I always longed for was the coziness that comes with having a family who showed affection.

  "What is it, mom?" I can't let my pride shelter me this time. I need the truth. I've been struggling for days with the knowledge that Hunter is hiding something.

  "It's about the boy." She's staring down at her robe, her pointed red fingernail tracing a line along the fabric's intricate design.

  "Cory?" I offer his name. He's an important part of my life. I want him to be just as important to my parents. In a perfect world, they would embrace him and Hunter but perfect worlds are only found in fairy tales and other people's homes.

  She nods silently. I hear her breathing become heavier. She's struggling with whatever it is she needs to tell me.

  "Please, mom." I reach to touch her hand and this time she doesn't instantly recoil from my touch.

  "It's about the boy's father." Her words hit me like a high speed baseball. She didn't say Hunter, or Zander. She didn't call him by his name.

  "Hunter?" I offer. "You mean Hunter?"

  "No." She pulls her gaze up to meet mine. "His real father, Sadie."

  Chapter 11

  "How...how do you know?" I struggle to get the question out in one breath. I didn't think anyone knew that Hunter wasn't Cory's biological father. Hunter told me himself that Christina had no idea who that man was.

  "Your father told me." Of course he did. My father knows every detail of Hunter's entire life.

  I squeeze her hand harder this time. "They don’t know who the father really is." That's what Hunter told me. It's the truth. He told me that Christina had so many one night stands that she couldn't pinpoint Cory's father.

  "Did he tell you that?" Her brow furrows as she scans my face. I see concern there. Real, genuine concern flashes over her expression. I can only remember seeing it once before. It was years ago when I was so ill during those months before my heart transplant.

  "Yes." I see no reason to not be direct with her. I feel as though she's offering me everything she knows. I want to do the same.

  She pulls her gaze down and her eyes flit back and forth slightly almost as if she's searching for something in her lap. "Sadie," she begins but stops herself.

  "Mom," I whisper as I lean in closer. "Please, just tell me."

  "They know who it is." Her voice is so soft. I struggle to make out each word. "They all know."

  "Hunter knows?" I can't believe that. Why would he keep something so important from me? Why wouldn't he share that detail?

  She pivots her body so her shoulder is touching mine. "Sadie, I don't know who he is. I overheard your father talking."

  That's all I need to hear. I bolt to my feet and turn to walk out of the room.

  "Sadie," she almost screams my name into the silence of the house. "Stop."

  "Why?" I freeze and turn to stare at her. "I'm going to talk to him."

  "He won't tell you anything." She pulls her hands through her hair in utter frustration. "I've asked. He won't say."

  "This is ridiculous." I almost chuckle at how ludicrous this is. My family knows important information about the child I live with and they refuse to tell me. "We're a family. I feel the need to point that out to my mother. "We shouldn’t have secrets."

  She only shrugs her shoulders in response. "I don't know anything."

  "I'm going to ask daddy." I turn on my heel again to march out of the room in search of my father.

  "Maybe it's time you ask Zander," she calls after me. She was right. Maybe it was time I ask him what the hell was going on.

  Chapter 12

  I searched the house in vain for my father before finally waving the white flag of defeat and leaving. I spent all of the time on the bus on the way back to Hunter's apartment replaying that conversation with my mother over and over again in my mind.

  I dial Hunter's cell as I walk through the door and there's no answer. I don’t leave a message because I know he won't want to talk about something so serious over the phone.

  I glance at the clock on my tablet. It's just after eleven, which means it's only five in the morning in Paris. Alexa told me to call her whenever I needed her. I don't know if I've ever needed her more than I do in this instant.

  I listen intently as her cell rings three times before she answers with a gleeful, "Bonjour."

  I giggle inwardly knowing that she's spent the last half of the year struggling to learn even the simplest French phrases. It's not for lack of trying, but her focus seems to be centered on the men there instead of learning the language.

  "You're awake?" Why does that surprise me? Of course she is.

  "Wide awake, Sadie." I instantly feel comfort when I hear her say my name. I miss her endlessly and I've spent a small fortune talking to her each week. "What's up?"

  "Hunter." I don't see any reason to tiptoe around the reason for my call. Alexa is bold, direct and isn't going to pull any punches when it comes to telling me what I need to do about Hunter.

  "What's he done now?" I know she doesn’t mean it, but the disappointment in her voice stings tonight. When he kept his engagement to Christina a secret, it was enough to tarnish his image in Alexa's eyes for good. I'm not sure how she's going to react once I tell her that he's keeping something equally major to himself.

  "I think he lied to me about Cory's dad." It's so foreign to hear myself say the words. Do I truly believe that Hunter lied to me about that? Would he do that?

  "What makes you think that?" It's a logical question.

  "My mom mentioned something about it and...." my voice trails as I recline back into the comfort of the couch. "He's just been acting strange lately."

  "Zander's being weird?" The use of his legal name isn't lost on me. "That's hard to imagine."

  "Funny," I say the word without any meaning. "I can tell he's holding something back. I'm not sure."

  "Where is he? Why aren't you riding his cock right now?" I blush even though she's thousands of miles away from me. Her brash demeanor hasn't changed a bit.

  "He's in California visiting Christina," I grumble. I hate that he went there without me.

  I hear Alexa shuffle before she speaks. "Did he take Cory with him?"

  "He did." I feel as though she's unintentionally rubbing salt in the open wound that is my heart. "Without me."

  "How the fuck did that happen?" Her tone is raised now. I know she's mentally adding to the list of reasons why she hates Hunter.

  I pull in a heavy breath. "He didn't ask me to go along. Actually, he didn't even discuss the trip with me."

  "That's fucked." It's abrasive and it's unfortunately, completely true.

  I wish she were here. I could use some quality Alexa time face-to-face. "How am I supposed to find the truth if no one is willing to tell me?"

  "You've got to be straight with him." Her tone is more muted now. "Just tell him you know and he's going to cough up the details. Simple."

  "I'll do it as soon as he's back." I have to. This is tearing me ap
art inside. It's too reminiscent of when he was engaged to Christina and hiding that from me.

  "Good girl."

  Chapter 13

  "We have to talk." I've practiced saying those four simple words for the past day now. When Hunter did finally return my missed call the other night while he was away, I didn't mention anything about Cory's biological father. He'd told me how much he loved me on the phone and it broke my heart. I need this man to be transparent with me. I need him to trust me with everything in his life if this is going to work.

  He turns slowly from where he's seated by the table. He's just finishing his coffee after getting Cory ready for a playdate. "You're so serious, sunshine. Is this about how I fell asleep before you got to bed last night because I'm ready to go right now?" He cocks both brows and I melt instantly at the suggestion that we make love. I wish it were that easy. I wish I could take off my clothes and jump on his lap right now.

  I reach out my hand to him, hoping he'll take the lead and follow me to the couch. "It's very serious, Hunter."

  He's up on his feet in an instant, grabbing onto my hand before he pulls me into his chest in a tight embrace. I pull my arms around his waist, wanting to soak in this moment. I love everything about him. He's so strong, so protective. He's such a beautiful person both inside and out. He takes the initiative to pull me by my hand to the couch. I nestle in very close to him, my hand resting on his thigh.

  "Are you okay?" There's so much genuine concern and love woven into the words. He really does care for me. I know it. I can feel it. If we can climb over this hump, we'll be happy again. I can sense it.

  I shake my head. I'm not. I need to tell him that I know about Cory's biological dad and I'm hurt that he kept it all from me. "Not really, no," I manage to say in barely more than a whisper.