Reclaiming Love (Tainted Love Book 2)

by Lily Zante

  This? What exactly did Heather have a problem with? Noah living here or their stakeout mission?

  Muffled voices suddenly became clearer and were now directly outside Noah’s door. “I’m really interested. I looked over the vacancies and I’ve put my application forward. Do you think we could talk about the nature of the job? It’s the kind of field I want to move into and if I could get some tips from you, dude, that would be cool.” She held her breath, not daring to move an inch. Matt’s voice struck fear in her bones and she clutched the cell phone tighter, holding onto it like a magic talisman.

  The doorknob moved and she heard Noah say something. More laughter followed.

  Did Noah get on with him?

  “Well?” Heather hissed. Melissa didn’t dare open her mouth. “Melissa!” Heather yelled loudly.

  “Shhh,” Melissa whispered, not daring to go any louder. She wasn’t sure if Heather heard or not.

  “Thanks, I appreciate it. You let me know when you’re free.” Matt’s voice again, this time further away.

  “Go home. I’ll meet you there,” Melissa ordered and then stared at the door with her breath stuck in her throat. It opened slowly.

  “Give me a couple of days and we can sort something out.” Noah faced out and gave a wave and a false laugh.

  Then he walked in and closed the door behind him. Turning his head in her direction he stared at her like a man who needed answers yesterday.

  Chapter 37

  “Thank you.” Melissa whispered to him as soon as he’d shut the door. She looked scared, and he needed to know why.

  “Is he heading for a shower?” she asked, clutching the cell phone to her chest.

  He nodded and she made to move towards the door. “Oh, no, you don’t.” He grabbed her elbow gently. He needed answers and he needed them right this minute.

  Her frightened eyes met his. “I should go. I have to get out of here without him knowing, remember.”

  He didn’t let go of her elbow. “In time,” he whispered, sensing her fear. “You owe me answers, Melissa.” She had to understand that none of this made any sense to him.

  Slowly she backed away and walked to the far end of the room where she leaned against his desk. He locked the door—the guys respected one another’s privacy—but he could already see how frightened she was. Now he would find out why. For one mad moment, a dart of hope made him wonder if there was more to her and Matt than met the eye.

  “How did you get in?”

  “The other guy was leaving and I slipped in.”

  “He saw you?”

  She nodded.

  Sighing, he asked her, “Do you want to sit down?”

  When she declined, he moved his chair away from her, and sat down on it, facing her. This would be interesting.

  “I’ve been looking for you at the coffee shop every morning this week,” she said quietly, not getting into the thick of it immediately. Still, the fact that this was the first thing she chose to mention lowered his guard a little. Because he’d deliberately avoided the coffee shop ever since that day.

  “I’ve been avoiding it.”

  “Avoiding me, you mean.”

  “Avoiding you.” He leveled his gaze at her and observed that same air of vulnerability she always had about her. Try as he would not to, his eyes kept drawing back to her lips as his gaze swept over her features, reminding him of every inch of the face he’d kissed that night. He went to sleep remembering her face, her smell, feeling her fingers…

  But he’d also convinced himself to wipe her from his memory. Yet something told him that maybe now there was a chance she could explain herself. That lurking behind that vulnerability he’d seen all too clearly, was the real reason for her sadness and it was only a matter of time before he unearthed it.

  “I split up with him—that day—last week, when you first saw me here.”

  He frowned. That wasn’t what Matt had told him. “Are you sure?” It was a stupid question, but he needed to check.

  Her cheeks flamed red, and he regretted the question. “Of course I’m sure,” she said, still talking in a low voice. “But I can’t stay here any longer. I need to go before he finds out.”

  He stared down at her top, and she looked down. Even underneath her coat, there was a distinct bulge. It was obvious she was hiding something.

  “What’s that?” he asked, his curiosity uncontained.

  She hesitated. “I can’t tell you.” She looked up at him. “Yet.”

  He scrubbed his hands over his face and got up from the chair. She exasperated him and made him feel for her at the same time. “Melissa, you’ve got to see it from my point of view. Everything that’s going on right now—with you—with Matt, this, that day, you and me, you and him—it doesn’t piece together.”

  She covered up her chest, holding the edges of her coat closer together. “I know how this must seem. But I’m asking you to trust me. Please. I have to go now, before he finds out I’m here. Please don’t tell him I was here.” She was frantic.

  He ran a hand over his forehead. “Okay. But I need to know. I need to know everything.”

  “The coffee shop tomorrow morning?” she suggested.

  “At eight?”

  She nodded.

  It would be his chance to find out everything and this time he needed all the answers. “I’ll be there,” he told her. She smiled in response, and for the first time that evening, her face brightened.

  He wanted to reach out and hold her again, because she looked so broken, and so alone, and weak. And because he’d missed her. But instead he reached out and stretched his arm, bringing his hand to the back of his neck and feeling the tightness in his muscles.

  “I’d better go.”

  “Let me check if the coast is clear for you.” He walked out and heard the shower still going strong. Paul had gone to meet his girlfriend—so he knew without a doubt that it was Matt in the shower. He walked back and beckoned Melissa out, then followed closely behind her as he walked her to the door.

  “Bye,” she whispered and slipped out into the night. He wasn’t going to let her go that easily and instead, he walked her out.

  When he got back a short while later, Noah closed the door and heaved a sigh. She’d told him things, but now he had more questions. Because he wondered what it was that made her come back and do something like break into her ex’s room; something that was so alien to her character.

  And what was it that she’d hidden under her clothing?

  Chapter 38

  “What took you so long?” Heather rushed to the door the minute Melissa walked in. She shook her head, drained—that’s how she felt. This evening had sapped all strength from her. She was relieved to be back home. After shrugging out of her coat, she sank down on the sofa. “I was talking to Noah.”

  Heather flopped down beside her. “Imagine my surprise when he walks out of the apartment and quickly moves me back down the stairs. Christ, Melissa. What is this threesome thing you’ve got going?”

  Melissa lifted her head and angled it towards her friend. “Don’t say that. Imagine my shock when I found out Noah lived there.”

  “When did you find out? Did you know they knew each other?”

  “No. I swear. I had no idea. I don’t know how they know each other, all I know is Noah only recently moved in. I found out on New Year’s Day, when I left after talking to Matt.” She paused, took a breath. “I walked out and we bumped into Noah.”

  Heather’s eyebrows shifted about half an inch towards the ceiling. “Right after the night you and Noah had been rubbing lips together?”

  “Don’t say it like that,” groaned Melissa.

  “What did Noah say?”

  “He didn’t say much.”

  “I bet he didn’t.”

  “He didn’t make out he knew me either. He thinks I’ve been two-timing him.”

  “Ya think?” Heather’s sarcasm was at its peak. In a softer voice, she added, “No wonder you wer
e so pissed off—so out of it that day you came back.” If that’s what Heather believed about that day, it was fine with her.

  Melissa sighed, pulling a hand down her face. “It’s been a nightmare—this thing with Matt. I tried to tell Matt, that day, that we were over and he was … horrible.”

  Heather’s face scrunched up. “What do you mean?”

  Melissa paused. She couldn’t talk about it—the shame of that day. Some things were better kept to herself. Just as she planned to do with Noah, she was only going to mention the things that were mandatory.

  “What do you mean, Melissa? Did he hurt you?” Heather persisted.

  Melissa squeezed her eyes shut and slowly shook her head from side to side. “No.” She swallowed. This was getting harder to keep to herself. She’d bottled it up, hoping she could relegate it to some remote place inside her, where in time she would forget. But the bottled up simmering feeling, suppressed inside a finite space, now screamed for release.

  “Did you get what you went for?” asked Heather, obviously trying a different tactic.

  “Kind of,” Melissa sank her head back into the headrest, feeling hungry but not having the time or the energy to get up and cook.

  “What was it?” demanded Heather.

  Melissa opened her eyes again, wishing her friend wasn’t so insistent. “It’s nothing I can show you. I deleted it.” She had no intention of showing anyone what was on the memory stick.

  Heather’s brow knit together. “Deleted what?”

  “Some things.”

  “What things?” Heather’s voice grew sharper and when Melissa said nothing, she leaned in towards her. “What things Melissa? You’re scaring me. I’m thinking all kinds of crazy stuff here.”

  “He had some photos of me,” Melissa confessed, and sat forward. “We used to goof around.” Heather didn’t need to know the full details, or the whole truth. She didn’t need to know how Melissa didn’t want the photos taken but hadn’t had the courage to say no to him.

  “Photos?”

  “Yeah, you know. Messing around in my clothes—or underwear—kind of thing…”

  “Well, they can be kind of fun—” Heather started, then saw the look on Melissa’s face, “unless you don’t feel comfortable about doing that stuff.”

  “That’s it. I felt uncomfortable with him having them.”

  “Oh, Mel. What a bastard.” Heather bent forward and gave her a hug. “Is that all?” Heather wasn’t stupid and Melissa suspected that her friend imagined there was more to it than she was letting on.

  “Yeah,” she lied. “Told you it wasn’t such a big deal. But he wasn’t going to hand them over. So I had to get them. You understand don’t you?”

  “Totally. I’ve met the psycho, remember? Do you think he’ll try anything now?”

  “No.” There was no need to.

  “What if he finds out what you did?”

  “I can’t see how he would,” replied Melissa. But it got her thinking all the same.

  “How did Noah take all this?”

  “I haven’t told him everything. We’re meeting up tomorrow.” Her mind had been on Noah the whole journey back home. He’d made sure Matt was busy and then walked her down the street, away from the apartment, and called her a cab, insisting on paying for it.

  She wondered if there was ever any chance of things between them getting back to what they were before.

  She’d even take going back to how it was in the beginning: random glimpses at the coffee shop.

  She’d take whatever he was willing to give her.

  Chapter 39

  An evening that should ordinarily have been lackluster and a normal weekday evening, at that, had turned into something completely the opposite.

  Noah fixed himself a sandwich in the kitchen. The temptation for comfort food was overwhelming and his taste buds started to water at the thought of a chicken and bacon sandwich.

  A beacon of hope glimmered at the idea that Melissa might have an explanation for him—something that could tip things in her favor. Because ever since that day, when he’d caught her cheating, he’d fought hard to erase her from his thoughts. The feeling of betrayal hurt deep, especially when he’d analyzed all their past encounters and couldn’t see any clues that might have led him to suspect she’d be capable of this.

  He would give her a final chance tomorrow to convince him she was not at fault.

  “I’m sure I had them,” Matt muttered, looking around as he walked into the kitchen.

  “What’re you looking for?” Noah asked, pulling out the grill and turning his bacon rashers over.

  His roommate put his hands on his hips, looked around the kitchen and scowled. “Damn it. I had some software patches I needed.”

  Noah shook his head. “Sorry. I’ve not seen them.” He got busy making his sandwich, leaving Matt to scout around the rest of the kitchen.

  The outside door shut and a moment later, Paul breezed past them. “Hey, dude, have you seen my CDs? They were in a pile?” Matt asked Paul.

  Noah’s head jerked up.

  “CDs? Nah—sorry,” Paul replied. Matt started searching in the refrigerator. “The fridge? Seriously?” Paul asked.

  “I’ve done that before. It’s not as stupid as it seems,” Matt said, moving jars of pickles around, with his head deep in the fridge.

  “Sorry, not seen them. Maybe your g—” Paul started, but Noah jumped in and gave him a testy look.

  “Hey, Matt, I’ve got some time now, if you want me to run through the application form with you.”

  Matt’s face brightened. “Now? It would be a great help, especially as I’m close to the end date as it is. Do you have time?”

  “Sure, right now as a matter of fact.”

  “Want to go through it here?” asked Matt, suddenly excited.

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll get my list of questions.” He disappeared into his room.

  “What was all that about?” asked Paul, turning to Noah with a quizzical look on his face.

  Noah replied wearily, “You don’t want to know. Don’t mention anything about Melissa being here.”

  His friend frowned at him in puzzlement, then shrugged. “Sure.” And headed towards his room.

  Shit. Noah let out a sigh and stared at his bacon rashers. The smell of salty meat did nothing to elevate his mood.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  Now he had to spend time he didn’t have helping a guy he didn’t like, to get a job at his place—something he sure as hell didn’t want.

  All to save a girl he wasn’t so sure about.

  Chapter 40

  “When exactly did you break up with him?” His voice was sharper than he’d intended, as the look of hurt in her eyes confirmed.

  He could tell from the look of her, that she hadn’t slept well either. The rich, smooth aroma of coffee and pastries did nothing to lift the air of gloom that hung over them.

  “I wanted to break up before Christmas, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.”

  “Why not?” These questions had circled around his mind until the early hours. He wanted to make sure he had all the answers today.

  “Because he is a …” She paused, as if searching for her words. “He’s a controlling guy. I didn’t think so at first. It was something that I came to notice the more time went on. I’d already decided, even before I went home for Christmas. But we didn’t see each other before then or rather I avoided meeting him, because I knew he’d get annoyed. He was angry with me for going home for Christmas anyway. I didn’t want to upset things more by breaking up with him, not before Christmas. I mean, that would be cruel.”

  “When did you? Break up?”

  The way she looked at him made him relent a little but he so hated the lying, so hated being in the dark about things which concerned him. Even though this was different, this was nothing like how things had been with Bree—he and Melissa had no relationship —just some heavy making out as a baromete
r of what they had felt for one another, once.

  There was no real reason for him to even feel betrayed in this situation.

  But he couldn’t deny that he’d had feelings for her. She’d bolstered him through these last few months, without knowing that she had, so for him to now find out that it had all been based on lies was a betrayal of sorts.

  She’d hurt him.

  “I told him the first day we got back to work after Christmas. We work at the same place—”

  “You work together?”

  “Yes,” she answered, her whispered confession erecting another barrier between them. She used to see him every morning—how could she have failed to mention her boyfriend? Noah shook his head softly. You lied to me the entire time.

  “Go on,” he demanded, his insides sinking as he crumpled further into the chair.

  “The day before New Year’s Eve I told him things between us weren’t working out and that I didn’t think we should be together. But he turned up on my doorstep later that same evening pleading for me to rethink things. He couldn’t accept that I wanted to break up. He suggested that maybe I needed some time apart—to help me to reconsider. So…” She paused to glance at him, to check if he was listening. He nodded, and she continued, in that same quiet, whispered hush of hers.

  Like the whispered words she’d said to him that night she lay in his arms. He scrubbed his hands across his face, willing himself to forget that night with her.

  “So I told him—because I didn’t want the drama of a scene on New Year’s that we could have a break, but I was hoping things would slowly fade between us and disappear. I think I hoped he would worm his way back into the dark, miserable place he’d crawled out from.” She looked down at her feet when she said the last words.

  Noah heard her, and the quiet anger in her voice was not lost on him. This wasn’t the Melissa he knew—the girl he’d kissed and welcomed the New Year in with. He edged forward in his chair, wondering what it was her ex had done to her. He wanted to move closer to her, wanted to comfort her but forced himself to stay where he was.