Chapter Nine
One Last Night
But one more night, turned into two nights, three, four and then five. The frequency with which she saw Reece was complicating matters. Allie had taken to trying to cover her bruises with foundation. Sometimes it worked well, especially when she was able to wake before him and apply the make-up to the blue patches of skin. Other times, Reece noticed the discoloration. However, Allie was satisfied with the fact that he believed her to have anemia and, as long as he didn’t see any large or particularly bad contusions, she felt sure he would continue to believe that.
Lying to him was not something that came easily, though. Truth be told, she hated it. She couldn’t look him in the face whenever he mentioned the marks on her flesh or the fact he thought she’d lost a little weight.
And it was all made so much worse by the fact that the more time she spent with him, the more time she wanted to spend with him. She loved being in his company, it didn’t matter what they did and it had gone far beyond just fulfilling a sexual desire. On the third night, they didn’t even have sex. Instead, cuddled up on her couch, watching an old Cary Grant movie, they’d both drifted off into peaceful sleep and remained there ’til morning.
She was happy, happier than she had been in a long time. Ironically, the knowledge of that made her profoundly depressed, because she was acutely aware of the fact it couldn’t last. She’d found true happiness, a man she could imagine herself growing old with, and she wasn’t going to get the chance to grow old at all. Her low moods were yet another cause to lie to Reece. She’d tell him she had a lot on at work, that she was stressed and just needed to unwind, which, at first, he had no reason to disbelieve. As time passed, she knew he’d begin to suspect there was something more to her mood swings.
Meanwhile, she’d been cancelling or postponing dates with old flames she’d met online, including Mitch Hatley. He continued to write and send text messages, while she politely stalled him. Allie was reluctant to give up the idea of grabbing that particular lost opportunity, but, at the same time, wondered if she could ever want to sleep with any man except Reece - she certainly couldn’t imagine it. Her dreams were filled with him and her waking fantasies refused to drift to any other man, no matter how handsome.
In short, Allie knew that her relationship with Reece, for, like it or not, that’s certainly what it had become, had to end. She simply couldn’t continue to lie, and she didn’t want to torture herself with the taste of a life she would never really get to experience.
But breaking things off was going to be difficult. Like a crack addict, she lacked all will power around him. He only had to flash a glimpse of that gorgeous smile or say her name in that deep, baritone voice of his and she was unable to resist. Nevertheless, she had to find the resolve from somewhere.
3 Book Romance Bundle: "Her Last Love Affair" & "Loving Him Peacefully" & "Unwelcome Reunion" Page 15
