Conviction (Consolation Duet #2) by Corinne Michaels Read Free Book Online Page B

“You don’t ‘Lee’ me . . . I’m tired. You can all tell me that in all the time you spent with Aaron for that year, you never suspected it? You can honestly sit there and tell me you had no clue? I’m sure more times than you know he said he was with you. How does that make you feel?”
    Mark stands towering over me, his hands gripping my shoulders gently. “I didn’t know. I would’ve told him to knock it the fuck off or tell you. He made mistakes and he’s paid his penance.”
    “And that’s supposed to comfort me?”
    “What do you expect?”
    What do I expect? I don’t know. That’s the part that gets me. I can’t tell him what I want, because if it were Reanell, I wouldn’t run and tell Mason. But there was a baby involved. And it wasn’t a one-time thing.
    I flop in the chair and hang my head. “I expected it to never happen. But none of that matters because I’m over it. I’m over the affair and all the other bullshit. I was genuinely happy with Liam.”
    Mark sits beside me. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he pulls me close. “Were you happy with Aaron? If you hadn’t believed he was dead all this time, would you be with him?”
    I rest my head on his shoulder. “I can’t answer that. We weren’t happy, but we were happy about the baby. Who knows if after Aara was born if we’d have gone backward?”
    “Yeah, that’s the thing . . . you don’t know. But what I do know is you have great friends who love you. And you have Aarabelle. As for the rest, it’s up to you.”
    I lift my head and look at him. “Is it? My choices affect everyone in this.”
    Mark kisses my cheek, “I think you need to give yourself a chance to breathe before you choose anything.” He heads out of the office and then pops his head back in. “Lee?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Do you think we could give Aarabelle the call sign Moonlight?”
    My smile is automatic, and I throw the box of tissues from the table next to me at his head.
    He ducks and it misses him, but he smiles. “I’ll take that as a no.”
    Only Mark.
    I head back to my desk and get back to work. The people overseas matter, and I need to focus on their lives instead of my own. At least for a few hours.
    My phone rings and I answer without looking.
    “Hello?”
    “Natalie,” Aaron’s scratchy voice sounds nervous.
    “What’s wrong?” I ask quickly.
    “It’s late. I’m just wondering if you’re coming home.”
    I look out the window and then at the clock. Shit. It’s almost seven.
    “I’m sorry. I got caught up in these projects,” I explain.
    “Right. Work,” Aaron replies disbelievingly. “I figured you might be somewhere else. I don’t have a car or anyway to get anywhere. I just wanted to know what to do.”
    “Aaron,” I say softly. “I’m really sorry. I’m leaving the office now and I’ll be there soon. Let me call Paige and see if she can keep Aarabelle overnight. Then we can have dinner and talk?”
    We need to figure out the logistics of all of this, and I need answers. I need to know from him what exactly happened and how we move forward for Aarabelle’s sake. I don’t want to move out of my house, but I don’t want to throw him out either.
    “I’d like that.”
    “Okay,” I smile. “I’ll see you soon.”
    “I love you, Natalie.”
    “I—” I choke on the words. “I gotta go,” I mutter quickly and disconnect the phone.
    There’s no traffic on the road and Paige was happy to keep Aarabelle. I’m not sure how to handle things with Aaron, but I need to know a lot of things. Where he was for the last year, for one. I’m assuming if Aaron went on that rescue mission, it hadn’t been by choice, but I’d also assumed he wasn’t sleeping around.
    I park in the drive and a text bings.
    Liam: We have to talk.
    Me: I know. I need to handle things tonight with Aaron.
    Liam: Okay. I’ll wait to hear from you.
    Me: I love you.
    The text was easy to say. I didn’t stumble over my words because my heart is