Kiara stared at him in disbelief, waiting for him to tell her he was kidding, but the anguish on his face told her it wasn’t a joke. “Oh, God.” She covered her mouth. “It all makes sense now. He is using me to get back at you.”
“Yeah.”
“And you couldn’t have told me this before I signed a contract with him?” She couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to become a pawn in their sick game.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was low and raspy. “I know I should have, but I was scared, Ki. I was falling in love with you. I didn’t want to lose you when you found out about Marla.”
“No wonder he hates you. I don’t blame him.” She never thought she’d take Morin’s side over Blaise’s, but she couldn’t believe he would do something so vile.
“I didn’t know they were married.” He raked his hands through his hair, stumbling back against his car. “Marla and I had been sleeping together for months. Apparently she’d been seeing Morin too. She married him in Vegas one weekend and failed to mention it to me.”
Kiara didn’t know a lot about boxing, but she assumed Morin had been a big enough name for his wedding to warrant some press coverage. “How could you not have known? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Marla convinced him to keep it a secret, for obvious reasons. Don’t ask me why he went along with that. I just know he did.”
“Have you seen her recently? Are she and Morin still married?” She had so many questions, and she could tell by his prolonged silence that he wasn’t anxious to fill in the blanks. “You know what, forget it. I’ll ask him.”
He reached for her arm when she stepped toward her car. “Last time I saw Marla was about four months ago. She was still married to him then.”
Four months ago. Just a couple months before he’d started seeing her. “What happened when you saw her? Did she come looking for you, or was it the other way around?”
“We ran into each other at a bar. I was drinking a lot and…” He glanced at a couple walking past them, shooting a curious glance their way. The guy must have been a boxing fan because he whispered Blaise’s name to his partner. “I’m not doing this here. If you don’t want to go inside—”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She couldn’t believe he expected her to have a leisurely lunch with him as though he hadn’t just imparted news that was bound to change everything between them. “Not until you tell me the whole story about Marla.”
“Fine, at least get in the car where we’ll have some privacy.”
She unlocked her door and slid into the driver’s seat, waiting for him. As soon as he got in the car, she said, “Start talking. I have a meeting with Dalton back at the office soon.” When he stared straight ahead instead of speaking, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”
“What the hell was I supposed to say, Ki? ‘Oh yeah, I banged Morin’s wife. Hope that doesn’t change your opinion of me.’” He looked out the passenger’s window. “I’m not an idiot. I knew you wouldn’t be able to get past something like that.”
She wanted him to make her understand, to give her some reason to believe in him again. “You said you didn’t know she was married to him. So when you found out, you stopped sleeping with her? Right?” She wanted to believe Blaise was Marla’s victim. She closed her eyes, tipping her head back against the headrest. “Please tell me you didn’t continue sleeping with her after you found out she was married.”
“I hated Morin’s guts,” he said, as though that justified sleeping with the man’s wife. “And by the time I found out about their marriage, I was already in pretty deep with Marla.”
“Get out.” Her hands trembled when she pressed the button to start the car. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”
“Please, Ki,” he said, grabbing her hand. “Try to understand. I was in a bad place. I’d lost my career. I didn’t know what I was going to do next. I despised Morin, blamed him for ending my career, so maybe I was using Marla to get back at her husband. She was using me too. Morin was horrible to her. He hurt her.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, pulling her hand from his.
“According to her, he roughed her up. I saw the bruises, so I’m inclined to believe her.”
Kiara rubbed her temples before reaching into her glove box for a bottle of aspirin. She tapped two tablets into her hand before reaching for a bottle of water from the cup holder between them. “I don’t believe this. Now you’re telling me that my new client is a wife beater, and you let me agree to represent him? Do you have any idea what it’ll do to my career if it gets out that I aligned myself with someone like that?”
Kiara felt guilty for considering herself above the real victim, Marla, but she had trouble feeling sympathy for Blaise’s former lover. “The way I present myself is important in my line of work. I need to gain the respect of not only the athletes but team management as well. They need to believe that I have sound judgment, or they won’t take me seriously. Don’t you get that?”
“I do, baby, I do.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt.”
“But you could have prevented it. You could have told me the truth as soon as you found out Morin called me, but you didn’t. You were more concerned about protecting your own ass.”
“I was trying to protect us.” He looked tortured as his hand closed around the gearshift between them. “We were building something incredible, and I didn’t want to let Morin ruin it. He’d already ended my career. I couldn’t let him ruin us too.”
“He didn’t ruin us,” Kiara said, trying to ignore the pain searing her. She would have time for tears later. Right now she had to be strong. “You did. You were the one who wasn’t honest with me. You kept secrets that you knew would hurt me.”
“I’m sorry.” He leaned forward, gripping his head. “I don’t know what else to say. I made a mistake.”
If it had only been one mistake, she might forgive him, but their situation had been created by a series of bad choices that indicated a pattern of behavior. She questioned whether she knew him at all. “You didn’t tell me what happened the last time you saw her.”
“God, do we really have to go there?”
“I guess that’s my answer, isn’t it?” Knowing he’d slept with Marla even after he knew she was someone else’s wife left a bitter taste in Kiara’s mouth. How could she have been so wrong about him?
“I was drunk. Hell, I was pissed. I hated myself, the world, but I hated Morin most of all.” Distress etched lines in his face, making it appear as though it took everything in him to hold it together. “I wanted to punish him. So did Marla. So yeah, we slept together. But that was the last time we were together, I swear.”
“And that’s supposed to make it okay?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
His broad shoulders slumped as he hung his head. “I didn’t say that. I know you must think I’m a low-life for sleeping with another man’s wife, but you gotta believe me, baby. I’m not like that. That was the first and last time I’ve ever done something like that, and I swear to you, I’ve regretted it ever since.”
“Then you haven’t seen or heard from Marla since it happened?”
His long exhale told her that was wishful thinking on her part. “She called me a couple nights ago. It was late. I was half asleep, told her it wasn’t a good time.”
“A couple nights ago?” Numbness pervaded her body and took away the pain. “I spent the night with you a couple nights ago. I was there when she called?”
“Yeah, you were asleep. My cell was on vibrate, so it didn’t wake you.”
“The lies never stop, do they?” Her stomach roiled, making her glad she hadn’t eaten. “Is there anything you have been honest about?”
“I was honest about my feelings for you, Ki.” His voice was thick when he said, “I’m crazy about you. You gotta believe me when I tell you I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”
“Not even Marla?” She regretted the bitterness she’d allowed to creep into her voice. Now he knew how jealous she was of his last lover.
“No.”
“Did you love her?”
He stared at the ground. “I thought I did at the time. I was a bit of a mess when I found out about her and Morin, I’m not gonna lie.”
“You’re not going to lie?” She rubbed her forehead. “That would be a nice change.”
“What do you want me to do?” he asked, briefly clenching his hands. “I can’t take it back. If I could, I would. But I can’t. I screwed up. Does that mean this is the end of the road for us?”
“I can’t think straight right now. I need some time to process this.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to get back to the office.”
“Baby, please.” He leaned over, coaxing her to face him as he touched his forehead to hers. “I love you. I can’t lose you over this.”
“Just go, Blaise. Please. Just go.”
***
Kiara was trying and failing to focus on outlining the standard client/agent contract for Dalton, who she was supposed to be training.
“You wanna talk about it?” he asked, pushing the contract aside. “I’m a pretty good listener.”
Kiara had been friends with Dalton almost as long as she’d known Sabrina, but she didn’t know if she was ready to confide in anyone just yet.
“Is this about Blaise? Did something happen between y’all?”
“He lied to me.” Kiara knew she wouldn’t get any more work done. Reaching for the coffee Dalton had brought her, she said, “I thought I knew him, but now I’m questioning everything.”
“I’ve gotten to know Blaise a bit over the past few months,” Dalton offered. “He seems like a pretty good guy.”
“I thought so too, but…” She was angry with Blaise, but she didn’t think it was fair to share his secrets. “Are there things that are deal breakers for you in a relationship? Like trust, honesty, fidelity?”
Dalton sputtered on his coffee. Clearing his throat, he raised his hand. “Hold up a minute. Are you telling me Thomas cheated on you?”
“No, but he wasn’t honest with me about some things. Things that could have a negative impact on my career.” If only her career was all that concerned her. She couldn’t help but think that if Blaise didn’t respect the sanctity of someone else’s marriage, he wouldn’t be capable of respecting his own wedding vows. They weren’t anywhere near that stage, but she wondered why she was wasting her time if she couldn’t trust him.
“Hmmm.” Dalton was obviously curious but didn’t want to pry. “Did he have a good reason for not coming clean about it?”
“He said he didn’t want to lose me.”
“Would that have been a possibility if he’d told you?”
Kiara felt differently now that they’d been intimate. She was more invested in their relationship. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“That’s a tough one. I know how Thomas feels. There are a lot of things in my past I’m not proud of.” He grinned. “Some have called me a bit of a man-whore, and I can’t deny it. I wouldn’t want to share my sordid past with a girl I care about.”
Kiara knew Dalton had a point, but that didn’t make Blaise’s indiscretions sting any less. “Part of me thinks that what happened before he met me shouldn’t have any bearing on our relationship, but the other part of me thinks it speaks to the kind of man he is. I’m not sure the man who could do the things he’s done is someone I’d want to risk giving my heart to.”
“You’re a sweet girl,” Dalton said, rubbing her shoulders. “Sometimes I think you’re too sweet for your own good. I get why you’d be cautious, especially with someone like Blaise.”
“Thanks.” She reached for a grape from the fruit platter her assistant had brought in for them. “I’m already in so deep. I wish I wasn’t, but I am. It would hurt like hell to walk away from him now.”
“You’re in love with him?”
“Yeah.” She wanted to say she wasn’t sure, but her heart knew the truth. She was all in, and it was pointless to pretend otherwise.
“Then you have to ask yourself if you can leave. I mean, is it even possible?”
“It’s always possible.”
He smoothed a hand over his red silk tie. “I don’t know about that, sweetheart. Sometimes, someone gets under your skin and you can’t get them out. You know the relationship is toxic, or at the very least not what you want it to be, but you can’t end it. Not even to save yourself.”
Kiara was shocked to hear that from Dalton, of all people. To her knowledge, he’d never been emotionally invested in a relationship in his life. “Sophie?” she asked, referring to the girl Dalton had been dating for the past several months.
He chuckled. “Oh no, you’re not gonna turn this around on me. We’re talking about you and your problems, not mine.”
She wanted to probe, but she knew Dalton would share when and if he was ready. “Fine, oh wise one,” she said, smirking. “Tell me what you think I should do about Blaise.”
“All the things you mentioned—trust, honesty, fidelity—those are deal breakers in a relationship, no doubt about it. So let me ask you this. Could you see Thomas cheating on you?”
She’d been down that road before when she placed her trust in a man who swore he was being faithful when he wasn’t. He thought being a professional athlete gave him special privileges. It occurred to her that she’d never thought to ask Blaise if he’d ever cheated on a girlfriend. He said he’d never slept with another man’s wife before Marla, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t cheated. “No, I don’t think he would.”
“So it’s the trust and honesty you’re struggling with?”
“Yeah.” She popped another grape in her mouth, needing something to distract her.
“Everyone tells a little white lie from time to time. That’s part of being human, I think.”
“I guess you’re right.” How many times had she begged off an important event by claiming she wasn’t feeling well when she was just tired, or told her parents she had to work and couldn’t fly home for the weekend when she had a spa appointment she didn’t want to miss? She certainly wasn’t a saint. Maybe it was unfair of her to expect Blaise to be. “It’s not that he lied to me. He just didn’t tell me things he should have.”
“Were they things you had a right to know, things that impacted you directly?”
She considered the impact her affiliation with Morin could have on her career if what Blaise claimed was accurate. “I think so.”
Dalton must have sensed her hesitancy because he said, “See, I think we’re all entitled to a past. When a woman asks me how many girls I’ve slept with, you really think I’m going to tell her?”
“Not if you’re smart,” Kiara said, amused by Dalton’s self-deprecating comment.
“Exactly.” He pointed at her. “But it’s not for the reasons you think. I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done. I’ve lived a great life, had a hell of a good time, but that doesn’t mean I want to share that with the woman I love.”
Kiara sucked in a breath, unable to hide her shock. Was Dalton implying that he was in love with Sophie?
“Just like I wouldn’t want to hear about other guys she’s been with. Some things just fall under the headline of too much information, and I tend to think previous lovers is one of those things.”
“You might be right.” Part of Kiara wished she’d never even heard Marla’s name.
“Trust is something you develop over time, hon.”
“You have to look at the guy Blaise is today, not who he was a year ago,” Dalton said. “You have to ask yourself if you have faith in him. If he says he’s out with the boys, can you trust that he is?”
“Yes,” she said, without hesitation.
“And he’s not getting other girls’ phone numbers or going home with them?”
Given her previous experiences, she couldn’t answer unequivocally, but her gut told her he would be faithful to her. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Okay, let me ask you this.”
Kiara’s lips twitched. When she’d decided to unload on Dalton, she had no idea he’d take his role as her advisor so seriously. “What?”
“You’re having a lousy day and need to vent, or you’re having a great day and want to celebrate. Who do you call?”
Since Sabrina had Dylan, her answer came easily. “Blaise.”
“I think you have your answer.”
***
Blaise beat the hell out of his kid brother in the ring. Damn, it felt good.
“Okay, okay,” Rowan said, holding up his hands. “I’m done.”
Blaise smirked, pulling his gloves off before taking out his mouth guard. “That was solid, man. Seriously, you’ve got natural skill.” His brother could have gone all the way back when they were kids, had he not gotten side-tracked.
“That means a lot coming from you.” Rowan reached for a towel to wipe the sweat from his face. “So you think you can work with me?”
“As long as you’re serious about this. I’m not interested in wasting my time.”
“I am serious.”
“Good.” Blaise wiped the sweat from his face and chest before reaching for a water bottle. He caught a glimpse of Kiara working out with her trainer. He’d been working with his brother when she walked in, so they hadn’t had a chance to talk.
“Jesus, she’s hot,” Rowan said, following Blaise’s gaze to Kiara.
“Don’t even think about it. She’s mine.” Blaise knew he may be overstating things. It had been a day and a half since their argument in her car, and she hadn’t tried to contact him.
“Oh, yeah.” Rowan poured water on himself to cool off. “That’s the chick in the picture on your desk, isn’t it?”
Blaise frowned at his brother’s choice of words. “That’s her.”
“Looks like she’s on her way out,” Rowan said, pointing at Kiara’s retreating back. “Aren’t you gonna try to catch up with her?”
“We kind of got into it yesterday.” Blaise turned away from the exit she was passing through. “I’m trying to give her some space.”
“Are you crazy?” Rowan laughed. “You give a girl like that too much space, and another dude’s gonna move in and take your place.”
That was exactly what Blaise was afraid of. “Let’s hit the shower. You wanna come back to my place for a pizza?” He didn’t feel like going home to an empty house, where Kiara’s scent still seemed to linger.
“Sure.”
“I just want to talk to Max. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
“Sounds good.” Rowan tossed the towel over his shoulder and headed toward the locker room.
Max grinned as Blaise approached. “Hey, boss man. Did you and little missus get into it?”
“Why?” Blaise asked, tensing. “Did she say anything to you about me?”
“No, but she couldn’t take her eyes off you. Made it kind of tough to train her.”
Blaise hoped that meant she would be ready to talk soon. He couldn’t stand the silent treatment much longer. He had to know what she was thinking, how she felt, before he went crazy. “Do you know where she was headed?”
“Said she was meeting a friend for a drink.”
“Male or female?” Blaise asked, clenching his towel.
“Uh…” Max paused, obviously trying to recall exactly what she’d said. “Him, she definitely said him.”
“Son of a—”
“She hasn’t left yet.” Max hooked a thumb toward the locker room. “Why don’t you go talk to her before she leaves?”
Blaise was desperate to talk to her, but pushing her before she was ready would only make matters worse. “I think I’ll let her come to me when she’s ready.”
“I know you didn’t ask for my opinion,” Max said, stacking the weights they’d used during their session, “but if she’s going out with another guy tonight, you may not have time on your side.”