“She told me she was married. It was basically a requirement for the job. So, she lied to get the job.” Drake chuckles softly, I want to deck him. He sees my face and shakes his head. “Are you fucking done?” I snarl, not finding the smallest bit of humor in the situation.

“I'm sorry. I just, man. I can't believe it. Ria lied to me about being married too. She was wearing a ring because her boss told her it would protect her from getting hit on. The hotel she worked at had a very strict no fraternizing with guest’s policy.  Then when we met, she was afraid I'd hit it and quit it and leave her jobless. She was trying to protect herself and her brother.”

"No fucking way." I exhale the words. I am stunned at the idea of any woman trying to keep Drake at bay.

“Yes, fucking way. I was pissed, believe I was pissed. I also understood completely what was at stake for her. Hell, if I was completely honest I can't say I would have wanted her for more than a night or two. Fast forward two years, two long damn years of wanting her and not being able to have her, I was in hell. By the time I found out she wasn't married, I would have done just about anything to get and keep her, including marriage when I made a hard vow never to do it again.

“I can understand Ria’s reasoning, she had more at stake. It wasn’t about her, she had to protect her brother." I think of the very tall, mature, younger brother who was barely a teen when I met him five years.

Drake's eyebrow goes up. "If you can understand that would you be able to forgive Alexa and trust her if she had been in the same situation? If she lied to protect herself and someone she loved?"

I hate him for turning it around like that. I want to say no, instead, I take a deep breath. "I would."

“Apart from that lie, is she someone you think you can trust?”

Shit, my hand goes up to my neck. In the weeks leading up to the lie, despite the way I wanted to get rid of her and the shit I did, she had earned my respect. In everything that has come after, my respect for what she thinks and believes, I would have been able to trust her with my fucking life. "Yes."

“Then what difference does it make? What if Alexa had the exact same reasons? Would you have forgiven her?”

“It isn’t the same thing.” Was he deliberately being an asshole?