I shifted to her side. Her hand was over her eyes as she struggled to breathe normally. “I’m sorry,” I told her. “That’s not how I wanted our first time after so long to be…” I’d pictured romance, gentleness, hours of teasing and tasting, not…that. I shifted to my back and stared up at the ceiling, disappointed at myself. And the situation. Tonight hadn’t at all gone as I’d expected, and I wasn’t sure what to feel right now. A little lingering anger, more than a little bit of sadness, a large dose of happiness, and even some relief. At least I know what she’s been hiding now. I just wish she’d told me earlier. I wish I hadn’t found out that way.

Kiera twisted to face me. After a long, silent moment, she asked, “Do you believe me? About Denny?”

That was the real question, wasn’t it? Did I believe her? Did I believe that she didn’t want him anymore? That all this time nothing had happened between them? That she’d merely been comforting a friend earlier? There were several times in her relationship with Denny when I could have sworn there was more friendship-love than romantic-love between them. Even Kiera not wanting to let him go at the end…now that I was looking at it through the lens of time and experience, that choice seemed fueled by friendship too. Thinking rationally and not fearfully, it was easy to picture the two of them as friends. I didn’t like it…but I could see it.

My gaze swung down to hers. “Yeah, I believe you.”

She gave me a soft smile as she nodded, then she leaned over to gently kiss me. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you…”

A genuine smile broke over my face; it significantly improved my mood. “I’ve missed you too…if you couldn’t tell.” With a small laugh, I indicated my spent body. I supposed I could partially blame my eagerness on being apart from her for so long.

Kiera adorably bit her lip as she examined my bare skin. The cute expression on her face made my heart swell. God, I’d missed her. Thank God, she hadn’t cheated on me. Now that I knew her secret…and knew how much it hurt to be blindsided…maybe it was time to tell her mine. Because it was driving us apart. I knew it. And I didn’t want to go through that kind of anger and pain with her again. Somehow…I had to find the courage to tell her about Gavin. Staying silent was no longer an option. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too upset with me. And hopefully she’d respect my wishes to never accept him into my life.