Maris looked upset and took a small step forward. “It’s a long story but nothing horrible, I swear.”
My skin felt icy cold despite the bright morning sun pouring in through the windows around the front door. “He never told me he was married before,” I mused, mostly to myself.
Maris’ brows lowered and drew together. “Damn idiot man,” she grumbled. Her eyes were warm and, to my embarrassment, sympathetic, as she looked at me. “Why don’t we have a cup of coffee and talk until Landen comes down?”
I stared at her as though she’d grown a third eye in her forehead. “What?”
“Okay, how about we have a cup of coffee and plot his murder?”
Despite the horrible chill that seized my body, I released a bark of laughter. “That sounds more appropriate.”
Without waiting to see if she’d follow, I turned on my heel and headed into the kitchen, struggling with my emotions as I walked. Now that the shock was wearing off, I was pissed as hell.
I wanted to be mad at her, but I knew it wasn’t her fault that Landen hadn’t mentioned their previous marriage. If she was pretending to be surprised that Landen kept it a secret, she was a much better actress than any woman I’d ever met.
As I took two coffee cups down from the cabinet and set up the machine to brew, Maris reached into the fridge and pulled out a carton of half and half. After she set it on the counter next to me, she moved to the kitchen island and perched on one of the barstools.
“Okay, so I know this is awkward,” she began, which caused another short, almost painful burst of laughter to escape from my throat. “But it doesn’t have to be. Landen and I…our marriage was a mistake. There was no cheating or ugliness. We were just better friends than spouses. I still care for him but not the way a woman cares for the man she loves. When he told me he was seeing someone special and started talking about you more and more, I was glad to see him happy.”
My hands clenched into fists. I wanted to believe that she was lying, that she was playing me, but I didn’t. Maris’ gaze was steady and sincere and her body language was open.
I forced my hands to relax. “If what you’re saying is true, then I don’t understand why he wouldn’t mention that he not only had an ex-wife but that you were business partners. I understand some couples remain friends after they break up.” Okay, so I didn’t trulyunderstandit but I knew it happened. Even in business. Couples might start a business together and remain partners after their divorce.
Maris shrugged. “I wish I knew, Chelsea. Though I did tell him he should be upfront about it. Some of the women he’s dated in the past didn’t like it but I told him that keeping it from you would only make it worse when he did finally tell you.”
I frowned at her. I didn’t understand how I hadn’t heard she was his partner before. I’d been working for Chris for over a year and Landen was one of his bigger clients. Why didn’t this come up before now?
“Chelsea?” Maris spoke my name like a question, bringing my focus back to her.
“I work for Chris Barden. I should have known all this at the beginning. Why haven’t you come into the office with him?”
Maris smiled but it wasn’t an amused look. “I’m only involved in one of his companies and I handle all of the work that Chris does for the rest of his businesses. I didn’t need to be involved in his meetings with Chris.”
God, I was so confused. Landen was not some weak man who shied away from the truth. His candor and intensity were enough to make even me uncomfortable at times. Why would he keep this from me?
Beneath the confusion, anger was growing. He’dliedto me. I didn’t differentiate between outright lies and those of omission. Both were unacceptable in a relationship.
Before I could sift through my emotions and settle into the strongest, Landen appeared in the doorway and paused when he saw Maris sitting at the island. His eyes came to me and he hesitated. I knew that he could see exactly what I was thinking. It had to be written all over my face.
It was a struggle but I managed to keep my voice calm and level when I said, “Maris and I were just getting to know each other.”
If I hadn’t been watching him so closely, I would have missed the wince that followed my words, but I didn’t. He knew he was in deep shit with me.
I didn’t stick around to hear what they had to say. Instead, I skirted around him, evading the hand he put out to stop me and went back upstairs to finish getting ready for work.
My anger propelled me up the steps quickly, through his bedroom into the bathroom. I ignored the way my hands were shaking as I put on my make-up. I didn’t take my time. No, I wanted my armor in place when Landen made it upstairs.
He and I were going to have words and then I was going to work. I would stew about this later tonight, in the safety of my own apartment.
The house was quiet when I left the bathroom and slipped my feet into my pumps. The fine tremor in my hands had vanished and the confusion and hurt were buried beneath my anger. It churned in my chest, a volcano poised to erupt. The blood in my veins felt molten, burning like lava.
I heard his light step on the stairs as I gathered my things. I stopped at the end of the bed, my purse resting on the mattress when he entered the bedroom. I could see the regret and apology in his expression before he even opened his mouth to speak.
“I’m sorry, Chelsea.”
The quiet words did nothing to soothe me. “That you lied or that I found out?” I asked. My own question was sharp, slicing through the air with fatal aim.
Landen took a deep breath before he answered. “That I lied.”
