Chapter Thirty-Nine – Verity
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
VERITY
F uck my life.
This cannot be happening right now.
I stay stock-still in Cullen’s arms, silently praying that I hallucinated the voice.
“Verity, that you?”
Nope. That voice is very much still here.
I want the ground to swallow me whole. I want to dive forward into the clothing rack and have it transport me to Narnia or literally anywhere that is not here.
“Seriously, do not turn around,” I hiss at Cullen.
His brows wrinkle, the greens in his hazel eyes wavering with uncertainty, but he nods all the same. I take a steadying breath, contorting my face into one of ease and slip from his arms to greet the woman standing behind him.
“Imani, hey.”
“I knew it was you.” She gives me a massive smile, capturing me in a hug even with the six different clothing hangers in her hand.
I give her a stilted laugh, mind whirling as I try to keep myself together.
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know.” She flicks a few of her box braids over her shoulder.
“Just a little bit of retail therapy. After Celine chewed Jay’s ass out yesterday for losing the Fiori Diamond deal to the ACE Agency, I ended up working until eight p.m. making sure my deck for Monday is spotless. What about you?”
“Oh, same same.” I wave an airy hand around the store. “Just a little shopping.”
“With company, I see.” Her sly eyes move behind me, a feline smile gracing her lips.
“Hm?”
“Verity, do not try to act like there isn’t a six foot three hunk of man behind you. I have eyes.”
I swallow, desperately trying to come up with some sort of excuse.
While I know that Imani wouldn’t recognize Cullen, that she has no idea Celine had previously been married, it doesn’t mean I can risk her seeing him.
It will just be a matter of time until someone at the company spills the beans to her, just like Jenna had with me.
I trust Imani, but Delute Designs is cutthroat. If push comes to shove, there is a chance she would use the information to get a leg up. I’m not naive to think otherwise; I’ve lived in this city long enough to know that everyone fights for themselves.
“He’s shy.”
Imani blinks at me three times in rapid succession. “What?”
Cullen lets out a cough that is actually a stifled laugh in disguise. I am fully aware that my excuse was awful, but I am grasping at straws here.
“Yeah, he’s super shy. Doesn’t really do well around people.
His therapist is getting him to go out more, you know, which is why we came here.
Most people don’t crowd the more expensive floors.
Makes it less stressful for him instead of wandering the streets where everyone is bustling about.
It’s a hard thing, having social anxiety in a city like this.
But we’re trying with some baby steps. He’s making great progress. ”
The crappy lies start tumbling off my tongue, my bad habit of panic rambling reappearing in full swing.
“Really?” Imani doesn’t buy it in the least. We’ve worked together enough that she can sniff out the reasons behind my ramblings, that they’re the by-product of a lack of preparation.
I dig my metaphorical heels in the ground.
“Yup. He’s a social recluse, hates parties. Doesn’t really interact well with human society. In fact, we had just hit his hard limit.” I pull out my phone, checking the time. “Look at that, it’s five past two. We’ve got to get going. I’ll see you on Monday, okay?”
I turn around and grip Cullen’s shoulders, keeping him angled away from Imani and pushing him. I guide us toward the escalators, glancing back every few seconds to check that she isn’t following.
This has to be the worst performance I have ever given in my life—even worse than the time I had to present a summary of the summer reading on the first day of eighth grade for the Great Gatsby and recited the plot of the Titanic because my brain just merged all versions of Leonardo DiCaprio together.
When we finally make it out of the department store and back onto the busy street, I shift my grip to Cullen’s hand and start dragging him away. I need to put as much space between us and Imani’s general vicinity as possible.
We make it probably five or six blocks before Cullen halts his feet, causing my arm to almost pop out of its socket at the sudden stop. I turn back to protest, only to find him doubled over, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
“Cullen.”
The silence turns into full-blown howling, and I screw up my lips in response to keep my composure.
“That was awful,” he chokes out.
“Shut up,” I whine. “I tried my best, given the situation.”
“Social recluse? Really? Who am I, Rafe?”
“I don’t know! I couldn’t think of anything better.”
I try to stay mad, but his laughter is too contagious.
Chuckles wheeze out of me. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes before a few roll down my cheeks at the sheer absurdity of the last ten minutes.
We’re both bent over, clutching our stomachs for a good two or three minutes before we have to catch our breaths.
I wipe at the stray tears on my face, calming my erratic pulse. I catch sight of Cullen’s grin, and my heart does one of those loop-de-loops.
“I have to be honest. I think you only made her more suspicious.”
“I know.” I let out a huff, fully acknowledging the fact that Imani is going to corner me on Monday to poke for more details.
Actually, I think I made the situation worse. I’d acted so cagey that there is no way she will be subtle about it. Anne sits in the cubicle next to me. She will hear Imani needling me.
God damn it. I’ll have to find a way to talk to Imani without everyone else nearby and come up with a better reason as to why she needs to keep my dating life on the down-low.
I shuffle forward, letting out a groan as my forehead falls against Cullen’s chest. He strokes the back of my head as I let out an even deeper groan and grip the sides of his shirt.
“Why was she even there? There are like a million people living in the city, and she happens to be at the same department store, on the same floor, at that very time, really?”
“Actually, it’s over one and a half million people.”
I give him a shake, whining, “That doesn’t help.”
“Who was she, anyway?”
I lift my head and peer up at him. “Imani. She’s one of my co-workers. She works on a different team than me but is my closest friend at Delute.”
“Ah. Well, if she’s your friend, it should be fine.”
“I hope so.”
Paranoia starts to creep up my spine. It is easy to forget in a city as big and busy as this that you can run into people so easily. I’ve built up a false sense of comfort, assuming that the likelihood was close to zero percent.
Now, I can’t help but wonder how close we’ve come before. Does anyone else live near Cullen and did they see me leaving his place the other week? What about the time we got donuts from his sister? There are all these different scenarios spinning around my mind.
Even the prospect of jumping on the train right now is giving me a small shot of anxiety. Everyone rides the subway. Maybe not Celine, but my co-workers for sure.
How did none of this occur to me before? How could I have been so oblivious?
“Hey, what’s going on?” Cullen grips my shoulders, running his thumbs along my collarbones.
“I’m worried someone else is going to catch us.”
“I get that, but I promise, what just happened was a fluke.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Why not?”
“Because. You’re not some all-seeing, all-powerful being. You can’t possibly predict where people are going to be.”
“No, but as someone who grew up here, I’m telling you that something like that happening is a rare occurrence.”
“You’re telling me you don’t run into people you know on a daily basis?”
“No. Not unless I’m in their area. Then it’s fair game.” He shrugs. “Think, how often do you go to the very same places?”
I chew on my bottom lip. He has a point.
There are probably three neighborhoods in the city I frequent weekly; the rest are rare occurrences.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve run into someone I know in the last twelve months while just out in the city.
Maybe I am overthinking it a little, but to be fair, the stakes are a lot higher now.
There might only be a few people who know Celine was married once, but it would only take them seeing us together one time for everything to come crumbling down.
And while I’ve made peace with the fact that dating Cullen is a risk, it doesn’t mean I am any less nervous about getting caught.
My mind halts its spiral as Cullen’s lips land on mine.
All the noise that had been buzzing around my head, causing it to go haywire, suddenly quiets.
I melt into his touch, sighing into his taste.
His soft lips contrast with the light stubble on his jaw.
I loop my arms around his neck as his hands hug my back.
I don’t even remember what I was worried about.
With a single kiss, everything washes away.
It is an odd realization, to acknowledge how this man has such a profound effect on me. I’ve always been a worrier, an overthinker, but Cullen is a calm breeze soothing my nerves. He makes me feel safe in a way no one has before.
He pulls back, and I instantly mourn the loss of his touch.
“What were you saying?”
“I have no idea.”
He plants another quick kiss on my lips and then threads his hand through mine, tugging me alongside him.
“Feel better?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He squeezes my hand. “I know you’re putting a lot on the line to be with me.”
I’m quiet for a beat before I let out a small confession. “You’re worth it.”
“No, Verity, we’re worth it. The two of us together. We’re a team, angel, and I’ll always be fighting in your corner.”