Page 95 of Until He Confesses

Henry pulled up in front of her building and she looked up at the building in thought. Since she wasn't immediately scurrying out of the vehicle, I realized that she wanted to speak to me, so I remained still. I met Henry's gaze, and he quickly got out of the car, shutting the door behind him.

"He didn't have to do that," she turned to me.

"It's fine," I said, looking at her.

"It's nothing important. I just wanted to say that I know I've been dressing a bit casually whenever we meet, but it's because it's been late at night, and I've always sort of been in a rush. But I'll make more of an effort," she said.

I listened to her words and wondered what she was trying to imply with it and what the root of this concern was. I didn't need her to be scantily dressed for me to feel attracted to her. I loved how casual she was and given how most of the women around me looked, this level of comfort was a breath of fresh air to me.

"I've seen you dressed up at work," I told her. "I know how you look when you're as put together as you want to be. No need to go through the trouble."

She turned to stare at me, and then she said, "Is your interest waning, given how I dress? If not, maybe I should dress even more badly?"

My brows furrowed at this until I was able to process what she was saying. I turned around then to hide my smile.

"Keep dreaming," I said, and heard her slight gasp.

I wanted to kiss her, but once again, it would be too intimate, wouldn't it? So, I kept my stare away as she got out of the car. I did turn to watch her head back into her building as Henry got back into the car.

I kept my eyes on her until she finally disappeared, and Henry waited. Then I sighed and returned my eyes to the road. I couldn't help but think once again about the boulder that was between us getting any closer and her claim that I had cheated on her. If only she would speak to me about it, I would be able to gather enough information to investigate. I had been ready to allow her to continue in her falsehood, but time and time again, it hit me that I was the one who was losing out as well.

Right then I resolved to get to the bottom of this. Speaking to Anna had gotten me somewhere initially, but she was loyal to her friend, so I had to go a different route. Perhaps her mother? I maintained a good relationship with her, although it had caused some strife, but I was sure I could trust her to get to the bottom of things.

A few days later, as I headed over to Paris, I contacted her. I didn't want to send her a text, so I called her instead, and she seemed a bit startled.

Then she told me to wait.

“You're with Callie?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. “She's about to leave on a trip.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I know.”

“Oh,” she smiled. “How are you? I feel a bit nervous taking this call behind her back.”

“I understand,” I said. “But I would like to ask you for a favor. It's alright if you're not comfortable with it. I want to find out more about why Callie believes I was unfaithful to her. There's no way for me to get the information from her, but I'm hoping you can help me out. Any thread whatsoever beyond hearsay that I could follow would be incredibly helpful, like who the person was that sent her the video.”

For a few seconds, she was quiet before she responded.

“Hm,” she said thoughtfully. “I understand your intention, but Callie has been quite closed up about this issue and adamant that she doesn't want to discuss it. Plus…” she hesitated, and I wondered why.

“I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but you're someone I care for as well, and I am grateful to you… but she seems to be seeing someone now. And that was why she was particularly upset at dinner. I thought that with just a little advice and push, I could help you both resolve the challenges you had in the past, but I really don't want to interfere any longer.”

I understood what she was saying. I also understood that the person her daughter was now seeing was me. She'd probably given them a lie to get them off her back and to explain her absences. Coming to me the way she had been couldn't have gone unnoticed with how close they were.

I couldn't tell her mother this anyway, so I simply accepted her explanation and laid the matter to rest.

45

CALLIE

Ihad been to Paris before, but once again, they had always been quick flights. This time around, I had a few days to hang around the city, and I couldn't be more excited.

I had done all the touristy things needed from prior trips, but this time around, I wanted to discover more hidden places and ordinary spots.

My itinerary was yet to be planned out because I'd been too excited to actually settle down to do it, but now that I was in the air and had some free time, it was the time to dream.

My colleague came over when she was done with her work to ask me of my plans, and I relayed them. She'd been to Paris several times during her career, so she gave me recommendations but didn't seem all too interested in joining me.