Bound Beneath His Pain: A Dirty Little Secrets Novel by Stacey Kennedy

her, but I plan to remind her of the woman she used to be, as often as I can, hoping that maybe one day she’ll be that woman again. “Your mom, though, remember what she did, how she made us wake up early the next day? Remember how many times we barfed our guts out when we were forced to make them bacon and eggs?”
    “That sucked so bad.” Her eyes crinkle, an honest warmth filling their depths. “Total hell.”
    I smile with her.
    No matter how hard times had gotten, we had each other.
    On tough days, that’s always enough.

Chapter 4

Allie
    When I enter Holt’s reception area the next morning, my high-heel shoes drag against the floor. The receptionists are chattering on phones and the waiting room is bustling with clients waiting for their dream houses to be found. I hold the two coffee cups out in front of me, my mouth salivating for some liquid energy. Ugh. I need to sleep and stop thinking about the smooth man on my mind. Being tired is never a good thing for me. I’m not as strong when I’m sleepy and I need to be on top of my game around Micah.
    I pass each door, noticing my co-workers huddled together in groups, murmuring about something and holding small bouquets of flowers in their hands. I tilt my head, catching their conversations, ranging from “Did we make a big sale?” to “Why is Micah so happy?” to “Am I being fired?”
    My mind is racing and now I’m hurrying down the hallway to get answers from Liv as to what is going on. When I enter my office, I find a large bouquet of flowers on my desk and a slightly smaller one on Liv’s.
    I’m already putting two and two together, that Micah wanted me to accept his flowers so much he bought everyone in the office flowers, as I spot Liv’s wide grin while she tells me, “Girl, you must have the secret something to snag a billionaire.”
    “I can’t believe he did this,” I admit, handing her the coffee I got for her.
    “Me neither. It’s kinda sweet in a weird dominating way, eh?”
    I nod at Liv and then move to my desk, feeling her eyes following me. Sure, he still didn’t hand deliver the flowers to me. Of course, yesterday he told me he would have, but knew better than to do that in front of everyone.
    Okay, so he’s won this particular battle,
I admit to myself.
    “What did you say to him when he showed up at the restaurant?” Liv asks as I take a seat behind my desk.
    Obviously I
had
to text her right after. I place my purse in the bottom drawer and my coffee next to my keyboard. “I told him that singling me out in any way was a bad idea, as it would lead to problems for me in the office.”
    Liv laughs. “So he sends flowers to everyone?”
    “Apparently.”
    “Wow,” Liv breathes. “Just
wow.
”
    “No kidding.” I really look at the flowers he gave me, noticing a mix of red roses and white hydrangeas. The flowery scent spirals around me, and I can’t deny the beauty of the flowers, or the sweetness of his gesture.
    The girl in me wants to jump up and down in excitement that any guy put this much effort to go on a date with me. Clearly, Micah’s determined to get a
yes
out of me. And he’s damn well making sure I can’t forget about him. My throat dries uncomfortably when I reach for the card and open it, finding Micah’s handwriting.
Allie—
    One date.
    Don’t make me wait too long.
    —Micah
    I run my fingers over the writing on the card, acknowledging the butterflies fluttering, and wondering what happens when you make a man like Micah wait
too long.
Part of me loves the attention and realizes he has no intention of giving up. In fact, I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t pulled the
I gave you Richardson. You’ll give me this
card. The other part fears this is a battle that I won’t win. But all the lessons from my mother echo in my mind.
    I can’t repeat her mistakes.
    I won’t.
    “I take it a date is in your near future,” Liv states before sipping her coffee.
    I snort, placing the card in the drawer and