We Will Love Again – Episode 17
Alaina read Peter’s message three times. She had spoken to him only occasionally since leaving their hometown, yet one inquiry from Noah had drawn him back into the secret they created together.
Sophie leaned over her shoulder. “He’s investigating Peter already?” Her surprise carried a note of vindication. “Noah wouldn’t care this much if he were truly over you.”
“This isn’t love. It’s suspicion.” Alaina typed a warning for Peter not to answer questions, then erased it. Silence would only confirm that they had something to hide.
She finally called him. Peter answered immediately, his familiar voice stripping five years from the distance between them. “I was wondering how long it would take you.”
“What did they ask?” Alaina moved toward the window, lowering her voice although Sophie already knew everything.
“Whether we dated. Whether we lived together. Whether I bought you jewelry.” Peter gave a humorless laugh. “Someone has built quite a romance for us.”
Alaina closed her eyes. “You didn’t tell them anything, did you?”
“Not yet.” His answer was more dangerous than reassurance. “But I never promised to protect Noah’s mother forever. I promised to help you get him to Oxford.”
“And it worked.” She looked at the modest apartment her life had become. “He has everything now.”
“Does he?” Peter asked. “From what I’ve seen, he has fifty billion dollars and the emotional range of a locked bank vault.”
Alaina almost smiled, but fear won. “Please, Peter. Let me handle this.”
“That strategy went beautifully the first time.” His sarcasm softened before he continued. “I’ll give you a chance to tell him yourself. I won’t lie if he comes to me.”
At Crazy Maple, Noah watched Alaina arrive with exhaustion beneath her carefully applied makeup. She greeted him professionally and placed the morning schedule on his desk as if the hotel had never happened.
The ring was no longer visible. He found its absence more distracting than its discovery. “Did you sleep?” he asked before he could stop himself.
Alaina looked up, startled by the concern. “Was sleeping included in the evaluation schedule?”
His mouth tightened. “Don’t mistake a question for kindness.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” She turned to leave, but Noah’s next words stopped her.
“My people found Peter.” It was not entirely true; Aaron had found several possible matches, none confirmed. Noah wanted to see which version of the name frightened her.
Alaina’s stillness answered more clearly than words. “Leave him out of this,” she said. “He has nothing to do with Crazy Maple.”
Noah rose behind his desk. Her urgency sharpened every doubt the ring had created. “Then you won’t mind introducing us,” he said—and Alaina realized Peter might be the one person capable of destroying her lie with a single sentence.
