Secrets of You Read Online Free

loved and now his brother—the one who tossed threats of exposing and ruining Arianna—admitted he might have been wrong? As in a mistake? When had Pete ever confessed to a mistake? Never. Ash sucked in air and when he was sure he had control of his voice, he said, “How so?”
    “After I forced you to break it off and you left, I started second-guessing my decision. I had a guy follow her, just to prove she was no good for you.” He shrugged when he saw the disbelief on Ash’s face. “I know you think the use of private investigators is horrible, but a woman who made up who she was? Who stole from her own family? I really thought she was trouble.”
    “And now you don’t?” He hadn’t cared what the report said. He’d loved her and none of the rest mattered. She’d loved him, too. He knew it. And he’d destroyed that love with a few sentences.
    “I don’t think so. At the time, I thought she was using you somehow, maybe she found out who you really were, or maybe she was just plain trouble waiting to happen. But I was wrong. She hasn’t dated since you left, unless you count that Burnes guy, who I think is more friend than anything else. There was some other man, tall, dark, kind of sinister-looking, but it was only a dinner.”
    Quinn Burnes. Maybe he’d hooked up with Arianna, been there in her time of need and all that. She’d always said they were only friends, but more than one “only friends” situation had turned sexual. And what about the sinister dude? Who was he and why was she with him? Did it matter? No. Ash had killed what they’d shared and he had no right to question what she did or with whom…
    “I was wrong to tell you how to live your life, even if my intentions were pure. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.” Pete sighed. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? The act of living, day in, day out, is what puts us at risk. If we disengage from that, well, what do we have left but empty shells waiting to die? I could lose Caroline because I forced you to give up Arianna. How ironic is that?”
    Ash stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. Ironic? Yes. Even more so because of all the women he could have had, Arianna had been the only one he’d ever loved, and while there might have been other women, hell, there had been other women, there’d been none like her. There would never be anyone like her. “You know, maybe if I’d given you reason to think I could make good choices on a semi-regular basis, you might have acted differently.” There was truth in those words, and it had taken Ash over two years to accept them.
    “Get in touch with Arianna. Give it another try.” Pete worked up a half-smile that flopped. “My marriage depends on it.”
    Of all the scenarios Ash had created of seeing Arianna again, Pete counseling him and playing cheerleader had not been one of them. It was actually quite absurd. “Pete. Listen to me. I broke off with her ten days before the wedding. I disappeared without a reasonable explanation. She is not going to listen to anything I have to say.”
    “There hasn’t been anyone since you. She’s a beautiful woman, highly gifted. There’s only one reason she’s still alone.”
    Ash’s chest hurt, a real physical pain. Was it from thinking of her with someone else or hearing she hadn’t been with anyone since him?
    “I don’t think she’s gotten over you. Go see her. Forget the report. No one ever has to know it existed. I’ll have Megan shred it as soon as you leave.”
    “It’s not that simple.” She’d never have him. He’d betrayed her.
    “Yes, it is, and if someone like me can see it, surely you can.” Pete stood, came to the other side of the desk, and put his hands on Ash’s shoulders. “Do this for me. At least try to remedy the horrible mistake I made.”

Chapter 3

    Arianna placed the onyx bracelet next to the matching necklace. They were framed in sterling silver. Classic. Chic. There was something about this stone that