After the Fade (Rise Book 1) by Kamryn Foxe & Emilia Foxe

Author:Kamryn Foxe & Emilia Foxe [Foxe, Kamryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-20T18:30:00+00:00

Their week in the Five flies by. Matthew spends the next day, and then every subsequent day skipping out of work early. He seems distracted somehow, which piques Alex’s curiosity. Every time she asks about it though, he deflects. Instead of telling her about work, he buys her gifts—local flowers, a painting of the bridges Alex had admired, and one day, a stunning necklace. Alex stares at her reflection as he clasps it around her neck. The green and gold gem winks at her from where it sits in the hollow of her throat. Surely it’s not real gold?

“I know it can never replace what you lost,” Matthew says, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. “But maybe you can make new memories with this one. Of how strong you are.”

It takes Alex a minute to realize he must believe her other necklace—the one her mother had given her—to be lost. For she’d never told him otherwise, had she? She blinks, touched.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers, at a loss for words. “I—thank you.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” he replies earnestly. Because what else could he be, but earnest? He doesn’t have it in him to be duplicitous or calculating, despite it practically being his birthright. And though Alex has been called beautiful by countless alphas, it is only Matthew’s words that bloom resplendent in her chest.

Blushing, Alex ducks her head. She fingers the delicate chain, considering and discarding the urge to ask how much it costs. She knows such things don’t matter to him, anyway; money never does, to those who have it in abundance.

“Are you sure it’s okay to keep leaving work early?” she asks instead, watching as Matthew loosens his tie and tugs it from around his neck. He tosses it on the dresser and shrugs.

“They don’t really need me there,” he says. He rolls his shoulders stiffly. “Besides, I’d rather not be there any longer than I have to. It’s—” He clenches his jaw and turns away, forcing Alex to gauge his reaction from his reflection in the mirror. “I’m sure it’s not news to you that my family is involved in some questionable transactions.” His hand rakes through his hair and he mutters under his breath, “I just never knew how questionable before this trip.”

Alex stills. She feels like a fish caught on a line; the urge to ask him more hooks into her chest and tugs. It almost hurts not to ask. She cocks her head at him as she swivels around.

“I mean, I may have heard some things here and there,” she says carefully. “I may be naïve, but I know money doesn’t grow on trees. Especially that much money.”

Matthew gives her a curious look. “I don’t think you’re naïve. Why would you say that?”

Alex shrugs. Eager to distract, she works open the first button of her blouse and smirks when Matthew’s nostrils flare.

“I’m not naïve about some things,” she teases. She works open another two buttons. “But I’ve still got so much to learn.

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