Exposure by Therese Fowler

Author:Therese Fowler [Fowler, Therese]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-05-03T05:00:00+00:00

Amelia’s first sight of Anthony was his hopeful face looking up at her as he climbed the rungs of the narrow, slight ladder. Cold air rushed in through the bathroom’s window, cooling her cheeks, slowing her heart rate. He’d shown up. He wanted to be with her. He loved her, still.

The relief on his face before he wrapped her in his arms was her undoing; she started to cry. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her tears wetting his collar. “How awful—”

“Shh.” He leaned back to look at her face, then gently wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. “It’ll be okay.”

“I tried to stop my dad,” she said, forcing herself to speak slowly, to think each word and then say it. “I did everything I could.”

“You don’t think I blamed you?”

She shrugged. “I hoped you didn’t,” she said, and looked up at him.

“We’ll get through it. Where’s Cam?”

“Keeping watch.”

“Ah.” He tilted her chin upward and kissed her, softly at first, and then, as she pulled him closer, the kiss became more than a comfort. When they eased apart, she nodded toward the wide, sea-green cotton rug that covered the middle of the tiled floor.

“Right now?” he said.

There was plenty of room, and if they were quiet, not even Cameron would hear them. “Do you want to?”

“Of course I want to, but—”

“ ‘Every, every minute,’ ” she whispered, starting on her shirt’s buttons.

“I need to warn you about something.” She stopped and looked up. He said, “Did Cameron tell you about the search warrant?” and paused as she nodded. “My lawyer says the DA is probably looking to see whether I’ve been messing with other girls. Amelia, they’re going to find everything. Your dad …” He shook his head. “I keep thinking, you’re seventeen, almost eighteen … you could come stay with me and, I don’t know, petition for emancipation or something.” He took her hands in his and kissed each palm, then folded his fingers over hers.

Amelia said, “I doubt your mom would go for that.”

“She might.”

“And then she’d lose her job after my dad gave Braddock unbelievable grief for getting involved.”

“He wouldn’t fire her; he likes her too much.”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Amelia said, “ ’cause I’m not going anywhere. This will all blow over. My dad’s going to have to face reality, and when he does, we’ll get everything back on track.”

“What if it doesn’t blow over? You want to stay here like this?” He gestured to themselves, to the fact of their meeting in her bathroom, to needing a coordinator and a lookout even for this. “It’s going to get worse when he hears what’s in my—”

“Maybe he’ll never find out.”

Anthony said, “And maybe pigs will all sprout angel wings and take to the skies.”

The image made her smile. “That would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it? But okay. Fine, then. I’ll just tell him. I’ll tell him before the police do, and I’ll keep working on him, and he’ll give in and accept it. He’s not evil. He

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