Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,52

for the three of them, and a clear floating frame for the three pictures of him and Raven. That one was particularly tricky and it took time to space them evenly, to center on the glass, before applying the backing.

He strode into the living room and scanned the wall, deciding where to put it. He had plenty of space, but adding these would clutter the current layout. He took down all the pictures of Raven and hung them in his bedroom instead, then went back and rearranged the living room wall so that he hung the new frame in the center and the family ones around it. Satisfied, he carried the others downstairs and aligned the picture Jeff had taken to center the den mantle.

Finally, he let out a sigh and??he house was dark. He quickly cast a glance at the clock and was shocked to find it almost eight o'clock. Hell, he'd lost the whole day. Aubrey usually went to bed at this time.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor suites, picture in hand, he caught Raven's soft voice coming from Aubrey's bedroom. He stopped in the hallway, hand poised over the knob. Through the partially opened door, he could just make out Aubrey in bed, with Raven sitting at her hip.

Aubrey laughed at whatever Raven said. "He's always like that. Takes tons of pictures and then goes upstairs to frame them right away. He's so impatient."

Raven breathed a laugh that drifted like smoke. "Men can be very impatient. But I'm glad he was busy so we could hang out."

"Me, too." Aubrey fell silent for a moment. "He says I can maybe go visit him in Anchorage soon."

"That'll be fun. We can go shopping or grab some lunch."

"Yeah, but??

The sheets rustled on the bed. "But what?"

Aubrey took her time answering. "My scars. What if people don't like me?"

Noah pinched his eyes closed and tilted his head back. She'd never mentioned anything like that to him before, and it killed him she worried about it. Most of the scarring could be hidden by clothing, but it was another factor to take into account when??/p>

"Listen to me, Aubrey. If people don't like you because you have scars, then that's their problem. You don't want to know them anyway."

He could fucking kiss her right now for that alone.

"Do you think they're ugly?"

Noah crept closer to see what Raven would do, and was stunned stupid when she lifted Aubrey's arm.

"Let me have a look at them," she said gently.

Pushing up the sleeve of Aubrey's nightgown, Raven tenderly skimmed her fingers over the red, marred flesh of Aubrey's forearm to just below the shoulder where the worst of the damage had been. She didn't offer a quick platitude or pretend the scars weren't there. She addressed them head on.

Raven tugged the sleeve down. "I think you're very brave. And I don't think there's anything ugly about you."

Everything inside him froze. He swayed, throat closing, fingers clenching the frame of the picture somehow still in his hand. Tears burned behind his lids.

Fucking??ell. Slowly, he staggered from the door to gather himself, pacing the hallway--once, twice--until he was certain he had his emotions under control and his chest was no longer bleeding out.

He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath before knocking. They were talking about hair products when he walked in, plastered a grin on his face, and held up the picture he'd framed for Aubrey's room. "Got a surprise for you, my love."

***

Leaving Noah to have a few minutes of private time with Aubrey, Raven climbed the steps to the third floor and stopped in the living room. Aubrey wasn't kidding. He'd printed and framed the photos already. The arrangement was different, too. Three shots of her and Noah were together in a floating frame, with family portraits around it.

Studying them closely, she could scarcely believe the couple was them. They resembled a jewelry ad or greeting card. So happy, carefree. Loving. God, they looked??eal. Not friends with benefits, but the genuine article.

Panic threatened, her chest growing tight with too little air. She fought it. Seeing them together shouldn't frighten her. This was Noah. Protective, loyal Noah. He was the same person and so was she. The only difference was the physical relationship.

She glanced again at the pictures and knew she was lying to herself. A man didn't look at a woman like that if he wanted only sex, if he had any intention of returning to a safe friendship. He was slipping