Page 26 of Don't Lie to Me
He stopped, and roughly ran his hands through his hair before he walked to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. I hid my smile at his concession for a cup of fucking coffee.
“You weren’t there when I got home.”
No shit.
I pursed my lips and raised my eyebrows slightly, looking at him from over the edge of my coffee cup that I held with both hands so he couldn’t see them shaking.
“Did you really expect me to wait?”
He had the grace to look ashamed for even thinking I would still be there.
“I’m not going to wait around for you to screw me when you’re pissed at someone else, Jack. I deserve more than that.”
And there it was. I needed more than he could give me, and we both knew it. I watched his anger subside slightly and his tense expression soften. The muscles in his neck and chest loosened as he sat down at the chair across from me. He leaned back in his chair and silently drank his coffee. I was almost surprised he didn’t just walk away right there.
Finally he set his coffee down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I told you I’d fuck this up, Emma.”
“You did. And I’m not as upset at what you said, it was how you said it and what you didn’t say.”
“I told you. I don’t talk about Brian.”
I lost my ability to bite back my snark. “He has a name today?”
Jack looked at me intensely. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or frustrated. Whatever it was, it left me speechless. I shut my mouth and went back to drinking my coffee while I tried to ignore the gorgeous brown eyes and scruffy haired sexy man across from me. I chided myself silently. I was pissed at him, and yet I wanted nothing more than to gaze into those eyes for the rest of the day. I hated the contradicting feelings inside me.
I refilled my coffee cup, still ignoring the growing tension when Jack finally spoke. I froze instantly, not at all expecting his explanation.
“We’re not really brothers.”
I calmly set my hands in my lap, and waited, patiently for him to continue.
Jack reached back to his neck and rubbed it, not removing his eyes from me. He sighed heavily and I watched his shoulders sag. Whatever he was debating to say, was important. I stopped the hope in my chest from rising too far. I didn’t want to get my hopes up that he would actually tell me something important only to have them dashed again. I simply waited.
“Steven McMillan wasn’t actually my dad. I’m adopted.” My mouth dropped to form a perfect ‘O’ shape in surprise. As much as I wanted to maintain my composure, nothing prepared me for that. I had absolutely no idea. “Yeah. Brian is Steven’s biological son. We grew up together, but when I was thirteen, my parents died, and Steven adopted me because I was alone and he didn’t want me going into foster care.”
“I had no idea.” My words were soft, along with my softening expression. This was more than I expected to hear.
“I keep it private. Mostly because it’s no one’s business but mine. After my parents died, I started getting into a lot of trouble at school and Brian got sucked into all of it with me. I was an angry kid, fighting and not caring about anything in the world. When we were sixteen, we got busted by the cops at a party. We were both drunk and high. Steven finally knocked some sense into me. He took me to my parent’s graves and made me face them. Told me how pissed they’d be at me and how I was disgracing their memory and their love for me. It shook me up, but Brian was in so much more deeply than I was with drugs that nothing we said or did after that helped. He started hating me, blaming me for his problems, and that I was better than he was at sports and school. I grew closer to Steven, while he began to despise both of us. Slowly, our friendship completely deteriorated and he went off the rails with drugs.”
I sat there, listening, while my mind spun with thoughts the entire time. I couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to lose your parents, and then your friend. There was clearly much more to the story than he had already shared, but it was enough. It was more than enough for me. The story explained so much about the man Jack was, and why he refused to get close to anyone.
“And then you took over his company.”
I watched a look of sadness fill Jack’s eyes. The look was so foreign on him I almost didn’t recognize it. He took a drink from his coffee and shook his head slowly.
“I never wanted to take it from him, but he was so far gone by the time we went to college that Steven didn’t have another choice. When Steven got sick, he told me he wanted me to take the company over one day. I always knew he wanted it to stay as a family business, so I changed my last name to his. Brian calls every once in a while when he’s in trouble and I help him out.”
“And that’s what happened last night?”
Jack raised his eyes to mine, slowly. His silence was answer enough. I didn’t need to know the specifics. Without him saying a single word, I understood. His guilt and pain written all over his face and in his defeated posture.
“No one knows except Martin.” I smiled slightly at the mention of Martin. He worked for Jack’s company and I knew he’d been around for years. He was Jack’s mentor in the company when Steven died and was very much a father figure to him. I had met him several times and he was always warm and friendly with me. He reminded me of my own dad. “We promised Steven we would never let Brian - or his issues - be made public, so periodically we have to clean up his messes,” he sighed slowly. “I’ve never told anyone any of this before, Emma.”
It was equal parts a declaration at how much he trusted me and warning to never mention this to anyone again. I nodded in understanding.
“I won’t say anything. To anyone.”
Without warning, Jack’s sad eyes disappeared. Instantly, the hazy look I was starting to know all too well replaced the sadness and regret. As much as I wanted to stay angry with him, I couldn’t - not when he just opened himself up to me so much. I pretended to ignore the look of desire filling his eyes and pressed my thighs together.
