“He didn’t touch me if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Monica…”
“But… you know me. I would have done anything to find my daughter. Eva agreed.”
“Monica.”
She leveled her gaze at him. “Nothing happened. We got the information we needed and left. Believe it or not…” She sighed. “Paisley helped. I think she hated the attention he was giving us and wanted us gone.”
Ethan chewed on his words, the paper on the table while his hands gripped his knees. “If you need to talk about anything at any time, you know I’ll understand.”
“I know. Believe me.”
“But you should tell Henry.”
“That’s between him and me, Ethan.”
He shook his head. “Eva, huh?”
“The only woman who loves that girl more than her is me. Although she was not impressed with Jackson’s behavior. What he asked of us if Paisley didn’t step in… Ethan, I haven’t told anyone. The only other who knows is Eva, and we agreed to take it to our graves.”
“Whenever I look back at my relationship with him,” Ethan said, “I wonder how I could have been so naïve to not see the monster instead of him. A part of me has always felt responsible for how he treated you. But you know that.”
“And I’ve never once blamed you for it. How could I?”
“I know it got worse after I backed out of our arrangement.”
He referred to the brief year when she was the girlfriend of both Jackson and Ethan.For the first time, my eyes strayed from Jackson.Perhaps it was the beginning of the end because Monica had been with him for years before Ethan came along as a contender for her affection. There was a parallel universe where Monica left Jackson to be with Ethan and the next Mrs. Cole. A life she could hardly imagine, but would have probably made her just as happy as this one.Except Ethan doesn’t want a full-time kink relationship.Jackson didn’t know anything else. Henry was happy to oblige. Ethan?
We would have divorced by now.Or opened their relationship again, despite Ethan being extremely monogamous to the point he didn’t even like partaking in voyeurism with his partners. He was the kind of man who held his girlfriend, wife, whatever close to his heart and never wanted to let her go. It was a kind of passion that taught Monica she could do much better when it came time to leave Jackson.
And now?Ethan is my best friend.She never said it out loud. He didn’t need to hear it. While Monica was surrounded by women she entrusted her feelings and opinions to, no one besides Henry understood her the way Ethan did. Despite things ending between them a dozen years ago and them both marrying other people, Monica knew she could always call Ethan in the dead of night and get whatever help she needed. He wasthatloyal to the people willing to return that same level of loyalty to him.
“So, you think it could be him?” Monica meekly asked.
Ethan reached for her hand on the table. “You know what you have to do. To protect your family.”
He left something else unsaid as she took his hand.To protect myself.
So be it.
Chapter 19
Right in the Devil’s Eye
She had to be secretive. The only one who knew was Ethan, and that was because he put the idea in her head.
The Château was too far, too isolated. She was surrounded by allies there, but it was also too obvious. She needed to invite Jackson somewhere that washerturf, but allowed for a quick escape where nobody would see them together.
So, she sent the invitation and made it clear to the employees of Le Salon that they were not coming early on Sunday. Since the renovators weren’t working that day, she had the whole floor to herself as she shut off the cameras in the Salon and prepared a drink for her guest.
It was the first thing he commented on.
“A daiquiri with lime. Bet it’s Plantation, too.” Jackson removed his hat upon entering the Salon and acted as if he had been there a hundred times before as he picked a seat with aview of the skyline beyond the windows. “You always remember what drink a man likes.”
Monica tossed his hat onto the bartop and met him in the sitting area. This time, she did not wear clothing that she knew would appeal to his tastes. Instead, she wore something forher.
A pantsuit. The only thing that gave away to her family was that something was different that day. Because Monica only owned two pantsuits, and this was one of them. Even in the depth of winter, when the world was a blanket of snow and nightly frost, she would rather wear a wool dress and heavy coat instead of pants.
