“Why?”
“Because I have so many secrets, Dax, that I want to keep to myself. Because the press could dig into my past and discover every single one.”
Dax blinked, perplexed. “But you don’t care. You don’t want to keep the fact that we’re siblings to yourself anymore.”
“I know.”
“But…” Dax frowned. “Why didn’t you just tell her that? Why don’t you tell her I’m the only one who doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it?”
Jack looked at his hands and turned the car key over in them. “Because I don’t deserve to place the blame on you, Dax. Because it’s your right to make that decision.”
Dax snorted. “Okay, enough of the self-purification. Seriously. I know I was mad at you, but that’s over. I’ve forgiven you.”
Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You have?”
“Yes. I’m…I’m not mad anymore. You’re my brother. It’s all good.” Dax waved it off.
Jack’s mouth went dry, and his annoying eyes started to sting again. “That’s…good,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Uncomfortable, Dax frowned. “Don’t start crying! Or I’ll take it back. And…okay.” He groaned loudly. “What the hell. Tell the press we’re siblings.”
Jack dropped his hands in shock. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “If it gives Penny one less thing to worry about and gives you, poor bastard, another chance…then it’s worth it to me. Besides, we don’t have much of a family, Jack, and we should appreciate what we do have. It’ll be uncomfortable, but it will get easier. We just need to talk to Anna, first since it will affect her too.”
“Thank you,” he whispered before pulling Dax into a hug. “Thank you for forgiving me and for letting me be part of the family.”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,” Dax replied, clumsily patting him on the back. “But you’re going to hold the press conference! I’m definitely not sitting on stage when you announce the good news.”
He grinned and let go of him. “Deal. I’m the Saint. They can’t really blame me for lying to them for the last ten years, can they? Do you think Lucy could organize a press conference for me?”
“Oh, shit. Lucy.” Dax’s face turned pale. “Yeah, we need to talk to her anyway. Thank God she has had an emergency plan on standby for months in case the whole thing came out.”
“Really? So she…will be okay with us telling the press?”
Dax sighed and nodded. “Yes. She’ll probably even be happy to put her plan into action…”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Penny’s hands were clammy, and her legs were shaking as she entered the Hawks building. Gareth had said they should discuss business matters with her parents in the office, so here she was.
She kept glancing furtively over her shoulder as she walked down the corridor to Gareth’s office. She was afraid to see Jack — and at the same time, she wanted nothing more. He seemed…not to be coping well with the breakup. He had knocked down a hockey player before the face-off and had been fined twenty thousand dollars for it. She knew she should find that terrible, but secretly it gave her hope. Maybe he hadn’t meant what he said, about cutting things off for good. Maybe he would wait for her a little longer until things had settled down. Whichhadn’thappened yet. She’d ignored two reporters on the way into the building and over fifty calls from her mother in the last week. Lucy had advised her not to say anything, advising her that as soon as people started making excuses, they looked guilty. Penny didn’t think she had done anything wrong, but that was fine.
Two other journalists with cameras at the ready approached her in the hallway and she hastily lowered her head. The twomen, however, weren’t interested in her at all. They just rushed past her and disappeared behind the door to Room 06, a conference room. Was there some press conference today that she didn’t know about? Because, otherwise, reporters weren’t allowed within these sacred walls.
It didn’t matter. She was happy as long as the conference wasn’t about her. All the better if something distracted them from Jack and her…even if she hadn’t thought about anything else for days.
She thought about Jack as she fell asleep. She thought about him first thing when she woke up. She thought about him while she was working, while she was shopping, while she was…breathing.
She missed him. She missed that he listened so well. She missed that he warmed her feet. She missed his mischievous smile and his stupid black curtains. She had been redecorating her apartment the past few days and all she could think about was showing Jack how cozy it looked. But she couldn’t call him without asking him to come over. And she couldn’t ask him to come over without ending up in bed with him. And she couldn’t end up in bed with him without wanting to stay there with him for the rest of her life.
It was awful, almost as awful as the thought of having to talk to her parents …who were waiting for her in Gareth’s office.
Penny’s heart leaped into her throat when she saw Sybil and Darron Clark sitting on the two chairs across from Gareth’s desk. She hadn’t spoken to them since the incident with the hotel because she wouldn’t have been able to stand their pitying looks. To her surprise, there was no pity in their eyes, but…concern?
Penny swallowed and shut the door before nodding to them. “Good morning,” she said in a business-like manner. Thiswasa business meeting.
Gareth, at least, was wearing a suit and an expressionless face. To be honest, though, she wasn’t sure if he didn’t wear a suit to bed, so…
