“I was waiting for you to get parole before I asked. Would you be my best man?”
I slapped a hand over my heart. “For real? You’re not asking Kelton or Kross?” Dillon was tight with two of the Maxwell triplets.
“You’re my brother, man.”
Emotions rushed through me, causing tears to spring forth again.What the heck is wrong with me?I hadn’t cried since I was a little boy, and in a matter of an hour, I’d had the urge to cry twice.
“I would be honored. Can I bring a date?” I could feel my lips pulling into a smile as I thought of the one person I would ask.
“Of course you can bring Jade.”
I chuckled. “How do you know my date would be Jade?”
He gave me a sidelong glance. “Really, man. You’re still in love with her. You always have been. I get why you broke up with her. I have to say I don’t blame you either. She didn’t need to be part of your dark world.” Dillon knew me better than I knew myself sometimes.
“I don’t know if she wants anything to do with me. Considering I’m about to report to the FBI, I don’t know if I want her caught up in the mess that’s about to unfold.” My problem was that I wasn’t sure I could stay away from her. Since seeing her, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Just don’t fuck with her heart. She’s a good person.”
If Jade took me back, it wouldn’t be for a tryst or a one-night stand. I’d had years to ruminate on what I wanted when I got out, and I wasn’t getting any younger. If anyone would break hearts, it would be her severing mine into a trillion pieces.
I wanted to change the subject. “When’s the wedding?”
“The day after Christmas,” Dillon said. “Kelton is officiating the ceremony, and his older brother, Kade, offered to host the wedding ceremony and reception at his new mansion.”
“You mean in five or six weeks?”
He sported a big grin, basking in happiness. “It’s a small wedding. Maggie and I don’t want a big blowout.”
“Is Duke invited?” I didn’t care one way or the other. It was Dillon’s wedding not mine.
He lifted a shoulder. “I’d planned on asking him to be part of the wedding party. In light of the Feds, I’m hesitant now.”
On that note, I wondered if Duke and I would be around to see Dillon get married. Hell, we could both be in prison together if things got out of hand.
I rested an elbow on the console. “What could go wrong?”
“When it comes to the Hart family, a million things.” Dillon sounded as sure as the cars speeding by us.
He wasn’t kidding. Our dysfunctional family could put a damper on anything. But I wasn’t about to ask who else in our family was invited. Surely, not our old man. I didn’t think Dillon would invite him.
“Can you drop me off where Jade works?” All the talk about Jade had me itching to see her. I also had a desperate desire to be around someone who was kind and caring. Plus, I could use her advice. She’d always been one to give it to me straight, and in addition to Dillon, Jade had believed in me at one time. As much as I wanted to fuck her until my brain became mush and my dick went limp, I wanted to talk to her and absorb her pretty looks and ball-busting smile.
“You can’t go up to her office. You need an appointment. Security is tight in that building.”
“Then I’ll wait in the lobby or have security connect me with her.” I would probably do the former. That way, she couldn’t easily dismiss me over the phone. Besides, it was well after lunch, and quitting time was only a couple of hours away. I had nothing else to do except get a beer with Dillon, but seeing Jade was far better than alcohol.
As Dillon slowed to exit into downtown Boston, I promised myself I would be all those adjectives I’d bragged about at my parole hearing—responsible, confident, a law-abiding citizen, and an overall good person. I wouldn’t ever return to prison. If my fate said otherwise, I would kill myself before I stepped foot in a place like that again.
10
Jade
My cell phone rang just as I was coming out of Kelton’s office. The familiar “No Caller ID” lit up the screen.
I briefly closed my eyes, debating whether to answer Savannah’s call or not. It hadn’t been quite a week yet, and I wasn’t due to get paid until Friday. I hadn’t had time to find any other methods of borrowing two grand either. The most I could give her would be the five hundred dollars I’d promised her.
I slid into my chair just as my phone stopped ringing.
