I glare at him. “Don’t you dude me. I’m not the one who dumped the woman I love because I wouldn’t have time for her after I got famous.”
He flinches. “Yeah, I screwed up big time. Which is why I know how much you screwed up.”
“It was one mistake. I was worried about my baby girl.”
Rhett points to a chair. “Sit.”
“I—”
“Sit.” I plonk down on the sofa. I cross my arms over my chest to indicate how unhappy I am with my older brother ordering me around. I’m not a child.
“Actually.” Jaxon clears his throat. “I should handle this one.”
Rhett motions for him to proceed.
“I almost lost the love of my life because I said something stupid.” Jaxon fiddles with his glasses. “I was being an idiot because I was afraid Blossom was going to leave me. It was a preemptive strike.”
“It was stupid,” Kai mutters.
Jaxon nods. “It was stupid. But insecurities run deep. Dad abandoning us fucked with my head. I can’t imagine how it feels to have never met your father. And then your mother, instead of working her ass off to show you you’re loved, chases after other men and leaves you on your own. Sloane never had a home, Zane.”
“I know. I was trying to give her one.”
“But when the nurse asked if she was the mother, you said she was your nanny. Imagine how she felt. The man she loves, the father to the little baby girl she loves, thinks of her as the nanny.”
“I don’t think of her as the nanny.”
Jaxon raises his brow. “You don’t?”
“Of course not. I love her.”
“Have you ever told her you love her?” Eli asks.
“No. I was planning this big event to tell her. A night at the resort with rose petals and all of that romance shit.”
Rhett squeezes my shoulder. “She doesn’t know how you feel.”
“How can she not know? I show her I love her every day.”
Rhett sighs. “Sloane has never known love. She doesn’t understand what you were doing.”
I open my mouth to argue with him. How can Sloane not know I love her? I moved her into my bedroom. I made her part of our little family.
Our little family. A nanny isn’t part of the family.
“Shit.” I bury my face in my hands. “What am I going to do?”
Chapter 36
“Note to self: crying in Parker’s loft is not a sustainable hobby.”
Sloane
Boozer nudges my shoulder with his cold, wet snout. I push him away.
“Not now, Boozer boy. I’m trying to sleep.”
He barks and I force my eyes open to make certain there’s not a reason he’s ignoring my need for sleep. I startle at the vision in front of me.
