“Please.”
She bit her lip to still its tremble.
“I’ve already seen it. You don’t have to hide.”
Her voice was raspy, a scrape of swelling emotion. “It’s humiliating, Jack.”
“I know.”And I want to kill him.
Unable to rein in my desire, I reached out and touched her hair. Feather light, hardly enough for her to feel it. But she drew a breath. She felt it.
The muscles low in my torso clenched.
She turned and looked up.
Her brown eyes were full of pain. They took me in. Roaming my face, wide and searching. Moisture in the corners glistened in the moonlight. The moment stretched out between us. It was the first time we held eye contact since the day she showed up at the department all those years ago.
I’d been telling myself I didn’t care about her. That we chose our paths and moved on. But locking gazes with my ex-wife couldn’t be anything but eye-opening. I might be able to keep lying to everyone else, but lying to myself would be difficult from here on out.
Her irises were dark with anguish as a tear slipped down her cheek. Without my permission, my thumb swept it off her soft skin. I let my hand linger near her face, and she didn’t pull away.
She whispered, “Thank you. For all your help.”
I said nothing when she turned away. Just tried to steady my breathing. As she walked to the kitchen and placed her glass in the sink, she said, “You said something earlier today. That—that I hated your guts. I want you to know, I don’t hate you, Jack.” Her voice broke over my name.
As she disappeared up the stairs to the second floor, I grappled with the obvious.
The answer to her problem was right in front of us, and we hadn't slowed down to truly consider it as an option.
But the more I thought about the ins and outs, the more I liked the idea.
Convincing Miranda would be the real challenge.
FOURTEEN
Miranda
My heart slammed in my chest as I descended the stairs. Jack asked me to come down once Kacey was asleep for the night. Said he wanted to discuss something. I had no doubt he was going to try and convince me to marry him. But fear pressed into my heart—maybe he already sniffed out my secret.
Please not that.
Everything I believed about Jackson Barkley had gone up in flames. I spent the entire last day tied in knots. I coped by keeping to the suite, pacing across the Persian rug. Moving forward would require herculean effort. I doubted I had it in me. Doubted I had the gumption to handle all these new revelations.
The universe must have plotted against me because I did the right thing way back then. My final plea to Jack was seared into my brain. I relived it, thinking through every last detail. Itcouldn’t have been one big misunderstanding. There was more. Therehadto be more.
The defense around my heart was constructed in bitterness. For four years, anger was the only thing protecting me from life-shattering heartbreak. But my foundations shook. A crack in my shield threatened the little safety I enjoyed. The danger to my heart loomed, more imminent and real than ever before.
To make it worse, Jack was being kind. Too kind. Before, I would’ve relished in it, claiming he owedme some kindness. But now, I wracked my brain, wondering howIhad managed to failhimso badly. Nothing I could do would make it right.
Every imposition Kacey and I made on him stacked against me. I ran my hands over my face, dreading the moment it all came to light. Part of me wanted to blurt the truth right there in the truck, but before I got the chance, the gravity of the situation hit like a boulder to the gut.
Right now, Jack was the only person I had. The only thing standing between us and a homeless shelter or nights in the car.
What if the truth made him think I schemed this? Made him think I purposefully hid Kacey from him? Would he throw us out? Ship us straight back to Ohio?
I know enough about Jack. He wouldn’t handle the news well. Then again, who would? I nibbled my bottom lip, placing myself in Jack’s shoes. Inevitably, he would be furious and hurt. So hurt. And he’d have every right to feel that way.
We had always wanted children. A fear imbedded itself inside my head. My palms grew moist. When Jack knew the truth, would he try to take Kacey away from me? Would he take me to court? It would make sense for him to claim custody.
