I knew Reese wouldn’t want to answer first. She hated showing her emotions. It was time for me to nut up. “No, Prez.”
Phoenix gave me a chin lift and turned his eyes to Reese. She didn’t say anything, but she shook her head.
“So, what’s the problem?”
“She was going to have an abortion!” I said at the same time Reese said, “He has a wife!”
“Anything else?”
“She kept my son from me!” “He called me a little girl with daddy issues and said he didn’t want to play house with me!”
“Ah, now we’re getting to the root of the problem, or roots I suppose. Yes or no answers only. Reese, were you going to have an abortion?”
She honestly looked shocked at the question. “No. I would never…” she trailed off when Phoenix narrowed his eyes.
“Duke, do you have a wife?”
Fuck me. I had to answer without being able to give an explanation. Through gritted teeth, I forced the word through my lips, “Yes.”
“Reese, did you keep his son from him?”
“Yes.”
“Duke, did you say you didn’t want to play house with a little girl with daddy issues?”
“Yes.”
“So, I’m just taking a stab at this, but I’m going to venture to say that Duke said he didn’t want to play house because he thought you were having an abortion. Reese kept your son from you because you said you didn’t want to play house with her. How am I doing so far?” Phoenix smirked at the both of us.
“Sounds about right for my part,” I muttered.
“‘Mine, too,” Reese added.
“All right, forgive me for being blunt, but how long has it been since you two fucked?”
I stood. “That’s none of your damn business, Phoenix, and you know it.”
He chuckled. “That long, huh? Okay, Duke, you need to explain why you thought she was going to have an abortion and give her a chance to tell you her side. Then, you need to tell her about your very estranged wife. Last, but not least, you two need to fuck each other and be happy.” He clapped his hands together once and strolled toward the door, “My work here is done.”
I looked at Reese, so much pain and anger evident in her eyes. “Will you let me explain about my wife, please? I promise it’s not what you think.”
“Isn’t that what all cheaters say?” she sniped.
I felt the corner of my mouth lift in a half-smile. “I suppose you’re right about that, but this time it’s the truth. Will you just hear me out?”
“Seems like I have to.” She waved her hand toward the door. “Orders from the president and all.”
“This isn’t something I like to talk about. Ever. And I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about it. When Harper was a kid, she was kidnapped. Our family never had a lot of money. We were lower middle class I guess. Anyway, our mother had just passed away after years of battling cancer. The cost of her treatments and the funeral expenses left my dad with next to nothing. The police were getting nowhere with Harper’s case. A month had gone by and I was getting desperate. I knew money talked, so I did what I had to do to get it. Shannon had been after me for years and her family was disgustingly rich. So, I married her and used her family’s money to find Harper. By that point, our father had drunk himself to death grieving over the loss of his wife and then his daughter. When I finally found Harper, we got the hell out of Arizona and never looked back. I didn’t tell anyone we were leaving or where we were going, including Shannon. I haven’t seen or heard from her since we left Arizona.”
Reese remained silent for several excruciating minutes, digesting everything I said. “Why are you still married to her?”
I sighed. “This is going to make me sound like a complete idiot, but it’s the truth. I sort of forgot that I had married her.”
Reese stiffened. “You forgot? How could you forget you had a wife?”
“Because I didn’t give a shit about her. I only married her so I could use her family’s money to find Harper. We were only married for a few weeks before I found Harper and split. Then, I was focused on being able to provide for Harper and making sure she was okay mentally.”
“Did you sleep with her?” she calmly asked, a little too calmly for my liking.
