“So.” Derek lounged in his chair. “This is great that your eyes are better. You’re probably dying to get back to your photography.”
“Yeah.” Except…he wasn’t.
On the drive home that afternoon, he’d been amazed to realize that he didn’t need the sunglasses. He wore them anyway, because it was California and it was sunny, but he could take them off and only feel a minor prickle. He should have been ecstatic. Hewashappy. All along, that’s all he’d wanted. He’d been demolished to think he may never be able to take photographs again.
Yeah, it was a huge fucking relief to know that his eyes were going to be okay. They still weren’t a hundred percent but they were a helluva lot better. And yet—the idea of leaving again was about as appealing as having open-heart surgery.
“We need to check into the sperm donor thing. See if you can still do that. Just in case.”
Nate gave a crooked smile. “Yeah. Just in case. Just in case I’m shooting blanks, too. Who knows?”
“You know you aren’t. You got Lauren pregnant.”
Nate opened his mouth to reply. He paused with his coffeemug half way to his mouth.
Everything slowed…faded away…stopped.
He stared at Derek. What the fuck?
“What did you say?”
Derek turned his face back from gazing out at the ocean and met Nate’s eyes. Nate could actually see the horrified realization sliding over him—his eyes widen, then narrow, his mouth open, then close.
“Uh…”
Nate rose slowly to his feet. “How the hell would you know Lauren was pregnant?”
“You…uh…told me.”
Nate shook his head. “No. We hadn’t told anyone.Shedidn’t tell anybody.” He paused, heat rushing through his veins. “Except the man she was screwing around with.”
Derek’s face reddened. His eyes shifted sideways.
“Jesus Christ.” Nate just stared at Derek. His mind reeled. His lungs froze and his vision grew dark. “I can’t believe this.” He rubbed his face, shook his head. “You fucking son of a bitch. You were having an affair with my wife.”
Derek’s eyes darted to the sliding doors into the house, no doubt worried about Krissa overhearing this. “Shh.”
Fury swelled up in Nate. He wasshushinghim?
“You…you screwed around with her. While I was in Thailand. How could you do that?”
“You’re screwing around with my wife right now.”
Nate’s chin almost hit the wooden deck. Derek was throwingthatin his face?Now?
It was true. Dear God, it was true. But, Christ, it was nowhere near the same thing.
Or was it? Sharp heat flashed over him like a blowtorch.
He shook his head slowly. “You fucking asshole. Youaskedme to screw your wife.”
“How did you know Lauren was having an affair?” Derekeyebrows pulled together. “Did she tell you?”
Nate glared at him with disgust. “No. She never told me. After she died, I read her journal. She had written pages and pages about the man she was in love with. Pages about what they’d done, what they’d said. How they’d talked about her being pregnant and whether it was his or my baby.” He laughed mirthlessly. “I guess we know the answer to that question now.”
“Uh…yeah.” Derek’s face crumpled. He covered it with his hands. “Jesus.”
“Yeah. All these years of wondering.”
