My gut told me he was right. “I’ve got to know it all. It will drive me crazy if I don’t.”
“You could call your father and allow him to explain.”
My face contorted. “Hell no. I don’t trust him anymore. He’s been lying to me for twenty-eight years. The story will have to come from her. It will have to be her.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “That’s what I suggest.”
I sat with it a moment, staring at my brother’s photo. “Do you think he knows?”
“I don’t know. But his legal name isn’t Axel. It’s Maxwell.”
Turning to look at him, I shook my head in disbelief. “That’s my uncle’s name. His younger brother. I wonder if he knows who he’s named after?”
Thomas sighed. “I don’t know. But there’s only one way to find out.”
Chapter 15
Thomas
This was going to be a shitshow.
“It’s time. I need to find Axel.”
I opened the file my colleague in Ireland had sent me. “Okay. I have his address and his phone number. Which one do you want?”
Mason ran his fingers through his hair as he paced back and forth. He was weighing the potential outcomes, looking for the least path of resistance. That’s how he was. He limited the conflict in his life to the field, and this was going to take some courage.
“I need to call him. It’s faster. Let’s do it before I lose my nerve.”
Taking out my phone, it occurred to me he might not have an international plan. “Do you want to use my phone, or your own?”
He stopped pacing and looked at me, wide-eyed, waiting for an answer. I could see the panic building in his eyes. “What do you think I should do?”
I had the urge to wrap him up in my arms and settle him down. At this rate, he’d have ulcers by the time he was thirty. But holding him wouldn’t be professional, and as much as I wanted to draw a line between my growing feelings about this situation,it was becoming increasingly difficult. “Using mine gives you anonymity. Yours gives him your contact information.”
His breathing began to even out as he made his decision. “Mine. I don’t want him to have any reason to doubt me.”
I smiled. “Okay. What are you going to say? Maybe we should practice. You tend to blurt it all out when under pressure. But I have to say you left your friends speechless at the wedding, and that’s not a bad thing. They all look at you differently now.”
He stopped and gaped at me, then smiled. “Oh yeah? I guess I did go all alpha pup after you went alpha dog that night. Laying down the law and giving them the eye. It was hot.”
When his cheeks pinked, I rolled my lips in as he registered what he said. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he muttered, “Why do I keep doing that?”
I wanted to laugh, but I loved that he was so open with me. “Doing what?”
Mason dropped his hands and looked at the ceiling. “Blurting out all my thoughts to you. It’s like you’re a human truth serum and make me say things I shouldn’t.”
All I could do was smile because I loved that about him. He didn’t hide anything or sugarcoat excuses. “It’s okay, Mason. I like knowing what you’re thinking.”
He sighed, then lowered his gaze to meet mine. The heat in his eyes as he looked at me was enough to stoke my libido. “Even if it means I’m thinking about you in some kind of unfriendly way? I don’t make you uncomfortable at all?”
Keeping my eyes on his, I shook my head. “Not uncomfortable ever.” We were so off topic, but it was something we needed to discuss. “I feel the same way about you, too. I’m protective of you and our connection. I’ve never had a friend like this, and it’s new for me too. So stop worrying you’re going to say something to offend me, or make me uncomfortable. It’snot possible.” I picked up his hand and placed it over my heart. “You’ve worked your way in here. I should charge you rent.”
His face lit up. “Really?”
“Really. You should know me well enough to know if I were uncomfortable, I’d tell you. It’s kind of flattering to my ego to know you think I’m hot.”
Mason bit his bottom lip in an attempt to squash his smile. “I didn’t sayyouwere hot, I said youralpha sidewas.”
