“Easy. No.” I walk away. “No, no, no.”
He doesn’t follow, but speaks.
“It’d be a shame if Jack was exposed as the man responsible for corrupting Morgan Leigh Montgomery.”
“Wha— what?”
“Jack would be known as the embodiment of evil. A man who took down a famously pure and virtuous woman. He made her dress and act like a whore. The Center for Special Hearts would collapse. Who wants to support a charity run by a man who was responsible for a sexual scandal?”
My fingertips tremble, dizziness sets in, and I fear I may pass out. My palm braces the wall, balancing me.
Gabe moves in front of me. “I’ll pick you up Friday night. Seven.”
Chapter 30
Jack
It’s loud and busy. The scent of gravy and freshly baked bread hangs in the air.
Freddy’s Diner is our favorite. I take Noel and Tommy here whenever I can afford it. It helps us remember our parents, who brought us every Sunday after church.
An old brass bell rattles when the front door swings open.
Noel spots me after he walks in. He doesn’t smile at me, but does at Tommy, who sits by my side. Noel slides into the booth across from us. He looks ragged, surely couch-surfing and borrowing clothes from his friends.
I don’t know what to say. He fidgets and snarls at me. A teenage time bomb. Dad would know exactly what to do. Guess that’s where I should start.
“I’m your brother, not your dad. I won’t lecture you or tell you what to do.”
“I thought you were gonna apologize,” he snaps. “That’s why I’m here.”
I sigh but nod. It’s the only carrot I had to get him to come out of the shadows. It was the first time in two months he responded to one of my texts.
It isn’t easy, because I am already paying a steep price for fucking Morgan. Not only did I lose him, I lost her. Guess I never had her. Still, this is adding insult to injury, but I swallow my pride.
For what’s left of my family.
“I am sorry, Noel. I shouldn’t have hooked up with Morgan.”
His jaw flexes, as if my apology only pissed him off more.
I try again.
“I was an asshole and a bad brother, okay? We good?”
He shrugs and looks away. “You still seeing her?”
“No.”
His gaze darts back. “No?”
“She ended things,” I admit, but this time, I am the one who has to look away.
“She did?” he says, his tone holding a mix of hope and confusion.
“You were right. Our differences mattered. I’m not her type. Can we talk about something else?”
He rubs the back of his neck, contemplating. “So wait, bro. You didn’t try to convert back? Didn’t even pretend? You just let her go?”
