"The truth," Blake says simply. "You tell him the truth."
"The truth might kill him." Tears stream down my face now. "He's already so angry that I left. If he finds out why, if he learns about Jack and the boys, it might literally kill him."
Blake pulls me forward into his arms, and I collapse against his broad chest. His heart beats steady and strong under my ear.
"You can't carry this alone anymore," he murmurs against my hair. "Jack deserves to know he has sons. Your father deservesto know he has grandsons. And those boys deserve to know their real father."
"I know." The words are muffled against his shirt. "I just don't know how to tell them without destroying everything."
We sit like that for a long time, Blake holding me while I cry out ten years of secrets and fear. His hands stroke my back in soothing circles. His presence is solid and real and exactly what I need.
Finally, I pull back and wipe my face. "I'm sorry. This is a lot to dump on you."
"Hey." Blake cups my face in his hands, his brown eyes serious. "I'm here because I want to be. Because I care about you. All of you, including the complicated parts."
I laugh despite myself. "This situation is definitely more of a hail Mary pass."
"Then we better make sure we catch it." Blake stands and pulls me to my feet. "But first, you need to decide something."
"What?"
His expression turns serious. "Are you going to tell your father about the twins? Because that's the play you need to call before anything else can happen."
The question hangs between us, heavy with implications. Tell my dying father that his grandsons exist and that their father is his best friend? Or keep the secret and let him die, never knowing?
"I don't know," I whisper. "I honestly don't know if I can do that to him."
24
JACK
The memory plays on repeat in my mind, vivid and unrelenting.
Last night was so amazing. Weird, but fantastic. Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought I'd be sharing a woman with other men. I'd always thought such an arrangement was kind of sick. What man would willingly share his woman with another? I was very skeptical and nervous, but when we went to my room, everything just felt ... natural.
And wasn't that the surprise of my life? I didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed like I thought I would. Noah and Blake didn't get in my way, they only added to Mia's pleasure. And watching that, watching her being pleased by us, was worth everything.
I'm possessive by nature. Always have been. The thought of another man touching what's mine usually makes me want to put my fist through a wall. Yet with Mia, something shifted. Watching Blake and Noah pleasure her ... it aroused me in ways I didn't know were possible.
The jealousy I expected never came. Instead, something darker took its place. Something that made me want to watch themtouch her, taste her, make her moan. The three of us claiming her together, marking her as ours.
I lean back in my office chair and close my eyes. We weren't competing for her. We were sharing her. Worshipping her together.
And God help me, I want to do it again. And again. For a lifetime.
The crossword puzzle book on my desk pulls me back to reality. I bought it this morning at the bookstore. The difficult ones Robert likes, the kind that take hours to complete.
My best friend is dying. And this afternoon, I'm going to sit on his porch and pretend I'm not sleeping with his daughter. Now this is where I feel guilt and shame. I know Robert well enough to know he'd never forgive me if he found out. He'd blame me for taking advantage of his little girl. And he'd be right, of course. Mia had only been eighteen the first time.
I shake my head with a groan and straighten up my desk. It's lunch time, and I've scheduled myself a long break to go visit my old friend.
The drive to Robert's house feels like a countdown to judgment.
Linda answers the door with a warm smile that intensifies my guilt. "Jack! How wonderful to see you. Robert will be so happy you're here."
"How's he doing today?"
"He's having a good day. The new medication is helping with the pain." Her voice drops. "But he's getting weaker. The doctor says maybe a few weeks."
