“Please,” shemurmured.
His guts churned while his pulse raced. Desperate to escape his past, he shoved out of bed, opened the French doors, and inhaled the crisp nighttime air.Tell her.“My mistakes almost cost meeverything.”
“Push past your fear like I’m pushing past mine,” she encouraged. A kaleidoscope of emotions filled her face. “Help me understand what’s driving this change.” She folded her hands in her lap andwaited.
Regarding her, he pondered his options. Could he trust her with theentiretruth?
“I paid my publicist and my attorney alotof money to clean up my mess and restore my reputation. I’ve got my life back. I’m not doing anything to jeopardizethat.”
“Jagger, is the kink tootempting?”
“No.” Another long moment passed as he wrestled with whether or not to tell her. In order for her to fully understand, he had to tell her everything. “I was on a destructive path. I forgot who I was, where I camefrom.”
“What about your otherresorts?”
“I’m in conversations to sellthose.”
“I see,” she said, her brow furrowed. “Is that whatyouwant todo?”
“It’s what’sbest.”
“I don’tund—”
“Ever been homeless?” he asked, cutting heroff.
She shook herhead.
Chills shot down his spine. He hated remembering this part of his life. “Ever watch your mom give up food so her kids couldeat?”
Sad blue eyes blinked up at him. “No.”
“We got kicked out of our cramped apartment. I saw my mom’s pain and anger when she realized my dad had been feeding his drug addiction with rentmoney.”
After a pregnant pause, she whispered, “I’msorry.”
“I appreciate your dedication toWalk a Milebut until youactuallywalk in my shoes, don’t assume you know the fears that drive me.” A stabbing pain pummeled hischest.
“Okay,” shewhispered.
Tell her.“The sex photos that went viral were designed to grab my attention. The real issue was the pictures and videos of me popping pills and snorting massive amounts of coke. The women wanted millions to keep quiet.” Ashamed, he turned away. “I’d become a hard-core drug addict. Even started selling to my guests. Not for the money, but to surround myself with a steady stream of dealers providing me with the strongest drugs on the market. My life revolved around my next high and I put my business and my reputation at risk. When key executives confronted me, I threatened to fire them. I grew ugly and hated myself, but I couldn’tstop.”
She flew out of bed and into his arms. “Jagger, I’msorry.”
He kissed her with an intensity that scaredhim.
“Thank you for confiding in me,” shemurmured.
“I got clean and sober.” His throat tightened, the emotion threatening to explode out of him. “No way in hell would I end up like myfather.”
“The phoenix rising from the ashes.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “You should be proud of what you’veovercome.”
He cradled her face in his hands. “Only my attorney and my publicist know the full extent of my problem. Not even my closest friends realized how bad things got. Hitting rock bottom was one hell of a wake upcall.”
He hugged her tightly. Goddamn it to hell, it was scary, but it felt amazing. For the first time in his life, he’d let someone in who wasn’t being paid to keep quiet and clean up hismess.
Jagger had experienced everything but the true love of a good woman. As she shed her bathrobe and they crawled into bed, he wondered whether this amazing woman could be theone.
9
