other women and have affairs but they never leave their wives.”
“I’m not a married man. Not in the way you think. I haven’t been her husband for years. All we’ve got in common is Connor.”
“That’s very convenient,” she said.
“Convenient? You think this is convenient?” He stood and shook his head in disgust. “It’s bloody hard work. Every day is a trial but I do it for Connor. I can’t let him down the way my father let me down.”
“You’ve got an excuse for everything. What’s your father got to do with it?”
“It’s not an excuse. I’m human you know. My life isn’t perfect and my father certainly wasn’t. He left my mother with two small kids. He couldn’t have been less interested in us. He called himself a businessman. He did what he wanted and thought he could buy us with his money. We barely saw him for years.”
“We’v e all got our problems,” she said. “What makes yours so special?”
“You don’t get it do you? In some ways I’m a lot like my father. He was so damn ambitious and I’ve got that in me too. But I don’t want to be like him. I want what’s best for Connor. I want him to have a better start in life than I did.”
Rachel didn’t dare look up at Jake. She didn’t know what to believe.
She only knew she didn’t want to put herself at risk again. Being hurt was part of ev eryday life and being devastated, as she’d been before, was another.
They were talking about infidelity. She couldn’t possibly give herself to a man who was married.
“Marcus told you, didn’t he?” Jake asked. “Today. At the office. I don’t think he meant it to happen that way.”
“It doesn’t matter who told me. I worked it out.”
H e looked her in the eye. “I didn’t tell you the complete truth right away but I didn’t lie. I tried to tell you lots of times. I was about to tell you at the Ebony Bar and then that drunk guy came along and you ran out on me. I did try. I tried again today.”
“Not hard enough.”
She didn’t care for his excuses. She’d already worked out he’d tried to tell her in his office today but that wasn’t good enough.
“I’m sure you have your secr ets too,” he said.
Though she pressed her eyes shut, she felt his gaze fixed on her.
“You’re a woman,” he said. “You’ve lived. I know you’ve been hurt. Things have happened that you don’t want to talk about but that doesn’t mean you’re lying. I know something happened, something that’s stopping you from trusting yourself. And me.”
It wasn’t possible he could know her marriage t o Nick wasn’t as happy as she’d so naively thought. No one knew. All those years ago she’d tried to explain it to the people closest to her but everyone assumed she had the perfect marriage. How could he guess when her closest friends and relatives couldn’t understand even after she’d tried to tell them?
She gaz ed up at Jake. Even when he was angry, he looked strong, alluring, handsome.
She still wanted him.
And she had to get out of there.
She reached for her bag and stood. “I think that’s enough for one night, don’t you?”
It was only a few steps to the French doors but she didn’t make it. Jake’s manly hands fell upon her shoulders.
“Don’t touch me,” she said, her words weak, her voice a whisper.
His hands slipped down over her upper arms, sending a sizzle up her spine, a charge that shouldn’t be there. She had to fight this.
She turned, flung his hands off and cleared her throat to make sure the words came out right.
“Don’t do this.”
Years of anger and resentment boiled inside her, the molten mass bubbling over read to explode.
Nick’s infidelity. His all encompassing confidence when he was cheating on her. Finding the photos. Seeing the evidence. And the overwhelming feeling that she got what she deserved. It all came tumbling back to her.
Jake’s lips parted as he reached for her. She couldn’t let him touch her. Too
“I’m not a married man. Not in the way you think. I haven’t been her husband for years. All we’ve got in common is Connor.”
“That’s very convenient,” she said.
“Convenient? You think this is convenient?” He stood and shook his head in disgust. “It’s bloody hard work. Every day is a trial but I do it for Connor. I can’t let him down the way my father let me down.”
“You’ve got an excuse for everything. What’s your father got to do with it?”
“It’s not an excuse. I’m human you know. My life isn’t perfect and my father certainly wasn’t. He left my mother with two small kids. He couldn’t have been less interested in us. He called himself a businessman. He did what he wanted and thought he could buy us with his money. We barely saw him for years.”
“We’v e all got our problems,” she said. “What makes yours so special?”
“You don’t get it do you? In some ways I’m a lot like my father. He was so damn ambitious and I’ve got that in me too. But I don’t want to be like him. I want what’s best for Connor. I want him to have a better start in life than I did.”
Rachel didn’t dare look up at Jake. She didn’t know what to believe.
She only knew she didn’t want to put herself at risk again. Being hurt was part of ev eryday life and being devastated, as she’d been before, was another.
They were talking about infidelity. She couldn’t possibly give herself to a man who was married.
“Marcus told you, didn’t he?” Jake asked. “Today. At the office. I don’t think he meant it to happen that way.”
“It doesn’t matter who told me. I worked it out.”
H e looked her in the eye. “I didn’t tell you the complete truth right away but I didn’t lie. I tried to tell you lots of times. I was about to tell you at the Ebony Bar and then that drunk guy came along and you ran out on me. I did try. I tried again today.”
“Not hard enough.”
She didn’t care for his excuses. She’d already worked out he’d tried to tell her in his office today but that wasn’t good enough.
“I’m sure you have your secr ets too,” he said.
Though she pressed her eyes shut, she felt his gaze fixed on her.
“You’re a woman,” he said. “You’ve lived. I know you’ve been hurt. Things have happened that you don’t want to talk about but that doesn’t mean you’re lying. I know something happened, something that’s stopping you from trusting yourself. And me.”
It wasn’t possible he could know her marriage t o Nick wasn’t as happy as she’d so naively thought. No one knew. All those years ago she’d tried to explain it to the people closest to her but everyone assumed she had the perfect marriage. How could he guess when her closest friends and relatives couldn’t understand even after she’d tried to tell them?
She gaz ed up at Jake. Even when he was angry, he looked strong, alluring, handsome.
She still wanted him.
And she had to get out of there.
She reached for her bag and stood. “I think that’s enough for one night, don’t you?”
It was only a few steps to the French doors but she didn’t make it. Jake’s manly hands fell upon her shoulders.
“Don’t touch me,” she said, her words weak, her voice a whisper.
His hands slipped down over her upper arms, sending a sizzle up her spine, a charge that shouldn’t be there. She had to fight this.
She turned, flung his hands off and cleared her throat to make sure the words came out right.
“Don’t do this.”
Years of anger and resentment boiled inside her, the molten mass bubbling over read to explode.
Nick’s infidelity. His all encompassing confidence when he was cheating on her. Finding the photos. Seeing the evidence. And the overwhelming feeling that she got what she deserved. It all came tumbling back to her.
Jake’s lips parted as he reached for her. She couldn’t let him touch her. Too
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