“You had mydaughter, and you didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t know how!”
He backs up, dragging a hand through his hair. Pacing now. Angry. Caged.
“How old is she?”
“Five.”
He lets out a breath like it physically punches him. "Five years, and I never got to hold her. Never got to see her take her first steps. Say her first word. Five years and I was a stranger."
"I was nineteen. You were drunk. It was one night?—"
"One night that changed everything. And you let me walk away–go back to the desert like nothing happened. Just tell mewhy. Because I look at you and I see a woman trying like hell not to fall back into something she already fell for once."
I exhale shakily. "It was one night."
His brow lifts. "A hell of a night."
"You didn’t even remember me."
"That’s not true. I remembered the way you tasted–and to be honest–you are using a different name now. You think I could really forget a woman like you?" His eyes flick up and down my form. “Why’d you change your name?”
“I didn’t,” I defend, “Holly is my name. I just hated it for years so I went by my middle name–Katherine–Kat.”
His lips are inches from mine now, his breath warm, his stare all-consuming.
"You disappeared, Holly. And now you’re back, with a kid who looks like me and eyes that say you’re still mine."
My chest tightens. Everything I’ve been holding back—every fear, every truth—rises up, clogging my throat. Jack doesn’t move. Doesn’t flinch. Just blinks slowly, pain radiating through his irises.
"How long were you gonna keep that from me?"
Tears sting my eyes. "I didn’t know how to tell you."
His voice is softer now, but still firm. "You tell me bytelling me. I don’t need perfection, Holly. I need truth."
My lip trembles. "I was scared. You didn’t remember. You were drunk, and I thought—I thought maybe it didn’t matter to you."
"It matters," he growls, dragging his hand through his hair. "It matters so damn much I can barely breathe when I look at her."
I cross my arms, hugging myself tight. "You don’t understand–I didn’t have a choice–my parents–"
He turns on me, eyes blazing, cutting me off mid-sentence. "Everyone has a choice. You just didn’t pickme."
Tears spill, hot and fast.
“I’m sorry, Jack. I thought I was doing what was best.”
His voice breaks. “You were wrong.”
And with that, he walks out the door.
Leaving me behind.
Again.
Chapter Ten
