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Beck had to laugh. “Hell, she’s not my usual, either.”
“What’s with that? I mean, I prefer women with a lot more experience. They’re usually more adventurous and they damn sure know what they want. I don’t even remember the last time I nailed one younger than me. I haven’t taken a virgin since high school.”
“Well, I never have.”
“Never? Really? No backseat action? No prom night nookie?”
I went to prom with a hooker. “No. I always avoided them.”
“Took a while, but I wised up too when I realized they always want a relationship.”
Beck scoffed. “So, of course, we manage to find the one virgin who doesn’t.”
Seth barked out a laugh. “Karma. That bitch must be kicking our asses. Because here we are… The girl we’re both desperate for is sleeping in the next room, and we’re out here having a sausage party.”
Beck had to chuckle. “When you put it that way, we sound stupid and we should be totally ashamed.”
“You’re not? Well, you have less to be humiliated about. After all, you’re not the schmuck who moved across the country after kissing Heavenly once and then discovered that she doesn’t see me in her future.” He shook his head. “What’s worse is that giving up again never crossed my mind. It’s like I took one look at that girl and—”
“Had to have her?” Beck knew that feeling well. “Yep. I saw her and I just…knew. I told myself to stay away. She was too young, too sweet… We both know how well that worked. And I have no idea what the fuck happens next. I know what needs to happen.” He let loose a deep breath of tension. “I’m just not sure if either of us can handle it.”
Beck felt more than saw Seth go tense. “You think you know? Do I even want to ask?”
“Probably not. But I finally understand Heavenly.”
“Oh, this ought to be good,” Seth drawled. “Enlighten me.”
“Abel told us everything important. Did you get it?”
Seth paused, like he was sorting through all the tidbits Heavenly’s father had spilled and zeroed in on what mattered most. “Hard to miss her mother walking out on a sick husband and heaping the responsibility for his care on a girl who wasn’t even old enough to drive. I’m against hitting a woman, but I might make an exception for that bitch.”
“Exactly. The problem is, she left Heavenly with serious abandonment issues. That changes everything.”
“Well, I guess it explains why she kept so much to herself. If she couldn’t even trust her own mother…” Seth shook his head. “I can’t fathom that. My mom and I are really close.”
“Oh, her mom leaving explains a whole lot more, virtually everything we’ve been fighting since we met her. It’s most likely the reason she thinks we have no future. Hell, it’s probably even the reason she won’t choose between us.” Beck sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees. “You understand that we’re going to have to make the choice for her, right?”
Seth stared warily. “You mean one of us is going to have to bow out?”
“No,” Beck shot back. “She’s too fragile for that right now. If one of us left, it would reinforce her conviction that everyone leaves. She might break.”
“You’re a surgeon, not a shrink. How can you be so sure that’s what she’d think?”
Beck hesitated. He did not want to get into this. Not now, not ever. But Seth was sounding skeptical, and Beck needed him on board for Heavenly’s sake.
“My mom abandoned me when I was a kid,” Beck confessed softly.
“Oh, shit. How old were you?”
“Too young. And I’ve said everything I intend to on that topic,” Beck bit out, slamming up walls to block the memories before they could surface.
“Is that the reason I couldn’t find any record of you before you turned sixteen?”
The PI’s words hit him with a blow far more powerful than any he’d unloaded on Sanchez. An icy chill froze Beck’s blood before hot rage burst through his veins, sending his heart thudding wildly against his ribs. “You fucking investigated me?”
“Damn straight.”
Sweat dotted Beck’s brow. What else had the nosy bastard uncovered?
He stood and tossed the blanket on the sofa. “Stay the fuck out of my past.”
“Why, because you’re worried I’ll tell Heavenly about your wife of eighteen years? Yeah, I found out about her. Granted, you filed for divorce a few weeks ago—finally. But give me one reason I shouldn’t just tell Heavenly and let the chips fall?”
“Because it was a marriage of convenience, and the reasons for it are moot now. Because if you were any sort of PI, you’d have figured out that Gloria and I haven’t lived together for almost a decade. Because Heavenly needs you and me both, and nothing else—especially not this pissing contest—matters.” He sank back to the sofa. “How long have you known?”
