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“I hired a private investigator to find Rafe’s blood relatives—not to relieve my responsibility, but in the hopes of finding someone who could bring light into his life, someone who would innately love him. My intention wasn’t to pawn him off. I fully intend to take care of him.”
My heart thundered against my chest. “What does this have to do with me?”
“The investigator located his birth mother, who divulged that she’d given up a daughter more than a decade before Rafe was born.” He looked into my eyes. “Wren, you’re his biological sister.”
My vision got hazy, and everything began to spin.
Dax continued talking, but it sounded jumbled now. “It’s been verified many times over. I’ll let you look at everything I have. I would’ve never brought this to you if I wasn’t absolutely sure.”
My hands shook, and a tear fell as reality sank in. “I don’t understand…” I wiped my eyes. “Why didn’t you just tell me from the beginning?”
“That’s a very fair question, and I hope you’ll let me explain.” He swallowed. “There were a number of reasons. At the beginning, I felt like I needed to get to know you. When we first met, it was about vetting you, to see if there was any reason I might not want you around him. Obviously, I quickly realized you were a beautiful human he’d be lucky to have in his life. Still, I didn’t know if it was fair to throw this on you, to disrupt your life. I didn’t even know if you’d want to know. So I constantly debated whether telling you was the right thing. But then I saw the way you interacted with Rafe that day at the bookstore, and my guilt kept growing from there.”
I rubbed my temples. “Back up, Dax. So the massage was never about the massage…”
“Correct. I had no other way to connect with you besides ordering a massage. Once I found out where you worked, it seemed to make sense.”
I let out a long breath and closed my eyes.
“What I wasn’t expecting…” he continued, “was to develop feelings for you in the process. Despite the reasons for finding you, the connection you felt between us was real. It had nothing to do with anything else.” Dax paused. “I sought you out for Rafe, but I started wanting you around…for me. Because you made me feel things I hadn’t in a long time. And that’s not fair. I was playing with fire because nothing can happen between us.”
My head whipped toward him. “Why couldn’t it happen?”
“Because I was hiding something major from you, and even if I’d told you the truth, I knew I couldn’t get involved with Rafe’s sister. That’s the harsh truth of the matter. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you. If things went sour between us, that would affect him. So the two of us being anything more than friends is out of the question, despite my strong personal feelings about you. My feelings can’t matter.”
I placed my head in my hands. “I’m sorry. I just need a moment.”
“Take your time,” he whispered. “I understand what a shock this must be.”
I thought back to Rafe’s sad eyes. I tried to remember all of his features, now that I knew he was my brother. From the moment I’d met him, I felt inexplicably drawn to him. Maybe it was an innate sense.
“You met my mother, too?” I asked.
“The investigator did. From what he said, she was a bit messed up. She didn’t want any involvement. But she did say the two children she gave up had different fathers.”
That was upsetting. But I couldn’t focus on my so-called birth mother at the moment, especially if she didn’t want to know me. Rafe was what mattered now.
I finally turned to Dax again. “You want me to be part of his life?”
“Not unless that’s what you want. There’s no obligation. But I needed to tell you the truth because it’s been eating away at me. I’ve debated whether telling you was the right decision—for both you and him—since the moment we met. I’ve realized you’re the type of person who would want to know you have a brother.” He looked in my eyes. “I’m sorry to have put you in this position. I really did have the best of intentions.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I just wish you’d told me from the beginning. Then I might not have misconstrued your intentions and gotten wrapped up in my feelings for you.”
He closed his eyes and nodded. “In retrospect, I wish I had as well. But I needed time to sort it all out, and in the process, I grew to care for you in a way I didn’t expect. It’s the biggest conundrum of my life. And I’m so fucking sorry I handled it poorly.”
