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After that, I didn’t know what I’d do, but I’d cross that bridge when I got there.
Chapter nine
Ryan
Iwasn’tcertainifI should even go to my tux fitting, as there was a good chance that I was no longer Jason’s best man, but on the off chance he forgave me enough to keep me in the wedding, I drove downtown to the rental shop.
It wasn’t until I’d parked that I realized the tux shop was right across the street from Sam’s bookstore. That wasn’t the most surprising thing waiting for me, though.
Jason stood on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, glowering at me as I got out of my car.
“We need to talk,” he said.
I just stopped myself from rolling my eyes. How many times had I heard that phrase since arriving in town?
“What is it?” I asked, moving to stand in front of him. “Come to tell me you’re kicking me out of your wedding?”
He clenched his teeth, and I couldn’t decide if he wanted to actually talk to me or just punch me in the face and get it over with.
“I should kick you out,” he snapped at length. “I should tell you I never want to see you again, but that’s harder to actually mean than to say.”
I frowned. “Not sure I’m following.”
He sighed. “You’ve been my best friend nearly my whole life. As angry as I am with you, I can’t imagine you not being there when I get married.”
I didn’t say anything for several seconds. I couldn’t. The last thing I’d expected from him was such a heartfelt confession, but I was so relieved at his words that I nearly smiled.
“So, I’m still in the wedding?”
“I’m not saying that…yet,” he hissed. “Before I make that decision, I need to hear your side of the story.”
“My side?”
He nodded. “Yes. From your perspective, what happened that night?”
Well, shit, I really hadn’t expected that. I wasn’t entirely sure what to tell him. I had to be careful with my words and the details I gave him. I wanted to start repairing our friendship, not get my nose broken in the middle of downtown.
“Okay,” I murmured at length. “First off, you have to know I never meant for it to happen. She just wanted a kiss. I thought it was innocent enough, but I don’t know if it was the booze or what, but things escalated before I fully realized what was going on.”
Jason looked as though I’d smacked him in the stomach, but he nodded and choked out, “Okay, I-I can see that.”
“Second, I had no idea that she’d gotten pregnant,” I quickly added. “If I’d known about Henry, I would’ve come back and helped take care of him. I would never just abandon my kid.”
“Why leave at all?” Jason demanded to know. “Sleeping with my sister is one thing, but abandoning her after and never coming back? That’s a lot harder for me to forgive, man.”
“I get it,” I assured him. “It was an awful thing to do, I know that now. At the time, though, I felt guilty and didn’t want to lead Sam on. I didn’t want her to think there was any kind of future between us. I thought leaving was for the best and that she’d have an easier time moving on.”
Jason rolled his eyes and exclaimed, “That’s so stupid! For a genius billionaire businessman, you sure are an idiot.”
I couldn’t argue with him there. Leaving Sam without even a goodbye was probably the single worst thing I’d ever done in my life. She hadn’t deserved that. Hadn’t deserved to feel like she’d been used and tossed aside. I couldn’t blame her for hating me, but keeping my son from me? That was too vindictive. Too harsh.
“Why didn’t you ever mention Henry?” I asked. “You’ve come to see me in the city countless times over the years, but you never once brought him up. Why is that?”
It was a question I’d actually been pondering for a bit already. One would think he’d tell his best friend that he had a nephew, but he hadn’t mentioned the boy once. Not a single time.
“That was Sam’s doing, actually,” Jason explained with a frown. He looked suddenly tired, as if this reality had been weighing heavily on him. “She made the whole family swear never to mention Henry to anyone outside of town. She’d always claimed she didn’t want his father to find out about him.” He gave me a pointed look. “I never really understood why everything had to be so hush hush, but now I get it.”
Beads of sweat dotted my forehead as he scrutinized me intently.
