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I can see the gears turning in Kipp’s head. He gets into the car before asking, “Was he the one?”
I blow out a breath and turn the ignition. “Yeah.”
Kipp reaches over, lacing his fingers with my own in a silent show of support. I appreciate it more than I can say.
Kipp doesn’t inundate me with questions on the drive home, but once we get inside the apartment, he halts me, his hand on my waist.
“Will you tell me about it?” he asks.
“It’s not a pretty story.”
He shrugs. “I know, but it’s yours. And I want to know it. I want to know your past.”
And hell. How can I complain about that?
“Let’s wash up first,” I suggest. Both of us are sweaty from the club.
Kipp nods, and the two of us make quick work of showering. There are no wandering hands. Not this time. But there are heated looks that neither Kipp nor I try to hide.
Dressed in comfy clothes, we sprawl out on the couch, Kipp lying between my legs, his head on my chest. I thread my fingers through his damp hair, one arm tucked behind my head. It takes me a minute to figure out where to start.
“I met Antoni what feels like ages ago. He came on board at our law firm after Cameron and I hit it big. Sometimes it feels like our success was overnight, even though I know that’s not the case. We worked hard, and we made a name for ourselves. But with the notoriety came issues.”
“What sort of issues?” Kipp asks, his palm resting on my stomach. His fingers toy idly with the material of my shirt, and I focus on that as I talk.
“It was the beginning of the end for Cameron and me. I didn’t see it at the time, but he wanted more and more, and all I wanted was to help people. We didn’t agree on the clients we were taking. He wanted big names. I wanted good causes. It…it became a problem, even before I started dating Antoni.”
Kipp hums, and I blow out another breath.
“I thought I loved him. But looking back, I think I loved what we were. I loved being in a relationship and…”
“And he was your boy,” Kipp fills in, making the correct leap.
“Yeah,” I breathe out. “He was. But for Antoni, it was never about love. It was manipulation. We were really successful, Kipp. I don’t want to downplay that. Cameron and me, we went from making barely any money starting out to making seven figures within a few years. We had lucky breaks, like I said, and we took on some big-name clients. And Antoni, he only ever wanted to be rich. He wanted to be taken care of, and I didn’t mind that when it was us, but I never knew… I never knew he wanted the security more than he wanted me.”
“So why’d he cheat?” Kipp asks gently. “If he already had you, why go after your brother?”
“Because I told him I didn’t want to get married.”
Kipp looks up at me, his blue eyes wide.
“Yeah,” I say with a huff. “Funny, isn’t it? I think I knew something wasn’t right, even if I couldn’t put my finger on it. He asked me to marry him a year in, but I told him I wasn’t ready. He kept asking when I would be, and I didn’t have an answer for him. I think that’s when he turned to Cameron, but I don’t know for sure.”
“And Cameron knew you two were…”
He lets the question hang, but, “Oh, yeah. Cameron was well aware Antoni and I were a couple. The two of them… I don’t know who proposed the idea, but they got it in their heads to oust me. Cameron thought I was holding the business back. Being too sentimental about the oaths I took when I became a lawyer. And Antoni, well. Antoni thought I was holding him back.”
“So what happened?” Kipp asks softly. “How’d you find out about them?”
I blow out a slow breath. “Cameron and Antoni leaked a sex tape at the office. A tape of them. They did it from my email, as if I’d ever be careless enough to send a sex tape from my own email address. And then they claimed they’d been dating for months, and I was too petty and jealous to accept it and let them be happy.”
“Fuck,” Kipp mutters.
“It was such a mess. I was blindsided, having just found out my brother and boyfriend were fucking, and yet everyone was looking at me like I was the monster. Cameron and Antoni…they just paraded around the office like they were being the bigger men, and what could I possibly do to refute it?”
Kipp is quiet for a moment, his face aimed toward the blank TV screen. His fingers tighten in my shirt, the strain pulling the material tight. “I’m so angry for you, Teddy,” he says. “But I know this isn’t about me. I just… Fuck, I’m so sorry.”
I give his hair a gentle tug. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
