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4
Dallas has seemed distracted all evening, his mind obviously preoccupied as he silently cooks dinner. I don’t bother trying to make conversation, setting the table as quietly as possible.
This has become part of our routine over the past month, having dinner together every night. We work as a team, one of us doing the cooking and the other handling the clean-up. He even helps me with Kellan’s bedtime. It’s wild, the three of us living together, almost as if we’re a real family.
“Were you in love?”
His question causes the air to still in my lungs, my body rigid as I turn to find him staring at me. “What?”
He frowns, annoyance bunching his features. “You and my brother. Did you love each other?”
I sigh and finish my task, giving myself a moment to really consider his question. There was a time when Jackson seemed to be the answers to my prayers, the person who was going to save me from the hell I was living in. But I’m not sure if it was ever about loving him.
“I think maybe we were in love with the idea of being in love, but neither of us were in the right place to truly love someone.”
Jackson was too focused on his dream of becoming a star. There was nothing or no one more important to him than his music.
He scoffs, his glare judgmental as it flickers over me. “Did Jackson know you were married?”
My eyes narrow at his critical tone. “Yes, he did. And not that I need to explain myself to you, but my marriage was awful. My husband was in love with another woman the entire time and hated me for not being her. Jackson made me feel seen again. We had fun and laughed together. He brought me back to life.”
“Why didn’t you just leave your husband?”
“That’s easier said than done. Especially for someone who barely has two nickels to rub together. But I was only sleeping with Jackson. And figuring out I was pregnant gave me the courage to leave my husband.”
“Then what happened? How did you end up on my doorstep years later?”
I sigh. “Jackson freaked out when I told him he was going to be a father. He was a broke musician who liked to party. The idea of being responsible for another life scared the shit out of him. His band was leaving on a nine-week tour, and I thought it would give him some time to think, that he’d come around. But he disappeared, and I assumed the worst. It wouldn’t have been the first time a man had disappointed me. I had no idea he—”
I shake my head, unable to finish the thought as tears fill my eyes. Jackson’s death is still so fresh for me. It was devastating to find out he’s been dead this entire time, after spending all these years hating him for abandoning our son.
Before I know what’s happening, Dallas wraps me in his arms. My body stiffens at the unexpected contact, my stomach doing a somersault as my gaze collides with his intense stare.
“I’m sorry you had to find out that way. I never should’ve dropped that bomb on you the way I did.”
I blink with surprise, tears rolling down my face. “I, uh…it’s all right.”
Dallas Chambers apologized to me. I never thought I’d see the day.
“No, it’s not.” His hands cup my face, and he dries my face with the pads of his thumbs. “I felt so guilty, and I acted like an asshole. It wasn’t fair of me to lash out at you.”
My heart flutters, the feeling foreign in my chest. It’s been so long since I’ve felt anything for a man that wasn’t rage. But this can’t be happening. Falling for Dallas would be disastrous.
“It’s okay. I understand.”
“Cara, I—”
His words cut off at the sound of little footsteps heading in our direction, his hands quickly releasing me as he steps back.
He’s made it back to the other side of the kitchen by the time Kellan races into the room. It’s almost as if the little moment we shared was merely a figment of my imagination. But that’s probably for the best. This situation is already complicated enough.
* * *
