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Okay, they were on a tangent he’d never planned to travel down, and he needed to get them back on track. “I don’t agree with you, but that’s beside the point. Whatever he decides to do about it, he deserves to know.”
He could hardly believe he was arguing to bring Wesley back into her life, but a lifetime of coming second to his brother had conditioned him to sacrifice his own desires for the betterment of the family, which his parents had always insisted depended on Wesley. Besides, Michael liked to think he had a good set of morals. Although, to be fair, in this case it would be more accurate to say he had a guilt complex from lusting after his brother’s girlfriend for years.
Bex’s hands fisted at her sides, and he hoped she didn’t use them on him. He had no doubt she could throw a solid punch. “Wesley gave up all claim to Izzy when he agreed with your mother that I should get an abortion.”
Michael winced. It was difficult to argue against that. Not impossible, though. “You agreed to get one,” he pointed out. “You even took a payout for it.”
More color leached from her cheeks, and he hated that he was doing this to her. He wanted to hold her close and promise everything would be okay, but he couldn’t. Not when they were fundamentally opposed.
“That money,” she pointed at him, her lower lip wobbling, “is eighteen years of child support, and almost all of it is waiting in a bank account for Izzy’s future.”
“Oh, Bex.” He raked a hand through his hair. “You haven’t used it?”
“Only for a down payment on the gym. Since then, I’ve covered everything myself.”
That couldn’t have been easy. He ached to take her in his arms and tell her how much she impressed him, but he couldn’t.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t blame you for taking the money and running, but Wesley should be told the truth regardless of whether he wants anything to do with her.”
“Why?” she demanded, and up this close, he could see the sheen of tears in her eyes. “What good would it do?” Hesitantly, she put her hand on his arm, and the warmth of her burned through his sleeve. “Please, Michael, just leave us be.”
“I can’t do that.”
She yanked her hand away, and he sensed her emotionally withdraw too. Oh, shit. None of this was going according to plan. He’d hoped to have more time to present his case in a way that would appeal to her, but she’d forced the matter and now everything was hurtling off the rails.
“Wait. Bex.”
Her eyes snapped to his, and the panic and confusion in them made his heart hurt. “Let’s sideline the conversation about Wesley for a while.” He swallowed, his dry throat working hard. “I’d like to meet Izzy properly, and get to know her. May I?”
“I’m sorry, but no.”
Disappointment shot through him, burrowing into his heart. “No?”
She raised her chin. “It’s not in her best interests, and as her mother, it’s my job to look out for her. My job. Alone.”
“Technically, you don’t have the right to refuse the Briggstons access,” he reminded her. “Unless there’s something you haven’t told me, Wesley still has full parental rights.”
It was the wrong thing to say, and he knew it as soon as the words spilled from his mouth. If she’d had any lingering warmth toward him, it died a swift death.
Chapter Ten
Fear slicedthrough Bex like a steel blade. She stared at Michael, hardly able to breathe. Had he just said what she thought he had? Her worst nightmare was playing out in front of her. In another minute, a judge would bring down a gavel and ruin her peaceful existence.
He’d questioned her custody of her daughter. As if he had any right. As if he deserved to be part of Izzy’s life after the crap his family had pulled. Placing her hands behind her back, where he couldn’t see them tremble, she sucked in a shuddering breath and let it out slowly.
“Are you threatening me?” she asked, her voice shrill to her own ears.
“Of course not!” He looked genuinely appalled, but appearances could be deceiving. “That was never my intention. I—” He reached for her, and she scuttled out of the way. He was lucky she’d had the wind knocked from her, or she’d have kneed him where it hurt. “I would never.”
Yeah, she wasn’t buying it. Intentional or not, he’d spoken the words she’d dreaded hearing every day since Izzy was born.
“If you do anything to interfere with my daughter’s happiness, I will”—she searched for a punishment heinous enough—“get you banned from every gym in a fifty-mile radius, and then lock you in one of those cages they used to string thieves up in and let the seagulls peck your eyes out.” She had no idea whether seagulls were carnivorous or not, but she doubted he knew either.
His expression of concern was almost comical. Except she wasn’t feeling the humor. “That’s… oddly specific.”
She didn’t back down. If he hurt Izzy, she’d damn well find one of those medieval cages and do exactly as she’d said.
“Okay.” He wrung his hands, and she stepped back in case he decided to reach for her again. Lifting his chin and squaring his shoulders, he tried a second time. “It’s clear that you’re a wonderful mother. Izzy is a lovely girl.”
