“Getting him to eat. I’ve been trying all day and failing hard. The groceries should help, too. What are you ordering?”
“Well, do you cook?” I ask, grazing a finger against my chin.
“Not if I can avoid it,” he says.
“Okay. So it’s frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, taquitos, and chips,” I say. “All the best things in life for a growing boy.”
He gives me a smile that makes my heart twitch.
“We’ll find a way to get some vegetables in him, sooner or later. I’m a lucky man. You accomplish any task I hand you without fail. I wish I’d known that includes taking care of a minor.” He takes a sip of his tea. “At the door, you asked what I had to break the truth about...”
My breath stalls, and I sit down next to him.
I nod. “Yes. If I have to play CEO so you can babysit, I should at least know why.”
“Of course,” he sighs.
Mag stares down at the warm cup in his hand for a long time, and at first I think he’s not going to say anything.
“I already told you Jordan’s my little brother. My half brother.” He closes his eyes. “He’s the product of a wretched move—if you could even call it that—my father made. A terrible fucking mistake.”
A chill sweeps up my spine at the smolder in his voice.
I frown. “I’m not sure what your dad did, but Jordan seems like a sweet kid. It’s not the end of the world that you got an adorable half brother out of the deal. What’s the big—”
“My mother was dying from terminal cancer when the puke I called dad cheated on her. I knew he was doing it for years, stepping out on her, but he swore he’d stopped after I came back to Chicago from the military.”
It’s like a shot through his chest. I can’t even breathe when I look at him, gazing into the harsh, furious shine in his eyes.
“God, Mag. I’m sorry.” I want to reach over, throw my arms around him, and just hold him, but from the way he looks, I’m scared he’ll push me away.
“He not only fucked around on her till her dying day, he got his fling pregnant,” he growls, raking stiff fingers through his messy hair. “Then he bullied her into silence.”
I drop my head against the couch because I can’t reach out, can’t comfort him behind that unreachable stone wall. “Oh, Mag...”
“As of this morning, his mom’s still in a damn coma, lying in ICU. Jordan’s going to be here indefinitely. He refused to eat until you came, and I still can’t get him to say more than two words. He calls me a rich prick.”
If it weren’t for the tortured look on his face, I’d laugh at the last part because it’s too true.
But I play the words through my head several times, trying to come up with the best way to say this. However I phrase it, he won’t like it, so here goes.
“I mean, your outburst this morning probably didn’t help. I know you were stressed, but...”
“I know,” he says, shrugging. “I tried to be congenial the best I could. Turns out, I’m just not very good at it. Jordan didn’t deserve the shit flying off my tongue and frankly, neither did you, Brina. I’m sorry.”
Gutted.
That’s exactly what I am when he looks up again, the angry blue moonlight in his eyes dimmed to a mournful winter. A deeply regretful one.
I smile.
“You’ll get the hang of Jordan.” He sips his tea and I stare at his face. “I’ve never seen you so exhausted. You should get some sleep.”
“I’m okay,” he says.
“Mag, you need sleep. Have you slept at all?”
“I have to wait until Jordan’s in bed in case he needs anything.”
I laugh. “He’s fourteen. Not four. If he really needs something, I’m sure he’ll manage, but I’m also here.”
“You’re going to take care of my brother while I sleep?” he asks. “After this morning, I’m amazed you came back here.”
“I’m a believer in second chances.” I nod. “Let me put away the groceries. I’m still helping you at work if I’m helping you here. I take care of everything else for you anyway, even if you don’t need my help at home.”
“Sad, but true. I’m just overwhelmed right now.”
He sets the mug down on the coffee table with a loud clink, pulls me into his lap, and closes his huge arms around me.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispers, kissing my neck until I bristle.
It’s so hard to keep my hands to myself, but if something happens now, when he’s in this state?
Bad, bad idea.
“You’re right.” I lean back and whisper in his ear, “You should go to bed.”
“You’re getting rid of me?”
The vulnerability he’s shown since I came back from the office makes me bold.
“No. But if you kiss me like that again, I’m not sure you’re getting any rest tonight.”