She frowned. “He was. When they were kids. But after Jake’s parents died, he moved away, and they lost touch for a bit. I think Jake was just busy in the Navy and Gav had the ranch to take care of. Why’re you asking?”
“So, Gavin never mentioned a woman in Jake’s life? Someone special?”
“Not that I can think of. But, like I said, they drifted apart for a while back then. When Jake returned, he was a different sort of guy. Closed off. Gavin might know something, but he’s not very fond of gossip so he might not tell me.”
She sighed. “It doesn’t matter.” She wouldn’t be the one to divulge Jake’s secrets, not when it seemed he’d kept them from the entire town.
Lila gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh, honey, you really care about him, don’t you?”
Yes, she did. It was so stupid. Why did she have to go and fall in love with him?
“I can see you do. But I don’t think you have anything to worry about. We all have pasts. It’s what’s happening now that matters. And you’re here with Jake, not that other woman.”
Except she wasn’t with Jake. Because she hadn’t heard from him since yesterday. And she hadn’t been brave enough to call him.
“I know. Thanks. You’re right. I’m here. She’s not.”
They chatted for a few moments longer before Lila headed off. She sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back against the back of the booth. She was so tired.
“Mind some company?”
She startled, opening her eyes to find Saxon looming over her. “Jeez, where did you come from?”
“I was in the booth next to you.” He sat across from her without asking if it was all right. She’d only seen him a couple of times since that disastrous experience in Saxons, which had led to the most amazing experience in her life. “You’re not very observant, are you?”
She straightened. “I happen to be very observant. I’m just a bit distracted right now.”
“By this mysterious woman of Jake’s?”
She looked around to make certain no one was close by. Something she should have done, it seemed, before she’d brought the topic up with Lila. She leaned in. “You heard all of that?”
“Yes.”
“I’d appreciate it if you forgot it. It’s private.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have been discussing it in such a public place. Gossiping isn’t something I would normally approve of.”
“Guess I’m glad I don’t need your approval.”
The look he gave her was glacial. And she found her eyes sliding from his. Damn the man. Then she sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t
have. It’s not your business. Or mine.”
“I disagree.”
She frowned, raising her eyes back up to his. “She has nothing to do with you.”
“She has everything to do with me. Rebecca might have been Jake’s wife, but she was also my sister.”
She stilled, frozen, her heart thundering in her chest. “Your sister?”
“Yes.” He watched her steadily. “Now, I meant what I said. I don’t believe in gossip. However, this needs to be said. Rebecca was my younger sister. She was everything to me. My world. My only family.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
He nodded abruptly. “She died in a car accident two years ago in San Diego. Jake was out of the country at the time. His career took him away a lot. And I lived in Los Angeles then. We had a hard childhood and as adults, BDSM became a way we both coped with what happened to us. In different ways, of course. She found peace in submitting. She loved Jake. He was her whole world. She found it hard, coping with him away all the time but she knew how much he loved being in the SEALs. And she meant everything to him.”
Why was he telling her all of this? To torture her?