When Jace had asked if the baby was his, she’d shrugged and said, “How could I trust you to raise a child? You can’t even take care of me.”
The child had turned out not to be his, but he’d felt the loss as much as if it had been. He never wanted to feel like he had when she’d walked out his door that night. He’d rather be alone forever than experience that kind of emotional filleting ever again.
“This discussion is over,” Jace said, going cold at the memory. “Two months . . . if Evan agrees. We’ll be exclusive with her during that time. Then we all wash our hands of it. That’s the only way I’m in.”
Andre’s eyes burned with all the things Jace could tell he wanted to say, but finally he nodded, his jaw tight. “Fine. Two months.”
“Thank you,” he said, the fight draining from his voice. As insane as Andre was, he couldn’t blame the guy for considering more with Evan. She’d opened up an ache a mile wide inside of him, too. But clearly they hadn’t had the same effect on her. She hadn’t given them any indication she wanted anything more than sex. She was in love with someone else, and they needed to keep that vital fact at the forefront of their minds.
Andre gave a weary sigh and crooked a thumb in the direction of the dining area. “That’s the third phone call you’ve gotten in ten minutes. You may want to get it.”
Jace stalked across the room, his mind still spinning from the argument, and grabbed the phone. “Hello.”
“Finally! Where the hell are you?” his sister demanded. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all morning.”
“I’m out of town . . . at a client’s. What’s wrong?”
“Mom’s in the hospital. They think she had a heart attack.”
“Oh, God.” All the air whooshed from Jace, and his grip tightened on the phone.
“She’s okay,” she added quickly. “They’ve stabilized her, but they’re doing a lot of tests to see what the problem is. She may need surgery.”
He headed toward his bedroom. “Which hospital?”
“The Baylor in Southlake.”
“I’m about an hour outside of the city. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thanks,” she said, relief in her voice. “And fair warning, Dad’s on a rampage about everything—the ambulance response time, the nurse, you name it. He even snapped at Wyatt.”
“Jesus, the apocalypse must be near.” Jace couldn’t even recall his dad throwing a firm word in his oldest brother’s direction. Wyatt, with his genius IQ and oh-so-responsible nature, had never been able to do any wrong in his father’s eyes. Jace had been half-convinced his brother had come out of the womb a grownup. “Tell Mom I’m thinking of her and will be there in a little while.”
Jace exchanged good-byes with his sister, tossed the phone on the bed, and grabbed his bag off the floor to start packing his clothes.
“What’s going on?” Andre asked from the doorway.
“I’ve got to head back.” Jace explained the situation as quickly as he could while gathering his things and stuffing him into his duffel bag. “Can you tell Evan what’s going on? I hate running out like this.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand.”
Jace sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Evan behind after all that had happened in the last day and a half, but he had to see for himself that his mom was okay. At least he knew Andre would take good care of Evan for the rest of the weekend. “If Evan agrees to the deal, tell her that I want her back here next weekend. No excuses. She has two months before she gets married. I plan to help her make the most of it.”
Andre smirked. “And I plan to show her why she shouldn’t walk away.”
Jace slung his bag over his shoulder and pushed past Andre to go back into the living room. “We’re not that good, Andre. Don’t make this into something it can never be.”
Something Jace could never be.
Good enough for Evan.
EIGHTEEN
Jace climbed out of his Dodge Viper, the only luxury item he hadn’t been able to part with when he gave up his financial gig, and checked his watch. He’d made it to the hospital in half the time it would’ve taken a normal person to complete the trip. Sometimes a fast car and a roommate who could get you out of speeding tickets came in handy.
He hurried up to the floor his older sister, Leila, had told him their mom was on and found her and Wyatt talking quietly in the waiting area. Leila stood when she saw Jace approaching, pushing her hair behind her ears—something she did nonstop when she was stressed. She gave him a tight hug when he reached her. “I don’t even want to know how fast you drove to get here.”
“Don’t ask,” he mumbled.