Jace stood. “We all deserve better than ‘I love you, but.’ When you can take the qualifier out of that sentence, you let us know. And we’ll talk. Until then, I think it’s time for you to leave.”
Part of him wished she would dispute him. Stomp her foot and tell him there was no qualifier. They could sweep her up, kiss away her tears, and make her forget the pain of the last week. But the sag of her shoulders told him he hadn’t read her wrong. She wasn’t ready to give herself over completely to this, to them. Maybe would never be.r: Roni Loren
“You doing okay?”
“Been better,” she admitted. “Andre, I’m so—”
“Shh, bella. Listen. I want to talk to you, but I’m calling because of Jace.”
Her breath caught. “Is everything all right?”
He sighed. “A lot’s happened. Where are you?”
She looked out at the peaceful rows of grapevine stretching out in the distance, the scene in direct contrast to the riot of emotions beating her raw on the inside. “I’m at The Ranch.”
A long pause.
She cringed, realizing too late how bad that sounded. “Grant gave me a place to stay. I’m just . . .” Avoiding. Hiding. Wallowing. Hating my life. “Resting.”
“You need to come back to town and talk to Jace. He knows about the baby,” he said, his voice so quiet, she almost thought she’d imagined what he said.
She gasped, the words like a fist to the sternum. Jace knew. “Wh—How?”
“His ex-wife hired a private investigator to get dirt on you so she could use it against him. Apparently, the PI has been posing as your friend Callie’s new boyfriend so he could get close to you.”
Evan’s nails dug into the soft earth beneath the tree, trying to find a grip in her spinning world. Jace knew. He knew she’d betrayed him in the worst possible way. “Oh, God, he must hate me.”
“Bella, you need to tell him the truth. Can you come to the loft tonight so we can all talk?”
She leaned her head back against the bark of the tree, tears filling her eyes. “Yes. I’ll be there.”
THIRTY
Evan wiped off the sweat that had formed on her forehead after making the trek up the stairs to Jace and Andre’s loft. She hiked her purse up higher on her shoulder, gripping the strap as if it was the only thing holding her upright. On the long drive here, she’d gone over and over how she could have this conversation. But there was no way to make it any easier. She’d had Marcus meet her a few miles before she hit city limits to give her something she needed to pass along to Jace, but other than that, she had no plan.
The fact was Jace knew a secret that should’ve never been kept from him.
And he probably hated her. Deservedly so.
And now it was time to tell him the information she should’ve provided him with all those years ago.
Her hand shook as she raised it to the door, but she managed to knock and not run back down the stairs. A few seconds passed and she thought maybe they weren’t home, but then the door swung open. Andre stood there in track pants and a standard-issue Dallas PD T-shirt, his tired eyes lighting when he saw her standing on the other side.
She almost imploded with the need to throw her arms around his neck and bury herself in his comfort. But that wasn’t what she’d come here for. And she had no idea where she stood with Andre. She hadn’t betrayed him like she had Jace, but she had walked away from his love to go to Daniel.
“Bella,” Andre said, the word so soft, but landing heavily against her. His gaze traced over her face.
She automatically touched her cheek, knowing her face was probably puffy from crying. “Hi. Is Jace home? I— We all need to talk.”
Andre extended the arm that was holding the door, pushing it wide and giving her a view of Jace sitting in the living area behind him. “Come on in.”
Jace looked her way when she stepped inside, pain marching across his face at the mere sight of her. He turned to the news on TV, his voice coming out hollow. “Andre called you.”
She swallowed hard. “Yes.”
Jace sniffed.
Andre’s large hand cupped her elbow as he stepped up beside her. “Come on, bella. Sit. You two need to talk.”