“I just met her.” He takes a sip of coffee. “She’s beautiful, Jeremy.”
“Heather?” I push the cup aside. “I’m not interested.”
“Linny.” He taps his fingers on the tabletop. “I just came from her office. She’s as torn up as you are.”
“What the fuck were you doing at her office?” I narrow my eyes.
“I was two blocks over at a meeting and thought I’d drop in to meet the marketing whiz launching our vanilla vodka.” He exhales harshly. “She was shaking when I walked into her office.”
“So you put two-and-two together?” I question. “Or did she come out and tell you that we’ve been seeing each other?”
“Her face gave everything away.” He shakes his head. “She looked like someone grabbed her heart and squeezed it until it shattered. When I told her that I had to leave to meet you, I could see the pain.”
All the air in my lungs feels like it escapes in an instant. I don’t want her in pain. I want to protect her.
“It’s none of my business, but I’m here if you want to talk about what happened,” he offers.
I called him down here because I need something from him. I don’t know if that’s advice or just an ear to listen to me.
Either way, I’ve got to start talking.
“I found out today that she eloped in Las Vegas at some point.” I pinch the bridge of my nose to ward off an impending headache. “It surprised the hell out of me.”
“That marriage is over?”
“It better be,” I shoot back. “I’d never fuck a woman who is attached to someone else. I’d never touch a woman with a husband.”
Rocco knows my history. He knows how I feel about cheating.
“She’s not the type to fuck around on someone,” I say the words easily, confidently. “I’d bet everything I own that the marriage was over as quickly as it happened.”
“I’ll pass on that bet because I think you’re right.” He laughs. “You’re the best judge of character I know. You can read people. If your gut is telling you that it’s over, it’s over.”
“I feel things for her that I’ve never felt before.” I take a sip of coffee to swallow past the lump in my throat. “I think I’m in love with this woman.”
Rocco blinks. “So what the fuck is the problem? Why aren’t you telling her this?”
“If hearing her secret shook me to the core, how the hell is she going to react when she hears mine?”
He glances at me. “If she loves you as much as you love her, she’ll see those secrets for what they are.”
I laugh. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve been hiding a part of your life that you should be damn proud of, Jeremy.” He picks up his coffee cup. “There’s no shame in what happened to you and your reaction to that.”
I worked through the shame years ago. Now, it’s guilt that I wrestle with.
“I’m proud to be your friend.” He leans back in his chair. “Linny will be proud of you too. Talk to her. Give her a chance to prove how much she cares about you.”
It’s a gamble, but I have to take it.
I don’t want Linny finding out about my past the way I found out about hers.
I need to tell her. She has to hear it from me.
Chapter 47
Linny