As if reading my thoughts, she begged, “Please don’t marry her.” Placing her hand over my heart, she added, “Marry me instead.”
The power of her words brought me to my knees. I should have begged for her forgiveness. Instead, I took one last look at her, not wanting to remember her this way, but I was fully aware this moment would forever haunt me.
She would forever haunt me.
With the last ounce of strength I had, I broke her heart for the last time. Finally confessing…
“She’s pregnant with my baby.”
Chapter 1
Evie
Now: Eight and a half years later
“Oh my God!” Jax’s wife, Sophie, exclaimed, causing Caleb and me to jolt awake.
We immediately covered our naked bodies with the sheet as my hands flew to my hammering skull.
“My head is pounding,” I groaned, closing my eyes. “Please stop shouting, Sophie.”
“What are you guys doing in bed together?”
Caleb reached for his boxers. “Isn’t it obvious?”
She gasped. “How long has this been going on? Does Jax know?”
“No!” I called out. “And you’re not going to tell him either. This was just a drunken mistake.”
“A mistake?” Caleb bit, eyeing me up and down. “That’s not what you were screaming last night.”
I glared at him. “Listen, you arrogant asshole—”
“Yeah? Well, this arrogant asshole made you come five times, and I’m only counting on my cock.”
“Caleb!” I shrieked with wide eyes, shaking my head. “Stop talking and get dressed.”
“Holy shit,” Sophie breathed out, bringing my attention back to her.
“Please tell me this was just a drunken hookup and you guys haven’t been sneaking around behind Jax’s back since your divorce, Caleb?”
He didn’t pay her any mind, and I couldn’t understand why. This man spent years reminding me we couldn’t be together because of my brother. Now my sister-in-law just walked in on us naked, and he didn’t have a care in the world about it.
He simply stood and threw on his black slacks, causing his abs to constrict from the harsh movement. It only emphasized the deep cut of his Adonis belt and six-pack that was right above his happy trail. His muscular physique was doing all sorts of things to my core when it shouldn’t. Even with a hangover from hell, my body still responded to the way his back muscles flexed while his toned arms were prominently on display.
My thighs clenched the moment he realized I was gawking at him, but it was the much-needed reprieve to my defenses against him.
Damn you, tequila.
Never. Again.
“Is someone going to answer me, or am I going to have to assume?”
“Can I have some coffee before we get into this?”
“Evie!” Sophie chastised. “It’s the morning after our vow renewal.”
It was true. I ended up in bed with the best man.
How freaking cliché is that?
Jax and Sophie had been through so much. They deserved to be happy after months of pretending to be married. Although, they were actually married. Legally that is. My brother found her after he’d broke her heart years ago. He was coming off a scandal after his trade from Miami to Fort Worth. His management decided the best solution was for him to get married to take the heat off his fans thinking he was a traitor.
After months of proving himself to Sophie, everything came to a head between them. The truth was finally out. There was a huge misunderstanding about how they fell apart to begin with. However, she finally knew who I was. Their whole family did. Thankfully, we didn’t have to hide our father’s secret anymore.
His mother also knew the truth, and she filed for divorce the very next day. Neither one of us spoke to our father. I hadn’t for years, and I hadn’t spoken to my mother either. Jax was all I had, but now his new family was included in my life too.
Sophie was everything I ever wanted in a sister. I felt horrible about the situation we suddenly found ourselves in with her. I didn’t think she would walk in on us. Which was precisely the problem.
I didn’t think at all.
Once again, after years of us staying away from one another, I fell victim to Caleb’s bullshit charm, and it was as toxic as us waking up in this bed together.
“You do realize in a few hours this house is going to be filled with family and friends again for our luncheon, right? When are we supposed to have this conversation?”
I shrugged. “How about never?”
“What Evie is trying to say,” Caleb chimed in, “is that we have a lot to discuss before we can—”
“We have absolutely nothing to discuss. I drank too much tequila and made stupid decisions. It won’t happen ever again. End of conversation.”
He narrowed his enticing hazel eyes at me for a second before his gaze shifted to Sophie.
“Can you give us some privacy? Evie and I need to talk.”