I did love him…
I never stopped.
Did I want to be his wife?
Everything was changing at a moment’s notice, and I was hanging on by a very thin thread that felt as if it was on the verge of snapping. I closed my eyes and must have fallen asleep at some point, waking up to Caleb unbuckling my seat belt.
“You’ve been exhausted these last few days.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, shaking away the daze. “It’s probably from all the sun.” I looked around. “Where are the kids?”
“They’re with Jennifer. She’s helping them pack.”
“Is she coming with us too?”
“No. It’s just our family.”
“Caleb—”
An SUV pulled into the estate, bringing our attention over to the vehicle.
“Are you expecting someone?”
“No,” he responded.
For a second, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I refused to believe what I was focused on, thinking my overly active imagination was stringing me along for some sort of ride for shits and giggles.
“Is that—”
For some reason, I glanced down at my phone which was on silent. I forgot to turn the sound back on this morning. It was then I noticed there were twelve missed calls from Sophie and fifteen text messages.
I opened one as we heard a car door open and then slam shut. There, clear across the screen on my cell phone in black, bold lettering.
She texted…
Jax knows.
Two words that had the power to end us before we even began.
Caleb followed my gaze on my phone, rasping, “Fuck,” when he read Sophie’s text message.
In less than a second, my worst nightmare played out in front of me like we were suddenly in a horror movie. With a wide, terrified expression, I locked eyes with the man we least expected.
As he viciously roared, “How long have you been lying to me?”
Chapter 27
Evie
Jax’s deadly stare went from my face to Caleb’s.
“You motherfucker!”
“Jax!” I shouted.
How was this happening?
It felt like I was in this alternate universe as he stomped over to Caleb. Thinking quick on my feet, I stood in front of him with my hands out in surrender, stopping him.
This wasn’t what I wanted.
It was far from it.
It was also the last thing we needed right now.
“It’s not what you think,” I instinctively coaxed.
“Not what I think? How about you tell me what I’m thinking, Evie?”
“I … I … I don’t know.”
He shoved what looked like a folder into Caleb’s hand.
“Explain this to me. Now!”
I jolted out of my skin while Caleb read the file. Abruptly he seethed, “Fuck!”
“What?!” I shouted, nervous and overwhelmed.
“The story is going to leak unless I pay them ten million dollars.”
“Story? What story?”
“I’m being extorted for your fucking lies!”
“Jax, I’ll pay it.”
“Fuck you, man! You think that’s what matters to me?! They’re labeling her as a homewrecker, you son of a bitch!”
“Whoa! Time out! Someone explain to me what the hell is going on?”
Jax nodded to Caleb. “Go ahead, Caleb. You tell her.”
His eyes went back and forth between us until he stated, “I swear I thought we were being careful.”
“Careful?” Jax intervened. “What part of fucking my sister on the deck of a boat is careful?”
I loudly gasped. “Oh my God!” I grabbed the papers from Caleb’s hands.
There in front of my eyes was the story FLX was going to run. It was the biggest gossip magazine in the world, and the headline read:
NFL Quarterback Jax Colton’s little sister is a homewrecker.
“Oh my God,” I repeated, hardly breathing.
There were photos of us from the last week, but mostly from last night on the deck of the boat. Despite my heart being in my throat, I continued reading.
Entrepreneur Evie Monroe knows what her clients need in and out of her multi-million-dollar office, playing “the nanny” to Jax Colton’s agent and longtime best friend Caleb Hawkins, who unexpectedly filed for a divorce earlier this year from his wife of eight years, Tessa Hawkins. The two share two children, but that didn’t stop homewrecker Miss Monroe from sinking her claws into him. This explains the surprising divorce for the happy couple. The question in everyone’s mind is how long have they been having an affair? Our sources tell us they’ve been sleeping around for years. Ladies, make sure to keep an eye on Miss Monroe if you hire her services. Who knows whose husband she will snatch next…
I couldn’t read anymore.
Peering up, I looked deep into my brother’s eyes. “This isn’t true, Jax.”
“What part isn’t true? The one where you slept with a married man? Or where you fucked my best friend?”
“Jax,” I breathed out, dangling on the brink of a panic attack.
It only got worse when Caleb decided to affirm, “I’m in love with your sister. I’ve been in love with her since the moment I saw her.”
My eyes snapped up at his statement. “Caleb! Stop it!”
“Stop what, Evie?” He snatched the folder out of my hand. “She didn’t break up my marriage, but she was the reason I filed for divorce.”