My heart starts beating faster.
There's no way he was going to tell me he loves me; it's too soon.
"I love it when you're obedient," Jack finally says and smiles again, but this time his smile is not as sincere as it was a minute ago.
As we walk to the elevator, holding hands, we don’t speak.
I'm still slightly bewildered from our conversation. This man is so unpredictable. One moment, he’s gentle and kind, and the next he closes himself away from me again.
But then, after a couple of minutes of silence, when we're almost out of the building, he says something that shocks me even more.
"Let's go to the souvenir store to buy a present for your daughter," he says easily.
I freeze in place.
"Yes, I know about your daughter, Crystal," he continues, while I stare at him with an open mouth. "After you left my office that day, I asked Chase to give me all the information he had about you."
I try to shake my hand loose, but he doesn't let me and simply squeezes it more.
"Don't shut me out, Crystal, please," he says and moves even closer. "I'm sorry I did what I did, but I don't want us to have secrets from each other."
I shake my head. "I can't believe it. You knew everything about me from the very beginning, while I still know nothing about you!"
"I knew nothing about you, Crystal." He places his hands on my face and presses my forehead to his. "I didn't know how funny, smart and brave you are, how much you care about what you do, and how strong you are."
He leans in to give me a kiss. At first, I don't want to respond, but my lips part involuntarily, and I let him kiss me.
What is he doing to me? I can't believe I'm falling so hard for a man I barely know. A week ago, he didn't even know I exist, but after only two days with him, I know I'm a goner.
"No more secrets," I whisper, breaking our kiss. "I want to know you too."
"Anything." He nods, still holding my face. "Anything you want to know, I'll tell you."
"Who's the mother of your son?" I ask right away.
He pulls away from me a little and takes a deep breath. He's obviously surprised and slightly shocked by this question. But if he knows about Sky, that means he knows about my ex-husband as well. So now I want to know what his story is.
"She's not in the picture and never was," he starts, looking into the distance behind me.
I can see it's hard for him to talk about it, and I almost regret asking.
"She didn't want a child," he continues, and his eyes finally move to mine again. "She wanted an abortion, but I paid her to give birth, and then she left."
This is obviously not the answer I expected to hear. Looking at him, I see the pain in his eyes.
There's something more, something deeper. It seems like I can feel his pain even if he denies it.
Was he in love with that woman? Where is she now?
But I’m not brave enough to ask more.
"I'm so sorry," I whisper, and this time, I'm the one who takes a step closer and wraps my arms around his neck. "Thank you for telling me."
We kiss again, but this time it's different. It's not about passion or desire; it's about feelings.
And my feelings for this man are so much deeper than just sex.
Chapter Thirteen