As soon as Rueben was out of earshot, Parker mumbled, “I sure as fuck hope you don’t ever see us around.”
He turned to face Jade and immediately noticed that she was glaring at him.
“Care to tell me just what the hell that was all about? You introduced me as someone youworkwith?”
“It’s better that way, Rosebud. I promise. Rueben is not a good person, and he is actually quite dangerous. The less he knows about you and my life, the better it is for everyone involved. I promise.”
“Well, still. You have to understand how odd and insulting that was for me.”
Parker flinched and hugged her close to him. He ran his hands up and down her back. “I know, Rosebud, I know. I’m sorry for that, but you gotta believe me. I will always do whatever I can to protect you, and where he is concerned, that means keeping him very far away from the truth.”
“The truth,” she repeated.
“The truth, yeah.”
“And the truth is, Parker, that you asked me to be official a couple of hours ago. Then the first person I am ever going to meet from your past, from your life before Half Moon Key, and you lie about who I am. You have to see how much of a red flag that is to me. Do you have a wife? Kids? Are you a murderer? A thief? What could be so bad about the past that you have to lie about having a girlfriend in your new town?”
Parker licked his lips before passing his hands over his mouth. His shoulders were bunched up with all of the stress he didn’t really want to acknowledge.
It was way too soon for Jade to know everything, but there was no way around it now. Either he told her the truth and let the chips fall as they may. Or he used his unparalleled skills for deception and lied to the woman he had feelings for.
He gulped and stepped away from her. “Can we talk about this in the car on the way back home?”
She considered his offer a moment. “Honestly? I’m so freaked out right now, I kinda wanna just go home right away.”
He nodded, completely understanding. He was a shifter who could hold his own in a fight with Rueben. He couldn’t even imagine how freaked out she must be, having come face to face with a being like Rueben Cast.
“You’re right, of course. Come on. Let’s go back home.” He reached out to take her hand in his, but at the very same moment, she tugged her purse over her shoulder.
If the gesture was to keep from letting him hold her hand, it worked wonders. Parker’s skin ached from the rejection of his touch. He couldn’t fault her. Really, he couldn’t. Even if it hurt him.
For the first quarter of the drive, Jade was quiet, clutching her purse that was settled on her knees, but after another few minutes, she blew out a breath. “You know I can basically hear you thinking, right? It’s like I can hear you trying to decide how much to tell me about Rueben and everything that came before me.”
“Well, a bit, yeah. How much of who I was before has any sort of bearing on me and my life now? Or even on us?”
“It matters if you can’t introduce me as your girlfriend the very same day that you ask me tobeyour girlfriend.”
“That’s fair,” he begrudgingly mumbled in accord.
“And I mean, that guy? He gave off all kinds of bad vibes. So as a woman who has a head on her shoulders, I need to ask myself some questions. Like, and please don’t be mad at me for this …” She took another deep breath. “But it makes me wonder just who in the fuck I’ve gotten into bed with. Literally.”
“Fuck,” he cursed. “You’re right again. I’m an asshole, Rosebud. Really. I never should’ve kept any of this from you.”
“So you’re gonna tell me what that was all about?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll tell you.” He opened his mouth to speak, but it was only a false start. He cleared his throat. “You remember I told you that I sold off my company, right? And that’s how I was able to retire?”
“Yes.”
“And I assume that you also remember saying that you couldn’t quite imagine a man like me retiring so early in life?”
She nodded her response.
“I didn’t actually want to sell the company or to retire. I wasn’t given a choice. I was pushed out.”
“Oh? How does one get pushed out of his own company?”
“That is a very good question, Rosebud. It’s a very long story, though.”