Michael tried to relax his jaw before he pulverized his teeth. Yes, he knew exactly how long Wesley had been with Penelope. A year. Because every family occasion for that year had tortured him like a slow, festering scab. It wasn’t that he’d particularly missed Penelope, who’d dated him for two years before dumping him for Wesley, but he’d hated seeing her at every Briggston family event. Having her there with Wesley reminded him of what he’d almost done with Bex. If he’d spilled his guts to her before she announced her pregnancy, it might have been him showing up with Wesley’s ex at every wedding or holiday for the rest of their lives, and the guilt for that ate away at him. How could he have even entertained the possibility of doing that to his brother?
“She’s not with someone.” Unless you counted him, which only made him feel like a more terrible person. “Her daughter is five.”
The silence stretched for so long he wasn’t sure if Wesley was there, and drew back to check that the call was still in progress.
“Wes?” he prompted, half hoping Wesley would hang up. Then Michael’s conscience would be clear and Bex would never even have to know he’d shared her secret.
“Hang on.” Wesley sounded strained. “I’m processing this.”
“Take all the time you need.” Preferably, forever.
Through the connection, he could hear slow, deep breathing, as though Wesley were trying not to hyperventilate. Michael hoped he was thinking about the wonder of having a daughter he’d never known rather than what the discovery would do to his political career. Wesley’s star was rising, and he hoped to land in the prime minister’s seat after the next cycle of elections.
“Is she… mine?”
“I think so.” He rested his forehead against the wall. “She’s cute.”
“Whoa.” Wesley swore under his breath. “Bex had the baby.” He muttered something Michael couldn’t hear. “Are you telling me I’m a dad?”
“Maybe.” Bex had never confirmed for sure. “But you understand why you can’t just turn up here now? It’s their home.”
Wesley took another few shaky breaths. “Are you crazy? It’s going to take a while to get my head around this, but I need to meet her. My daughter.” He laughed, the sound staccato in the quiet. “How long have you known? Have you been spending time with them?”
If by “spending time with them” he meant kissing Bex at every opportunity. But it would be best if he didn’t admit that. At least, not yet. He should give Wesley the chance to come to terms with fatherhood first.
“I have. I’ve been trying to convince Bex to reach out to you, but she can be stubborn, and after what happened, you can’t blame her. Please say you won’t turn up here and make her regret opening up to me.”
“How am I supposed to stay away?” Wesley implored Michael to understand. “I don’t even know my daughter’s name.”
“It’s Isobel, but everyone calls her Izzy.” Thank God he could answer something easily. “She’s an incredible little girl.”
Wesley scoffed. “Of course she is. She’s mine.”
Michael’s back stiffened. “You don’t know that for sure.”
Although his protest felt fake even to himself. They all knew Izzy was Wesley’s.
“Come on. Bex isn’t the kind of girl to jump from one man to another.”
“I know,” he admitted. Bex was the best kind of woman, and he hoped like hell that she’d forgive him for giving in to Wesley’s demands. He’d never been able to stand up to his brother. He just had to put his faith in the fact he’d done the right thing for Izzy.
“Izzy.” Wesley tried out the name. “I still want to come. Now more than ever. I need to meet her.”
“Excuse me?” Michael hadn’t expected that reaction. When had Wesley ever been so eager to do the right thing? His brother wasn’t a bad guy, but he tended to think of himself first.
“I want to meet Isobel,” Wesley repeated, more firmly. “I’ve missed the first five years of her life, and I don’t know where we go from here, but I don’t want to miss any more of it.” Then he added something that made Michael’s heart plummet. “Besides, being a family man might be exactly what I need to appeal to the voters who aren’t confident placing their trust in a single man from the city.”
Voters? He was making this about politics?
Michael fumed. “They aren’t part of your dog and pony show, Wes.”
“I know, I know.” But his distracted tone said the cogs were already spinning, trying to figure out how he could twist this to his benefit. Even worse, all Michael could focus on was the comment Wesley had made about being a family man. Did he intend to win Bex back? Or had it just been a flyaway remark? If Wesley wanted to try to make a family, and hang his campaign on that status, did it mean Michael should back off? He knew the way things worked, and when it came to a contest between him and his brother, Michael never won.
This was likely to go one of two ways. Either Wesley would charm the pants off Bex and convince her to be a family with him, or he’d upset her so much that she never spoke to Michael again. Whichever way it went, he was screwed.
He strode to the fridge, withdrew a beer, and took a long drink from the bottle. “Look, Wes, she doesn’t know I’m talking to you. She’s going to be furious.”
“Yes, I realize that.” His brother sounded impatient, but that was Wesley, through and through. Once he got an idea into his head, he expected the pieces to fall into place.