Page 86 of Harmless Scandals

“That's what they say about sharks.”

“Great, now you think I'm like a shark. I really can't believe I thought this would work. Two men is two too many.”

“You don't think that.”

“I do. I can't deal with the stress, and I will not be judged on things I did before I turned eighteen. Everyone was going to do that for the rest of my life. That's why I changed my name.”

“So, why didn't you tell us?”

“Why didn't you ask?”

“That's a silly argument,” Adam said. “Tell me.”

Mick stepped into the room and saw her for the first time. Her face was splotchy from crying, her nose red, and she looked like crap.

And this had been his fault, dammit.

“Yeah, why don't you tell us?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don't believe you deserve an explanation.”

“Maybe not, but I think Adam does.”

Her shoulders slumped and he regretted his comment. He knew she was hurting, and a lot of it was his fault.

“Fine. Tell me, what were you doing when you were sixteen? What embarrassing thing did you do? Or, let's dial back a year or two. Teen years suck. Think about if every transgression you had made was played out on the national stage.”

That would not be good. He made a lot of mistakes in high school. Adam glanced at him and Mick saw the acknowledgement in his eyes.

“People don't know what you did then, except family. I had cameras on me always and, yes, I pushed the limits. Most teens do. But yours wasn't recorded for everyone to see. Mine was and if I wanted people to take me seriously, I couldn't go by my stage name.”

“That's not your real name?”

She shook her head. “Not sure. I think my mom changed it when she put me in show business, but I 've never been able to find the documentation. So that's why I did it.”

“Why didn't you tell us?” Adam asked quietly.

She studied Adam's face, then glanced at Mick.

“At first, it wasn't on purpose. It’s ingrained in me. I said I was in show business and that usually works for people. Some will be intrigued, but the connections aren't there. It would take world class digging to figure out that I was Kayleigh Rose.”

“But you continued on with the ruse. Why?” he asked. “Did you think that we would tell people?”

That thought had his heart hurting a little bit. He would never do anything to upset her or put her life in danger. It struck at his sense of protectiveness.

“It's because I didn't want you to know. I told you. I’m not Kayleigh Rose and haven't been for over a decade. I wanted you to take me for me.”

“Do you think that we would do that?”

“I didn’t know. When I’m sure I’ve moved on from the bullshit from my childhood, it pops up and smacks me. You both have become so important to me, I was worried about losing you. When you didn’t ask, I felt it would just work out. I know it was stupid.”

“Not stupid,” Adam insisted. “Just, maybe shortsighted, like we were. I know I’m talking for both of us when we say that you don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to. Just because this is out in the public now, that isn’t important.”

She looked at Mick. “Is that true?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I don’t want to lose you.”

“But you would like to know.” A statement and not a question.

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