Page 68 of Best Kept Secret

"Except my woman," Anson pointed out.

"Really? You're goin' to show off aboutyourwoman, now?" Trevor groaned.

"I show off about herallthe time. It's a habit." Anson kissed the side of Nova's head.

"A disease," Nova teased. "Beau, sit down before you wear off the finish on the original hardwood floor."

I sprawled on an armchair, while I felt like my chest was caving in. "Why won't she see me, damn it?"

"You hurt her when you didn't trust her," Nova stated the obvious.

"She's talkin' toyou," I accused.

Nova raised both eyebrows in disbelief. "Ialways believed in her, and once I convinced her of that, she let me help her when she was released from Memorial Health."

Nova had managed to convince Mira to move into her apartment, which was vacant since she was now living with Anson. Her plan had been to rent it out or sell it, but it had been opportune that it had been able for Nova to offer Mira a fully-furnished apartment in downtown, so Mira could walk to work. Her old Toyota had been put out of its misery when Mira junked it for cash—but I think the only reason she let that miserable piece of shit go was because it was a reminder of how she'd almost died in it.

I dropped my face in my hands.

"We are really sorry, Beau." Katya sounded like she was in pain. My sister-in-law was a doctor, a good woman, but something about Mira had triggered her, just as it had my mother.

I raised my head and looked pointedly at her. "You know what? It feels damn good to blame someone, but the truth is, this ismyfuck up.Ibroke Mira. She doesn't even want to see Pari." I swallowed hard, my throat thick with the weight of those words.

"No, Beau, I did this," Mama mumbled wiping her tears off. "I—"

"Donna, Mira is traumatized in more ways than one. You didn't dothis," Nova said firmly. She turned to look at me. "She told me she doesn't deserve Pari."

"She's the only one who does," I said hoarsely.

"She's hoping that Pari will forget her," Nova continued sadly.

"I'm not going to let that happen," I growled.

My mother was remorseful. When I told her what had happened to Mira, she admitted she had transferred her anger at my father—for cheating on her and keeping Nova a secret—onto Mira for hiding Pari.

"I blamed her for keeping Pari from you, but I didn't understand why I did it. I was so angry at the world, Beau. I didn't see Mira. I didn'twantto see her."

Fat lot of good her regret did now, I thought sulkily.

"I spoke to the attending who took care of her in the ICU," Katya said. "He mentioned that Mira had agreed to continue to see Dr. Ryan past the seventy-two-hour mandatory counseling."

"Good." I ran a hand through my hair. "Just make sure all the bills come to me, yeah?"

Since Mira didn't have insurance—because I was the worst kind of jackass who hadn't bothered to ask and take care of it, only making sure Pari had health coverage—I had paid all her hospital bills and would keep covering them in the future. If Mira found out, she'd probably want to wring my neck. For now, we'd played it off as if the hospital had covered her ER visit through a state assistance program. The irony was that Pari, the little girl Mira had been fighting to protect, had healthcare, but Mira, her guardian, didn't.

"I have to confess that I'm worried about Mira," Nova admitted. "I…she's so different, shut off. She told me that everyone is better off without her, and she'ssaferby herself."

My stomach twisted at that. "Fuckin' hell. I did this."

"It's going to take a minute for her to heal," Trevor warned me.

"It's sad, really, that she thinks she's not good enough for Pari, for you." Katya was crying softly, Trevor had his arm around her.

I felt hollow. "She's the one who's too good for me," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.

Anson came to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "She needs time, Beau," he said, his voice deep and measured. "You've got to give her that. She's in a bad place, and you can't fix it overnight."

I clenched my fists, staring at the floor. "I love her. I never told her. I…didn't even tell anyone that we were sleepin' together."

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