Page 74 of The Manny

I smiled at his surly expression. “You trust me every day. With your home. With Mia. You trust your employees. You’re not there every second, they could steal from you.”

“They wouldn’t dare,” he growled.

“Maybe they wouldn’t. My point is simply that you still trust people all the time, you just don’t realize you’re doing it.”

“Fine. But I can promise you I will never trust anyone like I did Kenny. My parents and Kenny taught me a very valuable lesson; watch your back. People don’t care about you.”

I frowned. “I’d never hurt you, Jack.”

“I’m not talking about you,” he said quietly.

I felt a warm rush at his somber tone. It was stupid to read too much into his comment, but I liked the idea I was somehow special. That he saw me differently than the rest of the world.

“If you were that close to Kenny, I’ll bet he regrets what happened. Turning on you must have been hard on him too.”

“Maybe. I don’t know and I don’t care. He’s dead to me.”

“I see.”

He glanced at me, his expression odd. “I don’t know why I brought any of this up. Just forget about it, okay?”

“I highly doubt I can do that.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Come on, Jack. You know why.” I leaned down and kissed him gently. He stiffened at first, but then relaxed into it. He tangled his fingers in my hair, deepening the kiss. My pulse sped up as the heat between us increased. Kissing Jack was exhilarating, and my entire body warmed and throbbed with need. What was it about him that got to me? I felt protective of him. Angry at Kenny and anyone who’d ever tried to hurt him.

When I finally lifted my head, my lips tingled and I felt breathless. I held his hungry gaze, my heart racing. “I respect you for overcoming all that. You’re an amazing man.”

His face tensed. “You always say that stuff to me, but there’s nothing amazing about me. Maybe Kenny and his brother made things worse for me, but the truth is, I knew it was wrong to rob that warehouse. I was no angel. I willingly broke the law, and then things went south for me. I’m far from amazing, Thomas.”

“You were eighteen. I shudder to think of all the stupid shit I did at that age. Technically, you were an adult, but emotionally you were a dumb kid. You wanted to protect your friend, and you fucked up. The part that makes you amazing is that you came back from that mistake. You didn’t get out of prison and go rob a bank. You didn’t sit around and feel sorry for yourself. You bought a legitimate business, and you turned your entire life around. How the hell would I not think you’re an amazing person?”

His cheeks flushed. “I stumbled into buying the business. It wasn’t like I had this great game plan. I got out of prison and the old owner of the auto shop, Harry Williams, was nice enough to give me a job. When he decided he wanted out of the business, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

“So? You still made a great decision. You bought a business instead of turning into your dad.”

He sighed. “I guess.”

“There’s no guessing about it. You could have easily just turned into a career criminal.”

“If Harry hadn’t been willing to carry the note on the business, who knows what would have happened to me? I didn’t have a pot to piss in at the time, and no bank was going to loan me a penny. Because of Harry, I was able to buy the business and turn my life around.”

I smiled. “So, what you’re saying is…. Harry trustedyou.”

He looked confused for a minute, and then he gave a grudging smile. “I suppose he did.”

“See, trust is a good thing.”

His smile faded. “And a bad thing.”

I shrugged. “It’s both. Misplaced trust is a bad thing.”

He sighed, tucking one arm behind his head. His expression was thoughtful as he stared at the ceiling. “All I know is,Ifind it hard to trust people.”

“And I tend to trust people way too easily.” I laid down again, resting my head on his broad shoulder. “We’re quite a pair, eh?”

“That we are.”

---