Page 111 of Enemies with Benefits
"Fucking…" I muttered, sitting in my chair and rubbing my face. "Of course, he knew and didn't say anything. Not like it wouldn't have been good to have a heads up."
Moira glanced at me sharply. “My brother might be on my shit list, but that doesn't mean you can start talking shit about him."
"I wasn't?—"
"My brother is a great many things, many of them annoying in ways you can only dream of, but he doesn't deserve having you shit on him when he's not here. If I know my brother, and I'm probably the only person who can make that claim with confidence, he did it to spare us. And as hard as it might be for you to believe, I think he did it to spare you most of all."
I couldn't have felt more bewildered. “Me?"
"Yes, you. My brother is an irritating ass who knows how to get on just about everyone's nerves if he really tried, do you know why?"
"Because he enjoys it."
"No, well, yes, but no, I meant, why is he able to do it?"
"Persistence and a natural gift."
"Jace."
The warning was clear, and I cleared my throat, going for the answer that was clear to me, though I wished it wasn't. "Because he's good at reading people. He knows what they need and want...and what they don't want or need. He just...keeps that a secret, wrapping it up in all the other bullshit that comes from his mouth all the goddamn time."
"He would be so delighted to hear someone other than his siblings or mom calling him on that," she said with a hint of a smile on her face. "But you should have learned by now that hecan use that ability for more than just causing trouble or driving people up the wall."
I knew she was thinking of the day I'd shown up in the hotel, in a state that couldn't be called remotely functioning. It hadn't been Kayden or Moira who had gotten through to me and found a way to lead me away and give me exactly what I needed, and she and I both knew it. In fact, I wondered what it would have been like if I’d gone through something like that when I’d been dating Moira. Would she have found a way to deal with it, or would they have had to call someone in to sedate me and let me rot until I got my head back on straight?
No, I guess she wouldn't have known what to do; otherwise, she would have done it that day. It had been Mason who figured out what needed to get me under control and who did what was necessary to calm me down. As embarrassed as I’d been that day, it hadn't been the strongest emotion. I hadn't said it aloud to anyone, but I’d felt...safe. I had a complete emotional breakdown, but it had been Mason, of all people, who had managed to make me feel safe, and hell, had even made sure I never once thought he was judging me for what had happened. The opposite, really, he'd treated me as if what had happened was completely normal and acceptable.
"That's what I thought," she said, turning her eyes back to Kayden. "So when I say my brother was thinking of you, I mean it. He'll drive you batshit, but he's not going to be cruel. Mean sometimes, but never cruel. He knew just like I do that this has been hard on you, and that you've been worried about what you're going to do and how you're going to do it. So if he kept things to himself, then he figured that...well, I don't know what he figured. His motivations and reasons aren't always known to me, but I would bet he had been thinking about how hard it was for you, why make it harder by making you feel like you had to hurry up and figure it out before you were ready?"
"I probably should have figured it out sooner," I muttered, having little else to say in the face of what was basically a truth I couldn't fight against, and we both knew it.
"What do you think?" she asked, her eyes looking past me, and I turned, flinching when I saw Micah standing there. I shot her a dirty look, which she ignored. Well, she pretended to ignore it. Her eyes might have stayed on her…ourson, but I saw her lips twitch. Shit, how had I forgotten how much of a little shit she could be sometimes? Sure, Mason was the reigning champ, but she wasn't exactly guiltless.
"About what?" Micah asked, calm as you please.
"Do you think someone should have told you who he was?" Moira asked softly, and I had to wonder if she was avoiding calling me his dad because she didn't think that way about me, or because she wanted to give him the chance to make up his mind as to what I was to him.
Micah shrugged, his eyes darting around, mostly between Kayden and me, unsure of himself. "I don't know. I was okay."
"Okay, when?"
"Before he...came around."
I swallowed hard. I knew he wasn't saying anything about what it was like now I was around, just addressing what it had been like before. "And how are things now?"
His eyes fell on Kayden, and he shrugged.
At that, I smiled a little. “I mean, other than with what's going on with Kayden?"
He stared at me for a moment. “Do you want to be my dad?"
Moira glanced at me, and I knew what she was telling me, which was unnecessary because it wasn't like I was planning on lying to Micah. I pushed myself up and crossed the room to where Micah stood. The boy looked so small, but there was no denying the strength he undoubtedly had. "I want to try to be.But if you don't want me to be your dad, I would like the chance to be in your life."
He looked up at me for another couple of moments before nodding. “Alright."
"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming," Moira said dryly.
I snorted. “I'd call that a standing ovation coming from him, actually."
