Page 52 of Off Limits
“Why not?” Rex shrugged. “Sounds easy enough.”
“Because we need to talk about this, Rex. We’ve been best friends for years. We run a business together. This can’t just fester.”
Rex’s voice dropped to a low, biting tone. “What would you like to discuss? That you’ve been lying to me for weeks? That you’ve turned my sister against me? Or maybe the fact that you’ve been sleeping with Jane after I explicitly asked you not to?”
He gripped the armrest of the chair, grounding himself. “We can start wherever you’d like.”
He hated conversations like this—emotional and confrontational. He was used to moving alone and answering to no one. But this? It mattered. Rex had always been more than a friend. He was family. He didn’t want to lose that. But he also wasn’t going to apologize for loving Jane. Maybe he didn’t deserve her, but she’d chosen him. And he wasn’t letting her go.
Rex leaned on his forearms on the desk. “Didn’t I ask you not to hook up with Jane? You could have any woman on the planet, except Jane, and of course, now Anna. Was I not clear?”
He swallowed. “You were very clear.” He released the arm rest and combed his fingers through his hair. “What happened between Jane and me isn’t a hook up.”
“Brady, I’ve known you for over a decade now. You’ve never done anything but a hook up. You’ve never even dated a girl. Let alone wanted to be in any sort of relationship with one.”
“That’s honest.” He sighed. “I never believed I was worthy of love and, to be honest, I didn’t really know what it was. I grew up without a mother and had a drunk, abusive father.”
“I know your history and that’s why I have always understood why you weren’t seeking anything serious.” Rex huffed out a breath. “But we are talking about my sister here. She isn’t a test run for you.”
He shook his head. “I’d never pretend to even think she was.” He stood and paced in the small space between the chairs and the front of the desk. “Jane has always been a friend to me. Listened to me. Given me a pep talk when my spirits were down. She doesn’t see me like everyone else does—the lonely son of a drunk. Worthless.”
“I don’t see you that way.” Rex sat back in the chair.
“Sometimes you have. Isn’t that what you just said—you know my history so you understand me flipping through girls like the pages of a magazine?”
“That’s not fair. That isn’t what I said.” Rex spoke through his teeth.
“I’m not going to go round and round about my history or my not dating or the number of women I have been with. I know who I was. I know what I did. And I even know why I did it. But I’m not that guy anymore.”
Rex released an impatient snort.
“I apologize for not being straight with you from the beginning,” he said. He stopped pacing and faced Rex head-on. “It happened and I told myself it was a one-time thing—that it had to be. Because I didn’t want to screw up what we have.” He swallowed hard. “But I was drawn to her like a magnet and the way I felt around her. She’s the only place I feel like myself. Like I’m not broken. She feels like ... home.”
Rex crossed his arms over his chest. He played the overprotective brother so well.
“Jane wanted to be honest with you right away.” He squatted into the chair again and rested his elbows on his knees. “I asked her to give us a few weeks to make sure she really wanted this. I am sorry for that. I should have handled it like an adult and we should have had a conversation with you right away.”
“I don’t trust that you won’t break her heart, Brady.”
“If anyone’s heart is going to get broken, it will be mine.” He wrung his hands in front of him. “I’m so in love with her, Rex.”
Rex’s face softened. “Love? I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard that word from you in relation to a woman before. Now, you’ve said it more than once about Jane.”
“I’m positive I haven’t said that word in this context.”
“I don’t know.” Rex shook his head.
“What don’t you know?”
“I want you both to be happy. I really do, Brady. You have been like a brother to me. But this scares me. And if it doesn’t work out, what happens then?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t wanted to think about that possibility.” He squeezed his eyes closed for a few seconds. Though he knew his relationship with Jane could explode into a million pieces, he couldn’t bring himself to even imagine the aftermath of it.
Rex’s voice dropped. “What if your relationship with Jane ruins everything? What if I lose you both?”
His throat tightened. “I know that feeling well.” He rubbed his sweaty palms on the front of his pants. “And yeah, that would kill me.”
Rex’s jaw flexed. “How do I know you won’t crush her?”
