Page 48 of London Inked Boys: The Complete Trilogy
I smile. “You’d be correct. Thank you.”
We remain in a companionable silence while he makes our drinks—from the aroma, he’s having the coffee—and then he hands my mug to me and drops beside me on the couch. He slings his foot over the top of his knee and twists to face me.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a son?”
He comes right out with it, not allowing me any chance to pad things up or give the well-rehearsed speech about how I’d been trying to keep my family and private life in two separate boxes.
“Why do you think, Kane?”
He stares at me, seemingly baffled. “I seriously have no fucking clue.”
Yes, I’d come up with a speech, but in the end, I discover only the truth wants to come out. I sigh and set down the mug of tea on the small table next to the couch.
“Because I thought you’d run a mile if you knew. I told myself this was going to be one night of fun, for me to feel young andsexy again. I didn’t know there would be … this.” I gesture in the air between us.
“That we’d have a connection, you mean?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“You know, I might be a few years younger than you, Holly, but I’ve been through some stuff in my life. It’s not always been easy, but it did make me grow up quicker. I’ve done all the crazy shit, and that’s not what I want now. You judged me before you even got to know me.”
I lower my chin, biting my lip in shame. “I’m sorry.”
“So what do we do now?” he asks.
“How do you mean?”
“Is this over between us before it even had the chance to get started? We could have been something good, Holly. I felt that, I know you did, too.”
I nod and, unexpectedly, my eyes fill with tears. “I don’t know what to do. I’d never have wanted to introduce you to Dylan in the way it happened—hell, I’d probably have rather waited months rather than days before I’d introduced you.”
“You didn’t exactly introduce us,” he points out.
“Yeah, but you know what I mean. And I don’t know what Mike is going to say about it all.”
Kane frowns. “What does it have to do with him?”
I match his expression, unsure what he means. “He’s Dylan’s father.”
“And that means he gets to choose who you date?”
“That’s not what I mean.”
His eyes narrows. “What do you mean, then, Holly?”
I’m floundering. “Just that it’s something I need to consider.”
“I understand you taking Dylan into consideration, but I really can’t see how who you date has anything to do with your ex.” His tone hardens again.
“I guess I’d care who Dylan was around while he’s at his dad’s.”
“So you vet all your ex’s girlfriends?”
I think back to the multitudes of young blondes he’s paraded around and give a cold laugh. “Not exactly. But it’s different. He only has women for one thing. They never get involved in his life.”
Kane’s eyebrows lift. “Well, I think you’re allowed to have someone, too. Don’t you?”
I feel suddenly shy. “Yes, I guess so.”
