Page 46 of The Temptation
“Recently, I feel that we’ve crossed a line that will lead to both of us getting hurt. I think it would be best if we gave up this charade of pretending to be boyfriends. The whole idea was ridiculous to begin with. I’m a grown man. There’s no reason forme to lie to my parents about my dating habits. I will sit them down and tell them the truth. We’re just friends, and I have no plans to move back to Boston. I will date and find a partner in my own time. There’s no need for anyone to meddle in my love life.”
As I spoke, my phone lit up with an incoming call from my father. It was on silent to not disturb our conversation, and I ignored it. I could always return his call after my meeting with Simon.
My fake boyfriend huffed and glared at me. “I agree you should tell your parents the truth, but if you’re in the mood to be honest, I think you should begin with yourself. We already have the basis for a great relationship. Why are you running from it?”
“Out of respect for you and your brother.”
“Bullshit.”
I clenched my teeth and swallowed the desire to growl at him. Simon was skilled at driving me crazy. “It’s the truth, whether or not you like it.”
“It’s not. If you had respect for either of us, you’d give us a chance instead of throwing our happiness away for whatever nonsense mydeadbrother cooked up.”
My gaze fell from Simon to my desk. While my last moments with Sawyer replayed in my head for the millionth time, another call came in from my father. What the hell was so urgent?
“Simon, I want to continue as friends. I’m afraid that if we push what’s between us any further, we’re going to end up hating each other. That’s the last thing I want,” I murmured.
A long, heavy silence followed, and I lifted my eyes to Simon, who was watching me with what appeared to be pity. “I think you’re in danger of hating yourself for no good reason.” He leaned forward, resting his hands on his thighs, his piercing stare never wavering from me. “Please tell me what happened between you and my brother. I swear to you, I won’t be upset orblame you. Sawyer was my brother. I’m pretty sure I knew him better than most people. Plus, I think I have a right to know how he’s still fucking up my life from beyond the grave.”
The words I needed to say weighed heavy on my tongue. In a way, I agreed with Simon that he should know his brother’s thoughts and feelings, but I didn’t want to taint his memory of Sawyer. His older brother had loved him dearly and wanted only to protect him. Wasn’t it better to preserve the image Simon had in his head of Sawyer than to foul it with my last moments with my best friend?
I was still figuring out what to say when there was a brisk knock at the door a second before Marie pushed it open and crossed the room.
“I’m so sorry for the interruption, Mr. Sutton, but your father called. He said your mother has been taken to the hospital.”
“What?” I lurched around my desk, my heart clenching painfully in my chest.
“He mentioned something about a heart condition and asked that you call him as soon as possible.”
“Did he state which hospital Rebecca has been taken to?” Simon demanded as I was attempting to move past my shock.
“UC.”
Simon extended a hand to me. “Come. I’ll drive while you try calling your dad.”
I nodded, glad to hand over one task to Simon while I focused on finding out what the fuck was going on. After snatching my phone up, we followed Marie out of my office to where our coats were stashed in a nearby closet.
The drive to the hospital was a blur. I tried several times to get ahold of my father, but now he wasn’t answering. I could only assume he was meeting with a doctor.
“Has your mother had heart problems for long?” Simon inquired as we were waiting for a light to turn green. It was agray day, with heavy clouds hanging low in the sky, threatening to dump several inches of snow on a city that wasn’t very good about handling even a dusting of the stuff.
“No. I think she started seeing a cardiologist in the past year. Something about problems with the rhythm. I’m not sure. She always made it sound like it wasn’t anything serious.”
Simon’s right hand left the steering wheel and grabbed mine, squeezing it tight. “It still might be nothing. This could all be a precaution. That’s all.”
I stared at his hand holding mine. He was wearing my gloves. When I lifted my eyes, it was to find that the scarf I’d wrapped around him a week ago was draped about his neck. Such a small thing, and it caused my throat to tighten, making it hard to swallow.
“Simon, I’m sorry. This…”
His hand tightened on mine. “Stop. We’re friends first, right? The other stuff doesn’t matter right now. We can talk about that later. Finding out what’s going on with your mom is the important thing.”
Part of me hated myself for grasping the easy out he was handing me. We needed to talk. I needed to put some space between us, but nothing could have made me release his hand at that moment. My parents had always been healthy. I’d never given much thought to the idea that they were getting older, let alone that they could be nearing death. Sure, my father was going to retire soon, but my stupid brain didn’t equate retirement with the end of life.
Not to mention, my mother was the type to be continuously going. She always had a club or charity that she was running off to. Rebecca Sutton did not sit still if she didn’t have to. From what I understood from Archer, our mom was up in New York every other weekend to visit her grandchildren.
“I wonder if Dad has gotten ahold of Archer yet. Do you think I should call him?”
“It would be best if you waited until after you’ve talked to your dad. We don’t know anything yet. We don’t want to upset and scare him if this isn’t a serious matter.”
