Page 70 of Pure Seduction (Chamberlin Brothers 1)

“He’s mine, isn’t he?”

I sucked in a breath as a sense of pure joy and automatic protectiveness warred for supremacy. But there was no way I was about to deny him now. So I straightened my shoulders, looked him dead in the eye, and said for the first time out loud, “Yes. Jake is your son.”

Although it was clear Noah had suspected as much, the shock of hearing it confirmed made him stumble back as though someone had sucker-punched him.

“Shit, Laurel.” As his ass landed on the rail behind him, he placed a steadying hand beside him and ran the other through his hair. “What the hell?”

“I know.” My voice was faint, even to my own ears. So I cleared my throat and spoke a little louder. “This must feel like the Twilight Zone to you.”

“That’s putting it fucking mildly.”

I winced and looked down at my hands. “I’ve had this conversation with you so many times in my head, and now that you’re here—”

“You actually have to follow through.”

I whipped my head up and frowned. “No. It’s not like that. I was always going to tell you.”

“Yeah, really seems that way. He’s, what, eighteen?”

“Seventeen, turning eighteen this year.”

“Jesus.” Unable to sit still, Noah began to pace again as the disbelief began to blend with anger. Then it finally got the better of him. “Why? Why did you never tell me? Did you hate me that much?”

“No.” I shot to my feet and stepped toward him. “I did want to tell you. I was going to. But when I went to see Harry to ask him where you were, he…”

Noah’s eyes narrowed and he closed the final few feet between us. “He what?”

I swallowed and lifted my head. I wasn’t going to run from this anymore. Jake knew everything, and now it was time Noah did too.

“He wouldn’t tell me. He didn’t want your family, the town, anyone to know about Jake—not even you. But that wasn’t going to stop me. I was determined to find you no matter what, and he knew it. Unfortunately, there was one thing he knew that would keep me quiet.”

“What?”

My mom’s face came to mind. Her smile, her laughter, her voice as she told me I’d make a wonderful mother no matter what, because I was strong—she’d made sure of that. And it was that strength I called on now as I retold one of my most painful memories.

My eyes blurred as I blinked up at him. “Shortly after you left, my mom was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. It was devastating. She got so sick so fast, and we struggled trying to make ends meet while she was in and out of treatment. Harry had somehow heard, of course, and when he found out about Jake, he offered to pay for her care—with one condition.”

“Your silence.”

I wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed my lips together, knowing if I spoke now, I would lose any hope I had of keeping it together.

“Laurel…”

My name in that deep, resonant voice made me look away, unable to bear the sympathy. I didn’t deserve Noah’s understanding—if anything, I deserved his anger and resentment. But right now, the truly good part of him was shining through, and was a stark reminder of just how different he was to the father who’d taken so much from him.

“Laurel,” Noah said again, then he took my hand and drew me to him. “I’m so sorry about your mom. I didn’t know.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for. You weren’t here.”

“I wanted to be.” He cradled my face between his hands and swiped his thumbs over my damp cheeks. “You’ll never know how much. That morning of graduation, Harry called and told me that people around town had seen us at the hotel and were talking, and if I cared for you at all I would leave immediately and he would come and take you home, and make sure your mom knew nothing bad had happened between us. Call me naïve, but back then I still believed that part of my father was good, that he’d finally seen how much I loved you and he’d given up this stupid, old-fashioned way of thinking about who I had to marry and how I’d live my life… It wasn’t until I got home and saw my packed bags and the car waiting to take me to the airport that I realized how wrong I was.”

Noah took one of my curls between his fingers and stroked the soft strands.

“He had it all planned out from there. My schooling, my career, my future fucking wife. And he made it crystal clear that if I contacted you in any way he’d make your life a living hell. Seems like he did that anyway, goddamn bastard.”

I closed my eyes and finally let the tears slip free for all the years we’d lost, all the moments me, him, and Jake would never have, and for what? The selfish wants and desires of a monster. It wasn’t fair. None of this was.

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