Irrefutable (The Apprehensive Duet Book 2) (10 page)

Mom’s eyes cloud slightly as she takes a minute to collect herself. “His thoughts only turned to me when work wasn’t consuming him. Which wasn’t often. He didn’t even notice there was something wrong until I told him how unhappy I was. He was devastated when he realized what he had been doing. It was then your father vowed that his family would always come first. And we did.”

A fond smile forms on Mom’s lips, and it’s hard not to smile with her thinking about the amazing man my dad was. “We did,” I agree, taking Mom’s hand, enveloping it in mine.

Her smile drops and her eyes meet mine as she continues, “He didn’t want that to happen to you. He wanted you to have a family and enjoy it before you took over. He wanted to make sure when you took charge, you wouldn’t make the same mistakes he did. He was only trying to make things easier for you. But never once did he think you weren’t a man because you hadn’t settled down yet. He was very proud of you regardless of your dating life.”

I’ve never heard this story before. My parents always seemed so happy and in love, I’d just assumed it was always that way. “Why didn’t he just sit down and tell me about this?”

“He didn’t want you to think less of him. You looked at him as if he was your hero and it meant the world to him. He didn’t want to taint your view of him by you knowing that he was capable of letting us down. His words, not mine. I never felt let down by him. He worked his ass off to show me just how much I meant to him. Made me feel like the luckiest woman on the planet. It drove me nuts he was still so guilt-ridden after all these years.”

My heart breaks for my dad, knowing how guilty he felt for close to forty years. I wish he would’ve told me so I could’ve explained this only made me idolize him more. Working so hard to correct a mistake. Not only correct it, but make it a million times better. A real man stands by his family and does everything he needs to keep them together. My dad did that. Not just when he needed to, but every single day. Looking back, I can’t think of one memory with my dad that was bad. He was always so level-headed with me and never talked down to me. He built me up and made me the man I am today. He was the greatest father in the world.

“He loved Quinn,” my mother says, interrupting the thoughts about my dad. “He considered her part of this family. Lord knows she needs some people who truly care about her in this world. If he was still here, he’d tell you to let go of the anger you’re feeling toward her. This man is terrorizing her. She knows she was wrong and apologized. Not many people would do that. We have to help her. But not by you marrying her. I’m a little angry that you lied to us and let it get this far, but that’s not going to help, so let’s figure out a way to fix this mess and nail her father to the wall. Nobody tries to hurt my family.”

“It’s not that easy, Mom. She betrayed me.”

“Did she?” Mom asks with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

“Yes,” I protest. “She’s been lying to me for months. We had an arrangement. She had no reason to keep this from me. And now she wants to break everything off. I love her, Mom. She used and manipulated me.”

“Jordan,” my mom sighs. “Are you in love with Quinn or are you in love with the life you’re imagining for yourself with her?”

“I thought I was in love with her,” I answer. “But since you and Quinn have now both mentioned loving the vision more than the woman, I have no clue what the hell I feel.”

Mom gives my shoulder a bump with her own and says, “It’s easy to tell. When you close your eyes and picture life, do you see it with Quinn? I mean, do you clearly see her face, or do you just assume it’s Quinn because you’ve agreed to do this?”

I don’t answer because I don’t have one.

“You don’t have to figure everything out in one day, but cut the woman some slack. She lied, but only to protect you. She wasn’t doing anything malicious,” Mom says as she stands from the couch. “Now, this old lady needs to get back to bed. Meet me for lunch tomorrow and we’ll finish picking your brain and see if we can come up with some ideas to help Quinn.”

Leaning down, she kisses my forehead and leaves the room.

Damn my mother and her mind games.

Do I love Quinn, or do I just believe I do because I think it’s how I’m supposed to feel?

I came here to try and clear my mind, but I’m more fucking confused than ever.

JORDAN STORMED OUT over two hours ago, and I’m still sitting here waiting for him to walk back through the door. This isn’t how I saw tonight going. The anger I predicted, but him telling me he loves me threw me for a damn loop.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

Everything is completely FUBARed.

Guilt consumes me. I foolishly assumed coming clean with him would alleviate some of that guilt, but instead it tripled it. Hurting Jordan wasn’t my intention, but I also never imagined he’d fall in love with me.

His words echo around the apartment.

You’re just like your father, you know that?

Am I?

Did I not tell him because it benefited me not to? Did I manipulate the situation to better suit me?

My fingers itch to call the one person I know will help me make sense of everything. I can sit here all night running all this crap through my head, but I’ll most likely come out worse for the wear.

Grabbing my phone, I dial the number I haven’t used in years before I change my mind.

It doesn’t take long for Alex’s groggy voice to come over the line. “Hello?”

I try to keep my voice even and sure as I answer. “Hey, it’s me.”

He sounds surprised as he asks, “Quinn? Is everything okay?”

“I know it’s really late, but I was wondering if I could come over.” My voice cracks, and I want to cry. It seems that every time I see or talk to Alex lately, tears are a guarantee. He could tell me no. Why should he get up in the middle of the night to help me deal with my problems?

I hear the sheets rustling as he moves in bed. “Of course. Are you okay?”

“No, I told Jordan everything tonight and things didn’t go well at all. He left a few hours ago, pretty angry, and I could really use someone to talk to,” I admit, trying to keep the hitch out of my voice, but it doesn’t work. My voice cracks at the very end.

His concern is evident as he asks, “Are you sure you’re okay to drive? Do you want me to come to you?”

I’m a selfish bitch. I know I should let this man go so he can move on with his life, but even after all our time apart, he’s still the man I want by my side when things go awry. Maybe I am just like my dad.

“No, I’ve already woken you up in the middle of the night, I’ll come to you. Just text me the address.”

THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES later, I find myself walking into Alex’s apartment. I’m not sure why, but it feels like I’m invading a part of his life I don’t belong in. After everything we’ve been through, this is one place I haven’t tainted for him. I know Alex didn’t want me to marry Jordan, but that also doesn’t mean he wants me back in his life. He said his piece long before he came over the morning of the wedding. And he was only there as a favor to Ashley. Sure, he was there when I had my meltdown at the gym, but that was coincidence.

“I’m sorry for waking you up and dragging you out of bed, but I couldn’t think of anyone I could talk this through with,” I say as Alex closes the door behind me.

“It’s quite all right,” he assures me as he guides me into the kitchen. Two glasses sit on the counter. One with a dirty martini, I assume based on the olives, and the other a darker liquor, most likely Jack Daniels. “I figured you could use a drink since you don’t sound so good. What happened?”

A laugh bubbles up as I grab the glass I know is for me. “You just happened to have the ingredients for a dirty martini lying around?”

“Don’t get too excited. It’s just vodka, some olive juice and an olive. It’s not bar quality,” he jokes as he grabs his own glass and ushers us into the living room.

I glance around the room taking it all in as I grab a seat on the far end of a large, brown sectional sofa. “Where’s Tiffany?”

“Sleeping. But don’t worry, she sleeps like the dead,” he informs me as he takes a seat in the middle of the couch. “What happened tonight, Quinn?”

Leaning my head back on the couch, I stare at the ceiling and take a deep breath. “I’m not entirely sure, but I know whatever it was wasn’t good. He was so hurt. So mad.”

“Well, you knew he was going to be mad.”

“Yeah, I know,” I agree, lifting my head. “But I didn’t think he was going to tell me he was in love with me.”

“I could’ve told you that,” Alex chuckles. “Did you honestly not see it?”

“No. I didn’t,” I snap at him. “Why would I think that? I’ve never given him any reason to think this was anything more than the arrangement we agreed upon.”

“Quinn,” Alex says, setting his drink down on the glass table in front of us. “You’re a very easy person to love once you let someone in. You and Jordan had this bond that no one else knew about. You spent a lot of time together. You told each other your secrets and fears. You planned a life and a wedding together. How could you not think he might fall in love with you?”

“I’m so easy to love, huh? How’d loving me work out for you?” I bite out before I can think.

Fuck!

“I’m sorry, that was really a fucked up thing to say,” I apologize immediately. “I’m just having a hard time wrapping my brain around this. How’d this happen? I never gave him the impression this was anything more.”

“Sometimes things just progress from one thing to another. There’s no explanation for them. But I’m pretty sure if he knew the whole truth about your dad, things might have been less misconstrued.”

Jordan’s words start to taunt me again as Alex makes his point. “He told me I’m just like my father. That I manipulated and used him.”

Alex’s eyes drill holes into mine as he speaks, “You know that isn’t true.”

“Isn’t it though?” I scoff.

“No, it’s not,” Alex says firmly.

“I did exactly what he said I did.” The tears begin streaming down my face and again I feel the realization of being just like the one person I hate the most. “I didn’t tell him because I knew there was a chance he wouldn’t want to get involved. Reputation is everything in finance. With my dad, you never know what could happen. So instead of risking him backing out, I didn’t tell him. I manipulated the situation to benefit myself.”

Alex moves his seat and sits down right next me. He tips my chin up and wipes away some of the wetness on my cheek with his thumb. “Did you intentionally set out to hurt Jordan?”

“Of course not,” I shake my head. “But I did.”

Alex pulls my head into his chest and wraps his strong arms around me, cradling my body against his. “That’s why you aren’t anything like your father. You didn’t do anything specifically to hurt Jordan. He knew you were using him, just like he was using you. But you weren’t malicious. Your father sets out to destroy anyone in his way and doesn’t bat an eyelash. I’m sure Jordan was just angry and said something stupid. We all do it. Give him time to cool down and cut him some slack. He’s hurt. He’s in love with you and you just told him you can’t marry him. I can understand how he feels. Just give him some space.”