The Bad Boy's Secret Romance

by Jessie Gussman

  She’d known this for a while, but the situation today brought it home in a jarring and uncomfortable way.

  She was supposed to have her life together. And she did have her job and career skating on the fast track.

  But her personal life?

  It sounded awful, but that was different.

  She was pretty sure she was in love with Thad. And it didn’t matter to her who he was or what he did, because that wasn’t what she loved about him. It was his sense of humor, his compassion, his dependability, his competence, and the way he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.

  She was so close, so close, to saying who cares and asking Thad to be more than just a secret romance, a summer fling.

  Funny, because she didn’t even know how he felt. Not really. He’d never said anything. Yes, she knew he didn’t want to hide anymore, but beyond that, he hadn’t said. Maybe her refusal to go that far, precluded anything else he might say.

  He kissed her like a house on fire. And he seemed to have fun with her. And the way he looked at her made her toes curl.

  Her eyes were on the trail when Thad walked around the bend. Their gazes met. And she could tell just by looking at him that he had heard about Blade. Maybe there was a lightness in his step, or it was the way his eyes sparkled, or maybe he just looked like a man who had a burden lifted from him. But he held the leash as Beau sniffed along the edge of the trail, and he walked to her with the same confidence he always had.

  As soon as she saw him, she started toward him.

  “You heard?” She didn’t need to ask, but it felt like she needed to open with something.

  “Yes.” He stopped in front of her.

  She stopped as well, unsure what that meant. They’d shared a lot of passionate kisses and even more time snuggled and laughing together, but today, he stopped three feet from her and didn’t greet her with even a hug.

  Maybe she was overanalyzing it; she truly hoped he wasn’t angry at her.

  “Are you angry at me?”

  His brows buckled together. “No. Why? Should I be?”

  She hadn’t even realized she was worried about it until he said no. Her chest filled with cool relief. “I was wrong. But I was so sure I was right, and I was adamant about it. Annoyingly adamant. I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. I believed my sister.”

  He held his hand up, taking another step toward her. “Whoa. Stop right there. It’s okay. I promise. You didn’t know. And maybe, if we hadn’t talked earlier this week, I might not understand what I do right now. But it makes sense to me why you believed what she did. And it’s okay.”

  “But your brother spent three years in prison! The last six years have been a nightmare on earth for him, because my sister lied.”

  “It’s not your fault. It wasn’t you. I don’t know if I could ever forgive Mariam. I don’t know if Blade could ever forgive Mariam. I suppose we should be trying. And maybe forgiveness will come in time. You have nothing to do with that.”

  “I was ready to lynch him. With no evidence. I was behind Mariam and my dad one hundred percent.”

  “I like that you were loyal to your family. I admire that.”

  He seemed sincere. And she believed him. He’d never lied to her. And she had a hard time imagining him being untruthful. He was just too straight of a shooter.

  “Thank you.” She wanted to close the distance between them and touch him at least, put her arms around him. But he shifted and put a hand in his pocket, the other one still holding the leash. He watched Beau as he sniffed along the familiar clumps of grass.

  He rocked back on his heels, and she waited. Suddenly, the relief that she had felt was replaced by threads of anxiety.

  “Would you like to walk a little? Beau has been inside all day, and he’d like some exercise.”

  “Sure.”

  She turned, and they started walking down the trail together. Side by side. She thought he’d maybe take her hand, but he didn’t, keeping his hand in his pocket.

  She let her hand swing freely, glad she’d worn her sneakers. She couldn’t relax though, because there had to be something. They’d never walked before. They’d always sat on the rock and talked. Whatever he wanted, it must be easier for him to say it with movement?

  She could wait him out.

  They walked a mile before he spoke. “We had an agreement when we first met.”

  “Yes.”

  He seemed to expect her to say something, and she didn’t know what else to say.

  “We both kept that agreement.”

  That statement didn’t require an answer. She kept walking, one foot in front of the other, wondering if he were gathering his thoughts, or if he truly wanted her to just agree with him.

  She looked over. He looked down at the ground, studying it like the answers to all of life’s questions were down there somewhere.

  Her heart seemed to rattle in her chest. Her feet automatically went faster.

  “Part of the reason for that was we suspected who we were, and we knew the history between your sister and my brother. Am I right?”

  “Yes.”

  “But now the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak. And we don’t have that between us anymore.”

  He stopped and turned toward her. She stopped with him, thinking now she knew where he was going.

  Her mind raced, but she waited, wanting to make sure.

  His eyes, deep and true, looked into hers. “I don’t know what you think we have here. And I spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to say, because you’ve never said anything about how you feel. I’m taking a risk. But I think it’s worth it. And I guess it doesn’t really matter how you feel, because I wanted to let you know about me. And that’s not contingent on anything that you do or say.”

  Justice blinked and tried to close her mouth. She’d never seen anyone be quite that vulnerable. And she didn’t know what to say.

  “I like you. I think you know I do. I don’t see any reason to hide our relationship anymore, and that’s what I want. A relationship.” His eyes drilled into hers. “Not ‘he’s the guy that takes me when I need a date,’ or ‘he’s the guy that’s there when I need someone to hang out with.’ I’m serious about this thing, and when I say relationship, I’m talking exclusive. I’m talking I want everyone to know that you’re mine, and I’m your guy.”

  Her heart beat fast, like water about to fall over a waterfall, hard and unstoppable. She wanted to say yes with all her heart. But there was a part of her, a part that had not taken risks all of her life, that hesitated.

  On the raft, in the water, she trusted him, and everything had been okay, but that wasn’t in her personality. She didn’t just jump into things. And he was serious. Asking for everything that she’d never done. A serious relationship. Trusting a man. Not being competitors, being partners.

  He was asking for a huge step. She wanted it too, she was sure she did, but she wasn’t sure she was ready.

  “Can I have a week to think about it?” Her voice wasn’t nearly as strong and confident as she wanted it to be.

  Honestly, she thought he might be upset with her. He’d taken a risk, like he said. And she hadn’t reciprocated anything. He deserved her reciprocation. He deserved to hear everything that was in her heart. That she thought she’d fallen in love with him.

  Actually, it had gone beyond thought. She had definitely fallen in love with him. And it scared her.

  Maybe his lips tightened; she wasn’t sure. But there was no other reaction on his face.

  “You can have as much time as you need. I’ve lived almost three decades and never felt anything like this before. I doubt it’s going anywhere any time soon, and I doubt it’ll ever happen again, either. I guess the next move’s yours.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate the time. I...I...” She swallowed. She owed him words. Even if she couldn’t give him a commitment right now.

  “I realized a while ago that I’d fallen in love with you. I don’t
know what that means. This wasn’t part of my life plan. And, yes, you’re right. The situation with my sister and your brother has changed, but it’s not really resolved. I think it might be best, if we do decide to move forward, to still wait. I think our family is going to have had enough of a shock.”

  His serious, intense look had broken into a smile after her first line. “You fell in love with me?”

  She nodded, unable to say more.

  “I did a lot of pacing today, wondering if I could get the nerve to tell you what I just did. I guess that was a risk worth taking.” His mouth curved up. “That was a sweet payoff.”

  “Thank you. I wouldn’t have said anything if you hadn’t.”

  He moved closer. His hand slid around her neck, under her hair. “I guess this is where I tell you that I love you too. I have for a while.”

  She couldn’t begin to say what his words did her. She hadn’t thought she’d need to hear them. But they thrilled her soul like nothing else ever had.

  Thankfully, the trail was deserted. It usually was after dark when they met, and it was almost to that point. She figured it was okay for her to move into his arms, so she stepped forward.

  Like she hoped, his arms came around her. She slid her hands up and wrapped her own around his neck. He lowered his head like she’d been hoping he would do, and it was a long time before they walked back to the rock.

  Chapter 16

  Thad walked to the counter in the garage, grabbed his lunch box, and went to the stool that he typically sat at to eat.

  He’d been disappointed, yes, when Justice hadn’t wanted to make their relationship public.

  But he could understand. Most of the world would look at him and say he was moving up while she was moving down.

  Not to mention his family really didn’t have a problem with her anymore. Sure, there might be some hard feelings, but they’d accept her. He was sure of it.

  Her family, on the other hand, even though they had the evidence in black and white, might never accept him. But still, the biggest thing for her family was the idea that by being with him, she was moving down.

  There was nothing he could do about it. He was what he was. A decent mechanic, and a pretty good welder.

  Although since the shop hadn’t gotten that contract, the welding jobs were slim.

  Foster came over and grabbed his lunch. “So, Liberty, what’s your plan with Blade, after your dad showed up yesterday practically groveling, and Blade forgave him? Blade’s been pretty tight-lipped, but I figured you’d tell us.”

  Thad listened with interest. He hadn’t seen Justice last night, since she had to go to Florida for her job. And she wasn’t due to come back until tomorrow.

  She’d mentioned her job, but they still weren’t really talking too much about their real lives. They might talk about their paths now and talk about their future a little, maybe, although since she told him she loved him, they’d done more kissing than anything. They definitely hadn’t talked about their relationship.

  Liberty, who was light where Justice was dark, didn’t say anything. She was sweet and quiet anyway, and she and Justice were almost opposites in every way.

  Still, Thad liked Liberty. Blade deserved a girl as good as she was. Definitely Liberty made Blade smile, and the bitterness and anger that had lain on him like a lead blanket since Mariam had accused him of molesting her had lifted.

  It didn’t matter what kind of person Liberty was; if she made his brother smile like that, Thad was going to love her.

  And he was in love with her sister. That thought made him smile.

  Liberty didn’t say anything. But she blushed, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink, while she held up her ring finger where a pink diamond glittered.

  “Whoa. That was fast.” Foster laughed. “He just got permission yesterday when your dad was in here. It didn’t take him long at all.”

  “No.” Liberty beamed. “He’d already bought the ring apparently. But he really wanted Dad’s permission.”

  Blade walked over, but he didn’t stay on their side of the counter, instead walking around. He glanced at his brothers. “You guys better not be flirting with my fiancée.” He grinned before he put his arms around her and kissed her.

  “Okay, that’s enough of that.” Foster groaned. “The rest of us have to eat our lunches. Liberty’s cute, but it’s kinda gross to think about you kissing anyone, so you can spare us.”

  Blade lifted his head. “You might as well get used to it.” He smirked. “Just like you might as well get used to having your stepmother around again. I heard she’s moving back in. Like next week.”

  Foster’s face lost its smirky smile, and it hardened and darkened before he looked at his lunch box. “I don’t give a flip what she does.”

  “That’s probably right.” Blade kept his arm around Liberty and reached for one of the sandwiches she already had spread out on the counter. “It’s Holland that you care about. And from what I understand, she’s divorced from that loser she married and moving in too. Her and her two kids.”

  Foster apparently hadn’t about that, because his head snapped up at the mention of her name. Or maybe he didn’t realize she had children? Or maybe he was thinking about something else. Whatever. When Blade mentioned her kids, Foster looked away.

  Which, of course, made that especially curious.

  There were a lot of things Thad teased his brother about. Pretty much nothing was off-limits. But he didn’t think he could tease him about Holland.

  Foster and Holland had been pretty good friends from the time Holland’s mother, Judy, moved in with their dad. They were the same age, and despite the fact that they didn’t hang out at school together—they were hardly in the same social group—they’d gotten along really well at home.

  Until something happened their senior year. Thad didn’t know what that was. And it wasn’t something he talked to Foster about. There were just certain places even a brother couldn’t go. For Foster, Holland was one of those places.

  But he could be happy for Blade and Libby. “When’s the big day?”

  “I’m trying to talk her into eloping. Like tomorrow.”

  Libby laughed. “It’s me that’s trying to talk him into eloping. He wants to have a big wedding.”

  “Not necessarily a big wedding. I just want everybody to know that I’ve got my girl.”

  “Ha.” Foster twisted the lid off his water. “It’s more like she’s got you. You’re ridiculous. All she has to do is blink her eyes at you and you come running.”

  “That’s not true,” Liberty said. “But it’s okay if it was.” She grinned up at Blade. He grinned right back down at her before his head lowered.

  Thad was happy for them. No one deserved happiness like Blade did, after everything he’d been through.

  But it was still a bit hard to watch. Because Justice hadn’t wanted that with him. He was okay to be a secret with. But she didn’t want to let the world know that he was her guy.

  That definitely hurt his ego and his pride. But he understood, for the most part. And he tried to focus on the fact she’d said she loved him. Because to focus on the other was to focus on the ache in his heart.

  Liberty’s phone dinged. It was a minute or two before Blade picked it up and looked at it. “Hey, that’s an email from the business account.”

  “Let me pull it up on the computer. It’ll be easier to see.” Liberty grabbed the mouse and clicked several times on the desktop. “Here it is. I think that’s the trucking company that we were hoping to get the contract through.”

  Blade was looking over her shoulder. “Yeah, that’s it.” He was quiet for a couple of minutes as his eyes seemed to skim over the email.

  “What’s up?” Foster asked.

  Maybe Foster was hoping, as Thad was, that they changed their mind about awarding the contract to the other shop. That would be too good to be true.

  “It’s a group email. An announcement of some kind. Looks l
ike they’re talking about their expansion, and the shop they’re building in Florida, and the fleet of trucks they’re buying.”

  Thad paused with his water bottle halfway to his mouth. “That’s right. They’re building a shop in Florida, aren’t they?” He said it kind of half to himself. He knew Justice worked in business somewhere. He kinda had the idea that she worked at a bank; hadn’t she mentioned that once? But he’d stuck to their agreement. He hadn’t even looked her up. Online or anywhere.

  But he’d seen her several times in and out of Barry’s office, including the time he gave her the note. She’d been at the open house. And now she was in Florida.

  Did she work for Barry’s trucking company?

  That could hardly be so. Because she didn’t work in Richmond. Did she?

  “You gonna read it to us?” he prompted Blade.

  It was Liberty’s voice that answered him. “The beginning is just some news about their company. Then further down, there’s a section here about my sister Justice.”

  She glanced at Blade. Their eyes met. Thad could see the words flowing between them without anything being said. It was the kind of communication he wanted to have with Justice. Being closer to each other than they were to anyone else in the world, able to say things without words.

  He wanted that to be true.

  “It says here that she’s arranged financing for their company to expand and purchase their new trucks. There’s even a picture of her in Barry’s office.” Liberty’s smile was proud. “I knew she was working on a big project. But she didn’t really talk about it in specifics. I’m so glad this all worked out for her.”

  Blade shifted behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Keep reading.”

  Liberty looked back at the computer screen and began to read aloud. “Ms. Hopkins not only helped secure the money for a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art garage that we’re erecting in Miami, Florida, but she also brought an all-female repair and welding shop to our attention and spent many long hours fighting for those talented ladies to receive the welding contract that we were offering for our shop in Richmond...” Liberty’s voice trailed off.