he’s happy. And I realized you never really forgave him for refusing to try having a relationship with you. Give me one piece of honesty, Jen. Did you marry me to get back at him?”
Her eyes widened. “No, definitely not. I love you.”
“But not enough. Not if you couldn’t let this shit go and just be happy with me and what we have.”
“Does he even know you got sterilized?” Dane asked her.
Kent stilled. “Sterilized?”
Dane tossed her a look of disbelief. “You never told him? Fucking hell.”
I stared at her in open-mouthed shock. This just kept getting worse and worse.
She stepped toward Kent. “I was young and stupid and did something I can’t take back. I didn’t tell you because I was worried that you’d leave me.”
Kent’s nostrils flared. “At what point were you going to tell me that our attempts to try for a baby would never amount to anything?”
“Kent—”
“I told you I was worried I might be infertile. I offered to be tested. You told me not to do it; said it wouldn’t matter to you, because you loved me anyway. You let me think the problem might be me.”
Oh my God, what a fucking bitch.
She reached out to touch him. “I didn’t want—”
“I can’t talk to you right now.” Kent backed away, his fists clenched, looking like he wanted nothing more than to stalk off. But then he stilled, as if remembering where he was. He turned to his brother. “Dane …”
“Go,” Dane said softly.
Kent didn’t need to be told twice.
Jen hurried after him, calling out, “Kent, wait!”
He didn’t wait or respond. He kept striding fast toward the hotel, and she kept on trailing after him.
I blew out a breath and turned to Dane. “Well, that was … heavy.”
He sighed. “Yeah.” He crossed to me and cupped the side of my neck. “Are you okay?”
“That was going to be my question.”
“I’m pissed, but fine. You?”
“Fine. Though my head is spinning.” I rested my hands on his chest. “I’m sorry.”
He frowned. “For what?”
“That you just found out two of your in-laws tried to fuck you over. I’m especially sorry that we couldn’t have found this out before the reception, or even sometime after it.” I bit my lip. “We can leave early, if you want.”
“Leave? Why would I want to leave?”
“Well you can’t be feeling good right now.”
“I’m more pissed than anything else. I’ve never liked Hope, so her betrayal means nothing. Jen … I considered her to be family. I thought she was good for Kent, even if they hadn’t been as tight as they once were. That she so easily risked losing him infuriates me.”
While I was glad that Dane didn’t seem hurt by what either of his sisters-in-law had done, it saddened me that his emotional defenses were so extreme that not even a betrayal of this magnitude pierced them. It was one thing to have thick skin. It was another thing to feel so very little in the face of such duplicity.
Maybe, due to his childhood, he was so used to people trying to hurt him that it didn’t have the same impact it would have on others. For him, it was the norm. Whatever the case … yeah, I was just sad for him.
I leaned into him. “Do you want to go after Kent?”
Dane shook his head. “He likes to be alone when he’s angry. Our father would seek us out and take out his rage on us when in a mood.”
“So Kent does the opposite. He isolates himself.”
“Yes.” Dane brushed my bangs out of my face. “We can leave the reception, if you want. But I don’t want to. Sure, we can let those bitches ruin it and have the last laugh. I’d rather carry on with our night and not give them the power to taint this for us. What about you?”
“I vote for the latter.”
He squeezed the side of my neck. “Good. Then let’s go back inside and enjoy the rest of our reception.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
We stumbled out of the hotel elevator later that night, sipping from each other’s mouths. The mix of alcohol and sexual need swimming through me had my whole system buzzing. I felt warm and tingly and tipsy.
Dane took me by the wrist and led me to our room. Chris and Miley had booked us the honeymoon suite, so it was no surprise to see fresh flowers, champagne on ice, rose petals on the bed, and a tiered-stand of chocolates and strawberries.