Hot Player (Hot Billionaire Daddies #7) - Suzanne Hart Page 0,48
talk to. I don’t open up to people about these personal matters. I don’t like discussing it.
“If we’re going to discuss my family, then we definitely need more drinks,” I declare and hold my fingers up to get the bartender’s attention.
Kim is watching me closely. I wish I knew what she is thinking. What does she really think of me? I know she doesn’t look at me the way others do. Not even other women.
I order more drinks and now I have nowhere to go. Nothing to distract me. I have made the decision to spill everything, and that is exactly what I am going to do.
“Before I say anything, I just need to be clear about whatever happens…”
She interrupts me. “You don’t have to worry about my discretion, Kirk. I’m not going to go to the gossip columns with this.”
I don’t know why I trust her. The fact is that I don’t really know her. Blaire is our point of connection, but even my relationship with Blaire isn’t exactly top-notch. It definitely won’t be once she finds out about Kim and me.
If, at some point, Kim decides to reveal all about me and my history, I will just have to ride the storm. Right now, I want to trust her.
17
Kim
I sit there, listening to every word Kirk says. For the most part, I don’t have much to add. The story is a wild ride. At some points, I can’t even believe it. How could all this have happened to one family?
His parents and their love for each other seems genuine. His mother made some mistakes. She was drinking when she was driving late that night. The accident. His father was killed. His brother, Reed, was just a two-year-old toddler but survived. His mother didn’t even know she was pregnant with Kirk. Not until after they had buried his father. After she had already made the decision to give Reed away because she couldn’t live with the guilt of raising their son after she blamed herself for the accident.
I can feel my breath choking my throat as I watch him narrate. Kirk has been drinking, but he isn’t drunk. His words don’t slur; he doesn’t hesitate. Once he has made the decision to tell me everything, that is exactly what he does. It doesn’t sound like he is leaving any detail out of the picture.
I try to push the lump down my throat. When this story ends, how am I supposed to react? What does he want me to say? What is there to say?
I’m pretty sure Blaire doesn’t know about any of this. She would have told me about it if she knew. It’s pretty heavy stuff, and obviously, he doesn’t discuss it with everyone. Not even his past girlfriends?
Kirk finishes by describing to me what his relationship with his family is currently like. It sounds like he is developing a bond with his brother and especially his sister-in-law and niece. That makes my heart glad.
“And what about your mom?” I finally ask as he drains the rest of the whisky down his throat.
“What about her?”
“You don’t share any sort of relationship with her?”
Kirk shrugs as he looks away.
“I don’t disrespect her. I’m trying to be more understanding toward her. I was an angsty teenager…”
“And you had every right to be!” I comment.
He runs a hand through his thick hair.
“But I guess I’m just becoming more forgiving as the years go by. One day, she’s going to be gone, and when that day comes, I don’t want to regret the way I treated her when she was around.”
I can feel a physical ache in the center of my chest. I want to touch him, but I don’t want to do anything inappropriate at a moment like this. There is so much more to him than meets the eye.
I lean towards him and brush my fingers gently on his cheek.
“If you are able to forgive her, you will be a bigger man than anybody else I know,” I say.
“My brother is the bigger man. After everything that’s happened to him, he grew up in foster-care…he is still able to move on. Able to forgive our mother and have some normalcy in his life.”
“Maybe it’s her,” I say. “Ella? Maybe meeting her has made all the difference.” The words slip out of my mouth before I’ve had a chance to think. I stare at Kirk, feeling more embarrassed now than ever. “I mean, I don’t mean…I’m not trying to say…”