I didn’t know for certain. I wanted to tell my stupid-ass insecurity to shut it. Parker liked me for me. That should be enough. But she’d been in love with a guy like Dean—lighter, sweeter. Not a big bruiser with a foul mouth. Maybe I was simply Mr. Good for Right Now, not Mr. Right.
God, I couldn’t believe I actually thought that. I sounded like a Cosmo article.
Dean’s goofy smile fell. “Hey, you know I didn’t mean that, right? It’s obvious that she’s really into you, Rhys.”
“I don’t want to have this conversation.” I glared at him. “When was it obvious?”
Damn it, I sounded needy as fuck.
Thankfully, my brother didn’t point that out. “At the bar. She couldn’t keep her eyes off you. I knew then you two would get together.”
Sighing, I sat back on the couch and pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s great. I like her. A lot. But …”
“She has scabies?”
I dropped my hand and shot him a look. “Do you even know what that means?”
“It’s a condition that—”
“Forget I asked. She doesn’t have scabies. She has a dead first love.”
His eyes glinted. “Let me guess—she killed him and now you fear for your life.”
It was perverse that I wanted to laugh. I glared instead. “Would you cut it out? No, Deanie, he died. Hit and run. She hasn’t dated anyone since.”
Dean went pale and flopped back on his seat. “Jesus. That’s … harsh. And a lot for you to live up to, huh?”
“No kidding.” I shook my head. “How do I compete with someone she’s obviously built into a perfect paragon of young love?”
“Well, I mean, good sex has to help.” He narrowed his eyes on me. “You rocked her world, right? Left her good and satisfied?”
“What do you take me for? I’m not a chump.” I kind of loved Parker using that word earlier and felt a smile forming at the thought of her. “My woman was definitely satisfied.”
Because she was my woman. At least for now. I wasn’t about to give her up to a ghost. If Parker eventually grew bored with me or wanted to move on, there was nothing I could do about it. But I was damn sure going to enjoy what I had with her right now.
“You left her limping, then?” Dean asked.
I threw a couch pillow at him.
Laughing, he batted it away. “Thought so.”
“Keep it up and I’m putting you in a headlock.” It was my greatest threat when we were younger, and Mom would freak out if I got too rough with Dean.
The thought of my mother was sobering. Parker had said I was making Dean a chump by keeping him in the dark. She was right, I’d had all but become a hovering, interfering parent to my brother. Shit, but I hated talking about this.
My stomach curdled as I searched for a good way to get it all out.
“I’ve been lying to you.” Okay, not the best way to start.
Dean frowned. “You didn’t rock Parker’s world? Because I have tips—”
This kid.
“Jesus.” I huffed out a laugh. I loved my brother something fierce. “No. Not that. Dean … shit. It’s about Dad and the way he left things.”
“You mean with the gym about to be repossessed by the bank?”
“What?” I blinked. “How …”
His smile was slanted and more than a bit annoyed. “Yeah, I don’t know if you truly understand this, but I’m not a total dumb-ass. And your method of hiding shit from me sucks balls, bro.”
Well, hell.
I sighed again. “There’s more to it than just that …” I told him the whole sordid tale, Mom’s medical bills, Dad’s stupid gambling mistakes, how he’d made a shit ton of bad investments with my earnings. I ended with Kyle Garret’s offer to buy the gym, and Fairchild’s attempts to push me into another bout.
He swallowed several times before speaking. “Why did you … fuck, I know why you kept it from me.” He glared as though he was mentally punching my face. “It’s insulting as fuck, you know, treating me as if I’m a kid.”
“I know.” I rubbed my aching chest. “I’m sorry. I just got in the habit of looking out for you and I didn’t want you to worry.”
His tight nod was his only answer.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” I added.
“No, you shouldn’t have. But you told me now, so I guess that’s something.” He blew out a long breath and shook his head as if to clear it. “You quit boxing because of Jake.”