Perfect Fit (Serendipity's Finest) - By Carly Phillips Page 0,92

at least he’d know he’d never led her on.

“You two look awfully tense,” Erin said, suddenly beside them. She wrapped an arm around each brother’s shoulder. “Need me to referee?”

Mike forced himself to exhale and release the tension he was holding—or at least attempt to. It was hard enough to talk to Sam. He wasn’t ready to get into it again with his sister.

“We’re just catching up. Nothing serious. We’re finished now.”

“Sure, I miss all the good stuff,” she said, sounding like she did when they were younger.

Mike managed a laugh. He reached into his pocket for cash, tossed money on the bar for his tab, and rose to his feet. “I have to go take care of a few things,” he told his siblings.

He needed to leave here before Cara showed up. She was too in tune to him and would read things in his expression he wasn’t ready for her to see.

Sam eyed him with concern. “Don’t go off half-cocked and do something stupid.”

Mike shook his head. “I’m just going to wrap up a few things,” he assured him.

Sam muttered a curse but let him go.

Mike climbed into his truck and headed to a Holiday Inn just over the border in a neighboring town. He’d put out some feelers and discovered Rex was staying there.

For the life of him, Mike didn’t know why the man was hanging around and decided he needed a nudge to point him in the direction he needed to go. Nervous but refusing to let it show, Mike walked up the stairs to the third floor, needing to cloak himself in his righteous anger before facing the man.

He knocked twice and waited.

Finally, the door swung open and Mike found himself facing Rex. “Got a minute?” Mike asked by way of hello.

“Come on in.” Rex waved a hand.

Mike passed by and walked into the room. Rex, he noticed, was living out of a suitcase, his clothes strewn all over. The one thing that was in order was the makeshift bar the older man had set up on the counter.

“Whiskey?” Rex asked.

“Why not,” Mike said.

Rex poured them both a glass and handed one to Mike. “To us. Father and son.” Rex raised his drink.

Disgust rose in Mike’s throat. “What world do you live in? There is no us. No father and son. And let’s be honest, you don’t want that anyway.” Mike paced the small hotel room, feeling claustrophobic being enclosed with Rex. “You didn’t want a son when you had the chance. You didn’t want me in the almost thirty years that passed since.”

Rex watched and listened in silence.

And when Rex remained quiet, Mike continued. “What I couldn’t figure out, at least at first, was what you wanted. I mean, yeah, you contacted Ella on Facebook, but that was just a rush, right? To see if you could still get her to jump at your charm?”

Rex folded his arms across his chest. “Go on. I’m really enjoying your attempt at analyzing your old man,” he said with a smirk on his face and a sneer in his tone.

“Then I showed up. That must’ve played into your hand, getting your son to come looking for you, at least until you realized I was digging into the past.”

Rex shook his head. “What makes you think I had any kind of agenda?”

“Simple. You’re a narcissist, Rex. It’s all about you. Ella responded to you, I came to you, and you showed up back in Serendipity—not because Simon had cancer, but because you expected to be welcomed with open arms. And when you weren’t? Instead of leaving like a man, you set out to cause as much trouble for Simon as you could.”

“He deserved it. He drove me out of my own hometown—”

“Bailed you out, you stupid bastard,” Mike reminded him. “And he took a risk doing it. Hell, he married your woman, he raised your son—he took on all of the burden and responsibility you couldn’t face. And how do you repay him after all this time? You threaten to expose him and ruin his reputation in his hometown.”

Rex’s once-amiable expression changed to a nasty, evil frown. “He turned you against me.”

As Mike had thought, it was all about Rex. “You did that all on your own. I’m here to make you a deal, just like Simon did all those years ago. Leave town and don’t come back.”

Rex took a step forward. “Or what?”

Mike had this covered. “Or you’ll find that no place and nobody in town wants