Bittersweet (Redemption #3) - Jessica Prince Page 0,40

it was because he could read everything I was thinking or feeling when he looked in them. I hadn’t realized until that very moment how much I’d missed that simple touch.

All of a sudden, it was a struggle to breathe. “Uh, y-yeah. I’m good. Fine.”

He was staring so hard I could have sworn he was looking directly inside of me as he asked, “You on break yet?”

I nodded, that fleeting touch still making it difficult to talk.

With his hand on my back, Jensen began guiding me through the jumble of tables and people toward the hallway at the back. A shiver bloomed across my skin at the press of his palm against me, spreading wide until goosebumps popped up along my skin and my breathing grew erratic.

I was careful not to look in the direction of the pool tables, knowing if I did I’d see the disapproval on both my uncle’s and brother’s faces. I couldn’t deal with that just then, not when I was already a tired, confused, tangled mess of emotions.

The door to the office creaked as it closed, the catch of the locking mechanism sounding as loud as a gunshot in the quiet room, alerting me to the glaring fact that Jensen and I were all alone in here.

I moved to the desk, forcing myself to put some space between us, even though my body missed the warm, strong heat of his hand at my back. Turning to face him where he stood just a few feet inside the office, I leaned back, resting my hips on the desk and holding onto the edge with both hands. “So what’s going on? What did you want to talk about?”

“At the risk of undoing any of the progress I think I’ve made lately, I’m going to admit something that probably won’t make you very happy.”

Panic gripped my chest like a vice. I’d become pretty damn good at dealing with disappointment and heartbreak over the years, but the kind of pain Jensen had caused was totally different. What he’d done in the past, it hadn’t just been disappointing to me. He’d damn near broken me, and I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to survive another blow.

I imagined the worst. I imagined him telling me he was leaving again, and that he needed me to try and explain to our son why he would no longer be around. The thought made me curl my fingers around the lip of the desk so hard my knuckles groaned and throbbed. It hurt. It physically hurt, and not just because it would break Brantley’s heart, but also because it would break mine all over again. I told myself I hated him a million times, but if I were being honest with myself, I didn’t. I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t really hate him. I’d once loved him too damn much. “Just say it,” I demanded, my voice a barely-there whisper. “You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”

His head jerked back in bewilderment. “What? No. God, Shane, no. I’m never leaving you or Brant again. I swear it.”

The relief was almost enough to take me to my knees. “Then what is it?” I croaked, my throat feeling like it was being squeezed.

“I had Laeth look into you. I had him do a little digging into your past, specifically, the years I was gone.”

It took a full minute for what he’d just said to properly penetrate. Once it did my first thought was why? That was, until it dawned on me why someone would go to such lengths for information.

Shooting up from the desk, I pointed an accusing finger in Jensen’s face as I clipped, “If you think you can dig up something on me that’ll make getting custody of Brantley easier, you’re sadly mistaken. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you take my boy from me. Over. My. Dead. Body, Jensen Rose!” I snapped each word while brutally stabbing my finger into his chest.

“It isn’t that,” he snapped, grabbing my wrist and flattening my palm against his chest. “Christ, Shane. Will you just let me fuckin’ finish? I’m not trying to take Brantley from you. I’d never do that. You’re an incredible mother.”

“Then why?” I demanded to know, pulling in vain to free my hand. He wasn’t letting go.

“Because I needed to know where the fuck the money went,” he barked, the words so outlandish and ridiculous I stopped struggling.

“What?”

“The account I set up for you and Brantley right before I