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threatening to expose our sex life unless I paid her a million pounds.’
‘I... Why would she—?’
My smile was crooked...off. ‘She believed I would be too ashamed. Real men didn’t submit. Her
words.’
Graciela’s jaw tightened. ‘Now I definitely want to do harm. What did you do?’
‘I called her bluff.’
Fire lit in my mistress’s eyes. ‘That’s...ballsy.’
I basked in her quiet admiration, meeting her gaze, mine unwavering. ‘I’m not ashamed of who I
am. I may have taken a while to embrace that part of myself, but once I did, I was all in.Amall in.’
‘I understand that, but there’s a difference between moving on and having your business displayed
all over the streets. Especially a man in your position. That’s what she was counting on, right?’
‘Yes. Her business was doing okay, but she had far loftier aspirations. She craved prestige, and she was willing to do anything to achieve it. Unfortunately for her, she thought threatening to expose me to my family would be the way to go. She was wrong.’
My mention of family drew a watchful look. ‘So your family knows?’
I shrugged, unwilling to admit the undercurrent of tension between my mother and I meant that
while I’d protect her to my last breath, inhabiting the same room for a long period of time was a
strain. One I avoided until it became unavoidable. Like at Christmas. I pushed the looming visit from my mind and answered. ‘We haven’t had an open conversation about it, no.’
‘You think they’ll be okay with it?’ she asked, a touch apprehensive as she awaited my answer.
‘I am what I am and that’s not changing. They’ll have to be.’
‘Even your father?’
‘Stepfather,’ I gritted out. ‘My father is no longer in the picture. Hasn’t been for years.’
Questions blazed in her eyes, but she didn’t press me for answers.
Which was redundant because I confessed anyway. ‘He was a deplorable human being.’
Her eyes softened in sympathy. ‘I know a thing or two about deplorable human beings.’
‘Yeah?’ I encouraged.
She remained silent for several seconds and then she shrugged. ‘My parents. They were probably
as deplorable as your father.’
Despite the warmth in the cabin, icy fingers danced down my spine as memory pounded like a tide
against rocks, battering my need to keep them on a tight leash.
‘I really hope not.’ Just the thought of Graciela being subjected to what my sister and I had gone
through made my insides ice over with cold fury. ‘Did your father batter your mother every damned