Page 130 of Shots Fired

Something about that statement gives me hope, like he isn’t going to cut me out completely.

Feeling like now is the best opportunity I’ll get, I decide to approach with caution. “Are you ready to talk?”

Jack walks over to the couch and takes a seat, and I sit on the coffee table opposite him, forearms resting on my knees as I wait, yet again, for him to speak.

“I guess that’s why I’m here, although I still don’t know what to say. I’m just sick of this awkward atmosphere.”

“That you created,” I counter, immediately regretting that I did.

Jack goes to stand, but I hold up a hand.

“I’m sorry. Don’t go. I’m frustrated, is all. I’ve been waiting to clear the air, and you haven’t given me the chance.”

Thankfully, he sits back down, twisting his hands around.

“I hate seeing you like this.”

Jack’s brows pull together. “Like what?”

I circle my own face. “I’m used to the golden retriever Jack. The one who can’t stop talking and ripping the shit out of me. I can’t remember the last time I saw you smile.”

“When did you start sleeping with my sister?” He glosses over my previous comment, no sign of the old Jack reemerging.

But at least he’s talking, and at this point, I’ll take whatever he’ll give me to start an open dialogue. This isn’t just about me orhim or the team. This is about my wife and the way I can see how this whole thing is cutting her up.

“The night of her birthday party.”

I watch the way his jaw tics.

“That was over three months ago. You’ve been keeping all this a secret for that long?!” He huffs out a disbelieving breath. “No, wait. Of course you have. She’s over fourteen weeks pregnant.”

“Fourteen weeks and two days, and starting to show.” I’m so fucking proud, and I wear the smile to match. “She’s doing so well, taking everything in her stride with the vitamins and shots she needs. We had a blood test at eight weeks, and she got through it like a pro. I distracted her with a story about me being an idiot when I was younger, and the test was over before she knew it.”

Jack scrubs a hand over his mouth, his face softening. “I never even thought about her fear of needles.”

I nod once and recall the look of absolute dread when the phlebotomist visited that day. “I remembered you talking about Darcy’s fear of needles and figured she’d need some extra support through the pregnancy.”

Something like understanding creeps into his stoic expression, and my hope blooms a little brighter. I decide to keep talking since I can sense he’s way more receptive.

“Darcy getting pregnant when she did was never in our plan. That said …” I eye him cautiously. “I won’t lie to you again and tell you that I hadn’t thought about what it would be like to spend a life with her. The number of times I wanted to sit you down and unload my feelings?—”

“Then why didn’t you?” he asks. “I’d have had way more respect if you’d come to me at the start.”

Twisting my hands around anxiously, I know how important these next few minutes are to the future of our friendship and family.

“For the exact same reasons you waited four years to tell Kendra how you felt—fear of rejection. I’ve spent my entire adulthood jumping from one woman’s bed to the next with zero chance of catching feelings. It wasn’t because I was scared of the concept of a relationship, more that I didn’t want one. That was, until I did and with the one person who was off-limits, and that thoughtdidscare me shitless. With Darcy, all it took was a few minutes in her company, and I was enraptured—fucking ruined, to be honest. I got the opportunity to get to know her on a platonic level, and I’d never done that with a woman. Again, it was something I’d neverwantedwith any other woman.”

I pause and let him absorb my words. Jack remains still as he studies me carefully.

“Darcy made it pretty fucking clear she wanted to have fun with guys after Liam, and honestly, I got it—why she’d want to keep her heart at a safe distance from other pricks who could tear it apart again. But when she moved to New York and started going out and garnering male attention right in front of me, my remaining willpower dissolved entirely.”

Jack goes to speak, but my emotions are so high that I hold up another hand, needing to get everything out into the open after two years of hiding.

“No matter how many times I considered coming to you and explaining how I felt and what my intentions were with your sister, I couldn’t envision an outcome where you’d understand or take me seriously. And then when you found out Liam had cheated, it was like big-brother mode hit a whole new level.”

I puff out a defeated breath.

“I had you on one side, warning me to keep my distance when, in fact, I was the only guy who had honest intentionswith Darcy. Then, on the other side, I had the girl of my dreams telling me all she wanted was fun.” My voice shakes slightly on the final word. “Because that’s all I could possibly be good for, right? That was a reputation I’d built for myself, and it was one that nearly cost me everything.”