Page 15 of Enemies with Benefits (Finding the Right Brother #1)

Moira stared at me for a few heartbeats, a dry expression on her face. “Seriously? That's the...I don't know, message? Lesson? Comfort, you're going to take from this? Your high school nemesis didn't figure out his sister's secret, and that makes you feel better?"

I narrowed my eyes. “Right now, I don't think you get to be too picky about what does or doesn't make me feel better."

Her nostrils flared, and she looked away. “Well, now you know. If you want to ask any questions, now's the time, or you can sit and think, or...I don't know. I'm not here to tell you what to do about this information. That's on you to decide."

"How gracious of you," I grunted, pushing out of the chair. "Letting me have a choice eight years later ."

For anyone else, I might have said it was to her credit that she didn't flinch, either at my words or the venom in my voice.

But I was dealing with Moira Beckett here.

Even in high school, the Beckett twins were known for their toughness and daring.

The difference between them was how it showed itself to the world.

Mason was...well, obvious, but everything about him was obvious as far as most people were concerned.

Accepting dares and taking risks, nothing seemed to put him off if it let him have fun, especially if there was danger involved.

Moira was just...sturdy, unafraid to back down when there was something worth fighting over, and I'd yet to meet a single person or circumstance that truly made her back down.

So yeah, I wasn't all that impressed that a woman who had once stared down a mugger was willing to meet my eyes without hesitation right now.

"Leaving?" she asked.

"This office," I said, turning toward the door. "I'm going to talk to Micah."

"Jace," she began, alarm in her voice.

"Relax," I told her. "I don't plan on telling him I'm his father. But I want to talk to him."

She sighed. “Okay."

I let myself out of the office and closed the door behind me before I found myself saying something else, something one or both of us would end up regretting.

I knew she was well aware that I was furious with her, but she accepted it.

Her acceptance almost made the whole thing worse, like it somehow put her into a better light while I just looked like a raging asshole for being mad at her.

At the same time, at least she hadn't insisted on coming with me when I went down to speak to Micah, so her trust in my word was a small comfort.

Really small.

Once I descended the stairs and caught sight of Micah and Mason still at the table talking, I felt my determination to speak to the kid suddenly wither and die.

Just what was I supposed to say to him? I mean.

“Hey, guess what? I'm your dad, and didn't know it until about twenty minutes ago, was out, and not just because I’d told Moira I wouldn't. I was pretty sure you shouldn't start your first real conversation with someone like that, especially an eight-year-old.

Plus, the kid was doing well without me suddenly barging into his life and throwing things into disarray.

And wasn't that just the worst part of it all?

Moira's decision to keep me out of the loop in the beginning pretty much kept me out of the loop moving forward.

I didn't need to see or even speak to Micah to know he was happy, well taken care of, and loved.

The Beckett family had been well known for its tight bond and how well the family got along.

Sure, there had been fights and squabbles, but neither blood nor time spent had done a thing to alter how close the family was.

A lot of the kids came from different walks of life, and I had no doubt Moira's son had been welcomed with open arms despite not knowing who the father was.

So, where exactly did I have the right to come in and shake things up?

No, I just wanted to talk to the kid because.

..because why? Because he was my son, and some part of me ached to know him?

Sure, but could that part of me really be trusted to make decisions?

Wasn't it just the selfish part of me that wanted to reach out to someone who was family, but without all the curses that went with my family?

Someone who looked a lot like me, and had probably gotten some of my traits by an accident of genetics, but was completely unburdened by all the shit that lived in my head?

Yeah, it was better that I leave the kid alone and let him have the life he'd had for the past eight years.

I didn't need to let my selfish wants get in the way of his happiness.

I wouldn't do that to any kid, not even one that I had a sudden urge to know in every way I could. I turned to walk away.

"Hey," I froze at Mason's call, turning to find him staring at me from his spot at the table. Worse yet, Micah had twisted in his seat and was peering at me curiously. Mason gave a jerk of his head. “Why don't you come join us for a second?"

Of all the people to call me over like we were old friends, why did it have to be him, and why did it have to be at one of the moments in my life where I absolutely was not ready to be fucked with?

At the same time, what was I going to do, reignite our argument in front of Micah?

The kid had seen enough earlier, he certainly didn't need to see more.

Especially because in the state I was in, I was likely to go too far and lose my temper completely, and no one needed to see that.

Clearing my throat, I approached them, shoving my hands into my pockets. "What?"

Mason smirked. “Hey, Micah?—"

"What?" the kid asked, turning around.

"Give me a sec, alright?"

"Sure."

Mason stood up and walked over to me, turning so his back was to Micah. “This isn't when he finds out...right?"

"No," I said with a scowl. "And fuck you for thinking so."

"Just checking. People do weird shit when they get big news," he said with a shrug that was more casual than the flicker of.

..I honestly didn't know what, but it was a flicker of something in his eyes that was quickly batted out of sight.

"Just...talk to him. He's a smart kid, which makes him weird, and well, considering his family and his genetics, there's a pretty good chance you'll find it a good weird.

Just don't let him get under your skin, kid can say some off the wall shit. "

"Why are you even trying to help...help me ?" I asked in confusion and suspicion. Trusting someone like Mason, especially me, reminded me of the story of the scorpion and the frog. If I let my guard down for even a moment and trusted him, I would drown in the river.

"Because," his eyes flicked to Micah over his shoulder, "once upon a time, I would have given anything for my dad to pop back up out of nowhere and be in my life.

So...don't fuck it up, or him up for that matter.

Otherwise, you'll learn real fast that everything back in high school that I did to you really was child's play. "

He gave me a meaningful look before turning to look at Micah. “Keep my buddy here occupied while I go make sure things haven't exploded at the bar since I left his buddy alone, alright?"

Micah sighed. “You think he's cute, don't you?"

"Who? Him?" Mason asked, looking at me with such surprise and indignation that, despite my hatred of him, I couldn't help but feel offended. I mean, sure, I didn't want a guy to hit on me, especially Mason, but damn, I wasn't that bad a choice.

"No," Micah said with a roll of his eyes so disdainful that it could only have come from Moira. "His friend...Kayden."

"Oh, well, yeah ," Mason said with a snort that clearly said that should have been self-evident to anyone with a brain. "The guy's cute. But you know, not interested because narrow taste and all that."

"It's not narrow," I grumbled, feeling like my own sexuality was under attack.

"Mmm, sure," Mason said and then looked back at Micah. "Try not to terrorize him while I'm gone, alright? Well, not too much anyway."

"I don't terrorize," Micah told him with a scowl, and I felt like reality took a moment to head off at an odd angle. It was like looking in a mirror into the past, the scowl, all the way down to the annoyed tone, could have been me at that age if I’d dared to show that kind of emotion around adults. By his age, I’d learned the hard way that you couldn't trust an adult you did that to.

They scolded you for being rude or used their fist to show you how much they disliked it.

"Sure you don't," Mason said, tousling Micah's hair. "I'll be back."

The man gave me another serious, meaningful look, and I repressed the urge to flip him off as he left.

Sure, he was a dick for assuming I was going to do anything to upset or hurt a child.

On the other hand, Moira had been quite clear about his relationship with Micah.

I could remember just how protective Mason had been of his siblings when they were younger; he was probably even worse when it came to his nephew.

So, he was still a dick, but at least in this one case, I could forgive him.

It took me a moment to realize I’d been staring at the floor, lost in thought, rather than engaging with Micah.

I picked my head up and blinked when I found the boy staring at me intensely.

He might have my color eyes, but the way he used them to stare someone down and give them the feeling that he was reading their mind was all his mother.

..and some of his maternal grandmother, now that I thought about it.

I'd met Mason and Moira's mother a few times in the past. While she had been nice and patient, there was always an air about her that said she knew something I'd rather she didn't, even if she knew it, understood it, and held it without judgment in her mind.

"Uh, hi," I said, awkwardly sidling over to grab the back of the chair opposite Micah. "You, uh...mind if I take this?"