Page 33 of Not That Guy

Delia raked me with a frank gaze. “What do you think?” She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’m sorry. I just feel so bad for Weston.

He’s so upset about everything.” As she was about a foot shorter than me, I leaned over to hear her lowered voice.

“I’ve been with him since he joined the firm and relocated with him from Boston.

West likes to pretend nothing affects him and he’s above it all, but the truth is, he’s very sensitive.

That’s what makes him so good at his job.

He’s very attuned to people and their problems.”

“Thanks, Delia.”

Back at my office, several texts from Madden popped up. Damn, that was fast.

I have some information.

Your mother was incarcerated for nine years on drug and prostitution charges. She lived in Brooklyn after release.

The news, while not unexpected, hit me like a punch to my chest. I knew about the drugs but not the prostitution.

I’m working on some other angles to get more detailed information and find out what she did after she was released.

Great. More terrible news to come. With nothing on my schedule for the rest of the afternoon, there was only one place I needed to be.

**

The doorman waved me up without calling, perhaps thinking I was still staying with Weston.

I rang the bell and heard footsteps approach.

An unfamiliar pain wrapped around my heart at the sight of Weston standing there, shadows holding his bright eyes captive.

Normally so filled with light and life, Weston’s expressive face was all too somber for me.

“West, I—”

“ Shh . I had a feeling you’d come.” He moved in close to murmur in my ear. “Be prepared.” And pressed a quick kiss to my lips without giving me a chance to react.

“Prepared for what?”

“Not what. Whom.” And before he could say more, Bailey appeared behind him.

“Brenner. You dog. Come in here and plant me a wet one.”

West shrugged. “He called me, and I couldn’t say no.”

I allowed myself to be hugged, and then Bailey pushed me away. “I can’t believe this. The two of you? When? How? Are there pictures, videos?” He waggled his brows, and despite the ugliness of the day, both Weston and I burst out laughing.

“Bailey, don’t be gross.”

“Are you kidding? Two insanely gorgeous straight guys I’ve known for years, guys who swore they hated each other, are now hooking up, and you don’t expect me to have questions?

Not to mention, just thinking about the hate sex gives me a stiff one.

Jesus, it’s like a fantasy come to life.

” He eyed us. “So…which one made the first move? Come on. You can confess to me.”

West nudged me. “Maybe if he keeps talking, he’ll wind down and eventually shut up.”

“I heard that. So?” Bailey’s eyes gleamed. “Is it serious?”

I wanted to die of embarrassment, but West took my hand and shocked me for the umpteenth time that day.

“Can Bren sit? You ambushed him without giving him a chance to breathe.” Still holding my hand, which Bailey had zeroed in on with a grin, West took us into the living room, where we sat—Bailey in the club chair, West and me on the couch.

“Bailey read the blind item in Politiclout and called me.” To Bailey, he said, “ Politiclout called me last night, trying to ask me questions, and I cut them off. I thought it was about my father’s campaign, and I wasn’t going to talk to them. ”

“In a roundabout way it is.” Bailey informed me. “Your father runs on a very conservative platform. But he also stresses love for his family. By having a son involved in a sexual relationship with another man, it throws a bombshell into that scenario. What is he going to do?”

“I already know,” West responded with bitterness. “He cut me off. He’ll find some way to make it my fault and claim he’s simply protecting his family.”

Bailey turned to me. “You’re awfully quiet. What are you thinking? This affects you as well.” The jokester had vanished, and Bailey presented as the sharp-eyed lawyer we’d heard he was.

I hadn’t planned on revealing in front of Bailey what I’d learned about my birth mother, but Weston, again proving his innate sensitivity, squeezed my hand. “Brenner doesn’t have to say a thing. This is my fight.”

“Bullshit,” I snapped. “We’re together, right? How long do you think it’ll take them to figure out who you’re with and start digging into my background? I refuse to be a liability to you.”

Weston’s eyes smoldered with a dangerous light. “Liability? Is that what you think you are to me?”

My voice hitched. “I-I don’t know.”

“I think you do.” The intensity of his gaze left me reeling.

“Oookay. I’ll talk to you guys later. I’m definitely not needed here.” Bailey slipped out, and I heard the door lock click.

“I thought he’d never leave,” Weston murmured against my mouth, and I grinned.

“He’ll be back.”

Weston pressed a kiss to my lips, and I couldn’t stop trembling. “I’m sure. If only to get more of the story of us.”

“The story of us? What’s that?”

He cupped my face between the palms of his hands. “Stick with me, and we’ll find out together.”