Page 84 of Pretend You Love Me

Brooklyn just stares at him for a moment. “What the hell, James? How long have you known?”

She steps closer to him. “How long?”

“A couple of years.”

“A couple of years,” she yells and moves closer. A Secret Service agent steps between them.

“Really?” She throws her hands in the air. “Do you really think I’m going to hurt him?”

James waves the agent away.

“I would have come with you,” Declan says.

“I know. I wanted to do this alone.” She’s still glaring at the President. Neither of them is flinching.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Zadie says.

She looks down at the ground again. “I thought you’d be upset. Like you weren’t enough. Looking for her felt like betraying all of you.” Her voice is so soft we can barely hear her.

Declan sighs and then steps forward and hugs her.

“We’d never think that,” Will says.

“There’s room in this family for more people,” Zadie says, rubbing her arm.

Brooklyn nods and steps back. She’s still glaring at the President.

“James, is there anything else you want to tell me?” she says.

“Why don’t we talk about this inside?” he says. It’s not really a question.

Brooklyn blinks a few times and then shrugs. “Fine.”

She starts to walk toward the door, and then she does something that surprises the hell out of everyone. She grabs my hand and leads me inside with them.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Brooklyn

If the Secret Service weren’t right here, I might consider murdering James. How could he keep this from me?

I’m holding Kip’s hand so tight I’m probably hurting him. I’m mad at him too, but I can’t explain it, I want him here. I need him beside me for this conversation.

“Why don’t we sit?” James says.

Kip and I sit down on the couch across from James.

“Well.” I’m shooting daggers with my eyes at him.

“I've had private investigators looking into all your backgrounds for years. Each one of you. We all came from bad home lives, Brooklyn. I wanted to make sure everyone was safe, so I’ve hired my own investigators. They were able to find traces of your mom over the years, but she kept moving before we could make contact with her. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

I slump a little on the sofa. Kip puts his hand on my leg and squeezes it gently. I notice James’ eyes flick to Kip’s hand and then back to my face. It’s none of his damn business, so he’d better look away.

“Well?”

“My investigators lost her trail a few years ago.”

“Did you know she had a daughter?” I say.