Dirty Secrets

A Whole Life

LEO

"Leo, c'mere. I wanted to talk to you a minute."

Jessica's sister gestured with her head, indicating I should join her near the rooftop terrace railing overlooking the beach. She leaned with her back to the view, and I stood next to her, gazing at Jess and Catalina, who sat next to each other on the other side of the terrace.

Jess' face was animated and radiant, and I was glad she was relaxing after working so hard this week.

"Drink?" I asked, holding up a pitcher of mojitos. My heart hammered a little, thinking of how Nicole's husband was a cop. They'd all eventually know about me. Hell, her husband might even be asked to arrest me at some point.

Nicole nodded, and I filled their glasses. I set the pitcher down on a nearby table. "What's up?" I asked evenly.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm aware of everything that went on back when you and your dad were here years ago."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Everything?"

"Yeah. Everything. How it all went down. That you and Jessica had a connection, that you promised to return, and how when my mom found out Jessica thought she was pregnant, she lost her shit. Then, because my mom was so upset about your dad being...well, less than honorable, she forbade you from ever coming down here. That you knew everything that was going on but never told Jessica."

I swallowed. Yep. That was everything.

"So, my question for you is, does Jessica know?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I haven't talked about it with her."

Nicole stared. God, her eyes were intense. Pretty, but not as pretty as Jessica's. "What do you think she'll say if she finds out that you knew about our parents' relationship back then?"

I pushed out a breath. "What's the difference? Regardless, I made a huge mistake by going along with them. By doing what my father wanted me to do, which was go into the Marines. I was eighteen, and I should have followed my heart. I should have fought for Jessica. That's what she should be mad about."

Nicole sighed and shook her head. "I don't think Mom would have gotten so pissed that you and Jessica were together had your dad...not been your dad—someone she'd been in love with who broke her heart more than one time. And then you guys were kids. Having sex and almost getting pregnant...?"

I grimaced. "I know. I'm not saying we were smart about what we did, but I did love her and didn't want to hurt her. That's why I didn't call. I didn't want to be the one to tell Jessica I couldn't see her. I didn't want the confrontation, didn't want to...well, I just didn't have the balls to be a man. Especially not since I loved her and thought what our parents decided was wrong."

"To throw our mom and your dad's own issues on you..." Nicole smiled sadly, "in hindsight, it all seems stupid, doesn't it?"

It sure did.

Nicole chewed on the inside of her lip. "Here's the thing. Jessica's been the baby of our family her entire life. Our mom coddled her, which has benefitted her in some ways, but not in others. Jessica's always felt like everyone has left her out of major decisions and kept her in the dark about all important information, and I don't want her to feel that way about you. I'm worried she's going to be super angry once she finds out everyone but her knew about this."

I inhaled long and sighed. I hadn't considered that. There were enough other reasons for her to be mad.

Nicole lowered her voice. "If she asks, well...maybe it's best not to bring this up. I'm not saying you should lie, but maybe you should hide the truth. I can only imagine how this news would piss her off. She was so upset with my mother for not allowing her to contact you or visit you, and then she was heartbroken and thought there was something wrong with her because you didn't try to contact her secretly. She thought she'd done something wrong."