Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal)(37)

“What did the test say?”

The silence that followed became unbearable. The seconds that ticked by felt like an eternity.

“He’s your brother, Laurie,” Chase said slowly.

A gasp escaped my mouth, and I closed my eyes. “Oh, my God.”

Kade wasn’t just the man who had come up with the plan of deceiving me; he was also my brother.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I’m positive. There’s barely any doubt.” He opened his briefcase and handed me the results. “I wouldn’t have thought it, but you’re right. Based on the genetic profile you share the same mother.”

“What did he say?” I stared at the results, then at Chase.

He shook his head. “Kade doesn’t know yet.”

I frowned. “How did you get him tested?”

Chase’s lips twitched, and for a moment his perfect face reminded me of the seemingly carefree guy from our first meeting. God, he was so beautiful it took my breath away.

“My doctor friend, you know, the one I mentioned, called him to tell him he might have caught a sexually transmitted disease. Kade being the manwhore he is, bought it, so he stopped by the clinic straight away.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or be shocked.

Another silence.

“Why didn’t you tell him the truth?” I asked.

Chase hesitated. “Look, I’m not trying to sway your decision. It’s your call whether you want to tell him or not, but if you ask me, I don’t think telling him is a good idea.” His fingers clutched at the papers, almost crumbling them. The movement made me nervous. “I’ve known him most of my life. Kaiden has a lot of anger issues, particularly toward his adoption. In my opinion, he’s not ready to face the truth.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked

“His anger issues are out of control,” he said quietly. “He’s a sex addict.”

“Oh.” I swallowed, embarrassed. “The manwhore part wasn’t a joke.”

“When Kade turned eighteen, he was offered the opportunity to find out who his real parents were. He decided against it. Instead, he became obsessed with our parents’ death.” Chase winced, hesitating again as he considered his words carefully. “You need to understand. They had died a few weeks earlier. He loved them. We fought. I stupidly called him a bastard and almost lost him. He actually asked me never to bring up the adoption again.”

“Then why did you help me find out?”

“I want you to know the truth, and to be honest, I wanted to know, too.” He looked up, his gaze intense. “So, do you want me to tell him? If you do, it’s best he hears it from me.”

I let the thought sink in for a moment, then shook my head. “Is it wrong that I don’t really want to?”

His fingers curled around mine. “No, it’s not wrong. You’re afraid.”

I nodded. “It’s all happened so suddenly. To be honest, the idea that I might have a brother shocked me.” I searched his gaze and found warmth and understanding in it. “My biological father’s alive. I have other siblings, too. I don’t even know if I’ll ever be ready to meet him.”

“Because of what your mom wrote.”

I nodded. Waves of anger wafted over me. “He never tried to contact me. He didn’t give a shit about her. What kind of man leaves a pregnant woman behind?”

“Someone who’s not ready.”

Maybe. I took a sharp breath. “And yet he has his own family now. His life moves on even though he knows that I exist. All he ever had to do was write me a few lines. Maybe even call. He chose not to.” Tears began to cloud my vision. But it wasn’t sadness that threatened to choke me. It was anger addressed at a man I had never met. At a man I had no desire to ever meet. “I think I’m ready to move on and forget.

“That won’t be possible, Laurie,” he whispered. “You need closure. It doesn’t have to be now, or tomorrow, but someday, you will have to seek it out. And Kade will need it, too. Just not as long as he’s fighting his demons.”

“I know.” I eyed him. “I don’t blame Kade. The last thing I’d want is for him to feel abandoned. But there’s a letter my mom wanted him to have. I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Save it for the right time. Maybe after the trial’s over.”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “How much longer is it going to take?”

“The judge is a friend of mine. The case will be over before the end of summer.” His eyes grew distant, and when he spoke, his tone was low. “That’s when you’ll get your divorce. Just like you wanted.” His gaze was tense, an open question. “That’s what you want, right, Laurie?”

I bit my lip so hard, I could almost taste the blood. “I really missed you, Chase,” I said instead.

“You don’t have to lie,” he repeated the words I’d said in Acapulco.

I laughed. “It’s the truth.”

“So you say.” His eyes sparkled, and for a moment there was silence.

He cast his eyes down, avoiding my gaze. I pondered what else to say, how to convey just how I had missed him without giving away the true magnitude of my feelings for him. His gaze met mine, and I realized his expression had changed.

There was a glint in his eyes. The same glint I had glimpsed in Acapulco. My heart lurched as my feelings began to crush me.

“It’s been three months,” Chase said slowly.

“Yes.” I forced myself to smile, but my nerves got the best of me. “Time flies, doesn’t it?”

He shook his head. “Sadly, not for me, no.” His fingers began to trace circles on my naked arm. The familiar gesture was so erotic, my breath hitched and slow pull settled between my legs. “Are you sure you want the divorce because, you know…” Standing, he retrieved something from his back pocket and pushed it across the table.

I peered at the jewelry box, stunned.

“You still have it?” I asked.

“Yes. I sleep with it next to my pillow.” He winked, making it impossible to tell whether he was joking, or not. “Besides, this is worth a fortune.”

“Now you’re being stingy.”

“I know, right?” He winked.

Definitely joking.

I shook my head. “Why, Chase?”

“You know why. I already told you a hundred times. I’ll gladly repeat it if you need to hear it again.” He smiled gently. “I’m in love with you.”

His choice of words rendered me silent. It was no longer ‘I’m falling in love with you more and more every day.’ It was ‘I’m love with you.’

Definite.

Period.

“You really mean that?” I asked, my voice breathy.

He nodded and leaned over the table. His grip on my hand tightened. “I’ve never been more serious in my life. Indeed, if the situation wasn’t so tense, I would have asked you a question.”

“What question?”

He slid over, occupying the seat next to mine, and pressed my hand against his heart. “I would have asked you to marry me. In fact, that was the first thought that occurred to me back in the lift, when I thought we were about to die. I wanted to ask you to be my wife.”

I leaned back, my gaze connected with his, my mind devoid of thoughts.

When the meaning of his words finally dawned on me, I let out a laugh. “So you admit you thought we were going to die. Because I remember I kept insisting the possibility very much existed, and you kept claiming otherwise.”

He grimaced. “Now that it’s over, yes, my beautiful wife, I admit you were right. It took a near death situation to make me fall in love with you, but it happened that day.”

He had been in love with me from the first day we met? “You’re hilarious, Chase.” My eyes filled with tears.

“No, I’m not,” he said quietly. “In all honesty, Laurie, you’re the woman I want in my life. And so…” He opened the box and slid the ring onto my finger. “I’m asking you to stay my wife.”

“In a nightclub?” I eyed him, then eyed the beautiful ring on my finger. My heart was racing, my soul was flying—metaphorically speaking, my world was spinning.

“Given that you and I haven’t had the most conventional of relationships so far—” He shrugged, leaving the rest unspoken. “Hey, what could possibly go wrong, right?”

“Everything, Chase,” I whispered. “Everything.”

Like him finding someone else and leaving me. Like both of us deciding we weren’t really relationship material.

Or maybe, just maybe, we’d find happiness.

“Hmm,” he whispered. “But you’ve got to admit staying married might not be such a bad idea, particularly since we can’t get a divorce just yet. So—” He smiled and before I could blink, he kneeled before me, drawing the attention—and probably envy—of every woman in the vicinity. “Lauren Wright.” I giggled at his decision to use his last name. “You’re already my wife, so I’m going to skip that part because we’ve already sorted it out. You’ve come to me in a desperate plea to seek my help. Now I’ve got to ask. Are you sure you want to divorce me, even though the sex is pretty mind-blowing, and I’m always happy to offer seafood?”