Leverage (Part Three)(24)
“Whatever.” Boston walked on stiff legs to pour himself a cup of coffee. “Look, I appreciate you going to get me. I didn't mean to get so drunk but I just couldn't seem to stop. Honestly, the idea of going back to my place was more than I could handle so I just kept drinking.”
“Hey, I get it. So, tell me the story. Let it all out. That's the only way it's going to get better.”
He barked a short mirthless laugh. “There's no making this better. She's never coming back and I planned it that way.”
“Let me guess…you said or did something really terrible so that you couldn’t take it back.”
Boston scowled. “Yeah, and what if I did?”
“Then I would say you're not brilliant dude. And you sure as hell aren’t original. We've all done that shit. But if she's worth it and you love her, you will find a way to make it right. Let me tell you something — life without love isn’t worth living. I was living a half-life before I met Emma. And I wouldn't trade what I have with her for all the pussy in the world. And that's a fact.”
“You don’t understand. It's a mess. I've messed it up so bad. And by the time I realized what I really wanted I’d fucked it up so bad there was no way I could go back.”
“Trust me, there is nothing that can't be fixed. Unless you inadvertently killed her parents or you accidentally set her house on fire, I know there's nothing that can't be fixed.”
“I did something really disgusting.”
“I'm sure it's nothing I haven't done — twice,” Vince said, bored. “What could you have done that was so bad? For Christ sakes we used to call you Jiminy Cricket. Have you changed that much since we were kids?”
“Let's just say I could've used a little of that conscience when I met Julianna. I don't know what came over me. All I knew was I had to have her and I struck a deal that I'm ashamed to admit.”
“What kind of deal?” Vince asked, curious. “You’ve got my mind spinning. What did you do?”
“I bought her.”
Vince did a double take and then, if Boston wasn’t mistaken, tried to hold back a grin, which Boston found really inappropriate.
“What's so funny?” he demanded.
Vince held up his hands. “Nothing although it is a bit ironic.”
“I have a fucking hangover and zero sense of humor. What are you talking about? There's nothing ironic about my situation. It's just fucked up.”
“It is totally fucked up, I agree with you. The irony is that I've done the very thing that you've done. Makes me wonder if it was something that we've all done. Weird. I'm thinking people with money are just, I don’t know, warped. At least that's what Emma says. And I'm beginning to agree with her.”
“What are you talking about?”
Vince heaved a sigh. “Here's the thing, there was a woman, actually she's my sister-in-law now, long story, Nolan and I bought her for lack of a better word. We thought she could be our mistress of sorts. Sort of like a courtesan. Then Dillon came along and found out about our arrangement and it all went to hell because frankly, it was illegal anyway and you really can't help with who you fall in love with. So Penny and Dillon ran off and got married then had a baby and they're happy as clams and then Nolan inadvertently got a woman pregnant and they got married so they’re happy as clams and then I met Emma, and well, that's a really long story condensed in the most convoluted way. Any questions?”
Boston stared. “Now wait a minute, are you saying you slept with your sister-in-law?” he asked, confused. To that Vince nodded and Boston grimaced. “How awkward does that make Christmas dinner?”
“You know it's not awkward at all because we don't talk about it. It's in the past and we don’t live in the past because our futures are pretty damn awesome. And that's kinda the point I'm getting to right now. If you’ve done a lot of crappy stuff in the past, leave it there so you can provide for your future. I never thought I would say this but being monogamous with the right person is pretty damn awesome. And the sex… pretty damn awesome, too.”
“You?” Boston's tone was incredulous. “The biggest man whore I’ve ever known in my entire life…endorsing monogamy?”
“Hey, don't stereotype me. I was a manwhore until I found there were something better. And now I would rate breakfast in bed with my wife as just as awesome as a foursome with Playboy bunnies.”
Before he’d met Julianna Boston would’ve called bullshit on Vince's claim but he knew exactly what his friend was talking about because that's how he felt about Julianna. Just being with her was worth it, was worth losing out on every supposed freedom he’d ever had as a rich, single guy. And he wanted to be there for every step of the way of her pregnancy and he wanted to be there at the moment his child was born but he knew there was no way Julianna would forgive him. Not for the world.