One Night, So Pregnant!(34)

‘What?’ he snapped, unable to hide the hint of panic.

‘It’s a recessive gene—it means either he has to have a parent with blue eyes or a—’

‘Why are you so interested in Zane?’ he cut in, trying to shut her up.

‘I’m not interested in Zane,’ she said carefully. ‘I already passed the drool test, remember?’ He could tell she was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn’t make his insides settle. All he could feel was the pain in his chest, from the guilt and regret and shame that had haunted his childhood, and nearly destroyed the friendship that he had relied on his whole adult life. ‘Good, then let’s stop talking about this.’ But to his horror, his voice came out on a croak.

‘What’s the matter?’ Tess asked, the drowsiness gone from her voice. ‘Why are you upset?’

‘Nothing’s the matter.’ Or it wouldn’t be once she dropped this. He kept his gaze fixed on the road.

‘Stop the car, Nate.’

‘What? Why?’ His gaze darted to her waistline. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine. Just stop the car. There’s a layby up ahead.’ She pointed to the shoulder on the other side of the road that jutted out over the ocean.

He swung the car over, braked. ‘What is it?’ he asked, slinging his arm over the steering wheel.

‘What’s wrong? You look...’ She paused, her eyes searching his face, the tenderness in her gaze both surprising and disturbing. ‘You look terrible.’

‘I’m okay,’ he said, but the words came out on a bitter snap. His hands trembled on the wheel. He tightened his grip, but he couldn’t make them stop.

Cool fingers covered his, and held on. ‘Your hands are shaking. You’re not okay. What is it? What did I say?’

To his horror, he felt the pain twist in his chest that made his heart catapult into his throat. He took a deep breath, but it came out on a rush of air, doing nothing to calm his stampeding pulse.

‘I think my father was Zane’s father,’ he murmured. But he didn’t think, he knew, had always known. However hard he’d tried to pretend he didn’t.

‘Okay,’ Tess said softly, patiently, but with no hint of shock or surprise as she gripped his fingers.

‘Damn.’ He let his head drop back against the seat, squeezed his eyes shut. Letting go of the wheel, he found himself holding her slim fingers in his. ‘I can’t believe I actually said that out loud.’

‘But that makes you and Zane brothers,’ she said carefully. ‘Why is that bad?’

He twisted his head, opened his eyes to stare at her. ‘If you’d ever met my father, you’d know why.’

* * *

Tess remained speechless, silenced by the naked pain she glimpsed for a second in Nate’s eyes. He looked away, stared out of the windscreen, his hand releasing hers. She’d trespassed onto a very private area of his life without intending to. She should leave this alone—continuing to talk about it felt like poking at an open wound—but then he spoke.

‘You know, you’re the first person I can remember who’s ever commented on the resemblance.’ His voice sounded resigned, and hollow. ‘Even though I always thought it was kind of obvious. I guess most people get sidetracked by the difference in our heritage and don’t look beyond that.’

‘Does Zane know?’ It seemed like a stupid question, surely they must have discussed this? The easy way they’d chatted together by the car, their body language, everything about their friendship spoke of companionship and familiarity. It would only be a short step to brotherhood.

He placed his hands on his thighs, the tension in his spine relaxing as he eased back into the seat. ‘Yeah, I think so.’

‘You think? You don’t know? Haven’t you ever talked about it?’ she blurted out, shocked to the core. Okay, men were famous for their lack of communication skills, and Nate could take stone-walling to a whole new level, but she’d assumed that tendency was just with her—because they’d been thrown into a situation that neither of them really knew how to deal with. But this was ridiculous. How could you be related to your best friend and never talk about it?

His eyes connected with hers, and he gave a brittle laugh. ‘We talked about it once, when we were kids.’ He rubbed his thumb absently against a small crescent shaped scar on his chin. ‘We didn’t talk about it again.’

‘What happened?’ she asked, knowing that she was trespassing into dangerous territory, but unable to stop herself. He looked so lonely, the cloak of confidence and control slipping to reveal a man with flaws and vulnerabilities just like everyone else. However dangerous it was, she wanted to know more about that man.