Free Surrounded by Secrets by Mandy Harbin Page B

hand onto her back. His lips brushed her ear. “You look beautiful, Lilly.”
    “Thanks,” she breathed. And if she were being brutally honest, she did like the way he called her Lilly. It felt private, as though he was meant to be the only one to ever call her that.
    He pulled the chair out for her and helped her get seated before walking to the other side of the table and to his own chair.
    As Lillian had expected, the conversation was focused solely on Rob and Ariel. They both seemed lighter than air, but no way was she going to think about her feelings on their mating. She didn’t need any more envious thoughts sneaking up on her. Instead, she ate and watched Jack. Every now and then, their eyes would lock, and she’d smile behind her glass. Once she even got a wink out of him. God, and if that wasn’t like lighting a flame under those butterflies in her belly, she didn’t know what was.
    After everyone finished eating, the conversation shifted to more mundane topics, and people started to stand. It was time to make her move. She stood and stretched, making sure her insanely large boobs were thrust forward. When she relaxed her arms, she looked nonchalantly around the room.
    Great. Jack’s back was to her. She sighed and picked up her drink. She’d have to be more direct.
    Lillian walked over to Jack and rubbed his arm as she circled to face him.
    “I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured. Then he looked to the side. “Before everybody leaves, I think we should talk about something I’ve found.”
    Oh crap! He was holding that dang photo. So he was going to broach the topic tonight. There went her night of sexing. She downed her drink and stood beside him for what was sure to be an interesting night for reasons she hadn’t been planning on.
    “What’s that?” Rob asked, stepping forward.
    “A photo I found of Mom and some other people when I was in Dad’s office,” Jack said as he watched Thomas.
    The color drained from Thomas’s face. Apparently he didn’t need any further clarification to understand what photo Jack was holding.
    “Relax, Dad. It’s okay,” Josh said as he leveled his shoulders and looked at Jack.
    “Holy shit! You knew?” Well, well, well, apparently Josh didn’t need any more clarification either.
    “Yes,” Josh said evenly. He glanced at Mikaela, who was rubbing her tummy a little too quickly to actually be soothing.
    “What the hell is going on?” Toby asked as he walked closer to Jack.
    Jack handed him the photo. “Read the back,” he gritted out.
    Thomas seemed to finally get his wits about him to some degree because he shuffled over, but his mind was obviously somewhere else.
    Rob peered around Toby to read along with him.
    “I guess it’s time you all knew.”
    “You’re damn right,” Jack blurted out. Lillian rubbed his arm. She didn’t want him doing or saying anything he’d regret later. To her relief, he leaned into her slightly.
    “What the fuck is this, Dad? And why are we just finding this out?” Rob snapped while he glared at Josh.
    “I just found out a few months ago. After Mikaela got pregnant. It’s not like I’ve known all along.”
    “But you didn’t say anything? Hell, that was the reason I wanted to talk to you a couple of weeks ago!” he yelled as he pointed to the incriminating picture.
    “Settle down!” Thomas roared.
    Lillian jumped at the authoritative tone she’d never heard come out of the patriarch before. Jack wrapped his arm around her, but he didn’t look at her. It seemed as if it was a subconscious gesture, one she was more than willing to take.
    “Joshua didn’t say anything to anybody because this is my story to tell. The only reason I told him is because his mate is pregnant, and it could become an issue.”
    “Would you like for us to leave, Thomas, so you can talk to your sons in private?” Ariel motioned toward the women in the room as she asked.
    “No, that will not be necessary. You are all my sons’