Free With You #2 (The Knights Brothers Trilogy, Book 2) by Ann King

CHAPTER TEN

 
    Cory Knights

 
    “Are you sure you want to hear the whole truth?” I offered
Kate one last time to escape the horror of the truth from that night. About Peter,
the guy she thought she knew. The guy she thought she was in love with. Yeah,
I’d wanted to tell her for so long. But looking at her now. Seeing her like this…I
really didn’t want anything to ruin her happiness. It was amazing how a guy
like me could change his tune so fast. Getting this close to Kate
now—hurting her was the last thing I wanted to do.
    “Yes,” she said, pulling herself up and putting the rest of
her clothes on. My own body was burning up still from Kate’s sweet lovemaking.
I wasn’t ready to put all my clothes back on just yet. I just had my silk
boxers on.
    I sucked in a deep breath. My jaw clenched. She wanted the
truth. She deserved the truth.
    Even if it would hurt her and probably
tarnish her memory of Peter forever.
    But, heck, we could very well die here today. Might as well
get it all out in the open and move forward. Kate was carrying an overwhelming
amount of guilt over that night. She blamed herself and I knew it. I didn’t
want her to keep this up and ruin what chance of happiness she could have. This
wasn’t even about me. Heck, even if she didn’t want me. She still deserved to
know the truth so she could move on and stop blaming herself for something she
had no control over.
    “Peter really liked you, Kate. I believe he did.”
    “But…?”
    “But there’s a lot you didn’t know about him,” I said,
trying to control my emotions.
    “Wait a minute. You said he liked me. Didn’t he love me?”
    I turned my head, trying not to look deep into her eyes. I
just couldn’t bare the pain of what was to come. Shit! I had no idea how
difficult this would be. “What do you know about that night, Kate?”
    She appeared to hesitate, her
facial expression was contorted in pain. “I…” She squared her shoulders and
looked in my eyes. “I know that part of it was my fault.”
    “No. It wasn’t.”
    “How could you be sure?”
    “Because…”
    “Look, Cory. Just spill it out, okay? I know something went
down that night when I told Peter I wasn’t ready to marry him yet. I know he
ran off and probably went to some guy hangout night and probably fooled around
with another girl. I drove him to this…”
    “No you didn’t, Kate!” My voice was louder and more forceful
than I had intended. Kate seemed to curl up into a ball.
    Kate bit down on her lip , her face appeared to twitch .
“What. Happened?” she said emphatically, her voice cool and even.
    “He was pissed that night but it wasn’t because of anything
you said.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “Kate…”
    “Cory, this is killing me. Just tell me what went down that
night. What are you hiding?”
    “The truth, Kate. Peter…”
    “Yes?”
    “Peter had a fight with his old man that night.”
    Kate’s face grew more concerned. “What happened? Why didn’t he tell me this?”
    “Because, it was about his personal issues he was having.”
    “Like what?”
    “His dad, you know the big shot Assistant DA and all that.
Well, he had this image of his son that he wanted to uphold. He was all
mightier than thou complex. Piece of shit in a suit.”
    “Cory,” Kate gasped.
    “Peter wasn’t what he had expected in a son. Peter knew he
just couldn’t live up to his expectations.”
    “And?”
    “Well, Peter had enough. He told him that he was going to be
with the one he loved and that was it. He wasn’t going to be leading a double
life like his old man or his uncle.”
    “Wait a minute. His dad was nice to me. Are you saying that
he really hated me?”
    “Oh, no. His dad liked you alright,” I said, biting my lip
and avoiding her eyes. My gaze drifted to the window and the heavy gusts of
snow blowing every direction. Much like my thoughts right now. “You would be a
perfect cover for his son.” God Kate, I
didn’t