Free Defying Desire by A. C. Arthur

slept with her, she doesn’t have to divulge her entire life history to you just to have sex,” Adam said disgustedly.
    “What did you find out?”
    Trent knew that Adam would take this personally. Tia and Camille were good friends. Trent was no fool, he knew that whatever went down between him and Tia would directly effect his sister-in-law and ultimately his brother. That was one reason why Trent was determined to do the right thing in this situation. While he usually dealt with women in a callous and cold manner, his family was a different matter entirely. He would do whatever he needed to ensure they weren’t hurt or stressed by his actions.
    “She’s had some pretty hefty emotional baggage with her. I think that’s why she was so upset at the party. I took her home because she’d been drinking and I didn’t want her to try and drive herself.”
    “Chivalry’s not dead, I see,” Henry said between puffs.
    His father wasn’t doing a lot of talking, but he was listening, Trent knew. That’s what Henry did. He listened, he thought and then he talked. If Trent were lucky he’d make it out of here just barely scathed by what his father could possibly say to him in this situation. While the Triple Threat Donovans had their reign Henry Donovan had constantly preached to his sons about loving and respecting women, about finding the right one, settling down and building their own legacy. Trent had no doubt that the same lecture was waiting in the wings for him, yet again.
    “Tell us what the report said, Trent,” Linc prodded.
    Adam shook his head, standing. “I don’t want to know.”
    “Yes, you do,” Linc said. “Sit down. He’s our brother before she’s Camille’s friend. Besides, from the way he’s looking it might be something we all need to know.”
    Adam sat reluctantly. “You need to learn how to respect people’s privacy,” he told Trent.
    “There’s no such thing as privacy in this day and age,” Trent told him. “Besides, I wasn’t doing it because I didn’t trust her. I did it because I was worried about her.”
    “Wow. That’s new.” Linc rubbed a hand across his jaw.
    “Look, she was engaged to be married and she was pregnant two years ago.”
    The men remained silent for a moment.
    “So where’s the husband and the baby?” Adam finally asked.
    “They died,” Trent said solemnly.

    “How?” Linc sounded nervous.
    “They were in a car accident. Her fiancé, Jake Baskins, who was also her manager at the time, was distracted by an oncoming eighteen wheeler. He lost control of the car and drove over an embankment. He died instantly. Tia was knocked out. By the time she arrived at the hospital she was hemorrhaging. The baby, a little girl, died an hour after the crash. She was only two weeks away from delivering.”
    “Damn.” Adam sat back in the chair.
    Linc’s fingers now visibly shook as he continued to rub his chin.
    “That’s not all,” Trent continued. “The night of the party was the second anniversary of the accident. She’d been drinking because she was hurting.” And he’d taken her home and made love to her. For that he felt like the biggest jerk in all civilization.
    Yet, a part of him sensed that being with her in that way had helped her through. She’d held on to him so tightly as if she were afraid he’d vanish and she’d be left alone to commemorate the anniversary by herself. He hoped by staying with her he’d saved her from even more pain.
    “She did look a little tense that night,” Adam said. “I wonder if Camille knows. Of course she doesn’t, she would never have insisted that Tia come if she knew what she was going through.”
    “I get the impression she doesn’t talk about her past much.”
    “So how was she with you that night?” Linc asked. At Trent’s raised brow he rephrased his question. “I mean, did she seem upset or high-strung or what?”
    “She was definitely a little testy at first. But once we got to her place she