He nodded, trotting along at her side.
I drew in a breath, trying to will my cock back to normal size but having no luck. As much as I wanted Donny to sleep peacefully, I was slightly thankful for the interruption. I could fix this mistake I’d been about to make.
As if she’d read my mind, she looked over her well-kissed shoulder, arching her eyebrows. “Make yourself at home. Don’t even think about leaving.”
I sat back down on the couch with a thud. “Now what?”
Leave. You should leave.
Absolutely.
Somehow, though, I stayed glued to the couch.
My head spun a little, though not from the drinks I’d had earlier. They’d long worn off.
No. This was Marjorie Steel’s doing.
The woman made me crazy. I didn’t know up from down when I was with her. And damned if I didn’t enjoy it.
She’s your best friend’s sister.
She’s thirteen years younger than you are.
You remember when she was born.
Pink and yellow unicorns.
You’re a mess, Bryce Simpson.
You have no business getting involved with anyone, especially not Marjorie Steel.
She means something to you.
Don’t hurt her.
Over and over, I played through the myriad reasons Marj and I could never happen. Every single one, and I even invented a few for good measure.
And still I remained glued to the damned couch.
I sighed. Fact was, I wasn’t leaving.
I didn’t want to leave.
“Damn the consequences and damn the fallout,” I said aloud.
I rose and walked up the stairs and into the kitchen where I poured myself a glass of water and downed it. Then I stood, leaning against the granite countertop on the island.
I am not my father.
A mantra I’d repeated since I’d discovered who he truly was.
All the men, women, and children he’d abused…and Tom Simpson had never once laid a hand on me—his only child. He hadn’t abused my mother either, as far as I knew. I felt certain she’d have told me by now if he had.
In a warped way, I’d come out of this smelling like a rose. I was truly lucky.
I felt anything but.
I was determined not to lose myself to self-pity. I had no reason to pity myself. I’d been through nothing. Nothing. Talon Steel had been through everything. That little boy Marj was currently comforting had been through everything.