Dare Me Tonight (The Knight Brothers 3)

Ethan shook his head. “I hate to tell you this, but your father was the reason, honey. Not you.” The term of endearment slipped out of his lips. Damned if it didn’t feel right.

She swallowed hard. “Yes and no. But we can agree to disagree on that. I just hate being the cause of drama and discord.”

He frowned, not liking how much weight she put on her slender shoulders.

“Avery donated her bone marrow. She ended up with severe anxiety attacks she has until this day because the news about my father came out. Florida hotel magnate with two families. People went nuts. The press followed him around and caught her and her mom coming out of the hospital. Flashing light bulbs, people screaming at her. She was never the same.”

He reached over and took her hand. “Still not your fault.” He hesitated, then asked, “Where was your father today?” By Ethan’s count, every sibling she’d mentioned the other day had been in that waiting room. So had her mother.

“Umm … I don’t know? Something’s been going on with him. He hasn’t been around as much and Mom won’t talk about it. I definitely think my brothers know. I’m not sure about the girls, though Avery changes the subject whenever I mention it so…”

Ethan narrowed his gaze. Robert Dare sounded like a first-class asshole. “My father was and is a jerk.”

She glanced at him, obviously startled he was sharing anything about himself with her at all. He just didn’t want her to feel so isolated and alone. “When I was nineteen, my mom died of cancer. Dad fell apart. I mean, he was never the best father, and in Sebastian’s case, he threw money at any problem, assuming he could make it go away. What Sebastian really needed was a kick in the ass and a father.”

Ethan shook his head at the painful memories. “I did what I could for all my siblings. I dropped out of Duke University and went to school in New York so I could be home. And Dad? He went from wife to wife. He’s on number four now. Candy.” He smiled wryly. “She’s a shallow, attention-seeking–” He cut himself off before he could finish. “She wore white to Sierra’s wedding.” The word whore was what he thought of his stepmother, but she was his father’s problem, not his.

He glanced at Sienna, who looked at him, eyes wide, mouth open. “I think those are the most words you’ve said to me since we met.”

He couldn’t hold back a laugh. It sounded rusty, and even Sienna appeared startled, making him realize how long it had been since anyone around him had penetrated the walls he’d built. Not even his siblings had been able to get through to him. Just this woman who pulled at things inside him he had wanted to shut down and lock up tight.

He cleared his throat. “I just wanted you to see that parents can be assholes. It doesn’t make their actions your fault. You need to deal with that,” he told her.

“Do you know what it’s like to realize that every one of your siblings’ issues – and I have a lot of siblings – stems from the fact that I got sick? If that secret remained–”

“Trust me, secrets never stay buried, and when they come out, they tend to do a hell of a lot of damage.”

He caught Sienna’s stricken look but what could he say? He’d revealed enough about himself for one day. Mandy and everything he’d discovered since she’d died? Yeah, that didn’t need to come out now.

“In your case, it can’t be good for you to carry everyone’s burden around,” he said.

As if he had a right to counsel anyone on dealing with anything.

“Okay, I have your release papers, Ms. Dare. I just need to go over your instructions and we can let you go.” The doctor peeked his head through the curtain.

Sienna glanced at Ethan, a slightly panicked look on her face. One he took to mean she wanted privacy for any discussion with her doctor, to which she was entitled, he thought.

“I’ll go get the car and pull it up to the exit.”

She visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Ethan.” From the intense look in her eyes, he knew she appreciated more than just the ride.

The fact that he’d opened up to her was as shocking to him as it was to her. Something he needed to think about, process, and understand.

* * *

Ethan stood in the Miami apartment that Ian Dare had set him up in, a company place much like where he’d put Sienna when she’d been in New York. Glass of scotch in hand, he glanced at the lights twinkling down on the busy street below, where clubs played loud music and people who were much younger than him in truth and in their souls waited in lines to get inside.