I shook my head, disbelief messing with my thoughts. I knew Max loved me, but to think my death could have cost him his life, too—no, that was too much to fathom.
"You mean the world to him," Karen said, touching my cheek. "You have to know that."
I was still shaking my head. The intensity of the emotions I felt for Max scared me. He could slay me at the most unexpected times. Some days, most days if I were honest, I just didn't think what he felt for me could possibly be in the same category as what I felt for him. It was one of the things a girl risked when flying so close to the sun.
"I know he loves me," I said. "I do. I mean, he told me he does, and I believe him. I've never been with anyone who looks at me the way Max does, but then sometimes, I wonder if he loves me the way I love him and—"
"Oh, love." Garrett rested his forehead against mine. "He loves you more than you can comprehend. Trust me on that. I've known that man a long time, and I've never once seen him look at a woman the way he does you."
I wanted to believe him, but… "Then why does he still keep so much of himself secret from me?"
Garrett steadied his gaze on mine. "He loves you completely. More than that, he trusts you. It's just… the things he's still hiding from you aren't just his secrets. They're ours. Mine and his from a long, long time ago. They're Karen's, too, because we trusted her with them, and soon, they'll be your secrets. That is if you're willing to keep them safe."
Keep them safe?
I didn't like the sound of that.
There're things in my past. Things no one save Garrett and Karen know. Bad things. Things, I'm afraid, will color the way you see me forever. It's the only thing that scares me more than losing you.
He'd said those words to me hours before Théo had attacked me. I'd drawn a line in the sand—no more secrets or we didn't have a future, but I'd given him the freedom to tell me his secrets as he was ready. My only caveat had been that he couldn't draw it out. Slowly at first, a little detail here, a small detail there, Max had begun painting the particulars of the past that had shaped him. He hadn't divulged everything. He most certainly hadn't told me this—whatever this was.
I glanced at Karen, but she was unreadable.
I turned back to her husband. "You're scaring me. What secret?"
Garrett took my face in his big hands. "A secret so guarded that knowing it would give you the power to destroy us."
His gaze, as well as his words, pinned me to the spot, and I was scared. I didn't fear Garrett; I feared their secret. The heaviness of it sat in my gut like wet sand. What secret would be so big that I'd have the power to destroy them?
"If you're ready to know his secret, Bree, he's ready to tell you. He's asked for my blessing to tell you, and I've said yes. But you have to promise you'll keep our secret safe."
"I'd never do anything to hurt Max," I said quickly. "You two, either."
"I know. That's why I gave Max my blessing. Our lives will soon be in your hands, Breanne Jennings." Garrett pulled me into a fierce embrace. "Our lives into your hands."
Chapter 3
Our arrival at Karen and Garrett's seaside home was less of a spectacle than when we'd pulled up to the funeral home. The only "spectacle" here was the home itself. To say I loved the place was an understatement.
I stepped from the SUV and marveled at the two-story home. The old manor house somehow felt ancient and new at the same time. It had a rock façade decorated by flowerbeds that were cared for but not too cared for, as if someone had taken a chunk of a wildflower field and placed it here. In fact, the pink, red and purple buds looked similar to the ones I'd seen scattered along the nearby fields as we'd driven from the funeral home, so maybe someone had.
Karen was an artist, but I wasn't sure how much her art added to her and Garrett's incomes. Max had told me she was talented, but that she painted out of a need to burn away her passions. I wasn't sure what that meant in the way of making a living, though.
Garrett, on the other hand, was a sought-after fashion designer. He'd created some of the most beautiful bedroom wear I'd ever seen—or worn. Red Light Lingerie carried his exclusive line of lingerie called Risqué; they were among our top sellers. In fact, I'd been modeling one of his designs the night he, Max, and I first became lovers.
So, yeah, I'd known the pair was well off, but this place would cost a small fortune in Dallas. Then again, maybe the cost of living wasn't so high in Alum Bay. I didn't have the first clue about real estate markets in another country.
I cast a sideways glance at Max as he stepped around the vehicle and reached for me. "This isn't a seaside cottage," I said.
"Excuse me?"
"A cottage. You told me Karen and Garrett had a seaside cottage, and this isn't a cottage. This is huge!"
He looked at the house as if seeing it for the first time. "It's considerably smaller than our home."
Our home. God, would I ever get used to hearing that?
And okay, he had me there. Our home in Dallas was larger. "This still isn't a cabin," I continued to argue as he took my hand, kissed it and led me up the walk toward the house.
Karen and Garrett had driven ahead of us and parked in their garage. They were already inside and had the front door open. When Max and I had joined them, the four of us embraced again. Much to my pleasure, this wasn't the same chaste embrace we'd shared at the mortuary. We stood in the same basic configuration, yes, but one of Garrett's hands was already sliding down my back to my ass.
I trembled at his touch, sensations dancing through me like the buzz of an aged whiskey. Instinctively, I turned my head toward the other man in my life, and without a word, he captured my mouth in a hard, thorough kiss that had the ligaments in my knees going lax.
God, I'd missed this, missed him, missed her.
Garrett's tongue slid along mine in a possessive cadence. I swore, if he shoved a hand beneath my skirt and touched my sex, I'd implode and I wanted that. Desperately.
By the time Garrett pulled back, he was breathing nearly as hard as I. "About time I was able to give you a proper hello, love," he said.
"Hello there, yourself," I murmured before turning to Karen and smiling. "Hello to both of you."
"Hello, yourself, darling." She drew her thumb over my bottom lip, my mouth still slightly damp from her husband's kisses. "We've missed you both terribly."
"The feeling's mutual," I returned.
I was about to elaborate on just how mutual when Max spoke. "It smells wonderful in here. Are you cooking what I hope you're cooking?"
She nodded, her rose-painted lips curling into a smile. "I'm absolutely making beef stew and suet dumplings." She turned her gorgeous smile on me. "They're Max's favorite. I thought they'd be the perfect comfort food."
Max stroked her cheek, drawing her attention back to him. "Thank you, my dear."
"It was no trouble at all," she said. "I've had the main bulk in the slow cooker since this morning. All that's left to do is add the dumplings I've already pre-made."