“You sure you don’t want another one?” Dean teased.
“Do I need another one?”
“You might.”
“You’re stalling.”
Yes, he was. “I have feelings for your sister. And I think she has them for me, too.”
“You think?”
“I know she does. She might not want to, but she does.” He thought of their kiss, the way she melted in his arms. “I need to see if we have a chance, Jack. Only this time I need you to know about it.”
“This time?”
It was Dean’s turn to finish his beer. “Yeah. You see, a year ago…over a year ago actually, Katie and I…we, uh…”
“Do I want to hear this?”
“Probably not. Let’s just say we figured out that we were attracted to each other. We both decided to keep our relationship under wraps. No need to involve you or our friends. We snuck around, which was fun for a while.” Dean smiled at the memory but Jack was frowning into his beer.
Dean stopped grinning.
“What happened?”
Dean knew he was blowing his agreement with Katie talking to Jack about their past, but he figured if everything worked out, Jack would eventually find out. Telling his best friend the extent of what had happened between him and Katie, however, wasn’t necessary.
“Katie wasn’t willing to move forward.” Which wasn’t a lie. Dean had suggested after they learned of her inability to have a baby that they stop hiding and let their families know they were seeing each other. Her response to that was to get close and personal with someone other than him, and to say he was “off the hook” when it came to her.
“What makes you think she’s any more ready now?”
That was a good question. “You saw her today. She’s settling into a job she loves. We both know she doesn’t have to work but she’s doing it anyway. She’s grounded in a way I’ve not seen before.” She wasn’t with the same group of friends, wasn’t playing at night in the clubs…at least not that he knew. Her face hadn’t been in a tabloid in months.
Jack nodded and sat back in the booth. “Maybe Katie is growing up.”
“She’s all grown up, Jack. It’s not like we’re kids.”
“She’s still my kid sister.”
“And I’m your best friend.”
“My best friend who seven months ago was ready to marry someone else. I remember the bachelor party, Dean. All the nauseating Maggie is the best thing that ever happened to me crap! Then I nursed your sorry ass after a weekend binge when she left you. If you cared about my sister so much, why were you ready to commit to someone else?”
Dean glanced at the TV across the bar showing the local baseball game. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about that.”
“And?”
“I met Maggie after Katie all but dumped me. I hate to say she was a rebound chick, but there’s no other way to put it. I cared about Maggie, don’t get me wrong. When she broke off our engagement…I don’t know, it was a blow to my ego, my manhood. I’m a class A ass**le for saying that, but it’s true. I didn’t want her back after that.”
“But that’s changed with Katie. You want her back?”
Dean met Jack’s eyes and held them. “Yeah. I do. I can’t do that sneaking around or pretending I don’t care about her. I wanted to do the noble thing and ask your permission…but f**k that. It’s Katie’s permission I need, not yours. I do, however, want your support, Jack.”
“And if it doesn’t work out?”
Dean hated the thought of that. It left him cold again. The way he’d felt since she walked away the first time. “We’re all adults. We’ll figure it out.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking their beers.
“You have my support,” Jack finally said.
Dean started to smile.
“I’ll kick your ass if you hurt her.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“I mean it, Dean. Emergency room ass kicking.”
Dean stopped the waiter and asked for another round and a menu. “Now that we’re done talking about our feelings, like we’re f**king women or something, I need you to do me a favor.”
Jack shot him a killer look. “I haven’t done enough?”
“I need you to keep quiet about this with Katie. If she thinks I’ve blabbed all of this to you, she’s gonna start off pissed with me. I don’t need that.”
“Well, shit, Dean.”
“C’mon. It won’t be for long. I’m not willing to date her privately this time. If she wants to keep us hidden, then we won’t stand a chance anyway. Just for a little while, Jack. When the time is right, I’ll tell her we talked.”
“Keeping secrets from each other backfires.” Jack had kept the fact he was a rich man from Jessie when they first started dating. All because Jessie refused to date him because she assumed he was dirt-poor. When she found out he was a millionaire, she ran away. Apparently, trust was more important than money. Jack had to do some serious groveling to win her back.
“Just for a while.”
“You’re testing our friendship,” Jack warned with a smile on his face.
“We’ve been through worse.”
“No, we haven’t.”
Dean relaxed. This is good.