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“Well, let’s see. She refused to tell me about her past. She hid things from me,” I said and felt like a coward for not asking more questions. Maybe I should have said something that would have made her open up. Maybe… No. She had her reasons but there were consequences for them now. “Then I find out she’s been to prison.”
Colton whistled again, and that ticked me off. “That’s right, Laura has a pretty colorful past. I work so hard to uphold the law. What kind of lawyer would I be if I continued to date someone who broke it?”
“An honest one,” Luke said.
I rolled my eyes at him. “Come on, man. You know that’s not what people are going to think.”
He held my gaze and Luke’s green eyes pierced mine. He looked angry. “And when did you care about that? You don’t give a shit about anyone else’s opinion of you. What’s really holding you back?”
I stood, making my way back to the bar. “I didn’t invite you guys here for an interrogation. I invited you here to update you on the baseball. That’s it. I don’t need relationship advice from either of you.”
“You mean two perfectly happy men in stable, loving relationships with strong, incredible women?” Colton drawled. “Yes, why would you want advice from us?”
I refrained from rolling my eyes again at Colton’s remarks, simply because they were true. “That’s fine, but Laura’s different.”
“Is she?” asked Luke. “It sounds like she’s gotten herself into a bad situation because she was trying to help her father. Maybe even you?”
“Me? How?”
Of course, Colton chimed in. “Did she know how important that baseball was to our family?”
I shrugged. “I may have mentioned it.”
Luke nodded. “So, there’s a possibility she had snuck into a mob boss’s house not just to follow her father, but to help you get your ball back.”
“I think that’s a stretch.”
“And I think you’re deliberately being obtuse.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you’re scared.”
I huffed out a laugh.
“I’m not scared of falling in love if that’s what you’re implying.”
Colton sorted. “It is, and you are.”
“Come off it, Colton. Why would I be afraid, huh?”
He leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees, and stared at me. “Because you have trust issues, like the rest of us. Because you fell in love with a woman who broke that trust and now you want to punish her and yourself.”
My breathing stilled and my hand shook. Colton’s words strangled any retort and left me feeling adrift. With no rope to hold on to.
Colton glanced at Luke, his eyes hinting at regret, before turning his gaze back to me.
“There is a big difference, though, between what Luke and I went through and what you did.”
“And what’s that?”
“You can get closure.”
My eyes shot up at him.
Luke nodded and stared at his hands. “Unlike our uncle, our aunt’s still alive. You can speak to her.” After a pause, he looked up and held my gaze. “Get your closure, Ryan, so you can move forward with your life.”
My mind raced with the possibility of seeing my aunt once again. The last time I’d seen her, I’d kicked her out of my office.
