Page 66 of Riches and Romance

“From LA to London, from London back to LA. From LA to Houston. From Houston to London. Now, you’re thinking of going back to LA.” He ticks off all my moves on his fingers. “Face it, you’re a runner.”

I open my mouth to argue and then shut it. Maybe he has a point. “I just needed to think.”

“When was that?”

“Ten hours ago.”

“And you haven’t spoken? You shouldn’t let the sun go down with you and your woman not on the same page.”

“You’re not helping.”

“But did leaving make things better?”

I run my fingers through my hair and growl in frustration. At myself.

“No.”

“And can you understand why she didn’t tell you? Not excusing it, but asking if you can see how she could love you, live with you, but keep that secret.”

“No, actually I can’t. If she’d told me sooner?—”

Reece’s short, sharp chuckle stops me mid-sentence and seems to take him by surprise, too. His eyes widen, and he runs a hand over his grin while he subdues it into a thoughtful frown.

I raise an eyebrow in surprised annoyance. “What the fuck is funny?”

He clears his throat. “I’m sorry, I had a random, unimportant thought. Go ahead, finish your sentence. Please.” He waves his hand a few times, gesturing like he’s giving me the right of way. “If she’d told you sooner—” he prompts.

I rewind back to where I’d stopped talking but can’t remember how I was going to finish that sentence.WouldI have responded differently?

“I don’t know,” I answer finally.

“I have a theory. And I want you to hear me out and think about it before you respond.” He raises both of his eyebrows. “Deal?”

“Fine. Just say it.”

“Does she know about the situation with your dad?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“So… she knows you haven’t spoken to your ownfatherin months. Can you imagine why she might be afraid to tell you?”

“It’smyfault she deceived me?”

He holds a hand up in protest. “All I’m saying is if she didn’t tell you, maybe it’s because she knew she couldn’t. She’s human, Omar. We’re terrified of losing the things and people we love.”

“Are you telling me you’d be okay with your wife keeping her past from you?”

“I’ve accepted that you can only know as much about someone as they want you to know.”

“Bullshit.”

“That’s life. You never finish getting to know someone. It’s the gamble we take when we let our guards down.”

“I’m not a gambler.”

“Then you need to leave this woman alone. Because if you tell her you love her and ask her to share your life, then you don’t get to pick and choose which parts of her to keep. You’ve got to accept all of her or nothing.”

I eye Reece while I weigh his words. He’s given up a lot. His job as head of his family’s film studio, his home in Los Angeles to move to Baja where they’ve made a home until she can live here permanently again.

---