Page 98 of Whiskey Wednesdays

Martina sighed and rubbed her forehead. “You and Connor may have already talked about it.” She studied Connor with narrowed eyes. “But men can be bastards. And if it were me, I’d want to know.”

Titus and Jackson arrived just then, and we made drinks and talked about their out-of-town game. They’d won, but Wyatt had gotten in a fight afterward with some girl’s boyfriend, and Jackson had to bail him out of jail.

“What did Coach Bailey say about it?” I asked.

Titus shrugged. “Don’t know, and don’t care. He found out about it after we’d already bailed his ass out. If Wyatt weren’t such a good player, we would have left him there.”

Sebastian and Zeke made the cocktails, and I decided I liked the whiskey sour best. It tasted the least like whiskey.

Connor didn’t approach me, but I caught him staring at me a few times. When most the men were playing a game of cutthroat pool in the entertainment room, Martina pulled me outside.

We walked through the courtyard into the back garden area, and she turned to me. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. Last week I ran into Rachel, Connor’s former assistant. She told me all about Noah. You were right. He did hit on her, several times.”

“That’s not surprising.”

“She also said he manhandled her when she turned him down. And threatened her.”

I sighed. “She needs to tell Connor. I think Noah has done this before.”

Martina looked out into the garden. “Probably. Rachel also said Noah warned her away from Connor, and told her Connor’s already married.”

My body froze. “Married?” I whispered. I wasn’t sure I’d heard her right.

She studied me. “Yeah. Married. Noah told her he’s been married to Elodie’s mother since Elodie was born.”

My stomach wanted to rebel. “Oh, my God.”

Martina took my hand and led me to an outdoor seating area. “I take it he didn’t tell you.”

Shaking my head, I sat down hard. “I didn’t know. He never said a word.” My stomach churned and acid rose in my throat. “I’ve been living with and having sex with a married man.”

Martina sat down next to me. “It depends. His divorce became final about a month ago.”

I sat still and counted the weeks we’d been together. He’d come back from Canada last month in a terrible mood, but he told me he was done fucking around. And Titus asked him if he’d gotten his shit taken care of. My mind worked sluggishly to grasp the fact that Connor had been married. For years.

And the worst part was he’d never told me. I thought back to the conversations and discussions we’d had. He never said a word.

Squeezing my hand, Martina kept going. “Rachel said Noah told her Connor only married her because of Elodie. So she’d have his last name and he’d have a better chance of keeping her safe and getting custody.”

“What else did Rachel say?” I was so angry that Martina was the one telling me these personal details about Connor’s life.

“She said Noah actually laughed about Connor being stuck in such a bad marriage for so long. I think Noah gets the prize for the world’s shittiest brother.”

My mind tried to process what she’d told me. “Connor hates Elodie’s mother, but it doesn’t matter. I can’t stay with someone who keeps things like this from me. He wants me to tell him what’s happening in my life, and be honest with him. But he keeps this from me? Men are such fucking assholes.” My voice broke.

“They definitely can be. Did I ever tell you about my ex-husband?”

“No.” I brushed a few tears away. “I didn’t know you’d been married before.”

“When I was nineteen. When we met, he was cute and funny. And he said he loved me.”

I squeezed her hand. “What happened?”

“He turned out to be a manipulative, controlling bastard. The short version is he started belittling and criticizing me. Then he complained whenever I wanted to see my friends or family. Finally, he hit me. That’s when I left him.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Me too. Having an abusive partner can really fuck you up.” She stared out into the garden.

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