Page 106 of Shadow

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You asked how I would know he’ll always come back to you. And why he’s so complex. The answer to the first is that you are his family now. So even though it’s been hard without contact all these years, you’re the thing that’s kept him alive. The reason he’s stayed safe. Because it was important for him to get to a point in his life where he could come home to you for good. That’s been his goal almost since the day he met you. But he’s also devoted to his country and to a life of service. So, he couldn’t just walk away until the timing was right. Until he felt like he’d completed his mission. The part that makes him complex is that I suspect some of his devotion to service stems from spite for his family who thought he should try to capitalize on his brother’s fame instead of working for the government.”

“So, what does his brother’s celebrity have to do with anything?”

Tyson dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin. “I should probably tell you to ask him. But I think he’ll forgive me if I share a bit.”

When she nodded eagerly, he chuckled. “It’s good to know you love him as much as he loves you. Ripley deserves that. When his brother was unexpectedly launched to stardom, he was—not abandoned, exactly—but left to his own devices by his family. They even sent him to a private boarding school three states away because they wanted to focus their time and energy on his brother’s career, and Ripley’s education was getting in their way. They thought it better to let someone else handle everything for Ripley.”

“So, he grew up in his brother’s shadow, and that what… drove him deeper into the shadows by way of becoming a spy?”

Tyson nodded. “Something like that. After high school, he joined the military and earned a few awards and medals for some courageous things that I can’t talk about because they had to be kept quiet. However, his family was invited to a private award ceremony. So private, that they were told it was best if his brother stayed home because he was being hounded by the tabloids. When they were told they could tell no one about the ceremony, and that they couldn’t bring cameras or his brother, they declined the invitation. That’s when Ripley cut contact.”

Olivia’s mouth fell open. “That’s terrible. He’s always been so quiet about everything. And we’re usually busy with… other things when he’s in town. So it never crosses my mind to ask.”

“Nor should it. His family is not normal. And I think it’s perfectly fine that they don’t exist in Ripley’s life. He is far better for having found you and his family of choice than he ever was for being born to those people. No, he wasn’t abused, not physically, anyway. Most might not even consider his past all that tragic. But it has shaped his entire personality.”

“It even explains why he’s a Daddy Dom,” Olivia murmured. “He wants to take care of me—his family—the way his never cared for him.”

Tyson shrugged and winked as he popped the last bite of dessert into his mouth. “Or he’s just a horny pervert who enjoys hearing a woman call him Daddy.”

Olivia giggled and shoved him on the shoulder. “Behave. Yes, he’s a perv. So am I. But that’s separate from the Daddy side of him. His care is so genuine. It makes a lot more sense now. Thank you for telling me this, Tyson. I won’t tell him you said anything, but it helps me remember ours is a unique relationship and I shouldn’t expect everything to be normal all the time.”

Tyson waved a hand. “No. Please do tell him I told you. And have a frank conversation about who he is and what he’s been through. There’s still some healing that needs to be done in that boy, and I think you can be the one to help him with that.”

“And you’re seriously not going to tell me who his brother is?”

Tyson chuckled. “Nope. And Googling it won’t help you either. Ripley may or may not have used his tech skills to wipe all references of himself from any page associated with his brother. Not to mention they all took new names when his brother got famous.”

Olivia frowned. “Sounds like a weird family.”

Tyson chuckled. “We all have strange families, but his is definitely up there on the weird scale.”

He pushed a plate of cheese that had gone untouched in front of her. “Now that you understand you have nothing to worry about where Ripley is concerned, eat. You wouldn’t want to offend the chef.”

Olivia popped a hunk of cheese into her mouth with a smile on her face. But the smile fell a moment later when she thought about where Ripley was and all he had been through in their time together.

“God, I’m an asshole.”

Tyson frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I married Mario instead of waiting for him to come home.”

The ruggedly handsome chef picked up her hand and squeezed. “Don’t beat yourself up. I said he was always going to come home to you, Olivia. I didn’t say he was the smartest about how he handled your relationship. Sometimes he was a downright asshole. He has no one to blame but himself for the fact that you couldn’t or wouldn’t wait for him.”

Olivia still felt heartbroken over the fact that she had hurt him with her choices. As if he could read her mind, Tyson let go of her hand and gripped her shoulder. “He hurt you, too, Olivia. And he knows that. He’ll work hard to earn your forgiveness, and I assure you, even if you feel the need to seek it, you don’t need his.”

Olivia felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “And he doesn’t need to work for mine. He already has it.”

Tyson smiled and stood. “Good. Then the two of you will be just fine. We should get out of here so I don’t scare the clean-up crew with my presence. I don’t know why they’re so intimidated by me.”

“Get out of here? What about Ripley?”

“He told me if he wasn’t back when it was time to leave, to give you a choice of me escorting you back to your hotel where we can put on a movie or play cards, or me taking you to Serendipity to show you around while we wait for him, and he’ll meet us there.”

Olivia grinned. “I would love a tour of Serendipity. That’s such a great name for a club.”

They walked out of the restaurant, and Tyson led her towards an employee parking lot.

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