“Why would Jade react any differently?”

“Oh, she’ll have the same kind of issues. She won’t want to think of you being in any kind of pain, because she loves you. But you’re an equal to her. You’re not her big brother. It’s a different relationship.”

“I just don’t want her to pity me.”

“Then tell her that. She loves you. She doesn’t want to hurt you, and if her pity would hurt you, she won’t do it.”

“Doc. Do you…pity me?”

“That’s a loaded question.” She sighed. “I feel very bad that you had to go through what you did. But this is my line of work, Talon. You’re not the first patient I’ve seen who suffered a trauma during childhood. And if it helps you, you’re not the worst case I’ve seen, either.”

Oddly, that didn’t help. Knowing innocent children had lived through worse than I had made me ill. “The person or persons who had a worse time than I did, did they heal? Did they come out of it?”

“Two of them did. And they’re leading very successful lives now. But there was one other.”

I didn’t like where this was going, but I had opened the door. “What happened?”

Dr. Carmichael’s eyes glistened. “She wasn’t strong enough. She took her own life.”

“God. I’m sorry, Doc.”

“It’s an eye-opening day for a therapist, when you realize that there are some people you just can’t help, no matter how hard you try. If I were perfect at my job, perhaps I could’ve helped her. Or perhaps no therapist on earth could have helped her. I’ll never know.”

“I’m so sorry.”

She sniffed. “It’s part of what I do. Not everything can be a success. Doctors lose patients. Businessmen don’t always get the deals they want. Lawyers lose cases. It’s no different for me. Therapists can’t help everyone.”

“Still…”

“It’s okay, Talon. I’ve made my peace with it. Or at least as well as I can. I have more successes than I do failures.”

“What do you think my outcome will be?”

“I think you’re going to be fine. I really do. You’ve come so far already.”

I rubbed my temple. “So now we’ve come full circle. It’s time to tell Jade.”

“Yes, I think it is.”

“What if she can’t deal with it? What if she leaves me?”

“I don’t think she will. But if you want to play the ‘what if’ game, what if she does? All that tells you is that she wasn’t the person you thought she was. And you’re better off knowing before you get in any deeper.”

“She’s told me that whatever it is it won’t matter to her. That nothing will ever make her stop loving me.”

“Then trust in that. Because if you want a relationship with her, you’re going to have to bare your soul.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jade

Talon invited me over Friday night for dinner. Although I had planned to drive up to the city to see my mom, my dad assured me that everything was fine and told me to have a good time with Talon. Plus, Marj would be in the city for cooking class, and she had promised to stop by to see my mother and give me a detailed report.

So I had relented. I hadn’t spent any solid alone time with Talon this week, and I was craving some.

As I was pulling into the ranch, I hoped I had made the right decision. I was determined not to pressure him for information, but if he would just talk to me, I could go back to Wendy Madigan and find out what was truly going on.

Talon and Roger greeted me at the door. I gave Talon a kiss on the lips and Roger a scratch behind the ears.

“It smells great.” I inhaled thyme and garlic. “Kind of like a French bistro.”

“Felicia made us chateaubriand for two, with green beans and potato gratin.”

“Sounds great.”

He smiled. “And don’t tell Ryan, but we’re having real French wine. Château Lascombes, from a very good year.”

I let out a small giggle. “My lips are sealed.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I hope not. I plan to make good use of those lips later.”

My skin tightened around me, and my core throbbed. It had been so long since we’d spent more than just a few minutes together.

“Come on.” He led me into the kitchen. “I’ll pour you a glass of wine.”

I followed. “Are we eating in your room again?”

He shook his head. “No, that didn’t go so well the last time, and I didn’t want to jinx tonight. We’re going to eat out on the deck.”

The evening was beautiful. A soft breeze was blowing as we stepped out onto the deck. Talon—or Felicia, probably—had set a lovely little table for two, complete with cloth napkins and sterling silverware. Fine bone china graced the place settings.

“Wow, beautiful,” I said.

“This is my mother’s wedding china. It’s supposed to be worth a fortune, but I don’t know. We hardly ever use it, but I wanted tonight to be special.”

“Every night we’ve spent together is special.” I lifted my glass and took a sip.

“How’s the wine?”

I let the liquid flow over my tongue and down my throat, so soft. “Don’t tell Ryan, but it’s amazing.”

“That’s probably because this bottle is nearly as old as Ryan himself.” Talon laughed.

“A vintage Bordeaux. I’m not sure I’ve ever had anything like this.”

“Stick with me, blue eyes, and you’ll have the best of everything.” He pulled me toward him and held me.

He didn’t try to kiss me. We just stood in each other’s arms for a few timeless moments.

His warmth surrounded me. This was where I was meant to be. With this man. Beside him. His partner going through life. I knew that in the depths of my soul, and though I knew Talon loved me, I still wasn’t sure whether he felt exactly the same way. He had so much to work through before we could truly be together.

But tonight was tonight. I wasn’t going to spoil it by worrying about where our relationship might be going or what it might not become. Tonight I wanted to enjoy a beautiful dinner with the man I loved. And then I wanted him to take me to his room and fuck me senseless.