I wasn’t sure I could turn my back on this huge part of my life.
And I didn’t know how to open that part of me to Sky.
Which left me at an impasse. How could we truly have a relationship if I was keeping something so huge from her? It wasn’t fair to Sky. I didn’t want to hurt her. I’d rather gnaw off my arm than cause her pain.
I needed her in my life. Desperately. I would burn the whole world down to keep her. I had never been one of those territorial alpha males, but something about Skylar and my feelings for her had me wanting to throw her over my shoulder and lock her away from everyone and everything. I wanted her for me and only me.
Mostly, I was terrified this beautiful new thing would disappear the second she learned the truth about me. And that fear had me completely on edge. Tiffany’s visit to the office had been her throwing down the gauntlet. I should know better than to ignore it or her.
I was scared as hell that she would throw a perfectly timed grenade into this amazing thing that had just started. I knew she’d never tolerated my ignoring her. She’d never allowed me to stay away indefinitely. She had come into my town and made her presence known.
She wanted something.
And for some reason that something was me.
I had a distinct feeling I was running on borrowed time. That eventually, this would all blow up in my face.
“Big plans for the weekend?” Jeremy asked, pouring coffee into his mug on Friday morning.
Normally I was purposefully evasive because usually, I had a weekend of cam work ahead of me. But this time, I wanted to share. I wanted to shout to the world. Skylar was changing the fundamentals of who I was.
“I’m going away this weekend actually,” I told him, watching with some satisfaction as my partner’s face took on a look of shock.
“Are you telling me Robert Jenkins has actual plans?” he asked, aghast.
“Who has plans?” Lena asked, coming into the break room, holding out her mug for her husband to fill with coffee.
“Jenkins. He says he’s going away for the weekend. Can you believe that?” Jeremy dropped a kiss on her cheek.
“Old news, Wyatt. Didn’t I tell you that Skylar was going away with Rob?” Lena picked up a donut and took a bite, her lips covered in powdered sugar.
“Skylar? As in Skylar Murphy? You’re telling me our Rob is taking Skylar out of town?” Jeremy turned to me. “You two are dating?”
“Yeah, we are.” I reached into the box of donuts, taking a plain one for myself.
Jeremy looked flabbergasted. “Why am I the last one to know about this? Decate, did you know Rob and Skylar are dating?” he asked our other partner who had just entered the room.
Adam glanced at me and then Jeremy. “Meg told me a couple of weeks ago.”
“And no one thought to tell me? Why am I the last one to know this?” Jeremy threw his hands in the air in exasperation.
“Because it’s Rob’s life and we shouldn’t be nosing around in his and Skylar’s business,” Lena said primly, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“That’s bullshit and you all know it. We’re friends. Friends have a right to know when they’re dating other friends. I’m completely offended that you didn’t tell me the second it happened,” Jeremy scolded me, looking honestly hurt.
“I’m sorry I didn’t take out a notice in the paper. Should I start running our plans by you first? To make sure you’re in the loop?” I asked blandly.
“Don’t be such a smart ass, Rob. But a ‘hey, I started seeing our good buddy, Skylar’ might have been nice,” Jeremy huffed.
Lena put her arm around him and patted his cheek. “Aww, babe, Rob and Skylar didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
Jeremy frowned. “My feelings aren’t hurt. I just don’t like to be the last to know something.” He drank his coffee, glaring at me over the rim. “So where are you two going? Or am I allowed to know that?”
Lena, Adam, and I shared an amused look. “We’re going to Philly. We leave tonight and are staying at the Four Seasons. I’ve made reservations at this new five-star restaurant—”
“The Golden Eagle?” Jeremy cut in.
I nodded.
“How did you make reservations? They’ve been booked up for a month.”
“An old friend of mine is the head chef. He squeezed me in,” I told him. What I didn't tell him is how I knew the head chef—who used to go by the stage name Wolfgang when he worked at the Landing Strip with me all those years ago.
“Pulling out all the stops, I see. You and Sky must be serious,” Adam joined in. He had been pleased to hear about Sky and me, claiming he always knew something was going on between us, though I was pretty sure he said that to save face for being oblivious.
“I want to take her somewhere nice. She deserves it,” I told my friends. “Tomorrow we’re going to visit my brother and then tomorrow evening we’re going to my mom’s house for dinner.”
Adam and Jeremy had both met my mom and brother at our law school graduation. They knew Sam was in a facility in Philly, but they didn’t know I paid for it.
“Wow, introducing her to the family. I had no idea you guys were at that stage already. Sky is impossible to get any details from. You two are obnoxiously similar on that front,” Lena complained.
“Hi, sorry to interrupt, but Ms. Hardwell’s on the phone,” Gail, our receptionist said, poking her head around the door.
Jeremy put his mug in the sink. “Tell her I’ll be a minute—”
“She asked to speak to Mr. Jenkins.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to me. Jeremy and Adam had both grilled me about my obvious history with Tiffany after her visit to the office. Even Lena had questioned me at length.
“The whole thing is
