Somebody's Lover: The Jackson Brothers, Book 1

or sit, though he was sure touching her would be a mistake. He stayed where he was, miles too far from her.
    “It’s best that we end...what was going on between us.” She sucked in her breath as if voicing the thought had been hard for her, even as she sliced him in two. “You’ve been good to us since Lou died. The boys and I wouldn’t have made it without you. Everything you’ve done around the house, it’s meant a lot.”
    “It meant—”
    She held up her hand. “Let me finish while I can.” She took another deep breath. “I crossed the line when you found me at the bar that night. I shouldn’t have put you in that position. What happened after that wasn’t your fault.”
    “Taylor.”
    She looked at him, silenced him. He didn’t want to hear, but he would listen, for her.
    “I’ve been feeling pretty weird lately, and that was all a culmination. But I’m better now. I’m sorry I took advantage of your generosity.”
    Shit. Generosity? He was crazy for her. Couldn’t she see that? He shut his mouth on the words.
    She rolled her lips between her teeth, worried them, then finally spoke. “I know you’ve always felt responsible for what happened to Lou. And you’ve tried to make it up to us. What you did for the boys. You went out of your way to help me even after the way I threw myself at you that night.” She swallowed, her chest swelled with her breath.
    Jesus. Is that how she’d viewed what they’d done? That he was selflessly helping her? He’d laugh if it wasn’t so damn sad.
    He wanted her to finish, so he could prove her wrong.
    “I shouldn’t have taken all you gave without telling you that I never thought what happened to Lou was your fault. Never, Jace. Lou was...Lou.” She shrugged. “He liked things his way, and he probably thought he was teaching you a lesson by starting without you. He should never have done it.”
    Her words washed over him in a gentle wave. Cleansing him at last.
    “It was so hard to talk about. Nobody talked about it.”
    No, they hadn’t. They’d all let it fester. Even Lou wouldn’t have wanted that.
    He looked at her after that long silence. “Are you done?”
    She twisted her hands. “I don’t want you to think it’s because I didn’t enjoy what we did. It was wonderful. I mean that. But we both knew it was a...” She wriggled her brow, trying to find the right word for what they’d done. “Thing,” she finally came up with.
    He moved then, swiping the markers off the coffee table and tossing them back in their box. He shoved with his foot until there was enough room for him to sit in front of her.
    “Is it my turn now?”
    He wanted her to state every objection. He wanted to know every thought in her head, so he had an answer for it.
    “Umm, yes.”
    What should he tackle first? “I have felt responsible for what happened to Lou.” He bent his head, touched his lips to the back of her hand. “And I don’t think I can ever make you see how badly I needed you to forgive me.”
    “Oh, Jace, there’s never been—”
    He put two fingers to her lips. “My turn. I’ve done a thousand and more things to show you how sorry I was. But I love the boys, and I never used them to get you to forgive me. I did it because they needed me. For that, I’m the one who’s grateful. I needed them .” He searched her eyes for a sign that she believed him. He couldn’t read a thing. “Fixing stuff for you kept me busy, kept me from thinking too hard. But Taylor, I didn’t touch you because I was trying to atone in some weird way. I touched you because I’ve always wanted to touch you. Always.”
    Finally, a reaction. She frowned, tipping her head.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I’ve loved you since the day Lou brought you home. I hated myself, but I couldn’t stop the way I felt. I never would have touched you, I never would have told you. But when you kissed me that night, you suddenly handed me everything I’d ever wanted.”
    He let her absorb his meaning. He couldn’t know how she’d react, but on the way here, he’d sworn to give her the whole truth. His guilty obsession with her was the most damning part.
    “Always, Jace?”
    “From the beginning.”
    “But I never even noticed.”
    He laughed, though his throat ached. “I know. You loved Lou. And I would never have tried to take you away from him.” He’d dreamed about it, yes, but he’d never acted, never would have acted, if she hadn’t begged him to see her as a