Yet different as his personality was, he still exuded integrity. Should she choose to confide in him, her secrets would be safe.

Heart hammering, Christi set her mug back down. Stared into the dark depths.

If she’d driven thousands of miles to ask Jack for a favor, she ought to be able to find the courage to take this one last step to secure it—no matter how embarrassing the confession would be.

Decision made, she linked her fingers into a tight knot on the table and forced herself to begin. “The story starts after my father died of a massive heart attack.”

Though his demeanor didn’t change, the subtle tension in the room abated slightly. As if he was relieved she’d capitulated.

That made one of them.

“Six years ago.” He sipped his coffee, his hand far steadier than hers.

“Yes.” At least he’d been listening that day on the wharf. “He was all the family I had, and I was lost without him. Too lost.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Explain that.”

“With no one to turn to other than the aloof, all-business attorney who handled my dad’s affairs, I was susceptible to charm and feigned affection.”

A muscle in his cheek ticced, and his features hardened. “That can happen.”

The coffee flavor on her tongue soured at the oblique reference to his own situation with her. He could even be thinking that turnabout was fair play.

And maybe it was. Maybe she deserved everything she’d gotten.

Yet she’d risen above the morass of her own making. Applied the lessons she’d learned. Built a new life.

Such as it was.

The small pile of boxes the movers had deposited in her living room was telling. How sad that it had taken so few to hold what was left of her life.

But feeling sorry for herself was useless. It was far more productive to focus on becoming a better person.

“I’m sorry, Jack. If I could change the past, I would.”

He waved her apology aside. “Go on with your story.”

A flash of lightning slashed across the dark sky out the window, followed by a low rumble of distant thunder. Both left an unsettled atmosphere in their wake.

How appropriate for this true-confessions session.

She rubbed a fingertip over a slight mar on the table and picked up her tale. “At my lowest point, Wes Powers entered my orbit. He was five years older than me and claimed to have been a business associate of my dad’s. To cut to the chase, I fell hook, line, and sinker for his empathy act and his offer to oversee my affairs. We began meeting for lunch, one thing led to another, and in short order I found myself with a ring and a new name.”

“I’m assuming he wasn’t what he seemed.”