“Ricky might not have known.”

Asa shakes his head. “Renee never could’ve kept it quiet this long. I don’t believe it.”

That’s when I blurt out the secret I was keeping from him too. “Renee told me who Ricky’s dad was the day Ricky proposed.”

“What?” My brother’s eyes widen and he glances at Lincoln for the first time, but looks immediately back at me.

I explain, quickly and succinctly, all the threats Renee made to force me into the wedding.

“Jesus Christ, Whit.” He crushes me in another hug. “I thought you loved him. I did. I would never have pushed you into it if I didn’t think it was the best thing for you. I’m so fucking sorry, Whitney. I wish you’d told me.”

“I didn’t want you to know. I made my choices, and I lived with them.” I look up at my big brother. “Now I need you to be able to live with the choices I’m making now.”

His expression darkens as he shifts his attention back to Lincoln. I expect my brother to tell me to keep dreaming, but instead he asks me a single question. “Do you love him?”

“Absolutely and completely.”

“Then I’ll withhold judgment. For now.”

“Thank you.” Lincoln finally speaks, and the fact that he stayed quiet this long and let me and my brother say what we needed to say makes me love him even more. “And you’re more than welcome to spend as much time with Whitney here as you want. I’m sure there’s a lot your sister would like to tell you. If you need a place to stay, we can set you up with a room on the VIP floor at The Gables.”

“Are you giving away my rooms again?” McKinley says as she joins us.

“I do need to talk to my sister, but I don’t need your charity. I pay my own way.”

“Mr. Gable, we don’t consider it charity. We consider it making sure everyone is shielded from the press to the extent we can assure it,” McKinley says, countering him.

Asa’s gaze narrows on her. “I can handle myself just fine, Ms. Riscoff.”

McKinley shifts her weight from foot to foot, and I have to wonder if Asa makes her nervous.

“Let’s take this conversation to the library,” Lincoln says. “Whitney can catch you up on everything that’s happened.”

My brother’s muscles tense, and I know he wants to spend time at the Riscoff estate about as much as he wants to step on an IED.

“Please, Asa.”

Twenty-One

Lincoln

Asa Gable, a man I’ve always thought was unflappable, looks dumbfounded when Whitney finally finishes explaining everything that has happened since she returned to Gable.

“Jesus Christ. If I’d known, I’d have left the jungle and gotten my ass here a hell of a lot sooner. This is a goddamned disaster. You shouldn’t have to deal with this shit alone.”

“She’s not dealing with it alone. Your sister has the full power of the Riscoff family behind her.”