The emotions playing over his face were too real. If Nick growling and blustering about like a drill sergeant was upsetting Ric, then what I was about to say would send him apoplectic. I just couldn't do it him. Jaxon was a part of my past, but he wasn't gone yet. And to get him gone I had to talk. "Jaxon never opened up about his past. He was more interested in the present," I said, watching the two men opposite me settle in for the long haul. I'd decided I'd start off easy, then hit the hard stuff once I'd gathered momentum and couldn't stop. "He made sure I told him all about my past, but always as though it was the most important thing he'd ever wanted to hear. I felt... flattered. He asked a lot of questions. Even before we became close." My voice had tapered off there, as though saying the words aloud made them more real. I sucked in a breath and kept going. I'd started now, I had to finish.