Demanding His Brother's Heirs

That earned him a cautious smile. “I guess we weren’t. I’m Holly Shay.”

“Jason Cavanaugh.”

He offered his hand and she shook it, hitting him with another confused look. “Cavanaugh? But Jeremy said his last name—” She caught herself, shaking her head in disbelief. “But it wasn’t Shay, was it? That was a lie, too.”

“You’re not the first woman with whom Jeremy—” He hesitated, searching for the least painful explanation “—misrepresented himself.”

“So our relationship, our marriage, it was all one big lie?”

Now she was getting the idea. “Have there been financial repercussions?”

She hesitated, but the brief flash of fear and desperation in her eyes was all the answer he needed. Cheating strangers was one thing, but to con his own wife, the mother of his children? “How much did he take you for?”

She lowered her eyes, and when she didn’t answer he asked, “Did he leave you in debt?”

With her lip wedged firmly between her teeth, she nodded.

“Considerable debt?”

Again, no answer.

“You can tell me the truth. It isn’t going to upset me or hurt my feelings. I accepted a long time ago the sort of man my brother had become. Nothing you can say will shock me.” Sadly, that was the honest truth.

She finally looked him in the eye, chin held high, and said, “I’m devastated financially. The only thing of value that I have left is my wedding ring. If it’s even a real diamond.”

At the mention of a ring Jason sat up straighter. Could it be possible? “Can I see it?”

“I have it right here actually.” She reached into the front pocket of her jeans and pulled out the ring. Jason’s heart skipped a beat. And here he’d thought that was gone forever, too. Traded for cash or drugs or God knew what else. He’d be damned if Jeremy had had a conscience after all.

“It’s definitely real,” he told her.

“How can you tell?”

“Because this ring belonged to my mother.”

* * *

Holly was so screwed.

That ring had been her only hope to claw her way out of this financial abyss, but knowing that it had belonged to Jason’s deceased mother she couldn’t sell it now. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself.

“Jeremy was the oldest by seven minutes, so when our mother died it went to him,” Jason said. “It’s been in our family for generations.”

And that’s where it should stay.

With a heavy heart, she held out the ring to Jason. “You should have this back.”

“You’re Jeremy’s wife,” he said. “The mother of his children. It belongs to you now.”

If only that were true. She may have been his wife, but she obviously hadn’t had a clue who he was. “Please, just take it.”

Looking uncertain, Jason took the ring. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

The thick platinum band and enormous stones looked so small in his big hand. “Honestly, I figured Jeremy had probably sold it years ago. I never thought I would see it again.”

He slipped it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. With it went all of her hopes and dreams of a decent start for her and her boys. What would she do now? File bankruptcy? Go on public assistance? Live in a shelter? Or on the street in a cardboard box?

Jason must have sensed her distress. His brow furrowed with concern, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she said, pasting on a good face, the way she had for Jeremy, who’d never questioned the sincerity of her words. He’d believed anything she’d told him if it meant keeping the peace. Especially near the end.

Jason was clearly not at all like his brother.

“You don’t look fine,” he said, studying her, his eyes and his face, even his expression, so much like Jeremy’s, but different somehow. “If it’s money you’re worried about, don’t.”

Someone had to. And talk of her dismal finances was making her uncomfortable.

“My money issues are really not your problem,” she said, letting him off the hook, thinking that would end the conversation.

“I’m making them my problem,” he said firmly.

Whoa. His look said he wasn’t playing around, but neither was she. “That’s not necessary, but I appreciate the offer.”

It was as if he hadn’t even heard her. “I’ll take care of your debt and give you whatever you need to get back on your feet.”

Nope, not gonna happen. From the time she’d left her foster home until she’d married Jeremy, she’d survived completely on her own. It hadn’t always been easy, but she’d managed. It was clear now that trusting Jeremy with their finances had been a terrible mistake. One she wouldn’t be making again with anyone else. For all she knew Jason could be like his brother. He seemed genuine, but so had Jeremy. “I can’t let you do that.”

He watched her intently for several seconds, as if he were trying to decide if he could change her mind. Apparently he didn’t think so. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.” She would get by somehow. She always had. Of course, back then, she hadn’t had twin infants to consider.

“At least allow me to cover the funeral costs,” he said. “I owe Jeremy that much. And his children.”

If she let him it would shave off a fair chunk of her current financial responsibility. And maybe it would bring Jason closure. Everyone deserved that, right?

She shoved her pride aside long enough to say, “That would be okay.”

He looked both sad and relieved. He was extremely attractive, but of course she would think that since he looked just like her husband, whose chiseled features and long lean physique had caught her eye the instant he’d walked into the party where they’d met. She’d never slept with a man on the first date, but she had gone home with him that night.

The sex itself hadn’t been mind-blowing, but it had been nice. What she’d really liked, even more than the physical part, was just being near him. She’d liked the way his lips moved when he spoke, the inquisitive arch of his right brow. She’d loved the feel of her hand in his. He’d made her feel safe.

At first.

Unfortunately, as her pregnancy had progressed and her condition had become more fragile, he hadn’t been able to cope. Instead of taking care of her, assuring her that everything would be okay, she had been the one constantly soothing his anxieties and fears.

She’d convinced herself that once the boys were born, things would go back to normal. But even after the twins were home from the hospital and out of danger, Jeremy’s temperament had continued to deteriorate until she’d felt as if she had three children and no husband. Some days he hadn’t even gotten out of bed, and he’d begun to resent the twins for taking up all of her time. He’d even accused her of loving the children more than she loved him.