Page 40 of Book Bae

He led me into a two-story library that was circular in design. Bookshelves covered most of the walls from the floor to the ceiling, and there was a rolling ladder that was tall enough to reach all the shelves. There was a large section along one of the walls that had a floor-to-ceiling window that looked out onto a beautiful pond and greenery.

“This is my library that I didn’t show you earlier. Here’s why.”

There were picture frames on another section of the wall. He was in every picture with famous authors and people I guessed were in the literary world. He held up copies of MJ Stone’s books in the pictures, and then there was one bookshelf that held nothing but Mike Jamison and MJ Stone books and literary awards he had won.

I was breathless and shook my head. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Memories of everything I shared with him about how I felt about MJ returned, and now I was embarrassed. He remained silent as I walked around the library and took in the extent of his works, awards, and honorary recognitions. He was an educated man, a cultured man, and a man with many layers that I hadn’t begun to peel back yet.

When I finished my personal tour, he stood watching me with his hands locked behind his back. “Say something.”

“I don’t know what to say, Micaiah. I mean, what? Why did you lie to me? Why didn’t you trust me? There are so many questions, but does it even matter?”

I felt a bit dejected because I thought we’d created a bond and shared a closeness that night like no other.

“Come here, let’s talk.” He took my hand and led me out of the library, with its baby grand piano, and back to the dining room. Once I was seated, he explained himself.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you before now. There are clauses in my contract for MJ that prohibits me from sharing my identity. When I decided to write under that name, no one expected it to do well—not the publishing company, my agent, hell, not even me. They didn’t want it to ruin the sales for Mike if people figured out that they were one and the same. In time, MJ surpassed Mike, and they didn’t want people to connect the two and stop reading MJ.”

“I mean, I get that. It makes sense why you didn’t tell me initially, but it still stings a bit, you know?”

“I’m sure it does.”

“Even if not that night, why not now?”

He sighed. “I wanted to tell you, but I also enjoyed getting to know you without the barrier and heaviness of those titles and names between us. You’re the first person I’ve gotten to know who didn’t know who I was or what I did. You didn’t give a damn about nothing except getting to know the man. You have no idea how that feels to me. I’d made up my mind that I would tell you after the DNA test came back. I’ll admit, I was slow about it, but I was going to tell you. That’s partially why I brought you here today. I knew you thought that I worked security. Well, this was my big reveal—ta-dah!”

My heart lightened at that revelation and the tiny smile on his face. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“And a very big one it is.” My cheeks flushed as he smirked, and my eyes grew wide. “I have a habit of opening my mouth and inserting my foot.”

He laughed. “It’s all good. But the most important part of my decision to keep my pen names a secret is because I have custody of my son, and I have to protect him. I don’t want anyone knowing who I am, anything about my personal life, or finding ways to gain access to my son—unless they’re in my life for good. People have used me in the past, and now that he’s here, I can’t have that, same with our princess now. Having custody of Malachi causes me to move differently.”

I wasn’t sure why, but my hand immediately rested on my belly at the mention of the word “custody.”

“Don’t worry. I would never try to take her from you. That’s what you were thinking when you placed your hand on your belly, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I do want to discuss shared custody, but I would never remove a child from their mother’s care—unless it was necessary, and Malachi was very necessary.”

It was bad on my part, but I didn’t even like the word “shared custody.” I never dreamt that I would have to share custody with anyone.

I could tell by the finality of his tone that he didn’t want to discuss what happened with his son.

“Where is Malachi tonight?”

“He’s with my older sister Brooke and her family. She has kids around his age.”

“Do you come from a close-knit family?” I asked.

“I do. I’ve got five siblings: two older sisters, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. The oldest of us is forty-two, and the youngest is twenty-three, both girls.”

“I have an older brother and a younger brother.”

“Do they drive you crazy?”

I laughed. “Not anymore. When family gatherings become too much, I have the luxury of going home or traveling somewhere.”

“Speaking of traveling, how’s the business coming along?”