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Authors: Amity Hope

Burned (18 page)

BOOK: Burned
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When I reached my car, I placed a hand on my roof to steady myself. The world in front of me was spinning. I needed a moment to pull myself together before I decided to drive.

Strong, insistent hands slid around my waist, turning me to face Jake.

His expression was stricken and I assumed it matched my own.

“Don’t go,” he pleaded. “If you do, Darby will be getting exactly what she wants. She always does.”

I studied his face. It was impossible to miss the desperation he exuded. I nodded slowly. “Go on.”

“You know how I feel about her. You
know
I think she’s a greedy bitch. I told you she’s manipulative. I think this just proves my point.”

He
had
warned me about her.

“You think she planted it there? Why?” I demanded.

His arms fell to his sides. “Isn’t it obvious? This,
this
right here is why. To cause problems between us. How else would she do that? I’m sure the only reason she brought the ring back was because she knew it was the only way I’d even let her in.”

My gaze scoured over his face, searching for any hint that he was lying to me. I was still getting to know him and I wasn’t sure that I knew him well enough to tell. Did I know him well enough to believe him? Did I know him well enough to believe that he wouldn’t have a fling behind my back with someone he claimed to find despicable?

If he wanted to be with her, he could just be with her. The fact that she had pleaded with him at the café to return her calls made it clear that he had been avoiding her.

I felt the tension ease away from my shoulders.

“I believe you,” I stated simply.

He blew out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. This is just...it’s such a classic Darby move. I should’ve known she had an ulterior motive. She’d never just give the ring back out of the goodness of her heart. She was hoping to get something out of it.”

“She thought this would get you back?” I asked. I couldn’t help it. I was skeptical.

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t go that far. I’m sure she’d just be happy to split you and me up. If she’s not happy, she doesn’t want anyone else to be happy either. I’m sure she thought this would send you over the edge. If it were
her
that this happened to, she would’ve assumed the worst and that would’ve been that.”

“Well,” I said, “I guess it’s a good thing that I’m not her.” I gave him a sheepish smile. The romantic moment had been ruined, Darby’s mission accomplished. “How do you feel about dinner?” Maybe we could salvage the evening. Dinner would put us back in neutral territory, put us back on track.

He gave me a relieved nod. “Dinner sounds like a good idea.”

Chapter 18

“Hey, Lanna! How’s it going?”

“It’s…going okay,” I said hesitantly. I hadn’t recognized the number but I’d answered anyway. The voice sounded familiar…but I couldn’t quite place it. “Who is this?”

“Oh! It’s me! Maggie!”

“Maggie, hi.” Maggie as in Jake’s sister? It had to be. She was the only Maggie I knew. Or sort of knew. “How are you?”

I slipped out of the muggy afternoon heat and into the beach house, tossing my keys on the table by the door. I was just pulling up when Maggie called, my short workday already done.

“Good. I hope you don’t mind but I swiped your number off of Jake’s phone,” she announced.

I smiled. “It’s fine.”

“Awesome. Because I wanted to ask you what you’re doing for Jake’s birthday.”

She was met with several long moments of silence.

“His birthday?” I finally echoed. “When is it?” I asked suspiciously.

“Today.” She scoffed. “I
knew
he wouldn’t tell you!”

“Wow, today. I wasn’t expecting that.” Already, my thought process had moved on to wondering what in the hell I was going to throw together by this afternoon. He was in class right now. I had a little bit of time but not much. “This is really short notice.”

I bit my lip as I quickly thought things over. We had pans tonight, just like we usually did. I had a hunch he planned on letting the day pass by just like any other day.

“It is,” she agreed.

“I wonder if I can throw together a party that fast.”  

“Don’t you dare!” she scolded. “Jake hates parties. He’s never liked being the center of attention. Not before, and definitely not now. Darby threw him a surprise party at the country club last year and I could tell he hated it.”

“So what does he like? I mean, what would he like to do for his birthday?”

“I’m
so
glad you asked.” I could hear the smile in Maggie’s voice. “He likes you. He likes fudge. He likes his privacy.”

“That’s not a lot to go on,” I said dryly.

She laughed. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“What about you?” I asked. “Maybe I could just host a small get together. Max and Holly will be here. You can come over. Maybe bring Tanner? Anyone else you can think of that he would actually
want
to see?”

She let out a growl of frustration. “I wish! That’s actually why I’m calling you. I won’t even be able to see my brother on his birthday.”

“Why not? I’m sure he’d love to see you.”

“Last night Dad announced he was taking us on a surprise vacation. He said that we were due for some family time. I’m not stupid,” she grumbled. “I know that it was his way of making sure no one was around for Jake. Mom didn’t even argue with him on it! When I told him I would refuse to go, he told me that he’d take away my car for a month. So here we are. Forced to have some family fun. Mom’s at the spa. Dad’s in the suite having a phone conference with a client. Tanner’s…off chasing girls. And here I am, talking to you. So. Yeah. Dad’s full of BS. This is all about Jake and making him feel left out.”

“Your dad seriously went to all that trouble just to keep you from Jake?” If so, the man was scum.

“I don’t know that for a fact,” she admitted. “But it sure feels like it.”

I had to admit the timing was suspicious but I didn’t know his family so I couldn’t really make that judgment call.

“Lanna,” she said quietly, “will you do me a favor? Two favors, actually.”

“I’ll try. What are they?”

“First, don’t tell him that Dad took us out of town. It’ll only make him feel worse,” she said.

“I won’t say a word. What’s the other favor?”

“Make sure he has a nice birthday.”

I smiled. “I’ll do what I can.”

“I think he’ll be happy just to spend time with you,” Maggie said. “He seems happier lately.”

I leaned a hip against the countertop, grateful for this little bit of insight into Jake. “Do you think so?”

“Definitely. We were never a really close family, but the way Dad has shut Jake out has gotten completely out of hand,” she said.

I cringed as I debated pushing for more info. I decided to go for it. I wasn’t sure when I’d have the opportunity again. And Maggie didn’t have to answer if she didn’t want to. “What about your mom? What’s she like?”

She made a sound of disgust. “Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but sometimes I wonder why she even had kids. I think it was probably because everyone expected her to. And one thing I know about her is that she is all about appearances.”

“So how does it make her look good to kick Jake out of her life?” I was baffled.

“That’s not about looking good. That’s about keeping Dad happy,” she said bitterly. “Mom will do anything to keep him happy if it means access to his bank account. The way they’ve twisted the story about Jake, most people think he was drinking when he crashed, or out partying, or whatever. They admire my parents for taking a firm stance with him.”

“That’s…messed up.”

“Yes,” she said, “it is. It’s messed up that Mom’s social status is worth more to her than her son’s reputation.”

“What about,” I cleared my throat, “what about his dad?”

“I thought we already clarified Dad can be an ass.” She was quiet for a moment. “Oh. You mean his bio dad. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around that.”

“Right. Him,” I confirmed. “Do you know anything about him?”

“Not much. He came in, donated blood, and I never even saw him. As far as I know, Jake’s never heard from him again. Mom absolutely refuses to talk about him. Despite everything that happened, she acts like he doesn’t exist.”

“But do you think that’s the way he wants things?”

Maggie was quiet a moment before asking, “What do you mean?”

“Maybe he wants to be part of Jake’s life but just doesn’t know how.”

“I don’t know,” she said doubtfully. “He knows where to find my brother. He’s never made any effort.”

“Can you blame him, though?” I asked as I thought it over. “I doubt your mom and Frederic were very welcoming at the hospital. Maybe he’s just trying to be respectful. You know? Maybe he just doesn’t dare interfere. Maybe he’s waiting for Jake to come to him!” The thought just occurred to me and I was excited by the prospect.

“Jake won’t do that,” she said decidedly.

“I know,” I agreed. “But maybe they’re both stubborn. Maybe they both need a push in the right direction.”

“If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, you should probably stop,” she warned.

“Maggie! What could it hurt? You know how lost Jake has been without his family. What if this is a way to fix that? What if it’s a way to make him feel like he belongs? What if he and his dad could actually have a father-son relationship?”

I was met with silence.

“You think it’s a horrible idea,” I finally said.

“I don’t know,” she whined. “What if Jake’s furious? Or what if…what if he decides he likes his new family more than he likes his old family. That probably wouldn’t take much under the circumstances.”

“Family? Does his dad have other kids?” My mind was whirling. Until this moment I hadn’t put a lot of thought into this. But it would make sense for his dad to have a wife. Other children…an entire family.

“Jake has two more half-sisters,” she admitted. “I’m not sure of their ages. I just know they’re pretty young. Maybe in elementary school? I overheard Mom telling Jake about them when he was still in the hospital. She said that Bobby—”

“Bobby? Is that…?”

“Yes,” she said unhappily. “Bobby Ziegler, Jake’s
father
. Anyway, he had to get back to his family, his little girls. She said that he was too busy to stick around the hospital.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and mentally questioned the validity of Mrs. Cartwright’s comments. I didn’t trust a woman who willfully neglected her son.

“Jake was curious about him at first, but when he never came back to check on him, he decided that if Bobby didn’t give a damn, he didn’t either. He made it clear that he was more interested in the family he has—his girls—than the son he never knew. Otherwise, why didn’t he ever contact Jake?” Maggie wondered. She groaned. “I just spotted my mother. She’s headed this way. I better go before she figures out what I’m up to.”

“She would really be mad that you were trying to plan something nice for Jake’s birthday?” I could hardly fathom that.

“Probably not,” Maggie said. “But with her, it’s hard to tell what she’s thinking. Also, she tends to blab to my dad. Thanks again. We’ll talk later?”

She disconnected before I could answer.

I glanced at the clock on the stove. I had a few hours to throw together a birthday for Jake before he was done with school and work for the day. I grabbed a notepad out of the junk drawer and quickly jotted down a shopping list.

“What are you doing?” Holly asked as she came into the kitchen.

“Did you know it’s Jake’s birthday?” I asked as I looked up from my list.

“No. Max didn’t mention it. He probably doesn’t know. Or if he ever did know, he probably forgot.”

“Right. I don’t think guys remember things like that when it comes to their friends.” I quickly filled her in on my phone call with Maggie.

Holly scowled. “Max has mentioned Frederic a few times. The guy is a control freak.”

“Maggie asked me to make sure Jake has a good day. I have a little bit of time before he’s done with school and work. I think I’ll make him dinner…surprise him.” I tucked the list into my back pocket. “I wish I had a key to his apartment. It would be fun to surprise him there.” I shrugged. “I guess he’ll be surprised enough when I show up at his door.”

“Have him over here!” Holly said. “Max and I are going to be gone.”

“Oh, yeah? What are you two up to?”

“Villette and Charles invited us out to dinner.”

“Any special reason?”

“Not that I know of. But you should have Jake over. We’ll either go over to Villette and Charles’s house after dinner or maybe take a ride up the coast. Either way, that will give you some time alone with Jake.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “I don’t want to kick you out of your own house.”

Holly made a dismissive motion with her hand. “It’s not a big deal. Just tell Jake happy birthday from us, okay?”

“Will do,” I said. “And now I had better run to the grocery store or I’ll never have everything ready on time.”

 

~*~*~

 

I raced around the beach house, lighting the abundance of candles I had purchased. Max and Holly had just left. The manicotti—my one fail proof meal—was almost done. A quickly tossed salad was ready to go. A loaf of French bread rested on the counter and another chocolate torte awaited us in the refrigerator.

The original plan was for Jake to pick me up. From there, we were going to decide what to do.

I was taking one final glance in the mirror when I heard a knock on the door. My skirt swished around me as I hurried down the hallway to let him in. I pulled the door open. He eyed me appreciatively. Before he could say a word, I placed my hands on his cheeks, guiding him to me so I could give him a quick kiss.

My hands slid down his arms, taking each of his hands in my own. I walked us backward, into the kitchen.

“What…What is this?” he stammered.

I smiled. If not for the small bouquet of birthday balloons, it would look like nothing more than your average romantic evening.

“This,” I said, “is a special birthday dinner.”

“How—”

“A little birdie told me,” I said wryly. “Since you apparently had no intention of filling me in.”

“A birdie.”

“By the name of Maggie.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “That little twerp.”

“I think she’s sweet. She wanted to make sure you had a nice day. So,” I said, “how was your day?”

“Just like any other…until about four minutes ago,” he said with a grin. He shook his head. “You really didn’t need to go to all this trouble.”

“It was no trouble,” I assured him. “We need to eat. I just happened to light a few candles.”

“And buy some balloons,” he said as he leaned in to press another kiss to my lips.

“That too,” I agreed. I leaned away from him. “I didn’t get you a gift, though. I kind of ran out of time. Not to mention I was totally drawing a blank when it came to ideas.” I lightly smacked his shoulder. “But it’s all your fault for not telling me it was your birthday in the first place.”

“This,” he nodded toward the candles, “is more than enough. In fact, this is perfect.” He pressed a few kisses to my neck before letting his lips drift up to my ear. “To be honest, this might be my best birthday yet.”

“Oh really?”

“I had a lifetime of extravagant, over the top gifts,” Jake admitted. “And none of them meant as much to me as this does. You have no idea how much I appreciate you taking the time to do this. It means a lot to me.”

BOOK: Burned
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