Hearts Collide (Canyon Cove Book 4) (10 page)

“Sounds nice,” I said.

She took a sip of her coffee then looked at me shyly.

“Thank you for being here,” she said. “I know I don’t deserve you hanging around and taking my mind off of things.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I haven’t been very nice to you at times,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I took her hand. “I’ll just add it to the running list of things you owe me for.”

“You’re terrible,” she said with a laugh.

“Maybe, but you love it.”

Chapter Eleven

Jackie

The doorbell woke me from a deep sleep. I heard Dennis grumbling as he opened the door. A few moments later, I heard him again.

“What the fuck,” he said.

The door slammed and his feet stomped through the small apartment to my bedroom door. Hearing so much anger from him, I pulled the covers up to my chin for protection, despite wearing pajama pants and a tank top.

“Who the fuck have you been fucking?” he yelled as he threw open my door. “I knew you looked better lately. Did you find yourself one of those billionaires like your friends have? Wait until he finds out you’re really a prude. Or maybe you just spread your legs for money.”

I stared at him, taking all his jabs and insults. What made him talk to me like that? What was going on?

My first thought was to keep my mouth shut and just take it. I went with my second thought.

I jumped out of the bed and walked straight towards him.

“Get the fuck out,” I yelled. “Who do you think you are for talking to me like that? I don’t have to put up with this. You shouldn’t even be here! You should’ve been gone last week.”

He rolled his eyes like I was annoying him and turned his back to me. I didn’t know what came over me, but my hands went up and shoved him as hard as I could.

Dennis stumbled out the bedroom door, tripping on the rug. When he caught his footing, he glared at me angrily then took a step towards me.

Was he going to hit me?

Without thinking, I took a step towards him and narrowed my eyes.

“Go ahead and try it,” I said. “Watch what happens next.”

He scowled as he stood his ground. I felt like he was waiting to see if I would turn away first, but I refused to. He looked away and then turned towards the door.

What happened? How did things get so bad,
I wondered.

“You got a delivery,” he said.

He opened the door and walked out.

I quickly grabbed my cardigan from the closet and put it on. In the doorway was an older man dressed in an outfit that reminded me of the bellhops at old hotels. He had on a long coat with matching pants and a hat with gold embroidery around the brim.

“Miss Jackie Stone?” he said.

“Yes?”

“I am Reginald Britton, butler for the Winslow family. Here are your keys.” He held up a set of keys between his fingers.

“Keys?” I asked.

He jingled the keys in the air. Unsure what to do, I put my hand out and he dropped them into my palm. I held the plastic key fobs in my hand and marveled at how different they were from the metal car keys of my last car. Flipping a fob over, I recognized the Mini logo.

“There must be a mistake,” I said holding them out to Reginald. “These aren’t mine.”

“I never make mistakes, miss. Your car is parked outside.”

“Wait, what? My car?”

He started walking down the flight of stairs. I followed him to the parking lot across the street where a shiny, red, four-door Mini Cooper with white bonnet stripes was parked with a giant red bow on top. Even though the bow covered the roof, I knew there was a sun roof and everything else I daydreamed about to Brent.

I shrieked with excitement. I couldn’t believe it belonged to me. But why? Why would he help me like that?

“Who’s it from?” Dennis grunted as he flicked a cigarette butt to the ground.

“If I may, miss,” Reginald said with his eyebrows raised.

I nodded, unsure what he was going to do.

“Sir, it is none of your business who it is from. It is a gift for Miss Stone. And if I hear you talk to her again the way you did earlier, you will be smoking those cigarettes out of your arse.”

Giggling I opened the car door and breathed in the beautiful new car smell. I sat inside and took everything in. I couldn’t believe it. I had never had a new car before, let alone one I dreamed up.

I removed the bow and carried it into my apartment, then quickly got dressed. Dennis was still outside, chain smoking. I didn’t say anything to him as I walked past him. I got into the new car and drove to Winslow Environmental.

As I entered the glass building, the woman behind the reception desk stood and smiled at me like she knew me.

“Good morning, Miss Stone,” she said. “Mr. Winslow is expecting you.” The elevator doors dinged as they opened. “His office is on the twentieth floor.”

Smiling at her, I got into the elevator and pinched myself as the doors closed. Everything was so surreal, I found it hard to believe I wasn’t dreaming.

When the doors opened, a woman with a tightly wrapped bun and rust colored reading glasses was waiting for me.

“Good morning, Miss Stone,” she said. “I’m Marcia, Mr. Winslow’s personal assistant. If you have any problems with the car, if anything isn’t precisely to your liking, please let me know.”

I stared at her, unsure what to say.

“Thank you?” I said, hesitantly.

“Mr. Winslow is expecting you,” she said. “Also, I took the liberty of ordering your favorite breakfast.”

“Which is?” I asked, curious if she really knew.

“Brioche french toast and hash browns with warmed syrup and a glass of orange juice.”

“Okay, this is too freaky,” I said.

She laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “Where is he?”

“Right this way, miss.”

I followed her down a long hall. At the end of the hall were open double doors. Marcia knocked on one of the doors and then waved me in. Brent was standing in front of the wide window looking at his view of Canyon Cove University. He smiled as he watched me enter the room.

“You got the gift?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you, but I can’t accept it.”

Marcia entered the office and placed my breakfast on a table with a white tablecloth, then left the room and closed the office doors.

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” I asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “I do this for all my friends.”

“Oh? What’s Gunnar’s favorite breakfast?”

“Black coffee with lots of sugar,” he said.

“You’re so full of shit.” I shook my head.

I was flattered. Maybe I should have been nervous that he went out of his way to find out all these things about me, but it made me feel special. No one had ever made such a big deal about me before.

“You should eat your breakfast before it gets cold,” he said.

“How did you know about this? Did Sam tell you?”

“I’ll never reveal my secrets,” he said with a grin.

“That Sam,” I said shaking my head. “I’m worried what else she might have told you about.”

“Don’t worry, nothing embarrassing.”

I started thinking about the things Samantha knew about me. She and I had been friends for so long, she was like the sister I never had. I thought about the things she might have told Brent and my exes came to mind.

“Did she tell you about Dennis?” I asked.

“Not really,” he said as his mouth set in a fine line. “Only that you’ve been on and off for four years. In her defense, I asked her about him last night after he wrecked your car.”

I nodded, understanding why he would be curious.

“What about Marc?” I asked.

“Who?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

My stomach growled hungrily. I sat down and Brent joined me at the table. While I ate, I thought about how he had been showing up wherever I was for months. I thought about the car he bought me, and I thought about breakfast. He wasn’t treating me like someone he hated. Why did I ever think he felt that way about me?

As I finished eating, I pulled the Mini key fobs from my bag and set them in front of Brent.

“I can’t take this,” I said. “I love it, but it’s too much. Take it back.”

“If you don’t want it, you can take it back and use the money for something else,” he said. “It’s your car, not mine. You needed a car and I got you one. Just enjoy it.”

He slid an envelope across the table to me. I didn’t have to open it to know it was the title.

“You’re crazy,” I said. “You’re practically stalking me, you bought me a brand new car, and your evil proposition of having sex with me is all about my having multiple orgasms.”

He laughed. “Tough life, huh?”

“I thought you hated me,” I said.

He leaned back into his seat as he crossed his legs at the knee.

“Yes, you did think that, but I never knew why. I don’t think I’ve ever acted like I hate you, have I?”

“No, you haven’t,” I said. “I guess I just thought that since I was such a bitch to you, that you should hate me.”

“I don’t think I could ever hate you.”

“At least let me pay you for the car. Figure out a payment plan or something,” I said.

“How about this,” he said, leaning towards me. “How about you stop hating me? Just give me a chance and I’ll say you paid for the car.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“So you can’t stop hating me?” he asked.

“No, I can’t. I stopped hating you a while ago.”

Chapter Twelve

Jackie

I left Brent’s office on cloud nine. I drove all around Canyon Cove from downtown, to South End, then onto the freeway and through the canyon road to the beach, before I headed home. I wanted to feel guilty for accepting such a huge gift, but Brent was so genuine about giving it to me that I only felt happy.

As I climbed the steps to the second floor of the apartment building, Dennis stood from where he was seated on the floor. He took a long drag off his cigarette and then tapped it out against the concrete wall.

I didn’t say anything to him. I kept my eyes on the door and pretended he didn’t exist.

“Jackie, come on,” he said as I reached the door. “You know that’s me. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” I said. “Did you learn a new word?”

I put my key in the door and unlocked it, but I didn’t enter. I knew he would follow me in.

“I’m trying to apologize to you,” he said. “I saw that car and just lost it. I don’t know why, maybe I was jealous, but I know I have no right to be.”

“That’s right, you don’t.”

“You’ve been nothing but nice to me,” he said. “I know you have no reason to let me stay with you and yet every time I’m in a jam, I can always count on you to help me out.”

I shrugged, trying to keep my anger, but listening to him made it slowly evaporate.

“It’s what I do,” I said.

“I know! That’s what’s so great about you. Whenever anyone needs help, you’re right there to help them out. I remember that girl you worked with who was booted from her apartment. You found out at work that she was sleeping in her car and you let her stay on your couch for a couple of nights. You barely knew her.”

“She was sleeping in the grocery store parking lot. I couldn’t let her do that,” I said.

“Or what about that woman with the seven kids that one year around Christmas. You barely earn enough to make ends meet, but you gave her money to buy a tree and presents for her children so they could have a Christmas.”