Made To Love Her (4 page)

“Just take me to the hotel, Robert. Okay?”

He looks at me as if I’m speaking Dutch.

“Please,” I urge him.

After a moment of studying my expression, he nods. “Okay.” He starts the car.

Finally, we’re mobile again. I like it better when we’re moving forward. I won’t stop charging forward until Vince is found; that’s a promise I make to myself.

R
obert drops
me off at the Ritz, and a bellman takes my bags up to my suite as I check in. When they ask if I’ll be staying alone, I tell them my fiancé will be joining me. I feel as if I’m lying to myself, and I don’t like it.

As soon as I’m in our room, I drag my tired body over to the bed and flop down on the foot of it. At this point, I have only one option.

I take my cell phone out of my purse and place a call. I know it’s late and Daisy’s pregnant. But my chin starts shaking as the phone rings.

“Hey, Mags, what’s going on?” Jack says, sounding half-asleep.

It’s clear that I woke him up, but he knows that I would never call him at this hour if I didn’t have to.

My eyes water so much that the world around me is blurry. “Vince is missing.”

“Vince is missing?” he asks for clarity.

The tears are streaming down my face, and my throat is tight. I want to answer Jack’s question, but my mouth is wide open, and there’s nothing coming out. When I do let out a sound, it’s a deep, guttural cry.

“Help!” I finally shriek. “Please help me, Jack.”

The next thing Jack asks is where I am. I tell him, and he says he’s on the way.

I
t’s nearly
two in the morning when I make it back to Anne’s house. I sit in the car for a moment, staring at the front porch. Where in the hell did Vince go? I recall every second of the last conversation we had. It had been way too long since we’d seen each other face-to-face. We gave each other bear hugs. Vince looked good—happy and well rested.

“You’re finally going to make it legal with Mags,” I said.

“She finally said yes and is sticking to it,” Vince replied.

I could see how grateful Vince was to be marrying Maggie Conroy. I always got a sense that Vince thought that if he didn’t seal the deal with her that she would get away from him. So there was no way in the world he was just going to run off and disappear into thin air.

I didn’t think much of the black car that pulled up after we ended our conversation. It looked like a Lincoln Town Car. I figured whoever was driving it had something to do with the wedding. A lot of people are supposed to show up at the house tonight. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to remember more details about the car.

The windows were tinted. Especially at dusk, the windows made it impossible to see who was driving. Vince was talking to whoever was in the backseat. At one point, Vince folded his arms in front of him, and that sudden move signaled something inside me, but I didn’t follow my instincts. I should’ve walked back to the road and asked if everything was okay. But that’s when Allie opened the door and I saw Carter standing behind her, watching me with wide, excited eyes.

My insides turned summersaults, and I had to work to maintain my composure. The last time I heard from Carter, I was reading what she had to say to me in a text message. She sent it on a Sunday after we had spent Saturday together at my house in Napa. After I came back from a run, Carter had split. When I realized she was actually gone, I tried to call her and ask her what the hell happened. The next day, I left my house in Napa and stayed at Jack’s house in Russian Hill instead of the hotel I had been living in. Right before I sat down to dinner, Carter had sent a text message. I’ve read the damn thing so many times that I can remember it verbatim.

“I’m fine. Sorry for the sudden departure. I had fun. I wish you the best.”

I tap my fingers on the dashboard as I glare at the house. Carter’s in there now. When I dropped Maggie off at the Ritz, I played with the idea of getting a room for myself just so I could avoid the awkwardness of being around Carter, not to mention the discomfort of staving off questions about Vince’s whereabouts.

“Where the hell is he?” I say to myself. That is the million-dollar question.

Finally, I get out of the car and walk toward the house. The lights are still on in two of the bedrooms, but one just turned off. The lights to the kitchen and foyer are dim. People must have retired to their rooms for the night already. Oddly enough, I have a key to Anne’s house. I practically lived with the Adams family throughout my teenage years. After I graduated from high school, I tried to give the key back, but Anne insisted that I keep it.

Once I make it to the door, I turn the knob just to make sure it’s locked. It’s not. Maybe Anne left it open for Vince. I step into the foyer and stand there. What’s happening in real life is stranger than fiction. There’s no way I can go to sleep, not until I find out exactly what happened to my friend.

“Hey,” a voice whispers from the living room.

I turn to see Carter sitting on the edge of the sofa, engulfed by the shadowy atmosphere.

My eyebrows ruffle. I’m surprised to see her. “Hey.”

“You didn’t find him, did you?” she whispers.

Shaking my head, I walk into the living room to sit beside her. We sit in silence for a moment.

“What do you think could’ve happened?” Carter asks.

I exhale forcefully as I fall back against the sofa. Is it time to the think the worst? What’s the worst that could’ve happened? “It all narrows down to who was in that black car. We find out who it was, then maybe we can figure out what happened.”

“And you didn’t see or recognize the driver?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No.”

I look at Carter’s face. The last time we were this close, we had just made love. She still hasn’t told me why she left me high and dry in Napa. I never asked for answers. I would still like to know why she left, but at this point we’ve both moved on with our lives. She looks good, though—just as captivating as she did the first time I laid eyes on her.

Carter rubs her palms down her pant legs. My staring obviously makes her nervous. I look out the window.

“I’m starting to think the worst,” she says.

“Yeah,” I say with a sigh, battling the urge to draw her against me to comfort her.

“And what about the wedding?” she asks.

I let myself look into her bright but conflicted eyes. “I don’t know. It’s all on Maggie at this point.”

She frowns. “Yeah, but doesn’t she think Anne deserves to know Vince is missing?”

“If it’s serious, yes, but we don’t know yet.”

Carter’s shoulders slump. “Right. I get it. Lexie, Allie and Maddie are the last people you want to alarm. They’re not real good at handling a crisis.” She grunts facetiously. “Plus, they’ll only figure out a way to blame Maggie for his disappearance.”

“True,” I say, knowing exactly what she means.

Carter settles back against the sofa. I wonder if she can feel the sexually charged energy that’s flowing between us. Regardless, I’m staying glued to my seat. A time existed when I would’ve put my hand on Carter’s thigh and massaged it as I stared into her eyes, waiting for her to succumb to my seductive powers. But the thought of being the person I used to be leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I’m four sessions into therapy these days, and I have uncovered some disturbing things about myself. I’m addicted to my bad habits, and the only reason I decided to do something about it is because I finally hit bottom when I had sex with Maggie. That one act nearly ruined the one true relationship in my life—my friendship with Vince. The reason I sought a shrink is because whatever made me act out in the first place was still inside me, waiting for the perfect opportunity to reclaim my life. So even if I do get involved with Carter, I can’t trust that I wouldn’t end up still being the same uncommitted, sex-starved, drug-starved, and self-loathing jerk I have always been.

“So how is it in DC?” I finally ask.

Carter clears her throat. “Um, right, the Metropolis firm is great,” she says gleefully.

“It was Stuart Beatty who poached you from me, wasn’t it?”

Carter looks at me with wide eyes. I was just joking with her, but I would love to say it again, just to see that sexy expression on her face.

“Um, well, he didn’t
poach
me. I applied for the job way before you took over Kennedy Creative.”

I wink at her. “It’s okay, Carter. I heard you’re doing great things out there in DC.”

Her posture stiffens. “You have?”

“Yes, I have.”

She focuses her inquisitive gaze on me.

“What? You don’t think you’re doing great things?” I ask.

She shakes her head spastically. “No. That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“Um…” She turns to look at me and opens her mouth to speak but then closes it.

“What is it?” I urge. I’m on the edge of my seat. I don’t know what I’m hoping she’ll say, but that look on her face is making me as horny as hell. I can’t deny the robust sexual attraction I have for her. Strictly by accident, I acted on it once. Rather than doing it again, I’d like to wait and see if she and I can get something serious, something real going. I like Carter that much.

Her eyes are wide and as curious as a doe’s eyes. “It’s just that… um. You were checking on me?”

I take a deep breath in order to get a grip. I want to kiss her, but I know I can’t. “Yeah. I did.”

“Oh.” She doesn’t sound upset.

My heart is beating a mile a minute. I can’t stop my lips from moving toward hers. We hold firm eye contact. I’m trembling. Shit, I just might do this right here and right now—fuck her until I’m running on fumes. Then the light clicks on. Carter and I scramble to put distance between us.

“Why are you guys still up?” Allie asks. She’s standing by the light switch, frowning as if she thinks she may have caught us fucking or something. She’s wearing a fuzzy pink robe, and her hair is pulled into a high ponytail.

“We were just talking,” Carter says.

Allie glances down at my crotch. I’m as hard as steel, so I cross my legs to hide it.

“About what?” Allie asks.

“Architecture stuff,” Carter says before I can think of a response.

Allie hesitates as if she doesn’t really want to accept the answer. “So has Vince made it back yet?”

“He won’t be back for a while,” I say.

“Humph.” Allie grimaces. “He just left without letting us know.” She shakes her head while rolling her eyes. “Typical Vince.”

I already know Allie isn’t going to leave Carter and me alone again, and I’m sort of bummed about it. She looks so soft sitting there. I want to be inside her, right now. I stand. “He’ll probably call me in the morning. I’ll let you know what he says.”

“And Maggie just left?” Allie says as though Maggie’s leaving is the greatest sin against humanity.

Carter and I widen our eyes at each other.

“So…” I say in a concluding tone. “I’m going to go to bed.” I shoot a finger at Carter. “It’s good seeing you again.”

Carter clears her throat and springs to her feet. “Likewise.”

I smirk, feeling flirtatious. “
Likewise
you’re glad to see me, or
likewise
you’re going to bed?”

“Both,” she says.

I’m seized by her alluring grin. Is she coming on to me? I would still love to spread her out and ravish her, but the thought still scares me. I don’t want to end up hurting her, or any woman.

So I smile resolutely at Carter and Allie. “See you in the morning.”

I go straight to my guest room and sit on the side of the bed to take off my shoes. Suddenly, a memory comes to me. I did notice one aspect of the black car—the emblem on the front. It was shaped like a crest. The colors were indecipherable, but it was definitely a Cadillac. I’m certain of it. I don’t know how that can help, but at least it’s a start. I resolve to call Maggie in the morning to tell her. She’s probably asleep by now. She looked exhausted when I last left her.

T
he room phone rings once
. I blink. The room is full of light because I forgot to close the curtains, and my head is heavy. The phone rings again, and I flip over and reach out to the nightstand to answer it.

“Hello?” I say, my voice hoarse. I squeeze my eyes shut. The daylight is making my head hurt more.

“Good morning, Miss Conroy, you have a guest. A Mr. Jack Lord. Could I please send him up?” The woman’s voice is too cheery.

I wish I could be as happy as she is. My dilemma rushes back into me like a strong wind. Vince is missing, still.

“Yes, please send him up,” I say before hanging up.

I’m still in yesterday’s clothes, and I don’t even remember falling asleep. I was sitting against the headboard, trying to think of where Vince might be. I made a mental list of people to call at 6:00 a.m. sharp—Langley, Rachael Pope, Don Limmerick, Jessie Caldwell, Donna Mason, Leigh Dosier, and Harvey Little. They were all part of the meeting Vince held on Friday and Saturday in New York. I would’ve reached out to them before I fell asleep, but I didn’t want to alarm anyone.

I wrap myself in the white bathrobe hanging in the closet. It’s pretty chilly in the room—I didn’t turn down the air conditioner before falling asleep. There’s a knock on the door. I finish tying up the robe and run to answer my callers.

I open the door and clutch my chest. “Jack. Daisy,” I barely say past my tight throat. Just seeing their faces makes me tear up again.

Jack hugs me, and finally, I feel like everything is going to be okay. Then Daisy and I hug, and I get a double dose of that same feeling. Her presence is definitely an unexpected and pleasant surprise. The last time she was pregnant, Jack didn’t want her flying on airplanes and nearly pitched a fit whenever she had to leave the house.

“How are you, Mags?” she asks, rubbing my back.

“I’m hanging in there—I think,” I say, scrubbing the tears off my cheek.

“Here, I’ll get you some tissues.” Daisy trots off to the half bathroom. For a fraction of a second I notice that Daisy is sporting a brand new sexy pixie cut that has taken her beauty to an unimaginable level.

“So…” Jack’s expression is all business. “I made some calls last night.”

I bob my head. “To who?”

“To the entire management, and some business associates that Vince and I had to get tough with a few weeks ago.”

I wait for Jack to elaborate; instead, he clamps his lips together and intensifies his frown. He’s thinking. At least he’s called everyone on my list. Upper management, as well as Langley, knows this is our wedding weekend. At A&Rt Media, news like that spreads like wildfire. If Jack is asking where Vince is, then at least they won’t suspect he’s a runaway groom or something. Such a rumor would burn like a struck match through the company, from LA all the way to Sidney, Australia.

Daisy comes back with three neatly pulled tissues. “Here you go, Maggie.”

I take the tissues. “Thank you.” I wipe my eyes and blow my nose.

“Maggie,” Jack says in a serious voice.

“Yes.”

He looks me straight in the eyes. “Don’t worry. If Vince is still on the planet, then we’ll find him.”

I hold my breath while nodding continuously. I believe him.

“Here’s what we’re going to go. Daisy is going to Vince’s mother’s house. You were planning your wedding with his sisters?”

My mouth can’t speak, so I nod.

“Daisy will take your place.”

I look at her with wide eyes. She smiles reassuringly. I’m pretty sure Daisy can handle Allie, Maddie, and perhaps Lexie—it’s just that I love her too much to put her in my shoes with them.

“Are you sure? They can cause quite a lot of stress.” I look down at her stomach.

She rubs her pregnant belly. “Don’t worry. I can manage,” she says.

Jack winks at her. “She’s in tip-top shape.”

I nod while I sigh, glad to hear it.

“So here’s the deal, Mags,” Jack says. “You’re coming with me. That way, it looks as if the three of us—you, Vince, and I—are engaged in A&Rt business.”

“Yes. That’s smart. Thank you,” I say, relieved.

There’s another knock on the door. I look from Jack to Daisy with wide eyes.

I grab my heart in hopes that what I feel is real. “Vince.” I run to the door and open it. My heart sinks. “Robert?”

The corners of his eyes turn down sympathetically. “Sorry, Maggie. I told the front desk you were expecting me.”

I let Robert in, and we gather in the sitting area but no one sits. The first thing he tells us is that he remembers the type of car he saw before Vince disappeared.

“A Cadillac?” Jack repeats.

“Yeah. The kind that’s used for shuttling.”

Jack nods while wrinkling his eyebrows. “That’s a good start. It’s likely that whoever was in that car wasn’t local.”

“The car was a rental?” Robert says.

“Perhaps,” Jacks says then frowns dubiously. He sighs. “We should get started. I don’t want this to get too far ahead of us—timing is everything.”

We decide that’s a good idea. Robert drives Daisy back to Anne’s house for breakfast. She’ll be staying at Jack’s parents’ house, which Jack has renovated to the max since Aunt Carlotta and Uncle Charles died so many years ago. He doesn’t want her there alone, which is typical Jack, so Robert agrees to stay with her. There was a time I would have cringed at the thought of Daisy alone in a house with a scoundrel like Robert Tango, but I’ve noticed a marked difference in him.

I
sit
on the sofa alone while Jack, Daisy, and Robert go downstairs to transfer Daisy’s things to Robert’s car. Every second that Vince is gone feels like an eternity. I rack my brain, trying to figure out who would just snatch Vince out of thin air. Normally, I’m really good at figuring out mysteries. The fact that I can’t come up with one viable suspect drives me crazy.

Wait. Could it have been Emily? She and Vince’s sisters have gone through great lengths to sabotage our wedding. Maybe the sister’s kidnapped him just to keep us apart.

The key-code makes a sound, and the door opens. I turn to see Jack taking deliberate steps in my direction. I shoot to my feet and my suspicions about Emily and Vince’s sisters pour out of my mouth like a tsunami of blame.

Jack waves a hand dismissively. “No. They’re clear.”

“How do you know?”

He stops in front of me. “I spoke to Vince while he was in New York this past weekend. He told me the women were giving you a hard time so he wanted to hurry and get back. So I had them all checked out during our flight to Denver. None of them exhibit suspicious or incriminating behavior.”

My shoulders as I hug myself while staring at him with solemn eyes.

He squeezes my shoulder. “Have a seat, Maggie.”

I sit back down and look up at him with solemn eyes. My hopes have been thwarted.

Jack sits next to me. “Have no doubt that we will find Vince, but I need you to follow my gut and not your own—got it?”

I nod as if he’s merely stating the obvious. But his dire tone has me more alarmed than I was at first. “What do you think happened to him?”

He studies my face and then takes the intensity out of his own expression. “I don’t know, but people don’t just vanish into thin air. Something happened to them. But you and I are in a unique position to find Vince because of all the tools I have at my disposal.”

“What tools?”

“That’s one of the questions I need for you not to ask. Whatever happened to Vince—if he ran off with someone else—”

“He didn’t.”

Jack presses his lips together in a patronizing smile. “I know.”

I don’t believe him. I think he
does
think it’s possible. But he wasn’t with us in Hawaii. Vince and I are just as in love and needing of each other as he and Daisy are.

I shake my head resolutely. “Vince would never do that to me and that’s a fact.”

He pats my leg. “I believe you. Now let’s get the show on the road.” He leaps to his feet.

I let his energy pervade me as I get up and grab my purse off the dresser.

“You won’t be needing that,” Jack says. He’s already standing at the door.

“But I need my ID and my…”

“Leave it.”

I frown while studying his expression. He’s serious. “Okay.” I gently push my purse against the wall.

Jack holds the door for me as I leave the room. My hands are sweaty and my heart is jumpy. I have no idea what’s supposed to happen next.

“Can I ask you where we’re going?” I say as we walk down the hallway.

We stop at the elevator, and Jack pushes the down button. “To the airport.”

“We’re leaving town?” I ask, shocked.

The elevator doors slide open, and we step inside.

Jack presses
L
for lobby. “I’m positive Vince isn’t still in Colorado.”

I furrow my brows. “How do you know?”

“I’ll show you once we get to where we’re going.”

I’m about to demand he tell me where that is, then I remember his directives. I still wonder why he insists on all the secrecy. Come to think of it, Jack is always secretive. I think he’s more comfortable operating that way.

I scratch my ear as anxiety brews throughout my body. I don’t have to be in control, but I still want to at least be on equal footing with Jack in this situation. “And that’s to the airport?”

“Yes,” Jack says.

“And I can’t ask you where we’re going?”

He folds his hands together in front of him. “You already have.”

“But you haven’t answered.”

“No I have not.”

I roll my eyes while groaning.

Jack puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me straight in the eyes. “Maggie. I’m letting you in because I trust you can handle it. Don’t make me regret my decision. You’re going to have to trust me more than you have ever had. Okay?”

I take a long sigh and hang my head. The truth is Jack has never let me down—ever. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to start now.

“Okay,” I say. “Your way, not mine.”