Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery) (26 page)

“I thought they
owned the land together?”

“The land, yes.
Not the mineral rights. Charles owns that. He stopped all construction on the
land to mine it. The partner gets nothing.”

“Ouch,” Jack
said.

~~~~

The driver took
them to their hotel. “
Daniel says I'm booked on the same floor Liv was on.
Maybe room service or the maid will have something to tell us,” Tess said as
she exited the car.

“Not the front desk staff?”

“Probably not. They have that 'don't
talk about guests' rule too. I'll try, but I doubt we'll get information.”

As expected, the front desk had nothing
to share.

“So what's your next move?” Jack asked
as he walked with her to the elevator. The bellboy poked the button and held
the doors for them to enter the car.

“I make some notes, go over the notes I
have…”

Jack nodded and Tess noticed he looked a
little nervous. Well, maybe not nervous, but unsure. No doubt he was uncertain
as to her feelings about their relationship. She was uncertain as well, despite
her heart’s insistence to give it another go.

“This is your room, Miss,” the bell boy
said as he opened the door with her key. It was then Tess realized that she
hadn't considered the room situation.

As if he knew what she was thinking,
Jack said, “I'm next door.”

“There's an adjoining door,” the bellboy
said.

“I'll open my side…if you need anything.”

“Sure. Okay.”

The suite was what Tess would expect
from someone like Liv. It had all the amenities, including a phone by the
toilet. Tess couldn't imagine ever making a phone call while using the
bathroom. She wondered what sort of people did.

She spread her papers out on the coffee
table and sat on the couch to write down her thoughts and her notes. Then she
picked up her phone to call Daniel.

“Are you mad?” he said when he picked
up.

She sighed. “No. Surprised, but not mad.”

“Brad said Jack would be back.”

“I'm not surprised Jack is back. I'm
surprised you helped him.”

“I didn't do it for him,” she heard
tension in Daniel's voice.

“I didn't think you did.”

“So…is everything alright?”

“All of Liv's alibis checked out.”

“I'm not talking about the alibis.”

Tess leaned her head back on the couch
and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don't know.”

“What'd he do?” Daniel's voice sounded
angry.

“He didn't do anything. Not anything wrong,
anyway. I guess I'm gun shy. If I take him back, who's to say we won't be back
to where we are now by the end of the day.”

Daniel was silent for a moment. “What do
you think of my parents' marriage?”

“It's great.” As far as Tess was
concerned, Helen and Tom had the perfect marriage.

“Do you know my mom broke off the
engagement to my dad when she learned he was going to work for Asa?”

“No.” The information surprised Tess.
She knew that Helen hadn't thought much of her brother's character, but she
didn't imagine she'd let it get in the way of her relationship with Tom.

“And nearly every fight they've ever had
was about Asa.”

“I didn't know they ever fought.”

“Everyone fights, Tess. And there are
some things that can't be fixed in one effort.

 There's a reason people say that
relationships take work.”

“How'd you get so wise?”

“I'm just telling you what I've heard.”

She smiled. “So you think I should give
him another chance.”

She heard Daniel sigh. “If you love him
and he makes you happy most of the time, I think that's worth your fighting
for.”

Tess knew it wasn't easy for Daniel to
encourage her to take Jack back. But he was putting her first. And he was
making sense.

“Thank you.”

“Just be happy, Tess.”

She set the phone on the coffee table
then sat back on the couch. It was odd that Daniel was encouraging her to give
Jack a chance. She thought about what he said about his parents. She hadn't
known that Helen and Tom ever had any problems. She knew Helen refused to
attend family functions involving her brother, Asa. Had she felt betrayed by
Tom for his going against her wishes and continuing to work as Asa's lawyer?
Had Tom been resentful of her attempt to dictate his career? She didn't think
so. Somehow they'd overcome that. They'd decided that their love was more
important than that one difference of opinion. Could she and Jack do that? It
was difficult for her to not think that they would fall in the same cycle
they'd been in. Every time they seemed to work things out, they went bad again.
What did Helen and Tom do to stop history and old habits from repeating?

She knew Tom and Helen loved each other
deeply. Was that the answer? Tess had begun to think that love wasn't enough to
keep a relationship going. If it were, wouldn't she and Jack be blissfully happy?
She remembered Jack telling her that he felt like she always had one foot out
the door. Was that true? No, she thought. No, the truth was, she'd never had
both feet in the door. The realization made her feel both guilty and hopeful.
She looked up to the door that linked her room with his. She knew his side was
open. That he was waiting, hoping she'd come through it. The question was, was
she brave enough to plant both feet on his side?

 Jack had made the decision to do better
at letting Tess set the pace of their relationship, but he couldn't be sure she
was even going to let him back into her life. She'd let him tag along on her
investigation, but so far, she hadn't given him any indication that she'd
forgiven him or that she would be giving him another chance.

Once her door closed, he went next door
to his room. He tipped the bellboy then dumped his overnight bag in the closet.
He considered sending her flowers or ordering the most decadent chocolate
confection off the room service menu for her. But he knew he needed to wait, a
skill he wasn't very good at when it came to her.

He opened the door adjoining his room to
hers. Her side was still closed. He leaned close to see if he could hear her,
and then decided it was a pathetic move. He grabbed a $12 bottle of water from
the mini-bar and drank it in several swallows. He moved to the window to look
at the view of Central Park. It was a beautiful day and under normal
circumstances, he'd be walking through the park hand-in-hand with Tess.

The wait was excruciating until finally
he couldn't take it anymore. He tossed the empty water bottle on the table, and
headed to the adjoining door, frantically thinking of some dumb excuse to check
on her so she didn't think he was pushing her. Just as he reached out to knock,
the door opened and swung back.

He stood looking at her. The desire to
touch her forced him to thrust his hands into his pockets. “Everything alright?”

“Yes. There's even a phone in the
bathroom. I guess so I can call for help if I fall in.”

Jack grinned. There she was. It still
didn't mean he was forgiven, but at least she was acting like the Tess he knew.

He stepped back from the door. “Want to
come in? I haven't checked the bathroom for a phone, but I know I have a fully
stocked mini-bar. Want something to drink?”

She shook her head to the drink, but
stepped into his room. “I spoke to Daniel.”

That was not what Jack wanted to talk
about, but he wasn't about to complain. “Did you give him your report?”

“Yes. And I thanked him for helping you.
And for helping me.”

Jack studied her, wanting to believe she
was getting ready to forgive him, but afraid he might be reading the signs
wrong. “He's a good friend.”

“It couldn't have been easy for you to
go to him.”

“No. But I think it was harder for him.”

She nodded.

“But he didn't do it for me,” Jack said.

“No. He knows I love you.”

To hear her say the words filled his
heart. He was sure it was bulging through his chest. “But do you forgive me?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Relief flooded his body. He wanted to
hold her, but when he moved toward her, she stepped back, moved around him to
the couch.

“I have a few things to say before we
start with the hugging.”

She was torturing him, but he'd endure
it. “Okay.

“First, I don't do well with ultimatums—”

“I know and I'm sorry about that. It
won't happen again. You set the pace this time, Tess.”

She held up a hand. “My turn to talk,
remember?”

“Right.” He gave her a rueful smile.

She settled against the back of the
couch. “I know I'm not blameless in all this. I said we didn't know how to be
together or communicate and then I made it hard to do both. I kept thinking
that if we were right, we wouldn't have problems. The truth is I don't know how
to do this. Except for Tom and Helen, I don't have any idea what a solid
relationship looks like. And they always looked like they never disagreed, but
Daniel explained to me that that wasn't true. They always disagreed about Asa.”

Jack began to realize that he owed
Daniel a lot more than he thought. Not only had Daniel helped him get to Tess,
but apparently he'd given advice that suggested she needed to give love a
chance.

“I know you said that people can be in
love and disagree, but all I could think about was arguing was one step closer
to losing you.”

“No. Never.” Jack stepped towards her,
but kept his hands safely in his pockets.

“The truth is, I'm afraid, and even
after today, I'll probably need more reassurance.”

“Whatever you need, I'll do it.”

She reached up and pressed a finger to
his lips. “I need you to let me finish.”

At her touch, his hands came out of his
pockets, wanting to pull her to him. But her words stopped him. Instead he took
her hand, kissed her palm and brought it to his heart. He nodded at her to let
her know that he'd try to keep quiet.

“Like I said, I'll still need
reassurance and you're probably going to keep pushing…it's just what it is. We
just need to figure out how to keep these issues from getting in the way.”

He nodded.

“You told me once that you thought I was
looking for an excuse to prove my fears right. I'll admit there were times I
wondered when the other shoe would drop. Partly because I'm afraid that true
love doesn't exist and partly because I'm still baffled at how you can love me
the way you do.”

Jack desperately wanted to tell her why
he loved her, how he'd always loved her, but he could see she wasn't done
talking.

“But I wasn't looking for a way out.
Honestly, I don't think I was all the way in.”

At first Jack wondered what the
difference was. Either way, she had one foot out the door. But then he realized
that she hadn't been pulling away. She couldn't take from him what she hadn't
yet given.

She blew out a breath and looked a
little terrified. She looked up at him with her amber- colored eyes, swallowed
hard and said. “I'm all in.”

Jack couldn't believe that those three
words could make him happier than hearing she loved him. But they did. God, he
wanted to hold her, kiss her. But he held back, waiting for her next move.

“We can get to the hugging now.”

“Thank God.” She was in his arms before
he finished the words. He pulled her tight against his body and held on as if
his life depended on it. His hands cradled her face, his eyes tenderly looking
into her own.

“I love you, Tess.” He lowered his lips
to hers, kissing her with such tenderness and love, it made all her reservations
melt away. She knew they would have bumps in their relationship, but if she
trusted in him they'd work them out. He pulled back, looked down on her again. “You
won't be sorry.”

“You might be.”

He smiled. “Never. I was terrified you
wouldn't forgive me.”

“Anyone who is willing to ask for help
from his nemesis and face his phobia has to be serious.”

“The flying part was hard.” He gave her
his pitiful look.

“Poor baby.”

“I think you enjoyed watching me suffer.”

“Maybe a little.”

“It was worth it,” he said.

He kissed her again, because he could.
Because he needed to.

“So, what happens now?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Want to go on a date?”

Tess' brows grew together. “We don't
have to start at the beginning. And I don't need romance.”