The Fall Of Jacob Del Garda (14 page)

Now was not the time.

Still, he kept a wary eye on her and reminded himself to be civil.

"I understand you’re scared. We’re all scared. But I am not your enemy, Soph." Her eyes met his and he couldn’t read them. "If we’re at each other’s throats it will only cause the person we love more pain and distress. If you can’t bear to breathe the same air, then I’ll leave."

She shook her head.

"No. She needs you. What Gabriella wants, Gabriella gets. No question."

He should have been relieved by the words, except the tone of her voice was brutally cold. In business, and in life, Tobin Gillespie was a man who fixed things, who got things done, over-rode all obstacles, until he achieved his objective. However, with Sophie Dolman, all of those life skills had apparently deserted him.

Those glittering eyes seemed to look into him, through him, to find him wanting.

It hurt.

A lot.

And he’d no idea what to do about it.

Pouring himself a coffee from the pot, Tobin sank into a chair at the table and tried to relax. Sophie's expression was blank as she slid a plate containing chocolate chip cookies the size of a man’s fist towards him.

An olive branch, he realised, and grasped it with both hands.

"So." He bit into a cookie, and ordered himself to keep the tone nice and friendly. "You’re based in Kenya these days?"

Cool hazel eyes met his as she sipped her wine, then she moved as far away from him as she could manage, and perched on the edge of a chair.

"No. I’ve taken a leave of absence. I needed to be here with Ella."

"Been a while since you’ve seen her?" He watched the flush rise over her neck as she bit her lip. And he realised he’d put her back-up. A spike of annoyance narrowed his eyes and made his tone hard. "That was an innocent statement, not a criticism."

Again that flush rose over her neck, but she didn’t look at him.

Instead, she studied the wine in her glass.

"Yes, it's been a while. We thought everything was fine. She was on the road to recovery. We’ve been too caught up in our own lives."

Tobin tried again, determined to hit on a subject that wouldn’t irritate Ms. Cranky Pants.

"I read your paper on the life cycle of
Culex fatigans larve
," he told her.

Her blonde head whipped up and he read surprise in those hazel eyes. Surprise that slid into something that looked like contempt.

"Seriously? Run out of Playboy or GQ?"

Bulls eye
.

A direct hit.

Ahh, the gloves were off.

He'd always loved sparring with this woman.

Tobin couldn’t help it, he grinned. "I have an overwhelming interest in filarial parasitic worms."

Those hazel eyes went as sharp as a blade.

"Yeah? Well, it takes one to know one."

Ouch!

Annoyed now, Tobin ran his tongue over his teeth as heat again scorched her cheeks.

And he decided to stick the knife in.

It was small of him, but who the hell said he was perfect?

"I bet you don’t talk to Professor Jason Carter like that."

Now her eyes flew to his.

He couldn’t read the expression.

"My private life is none of your business."

The tone was too polite. But he’d noted the slight wobble in her voice.

Interesting.

He shrugged.

Eyes glued to her flushed face, he bit into his cookie.

"I just wanted to wish you all the best. When’s the wedding?"

Reading people was a crucial part of Tobin's business. And he was good at it. What he read in Sophie’s face in response to an innocent question was a mixture of annoyance, hurt and guilt.

The third emotion tickled his intuition.

Why did she feel guilty?

"There is no wedding," she admitted through what sounded like gritted teeth.

"Not good enough for you, was he?" he shot back.

Hazel eyes iced over now and he braced himself.

"Unlike you," she said in a voice that would melt steel. "He’s too good for me. He’s a wonderful man with a brilliant intellect and a warm and loving heart."

Tobin couldn't help it. He
HH
smirked.

"A paragon. Why didn’t you snap him up?"

"Because I couldn’t give him what he needed."

Then Sophie picked up her empty wine glass, stood and moved to the sink.

Tobin studied the rigid set of her slim shoulders.

And decided the time was right to poke the tiger.

"Did you run away again, Soph? Or this time did you actually find the balls to sit the poor sap down and tell him straight to his face why he wasn't the one for you?"

She spun, and for a second he thought she was going to bean him with the empty glass before she placed it carefully on the worktop.

Sheer fury blasted from those incredible eyes.

Christ, she looked amazing.

"How dare you sit in judgement of me? Look at you, sitting there looking like an eighties reject with your too long hair and too tight trousers. Flaunting what you can’t keep in your pants!"

She slapped her hands on the table and leaned over into his face.

"My relationship with Jason is none of your damned business. He’s worth a hundred of
you.
"

Sticks and stones had never bothered Tobin.

But for some unaccountable reason, the eighties reject bit stung.

He leaned into her face.

"Yeah? Well, since he’s so great, why haven’t you married him?"

"Because I don’t love him," she yelled back.

Her breath hitched and he finally understood the hurt, the guilt, in her eyes.

The man loved her.

But she didn’t return those feelings.

Relief punched through sheer temper.

Shocked, Tobin wondered why he should be relieved? What Sophie Dolman did with her life was her business and had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with him.

But she was shaking as she stood there, her hands covering her face.

Feeling like a complete bastard, Tobin rose and moved towards her.

So much for being nice.

"Look, Soph. I’m..."

He reached out to her and she slapped his hand away.

"Leave me alone."

"I’m trying to say I’m sorry," he said through gritted teeth.

Hazel eyes flashed into his.

"Too little! Too late!"

Now he simply stared dead into her eyes.

He saw the hurt. And what was all that about? He'd
never
hurt Sophie. He read the hatred, and was clueless as to why she would hate him. And for once, she didn’t back down.

"You know, the Sophie I fell madly in love with was a wonderful girl who didn’t have one bitchy bone in her body. I intensely dislike the new version."

The way she went too white had him frown.

"
Love?"
she yelled into his face. "You don’t know the meaning of the word."

She spun on her heel and ran from the kitchen.

"And just what the
hell
does that mean?" he yelled after her.

He shook his head, held up his hands in a
what?
gesture to the empty room.

"You can run, babe. But you can’t hide," he growled.

Tobin Andrew Gillespie had unfinished business with Sophie Dolman, and he’d get to the root of it, even if it fucking killed him.

Sophie raced to the only part of the house that was a sanctuary, and far, far away from her tormentor, Gabriella’s room.

She burst through the door and stopped dead.

Holding her head in her hands, Gabriella wept with great big shuddering sobs.

Sophie swallowed her own churning emotions, especially her fury with Tobin.

She knelt beside the bed and stroked her sister’s silky hair.

"What’s happened?"

Gabriella’s misty gaze met hers and it was like looking in a mirror.

She recognized the confusion, the despair.

"I’m fine." Gabriella took a breath. "It’s just a crying jag."

Sophie knew when to step back.

She let her baby sister have the lie.

"You’re entitled," Sophie said.

Gabriella frowned and stared at her face. "Did you want something?"

Sophie found herself going hot under her sister's scrutiny. "I thought I might stay here, with you, for a while. If that’s okay?"

A silent message passed between them.

A message that instantly took Sophie back to childhood.

If one of them was hurting they'd always shared a bed.

"Of course you can ... I would like that. There’s lots of room. The bed’s huge," Gabriella said, spookily plucking the thought from Sophie's head.

"I won’t disturb you?" Sophie gazed at her in concern.

Gabriella blew her nose with the tissue Sophie handed her and shook her head.

"Actually, I could do with the company. And if I get any more disturbed I’ll be committed."

Sophie nodded. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Please,” Gabriella said. "It could be a long night."

Sophie leapt to her feet.

"Then we’ll need supplies. Chocolate, champagne and nibbles. Just to keep our strength up." Then she stopped and snapped her fingers. "Almost forgot, can I borrow some pj’s? You’ve always got the
best
pj’s."

Gabriella gave her a watery smile.

"Knock yourself out."

Half an hour later...

Sophie raised her crystal glass and clinked it with Gabriella’s.

"Here’s to the miniscule brain of the human male," she said, and knocked back half the contents.

"I’ll drink to that." Gabriella did the same.

Sophie just grinned and topped up their glasses.

"To continue, men are pea-brained..."

"God bless them, everyone," Gabriella sang gaily, knocking back the contents and raised her glass for more.

Sophie opened her mouth to disagree, closed it, refilled her baby sister's glass, and decided to drink to their men anyway.

An hour later...

"You’re such a pig, Ella. You’ve eaten all the best chocolates." Sophie clutched her chest and gave a deeply satisfying burp. That was the problem with champagne, the bubbles.

Gabriella, for some reason Sophie couldn’t quite figure, found this hilarious.

Her snort of uncontrollable laughter set off Sophie.

And of course once they’d started...

Sophie clutched her aching side and mopped streaming eyes on the white Egyptian cotton comforter. "Oh, Ella. I think we’re pished."

Gabriella burped, which sent more squeals of laughter into the air.

Then she leaned forward conspiratorially.

"Tell me the truth. What happened between you and my boy Tobin?" Gabriella blinked at Sophie and clutched her shoulder. "You can tell me." She pulled Sophie closer, nose to nose, and looked her dead in the eye. "It’s just ush."

Sophie shook her head.

The way the room spun had her clinging to her sister.

"Can’t... too shocking..." she said in a stage whisper.

Now Gabriella frowned, mutiny ripe in her eyes as she jerked Sophie’s shoulder again.

"Tell me... hic... or... I’ll give you a Chinese burn."

Sophie blinked twice, tried to focus, her eyes beginning to tear-up.

"'kay, but you promish not to tell?"

Gabriella dramatically crossed her heart, spat on her palm.

"Promish... I mean, promise."

Sophie spat on her palm and they clasped hands. Then she topped up their glasses, and leaning precariously over the edge of the bed, plonked the bottle on the ivory rug.

With difficulty, since the room was spinning, she sat up again, and took a deep steadying breath.

"I found him in bed, nekid as the day he was born with..." She paused dramatically. Gabriella's jaw dropped, her eyes went the size of balloons. Sophie nodded and delivered the sucker punch. "With Gina Gregory’s face between his legs."

"No!" Gabriella stared at her in sheer disbelief. Then her smooth brow creased. "What were they doing?"

Sophie stared at her for the longest moment, rolled her eyes, and shoved her.

"Whatdayathink they were doing? She had her mouth on his bits."

Gabriella simply gaped at her then blinked.

"Who’d have thought it? Gina Gregory of all people. He tossed her out of the agency, it caused a huge ruckus."

"Yeah? Well, in spite of his many declarations to the contrary, Tobin likes to play with the toys he represents. Two timing scum licking bastard."

Gabriella frowned now and it appeared she was struggling to come to terms with the fact that her hero had feet of clay.

"There’s something very wrong with that scenario," she muttered and crossed her eyes in an attempt to remember.

Sophie bit her lip.

Through the lovely haze of champagne, common sense struggled to make itself heard. She shouldn’t have told her. Because if there was one thing Gabriella did well, very well, it was loyalty. And she had no fear about going to war with a person on behalf of her sister.

"I don’t want this to cause trouble between you," Sophie said.

Mutiny sparked brightly in Gabriella’s hazel eyes. "Bastard! He acted all,
Who me? I'm innocent,
when I asked him what had happened. He
lied
to me."

Sophie nodded in agreement as the hurt stung again. Any thoughts of causing trouble between her sister and her sister's agent totally forgotten.

"He’s a tom-cat."

Gabriella made a face, shook her head. "You can’t believe all that rubbish written about him."

But Sophie merely studied the box of chocolates, popped one in her mouth, then licked her fingers.

"If even a tenth of it is true, then our Tobin has been a very busy boy."

Gabriella had to admit the truth of it.

But over time Tobin had matured and settled down.

"I think he’s changed," she said. "I know there have been times when he’s been lonely."

Her sister snorted in disgust. "Puleez, my heart bleeds for him. Not."

Gabriella reached out to rub Sophie’s arm. "You loved him, baby. Didn’t you?"

Even though her eyes stung, Sophie couldn't deny the truth.

"With every stupid cell in my stupid body." She ripped open a jumbo pack of potato chips, waved them under Gabriella’s nose. "Dig in."

Each lost in their own thoughts, they munched companionably.

Love was supposed to be easy, wasn’t it?

If... it was with the right person.

"Your turn," Sophie said. "What happened with sex-on-legs Jacob?"

Gabriella sent her a fulminating look, but Sophie didn’t back down.

It was only fair her baby sister spilled the beans.

"Nothing much," she said, reluctant to tell the truth. But Sophie wasn’t having any of it, and she pinched Gabriella's arm. "Ow, okay, okay. Listen to this... he wants to be my... friend."

"Excuse me?"
Sophie gaped at her. "But..."

"I know. Pathetic, isn’t it?"

For a long time Gabriella stared into the wine in her glass, then she knocked it back in one.

"Son-of-a-bitch," Sophie said as she stood and began, unsteadily, to pace up and down. "I don’t get it. He loves you. I know he does."

Gabriella just lay back on the pillows, the momentous events of the day catching up with her. "Said he wasn’t enough for me. Said I don’t love him the way he needs to be loved by me. Stoooopid man."

She closed her weary eyes.

Sophie removed the empty wine glass from her sister’s limp hand, placed it on the table.

Men!

What the hell were women supposed to do with them?

And then she decided she was thirsty.

The cabin was dark.

No one was around, and it didn’t occur to her to put on a robe.

Weaving down the hallway, Sophie made her way to the kitchen.

The raging thirst took her to the fridge and she decided to grab four bottles of water for the certain hangovers the morning would bring.

Honestly, Sophie thought, as she rummaged through the fridge, men were such fools.

Tobin was a lost cause as far as a life partner was concerned.

Great in bed, she admitted, giving the Devil his due.

Oh, yes, indeedy.

And she couldn't help snickering when she recalled the sex games they'd indulged in.

But Jacob, now Jacob was born to be with Ella. They were perfect together.

Even if it gave her a teeny tiny pang of envy to admit it, because let's face it, Jacob was
hawt
.

Not that she thought of Jacob that way.

Nope.

Jacob was like a brother to her.

But friends? With Gabriella?

Sophie closed the fridge door with her hip.

"I’ll give him friends," she muttered aloud. "And a swift boot up the a..."

"Excuse me?" asked a deep voice.