Toronto Collection Volume 3 (Toronto Series #10-13)

by Heather Wardell

  I detailed how Shane had felt about my sudden departure and how Tiff had been suspicious of him, and he returned the favor by letting me know Tiff hadn't liked Lacey either. I wondered aloud who Tiff would like, and blushed when he told me Tiff really liked me and thought I was handling the money beautifully then blushed even more when he shyly added that he thought the same thing.

  Nervous, but feeling that I had to, I again told him that I had not told Shane about his gambling debt. He didn't even let me finish before assuring me he knew that, and I went even further out on a limb and said, "I'm willing to pay it off for you, you know. Any time. Just say the word."

  "I know," he said. "I can't let you, but I know. And I appreciate it."

  I wished he'd give in, but I'd done all I could so I just said, "Okay. If you change your mind..."

  "I won't, but if I do, I will," he said, then we smiled at the awkward sentence.

  We didn't just tackle the deep topics, though. We analyzed the awful movie we'd watched, stifling our laughter so as not to wake Zack, and I told him about an equally awful one I'd been asked to finance, one of the few letters I'd read without him.

  "Alien squirrels coming to take over earth, if you can believe that."

  He chuckled. "I'd like to see them fight the robot zombies and vampires from tonight's movie.

  "Now there's a movie idea I'd gladly fund."

  "I'll write you a nice pushy letter about it," he said, grinning at me.

  In short, we were completely relaxed with each other again, and I loved it.

  When the sun began to come up outside his kitchen window, John said, "I usually get home around now, and I wake Zack up so we can have a quick breakfast together and then I go to bed while he sleeps or plays video games. Should we do that? The breakfast, I mean?"

  I stood and stretched. "Sounds like a plan."

  John got to his feet too. He didn't wake Zack, though. Instead, he looked at me a moment, his eyes intense, then said, "Thank you. Thank you and I'm sorry for... everything."

  I bit my lip. "I'm sorry too. I really am impressed with your attitude, you know. Even if it occasionally makes me want to punch you." I smiled and he smiled too, then I added, "But I admire it. And I'm sorry for giving you a hard time."

  "Same to you."

  We locked eyes for another brief but endless moment, then we both moved forward at the same time and fell into each other's arms.

  He squeezed me tight and I did the same to him, and I felt tension I hadn't known I was carrying flow out of me. Knowing John didn't want anything from me, didn't have his hand reaching into my metaphorical wallet, made the hug feel amazing.

  After a few seconds he squeezed me a little tighter and murmured, "Friends?"

  "Yes," I said. "Definitely." I needed more friends who were friends with me not my bank balance, and John was definitely that.

  "Good." He released me and smiled at me. "Shall we wake the monster?"

  "We shall," I said, but I was busy thinking. I had several true friends, actually, with Claudia and Terrence up at the top of that list with John, and I wanted to come up with something great to do for them and my family members who didn't expect me to finance their every hope and dream.

  I didn't have time to find anything right then, though, since John soon had Zack awake and dressed and we headed out to get breakfast at the small but amazing diner down the road, but I promised myself I would. In June, when I made my permanent money decisions, I'd do something to show those people exactly how much I appreciated them.

  The diner was largely empty since it was so early on Saturday, but as we ate and laughed it began to fill up.

  "So, how do you feel?" John smiled at me. "First time staying up all night can be tough."

  I shrugged. "Pretty good, actually. I'm surprised. Will I crash later?"

  "Probably. Take a nap if you need to and go to bed early tonight and you'll be fine."

  "Good to know," I said, then smiled at our server as she dropped off the bill.

  John and I locked eyes. I wanted to pay for our meal, and I knew he knew it, but I also could see that he wanted to treat me.

  He gave me a half-smile. "What say we split it?"

  I grinned at him. "You're brilliant. Definitely."

  We did, dividing it in half, and I knew he knew I'd still paid more than 'my share' and I loved that he was finally beginning to relax at least a little bit into my wealth.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  I did indeed need a nap that afternoon, after Zack and I watched and cheered for John in his final hockey game of the season, and when I woke up I made myself do what I didn't much want to do and call Shane.

  "I'm in the mood for sushi. Care to join me?"

  He didn't answer for a moment, then said, "Do you think you have time? Is the crisis over?"

  His sarcastic tone flared my temper, but I had literally kicked the guy out of my bed so I could understand it. "Yes, it is. And I am sorry about that. I really did have to go."

  "You're always so worried about everyone else. It's nice," he said, sounding like he thought 'gullible' was a better word than 'nice'. "It's just that I hate seeing them take advantage of you."

  Remembering how thoroughly both John and Zack had apologized for the phone call, my anger rose again but I forced it back. He didn't know them like I did. "They aren't. Trust me. Now, about that sushi?"

  "Wish I could, but Mom's flying in from Saskatchewan and I need to get her from the airport."

  "Oh," I said, trying to hide how surprised I was that he hadn't told me his mother was visiting. "How long is she staying?"

  "Until next Saturday. And I'd get the three of us together but..." He sighed. "Well, she's not happy about the divorce, so I'm not sure that meeting you now is a great plan."

  She had met me many times before but I did understand what he meant. My concern was elsewhere. "She's not happy? After what Liz did to you?"

  "Yeah," he said, dragging out the word to a ridiculous extent. "She doesn't actually know about that."

  "Why on earth not?" Before he could answer, I asked another question. "What did you tell her about why you split up?"

  "The usual stuff. Grew apart, blah blah. And I guess..."

  During his long pause, I found myself wondering whether he was hoping they'd get back together. That had never occurred to me before, with how quickly he'd started pursuing me, but now I wondered. As the thought took hold, though, he finished his sentence. "I guess I feel stupid. For not realizing she was like that. I'll tell Mom eventually but for now I'm just saying things didn't work out."

  "Makes sense," I said, although I wasn't sure it did. Wouldn't it be better to face the problem head-on instead of weaseling around it?

  Had Shane always been the weaseling type and I hadn't noticed?

  For the first time, I wondered how Tiff had found out about John's chaotic night of gambling. I couldn't imagine him skulking around until she found out. He'd probably told her as soon as it happened.

  As I pondered this, Shane said, "But next weekend, once Mom leaves, I'm all yours. Deal?"

  "Deal," I said, trying to push away my dislike of how he was handling things. I did remember his mom being somewhat hysterical at times though so probably keeping things simple made sense.

  "Can you do me a favor this week?"

  I laughed. "Depends on what it is. I'm not stupid enough to say yes until I know."

  "You did for--" He cleared his throat. "Anyhow, I don't think you'll need to say no to this one."

  "What were you going to say?"

  He sighed. "Nothing."

  "Yeah, right. What was it?"

  Another, deeper, sigh. "It's just, you said yes to the kid right away and you didn't know what he wanted."

  But I had known that Zack was crying and scared. That had been more than enough for an immediate yes. Was Shane really jealous of Zack? It sounded like it, and I didn't know what to say.

  "And that's kind of the favor," he went on whe
n I didn't speak. "I just want you to make sure not to let them, or anyone, take advantage of you."

  "They aren't--"

  "I know, but just be careful. Okay? You're kind of a big target at the moment with all that money, and I'd hate to see someone using you for it."

  So would I, but John and Zack definitively weren't doing that. When I didn't say anything, because I couldn't think of another way to tell him to back off, Shane said, "Oh, God. You've already given them money, haven't you?"

  "No," I said immediately, then honesty compelled me to add, "I am paying for Zack's school trip, but he's working for me to make the money. And that's only five hundred bucks."

  He sighed. "I guess that's no big deal. Not with everything you've got. Just... do be careful, okay? And not just with them. You must have everyone around you with their hands out."

  "Not everyone."

  "But a lot?"

  "Yeah, I suppose," I said on a sigh. I hated his view of my world, but it was at least somewhat accurate. The huge boxes full of letters for Zack to process proved that.

  "So you'll be careful?"

  "I will," I said, then added, "But not about John and Zack. They are not like that."

  "Okay, okay," he said, and I could almost see him raising a hand in a 'whatever you say' motion. "I'm glad. Try to survive the week without me, okay?"

  "I'll try."

  *****

  In fact, I hardly noticed Shane's absence. Zack worked like a mule at opening and processing my mail, insisting on taking it all to Tiff's place with him so he could work on it each night. She did refuse to let him skip school to do it when he asked, but otherwise didn't interfere, telling me when we met mid-week that she loved seeing him working so hard to get something he wanted.

  On Friday, as I got out of my car at my old office about to have dinner and a chat I'd never thought I'd want with Kerr, Zack texted me to say he'd finished the job.

  "Nice one," I sent back. "How many days' bonus is that?"

  He replied immediately with, "Does today count? I say it should but Mom says that depends on the contract."

  I laughed, then stifled it since people on the sidewalk were looking at me funny. I dialed his number, and when he answered with, "So?" I said, "If I recall, our verbal contract said you'd get an extra twenty-five dollars for every day you were early. You were to be done next Friday, so you're eight days early including today."

  "Today counts?"

  Grinning at the delight in his voice, I said, "It's a day, isn't it?"

  "Yup. So that's eight days. How much money is that?"

  I heard Tiff's mock outrage in the background but didn't need it to make me say, "Give me a break. Do the math in your head, buddy."

  I could almost hear the gears grinding, but eventually he said, "Two hundred bucks?"

  "Yup. I'll give it to you Sunday when we go downtown for that concert. Deal?"

  "Totally. And I'll trade you for the paperwork."

  I laughed. "Deal."

  "Cool," he said, then added, "Mom wants to talk to you."

  "I'm so disappointed in you, Angela," Tiff said with the same mock outrage she'd applied to Zack. "You didn't even verify the quality of his work! You can't just agree to pay without seeing what he's done."

  I smiled. "Well, he's spent the week doing the work in front of you, my wonderful advisor, so I just assumed I could trust you to monitor his work."

  She laughed. "Nice one. And I did. I think you'll be pleased. He's not actually all that bad, this kid. But don't tell him I said so."

  "I can hear you," Zack said loudly in the background.

  "Sorry, Angela, there's a faint buzzing noise over here. Most annoying. Anyhow, thanks for putting him to work."

  "Any time."

  We ended the call and I went into the office, and soon Kerr and I were seated at his favorite restaurant. I looked around at the sleek golden hardwood and rich teal walls and shook my head. "I always forget how gorgeous this place is."

  He frowned at me. "I do not understand you. At all. You could afford to eat here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and yet--"

  "They don't do breakfast."

  "You could make them do breakfast," he went on without missing a beat. "But instead you live exactly as you did before. Tell me, what was your last splurge?"

  I tugged at my hair, newly extended and back to the red color I'd loved at the beginning. "This, earlier this week."

  "That's just maintenance. Why aren't you dripping with diamonds or wearing all the designer labels Lena craves? You are the most pathetic multi-millionaire I've ever known."

  I laughed. "I'm sorry I don't live up to your vast experience of multi-millionaires." I shrugged. "It's funny, you know. I would have thought I'd do all those things too, but somehow now I'm more afraid of spending money than I was before. I don't get it."

  "I do. I felt the same way when the magazine took off. As my bank balance went up, I got more and more scared I'd lose it all."

  "So what did you do?"

  He gave me a half smile. "I made myself spend it. Made myself see how much fun I could have with it myself and how much fun the people I gave it to could have with it. And now I love giving it out."

  I held out my hands in a 'give me some too' way and he laughed. "Not to you, dear. You don't need it. But maybe try that?"

  I nodded. "I have given some, but it gets awkward sometimes. But I'll try more."

  "Good stuff."

  The waiter arrived then to take our order, and once we'd finished with that Kerr said, "Now, is this just a friendly dinner, for which of course I'll make you pay?" He smiled at me. "Or are you coming back to work, in which case it's a business expense so I'll pick up the tab?"

  "Maybe we should split it."

  Kerr's eyebrows went up. "I like the sound of that. What makes it partly business?"

  "I thought I didn't want to work any more," I said slowly, "but I'm starting to feel like I need something to occupy me, occupy my mind. I could start a charitable foundation or something like that, and I have considered it, but..." I shrugged. "It turns out I enjoyed work more than I thought I did."

  His forehead creased. "I always thought you did enjoy it. No?"

  "I guess I did, actually. When I started, though, I was still expecting to get married and have kids and then be busy with all that. But I think writing about wine has grown on me."

  He smiled. "Like an exotic fungus. So you're coming back full-time? You know I'd have you back in a second."

  "That's sweet of you. But I'd like to take it a little slower. I was wondering whether you had any sort of shorter-term thing I could do. Maybe even with some travel involved. I miss that part too."

  He laughed. "Traveling on my dollar. No wonder you like that."

  "Hey, I'm no fool."

  "No, you are not." He considered, then he snapped his fingers. "I've got it. Last week of May, Portugal, the European Wine Conference."

  "But you always go to that. Without me, as I recall. Despite all my begging in the past."

  He chuckled. "Which was always so touching. But I can't go this year because my sister's getting married during it, the obnoxious beast. So my loss can be your gain."

  The word 'Portugal' registered with me. Maybe it could be a gain for someone else too. "Could I bring a friend?"

  "Angela, my lovely, I will pay for your trip. You can bring anyone else but you'll be paying."

  I grimaced. "That could be a problem."

  "You're not being stingy again, are you?"

  I laughed. "The problem's not on my end. He might not accept the trip."

  "Well, convince him." He narrowed his eyes. "Who is this recalcitrant character? Who would turn down a free trip to Portugal?"

  I told him about John and his attitude, which took us through our delicious dinners, and as we toyed with coffee he said, "I like him already. But make him go with you. Sounds like he could use a vacation."

  "Definitely. I'll do my best."

 
He smiled at me. "Get the kid and the ex-wife involved. I doubt he can resist the whole bunch of you."

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  "So he agreed to go? I'm shocked."

  I smiled at Claudia. "I am too, I must admit. But he's been having these awful eye twitches and his doctor said he needs a vacation, and the warehouse was looking for people to take a week off to reduce their payroll a little, and Tiff told him to take a break before he has a heart attack, so it all came together."

  She wrinkled her nose. "But he won't get paid for the week, right?"

  "I know, and don't think I didn't want to make that up for him. But there's no chance he'd let me. At least Zack will be in Quebec so there are no more costs from him that week, and I've already told John he has to let me cover his costs in Portugal since Kerr is covering mine so it's only fair."

  She laughed at my logic, then caught my arm. "Look at that. Isn't it adorable?"

  It was, in fact. A frighteningly tiny baby outfit in an amazing green-washing-into-yellow color blend.

  I nodded, and Claudia said to the vendor, "How much is it?"

  "Thirty-five," the purple-haired woman said, the diamond stud in her nose sparkling as she turned her head to look at the outfit. "Hand-dyed from vegetable dyes and hand-made of organic cotton. It's precious, isn't it?"

  Claudia nodded and reached an almost reverent hand toward the fabric but stopped before touching it.

  "You have a baby?"

  Claudia shook her head. "I hope to, though. Soon."

  Tuesday, in fact, Claudia would have her second IVF treatment. She'd invited me to come to the craft show with her so she'd have something else to think about beside babies, but until I'd told her about John and Portugal she hadn't talked about much else. I didn't mind. If it made her feel better I could put up with a few hours of non-stop kid talk.

  "Well, why not buy it for your baby-to-be?"

  Claudia flinched back, and the vendor frowned. Before she could speak, I said, "Do you have a business card? It is gorgeous, and once her baby gets here I'll buy it for her."

  The vendor, looking like she knew she'd pushed too hard, nodded and pulled a card from her apron pocket.