by Box Set
“What do you want, Jace?” He’d been drinking for sure.
He rolled over on his hands and knees and stood. “Are you mad at me?” He scratched his chin.
She took a deep breath. She was being ridiculous. Sure he hadn’t called, but he was here, now. And it hadn’t even been a full day. Maybe he’d been really busy earlier and couldn’t text or call. “I’m not mad. Come on in.” She motioned for him to enter. He used the wall to stand and then weaved as he entered. She walked over to the big leather couch and took a seat. He sat right next to her. Almost on top of her. She scooted slightly to the side. “What’ve you been doing today?”
“I slept in and then got a call from my dad. I went to see my therapist so that it wouldn’t ruin my whole day.”
“Talking to your dad ruined your whole day?”
“I’m never good enough. I’ll never be the son he wanted. I embarrass him on TV.”
Kate squished her eyebrows together. “Was your dad telling you this?” She was so used to her parents continually encouraging her. She couldn’t imagine a parent tearing their child down.
Jace nodded and moaned.
“He must be upset about something else. He didn’t mean it.” He couldn’t have. This was the first time she realized just how broken Jace really was.
“He’s said it enough. He means it. He’s right. I am good for nothing.”
“Don’t you dare say that. I was sad last night, and you made me feel better.” She gave him her best smile even though she didn’t feel like smiling. “And if it makes you feel any better, I’ve never fit in with my family either.”
“Are you going to make me feel better today?” He was going for silken, molten, but the slurring was preventing it. He hooked a finger over the front of Kate’s robe and tugged downward.
Kate scrambled to pull it back up. She held it tucked under her chin. “What are you doing?”
“You said I made you feel good last night. It’s your turn to make me feel good.” He moved to kiss her.
She leaned back. “Uh, no.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“You’re drunk, Jace. You need to sleep it off.”
“No. All I want is you. I came to see you. I waited and waited.” His words slurred and stumbled, his eyes half drawn.
“You should have called me first.”
“My phone broke.” He puffed out his lips.
“What?”
“Little pieces.” He made a motion with his hands like an explosion.
“Did you throw it after talking to your dad?” He hadn’t called her because he couldn’t.
He nodded. “He’s mean. I hate him.”
“You don’t hate him. He has to have some good in him if he had you.” She thought of Duran and what he’d said about family.
“No. No. He’s right. I’m bad. I’m on a bad show, and I do bad stuff.” He frowned.
Kate stood and retrieved a fresh blanket from the closet. “Lay down. You need rest.” As he lay down, she covered him with the blanket. She patted his shoulder. “Sleep now. We’ll talk when you wake up.” She changed into some clothes and sat next to his head and played with his hair until his breaths evened out. She scooted over and lay with her head next to his and slept too.
When she woke, her head was in Jace’s lap and he was asleep sitting up, his mouth slightly ajar and resting back on the couch. She smiled. He was a good kid. Hopefully, he’d feel better when he woke. Someone cleared their throat, and Kate’s head whipped to the other side of the room. All four of the Lamberts were standing opposite them, staring.
17
Kate whipped her legs around and set her feet on the floor. The scowls on the family’s faces said it all.
“How long have you been there, staring? That’s totally weird.”
“We just came in,” Colby said. “What’s going on?”
“Look guys,” she whispered. “It’s not what it looks like.” She glanced at Jace.
They stood, and Ellie’s mom pointed to their master suite. Kate thought her room had been nice, but this room was twice the size of hers and had a sofa and two chairs tucked at one end. Kate sat in the first chair she saw, and Mr. Lambert shut the bedroom door. They stared, waiting patiently for her to explain.
“Look. I was taking a bath, and I heard a knock on the door. It was Jace. He was drunk and needed to sleep it off, so I let him use the couch. I guess I fell asleep, too.”
“In his lap?” Ellie said in a low growling voice.
“No. He was lying completely down when I fell asleep, he must’ve woken and shifted.” Kate squirmed in her seat.
“And how exactly did he know to come to your room?” Mrs. Lambert raised an eyebrow.
“I met him last night on the beach, and he walked me back up here.” Kate had blurted it out without thinking her answer through. She could have eased the blow that she not only knew where Jace was last night but that she’d also spent several hours with him.
Ellie’s eyes were the size of apricots. “You met him on the beach?” She clenched her fists.
“And you didn’t think this might have been something we’d want to know about, considering we’d been looking for him all day today?” her mom asked, her smile grim.
“I told Ellie I had news last night. I was going to tell her this morning, but you got in so late, and I was asleep when you got here, and then he caught me off guard.”
Ellie waved her phone. “All you had to do was text, ‘Jace is here.’”
“Not cool, Katie-kins. Not cool.” Colby shook his head. Kate knew Colby wanted his sister to be happy and she had endangered that.
A sour mix of anger and embarrassment swept through her. The back of her neck heated, and she swallowed hard. “Look, I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t intend on keeping it from you. I didn’t have my phone on the beach, and today, I’ve got a lot going on.” Her hands flew about in an awkward dance.
“You had all day to tell us.” Ellie’s eyes were on fire. She would not forgive Kate any time soon.
“It might interest you to know that my day was quite awful, too. Jace wasn’t the only thing I had on my mind.”
“Nothing could be more important than this. Nothing.” Ellie said, revenge playing on her face.
Like a balloon that suddenly lost all its helium, Kate deflated. She grimaced. A sharp tone entered her voice. “You’re right, Ellie. Nothing is more important. Nothing like you abandoning me today when you said you’d be there.” Kate stood.
“Did you think you could keep him from us?” Ellie nearly screamed.
Kate shook her head. She had to get out of there and fast before she said something she didn’t mean. There was a knock on the door. Everyone froze but Kate. “Good grief. He’s only a person.” Kate yanked the door open.
Jace stood there smiling, scratching his head. “I wondered where you went.” No longer drunk, he appeared to be fighting a hangover. “I wanted to apologize. . . ” He noticed they had an audience and stopped mid-sentence. “Oh, hi.” They scrambled to their feet and practically pushed Kate out of the way to get to him. Their gushing made her sick, so she hurried to her room to change and freshen up.
When she came out, everyone was drinking smoothies, besides Jace who had black coffee, laughing and talking. Jace had his arm around Ellie. A zing of hurt whipped through Kate. Ellie’s attention fell on her, and she grinned a wicked grin. She was baiting her.
“Kate, you’re finally back.” Jace turned to Ellie. “I told you it wouldn’t take her longer than half an hour.”
“Yep. You were right,” Ellie said, and put a kiss on his lips. He didn’t hold back. He leaned in and gave her all he had. Kate thought on last night and how his lips had been all over hers. Jealousy and resentment slammed into her. Her kisses had meant nothing to Jace, and her friendship meant nothing to Ellie. As she looked on, emptiness replaced the jealousy, and apathy replaced the resentment.
“I’ve got to go.” Kate’s words came ou
t soft and almost inaudible.
Not one person acknowledged her.
She walked the boardwalk, going over everything that had happened. What a mess. Her life had to be the biggest mess in the world. Jace had been such a terrible decision. She wished she could talk to someone about it. The painted image of her birth mother washed over her. She didn’t need Ellie, Colby, or even Jace. And she didn’t need her adoptive parents either. Duran was right. She couldn’t trust anyone but the family she chose. And she was choosing her birth mother. Her birth mom was the only one she had left to trust. She had to be alive—hadn’t Vinny intimated that? And she thought she knew the way in, through Duran and his keycard to the bagel shop.
She should have gotten Duran’s number from Ellie. But her best friend had betrayed her and that was impossible. Duran might not even want to talk to her after she burst out of the bagel shop. Vinny could have told him any number of terrible things about her. Still, she wanted to talk to him. He had the connections she needed to find her mom. He didn’t need to know what she was up to. She’d be gone in a week anyway. It’s not like they could have a lasting relationship when he lived here. Still, he seemed the most real thing in her life. Only, he was at the bagel shop. The shop where her father rejected her. She couldn’t go storming in there to ask for Duran. Her own father had threatened her to stay away. But it was the only place she knew to find him. There was also Rinaldo Marconi’s house, but who knew when Duran might end up there. It did give her a measure of relief that she wasn’t a Marconi. She desperately hoped the Bellinis were not mixed up in the garbage she believed the Marconis were.
She waited outside the bagelry and realized it would be closing soon. Vincenzo came out of the building and headed for a car parked on the street. Without stopping to think, she ran toward the car. He could lead her to her birth mother. Immediately when the beep sounded telling her the car was unlocked, she climbed inside the passenger side while he climbed in the driver’s side. He jerked to look at her and, to her shock and horror, in a flash, he held a knife to her neck. “What are you doing here? I told you to disappear.” His voice was a low rumble through the vanilla scented car.
She didn’t speak, afraid the knife would slice her if she did.
He pulled back, the knife retreating.
“You can deny it all you want. But I know you’re my dad.” She didn’t look at him until she’d finished speaking.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.” He looked out all the windows like an FBI agent might when looking to see if he’s being watched.
“I do. And I know that painting in your office is of my birth mother.” She would not back down until he admitted it.
“That painting? Beautiful isn’t it? It’s a nice little moment from our time together. A memento that reminds me to never again be duped by anyone, including a pretty face. ”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your mother, that witch. She strung me along, taking all my money and then she held the one thing over me she knew would hurt. Family. I wanted a family. A son. Someone to carry on my name, but I knew she was a whore when she came telling me she was pregnant and that it had to be mine. It couldn’t have been mine. I can’t have kids. She wanted to hem me in. Trap me. With you. I told her to get rid of the bastard child, that it wasn’t mine. She came groveling back to me sometime later, begging me to take her back. She told me she had taken care of you. But now here you are, sitting beside me, sharing many of her features. And you’ve bought the coffee too, telling me I’m your dad. I’m not. You were supposed to have been taken care of. She must’ve lost her nerve. Lousy, lying witch.” He spit the words, his face a mask of rage. “Now you know all about me and about your lying, conniving mother. Now get out. I never want to see you again.” He turned and looked out the driver side window.
Kate couldn’t move. She was frozen. Every muscle in her body had locked up. But her tear ducts hadn’t gotten the memo. Tears poured in rivers down her cheeks. She didn’t make a sound. The man next her, not her father after all, didn’t make a sound either. Like they were lost in time, nothing seemed to move or change. The tears dripped off her chin and onto her lap.
“I said, get out of here.” Was there a hitch in his voice? First she blinked. Then she turned her head to the man who had dashed her every hope. Her mother gave her away to be with this man? Her mother was a con artist wanting him for his money. It couldn’t be true. She had to see for herself. “Do you know where I would find this witch mother of mine?” She drew in a quick breath as if she’d been sobbing for hours.
“Probably dead on the street somewhere like most whores end up, and that would be a better end to her than she deserves. Go home and love whoever it is she suckered in to taking you and be grateful they did. Forget about her and whoever she used to spawn you.” He didn’t turn to her but she could feel the ache in his voice. Her birth mother must have really betrayed him to get him to say the things he was saying. She felt a little ping of sadness for this man. And it was her birth mother who had broken him. She pulled on the door handle, ready to get out.
“You won’t see me again.”
He was unnaturally still, and Kate thought about the knife he’d held to her neck. His shoulder twitched, and that was enough to push her out of the car.
She walked past the bagel shop and toward the beach, walking as if on autopilot. Someone honked at her. She ignored it and kept walking. Car after car passed her. It was a ways to the beach. She walked without seeing what was right in front of her. She walked only seeing the end goal—the ocean. She stopped at a light, a group of people halting her progress. A hand grabbed hers. She jerked it away. “Kate. It’s me. Duran.”
She turned to him. For some reason, the sight of him sent pure relief through her, and she grabbed and hugged him. His chin rested on her head. “It’s going to be okay. When I saw you start down this street, I was dying to catch up with you, but I had to finish closing the store. I had things I needed to do first. As soon as I was done, I came for you.” The people around them walked across the street, leaving them alone on the corner.
“Why? Why would you come for me?” She was useless. Nobody cared about her.
“It was something about the way you looked. So totally dejected and alone. I had this feeling you needed me.”
What he said had the ring of truth, and guilt swept over her. He was the only one that was there for her right then. And she had planned on using him in a very bad way. Had his boss not revealed the truth, she would have gone through with it.
“Tell me what happened.” He led her down the road to a bench, where they sat.
“I found my dad, or at least the man I thought was my dad.”
“That’s great news. Why are you so sad?” He put a hand on her leg and turned his body to face her.
“He wasn’t really my dad, and he both hated and loved my mom.”
“That sounds about right for married couples.” He squeezed her leg, a comforting gesture.
Kate told Duran everything she had learned from her dad, though she left out his identity. “And he wasn’t even my dad after all.”
“I’m sorry. That’s awful.”
“A part of me wants to locate my mom, but the other part wants to stay as far away from her as I can.” If she had such a reception from her mom, she’d be devastated.
“It’s not a decision you have to make now. Step back and take some time to figure out what you really want.”
“Thanks for being there for me.”
He pulled her into a hug, and they walked the rest of the way to the beach.
18
She woke feeling chilled, the sand feeling a bit wet underneath her. Her head lay on Duran’s chest. She and Duran had talked and talked until they’d fallen asleep. She looked at his face, free from worry and every care. There was no sun, but the sky was growing brighter. Dawn approached. She smiled up at the fading moon, fate had smiled on her when it brought Duran into her life. He was th
e kind of guy she could see being friends with for the rest of her life.
She sat up, hoping not to disturb him, but his eyes popped open. He spoke through a stretch. “What time is it?”
She pulled out her phone. “Five.” She had a few texts from Jace and Colby. She decided not to open them. She focused on Duran, who sat now, arms wrapped around his knees.
“Thanks for last night.” She leaned into him.
“No problem. I can’t believe we fell asleep.” He leaned into her.
“No kidding.” She shivered.
“You’re cold.” He pulled her close, his heat filling her.
“A little. You tired?”
“A little.” He grinned. “But it was worth it.”
She drew her legs up close. “Yeah. Definitely. Oh, look. The sun is coming up. I’m starving. Let’s go get something to eat.”
“Sounds good, but no bagels.” She couldn’t stomach the idea of running into Vincenzo again. Besides, she’d promised him she’d disappear.
“Tired of them already?”
“No. Just up for something different. Something greasy with bacon. Yes. Definitely bacon.”
“I know the perfect place.” He stood and helped her up.
After a short walk, they ended up at a diner that fit the bill. She ordered a big plate with bacon, eggs, hash browns, and waffles. Duran did, too. She smothered the waffles with raspberry syrup and butter. They were early enough to miss the rush of people that Duran promised filled the diner during peak eating times. “I hate to say it, but I’ve got to go soon. It’ll take me a good twenty minutes to get back to work.”
