The Best of Friends

by Susan Mallery

She stopped and faced him. He was nice enough. Not a challenge, and her heart certainly didn’t beat any faster when he was around. Maybe that was a good thing—it had been working plenty hard all those years with Nigel.

  Rebecca gave an expert head toss, then flashed Jonathan her best smile. “This is where you ask me to lunch.”

  “Is it?” He dropped his latte cup into a nearby trash can and pointed toward a sign for the parking garage. “My car is that way.”

  Five

  REBECCA SIPPED HER MARTINI, then leaned toward David. “You’ll never guess who I ran into today.”

  David reached for the bread basket and tore off a piece for himself. He knew he could take it all, if he wanted. Rebecca rarely ate carbs. She also wasn’t big on red meat, but as he’d invited her to dinner, he got to pick the place and he’d gone for steaks.

  “Who?”

  “Jonathan Mooney.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t know the guy.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Of course you do. He’s friends with Mom and Dad, although he’s quite a bit younger. Tall, graying, handsome.”

  “Like that will help me place him.”

  “Fine. Pretend you know him.”

  “Sure.”

  She looked annoyed. “He visited several times when we were growing up. Not that you were there. You were away at prep school or college. Lucky you.”

  Even as a kid, he’d known escaping home was the best way to get along with everyone. “You should have thought of it, too,” he said. “Asked to go to boarding school.”

  She shuddered. “No, thanks. You should have stayed around to protect me.”

  “When you were a kid, you hated me.”

  She shifted in her seat. “Hate is strong. I found you incredibly annoying. You were so damned perfect.”

  He’d been far from perfect, but he’d learned how to play the game. He reached for a second chunk of bread. “Why fight all the time?”

  “To make a point.”

  “No, thanks. I’d rather go do something.”

  “Well, I’d rather be right.”

  He chuckled. “There’s a surprise.”

  She grabbed a small slice of bread, tore it into a half dozen pieces the size of sand grains, and carefully ate each one.

  “I supposed I should be grateful you don’t hold a grudge,” she said with a sigh. “Or you wouldn’t have taken me in when I ran away.”

  “I’m a great guy,” he said, leaning back in their booth. “You’re lucky to have me as your brother.”

  She tilted her head. Her long blond hair fell over one shoulder. “Maybe I am.”

  A man walking by glanced at her, did a double take, and nearly stumbled. Then he saw David watching and gave a quick shrug of an apology.

  “You didn’t have to be so nice to me when I showed up in Australia,” she said. “You could have sent me away.”

  “Not my style,” he said.

  She’d arrived at two in the morning, exhausted, crying, and talking so fast he had no idea what she was saying. Something about hating Elizabeth and needing to get away and running out of money and a guy downstairs offering to pay her for sex.

  He’d brought her into his room, told her to go to sleep and that they would figure it out in the morning. They had. He’d gotten her a job at the diamond mine, then stuck around for a couple of months to make sure she would be all right on her own.

  “Why were you so nice to me?” she asked, pushing the bread more to his side of the table.

  “You’re my sister.”

  “And?”

  “And what? That’s it.”

  “You’re an incredibly simple person.”

  “That’s not a bad thing.”

  The waiter appeared with the salads, offered ground pepper, and left. Rebecca sniffed the dressing on the side but didn’t actually put any on her lettuce.

  “Why here?” she asked. “I know a lot of great restaurants on the west side.”

  “I’m sure you do, but I was in the mood for a good steak, and as I did the asking—”

  “What is it with men and meat?”

  “It’s a primal force you’ll never understand.”

  “Have you seen Mom?”

  “I’m living at the house. It’s hard to avoid her.” He scooped up more lettuce and a chunk of blue cheese.

  “Well, how is she?”

  “You could go see for yourself,” he said.

  “No, thanks. Have you told her you’re back permanently?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She stared at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “How did that go?”

  “She was happy.”

  “I’ll bet. You’re making a huge mistake.”

  “No, I’m not.” He put down his fork. “I’ve seen the world a dozen times over. I don’t need to keep traveling just to prove a point. I’m ready for a change.”

  “Most people have to move away to get a change.”

  “I’m moving back. You know how I like to swim against the tide. It’s more interesting that way.”

  “You’d better be careful,” she told him. “She’ll try to run your life.”

  “You’ve been trying for years and it hasn’t worked.”

  She stabbed a piece of lettuce. “I’m an amateur when compared to her. Besides, you’re the young prince. She’ll want to keep you in line.”

  He knew he could handle Elizabeth. If only Rebecca could just accept her for what she was and let the rest of it go. But his sister was complicated and angry. She’d never forgiven her mother for not wanting her.

  If asked the question specifically, Elizabeth would say she loved her children equally, but the truth had come out dozens of times over the course of his life. And Rebecca’s. Especially when they’d been younger and Rebecca had been a challenge.

  Like most men, David had a mental list of what he wanted in a wife. While his friends often talked about long legs or big boobs, David was more interested in finding someone who wasn’t anything like his mother.

  He didn’t pretend to understand the complicated relationships women had with each other. The mother-daughter bond was beyond anything he could begin to grasp. What he did know was that nearly every decision Rebecca made in her life was determined by how much it would screw with Elizabeth. Rebecca might claim to loathe their mother, but she’d also never truly walked away from her.

  “Elizabeth’s sense of control is all an illusion,” he said.

  “For you, maybe. Not for me. I wish I was adopted. In case you were wondering, that’s what I want for Christmas.”

  “You’re not adopted. You’re too much like her.”

  Rebecca’s blue eyes turned icy. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “It’s true. You manipulate people around you to get what you want. Your entire reason for coming back to L.A. is to screw with your mother. You want what you want when you want it. You assume everyone else’s life comes to a stop if you’re not in the room.” He speared more salad. “I love you, kid, but you’re not easy.”

  “I should leave right now,” she said, obviously hurt and angry. “Dammit, David.”

  “I’m telling you the truth, and you know it. I understand you want Mom punished, but how long are you going to live your life this way? You’re trapped in a relationship with someone you claim to hate. But doing everything because it will fuck with her is just as twisted as doing everything she wants.”

  Rebecca leaned back in the booth and glared at him. “I hate you when you’re insightful.”

  “It doesn’t make me comfortable, either.”

  David’s blue BMW still had that delicious new-car smell. Jayne hadn’t noticed it the previous two times she’d been beside him, but now she inhaled the scent and promised herself that when her Jetta finally went to car heaven, she would buy something shiny and new. And red.

  It was a pretty distraction. Something to
keep her from staring at the man sitting next to her. He smelled nearly as good as the car, and their arms almost touched in the close quarters. She held in a smile. Touching arms being a thrill? Was she still in high school?

  “What?” David asked. “You have the strangest smile.”

  “Strange scary?”

  “No. More intriguing. A man?”

  “There are no men. I was thinking about buying a new car.” Which was sort of the truth.

  “Are you planning to?”

  “Not for a while. I was enjoying the new-car smell. I don’t care that they say it’s bad for us. It’s wonderful.”

  “What do you want to buy?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “I could loan you my back issues of Car and Driver. But you’d have to promise to return them.”

  She laughed. “No, thanks. I doubt you have any old magazines lying around, but even if you did, I’ll pass. It could be years before I get a new car, but it’s fun to think about.”

  He glanced at her cast before returning his attention to the road. “You feeling better?”

  She waved it. “Much. It only hurts a little, and I can use the cast as a weapon if I need to.”

  “I’ll be on my best behavior. How are you enjoying your forced time off?”

  “It’s not my favorite,” she admitted. “I’m restless and bored. I’ve spent three days reading nonstop, so that’s getting old. I guess I’ll go rent some movies.” Of the other plans in her future, she said nothing.

  “I would think anticipating the time you’ll spend with me would fill your day.”

  She laughed. “It does. More than it should.” She glanced at him, then drew in a breath. “If I tell you something, will you keep it to yourself? What I mean is, you can’t mention it to your parents or Rebecca. I know they’re family and I’m asking a lot, so it’s probably best if I don’t say anything.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Intriguing. Now I have to know.” He made an X on his chest. “I will take your secret to my grave. You have my word.”

  “I doubt you’ll need to keep it that long.” She shifted in her seat. “I’m going to Dallas next week.”

  “Okay,” he said slowly. “Is there a warrant for your arrest in Texas? Is that the reason you don’t want anyone to know?”

  She laughed again. “No. I’m…” She cleared her throat. “It’s a job interview. I got a call a couple of days ago. I’ve been recommended by a friend. There’s a new breast center opening. It sounds amazing. They’re staffing now, with the idea that we’d all start in a couple of months. I’d be in charge of several nurses, which is exciting but scary. I’ve never lived anywhere but here, so there’s that to consider.”

  David nodded slowly. “You’d also be getting away from my mother.”

  “Oh. Well, that would be an unfortunate result of my move. Of course your family has been nothing but wonderful to me and I—”

  David shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’m very clear on the thrill of being around Elizabeth Worden. She’s scary and difficult. Which could also describe my sister. Every baby bird has to leave the nest. Sounds like it’s your time to fly south. Or in this case, east.”

  While she would never say that getting free of the Wordens was her primary motivation, she appreciated his understanding.

  He smiled at her. “I think it’s a great idea. If it’s what you want, don’t let either of them talk you out of going.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Have you told Rebecca?”

  “Not yet.” So far Rebecca hadn’t returned her call.

  “She can be difficult,” he said.

  “I know, but she’s also been really good to me.” She shifted so she was angled toward him. His profile was perfect. “My senior year of high school, I was a mess. I’d lost my mom—she died of breast cancer. I had no family, and I didn’t have anywhere to go. Elizabeth said I could stay with them. Honestly, I think it was Rebecca’s idea. Regardless, I moved into the bedroom across from hers. She was like the sister I’d never had.”

  “She’s not a saint.”

  “I know. I’m sure she appreciated me running interference. I understand that.” She hesitated. “Sometime in early April, I started to freak. I was missing my mom and worried about my future and college and being totally alone in the world.” If she thought about it too much, she could feel the panic growing inside of her. Instead, she looked past it to that day.

  “One Saturday morning, Rebecca and I went shopping. Well, she went shopping, and I kept her company. We ended up in Worden’s. The salespeople were always nervous when she was around because she could be difficult.”

  “My sister? Seriously?”

  She smiled. “Amazing, but true. She insisted on trying on every necklace. They kept bringing out these stunningly beautiful diamond pieces. I had no idea how much they cost, but I remember how they sparkled. Somehow, one of them slipped onto the floor.”

  She didn’t have to close her eyes to see the glittering diamonds winking up at her.

  “While Rebecca was being demanding, I picked it up. I meant to put it on the counter, but I didn’t.” She swallowed. “And I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.”

  He glanced at her. “You can’t stop now.”

  “I know, but this isn’t a good story about me.”

  “You took it.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t think—I just acted. One second it was in my hand; the next it was in my jacket pocket. I’ve tried to figure out what I was thinking. Was it about attention? Did I think if I was bad enough, my mom would come back to life and yell at me? Was I trying to steal something for financial security? Was it a mini-breakdown? I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like that before or since.”

  She shifted so she was facing front again. “When we got home, I showed Rebecca the necklace. About thirty seconds later, the house phone rang. A few seconds after that, Elizabeth was screaming. Obviously someone at the store had called. Rebecca was still holding the necklace in her hand. She walked out onto the landing and tossed it to her mother. She said that she took it and that she was tired of all of the stupid rules. They had a huge fight. The next day, Rebecca took off.”

  She stared at her cast. “She saved me. She could have told the truth. Elizabeth would have thrown me out onto the street. Or in my case, into the foster care system. Rebecca took the blame.”

  “Good for her,” he said, sounding surprised. “I’m impressed my sister was so nice.”

  “She has her moments. And I’ve never forgotten what she did for me. I don’t know why I did what I did. It was the strangest thing. I never took anything again.”

  “She’d been looking for a reason to run, and you gave it to her.”

  “I know. That’s the irony. She took the fall, but I was punished anyway. My best friend left.”

  “That had to be hard.”

  “You have no idea. I already felt alone, and that got only worse. When Elizabeth started asking me to help her with her parties and stuff, I was so grateful to feel as if I still had a place to be. It was like belonging. But no matter how much I do, I can’t make them family. I tell myself they are—I pretend. We all pretend, but it’s not real. The truth is, I’m Elizabeth’s unpaid assistant. She parades me out when she wants to show the world what a good person she is.”

  Somewhere in the telling, she’d forgotten who she was talking to. But as the echo of her words lingered in the car, Jayne realized what she’d just said to Rebecca’s brother and Elizabeth’s son.

  She covered her mouth with her fingers and stared at him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, dropping her hand back to her lap. “Oh, God. I can’t believe I said that. It was very thoughtless and—”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not, David. I don’t know how to apologize.”

  “You don’t have to. I’m aware of my mother’s faults. And Rebecca’s. There’s a reason I’ve spent the past ten years traveling the world.
It was a whole lot easier than going home.”

  “You’re being very nice, but—”

  “Hey.” He looked at her, looking more amused than annoyed. “Don’t call me nice. I’m a guy. We don’t want nice. Nice doesn’t get us the girl.”

  “You don’t have any trouble getting the girl.”

  “That’s true.” His smile returned. “As to what you said, I’m pretty damned impressed you’ve figured it all out. Most people go their whole lives without having a clue as to why they’re not happy.”

  “I have more than a clue, but whoever said knowing the problem is half the battle was an idiot. Knowing the problem doesn’t help at all. I still have to solve it.”

  “You’re thinking of moving to Dallas. That’s something.”

  “Yee-haw.”

  “I’ve never been to Texas.”

  “Me, either. I’ll let you know what I think.”

  They turned down a long driveway that curved twice before ending at a four-car garage and a large house. They were at the top of a hill, with what looked like miles of undeveloped land around them.

  David parked the car and pulled a folder off the backseat. “Four bedrooms, three and a half baths, sixty-seven hundred square feet. Ten acres and a view.” He shook his head. “Five point five million.”

  Dollars. He meant dollars, she thought, hoping she didn’t looked stunned by the amount. The Wordens were rich—she knew that. But every now and again, they managed to surprise her.

  “It’s really all about location,” she said as she got out of the car. “You can always redo a room, although good bones are important. But the one thing you can’t change is location.”

  He climbed out as well, then rested his folded arms on the roof of his car. “You’ve been talking with my mother.”

  “She made me take notes.”

  He laughed. “Are you planning to influence me?”

  If only she could, she thought, unable to look away. Tiny shivers tiptoed down her spine. Then she remembered her big confession and wanted to crawl back in the car.

  “I doubt I could.”

  “You’d be surprised,” he said. “Come on. I see the Realtor’s car. When she’s done giving us the tour, we’ll ditch her and go jump on the beds.”