Diversions

by Leanne Davis

  “You haven’t set a date?” His gaze sharpened on her. What was in his tone?

  “No. And no one is happy with me for that.”

  “Why does it sound like everyone else is deciding your life?”

  “Because it’s just how things are right now. Anyways, you don’t want to hear about this, I’d guess. Trent being involved and all.”

  He shrugged. “You’re not them. But I imagine you and the Gallaghers get along just fine.” His scrutiny of her face had her shifting around uncomfortably. He was so freaking intense.

  “Yes. Except—”

  “Except what?”

  She met his scrutiny with a small grin. “I really don’t like Peggy. She’s a—”

  He smiled his slow, devastating grin that spread across his cheeks and into his intense blue eyes. “Yeah, I know exactly what she is. Good judgment.”

  She was pleased at his praise. Which was ridiculous. He was not her father. He was no one she needed approval from.

  “So tell me, how is it I’ve never heard that Aaron Andrews has a daughter?”

  She shook her head. “Once my parents became as known as they are now, they made every attempt to keep me out of the spotlight. It worked for the most part. I attended a private school whose discretion was included in their tuition. I’ve lived in Seattle the last few years. I spent most of my summers in college at summer session, so I was only back here to visit.”

  “So you moved back to marry my brother?”

  “I moved back because I have nowhere else to live. And yes, to eventually marry your brother.”

  He didn’t crack a smile. He watched her. He had this disconcerting way of staring at her, without giving her a clue if he was listening or absorbing what she was saying. It made it too easy to ramble on. She fidgeted with the sugar packets next to her, giving her hands something to do and her eyes something to focus on that wasn’t him.

  “How did you come across this information that has you so upset? How did you find out about me?”

  She waited as the waitress set down their drinks and the small basket of nachos Jason had ordered. He nodded towards her after he set it in middle of the table. She grabbed a hot, gooey, cheese-covered chip and took a bite. She licked at the crumbs escaping her mouth.

  “I was looking in Trent’s file cabinet for another file and I came across one with your name. It struck me as strange.”

  “So you opened it? Not a lot of boundaries, huh?”

  “Well, I didn’t think I needed them with someone I intend to marry. He should not have things I can’t see. Apparently, however, he thinks he should. You.”

  “And so you came to see what the secret was about.”

  She nodded. “Yes. That’s what I did. It really pissed me off.”

  He lifted one corner of his mouth. “And this gets even with him. Nothing would piss him off more than to know you were here with me. Are you going to tell him?”

  “Sure. When you two agree to meet.”

  He shook his head. “Not happening.”

  “You two share that trait, too.”

  “What?”

  “Unreasonable stubbornness.”

  He shook his head. “We don’t share anything.”

  “DNA?”

  “You really don’t know how to give up, do you?”

  She smiled. “No, I really don’t.”

  He took a long drink off the bottle before him. His neck muscles contracted and moved as he drank. Why did his Adam’s apple moving up and down suddenly hold her interest? Or seem so manly? Why was her freaking stomach suddenly tingling in reaction to simply watching him drink? She forced her gaze down to her black coffee. She could not simply watch the man. It was weird. It was lame. It was semi-stalkerish. And why, oh why, was she so interested in him?

  “Can I ask you something?”

  He shrugged his massive shoulders. “You can ask. Doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”

  “Why did you let them force you to deny your entire existence?”

  He sighed and set the bottle down. “There is no denying it. I’m here. I know I exist. Why do I give a shit if they want to deny it? It has no bearing on me.”

  “They were wrong. Just for the record. What they did was completely wrong.”

  “And so…you’re here to right their wrong?”

  She bit her lip. That made her sound like a condescending goody-two-shoes. But what the Gallaghers did just didn’t sit right with her. She could not get her head around why Trent simply didn’t tell her about Jason’s existence. And what would possess someone to draw up a legal agreement to solidify that? It was borderline crazy.

  “I can’t right it. I just would like to show Trent the error of following his parents’ abhorrent behavior. I think you two meeting would change everything. He would see—”

  “He would see what? It won’t make any difference to them.” His gaze sharpened on her face. His tone went from amiable to suddenly curt. “Let me ask you, what is it exactly you ‘see’ about me?”

  He shifted forward, his elbows on the table now, and his eyebrows rose, in questioning her.

  She licked her lips. She had walked into this one. Probably mentioning that she saw him as uncomfortably hot and compelling wasn’t the thing to say. It was, in fact, the totally wrong reaction to have when meeting your fiancé’s estranged brother. But there was no denying how truly magnificent the man was. He was tall and ripped. His body was one any straight woman would simply stop and stare at for how perfect it was. That wasn’t her fault. It was simply fact. And how did a woman not react to how magnetic Jason’s eyes were? It was as if they grabbed you and ripped into your very soul just by looking at you. It wasn’t her fault she had a physical reaction to his beauty. It meant nothing. Absolutely, completely nothing. She often found men in movies or modeling this attractive.

  But there was something... more about him. It was the quiet tone he spoke in. The way he stared intently when she spoke, as if taking in each and every word she said. It was as if all and everything but her words ceased to exist around him. It was an intoxicating brew added to his sheer beauty.

  So, probably not what she should say to answer Jason’s question.

  “I don’t know you, but I don’t think anyone deserves the callous disregard you’ve been dealt.”

  “It’s been this way always, and will never change.”

  She sighed. “I think I do need to worry. I think it’s going to be a huge problem for Trent and I.” She shook her head and blew out a breath. “So, what exactly did you do with the money?”

  He choked on his drink of beer with a strangled laugh. “No, I’m really not going to tell you. You realize it’s completely none of your business, I hope.”

  She nodded. “I know. I was just curious. So then, where do you live?”

  He took a chip and bit into it. His teeth sliced through the chip as the cheese clung to his lips. He sucked it in. Why was she staring at the man eating? She glanced over his head at the wallpaper of fruit baskets. At least the wallpaper didn’t make her want to lean over and suck cheese off lips. What was wrong with her? Where was this coming from? She was never like this.

  “Why do you care?”

  The suspicion in his voice told her a lot. He was not open or easygoing. His distrust was nearly a physical thing. “Conversation.”

  “Sounds more like an interrogation. Or someone looking to see if I bought a house when I inherited the money you think was blackmail money.”

  She grinned. “Okay, you caught me. So…?”

  “So I live in the apartment over Kelso’s Auto Garage.”

  “I thought it was a typo.”

  He quirked his eyebrows at her. “What was?”

  “Where you lived. It was listed as the garage.”

  He frowned. “What else do you know?”

  “Not that much. You have worked at the garage for ten years, which I have to add is impressive. You must have started there young.”

  “Sixtee
n. I stole one of the cars from the parking lot. Bill Kelso, the owner, caught me. He should have turned me in, but instead he gave me a job washing the cars and cleaning up the garage bays. He threatened to turn me into the police if I was even a minute late after school. He eventually started me working on the cars and paid for me to get my mechanic license through the community college.”

  “Wow, that was amazing of him to do for you after you stole a car from him.”

  He shrugged. “I owe Bill everything. I was stealing my fifth car when Bill caught me.”

  “Why? Why were doing it?”

  “I had to eat.”

  “You had to eat?” She repeated stupidly. He had to steal cars to eat? She couldn’t picture it. She knew she led a pampered life, far beyond even the rich and famous among her circle of acquaintances. But to steal for food? Never. She didn’t know anyone else who did that.

  He shook his head. “Can’t fathom it, huh? I was on my own by fourteen. You didn’t read that in my file?”

  “No. Why? Why were you on your own so young? Where did you live?”

  He shrugged. “Nowhere particular.”

  He turned his head to look out the window. End of conversation seemed to be his message. His face went blank and his tone neutral.

  “What about Terry? How could he leave you to the streets? What about your mother?”

  He glanced back at her. “I have no idea about Terry. He probably didn’t even know. He was rarely part of my life. My mother was an addict. Still is. She was in and out my entire life. So maybe you can see why I don’t give a fuck if I take money from my father. I consider it back pay.”

  She let out a breath. “God, I didn’t know. I…I’m sorry.”

  “For?” His gaze sharpened on her.

  “For being so blasé about money that obviously anyone would have taken in your situation. I... I guess, I know Terry in different light. He’s always been extremely nice to me and socially concerned. I’m not kidding, he even used to manage my father’s charitable contributions when he worked as dad’s lawyer. It never occurred to me he didn’t take care of his own son. Did he know about your mother?”

  “Yes. He knew.”

  She sat back in the booth. Her stomach suddenly felt tight. She had thought it was all petty squabbles of a family that was embarrassed by Jason’s existence. It never occurred to her that their denial of his existence had left him on the streets, totally abandoned as a teenager. It was unthinkable that a man who was her father’s close friend and advisor, a man she respected and was excited to have as an in-law, would allow that.

  “Did Trent know?”

  Jason shrugged. “What do I know about what Trent knows? Why the hell do you think it matters to me? For that matter, why does it matter to you?”

  “Why does it matter? Because I could never do what they did. And I don’t think I can accept it.”

  He laughed. She had no idea why. “Why are you laughing at me?”

  “Because I can’t believe you’re really that naive. Of course the Gallaghers ignored me. I was reminder of Terry’s indiscretion; the indiscretion that probably just about ripped his life apart. And he did it with the unstable drug-addict, sometimes-prostitute that is my mother. I’d ignore me too. It’s really how things are done. You think your father would have reacted any different?”

  “My father? My father would never do this.”

  “You think your father isn’t offered sex regularly? He’s richer than sin; of course he is. Do you think he’s never partaken?”

  She sat up straighter. “No. I don’t. You don’t even know my father. He’s not some faceless stereotype of a rich asshole. But if he did do something like that and have a child as a result, he would never abandon it. He would face his responsibilities and he’d take care of what was his.” She was sure about few things in her life, but her father’s integrity was one thing she was absolutely positive of.

  Jason raised his eyebrows. He pressed his lips together and held his hands up as if in surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry. Maybe I don’t know the type of man your father is. I was going by the standards my father set for me.”

  She nodded. “My father is rich, but he’s not an asshole. He’s almost obsessively moral. I thought... well, until three days ago, I thought my fiancé and his father were too. I thought Peggy was the problem, now I have to wonder...”

  “Maybe you should wonder on your own time.”

  She smiled, chagrinned. “Okay, maybe I should. I’m sorry I judged you for taking the money. Terry owed you a lot more than that.”

  He nodded. “Probably. But it doesn’t make taking the money right. I wish I could have afforded to tell them to shove it up their asses. But I needed it. So I took it. And I would do it again.”

  She finished her coffee. She really wished she had thought out his perspective more. “Would you consider meeting with Trent? Now that I know you, I really think they are wrong.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  She blinked. Okay, maybe she didn’t, but she didn’t not know him either. He seemed decent enough. He’d held a job for a decade after a childhood that sounded unstable, to say the least. So she might not know all the particulars, but she did have an idea of what he was like now.

  “Fine. I don’t know you. But I know that you’re not unpleasant to have a conversation with. Trent and Terry owe you that. At the least. If Trent could meet you, I’m sure he’d see how wrong your father is to have perpetuated this... fiasco of a policy of ignoring you and paying you to pretend you don’t know him. It’s ridiculous. It’s wrong. And my God, you are owed more. Trent at least should know that.”

  “So tell him that. But leave me out of it.”

  “It’s not enough.”

  He didn’t answer. He furrowed his brows. She wasn’t sure why. What was he thinking as he stared at her? She had no idea. She squirmed under his intensity.

  “This really means something to you, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded. “Yes, of course. Why would that surprise you? Any person with an ounce of morals would be appalled at how your own flesh and blood has treated you. I am horrified. And I’m engaged to one of them. I have issue with that. And I intend to see the wrong you’ve been dealt be righted.”

  “Do you really think you can fix this?”

  “I can try.”

  “I am not a charity project to be fixed. I don’t need or want my father’s acknowledgment or approval. This matters to you, not me. Unless you can get me more money from them, I’m not interested in the least.” He stood up, withdrew his wallet, threw out some bills and walked away. She was so shocked by his abrupt departure she didn’t react for a moment. Then she grabbed her coat and went after him. He was half way across the parking lot before she got close to him.

  He didn’t stop when she called his name. The rain had quit and twilight had descended over the lot. The street lights reflected in the deep puddles she had to dodge. He stopped before an older model truck. He jammed the key into the lock just as she came up to him.

  “What just happened?”

  He opened his door and glanced up. “Remember those boundaries you were talking about? The ones you think don’t exist with your fiancé? Well, they sure as shit exist with me. And you, being some princess, deciding you feel sorry for me and you’re going to fix me, is crap. Really. Your sensibilities being offended by what your fiancé’s family does has absolutely nothing to do with me.”

  She pushed her hair behind her ear. “Why did you come today, then, if my inquiry so offended you?”

  He looked her over then, from her hair, down her front, all the way to her shoes, his gaze slow and thorough. “Why? Because you’re hot. And your name is Christine Andrews. And you’re engaged to a brother I fucking detest. Seemed an interesting thing to do. Do the math.”

  With that he got in his truck, slammed the door, started it and barreled out of the parking lot, his tires spinning in the puddles and splashing her feet. She glared after him, ha
nds balled into fists. How dare he? What was that? And what the hell was he saying?

  No. He couldn’t have meant that. And she was not hot. She was the girl next door, who could dress well in classy, unrevealing clothes. Her hair alone kept her from being classified as anything close to hot. Hot was not wildly frizzy, curly hair she could never keep under control. She knew who and what she was. And hot was not what she was. She was the girl everyone liked, looked to lead a group or complete a project. She was not the girl men looked to seduce or had fantasies about. So what the hell had Jason been getting at? She turned on her heel, frustrated, and stomped with her wet feet to her car.

  Chapter Three

  Jason cursed into the dark cab of his truck. Christine Andrews stood silhouetted against the damp night in his rear view mirror. Damn. He should not have reacted to her. He should have politely said goodbye and left the restaurant. Instead he’d stomped out of there like she was far more to him than she was. He’d let on much more than if he’d politely said nice to meet you and have a nice life.

  She wasn’t what he expected from his brother. His brother was as fake as a cult leader and as smarmy. He would suck up to anyone who would further him, including, no doubt, Christine’s rich, successful father. She didn’t see that. She obviously didn’t see a lot. And she was now reeling from what her naive, innocent little heart couldn’t understand. Discovering him had shaken something in her. And he respected that. He did. He respected that she cared and wasn’t like them and didn’t think this was okay. But the thought of her feeling sorry for him, trying to save him and fix his fucked-up relationship with his family was not something he could listen to.

  He wanted nothing to do with them. Ever. And by extension Christine. She was part of another world. Terry’s kind of world, full of rich, spoiled, out-of-touch assholes who didn’t get what “normal” life was about. But, the thing was, Christine wasn’t like that. She was concerned; totally appalled at what had gone on when really, Terry ignoring his love child was the norm, not the shocking exception Christine thought it was.