by Sierra Rose
“So let me get this straight. You’ve gone and screwed up your life, and now you’re broke, so you’re hoping my dead mother left you some expensive vase that you can pawn the second you get your hands on it?”
“Haven’t lost that sarcastic edge, have you?” he said.
“I’ll tell you one thing I have lost.”
He cocked a brow, as if daring me to say it.
“I’ve entirely lost my desire to date pretty bad boys from the wrong side of town.”
“I’m so sorry about what I did, Ashly, but I was young and—”
“How could you dump me like that in front of all my friends and family?” I shouted, cutting him off.
Tired of the drama, the lawyer interrupted. “Folks, if we’re going to read the will, we must get on with it. If not, we should reschedule. I don’t feel comfortable being in the middle of this very personal argument, and I have a family obligation tonight.”
Jake pulled a chair and motioned me to sit down.
“Fine, but you’d better read it fast, because I can’t stand being in the room with this jerk a minute longer than I have to be.”
Jake met the lawyer’s gaze and winced. “In case you didn’t notice, she hates me.”
“Can you blame her?” Mr. Shelby said, much to my surprise. “You left this beautiful woman at the altar. I was there when she told all of the guests there wouldn’t be a wedding. What you did to her was...it was just deplorable.”
“Thank you for defending my honor,” I said, smiling sheepishly.
“Well, since it’s clear that neither of you are in my fan club, is there any way we can make this short and sweet?” Jake asked.
“The pawn shop closed at six,” I said. “What’s your hurry?”
“Number one. I’m a fireman with a nice sized studio, so please quit treating me like a homeless man. Number two. In case you haven’t noticed, you could cut the tension in here with a knife. Then again, I’m more worried that you’re gonna cut me with this guy’s letter opener if I’m here much longer.”
“You never should have come back, Jake.”
“I’m sorry if my presence upsets you.”
“You didn’t even thank my mom for getting those assault charges dropped. Even after everything you did, my mother used her connections and helped you out. She only did that because I begged her to. I loved you so much that I couldn’t bear to see you hauled off to jail. Now, I’d like to put the cuffs on you myself and throw you in a hole where you’ll never see the light of day.”
“I only punched that guy because he nearly tried to rape you. You know that as well as I do.”
“Ahem.” The lawyer cleared his throat. “Are you both ready, or would you like a little bit more time to discuss things?”
“If you don’t mind, Counselor, I’d like to talk to Ashly alone,” Jake said.
I shook my head and vehemently proclaimed, “Not a chance!”
Wanting to get it all over with, the attorney ignored Jake’s request and began with the proceedings. I almost tuned him out as he went over all the legalities of the will. Anger flooded through me like a stormy ocean, and I couldn’t even think straight, let alone focus. I was fuming. What is he doing here anyway? Why in the hell would my mother give him anything? She had begged me to break it off with him countless times. She’d told me constantly that he’d never amount to anything, warned me that he was a loser, and she’d yelled at the top of her lungs, “My daughter deserves better!”
I took a quick peek at Jake as he wiped the water from his brow. My mind drifted back to months after the breakup. I dreaded telling people I was single. Nadia encouraged me, telling me my renewed bachelorette status was going to be a fun and wonderful experience, but I only considered it a punishment, as if I’d committed some terrible crime that had pissed fate off. I was sure nobody could ever love me again. Nadia assured me that wasn’t the case, but I refused to listen. My world had crumbled and shattered all around me. Maybe if I was prettier, sexier, or smarter, Jake would’ve stuck around, I told myself. I felt upset, worthless, and beyond depressed. “What did I do that was so wrong?” I often asked. Nadia was insulted by such questions and made me write down a list of twenty-five things that I loved about myself. Learning to value and accept myself had helped with the healing process, and eventually I did feel a little bit better, but there was no therapy that could help me put my broken heart back together; Jake had, after all, taken some of the biggest pieces with him.
“Are you listening?” he asked. “Did you hear what the man just said?”
“What?”
His eyes were wide in shock. “Your mother left her estate and the sum of fifty million dollars to...us.”
“What!?” I shouted, standing back up. “Why would she leave anything to him?” I pointed to the will. “Check it again. This has to be some kind of mistake!”
“My team and I were the ones who put it together,” my attorney said. “Your mother’s intentions were quite clear.”
“No! My mother would never do that, not in a million years.” The room started to spin, and everything grew hotter. He handed the official documents to me. As I ran my fingers over the raised notary seal and stared down at the words and my mother’s signature, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Why?
“She did not just flatly leave the money to him. There are some, uh...stipulations to getting the money,” my lawyer said.
I sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. I was frazzled, confused, and discombobulated all at once. “What kind of stipulations?”
“I think it’s best that you sit down, Ashly,” Jake said. “Let’s figure this out together.”
I didn’t want to obey a word he said, but I sat down and tried to keep my composure. I knew lashing out at Jake wouldn’t change the instructions my mother had left. I wanted to ask more questions, but at that point, I could barely breathe. I was on the verge of hyperventilating, and the last thing I wanted was for either of those two to give me mouth-to-mouth.
“Take slow, deep breaths, Miss Roberts,” my lawyer coaxed.
“In and out deeply,” Jake chimed in.
I stared into his eyes. “I’m not giving birth here, and even if I was, you sure as hell wouldn’t be my labor coach.”
“C’mon, Ashly. I’m just trying to help.”
“Shut up, Jake,” I said. “I don’t need your help. I don’t need anything from a coward like you.”
He let out a huff and turned back to the lawyer. “What are these so-called stipulations?”
“Miss Roberts’s mother, Virginia, chose several locations around the world that you must visit together. Everything will be paid for, and you will be given an ample allotment of funds for food, personal items, and traveling expenses. In order to fulfill the requirements, you will have to provide a photograph of the two of you together at each destination.” He then turned his gaze to me. “Your mother referred to these as ‘Kodak moments’. When you obtain all the pictures, come back to my office for verification. If they are legitimate, each one of you will be given twenty-five million dollars of your mother’s fortune.”
Jake and I met each other’s gaze, staring for a long, stunned, silent moment.
Finally, he let out a long breath. “Whoa. I can’t even imagine that amount of money. It’s just...huge.”
My lawyer crossed his hands on the cherry wood desk. “Each picture must be an eight-by-ten, depicting something that proves you were at each destination together.”
“So no Photoshopping, eh?” Jake joked.
Rolling his eyes at Jake, Mr. Shelby continued, “Virginia paid in advance to have the photos examined for originality and authenticity. I wouldn’t dream of making that mistake.”
“How long do we have for this little globe-trot?” he questioned.
“You must complete the entire trip, stopping at each destination one after the other, within the next twelve months.”
“And exactly where do we have to go?” I asked.
He han
ded me the list.
As I looked down at the names of the exotic locations, I couldn’t believe it. “What the...? Japan? South Africa? Paris?” I shook my head. “None of this makes any sense. My mother was on hefty morphine in her last days, and she babbled a lot of incoherent stuff. I think we should consider that and burn this will. She clearly wasn’t of sound mind when she—”
“Burn it?” Jake said in disbelief. “Why? Just because I’m in it?”
My lawyer looked at me. “Miss Roberts, your mother made this will a few weeks after she found out she had cancer. She was, in fact, of very sound mind at the time, and this was what she wanted. If you are successful in this endeavor, there is a video diary that will be shown to you, and her reasons will become clear. However, you must first complete the task in good faith.”
It was such a bizarre request, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why the heck my mother would want me to spend time with a man she openly deplored, the selfish jackass who had left me at the altar and embarrassed our entire family. I didn’t understand any of it. Worst of all, she hadn’t even discussed it with me; as far as I knew, my mother never kept secrets from me. Frustrated, I handed the list to Jake.
He studied it closely. “We can get some of these done fast.”
I bit my lip hard and didn’t say a word.
“We just have to be together in the picture, right? But we can be far apart, no handholding or smooching?” he asked.
I shot him a glare.
“What?” he said. “I know you’ll bite my head off if I invade your personal space, so I’m just asking. Always good to read the small print.”
“You won’t have to worry about that,” I said smugly, “because I don’t want the money. You can go on this little adventure by yourself.”
Mr. Shelby turned to Jake. “I’m sorry, but if Miss Roberts doesn’t go with you to the locations, the contract will be null and void.”
“And what about the money?” I asked.
“It will be held by this office indefinitely.”
Jake looked at me with his eyes wide. “Ashly,” he said softly, “if you don’t do it, I’ll get nothing.”
“Yeah, I got that much, Einstein.”
“There’s so much I could do with this money. And why give away your inheritance to a lawyer? I can’t believe you’d do that just to get back at me. At least if you go, you’ll get half of what your mom left behind.”
“I don’t care about the money,” I said. “Revenge is so much sweeter. Maybe that’s why Mom planned it this way. She knew I’d sit here and let you suffer, you pitiful idiot. How’s it feel for someone to dangle something great in front of you, only to have it snatched away?”
“I’m so, so sorry.”
“Is that all I get? Some lame apology? I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with you, a man I foolishly loved and cherished. But you threw me under the bus for your freedom. You’re pathetic! What was it Nadia called you? Despicable!”
“Maybe you two need some time to think,” the attorney said. “Now that the will has been read, you have one week to change your minds. If you’d like to proceed, just contact my office and come in and sign the papers.”
“I don’t plan on changing my mind. If my mother thought I was gonna prance around the globe with this idiot and smile for pictures, she was sadly mistaken.”
“We don’t even have to smile,” Jake said. “You don’t even have to be near me, except to take pictures. Why not just do it and get our money? After that, we can go our separate ways—just a little wealthier.”
“If you’ll have a seat, Mr. Connors,” the lawyer said, “we’ll get started.”
I stood and reached for my purse. “No, I don’t think so.” Seeing Jake had been too great of a shock. I had cried my eyes out over him for way too long, and I wasn’t ready to hand my mother’s money over to the man who had hurt me so badly. “I think it would be best if I just go,” I said, my voice cracking.
Again, Jake reached for my arm, and again, I shuddered from his touch. “Please,” he begged.
“I can’t control what you do and where you live, but you’d better stay as far away from me as humanly possible. If you come near me or bug me, I’ll slap a restraining order on you so fast, your head will be spinning.”
“Listen, I promise to leave you alone if that’s what you want. I was really just hoping to spend some time with you, but if you feel this strongly, I...well, I won’t cause you any further heartbreak.”
“Spend some time with me? What!? You never wrote or emailed me to tell me what happened, not in five long years, so why should I care now? I’m so over you, it’s not even funny.”
“I thought you’d want closure.”
“Nope. I don’t care anymore. You’re just the worst mistake I ever made, and I want to forget about you forever. So why don’t you just respect my wishes and leave?”
“Because this money would help... It’d help so much.”
“So now you want to take advantage of something my mom wrote when she was out of her mind, just diagnosed with a deadly disease? Really, Jake.”
“I’m so sorry about what I did, Ashly, but I was young. I was facing a four-year prison term for punching out that guy, for defending you.”
“You got scared and ran for your freedom, Jake. There’s no excuse for running away, young or not.”
“Don’t be bitter,” he said.
My jaw dropped. “Bitter?” I repeated, then shifted my gaze to my lawyer for help. “Did you hear that? Can you believe the nerve?”
My lawyer sighed and squirmed uneasily in his seat. “I really think we need to tie up this will and decide if you two are going to go through with—”
“I haven’t seen this idiot since he high-tailed it from our wedding, without giving me any logical explanation. Did you think I was gonna greet him with a big smile and a warm hug?”
“Ashly,” Mr. Shelby said.
“I’m sorry. I know I’m out of line. It’s just that...well, seeing him here has thrown me for a real loop.”
Jake motioned for me to sit down again and looked at me with that sad look on his face. We stared into each other’s eyes. For countless years, I’d wondered if I’d ever see him again, and now, there he was, right before my very eyes. His hair was wet and messy from the wind and rain, and I couldn’t deny that he looked so damn sexy. Still, I’d closed that chapter of my life and had painfully turned through the next hundred pages. Finally, I’d gotten back on my feet. Now, I was faced with that first chapter all over again, and I felt like throwing the book against the wall.
I was trying to hate him, but I couldn’t stop staring at his powerful biceps and huge, solid chest. I had no doubt that under his thin T-shirt, he had rippling muscles and six-pack abs. I remembered when we’d first met, how he’d made me laugh right from the get-go. All the memories that I had desperately tried to block out came flooding back like it had all happened yesterday: his laugh, his lips, his touch, and his kiss. We’d been so deeply, so madly in love.
His deep, passionate kisses were something I’d never ever forget, no matter how many years passed and how many lovers I invited into my bed. No one would ever compare to Jake. Of course, none of that mattered. I would never forget his betrayal; it had rocked me to the very core of my being. His sweet talk would never work on me again.
I shook my head. “You don’t get it, do you?”
He inched closer. “What?”
A tear ran down my face. “I was supposed to be living a happy life with you.”
“So this is about revenge now? You just want to stick it to me. That’s why you won’t go on this trip your mother wanted us to take?”
My lips pressed into grim lines. “Yep. You stuck it to me, and Mom has given me the perfect way to stick it back to you.”
“That’s cold, Ashly. You have no idea how much that money would change my life.”
“Cold? Maybe, but you made me. Because of you, I’ve been
cold, mean, and miserable. You shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces.”
“Maybe, but I’m a different man now.”
I stared at him.
“Hey,” he said in a soft voice, trying to change the subject, “how’s Tiger?”
Tiger was a white and orange striped cat we’d adopted when she was only a kitten, a stray who had followed us home. We both loved her, and she’d become a part of the family.
“Is she even still alive?” he asked.
“She’s fine and, unlike you, she sleeps by me every night.” With that, I turned to leave. I half-expected him to follow me, but he didn’t. Without another word to him or the attorney, I slammed the door, making sure Jake knew he could screw off and leave me alone—for good.
Chapter 3
The next night, my best friend Nadia dragged me out of the house for dinner. She took me to one of my favorite restaurants, Devin’s.
“I’m worried about you,” she said. “You’ve been a hermit in your apartment ever since your mom passed away.”
“I know it’s been three months, but it’s hard to face the outside world. Interviewing designers and models seems so...shallow and pointless. I can’t just pretend nothing’s wrong, and...” Not sure what else to say, my voice drifted off.
“I just wanted to get you out,” Nadia said, “especially with the whole Jake thing. You can’t stay all cooped up, just reflecting back on what that ass did to you. It isn’t healthy.”
My cell rang, and I glanced down. “Speak of the devil.” The last time he’d called me was the day he’d walked out of my life forever. Now, he was just after my mother’s money.
“He’s not gonna give up, Ash,” she said. “Why don’t you let me answer it? I’d like to thank him for that trip to Mexico.”
I laughed, even though it wasn’t funny. My mother had spent $20,000 to reserve a honeymoon suite at the most expensive tropical resort she could find. Since it was nonrefundable, I decided to take Nadia. During that trip, she forced me to leave the room and tried to hook me up with a couple of hunky Latinos, but I was so miserable I just sulked the entire time, seething as I looked around the frilly, romantically furnished room that was supposed to be for lovers.
