“Yes.” Rachel moaned. “I need to tell him, but I don’t want to. Can you imagine what the kids’ life would be like having someone that famous as their father?”
Lori blinked. “Maybe pretty wonderful? I mean the guy is loaded, has houses everywhere, right? They could go to top schools and universities. They’d get to travel the world. How is that so bad?”
“You don’t understand.” Rachel squeezed her eyes shut again. “It’s a nightmare to go anywhere with him. People literally pushed me aside to get to him. And his schedule is insane. He’s never in one place for more than a few days at a time. We had to use scheduler apps to squeeze out what little time we could together. We dated for over two years, and I probably only spent the whole night with him twenty times.”
“I can’t believe you never told me about him.” That hurt. They had always told each other everything.
“I didn’t think it would last. But then one of us would call because we missed the other, and we’d take up right where we’d left off. I kept thinking every time I slept with him it’d be the last. Never anything serious enough to tell you that I had a boyfriend.”
“Did you date other guys while you were with Marcello, then?”
“No.” Rachel’s wet eyes cut to hers. “I didn’t have any desire to be with anyone else.”
That she’d never mentioned Marcello meant her sister had real feelings for him. “How did we never see you two together in the press if you dated for that long?”
A sad smile spread on Rachel’s lips. “He told everyone I was just one of his many lawyers. And we were careful never to touch each other in public.”
“Well, clearly there was some touching going on in private. What aren’t you telling me? What’s the real reason you’re so afraid to tell him?”
Tears leaked from the corner of her sister’s eyes. “I’m very good friends with one of his real lawyers. When I found out I was pregnant, I asked her what she thought I should do. She’s worked with him for years. She intimated that Marcello has paid for more than one abortion, and he still pays some of the women’s monthly expenses even though there’s no baby. She thinks they’re like mistresses he keeps in different cities or something. So I broke up with him.”
Lori leaned down and laid a kiss on her sister’s temple. “Maybe there’s more to those other women’s stories than we know. You should tell him. Maybe he’ll actually be happy to know he’s going to be a father. Has he tried to call you since the breakup?”
Rachel nodded. “Every day. But I don’t answer. He’d started calling me at work, so I quit and decided to move home. I was tired of that crazy job and had been thinking about making some big changes anyway. He’s stuck on a movie set on the other side of the world for another month. I don’t have to worry about him tracking me down until that’s over.”
Lori’s protective radar went off. “What do you mean tracking you down? Like a stalker?”
“No. He’s angry with me for breaking up with him out of the blue because of our busy schedules. That’s what I’d told him the reason was. He said in his voice mails he’s going to hire someone to find me anyway, so I should just call him back.”
Lori couldn’t decide if that sounded like a man in love or someone dangerous. Unlikely someone that famous would be depraved. “Maybe you should take the call tomorrow. Tell him the truth. You said your due date is in July, but exactly how many weeks along are you?”
“Nine. But the doctor said twins tend to come early, or they often have to take them a little early. I should be prepared for that.” Rachel grabbed Lori’s hand and squeezed. “After watching you and Mom deal with a cheating mate, I refuse to share him with other women. I can’t live with that. And I won’t have our children raised like circus freaks for the paparazzi to harass their whole lives.”
She couldn’t argue about not sharing him, but that wasn’t the biggest problem. Carefree, rule-breaking Rachel didn’t fall in love. She was far too independent for that. She probably feared he didn’t love her back and therefore avoided the discussion.
Lori whispered, “Tell him you love him. You might be in for a very pleasant surprise. Or he might break your heart, but it looks like you’re pretty heartbroken anyway. What’s to lose?”
She slowly shook her head. “I don’t want to be in love with Marcello. I just am, dammit!”
Lori smiled. “Sometimes our hearts have minds of their own.”
“No kidding.” Rachel huffed out a breath. “How about we make a deal? I’ll tell Marcello I love him if you’ll tell Deek how you feel about him.”
“No need. I’m not carrying Deek’s babies.” Lori’s situation was entirely different. She’d known from the beginning that Deek was taken. It was just an unhappy occurrence that her heart hadn’t gotten the memo. “See you later. I have to get ready for my date. And to show you I’m not a member of a convent, maybe I will consider sleeping with Jason.”
Her sister snorted. “I’ll look forward to a full report when you get home at the sensible hour of ten pm, Mother Superior.”
“For your information, the charity ball goes until eleven, smart mouth. Thanks for the clothes.” There was no fooling her sister. Rachel knew Lori would never sleep with Jason on only the second date.
As she walked down the hall to her bedroom, a thought occurred to her and made her stop mid-stride. Sleeping with Jason might actually make all her lovely dreams about being with Deek stop. Then she could finally get a full night’s rest for a change. But sleeping with him would take things to the next level, and she still wasn’t sure she could ever fully trust a man. She’d put such a solid wall up around her heart that she wasn’t sure it’d ever come down all the way.
She needed to get past that fear, but the thought of making another poor decision about a man was daunting at times. But, she’d never get over her fear if she didn’t put herself back out there. And it didn’t have to be anything serious. She could just sleep with him, with no expectations on either side, so her heart would be safe.
Should she seriously consider it? Shanan did it all the time and claimed it was fun. Could she bust out of her good-girl box and break her own rules? Her husband’s early passing always brought home the importance of living each day to its fullest. Maybe if Jason seemed like a nice guy, someone who could turn out to be datable for more than one night, she’d do it!
Deek was so deep into his programming in his study that when his computer beeped with a call Monday evening, it startled him. He blinked at the screen for a moment and then realized it was Annie.
His e-mail had apparently worked. As he pressed the icon to connect, he called out for Asher to join him.
“Hi, Annie. How are you?”
She smiled weakly. “Better after I got your e-mail about the funding. It’d be nice to have a little more help. It’s been a long day. How are you?”
“Good. But I miss you.”
“I’m sorry, Deek. I know I’ve stayed away too long.”
“Asher will be here in a second, so please don’t mention the funding for the dig. We can talk about that later. He’s feeling a little neglected by you.” And so was Deek, but the call needed to be about Asher first.
“It’s just for a few years.” Annie sighed. “We’re doing great work here.”
A few years in a child’s life was a major thing, but Annie could never seem to understand that. “He misses his mom. Have you thought about it? Can you make it home for his birthday? He’d love that.”
“I’m rearranging the schedule tonight. Don’t make him any promises, though. I have to see when exactly I can be away. It might not be on Asher’s birthday exactly.”
Deek wanted to fist pump at his almost-victory but held back because Asher walked in the room. “Hey, bud. Mom called to talk to you.”
Asher’s eyes lit up. “She called? Really?” He trotted up and sat in the chair Deek had just vacated. “Hi, Mom! How’s the dig going?”
Deek glanced at his empty water glass and took the opportun
ity to go to the kitchen for a refill. Once he filled his glass, he decided he was hungry. He spotted the basket of apples his housekeeper had left out for Asher, and grabbed one to eat. By the time he got back to the study, Asher was saying goodbye to Annie.
The conversation hadn’t been long, but it’d put a smile on Asher’s face. It was late in Peru, so he couldn’t blame Annie for being brief.
Annie’s face disappeared, and Asher spun around in the desk chair. “Dad, could you drive me to Emily’s house?”
“It’s after eight? Why?”
“I have to get a book from her. I forgot mine at school, and I need it to finish my homework. It’s due in the morning.”
“We’ve talked about this, Asher. I’m tired of having to rush around because you don’t manage your time well.” Deek hated when Asher left things till the last minute because homework was so easy for him. “It’s late. And Lori’s new cell won’t get in until tomorrow. I can’t ask permission to drop by. We can’t barge in on them two nights in a row.”
Asher’s face morphed into the innocent puppy look. “I’m sorry, Dad. I forgot the book because I was hurrying to find you after school today in case Mom called.”
Probably not true, but the thought of seeing Lori again made the decision an easy one. “Okay. This is the last time, though. Got it?”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Deek shut down what he was working on and then grabbed his keys. They really shouldn’t just show up at Lori’s house so late. “Did you happen to get Emily’s cell phone number last night?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I called already and asked if I could borrow her book. She said she’d leave it out front for me. She and her aunt went to the movies.”
“On a school night? I’m surprised Lori would let Emily do that.”
“Well, um.” Asher’s eyes darted around the study. “It’s supposed to be a secret. You can’t tell Mrs. Went. Please, Dad?”
Asher wasn’t making any sense. “Why wouldn’t Lori know they went to the movies?”
“Because she went on a date.” Asher chewed on his bottom lip. “And Emily’s aunt sometimes breaks the rules. Mrs. Went doesn’t like that.”
“Lori is on a date?” Warning bells went off in Deek’s head. “With Jason? Come on. Let’s go.”
As they jogged to the garage, Asher said, “I don’t know what his name is. Do you want me to call Emily back?”
“No. I don’t know. Let me think. Just hop in.” Deek didn’t know what they should do. Lori didn’t have a cell, so he couldn’t call and warn her.
His gut burned with guilt for not mentioning what he’d learned about Jason the last time he’d seen her. And anger at Jason for preying on someone as sweet as Lori. He couldn’t let him hurt her.
He tried to figure out how to find Rachel to ask about Lori as he and Asher drove in silence to Lori’s house. Asher was probably so quiet because he thought he was in trouble for forgetting his book. “Hey, Ash? Do you happen to know which show they went to?”
His head bobbed up and down in the reflection of the rearview mirror. “It started at six thirty. Em’s so lucky. They were going to have popcorn for dinner.”
“Movie popcorn is incredibly bad for you.”
Asher shrugged. “But it tastes really good.”
Deek couldn’t argue that point, so he let it drop while he did the math. Maybe Rachel and Emily would be back by the time they got to Emily’s house. Rachel would probably know where Jason and Lori went.
When they arrived at Lori’s house, there were lights on, giving Deek hope that it wasn’t too late. But he didn’t feel comfortable showing up unannounced at the front door, especially when Lori wasn’t even home. He handed Asher his phone. “Can you call Emily? Make sure they’re still awake? I’d like to talk to Rachel about something.”
Worry crumpled Asher’s brow as he called. After a quick conversation, he hung up and said, “Emily said she’d meet us at the front door. What’s wrong, Dad?”
Deek plastered on a smile. “Adult stuff. Nothing for you and Emily to worry about.”
“You’re acting so weird.” Asher led the way to the front door and knocked. When it swung open, Emily waved them inside.
After Emily had handed Asher the book, they both looked up at Deek with questioning expressions.
He said, “Hi. Is your aunt around, Emily?”
Emily exchanged an “I’m going to kill you” glance at Asher. Then she nodded and said, “She’s in the kitchen. Asher, can you come help me with a homework problem?”
Poor Asher. He was probably about to get a dressing down from Emily for spilling the beans about the movie.
Deek poked the swinging door open and found Rachel, arm deep into the cookie jar. “Busted!”
Rachel had screeched before her hand flew into the air, sending three cookies flying. “Geez, Deek. You scared the hell out of me.” She bent down to clean up the crumbs. “What are you doing here so late?”
He squatted down to help. “I need to find Lori and warn her about Jason.”
She stopped her cleaning as concern filled her expression. “Warn her about what?”
“Sleeping with him. That’s what I started to tell her, well, I guess it was you, last night. He’s a sick perv. A sexual deviant.”
Rachel’s hand flew to her chest. “But Lori said they ran a background check on him.” Rachel left the cookie crumbs where they were and headed toward the swinging door.
Deek followed. “Background checks aren’t as comprehensive as people think. And he’s paid someone a lot of money to cover up his online past.”
Rachel jogged into the den. “She’s at some country club. She left the name and number, in case we needed her.” She lunged for the coffee table and grabbed a piece of paper. Then she handed it to him. “How do you know all this about Jason?”
“I was recruited in college to work for the government. For law enforcement. I hope Lori won’t be mad that I dug into his past illegally.”
Rachel raised a brow. “While my sister is very big on rules, I think she’ll see you did this because you care for her. A lot. Am I right?”
He nodded. But his face was getting hot, so he studied the paper. “Do you think I should page her? Or would it be better if you did?”
“Luckily, this fundraiser is supposed to last until eleven, so I don’t think we’re in danger of her going home with him—yet.” Rachel took his arm and pulled. “I think you should go down there and talk to her in person. Go right up to her table, tell her how much you love her, and that you can’t bear the thought of her with another man. Then grab her hand and tell her you’ve changed your mind and that you will marry her. Then in the car, you can tell her the truth about Jason.”
He pulled up short. “What? I never said I love—”
“I know you didn’t say that, Deek. Keep up here.” Rachel laid her hands on his shoulders and leaned close. “While I’m sure Lori wishes you loved her, you need to put the show on for Jason’s sake. They just started dating. He’ll figure Lori’s taken and move on, am I right?”
He was still processing the Lori-wished-he-loved-her remark. Was that true? Would she be interested in him that way? He thought she only saw him as a friend.
“Deek?” Rachel snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Where’d you go off to? Am I right here? Wouldn’t most guys move on rather than get in the middle of the drama?”
Forcing his brain to focus, he nodded. “Yeah, I suppose so. But making a scene could get messy.”
Rachel started tugging again. “It’d be better to do it in person. Then Lori won’t have to lie and come up with fake reasons to break up with him. Lori hates lies. You’ll be doing my sister a big favor.”
When they arrived at the foyer, he shoved his hands into his front pockets as he considered Rachel’s plan. He didn’t want to make Lori lie. But something about it still didn’t make sense. “Are you sure a simple phone call wouldn’t be quicker and easier?”
Rache
l shook her head and opened the front door. Before she shoved him out, she said, “You need to hurry, Deek. She was contemplating sleeping with him because she hasn’t been with anyone in years—since her husband died. I’ll watch Asher. Go save her from her sex-starved self!”
He raised a finger to make a point about the expediency of using the phone when the front door slammed in his face. Looked like he was going to make a scene.
And save Lori from her sex-starved self.
9
THERE ARE MANY BENEFITS TO HAVING FRIENDS.
Lori gazed over Jason’s shoulder at the other couples as he held her close on the dance floor. He was just the right height, about a half head taller than her. Even with wearing her lovely borrowed heels.
She was dancing with the most handsome man in the room. His muscles rippled nicely under his tightly cut suit that highlighted his narrow waist and broad shoulders. She hadn’t missed other women sneaking coy glances at him all evening even while he’d held her hand or laid his on her thigh during the auction. A signal to others that he was with her, which she’d liked. The bad part was that it’d made her wonder what those big, strong hands would feel like roaming all over her body.
Despite the barracudas in the room, they’d had a marvelous evening, complete with a wonderful meal and some interesting conversation. His parents were very pleasant, but there was a look in Jason’s eyes when he’d glanced her way sometimes that she couldn’t quite put a finger on.
He’d smiled at her for picking up the right salad fork, and nodded in approval when she’d waited for him to choose their wine. Or so it’d seemed. He could’ve just been smiling and keeping her engaged, but it didn’t feel like that. It was almost as if she were on display for his parents. Like it was a test to see if she were good enough for them.
He whispered, “Have I told you how beautiful you are in that dress tonight, Lori?”
He had. Three times. It made her wonder if he’d had a bit too much to drink. She’d lost track after he outpaced her early on. “Yes, thank you. And you look very handsome tonight.”
Matched For Love (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Book 3) Page 9
