“This one’s not for Eden,” Jack explained. “This ticket is for me.”
Chapter 23
It was the night of the grand opening and also Eden’s birthday. Eden had gone with Jack to breakfast, and then they’d spent most of the morning on the beach. She decided not to wear the bikini Jack bought her because she couldn’t do it without him noticing her expanding belly. She was starting to show now. She’d worn a one-piece bathing suit instead and kept the wrap-around skirt on all day.
They had been so busy with chica fiesta week, and Eden had been so tired lately, that she’d been denying Jack’s advances of wanting to make love. Actually, she could have found the strength but didn’t want Jack to notice the bulge of her tummy. She decided she’d tell him tonight after the birthday party he was throwing for her. Right after the restaurant closed and they’d gone up to the apartment to spend the night together, she’d tell him he was going to be a father.
Jack had told her he had a surprise for her, so she told him she had a surprise for him as well. Her stomach had been topsy-turvy all day, and she was so nervous about this that she couldn’t even eat. Eden was very excited to be pregnant, and only hoped Jack would feel the same way when she told him her little secret. She had kept this secret for way too long. Only Tisha knew, and Eden made her swear she wouldn’t tell Jack.
“Happy birthday again, Sweetheart.” Jack walked up in the middle of the busy restaurant and kissed her with so much passion that she thought they’d have to call the fire department to put out the flames from the heat between them.
“Save that for later, Jack.” Eden pulled back and smoothed down her thick braids.
“Not a hair out of place,” Jack teased her and tweaked at her arm, making her jump. “You’re jumpy tonight, Eden. Is anything wrong?”
“No. Not really. I’m just nervous about that surprise you have for me and about the one I have for you. Am I going to like yours?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I hope so. Am I going to like mine?”
She felt a tingle go up her spine, and she prayed to God he would. She didn’t know what she’d do if he was angry that she was pregnant, or if he didn’t want a baby. Or if he didn’t want her.
“We’ll find out tonight, I guess.” Eden did her best to smile naturally. She toyed with her locket around her neck, missing her father as well as her mother. She needed to find a way to get a message to Peru to let her mother know about the baby. “Thanks for the photo of you for the locket you gave me, Jack. You’re right in there with my father.”
“I didn’t want that heart of yours to be half-empty,” he told her with a wink. “I hope you like it.”
She did like it. Immensely. It felt good and secure to have Jack so close to her heart. He had filled the empty spot in her locket as well as in her life.
“How about I challenge you to a game of frog?” he asked.
Eden laughed and rubbed his arm. “It’s called sapo, or toad,” she corrected him, noticing the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “Oh, Jack, you always know how to make me smile.”
“Jacky boy!” called a deep male voice from the entrance, taking their attention.
Jack knew that voice anywhere, and it wasn’t one he’d heard in a long while. Anxiety overtook him as he slowly turned around to face his father. What was he doing here? He wasn’t supposed to be back for another month yet. His father was smiling, so that was a good sign. Maybe he would like the changes to the restaurant after all.
“Who’s that?” asked Eden. “Another old friend of yours?”
“No, Eden,” Jack explained. “That is the real owner of this restaurant, Alastair Talon. My father.”
Eden let go of his arm, but he took her hand and put it back. He wanted her at his side when he talked to his father. He wanted to show Eden off to the whole world. After all, she was the one who was to thank for turning around the restaurant, not to mention his life. After tonight, everyone would know the girl from Peru as Mrs. Jack Talon. Or at least he hoped Eden would say yes when he asked her to marry him. He decided she was his world, and he wouldn’t have her going back to her world without him.
He had called the airlines and they were going to mail him his ticket. For now, he decided, he would give the other ticket to Eden and explain his was coming later. He would take her back to visit her family one last time before they married and she moved here with him to help him run The Golden Talon.
“Come on, Eden, I want you to meet him.”
Jack walked up to his father with Eden on his arm.
“The place looks great, Jack!” His father slapped him on the back, and then embraced him. “I knew all along you could do it. You have it in your blood to be a businessman. From what I see here, I can honestly say I’ll have no regrets. The restaurant – or bistro is yours! You have done wonders with all the changes. I love it!”
“Jack, you did it,” said Ruthie. “Congratulations.” She then greeted Alastair Talon, blushing when he didn’t recognize her at first in her new attire. Ruthie was the only one left of the old employees. But when Jack’s father had run the restaurant, Ruthie was nothing but part of the maintenance crew.
“Isn’t that wonderful?” asked Eden, squeezing Jack’s arm. “You own your own bistro. You’ve got your dream after all.”
It was all happening so fast, that Jack’s head spun. Before he could tell his father his plans, the word was out that he was the new owner and people kept coming up and congratulating him.
“Dad, I have someone I want you to meet,” said Jack, bringing Eden forward. “This is Eden Ramirez.”
His father barely looked at Eden. He just nodded his head and muttered that he was glad to meet her. This bothered Jack immensely. Eden seemed uncomfortable as well.
“She’s from Peru,” Jack started to explain.
“How nice, Jack. We could use some authentic help in the kitchen,” said Alastair, his eyes everywhere but on Eden. “Now let her get back to work because I found someone on the plane ride home that I think you’ll be interested in seeing.”
He put his arm around Jack and escorted him away from Eden. Jack looked over his shoulder at Eden. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her head was down. He wanted to go back and get her and explain to his father that he loved her, but he didn’t want to disappoint the man when he had a friend of his for Jack to meet.
“Ginny, come on in,” called out Alastair.
“Ginny?” Jack’s mouth dropped open when he saw Ginny Valmouth, his old girlfriend walk into the room in an all-out sexy dress and holding a bottle of champagne in her hand.
“Congratulations, Jacky baby,” she said sounding seductive. Before he could stop her, she reached up and kissed him on the mouth. Jack took out his handkerchief and wiped away the excess lipstick. He glanced back at Eden who looked like she was about to cry.
“I figure now that you’ll be a prospering restaurant owner, you’ll need a sexy wife to keep you in your place,” said his father with a chuckle. “Ginny tells me she wants you back. She’s already told me she’s sorry for leaving and was on her way back to propose to you when I found her.”
“Dad, we have to talk.” Jack tried to ignore the woman who was once his fiancée. Things were different now, and he no longer wanted her. He didn’t want any woman but Eden.
Ginny put her arm around Jack’s waist. Then she and his father hustled him to the other side of the dining room. It was far away from Eden and much too close to Ginny.
* * *
Eden watched Jack’s father and a beautiful woman she didn’t know take him away from her. She didn’t understand what was going on but figured she could ask Jack about it later that night. The only thing that really bothered her was that Jack’s dad said Ginny wanted to marry him.
Ruthie walked by, and Eden stopped her. “Ruthie, who is that girl with Jack?”
Ruthie turned, straining her neck to see who Eden was talking about. “Oh, that’s Ginny. Don’t let her
bother you. She’s just Jack’s ex-girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” Eden asked, feeling suddenly sick. “Were they serious about each other?”
“I thought so,” said Ruthie. “But when she found out Jack was a high school dropout, she dumped him faster than a hot potato.”
“Oh,” said Eden, staring at the beautiful woman. “I had no idea.”
Eden watched as Alastair Talon ushered Jack into the booth right next to Ginny. He then sat down across from the couple. Jack was patting his pocket desperately as if he was looking for a cigarette and Ginny was pouring the champagne, talking a mile a minute.
“Images are important to Jack, aren’t they?” she asked Ruthie.
“Why sure they are. Aren’t they important to everyone?”
“So then, being seen with someone as pretty as Ginny must be important to Jack, too.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about Ginny if I were you,” Ruthie said nonchalantly. “I think I know Jack well enough to say he wouldn’t take her back after she broke off their engagement to go live abroad.”
“They were engaged?” Eden felt suddenly sick. Why hadn’t Jack told her he was once engaged to be married? Was he trying to keep it a secret? Maybe Jack didn’t mention it because he was hoping Ginny would come back to him. And if he wanted her back, where did that leave her?
She overheard Jack telling his father he no longer wanted to get married. He seemed adamant about it, as if he wanted to remain a bachelor. It seemed Jack wasn’t the marrying kind after all. She put her hand on her belly to comfort her unborn baby, feeling alone and unwanted. Did Jack really want her, other than for the obvious reasons? Eden had started feeling at home here, but now she felt out of place. It was obvious his father didn’t think much of foreigners and would never want her as a daughter-in-law. Since Jack was so anxious to please his father, she wondered if Jack would even want her for his wife.
“You’re not worried about Ginny and Jack, are you?” asked Ruthie.
“No. Should I be?” She bit her lip and tried to fake a smile.
“Jack is a good guy,” said Ruthie. “He’s real. He doesn’t like a fake kind of woman like Ginny. He likes people who are real, like himself. Someone like you.”
“Thanks, Ruthie,” said Eden. “That’s good to know.” Even with this information, it did nothing to ease Eden’s worries.
“Sure, Sweetie. Enjoy your birthday. I hear Jack’s got some kind of big surprise to give you.”
“Yes,” said Eden, laying a hand on her belly. “So have I.”
Ruthie left for the kitchen, while Eden stepped into Jack’s empty office to try to regain her composure before she headed back out to the floor. Being pregnant was making her more emotional than she’d ever been in her life. Ruthie was right. Jack still wanted her. Didn’t he?
Suddenly, she was no longer sure. Collapsing atop Jack’s chair, she noticed her father’s Bible on his desk. She had been looking for this for a while now. Reaching out with a trembling hand, she picked it up and checked for the hidden contents. They were still there. Thankfully, Jack never discovered them. She doubted he’d ever even opened the book.
Eden felt teary-eyed and needed a tissue but couldn’t find one anywhere on Jack’s messy desk. Sliding open the top drawer, she hoped to find one there. Instead, she found a slim white box with a bow on top. Scribbled on the box were her name and the words Happy Birthday.
It made her heart soar. This is just what she needed to see right now to assure her that she meant something to Jack. One peek inside the box would make her feel better about the whole situation with Ginny.
She looked over at the door to see if anyone had noticed her coming into Jack’s office. It didn’t seem so. If she hurried, she could get a quick peek at Jack’s present to her and no one would be the wiser. What she needed was the big surprise he’d been wanting to give her. It would make her feel better about everything, and she wouldn’t have to worry about Ginny. It would not only give her the boost she needed to make it through the night, but also the courage to tell Jack he was going to be a father.
The box was taped shut so she used a fingernail to split the seal. Her heart beat loudly in her ears and she felt queasy. Maybe she shouldn’t be so nosey, but she really had to know. She had to prove to herself that Jack cared for her and wanted her after all. All the proof she needed would be in his special present. After one look inside the box, she would be reassured that she was the woman in his life.
She opened the box and almost cried aloud. Inside was an airline ticket with her name on it. It was for the end of next month. It was a ticket sending her home! Eden picked it up and looked under it, but there was nothing else. All that was inside was one ticket for her to return to her homeland and leave Jack forever. It seemed he had intended to send her home before his father returned. Maybe he was embarrassed of her after all. It seemed he didn’t want her there any more than he wanted to be known as a failure.
She was feeling furious and hurt when Missy walked into the office.
“What’s the matter, Eden? You look pretty upset.”
“I am, Missy,” she said, shoving the box back into the drawer, not bothering to close it up. “Jack’s big surprise for my birthday is a ticket out of here.”
“What?” asked Missy in surprise. “Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like Jack.”
“Check the drawer for yourself if you don’t believe me. The ticket is all the proof I need. He was planning on sending me home before his father returned,” she said. “Too bad his father returned early. That must be why Jack looks so upset. Don’t you see, Missy? He never meant for his father to meet me.”
“Oh, Eden. I’m so sorry.” Missy walked over and hugged her. “What are you going to do?”
Eden knew exactly what she had to do. She needed to get out of there as fast as possible and get away from Jack before she made a fool of herself by begging him to let her stay. He wanted her to go back home, so she would. But she would leave by her own free will, not because he decided to send her.
Eden picked up the Bible and pulled the ticket out of the lining, leaving the letter and the book open and in plain sight. “I’m going home to my family,” she told Missy. “I have a ticket my father bought me before he died and it’s dated for tonight. It’s an eight o’clock flight. If I leave now I should be able to make it.”
“Eden, is this what you really want?” asked Missy.
Eden looked over to where Jack sat chatting with his father, sipping champagne with Ginny hanging on his arm. This wasn’t the life for her. She would never get used to living here. She wanted to raise her child in her homeland and for her baby to grow up knowing her customs and culture. No child should be exposed to an environment like this. She knew now it would be better to just go home and never even tell Jack about his child.
“Missy, can you give me a ride to the airport?”
“Well, sure, I guess. But don’t you think you should talk to Jack first?”
“No. And don’t you breathe a word of it to him either. I don’t want him knowing anything about this until I’m up in the air and on my way home.”
Eden got to her feet and hurried to the door. “I’m going to pack my things. Meet me out back with the car in five minutes.”
* * *
Jack was having the worst time of his life. His father wasn’t giving him a chance to talk. All he wanted to do was take his father aside and tell him about Eden, but the place was bustling with people, and his father insisted on greeting them all. To make matters even worse, Ginny kept hanging on his arm, never leaving him alone for a moment.
He had seen the look on Eden’s face when his father snubbed her. And he’d also seen the way she’d put her head down and held her stomach like she was going to be sick when she found out about Ginny. He looked around the room but couldn’t see Eden in the crowd. He had to get her to the side and talk to her before she took this whole thing the wrong way.
He should have told her abou
t Ginny long ago, but he didn’t expect to see his ex-fiancée again, so he didn’t think it mattered. But he wanted to tell Eden now. He wanted to tell her every detail about every waking moment of his life. The thing he wanted to tell her the most was that he loved her. It was something he had not said to her yet, but he knew in his heart that it was true. It was her birthday, and he wanted to spend time with her and her alone. But his father came home a month early and, in ten minutes, had already planned Jack’s future.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Jack said, detaching Ginny from his arm and trying to get away from his father who was talking to a crowd of people standing next to their table.
Alastair reached across the booth and pulled Jack down again. He poured him another glass of champagne. “Come now, Jack. I’ve been gone for nearly a year. Don’t tell me you’re going to desert your old man already. Now, tell me how you got this idea to make the place a Peruvian bistro. I absolutely love the idea. I’m sure the crowd would like to hear the story, too.”
Jack felt a loyalty to his father and didn’t want to disappoint him by not answering his questions. The crowd of people by the table were urging him to talk, and he could see there was no walking away before he gave them all what they wanted.
Jack had just started to tell them about Eden, when he saw her coming down the stairs in her old orange skirt, red jacket, manta on her back, sandals on her feet, and that damned tall white hat on her head.
“Is that her?” asked Ginny, laughing at Eden. “She looks so pathetic in that get-up. It looks so worn and dirty. And look at that silly hat!”
“Enough!” shouted Jack as the crowd laughed along with Ginny. Eden glanced at him and he thought he saw tears in her eyes. He wanted to set the crowd straight, but something told him he needed to go to Eden instead. “Eden!” Jack called out, but she rushed through the kitchen.
“Something’s not right,” Jack mumbled. “I’ve got to see what’s going on.”
Bistro Bachelor: Working Man Series - Book 2 Page 19
