A Brother's Honor (30 page)

“May I drop by?”

“Yes.”

He smiled and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Okay, I’ll see you then.”

She wanted to let it go and couldn’t. He hadn’t brought up his ex-wife, so she decided to do so. “And how is Eve?”

He turned around before reaching the door and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Right now, Eve’s situation is rather complicated. She needed a place to stay for a week, and I’m helping her out.”

Shana fought the disappointment that settled around her heart. “A week?”

“Yes. I’ve put her up in a hotel.”

He’d put his ex-wife up in a hotel? “That’s very generous of you.”

“Yes, it is.” He then walked back over to Shana. Pulling her into his arms, he brushed a kiss across her lips. “I’m involved with you now. Don’t worry about Eve.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

She watched as he walked back to the door, unlocked it and then walked out of her office. He hadn’t wanted her to worry about Eve. Was it because the woman meant nothing to him anymore? He certainly hadn’t acted as if he was glad to see her this morning.

Deciding she would do what he asked and not worry about Eve Granger, Shana moved back to her desk, looking forward to tonight.

* * *

Eve glanced at her watch. If she called now, she probably could reach Jace before he left the office. She didn’t know what plans he had for tonight, but she intended to change them.

Picking up her cell phone, she called his number and smiled when he answered. “What do you want, Eve?”

Not exactly the greeting she’d hoped for, but she would deal with it. “I’m lonely, Jace. There’s nothing to do stuck here at this hotel.”

“And I should care why?”

She rolled her eyes. Determined not to be deterred, she said, “Because we once meant something to each other. We—”

“The key word was
once,
Eve. Don’t know why you’re calling me when there are taxis surrounding the hotel. If you’re lonely, get in one and go someplace. There’s a movie theater within walking distance.”

“You want me to walk someplace?”

“No, I prefer that you get on a plane and return to California.”

Eve dropped down on the bed, stunned. Did he really mean that? Could he really hold a grudge this long because of the abortion? In that case, it was a good thing he didn’t know the whole truth surrounding it.

“You hate me that much, Jace?” she asked, and for the first time, she realized carrying out her plan might not be as easy as she thought.

Jace rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. Jesus! He didn’t need this. Eve hadn’t done anything but cause him pain since he’d known her. Why was he even wasting his time talking to her when he needed to be on his way someplace else?

“Look, Eve, I don’t hate you. I just don’t have any feelings one way or the other. What you did hurt me, killed something inside of me. You destroyed something that was part of me.”

“Damn it, Jace, it was my body!”

“And it was
my
child!” He drew in a deep breath. “Look, I have somewhere to go. Goodbye.”

“Wait! When will I see you?”

Jace shook his head. The woman just didn’t get it. “There’s no reason for you to see me, Eve. You needed a place to stay for a week, and I made sure you got one. But please don’t think you can take advantage of my kindness. Goodbye.” He then clicked off the phone.

Eve was furious, so much in fact she was tempted to throw the phone against the wall. She slowly pulled herself together and quickly made another call. Her temper exploded as soon as the person answered. “You requested that I come here, and I’m here. And if you don’t want anyone to find out what you’ve been doing, you better come up with another plan. Jace is acting like a shithead, and there’s a chance Shana Bradford is pregnant.”

Chapter Thirty-One

S
hana went still, feeling a sense of denial as she stared at the pregnancy test. It was positive, which meant her entire world was now upside down. Instinctively, her hand went to her stomach, and she inhaled a deep breath. She was unsure of a lot of things, but the one thing she knew was that she wanted this baby. She hadn’t prepared for one. Hadn’t given a thought to having children anytime soon. But fate had determined otherwise, and she was in with both feet.

A short while later, she was sitting on her patio, drinking a glass of springwater instead of the wine she had planned. She glanced at her watch. Jace would be arriving in an hour, and she needed to make decisions. Did she tell him tonight or not?

She shook her head. No, not tonight. She needed to digest the situation herself for a while. Besides, she needed to know how she would handle it. She wasn’t sure he even liked kids. Not that it mattered if he didn’t. Her decision had been made.

Deciding it was time to go upstairs and take a shower, she reached for her phone when it rang and wasn’t surprised the caller ID indicated it was Jules.

“What, Jules?”

“Hey, don’t ‘what’ me. I want to know if it was a negative or a positive?”

Shana frowned. She wondered if Jules would be in such a happy mood if the shoe was on the other foot. “Not sure I want to divulge something so personal.”

“Don’t play with me, Shana. ’Fess up.”

Shana took a slow sip of her water, deciding to let Jules stew for a minute. When she thought enough time had passed, she said, “Positive.”

Jules didn’t say anything for a second and then, “Positive?”

“Yes, positive.”

Shana held the phone out from her ear when Jules let out an exuberant scream. She couldn’t help smiling herself. The thought that she would be a mother was beginning to grow on her. “Will you calm down, Jules?”

“No, I can’t calm down. I’m going to be an aunt, and I want the entire world to know.”

Shana frowned, deciding it was time to reel her in. “No, you don’t. At least not yet. Promise that you’re going to seal those lips until I say it’s okay to open them.”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want. It is still very early, and I need to decide when would be a good time to tell Jace.”

“So, you plan to tell him?”

“Yes, of course I do. He has a right to know. It doesn’t matter how he feels about it, he has a right to know. How he deals with it afterward is his business.”

“I like the way you think. I’m so glad you’re my big sister. You would make Mama proud.”

Shana smiled, believing so, as well. “Thanks.”

“When will you tell him?”

Shana began nibbling on her bottom lip. “He’ll be here in an hour, but I don’t think tonight is a good time to spring the news. I’ll do so this week, but not tonight.”

A short while later, Shana had taken her shower and slid into a sundress. She returned downstairs when the doorbell rang. It was Jace. Drawing in a deep breath, she went to the door, opened it and took a step back. She saw the bags in his hands.

“You brought dinner,” she said, smiling and leading him to the kitchen.

“Yes, I brought dinner. I haven’t eaten and figured you hadn’t, either.”

He placed the bags on the counter. “I hope you’re in the mood for Chinese.”

“I am.” Now that the nausea had passed, she was in the mood to eat practically anything. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

He then reached out and pulled her into his arms, captured her lips with his and began feasting on her mouth. Moments later, he reluctantly released her lips and stared down at her without saying anything.

She tilted her head and returned his stare. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Instead of answering, he reached down, took her hands and laced them together with his. “I just realized something.”

She arched a brow. “What?”

He smiled. “I’ll tell you later.”

* * *

Hours later, close to midnight, Jace eased from the bed and glanced back at a sleeping Shana. Tonight had been wonderful. They’d eaten and made love, and he could be wrong, but it seemed something was different about their lovemaking tonight. Just as hot, but it was as if their relationship had taken another turn.

For him it had.

He mentioned earlier that he would tell her why he had stared at her in the kitchen. Luckily for him, she hadn’t brought it up again, because he wasn’t ready to let her know he’d fallen in love with her.

He shook his head while sliding into his pants. Wasn’t it this past weekend he had told her he didn’t believe in true love? At the time, he had been so sure of it, and when he’d seen Eve this morning, her appearance had confirmed it. The bitterness and resentment had all but consumed him, reminded him of why it would be hard for him to fall in love with any woman again. But all it had taken was seeing Shana earlier, kissing her in her office. And then again when he had arrived tonight. She was nothing like Eve. She was not a manipulator. A woman who couldn’t be trusted. A woman who felt entitled.

This was Shana, the woman he loved.

“You’re leaving?”

He glanced over at the bed as he continued buttoning his shirt. “Yes. If I stay, neither of us will get a good night’s sleep.”

A smile curved her lips. “That wouldn’t bother me.”

No, it wouldn’t. Whenever she gave herself to him, it was freely, without reservation. With Eve, she’d always used sex as a way to get whatever she wanted.

He walked back over to the bed and leaned down to drop a kiss on her forehead. “You want me to hum you to sleep again?”

Her eyes lit up. “Would you?”

He chuckled. “My pleasure.” He then eased back in bed and pulled her into his arms.

“Your clothes are going to get wrinkled.”

He glanced down at her a second before getting up again. He stood and began removing his clothes again, knowing they both knew what that meant. Moments later, when he lifted the covers and settled in beside her, pulling her soft and warm body next to his, he captured her mouth, instantly triggering an electrical charge that overtook him. He was sexually aroused all over again.

He broke off the kiss. “I want you,” he murmured softly against her lips. He fought back telling her he loved her, as well. That would come another day when he thought she was ready to hear it.

* * *

The next day, after she’d gotten to the office, Shana got a call from Marcel. A plea bargain would be reached with Melissa, Arrington was out on bail and Freeman was still nowhere to be found. It was as if he had fallen off the face of the earth.

She’d also gotten a call from Jules to let her know she was at the airport, about to take off for Seattle. She’d gotten a lead on a new missing persons case she’d taken on.

Shana had taken the time to call her dad, and he sounded excited about preparing dinner for Mona. They chatted for a little while before ending the call. As she tried going over another report Kent had sent her, she couldn’t stop thinking about Jace.

He had left her place before dawn this morning, and for her it was a good thing. He hadn’t been there to see her throw up. She drew in a deep breath as she nibbled on a saltine. This morning sickness thing was no joke. She glanced at her watch; it was almost noon.

Shana hadn’t seen Jace all morning. He’d mentioned last night that he would be doing interviews for a replacement for Cal Arrington. Deciding she would get another pack of crackers from the vending machine, she left her office, and when she turned the corner, she saw Shelton Fields at Brandy’s desk again. When she approached, the man gave her a terse greeting before hurriedly walking away.

She looked at Brandy, who couldn’t meet her eyes. Instead she picked up a file and began working with it. “Is everything okay, Brandy?”

“Yes, things are fine, Ms. Bradford.”

Shana stared at Brandy a minute longer before walking off. Brandy was lying. There was something going on, and Shana was determined to find out what.

* * *

“You’re certainly in a good mood,” Dalton said to Jace as the two of them left the meeting. Caden had stayed behind to make an important phone call to his agent.

Jace smiled over at him. “Yes, I am.”

“Does it have anything to do with wonder-woman?”

When the elevator opened, Jace stepped in and Dalton followed. “Have you forgotten about our deal?” Jace asked.

Dalton grinned. “I guess I had.”

A few moments later Dalton said, “I got a question for you. A friend of mine is in a quandary.”

Jace glanced over at him. “What kind of quandary?”

“He’s met a woman and didn’t get a chance to find out anything about her, not even her name. He wants to meet her again. What do you suggest he do...if anything?”

Jace chuckled. “Oh, I would do something, especially if it was someone I really wanted to meet and see again. If push came to shove, I would hire a private investigator.”

The elevator door swooshed open, and Jace walked off with Dalton right on his heels. “A private investigator?”

“Yes. They’re good at finding people.”

Dalton smiled. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

“Are you going to suggest that to your
friend?
” Jace asked him.

Dalton glanced at Jace, who was looking at him funny. Dalton shrugged. “I don’t think he’s decided if he wants to find her. He has to think about it some more.”

Jace had to smile. “Whatever.”

* * *

Eve answered her cell phone. “Yes?”

“Everything has been worked out.”

She raised her brow. “You’ve come up with a new plan?”

“Yes, and since your services are no longer needed, you can return to California.”

Eve frowned. If he thought he was going to get rid of her that fast, he had another thought coming. “No, I think I’ll stick around. This is a nice hotel, and I have it for a week, so I might as well enjoy it.”

“Suit yourself.”

Eve hung up the phone, thinking that she would suit herself. And then before she left, she would make sure the person who just called made sure she had enough money to tide her over for a while. After all, she knew things he definitely wouldn’t want anyone else to know.

* * *

Kent looked over the list of names he’d been working with now for more than a month. Three names were marked off. Melissa Swanson, Cal Arrington and Titus Freeman. All were participants in the selling of trade secrets. There were others who looked highly suspect, but he had a feeling there was something he was missing. Sighing deeply, he picked up the phone to call Shana.

“Hello?”

“It’s Kent. I need a rundown of those names again. Of everyone who was in your office at some point in time that first day.”

“All right. I’ll send it over to you now. Just keep in mind that this might not be everyone. Several workers were moving things around in here and hooking stuff up.”

“Okay. I’ll call you if I find anything,” Kent said, then hung up the phone.