Blind Love (31 page)

Catherine gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Thanks, Ross. I’ll keep it in mind if he dumps me.”

“He’d be crazy to dump you, Cat.”

She wasn’t interested in Ross, but she loved seeing Tony simmer with jealousy. Now he knew how she felt when he was with Jenny.

After the two men left the suite, Catherine said, “I can’t believe he’d say that to me after the other morning. DeeNae and I slept in the sitting room, because we couldn’t stand to listen to Jenny and Fawn fighting. I woke up and he was filming us. I threatened to...” She waved her hand. “Never mind.”

“You mean that time in the workshop wasn’t the only time—”

“Haven’t you been listening? First Jenny fought with Rachel and then she fought with Fawn. DeeNae was next, and now she’s coming after me. Maybe she’s just trying to rattle the competition, I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

“I listened,” Tony said quietly. He needed that private investigator’s report, and he needed it now.

He walked Catherine to her suite and kissed her goodnight. The night didn’t turn out as he wanted, but they’d have plenty of time for sex after the show ended. And they wouldn’t have all these damn cameras around.

Tony walked downstairs to get his dog from Kevin, a member of Cara’s kitchen staff. Henry was in the kitchen getting a snack. “Henry, did you talk to that detective?”

“He said he’d fax a copy of his report tonight.”

Kevin offered to go check the office fax machine, and he returned seconds later with three pages. Henry scanned the papers and handed them to Tony. “This is on both girls.”

“Thanks. C’mon, Riley, let’s go for a walk.” Tony rolled the papers and carried them on his walk with Riley. Only after he was upstairs in his suite did he unroll the papers and read them.

The information on Catherine listed her education and net worth, which was substantial. Her trust fund was worth nearly ten million, and her father’s net worth was estimated at several times that. She wasn’t as wealthy as Cara, but she was a rich young woman, and she’d be richer when Walt died. She’d had several tickets for speeding in Santa Barbara, but no criminal record. Her former employer was the Timmons Hotel Corporation, and her current employer was Henry Wallace Productions. She made more money than he did.

No surprises there.

Jenny had gone to a junior college in Los Angeles, but she didn’t finish. Her first child, Robert James, was born six years ago, and he lived with his father. Tony stared at that one. Jenny had never mentioned another child.

Jessica Lynn had a different father, Paul Tides, age fifty-six, currently unemployed. Jenny said he was a drunk, which would explain him not having a job. Tony didn’t keep drunks on his crews. In his line of work, it was dangerous to keep them around, especially when they were using power tools.

The list of Jenny’s former residences filled almost a whole page. She hadn’t worked since Jessica was born, and not much before that. She was a welfare mother.

Tony took a deep breath and blew it out. This wasn’t what he’d expected to find.

He walked downstairs looking for Henry, who was on the phone in the study. Tony sat in front of the desk and waited until he finished his call. As soon as Henry hung up, Tony said, “Henry, there’s one thing that isn’t on this report, one more piece of information I need.”

“What’s that?”

“I want to know if Jenny is living with Jessie’s father.”

“I’ll find out tomorrow.”

Tony nodded his thanks, and Henry walked him to the study door. “I know Cat will be leaving me soon, and I really hate to see her go. She’s a natural leader, and she’d do well in the business, but her heart isn’t in it. She’s a wealthy young woman, and she doesn’t have to work at all, but she isn’t the kind of person who can sit around doing nothing.”

“Believe me, her money has no influence one way or another on my decision.” Before Nick married Cara, it might have made a difference, but not now. Nick didn’t even have a job when he fell in love with her. He grew up poor and Cara had more money than God, but when it came down to it, money didn’t matter. They were the happiest couple he knew, and money had nothing to do with it.

<>

Catherine had offered to baby-sit and dog-sit while Tony and Jenny had their last date. She was having breakfast in the suite with Jessie the next morning when Jenny and Tony came in to say goodbye.

“Can I come, too?” Jessie said.

Tony squatted down in front of her. “Not this time, Jessie. Would you take care of Riley for me today?”

“I wanna go, too,” she whined.

“I don’t mind if you don’t,” said Jenny.

Catherine cleared her throat. Jenny was using her child again. “Tony, are you going the same place we went yesterday?” Tony nodded. “Then you don’t want to take Jessie along. We’ll find something fun to do here. Enjoy your day.”

Jessie turned on the tears, but as soon as her mother was out of sight, she stopped crying. Interesting. Catherine didn’t know much about kids. Could they turn it on and off that quickly, or had this kid been coached?

By eleven, Jessie was getting fussy, so Catherine said, “Let’s go swimming.”

In the pool, Catherine quickly realized that Jessie didn’t know how to swim, so she taught the kid to dog paddle, like her father had taught her when she was that age.

One of the maids came out with warm towels. “Lunch is ready when you are. Jessie, you didn’t tell me you could swim.”

Jessie grinned. “I’m a
big
girl now.”

“You sure are.” Catherine glanced at the maid. “Would you please take Jessie inside and get her dressed?”

After they left, Catherine swam laps, stretching her body, pushing herself until she could do no more. She toweled off and walked into the suite as the phone rang. She snatched it up, expecting to hear Cara’s voice.

“I’m looking for Jenny,” the man said.

“She’s not here today. This is the baby-sitter.”

“Daddy?” said Jessie.

Catherine stared at the little girl and asked the man on the phone if he wanted to talk with Jessie.

“Yeah, sure. Put her on,” he replied.

Catherine listened to Jessie’s happy chatter. Now she understood the birth control pills. Jenny had a man in her life. She’d been lying to everyone, and she’d let Tony think she and Jessie were alone.

As soon as Jessie finished talking and the maid hung up the phone, Catherine asked, “Jessie, was that your daddy?”

“Yeah.”

“Does he live with you and Mommy?”

“Yeah, but I’m not ‘sposed to tell.”

“We won’t tell,” said the maid. “How about pigtails today? Do you like pigtails?”

“Yeah.”

Jenny’s man knew she was here, and he had to know why. What were Jenny and her lover planning? A short marriage to a rich man with a big payoff in the divorce?

Jenny didn’t care about Tony. If she didn’t think he had money, she wouldn’t be here.

If Tony married her, he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

<>

Tony watched Jenny’s eyes bug out when she met Nick and Cara. She apparently didn’t expect to meet them. He couldn’t read Cara’s face that well, but he could read Nick’s, and Nick wasn’t impressed.

Minutes later, Jenny stood beside Tony as he steered the boat out into the sound. She held on so tightly her fingers were white. “Never been on a boat before?” he asked, knowing the answer. She wouldn’t have that frightened look on her face if she’d been out on the open water before today.

“Never. It’s kind of scary.”

“Is it? I love it. Someday, when I can afford it, I’m going to build myself a place on the water. Nick had a little two-bedroom place before he married Cara.”

“Why can’t you afford it now?”

“Hey, I’m just a regular guy who works for a living. I don’t have that kind of money.”

She smiled, but it was forced. The disappointment in her eyes told him what he wanted to know.

“You own your own home, don’t you?”

“Nope. I live with my mother. I’ll take you there before we leave Gig Harbor. My sister and her kids are living there right now, until Maria finds a decent job.”

“But I thought... I mean...”

“Jenny, I’m not rich because my cousin married Cara Andrews. The Andrews estate belongs to her, not to Nick and not to anyone else in the family. All of us go down to the estate in California now and then, but we don’t live like that all the time.”

Jenny made no comments about the scenery, no remarks about how nice it was to be out on the water with him, no nothing. The camera guys and director were enjoying the ride, but Jenny wasn’t, so Tony headed back to the dock. Jenny forced a smile for the camera and jumped off the boat.

Minutes later, they stopped at Ma’s house. Maria’s two little boys were outside playing catch, and she was in the kitchen baking cookies with her daughter. Her oldest son had his nose in a book, as usual. Tony introduced them to Jenny, grabbed a handful of cookies, and showed Jenny through the house. She didn’t seem impressed, although she was trying awful hard not to show her disappointment.

Finally, she said, “This is nicer than anything I’ve ever lived in. Where are your parents?”

“My father died when I was eight, and Ma’s staying with my oldest brother and his family this week.”

“My father died when I was thirteen. My mother didn’t work, so we had a hard time.”

“Yeah, so did we. My mother raised six kids on Social Security and baby-sitting. Seven kids with Nick.”

One look at this house and reality slapped her in the face. He wasn’t ashamed of the way he’d grown up, and he was proud of his family. But this wasn’t good enough for Jenny. She wanted more out of life than he could give her.

Minutes later, their driver dropped them off at the airport in Gig Harbor, and they boarded Cara’s plane for the ride back to the estate in California. Jenny leaned her head on Tony’s shoulder. She’d recovered from her shock and turned on the charm, but it was too little too late. If he married her, she’d be disappointed with her life. She wouldn’t work, so she’d be home for her daughter and any kids they might have together, but she wouldn’t be happy.

“What kind of work do you do, Jenny?”

“Secretarial,” she replied. “I hate it, though. I want to stay home and take care of Jessie instead of leaving her in daycare every day.”

Another lie. He had to hand it to her. She was good. She’d been saying and doing all the right things to get his attention, but it was all an act. And he’d fallen for it.

To lighten the mood, he asked, “What would you think of your husband staying home with the kids while you worked?”

“I wouldn’t mind if I could make a decent living. Carpenters make good money, don’t they?”

“I do all right, as long as I’m working.”

“Then that’s good enough for me.”

No, it wasn’t, and they both knew it.

“What about Jessie’s father? Wouldn’t he mind you moving her out of state?”

“He’s completely out of the picture, Tony. It’s just me and Jessie.”

He’d given her every opportunity to tell him about her other child. No matter how beautiful she was, no matter that she fit the profile of the perfect woman in every other way, he would never marry a woman who lied or hid important things from him.

Was he ready for marriage? Two months ago, he wasn’t. Being with Catherine and holding Jenny’s little girl, he realized that was exactly what he wanted. A wife and kids of his own would make his life complete, but it had to be the right woman, someone who loved him for what he was, not for what she wanted him to be. A woman with a sense of humor, one who wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. A woman to grow old with, one he could love forever.

Only one woman came to mind.

And that woman wasn’t Jenny.

<>

Catherine sat reading in the room while Jessie napped. Jenny came in to get ready for her private dinner date with Tony. She wasn’t smiling.

“How did you like the boat ride, Jenny?”

“It was nice. Did you get to meet Nick and Cara, too?”

“It was old home week for me. Cara and I went to college together.”

Jenny’s mouth dropped open. “You’re the one. You knew Tony before the show.”

“I met him in April. Cara sent him to remodel the house so we could get my father’s wheelchair through the doors.” Catherine stood. “I’ll be back before you leave for your date. By the way, I taught Jessie to dog paddle today. She’s a sweet little girl.” It was easy to see how Tony could have gotten caught up with Jessie.

“You don’t need Tony and I do. Jessie needs him.”

“She already has a daddy, Jenny. He called here today.”

The color left Jenny’s face. “Oh, God.”

“You lied to Tony, and if you don’t tell him, I will.” If only they’d gotten this on film. Where were the cameras when she needed them?

Unsure whether to tell Tony the truth about Jenny, Catherine wandered downstairs to talk with Henry. Tony was in the library with Henry, and she didn’t want to interrupt. She stopped outside the door and heard Henry say, “Officially, he’s not living there. Unofficially—”