Don't Break My Heart (Return to Redemption, Book 6) (3 page)

“Hi, I’m Frankie.” Her friend offered him her hand.

Justin blinked several times before shaking Frankie’s hand.
“Right. It’s nice to meet you.” He pulled out the chair next to him. “Please,
have a seat.”

“But if you two know each other, maybe Trisha would like to
sit—”

“No!” they both objected at once.

An imposing blond Viking stood on the other side of the
table, pulled out the chair beside him, and smiled at Trisha. “I’m Ben. I
believe Sabrina intended for you to be
my
dinner companion tonight.”

“I’d love to.” She sank into the seat he’d offered. “Thank
you so much for including me in the festivities.”

“I was happy to. How do you and Justin know each other?”

She opened her mouth to say they’d dated years ago, but
Justin beat her to the punch. “She was a friend of my college roommate’s
fiancée. They also roomed together for the first few months of our freshman
year. Then Trisha vanished into thin air the day after Christmas.”

“Really?” Frankie’s gaze jerked to her. “What happened?”

“Yes, Trisha,”—Justin leaned back, crossing his arms over
his chest—“do tell us why you disappeared so suddenly.”

There was no way she could tell him. Not with a table full
of strangers listening. A half-truth would have to suffice.

“You know what a control freak my father was. I’d had enough
of him trying to manage my life. When he announced my engagement to one of his
most promising law clerks at his annual holiday party, I knew I had to get away
from him. So, the day after Christmas I withdrew the allowance he’d deposited
in my bank account for the spring semester, and I hopped on the first bus out
of Philly.”

“Where’d you end up?” Annie asked.

“Not very far away. That bus went to Manhattan. I landed a
job waitressing and registered at City College.”

“Apparently it was far enough that you couldn’t keep in
touch with your best friend. The two of you were like sisters.”

“Believe me, severing my relationship with Lindsey wasn’t
something I wanted to do. But our fathers were lifelong friends, and I couldn’t
take a chance her dad would learn my whereabouts and share the information with
mine.”

Granted, it was a lame excuse, but she couldn’t divulge the
full story.

“Your father’s a federal judge. If he wanted you located, he
would’ve hired the best PI in the country to find you.”

True. But after reading the note she’d left, informing him
she’d canceled the appointment he’d made for her to have an abortion and was
having the
wetback’s
baby on her own,
bigoted dear old dad hadn’t wasted his time or resources searching for her.

Fortunately, the band began playing soft dinner music and
the arrival of the last couple at their table saved her from having to respond.

Ben stood and introduced Luke’s partner on the police force,
Cal Washington, and his wife, Darlene, to Trisha and Justin.

After a round of handshakes the couple took the two seats
between her and Frankie.

“Cal and Darlene were late because they graciously
volunteered to act as chaperones to Luke’s Explorers for the week,” Tyler
informed the rest of the table.

“That’s a polite way of saying your new brother-in-law
drafted us.” Darlene chuckled.

“That’s right.” Tyler smiled at Ben. “Luke and I are related
now, aren’t we?”

Justin gestured toward the kid’s table. “One of your
charges, Jamal, has been flirting with my ward, Haley, so do me a favor and
keep an eye on him.”

“You don’t have to worry about Jamal. He’s a good kid—a
little bossy, but he’s a leader.”

Trisha frowned. “
You’re
Haley’s guardian?” When she’d told the kid to consult Samantha about the pink
hair, she’d assumed Dani’s parents had taken custody of Haley after her
father’s death.

“Yes.” His head snapped in a curt nod. “It wasn’t as if you
were still around to become her godmother the way you were supposed to.”

“I know. I was sorry to hear about Lindsey and Marc. How’s
Haley doing? She seems as if she’s still in a lot of pain. Doesn’t she,
Frankie?”

“How do you two know Haley?” he asked.

“I’m one of the counselors at the high school,” Trisha
explained. “Haley was one of my assigned students last year. However, this term
I have the
M
through
P
students.”

“Ahh. I’ve had a lot of contact with Sue Carlson, Haley’s
counselor this year. I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other.” The subtle
accusation in his tone suggested he believed she’d been avoiding him. She
couldn’t deny it.

“And I teach English and drama there,” Frankie added.

“Right. Haley’s spoken of you. She loves your drama class.
I’m confused. Why didn’t I meet you on back to school night?”

“I apologize for that. I had an attack of appendicitis and
was rushed into surgery.”

“I’m sorry. I’m glad to see you’re all right now.”

 
“Thank you. I’ve
been trying to get Haley and Dani to try out for the spring musical,” she told
him. “We’re doing
West Side Story
.”

“So who would you cast them as—girlfriends of the Sharks or
the Jets?”

Trisha cringed at his question. Evidently, he was still
overly sensitive and constantly on the lookout for racial prejudice. She didn’t
understand it. He and his brother Nick had clearly inherited more genes from
their Spanish explorer ancestors than from the indigenous Aztec people of
Mexico.

If one discounted the Riverá brothers’ nearly black eyes,
one could easily assume they were Italian. In fact, her father had thought
exactly that until he’d overheard Justin speaking fluent Spanish to his mother
on the phone.

“I think Dani would be wonderful as Bernardo’s girl, Anita,”
Frankie said. “And Haley has the voice and acting talent to play the lead,
Maria. Naturally, we’ll have to use some darker make-up so they can play the
two Puerto Rican girls.”

His gaze shifted to Cal and Darlene’s dark faces for a
moment before returning to Frankie. “Would you ever dream of putting light
make-up on Cal’s daughter to make her a Jet?”

Darlene slapped a hand over her mouth to smother her loud
guffaw. “Lord have mercy, you’d need gallons of cover-up to turn that child of
ours white.”

Frankie frowned. “I’m sorry if I offended you, Justin. I
didn’t mean to suggest—”

“I’m not offended.” He waved his hand, dismissing her
concern. “I just think it’s a shame there’s such a double standard in our
society. We’ll easily accept changing a Caucasian’s skin tone to play another
ethnic role, but we would never dream of casting a minority in a Caucasian
part.”

“Your right, of course,” Tyler agreed. “It smacks of a 1950s
minstrel show, when White singers denied Blacks the opportunity to perform. The
difference being there isn’t an abundance of Hispanic students attending our
high school.”

“Especially not with Haley’s talent,” Frankie pointed out.
“I normally try to give the leads to seniors or, at the very least, juniors,
but I don’t have any upper class girls this year who are capable of performing
the part half as well as Haley could.”

“That’s nice to hear. I’ll encourage her to try out for
Maria’s role. Who’s playing Tony?”

“I’m hoping Ryan Flynn will take the part. Have you heard
that boy sing?”

“I have. He’s spectacular. His band is booked nearly every
weekend. I’m just wondering how Dani will react when her boyfriend gazes into
her best friend’s eyes and kisses her in the play.”

Ben winced. “Oooh, that
could
get ugly. Been there.”

Everyone at the table glanced uneasily around the room. The
waiter broke the awkward silence, asking for their drink orders.

Trisha quietly requested a glass of orange juice with club
soda and sat back and admired the tables. Bright red napkins set against crisp
white tablecloths surrounded the centerpieces of red and white roses, accented
by sprigs of evergreens and holly. Each held a dozen flickering tapers and sat
on tall, slender pedestals, allowing the guests to see each other while they
chatted.

She ran her finger along the gold rim on her holly-patterned
plate and smiled over at her dinner partner. “The wedding is beautiful, Ben.
You’re extremely generous to do all of this.”

“You haven’t seen anything, yet,” Frankie told her. “See the
mountain of gifts under the four Christmas trees? They’re not just decorative.”

Trisha did a double take. “There are actual presents in
those boxes?”

“Yup. For all of the guests.”

She turned and stared at Ben. “Really?”

He shrugged. “I’m grateful for my good fortune, so I like
sharing what I have. Isn’t giving to others what the holiday spirit is about?”

“Yes, but I’d say you’ve given plenty just by providing
everyone with this wonderful vacation.”

“You’ll have to excuse, BJ,” Tyler told her. “He doesn’t
know how to do anything in half measures.”

While they waited for their cocktails, a waiter filled each
of the gleaming champagne flutes on the table with Cristal. The background
music suddenly stopped and the most genuine looking Santa Claus she’d every
seen stepped up to the microphone. “Ho-ho-ho, everyone. I hope you’re all
having a Merry Christmas Eve.” The entire crowd applauded. “I’m happy to be
your emcee tonight while we celebrate with Luke and Sabrina.”

“Great,” Tyler snorted. “Noah and Mandy are over at the
kiddy table wondering how Santa is gonna deliver everyone’s presents tonight if
he’s here.”

“They know it’s Thomas,” Ben said, buttering one of the hot
dinner rolls the waiter had placed on the table. “I told them he’s pretending
to be Santa because the real one is too busy to be here.”

Trisha leaned toward Ben and whispered, “Who’s Thomas?”

“He’s my man Friday. He grew the beard and bleached it white
just for this occasion.” Ben took a bite of the roll and laid it on his bread
and butter plate.

“And now, I’m pleased to introduce your host and the best man,
BJ Elliott,” Santa said.

As everyone applauded, Ben folded his napkin and tossed it
beside his place setting as he rose. “If you’ll excuse me. I have the last of
my best man duties to perform.” He picked up his champagne and joined Santa on
the dais. “Thank you, St. Nick.”

He took the microphone, stepped off the stage, and walked
over to the bride and groom’s romantic table for two. “As most of you know, up
until a month ago, I was supposed to be sitting in Luke’s seat tonight, and he
was supposed to be standing here toasting my happiness with Sabrina.”

He smiled down at the bride and cupped her chin in his hand.
“I know a lot of you are feeling sorry for me this evening, but you shouldn’t.
Seeing two of my best friends so in love and happy together makes this one of
the most wonderful nights of my life.” He lifted his champagne. “So I’d like
you all to raise your glasses and join me in wishing Luke and Sabrina a long
and joyful life together.”

Trisha raised her orange juice for Ben’s toast and took a
sip.

“No champagne tonight?” Justin looked pointedly at her,
raising his eyebrows. “You used to love it.

His smug smile said he recalled the night they’d gotten
drunk and she’d drizzled champagne on his erection. She’d slowly licked and
sucked every drop off him and repeated the process until he became so aroused
he came only thirty seconds after plunging himself into her.

What the idiot
didn’t
remember, however, was that, in their inebriated state, they’d neglected to use
protection.

At over two hundred dollars a bottle, Trisha cursed her
inability to drink the Cristal. “What can I say? She shrugged one shoulder. “I
overindulged one night and apparently lost my taste for it.”

Justin’s smile fell. “Have you ever had Cristal?”

Back in college, he’d been hard-pressed to afford even a
cheap brand of champagne, let alone one of the best. And being underage, it had
been difficult to buy at any price. Her father certainly had never allowed her
to share his.

“If you haven’t, you shouldn’t knock it until you’ve tried
it,” he taunted. “I understand 2002 is an exceptional vintage.”

What the heck, a small taste couldn’t hurt the baby. Rather
than raise suspicion, she took a sip. The sweet, crisp effervescence tingled on
her tongue. Wow. It was like no bubbly she’d ever tasted.

Gathering her bravado, she pushed her flute across the
table. “Sorry. It does nothing for me. You’re welcome to drink mine. I have no
desire to repeat my last experience with champagne.”

“I hear you, sister.” Darlene took a swallow from her glass.
“The last time Cal brought champagne home, I ended up with a hangover from
hell.”

Ben returned to the table a moment later, and Justin raised
his glass to him. “Great, champagne, BJ. Thank you.”

“It was a good year, but nothing compared to the 1990 on
Luke and Sabrina’s table.” As Ben sank into the chair next to her, the band
played a beautiful rendition of one of her favorite love songs for the bride
and groom’s first dance together as man and wife.

“I love Matt Thomas’s songs.” She sighed.

“I would ask you to dance,” Ben said, replacing his napkin
in his lap, “but this song is supposed to be just for the happy couple. Did you
know his mom and dad are here tonight?”

“Whose mom and dad?”

“Matt Thomas’s—Doc Foster and his wife Abby are his parents.
Or I should’ve said,
Tom Foster
,
since that’s his actual name.”

“If he uses an alias for his music, are you supposed to tell
everyone who he is?”

“Everyone in Redemption knows the Fosters,” Annie told her,
“so nearly the entire town is already aware that their sons are both wealthy
celebrities.”

“I’ve only lived there for about a year, so I haven’t
learned a lot of the residents’ history.”

“As a memorial to his first wife, Tom funded a foundation to
help infertile couples who can’t afford treatment. The charity is affiliated
with the Reproductive and Cryopreservation Center in Doylestown.”

Trisha stiffened at the mention of the local sperm bank
she’d used and immediately shook off her paranoia. No one could possibly know
she’d gone there.

Annie leaned back in her seat while the waiter served the
crab-stuffed mushroom caps as the first course. “I was really surprised when
Sabrina told me Matt and Abby had accepted the wedding invitation, but their
kids hadn’t. It turns out, Tom and Royce are co-producing a Broadway musical.
It’s opening the middle of January.”

“Are you talking about Royce
Harmon,
the guy who created
Just
Between Us
?” Trisha asked, referring to the Emmy award-winning television
show.

“Yup. Doc told me Royce wrote the play’s script and Tom
composed most of the songs as a gift for their parents’ second fortieth
anniversary last April,” Tyler said.

Justin frowned. “Wait a minute. How can they have a
second
fortieth? They would’ve had to
have gotten hitched
eighty
years
ago,” he pointed out as the waiter refilled his champagne glass.

“They’ve actually been married forty-seven, but Matt was a
POW in Vietnam,” Annie explained. “Last April, it was forty years since he came
home and they were reunited. So they celebrate both anniversaries.”

“My Uncle Leonard is one of Doc’s POW friends,” Cal told
them. “Is the play about the Vietnam War?”

Annie shook her head. “I don’t think so. I understand it’s
primarily Matt and Abby’s love story, and the score includes a lot of nostalgic
music from the 60s and 70s as part of the setting.”

Trisha’s scalp prickled as if someone was watching her. As
she licked a bit of the delicious crab stuffing from her lips, she glanced up
and found Justin staring at her mouth, desire burning in his gaze. Was he still
thinking about the champagne? Heat crept into her cheeks as she cleared her
throat. “The play sounds wonderful. What’s it called?”

“
The Memory of You
,”
BJ told her. “The Fosters are heading to Manhattan late tomorrow morning so
they can spend Christmas with their grandchildren.”

“But Doc and his wife came up on the bus.” Justin pointed
out. “How are they—”

“Thomas is flying them in the chopper.” Ben waited for the
server to remove his empty plate and replace it with chilled shrimp the size of
small lobster tails. “I hope you all like fish and seafood.” He dipped one of
the shrimp into cocktail sauce. “You’ll be seeing a lot of it tonight.”

Great. What else was she going to have to pretend she didn’t
like or want. She was supposed to avoid a lot of different fish during her pregnancy.
At least they’d only served shellfish so far, which she was allowed to eat
occasionally.

“Calvin and I love seafood.” Darlene chuckled. “Luke told us
his very Italian mother insisted, since it’s Christmas Eve, they should
celebrate
Vigilia Di Natale
by
including the Feast of the Seven Fishes in the menu.”

“Traditionally, there’s no meat, but in consideration of
those who don’t observe the custom, we’ll be offered turf with our surf,” Ben
assured them. “Sabrina said there’ll be alternatives for anyone who dislikes it
or is allergic. In any case, pace yourselves. I’m told there’ll be ten
courses.”

Trisha could already feel her seams straining. When she’d
bought the custom-made dress off the
lightly
used
rack at Mrs. Foster’s dress shop, Abby’s Closet, it had fit perfectly.
Now, only a week later, it barely zipped. Evidently her waistline had begun
expanding sooner than the pregnancy books claimed it would.

Ben reached for her hand. “How about it. Would you like to
dance now?”

“I’d love to.”

Justin turned to Frankie. “That sounds like a great idea.
Shall we?”

As Ben put his arms around Trisha on the dance floor, he
whispered. “Would you mind putting on a little show with me tonight?”

“What kind of show?”

“The kind in which I convince everyone—mainly Sabrina—that
her marriage to my buddy hasn’t totally shattered my heart.”

“Has it?” Trisha asked as he spun her in a tight circle.

“To be honest? Yes—in a zillion pieces. But I love her and
Luke, and I want them to be happy. I hate her worrying about me on the happiest
day of her life.”

“Well, she is. Frankie told me Sabrina asked her to invite a
pretty friend to console you.”

“Frankie hit the jackpot on finding pretty.”

“Thank you.” Heat flared in her cheeks. “While we’re being
honest, I have to admit I’d like nothing better than to fake a romantic
interlude on the dance floor. As you’ve probably guessed, Justin and I dated at
one time. He’d like everyone to think I broke his heart, but it was actually
the other way around.”

“So you wouldn’t mind making him a little jealous?”

As if that were possible. If nothing else, she’d simply like
to prove to him that other men found her attractive. “If you’re sure you want
to.”

“Absolutely.”

As BJ pulled her closer and stared longingly into her eyes,
she waited, willing her girl parts to start tingling—as she’d joked with her
friend. Unfortunately, she felt zilch.... zero.... nada. He had a great build,
a charismatic personality, and, although his features were fierce and angular,
he was fairly good-looking. So why couldn’t she think about anything other than
whether Justin had noticed how close Ben held her?

He leaned in and buried his face in her hair as they swayed
to the romantic music. She closed her eyes, and, as they turned, she opened
them to find Justin staring at her over Frankie’s shoulder.

So he’d noticed. What Trisha didn’t understand was why he
would watch her while he was dancing with one of the most beautiful women
there.

Her friend looked gorgeous tonight. The bridesmaids’
formfitting, ruby velvet sheaths with trumpet-flared hems mirrored the style of
the bride’s, which was one of the most alluring designs Trisha had ever seen.
From behind, Frankie’s back appeared bare to well below her waist, due to the
sheer, flesh-toned netting that held the sides of her gown together, creating a
sexy illusion.

A good-looking man with dark auburn hair stepped behind
Justin and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Oh, no.” She pushed away from Ben. “I think that’s
Frankie’s husband. I’m supposed to be acting as a buffer between them.”

“Don’t worry. Frankie can take care of herself,” Ben assured
her, pulling her close again. “She needs to talk to Andy, whether she wants to
or not.”

~*~

Justin flinched at a tap on his shoulder. What the hell? He
stopped moving and found a tall, copper-haired man staring down at his dance
partner. The well-built tuxedoed guy was a groomsmen—probably one of Luke’s
police buddies.

“Why won’t you leave me alone, Andy?” Frankie raised her
voice in exasperation. “My lawyer is filing the papers on Monday.”

“Because I love you. I fucked up, okay? You put our
lovemaking on such a strict schedule, you made me feel as if you only wanted me
for stud services.”

She held her hands up. “Really? Here? You wanna discuss this
now, in the middle of the dance floor at my brother’s wedding? Why don’t you go
tell someone who gives a damn—like your girlfriend.”

“Laney isn’t my girlfriend. She’s just a fellow cop.”

Okay, so the guy was, evidently, Frankie’s estranged
husband. Justin backed away, wanting no part of their marital squabble.

Frankie grabbed his forearm. “Where are you going? Don’t you
want to finish our dance?”

“Well, uh—yeah, sure. But it seems like the two of you have
things you need to talk about.”

“I have nothing to discuss with that cheating bastard.” She
put one hand on Justin’s shoulder and raised the other for him to hold.

Andy shadowed their steps as they resumed dancing. “It was a
lousy, stinking kiss. She initiated it.”

“But you kissed her back didn’t you?”

“At first, I guess so. Laney and I were nearly killed in
that takedown. Surviving a life and death situation does things to a person—it
makes him want to affirm he’s still alive. Nothing else happened between us. I
swear.”

“Then why’d she start calling you night and day?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she thought I felt something for her. I
told her the kiss was a huge mistake as soon as it happened, and I asked my
captain to reassign me. What more do you want?”

“I want a baby,” she sniffled, tears rolling down her
cheeks.

“I do, too.” Andy pulled her away from Justin and held her
close. “I’ll do whatever it takes. Just don’t leave me.”

Justin slowly crept away. Okay, so much for his so-called
date
. He glanced over at Trisha snuggled
up to Ben and was half tempted to cut in. Although, that would make him a
rather ungracious guest, considering the guy was footing the bill for his and
Haley’s vacation.

On the way back to the table, he made a detour to see how
she was doing.

“Hey, Uncle Justin,” she gave him the first genuine smile
he’d seen on her in weeks.

“Are you having fun?”

“I guess.”

“Hi, Mr. Riverá,” Jamal said next to her. “Is it all right
if I take Haley to the mansion’s rec room after dinner? Mr. Elliot has a
bowling alley, pool, and ping pong tables, and a bunch of computer games he
said we could play.”

Hadn’t Nick told him the boys were bunking together in the
mansion’s rec room—as in there would be beds, cots, sleeping bags, or other
assorted soft places to get a girl horizontal?

The words
absolutely
not
sprang immediately to Justin’s lips, but he bit them back. Hell, at
least the kid had the manners to ask his permission.

“If you’re worried, there’ll be an adult there from Mr.
Elliott’s staff the entire time.”

“In that case, I guess it would be okay. Just let me know
when you’re leaving, all right?” That way he’d know if he had to go check on
her.

Heading back to his table, he passed Luke who was chatting
with Doc Foster.

The groom grabbed Justin’s arm as he walked by. “Is now a
good time to talk?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“I was just telling Doc here about a project I have in the
works. I haven’t shared it with Sabrina yet, but I’m quitting the force and
using a large bequest I received to open a school for at-risk teens. I’m
wondering if your firm would be interested in the contract to design and build
the campus.”

“How large a campus?”

“Between the administration’s offices, classrooms,
dormitories, a gymnasium, library, cafeteria, etc. I think we’ll need at least
six buildings to start. Plus we’ll need a pool, tennis courts, and athletic
fields. If possible, I’d like to use local talent and stimulate Redemption’s
economy.”

Justin released a long whistle as he raked his fingers
through his hair. “A year ago, I would’ve given my big toe for the job. But to
be truthful, now that the company has lost Marc, I’m not sure I could handle
such a large project.”

Before his buddy became ill, Justin had volunteered with
Habitat for Humanity in Philly, drafting architectural changes and doing
construction. Unfortunately, he’d had to quit his charitable work since he now
had to oversee what Marc had been responsible for, as well as doing his own
job.

“It sounds like you need a new partner,” Doc said.