FullDisclosure (17 page)

“Well, that’s good,” he continued when she said nothing. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. And…do you know when you’re coming home?”

“Yes. Tomorrow afternoon. Late afternoon, I think. Noah said it depends a bit on cottage traffic.”

“Of course. Well, I’ll be waiting for you. I’d like to have a nice dinner together—so we can talk.”

Her eyes went wide. “Talk? About what?”

It was her father’s turn to chuckle—and none too convincingly. “Nothing to worry about. I just want to see you, is all. And hear all about your weekend. You have fun now and I’ll see you then.”

They said their goodbyes but when she hung up she had this sinking sensation that her world was about to fall apart. That her father was going to guess what she’d been doing and was going to either disown her and throw her onto the street or lock her in her room and throw away the key. Not that that would be a bad thing, necessarily.

But it would keep her away from Noah. And she wanted to be with him.
So much.

Deciding that the walk had been a waste of time and that the only way to deal with her feelings for Noah was to face them, she stepped back onto the trail with the intent of heading back to camp immediately.

She had only gone a few steps when a flash of movement through the trees caught her attention. Thinking that perhaps it was a deer, she peered through the branches and moved closer. She hadn’t gone far when the source of the movement became clear to her. It was no deer, nor any other creature of the forest.

Fighting a combination of shock and intrigue, she crouched behind a thick bush and peered at the two women who had obviously had the same idea as she and Noah. They stood beside a large oak tree, at their feet a blanket was spread with a half-eaten feast of cheese and wine.

“What am I going to do?” lamented the one woman, who Rachel thought was named Irene. Thanks to a pair of brilliant green eyes and a mane of bright red hair that cascaded down her back, she was very hard to forget.

Her companion, however, with brown hair and brown eyes and a somewhat slouched posture reminded Rachel of herself. She seemed the type who preferred to blend into the woodwork and accordingly Rachel had completely forgotten her name.

She touched Irene’s cheek, the motion familiar and vaguely…sensual. “You’re going to do exactly what you need to do. You can’t let your family’s twisted moral code rule you.”

“But what if they’re right?” cried Irene. “What if this is wrong? What if I’m going to hell?”

Intrigued by the words that echoed her own fears and torment, Rachel crouched down behind the bush and perked up her ears to listen more closely. She could still see the women clearly through a break in the branches and hoped to God they couldn’t see her.

“Does this feel wrong?” asked the plain one as she leaned in and, with one hand gentled on Irene’s breast, lavished a long, sweet, luxurious kiss on Irene’s lips.

Rachel’s eyes went wide and her heart pounded in her chest as she watched. What she was seeing went against every scripture verse and every edict of morality she had ever been taught and yet—and yet she found it strangely compelling. It wasn’t arousing, exactly, but neither was it repulsive.

As Irene returned the kiss and allowed herself to be taken more deeply into the other woman’s arms, Rachel was struck not by the depravity of what she was seeing but by the caring and love that these two women so obviously shared.

“So does it?” asked the plain one, pulling away slightly but keeping her grip possessively around Irene’s waist. “Does that feel wrong?”

“No,” breathed Irene, obviously bathing in the admiration of the other woman. She slipped a hand under the other woman’s shirt and Rachel caught a glimpse of bare breast. “It feels so very right.”

“Then it is right. And you can’t let anyone—or anyone’s idea of right or wrong, or God, or morality—tell you different. If your parents love you they’ll understand. If they don’t—”

“If they don’t,” finished Irene, “then I’ll still have you, won’t I? And
you
love me.”

“Oh yes,” said the plain one with a wide smile. “I most certainly do.”

With that they fell on the blanket and Rachel turned away before she could see more. The sounds that came from behind her made it abundantly clear what was going on, but she knew it was not her place to observe. She’d seen enough.

Cyril was nervous. He’d felt great after the release of several hours of kinky play and heavy-duty fucking with his ambitious secretary, but the latest news from Rufus regarding Sadie’s whereabouts and the involvement of his father’s old acquaintance Evan Valerian had him wearing a groove in the pavement around his pool. What was Valerian’s role in this? And why the hell was Sadie linked up with Evan and this other guy? Had Karey Duncan uncovered something? Was she in league with Valerian somehow? Were they planning on using Sadie to get to Cyril’s money?

The suspicions and possibilities were swirling through his head like a hurricane, wreaking havoc with his blood pressure and giving him a throbbing headache.

He’d swum several laps, but when his arms had tired and the kids had decided they wanted a turn on the water slide he’d been relegated to pacing the length of the deck surrounding the ridiculously overpriced hole in the ground. His wife had insisted that he watch the urchins while she made lunch, giving him a scathing look when he suggested they call in the nanny to play lifeguard. It was the nanny’s day off, and they were
his
children, after all. He had responsibilities!

Responsibilities?
Responsibilities?
Did that bitch have even the slightest inkling of the kind of responsibilities he had to deal with? What he had gone through—and went through on a daily basis—in order to provide her with her designer shoes and one-and-a-half-million-dollar mansion?

No. What he had was a chain around his neck dragging him down to the bottom of the ocean. The children were for mothers and nannies to raise. His father had barely even looked at him until he graduated college, and even then it was with a level of tolerance that bordered on disdain. Only after he’d taken his place in the business and proven himself a man worthy of his father’s attentions—and of course married into a financially equitable family and established himself as a figure of consequence among the social elite—only then had his father treated him with the kind of respect and affection that was his due.

And yet his father had seen no problem with marrying a third-rate hussy from the mail room. The fact that she so strongly resembled Cyril’s mother was no excuse, and should have had no bearing on his decision. He could have fucked her and kept her quietly in an apartment on the waterfront for God’s sake. But no, he’d had to marry her, had to make the relationship public—and make his fortune vulnerable to the harpy’s gold-digging claws. He’d said she made him happy. As if that was all that mattered.

Cyril stopped in his tracks and, gazing at his son as he splashed recklessly off the diving board, indulged in an evil smirk. It was at that point that Cyril had begun to plan for his father’s timely “retirement”. Just when his father finally had the wife and the son and business that he’d always dreamed of—that was the moment that Cyril had chosen to take it all away—and to find his
own
brand of happiness.

And now it seemed to be in jeopardy again. There was no hard evidence of this, but it felt…wrong. Something was in the air and Cyril did not like the way it smelled. The trouble was, for now, there was little or nothing he could do about it. He had to wait until Rufus could get his hands on Sadie—and do so without drawing too much attention. Only then could Cyril take full stock of the situation and remedy it as needed.

Until then he needed an outlet for his frustration. Something to take his mind off his troubles and help him focus on other things. When his wife finally called out that lunch was ready, he was prepared. He informed her that he had an emergency down at the office and, despite her protests, left the house without another word.

He pulled out his cell and dialed a now-familiar number.

“Hello?” came Taylor’s rather frail-sounding voice. Had he used her too hard the night before? It didn’t matter. She was there for his pleasure and his pleasure alone.

“Taylor. Meet me at the hotel suite in an hour.”

There was a distinct pause. “But I had plans tonight. And…”

Her excuses amused him. For now. “And what?”

“I’m sore.”

He almost laughed aloud. “Don’t worry. That’s not my intended target.”

And with that he hung up. If she didn’t show up she’d be out on the street, and he had several other numbers he could call on in emergencies. Come to think of it, perhaps he’d call one of them as well. It had been a while since he’d had two women at once. Today he felt entitled.

Jake took Sadie’s hand and stepped on to the elevator. He punched the button for the top floor, slipping his hand around Sadie’s waist as the door slid closed. The two of them remained silent, each lost in a world of their own thoughts.

Jake’s early afternoon telephone conversation with Evan continued to echo in his ears.

It had taken several rings for Evan to pick up the phone but when he finally did, his voice had been surprisingly strong and upbeat.
“Yes, of course,”
he’d said.
“You and Sadie can come here. You’re right, Jake. We need to talk.”
And before Jake could get another word in, he’d added,
“In fact, come for dinner. I feel like cooking.”

Pleased and surprised, Jake had offered to bring a bottle of wine, and with no more ceremony than that, Jake had an invitation to Evan’s home—his first in months. If he was honest with himself, however, he had to admit that a tiny part of him resented it. It had taken the appearance of Sadie to change Evan’s mind. Apparently Jake on his own wasn’t quite worthy enough to grace the Valerian doorstep.

Even as the thoughts crossed his mind, he knew they were ridiculous and petty. He knew Evan didn’t deserve such accusations hurled at him. But that didn’t stop the nagging doubts from gnawing away at his self-confidence. And at his confidence in his friend and what the future held for them.

For as much as he cared for Sadie, was her arrival the death knell for his relationship with Evan? Evan cared for Sadie, obviously. And she cared for him. They had a history that went back far beyond Jake’s involvement. Add to that the fact that, ex-con or not, Sadie had one thing to offer that Jake couldn’t—moral acceptability. Why would Evan choose to be with Jake and be labeled a freak when he could have a chance for a relatively normal life with Sadie? Surely even a somewhat questionable relationship with a woman—even one who had once occupied a jail cell—would be much more palatable to Evan’s daughter than a sordid and overtly sinful homosexual union.

Basically he couldn’t compete with that. And didn’t know if he wanted to.

Perhaps the noble thing to do—and the smart thing—would be to bow out gracefully. To deliver Sadie, say his piece, and gently leave the lovers alone to pursue the future that he knew would make them both happy.

By the time the elevator doors finally swished open and broke the silence that hung over the tiny box, that was the conclusion he had reached.

“Hey, Jake!”

Jake was slightly startled by the enthusiastic greeting. But when he looked up and recognized the man who was about to step on to the elevator behind him, he momentarily forgot his dilemma and a smile broke across his face. “Michael!”

The two men clasped hands like old friends. Although they’d met less than a year ago and had only seen each other a scant few times since, that’s how it felt each and every time they met.

“How’ve you been, man?” asked Michael, placing his foot in front of the elevator door to hold it open. “I haven’t seen you around here for ages.”

Jake shrugged, trying to mask his discomfort. “I’ve been busy, I guess. A lot going on.”

Michael nodded, the vague answer quite obviously not fooling him in the slightest. “Well, busy is good, right? Especially in the wine business.”

“Definitely.” He smiled and tugged Sadie forward. “By the way, this is Sadie. She’s an old friend of Evan’s.”

“
Au contraire,
” said Michael with a suave lilt to his voice. “She is the picture of youth and vibrancy.”

Sadie blushed prettily as Michael took her hand. “You look young enough to date my son.”

“You’re too kind, Michael. And you couldn’t possibly have a grown son.”

Michael laughed. “And we are all full of it, aren’t we?” He winked. “But in a good way.”

“How is Noah?” asked Jake as they moved toward Evan’s door. “He’s finished college now, isn’t he?”

“Oh yes. He’s doing well, thanks. Got a new job and settling in nicely. Andrew still manages to fret about him, though. He’s such a mother.” With a grin, he checked his watch. “Sorry, but I gotta run. I have to rescue Andrew from
his
mother before she strips away what little remains of his masculinity.”

Jake was still chuckling as the elevator door slid shut.

“He’s sweet,” commented Sadie. “I bet they make great neighbors.”

“They do.” For as much as Jake had never considered the possibility of settling down and making a home with another man, he had to admit that Michael and Andrew certainly seemed to make it work. They’d even managed to raise a teenager in that environment after Michael’s son had decided he couldn’t bear to be with his mother another moment. In fact they made it look so easy, as if the hurdles and prejudices didn’t even exist. And yet he knew they did. He suspected it was a lot harder than it looked.