HH02 - A Reclusive Heart (36 page)

couldn't handle being with her any longer.

After three months they were still going strong. It surprised her how well they were doing. Even more surprising was the

fact that they seemed to be living together. It wasn't something that they discussed. It just kind of sort of happened. When they

finally released her from the hospital she'd been too weak to go through the hassle of searching for a new home and moving.

Thankfully Nick told her that there wasn't a rush and that she could wait until she was fully recovered.

When her doctor announced that she was able to return to work, well, go to the office instead of just working from Nick's

bed, he didn't say anything and neither did she. They just kind of fell into a routine of making love in the morning, having

breakfast together, driving to work separately because of the different schedule demands they each had. Some nights they

managed to have dinner together and other nights she ignored the cute little post-it notes he taped to the cabinets and

refrigerator imploring her to have a normal meal and usually indulged in her love for sweets. No matter what they did or where

they traveled they always ended the night making love.

Life right now was perfect and she wasn't going to wreck it by wondering about tomorrow. She was going to live each

day to its fullest and enjoy her time with Nick. If it ended tomorrow she would be devastated, but she was thankful for the

memories they'd created together.

"Do you really think I'd bring you this close to the motherland and not take you? You'd try to smother me in my sleep if I

did that," he said, smiling in that way that drove her crazy and made her consider asking him to pull over so that she could

double check a certain item off her list, again.

"Then what are we doing here? I heard you telling Rick that you had to schedule a stopover during this tour so I'm

guessing this is the stopover. What is it?" she asked, turning in her seat to look at him.

He let out an exasperated sigh that she wasn't buying for a minute before answering her. "It's a surprise, my little

eavesdropper."

She shrugged off his teasing. "Is it a good surprise or a bad surprise?"

"I'm hoping that it's a good surprise, Jamie," he said, turning all serious on her.

"Should I be worried?" she asked, wondering what kind of surprise would require them to take a few days off during their

tour to come to Pennsylvania. Maybe he was bringing her to a Hershey's outlet store and was going to let her fill the trunk and

backseat with chocolate. She could hope at least.

"There's nothing to worry about," he said, pressing another kiss to her hand as he pulled into the parking lot of a 50's era

dinner with a sign that boasted to having the largest dessert menu on the east coast, something the sugar addict in her was more

than willing to look into.

"Why don't we grab lunch?" Nick suggested as he parked their rental car.

"That sounds like a good idea," she said, wondering if he was going to count that donut she snuck earlier against her. The

man was so damn stubborn when it came to her sugar intake, but in a sweet cranky sort of way that actually made her smile.

That is when he wasn't coming between her and sugar.

She watched him loosen his tie as he walked around the front of the car and nearly sighed. The man was a sight to behold.

He was handsome, hot, masculine and so damn sexy that sometimes it was a struggle, like now, not to tackle him to the ground

and have her dirty little way with him. By the time he made it around the car to open her door she was focused back on what

was important, a huge dessert menu calling her name.

He leaned down and brushed his lips teasingly over hers as he took her hand in his before they headed towards the front

doors. The scent of home cooking hit her before they made it to the doors, making her stomach growl viciously. Perhaps she'd

eat lunch before hitting the dessert menu, she decided as they walked into the dinner and nearly tripped over her own feet.

The dinner was large, homey, and filled with a large crowd. Instead of the 50's memorabilia that she expected it had old

fashioned dessert and candy pictures everywhere, but that's not what took her by surprise. Not even close. It was framed

pictures, magazine covers and article newspapers of J.L. Lewis books placed among the yummy looking photos. At the front

counter where a smiling woman stood near the cashier there were even J.L. Lewis books on sale among the homemade candies

and treats being sold.

"What is this?" she asked distractedly as she ran her eyes over everything once again, sure that she was just seeing things.

"How many?" the smiling woman behind the counter asked, her smile slipping a little as she looked Jamie over. "You

look very familiar, Miss. Have you been here before?"

"No," Jamie said weakly, feeling a little overwhelmed. She didn't like attention, but she normally was able to deal with it.

She wasn't so sure she'd be able to do that in a place that was set up as a living shrine to her. It was a little unnerving.

"It's our first time here. Who's the big J.L. Lewis fan?" Nick asked, gesturing lazily to the large stack of books on sale

behind the cashier.

The woman's smile returned full force. "That would be Aubrey. She's the owner and the nicest woman you could ever

meet," the woman said warmly.

"Is she here?" Nick asked and Jamie just barely fought back the urge to give his shin a good solid kick. What in the heck

was he thinking? He knew how nervous overexcited fans made her. If the promise of a large dessert menu didn't intrigue her

she would so be out of here, but it did so she was staying. She was also having more than one dessert because of this and if he

didn't like it then that was too bad for him.

"She'll be here soon," the woman said, picking up two menus as she stepped around the counter to show them to their

seats.

"When she comes here could you give her my card," Nick asked, pulling a business card out of his pocket and handing it

to the woman, "and tell her that I would love to meet her."

She took the card as she gestured them towards an oversized booth near the jukebox. "I sure will."

"What was all that about?" Jamie asked once the woman walked away.

Nick shrugged as he looked down at his menu. "Just curious to meet her that's all," he said, but she wasn't buying it. If her

eyes hadn't landed on the most enticing appetizer menu that she'd ever seen she would have questioned him further.

"You do realize that I'm going to have to get several desserts here, right?" she asked as she ran her eyes over the largest

dessert menu she'd ever seen. Did she just whimper? She just might have.

"I packed the aspirin, heating pad and ice packs so you can have whatever you want," Nick said, surprising her, not that he

was prepared for one of her sugar binges, but that he was accepting it so easily.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The one and only time he'd encouraged her to indulge in too much

sugar had been right after she was released from the hospital and he had to break the news to her that her family had yet again

screwed her over. Finding out that her family had made money by selling the journal she'd kept when she was fifteen had not

been her favorite day. It was difficult knowing that people all over the world could read about her private thoughts from one of

the most difficult times in her life.

Of course that little action helped her get over missing them real quick. They didn't love her. She knew that. It was fine.

She didn't need them. She had Nick and some really good friends now. Although it would have been nice to have someone to

call her own she didn't need them.

"Do you want to start off with a shake?" Nick asked.

Oh god.......

He was now pushing sugar on her. This was going to be very bad. She just knew it.

"What's wrong, Nick?" she asked, dreading his next words.

"Nothing's wrong," he said, smiling as he reached over and took her hand into his.

"Then why are you pushing sugar on me?" she demanded.

"I just thought you'd like a milkshake," he said, linking their fingers together. "But if you don't want one then you don't have

to get one."

"Oh, I'm getting one, buddy, and you should know that I know that you're up to something."

When he sent her a wink she decided that she was going to make that milkshake a double and watch how he reacted. Nick

Quinn was a sneaky man and as long as she remembered that she-

"Hello," a warm feminine voice said, "Catherine told me that you would like to speak with me. My name is Aubrey and

I.....I......
oh my god
," the woman ended in a harsh whisper that somehow managed to draw Jamie's attention from the

impressive list of milkshakes.

She really hoped the woman didn't start crying and screaming for joy. That happened to her a few times and she'd die

happy if it never happened to her again. She looked up to find a middle aged woman with kind eyes and beautiful blonde hair

staring at her. Her skin was pale and she looked seconds away from passing out.

"Are you okay?" Jamie asked, actually preferring the woman's screaming and crying to this. This frightened her. She

quickly scrambled out of the booth and took the woman's shaky hand into hers and helped her sit down in her freshly vacated

seat.

Once the woman sat down she refused to release Jamie's hand as she stared up at her. It was really starting to freak her

out. She threw Nick a pleading look only to find him watching them intently. Really helpful, she thought dryly as she turned her

attention back to the trembling woman.

"Are you okay?" she asked, forcing a smile as she looked into the woman's pretty face.

"No, I mean yes," Aubrey said weakly, still holding Jamie's hand tightly.

"Aubrey, are you okay?" a man at the next booth asked, looking as concerned as she felt.

"I-I'm fine, John," Aubrey said, giving him a watery smile even though her eyes never left Jamie's. "I'm perfect in fact."

"Are you the man I spoke to last week?" Aubrey asked and it took a few seconds for her to realize that she was speaking

to Nick.

"Yes," Nick said, surprising her.

This was planned? Why? She didn't know what was going on or why Nick would plan something like this. It certainly

wasn't easing her anxiety.

"Jamie, I would like you to meet Aubrey O'Shea," he said before adding, "Your mother."

"What?" Jamie asked, well, nearly shouted, startling the people dinning around them. "What are you talking about?"

Her mother was dead. Her father said so. Plus this woman didn't look old enough to have a child nearing thirty. She didn't.

There was no way, she thought even as she noted the woman had her eyes, nose and smile.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hold you again," Aubrey said, choking back a sob as she dropped Jamie's

hands and pulled her into a hug that Jamie was too stunned to refuse, but once she found herself in the woman's arms she was

helpless to fight it. It felt.....

Right. Perfect. God help her but it felt like she belonged. For the second time in her life she felt like she belonged to

someone.

"I am so proud of you," her mother whispered fiercely against the top of her head as she pressed a kiss against her hair.

"So proud, Jamie."

She didn't realize that she was crying somewhat hysterically until she felt Nick kneel behind her and run a soothing hand

down her back. "Shhhh, Jamie, it's okay."

It really wasn't okay, she thought as a loud sob rocked her body. She was so happy, but at the same time she was scared

out of her mind. She was afraid that this was a dream or a sick joke and any second now she was going to wake up or the

woman in her arms that was holding her tightly was going to pull back and tell her that it was a mistake.

Please don't let this be a mistake, she prayed as she tightened her hold around the woman she prayed was her mother.

Until that moment she didn't realize just how badly she needed this woman, a mother. For years she'd accepted the fact that her

mother, father and sister didn't want her and pretended that it didn't hurt, but it did. She never realized how badly she needed a

reassuring smile, a pat on the head or a kind word from her family until that moment.

"I never wanted to let you go, Jamie," her mother said, sniffling. "I was so young, Jamie. I quit school to have you and

worked two jobs, but it wasn't enough, sweetheart. It wasn't enough. When I had to choose between putting food in your

stomach or a roof over your head I made the biggest mistake of my life and gave you to your father. I shouldn't have done that,

Jamie. I should have worked harder and found a way to make it work, but you were so small and I just couldn't watch you

suffer another minute. I'm so sorry, Jamie, so sorry," she said, squeezing Jamie tightly against her.

"She tried to come back for you, sweetheart," Nick said softly near her ear as he continued to rub her back. "She saved

every penny she could and when the time came she went back for you, but your father wouldn't give you up. I don't think he