Jack (The Family Simon Book 2) (10 page)

“Did you miss me?” Jack downed his drink and poured himself another. His mood was still black, but it was easing a bit. He wasn’t sure if it was because the scotch was just that damn good, or if Miss Ella was taking the edge off.

She scowled. “What in tarnation did Grace do to her hair?” She clucked and bit into the apple. “I told that girl there was no way in hell any man in his right mind would look twice at a woman with hair like hers.”

Miss Ella looked up at him. “Do you know what she told me?”

Jack shook his head, enjoying the burn from his scotch and thinking a couple more should just about do it.

“She told me that she didn’t give a damn.” Miss Ella took another bite. “Imagine that. A girl that young and already so jaded. Makes you wonder.”

“Hmmm?” he asked, not really paying attention.

“Makes you wonder what’s wrong with all you Simons.”

Jack tried to hide a grin but wasn’t entirely successful, judging from the dark look on Ella’s face.

“I watch that there Hollywood Tattler, and I know that most of you are up to no good.”

Jesus, Jack thought, glancing at the clock. I’m gonna need another bottle of scotch to get me through.

“It’s a miracle that your brother Beau is settled. My goodness, that boy was dipping his wick into more places than was proper.”

Jack nearly lost a mouthful of scotch at that comment and had to turn away and clear his throat.

“And your cousin Cooper. Well, he’s nothing but a hound dog. Why just last week, he was seen leaving some married woman’s house.” Her eyes got narrow with disgust. “A married woman’s house.”

Huh. That was new. Jack wondered who she was.

“And you…” She was glaring at him now so Jack set down his empty tumbler on the counter.

“Ella—“

“It’s Miss Ella to you Jack Simon. I’ve got at least forty years on you, and that demands a certain amount of respect. It also means that I’ve got some advice to hand out, and you’re going to listen.”

Jack shrugged. “Go ahead, Miss Ella. I’m all ears.” He knew she wouldn’t stop until she said her piece, she’d been like that from the day he moved in.

“I know you think I’m just some strange old lady with no family or friends, and well, you’d be right about that. I’m coming up on eighty years, and I’m alone. My son hasn’t talked to me in nearly twenty-five years. I have a great grandchild, a little boy who I’ve never met.”

Miss Ella stared down at the half eaten apple in her hands, and Jack noticed that they were trembling. He watched her closely, unsure of what the hell was happening. First off he had no idea she had a son, and secondly, he’d never seen this side of her. She’d been a pain in his butt for years now, but they’d never had a conversation like this.

“I wasn’t always this way,” she said slowly. She glanced up at him, her faded blue eyes glassy. “Everyone has a story, James. Mine’s pretty much done but you have so much time.” Her voice trailed off leaving only silence.

“Miss Ella,” he said gently.

But again she ignored him.

“Do you love that there Donovan James?”

Like a wash of cold water, any empathy he felt fled as soon as he heard her name.

“No.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Jack was done. “This is going to sound harsh Miss Ella, but I don’t particularly care whether you believe me or not.”

“I guess that’s your prerogative,” she said walking over to sink and tossing her apple core into the trash. She mumbled something under her breath, grabbed the rose from her hair and tossed it into the garbage as well.

“Everyone has a story,” she said once more. “Sometimes we need to listen for the words. We need to hear them even if they’re unspoken.” She was quiet for a few moments and then squared her shoulders, before pointing at Coco. “I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your dog out of my gardens.”

She slipped past him, and a few moments later he heard the back door squeak shut.

What. The. Hell. She really was the weirdest old lady he’d ever known.

Jack frowned and reached for the scotch. He planned on finishing the entire bottle, because it
was
that damned good. It would help him sleep. His PA had him booked on an early flight to New York where Donovan was scheduled to perform on one of the late night shows.

She had no idea he was coming after her. And no it wasn’t about love. It was about retribution. Payback. Balance. There was no love involved. That was long gone. Dead and buried. Lust did not equate love.

He took another sip of scotch and stared into the amber liquid, swirling it around slowly.

That was his story. He had no idea how it was going to end, but he was guessing he was going to find out.

“And now, let’s talk about your personal life.”

Donovan kept her fake smile in place as she gazed up at the man behind the desk. Not hard to do—she’d been practicing it for years now. She was in a studio taping a segment for
Later Tonight with Hugh Dexler,
and the ten minute segment was the longest one she’d done in ages. The guy was funny as hell, but he wasn’t following the damn script. She’d made it more than clear that she wasn’t talking about her personal life. This appearance was all about promoting an independent film she’d written music for.

Note to self. Never agree to appear on Hugh’s show again.

Maverick Simon was off stage, and he smiled, giving her the thumbs up because he knew that if she could jump over the desk and strangle Hugh Dexler, she would.

Damn Simons. She couldn’t cut them out of her life if she wanted to. This project was Maverick’s baby, one he was working on with his cousin Beau, and she hadn’t been able to refuse him when he’d asked her to write some music for it. In fact, the songs she’d written for this particular project had pretty much gotten her through the last twelve months.

In a year that had been chaotic at best, this one thing had been her salvation. The fact that the ride was over was unsettling.

And Donovan hated that feeling. She liked to know what was coming around the bend, which was why the whole thing with Jack was so screwed up. He was a roadblock she couldn’t tangle with.

Shit.
Focus.

The crowd was laughing so she assumed her response to whatever idiotic question Hugh had just posed was spot on. Gathering her wits about her, she kept that stupid fake smile in place and listened.

“Can we talk about the late night visit in Miami with none other than the hottest politician on the planet?” Hugh pushed his glasses back a bit and smiled down at her.

Sweet Jesus. Mary. And Joseph.

She needed the strength of the trifecta, because she was going to reach over and do some harm to the overly tanned and overly botoxed face that stared back at her in glee. Why hadn’t she ever noticed that? She didn’t trust the botox. Sure a little bit here and there was fine, but when your entire face didn’t move, well, that was a problem. It meant that you were hiding something or running from something and in Donovan’s books, that meant you couldn’t be trusted.

Donovan kept her game face on. “We could.”

Hugh leaned closer. God, his teeth were too white.

“But then I’d have to kill you.”

The audience laughed and Hugh shook his head, grinning into the camera. “There you have it my friends. If I don’t wake up tomorrow, you all know that Donovan James had something to do with it.” He winked. “And that would mean that I finally managed to get the scoop on Jack Simon. Of course I wouldn’t be able to share it with all of you, but I’d die a happy man because that man right there, is the sexiest man alive. I really don’t care what People Magazine says. Um, Brad Pitt who?”

Again more audience laughter, and it took all she had to make it through that segment to the musical guest spot.

Donovan got through her live performance with Rick, otherwise known as Maverick, and less than forty-five minutes later, she was in a limo with him.

“Sorry about that,” Maverick said. “He’s had a thing for Jack for years. He should just come out of the closet already.”

“Hugh Dexler is gay?” she asked, her face deadpan, her sarcasm deep.

Maverick chuckled. He was her best friend and knew everything about her sad, pathetic life. But even he didn’t know all the details about what had happened with Derek. That was her shame. She hadn’t seen Rick since before the fundraiser and until now hadn’t realized how much she missed him. She leaned back in her seat and sighed.

“So, Grace pulled a fast one.”

He was staring out the window and turned when she spoke. “What was that?”

“Grace. She broke up with Liam.”

“Not surprised.”

“Really?” She arched an eyebrow.

“She’s an intense girl. and that guy was all about partying. They weren’t a good match.”

Donovan sighed. “Well, she convinced me to use her vacation time on this beautiful island off the coast of Belize.”

“And?” Rick’s hair was on the long side, and he tucked a piece behind his ear, watching her intently. As per the Simon genes, he was a winner in the looks department. Tall, athletic, and handsome, this Simon had a soulful side to him and the women ate it up like candy. They loved his bohemian look, his talent with a guitar and man, the guy could sing. He was a true artist and was at home writing screenplays, painting with oils or recording in a studio.

Right now his brown eyes were questioning, and he knew something was up. Rick knew her better than anyone, and she wished with all her heart that he was the Simon she loved.

“Jack showed up.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “More like shit-storm.”

“Why the hell would Grace do that?”

Donovan was silent for a few seconds, eyes on the traffic beside them. “She still believes in love I guess.”

“Well Christ I hope so. She’s still a baby.” He paused. “What happened?”

That big ball of emotion was back, and Donovan had to take a few seconds before she could speak.

“What do you think happened?” she managed to say. “He was pissed off. I was shocked. We did some fighting. We did some ignoring. Some more fighting. He pissed me off again. And then we…”

She blew out a long breath and whispered. “And then we had sex.”

“Fucking hell.”

“More than once.”

Maverick sat up straight. “Are you guys back together?”

She shook her head, eyes on her fingers as she twisted a napkin between them. “No. That’s never going to happen.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, considering I’ve never met two people more into each other than you guys. Why don’t you just see if you can work things out? I know something bad went down way back when, but baby, life is short. None of us know when our last moment is gonna be. That’s why you need to fix this. Live every moment with all that passion inside you, but live it with the guy you love because if you don’t, what the hell is the point?”

If only she could.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

Maverick pulled her into his arms, and it was all Donovan could do to keep herself from sobbing like a baby.

“You can’t tell anyone, not even Cooper. He’s the last person on this planet who can know. If he found out…” She exhaled shakily. “God I should have just kept my mouth shut.”

She didn’t have to see Rick’s face to know he was scowling something fierce. “What the hell does my brother have to do with anything?”

She thought of Cooper’s threat. “Everything,” she whispered. “Rick, promise you won’t say a word about me and Jack. I can’t have that getting out. There are things you don’t know and…Jack would never forgive me.”

Maverick’s eyes glittered in the dark, his handsome face dark and angry. “You still love him.”

This was Rick. She couldn’t lie.

“Yes.”

“But you don’t want to be with him.”

More like, can’t. Now was the time to lie. “Yes,” she whispered.

“That’s fucked up.”

She laughed at that. “Yes.”

The car came to a halt, and she peeked out. They were parked in front of a pub. A couple guys were out front having a smoke and a few women hung back to chat them up. It didn’t look trendy or hip, but it had an interesting name. The Black Dog stared back at her.

“You coming in? The place belongs to Abby’s family, Tucker’s girl. Thought I’d check it out. I hear they have live music.”

“No,” she said gently, pushing Maverick away. “I’m heading back to the hotel. Flying to LA in the morning.”

“You look like you need a drink.”

“I do,” she said, attempting a smile. “I just prefer to drink alone tonight.”

Rick hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Go. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

She gave him a quick kiss and then directed the driver to her hotel. It was a hot summer night, and the streets were full. Families. Teenagers. Tourists. At a stoplight Donovan watched a couple strolling hand in hand. The man was listening to whatever his girl was saying, his face so full of love that it made Donovan’s heart ache. She wanted that. She wanted that so much.

When he laughed and pulled her in for a kiss Donovan wanted to look away, but couldn’t. From the shadows of the backseat she watched him cup his lover’s face, before claiming her all too willing mouth. The kiss was a lingering passionate one, and they didn’t give a damn that they were in the middle of the sidewalk. Several catcalls rang out and when the couple finally parted, they were both laughing, his hands never left her face.

Donovan sank back into her seat, hating the wave of jealousy that rolled over her. But she couldn’t help it. How could she? That nameless couple had everything she wanted and it was everything she would never have.

“At least I have Belize,” she whispered to herself, cheeks flushing as she thought of Jack between her legs, his mouth on her.

When they pulled up to the Hyatt-Regency, Donovan scowled. Paparazzi milled about, joking with each other as they scanned the incoming cars for celebs. Why hadn’t she thought of security?

Oh. Right.

She’d fired her mom, and that was one of the things Jayleigh looked after. “Shit,” she muttered, shaking her head. Because she’d been with Maverick, security hadn’t crossed her mind and since her private bodyguard, Michael, was on holiday she hadn’t seen the point. Along with a new manager, she’d have to look into hiring security.