The Billionaire Playboy (11 page)

Jake broke off
his assault and straightened to his full height. For a minute he studied her
and Charlie was positive she saw a flash of insecurity flicker across his face.
Just as quickly, however, his lips curved into a smile and she wondered if
she'd imagined it.

“That so, Doc? Then
I'll just have to work extra hard to change that.”

***

Jake almost
wanted to whistle as he got dressed, his mood was that good. Everything was
going well. Progress in town was coming along and Charlie had agreed to go to
Newport with him for the weekend. Now that he'd asked, he wondered why he'd
struggled with the decision at all. As soon as he said the words, he'd known it
was the right choice.

He hadn't come
to North Salem looking for a date, yet he couldn't deny the attraction he felt
toward her. He knew it wasn't one-sided either. Being together this weekend
would give them time to explore that attraction. At the same time, having her
as a date would keep at least some of the single socialites at the wedding away
from him.

Before heading
down for coffee Jake grabbed his cell off the nightstand. A quick glance at the
screen told him he'd missed two calls, one from his half-sister Callie and
another from Marcy Blake, aka the reporter from hell. Both callers left
messages. Jake didn't bother to listen to the message from Marcy, but he did
check Callie's. He'd only met Callie the year before, but in that short time
they'd developed a strong bond. In fact he often forgot that she was only his
half-sister. In truth he got along as well with her as he did with his full
sister Sara, and they'd grown up together. So when he heard Callie's message
and she said it was important that he call her back, he didn't hesitate.

Jake listened as
the phone rang several times.

“Jake, hold on a
sec,” an out of breath Callie said after the fifth ring.

“Sure thing,” he
replied although he didn't know if she'd heard him. While he waited he decided
to get comfortable on the padded window seat.

“Sorry about
that. Problems with the florist,” Callie said coming back on the phone a minute
later.

“No worries. What's
up? Your message said it was important.” Whatever it was it had to be big. Final
preparations for the wedding kept her busy so she wouldn't just call him on a
whim.

On the other end
of the line it sounded as if Callie sighed. “I got a call from Marcy Blake this
morning. Have you talked to her?”

At the sound of
the reporter's name the dread he'd felt the day before returned. Something was
up; there was no doubt about it. Not only had the reporter called him, but she
contacted his family too. Not a good sign.

“No but she's
called the office and my cell.” Jake paused, afraid to ask what the reporter
wanted. Mentally he did an inventory of all his recent activities and
relationships. Not a single thing stood out as being of any interest to this
reporter. “What did she want?”

“Are you sitting
down?” Callie asked her voice laced with concern.

Half a dozen
curses went through Jake's head. He wasn't going to like whatever his sister
had to say. “Spit it out Callie.”

Another sigh
came through the phone, this one louder than before. “She wanted to know how
the family felt about you becoming a father. And whether or not you and Blair
were discussing wedding plans now that you’re expecting.”

Jake laughed
aloud. His sister's statement was absurd. Anyone else and he'd think they were
joking, but he knew Callie wouldn't joke about something like this.

“Is it true? Are
you guys having a baby? I thought you broke things off with her.” Callie
sounded confused.

“Hell no! I
ended things with Blair more than two months ago. I broke up with her when I
got back from London. Besides we always used protection.” When the reporter
started calling he knew it meant trouble, but he'd never expected this. Sure
Blair was upset when he ended things, and she had tried to convince him to give
her another chance, but he hadn't pegged her as a vengeful woman. A little
shallow and conceited perhaps but not someone capable of being malicious.

“What did you
tell her?” He knew Callie wouldn't intentionally say anything to make the
situation worse, but she was still learning how to handle the media vultures.

“The truth. I
told her I didn't know what she was talking about. I'm not sure that she
believed me though.”

It wasn't a
matter of whether or not Marcy Blake believed Callie. Rather it was what story
would sell the most magazines. A story about him becoming a father would sure
be a hit. Damn it. He'd managed to avoid negative publicity for months and now
this had to surface just days before his sister's wedding. “Has she called
anyone else?” He didn't need a lecture from his father.

“I don't think
so. Dylan's been in Japan, he's coming home tonight. I haven't heard from
anyone else.”

Callie sounded
worried and Jake could picture her nibbling on her bottom lip like she always
did when something bothered her. With the wedding only a few days away she had
enough to worry about. He didn't want her thinking about this too.

“Thanks for the
heads up. I'll take care of it. Don't worry. Go straighten out whatever problem
you've got with the flowers. I don't want to have to pick flowers from the
garden for you on Saturday.”

“Honestly, I'm
tempted to let your mother deal with it. I think the florist is afraid of her.”

Jake didn't
doubt it. A good recommendation from Elizabeth Sherbrooke, and the florist's
business would sky rocket. At the same time a bad one and his business could go
down the proverbial drain.

“You won't do
that and you know it.”

“You're right,
but it is so tempting. She'd have everything straightened out in no time.”

“All done with
the seating arrangement?”

Callie groaned
on the other end. “Don't ask.”

“Then you won't
mind adding one more guest. I'm coming with a date. Someone I met up here.” Jake
told his sister a little about Charlie before hanging up. Once he was done with
his conversation, Jake remained sitting and stared out the window.

What the hell
was Blair up to? Was she really that pissed? Sure he'd known she was angry but
this was going a bit far. And what did she hope to accomplish? If she was
pregnant did she expect him to marry her? Maybe if it was his kid, he'd
consider it but there was no way it could be. He'd broken up with her more than
two months ago and before that he'd been in England for a solid month. Their
final month together as a couple they'd hardly ever seen each other. She'd
spent most of that month out in California visiting family and he'd been in
Virginia. Between all that time apart and the fact that they always used
protection he didn't believe it was possible for her to be pregnant with his
child.

In the driveway
below he saw Charlie walking towards her car. Dressed in a navy blue t-shirt
and denim shorts that showed off her lean shapely legs, she walked with her
head held high and her back perfectly straight.
 
What were her plans this morning? He'd hoped
to see her before he headed over to the town hall to check on repairs. It
didn't look like that was going to happen now.

As he continued
to watch, she climbed into her car and drove away. So much for his good mood.
Jake watched as the car disappeared from sight. Suddenly reluctant to start his
day, Jake came to his feet. He had people waiting for him and a new scandal
brewing. This was not the time for sitting around.

***

Once again
Charlie found herself volunteering to play babysitter at the shelter while
homeowners worked to get their lives back together. Thankfully several families
had already left the shelter. They'd either made arrangements with other family
members or found places to stay outside of town so there were fewer children
around today. Despite the reduced number, Charlie still felt as if she'd landed
on an alien planet. She just wasn't used to being around this many children all
at once. She hoped the children didn't know how uncomfortable she was. Who knew
how they might take advantage of her if they did.

“Can you help me?
The eyes won't stick,” a young girl with curly blond hair asked holding up a
pair of googly eyes.

Somehow she'd
been left to supervise the craft table again that morning. Charlie looked at
the paper bird set out on the table and back at the young girl who looked
familiar. Not wanting to disappoint the little girl, she picked up the glue
bottle and prepared to tackle the problem.

“Try using
regular glue instead.” Charlie squirted two drops of Elmer's onto the paper
bird's face. “It might work better than those glue sticks.”

The little girl
smiled up at her, reminding Charlie of an old classmate. “Is your dad Don
Sullivan?”

The girl nodded
her head causing the blond curls to bounce wildly about her face. “People call
him Donnie. They call my brother that too. They have the same name,” the little
girl answered as she proceeded to color the feathers on her bird now that it
had eyes.

Donnie had
children? Wow! Now there was a shocker. She couldn't even picture him with a
woman. In school he'd been the geeky nerd the other kids turned to when they
needed help with their algebra. As far as she knew he never even had a date in
high school. He'd taken his third cousin to the senior prom, though he refused
to admit it. Obviously he had changed since then.

“This is a
present for mom and dad,” the little girl said holding up her bird. “They can
hang it up when we go home.”

Charlie stared
at the lopsided bird with the googly eyes and colorful feathers unsure of what
to say. How much did the girl understand? Did she know they might never return
to the home she'd once known? She didn't know what damage her former
classmate’s house had suffered but if the family was still at the shelter it
must be significant.

“I'm sure
they'll love it. Do you want me to write a message on it?” Charlie forced
herself to smile.

The girl handed
her a purple marker. “Love, Ellie.”

 
Charlie printed the words on the belly of the
bird and handed it back.

“Thanks,” the
girl said before sprinting off toward the other children.

With the
departure of the little girl the craft table was empty and Charlie began to
clean up the scraps of paper left behind. She tried not to think about the
children playing tag further down the room. It was bad enough that the adults
had lost everything but at least they understood. The children didn't. She'd
overheard them talking and many seemed to think they'd be going home any day
now; back to the homes they'd always lived in. It just wasn't fair. Children
deserved a chance to grow up without worries or loss. There would be enough
opportunities for that when they grew up. They shouldn't have to face it now.

Life isn't always fair.
Charlie knew
that first hand. If it was, her father wouldn't have walked out on her and Sean.
Regardless these children would survive their loss just as she had. It might
not be easy, then again few things in life were.

Like the old
saying went, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger? As far as Charlie
was concerned, truer words had never been spoken.

After she
finished cleaning up the craft supplies, Charlie crossed to the other side of
the room where Lizzie was organizing a game of musical chairs. It looked as if
Lizzie needed some help as she tried to explain the rules of the game to a
group of children. From the expressions on their faces, Charlie guessed that
they had never played before. She'd never considered musical chairs a
complicated game, but the confused expressions on the children's faces told her
that was strictly a matter of opinion. Just like everything else in life. “Do
you want me to try explaining it?” Charlie asked.

***

“Thanks for
coming with me,” Charlie said pulling into the Hamilton Mall parking lot the
next afternoon. With the wedding in Newport only two days away she needed
something to wear.

“I'm glad you
asked,” Jessica answered. “I still can't believe Jake Sherbrooke asked you to
be his date. Are you nervous?”

Charlie ran
through a mental inventory of her emotions. Nervousness about meeting his
family hovered around the edges of her mind while anticipation all but consumed
her. Since the night on the yacht, Jake hadn't made any attempt at intimacy,
yet she expected it to happen this weekend.

“It's only a
wedding.” Charlie pulled open the door to Macy's.

Jessica stopped
dead in her tracks, her eyes wide and her lips parted in surprise. “How can you
say that? It's all the media is talking about. Hollywood stars and
multimillionaires are going to be there. Not to mention Jake Sherbrooke is your
date.”