“Why? Is it hot?”
“Stop smiling. This isn’t funny.”
Oh, Jay, you’re having far too much fun topping Daddy from the bottom in his own home.
He wound his arm around her waist and tugged her bodily onto his lap. Startled, she fumbled with the bottle of rubbing alcohol and nearly dropped it on the floor when he splayed his hand on her thigh to steady her. “I think Jake is the one who took the photographs.”
“Jake Van Hoff? Your friend from school?”
“We’re not friends,” he reminded her. “But yes. Him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s your mother’s little boy toy.”
She let out a disbelieving laugh as she twisted to toss the bloodied Q-tip in her hand in the trash. “He’s not exactly her type.”
“He’s got a cock and a pulse. Of course he’s her type. He also has something she wants; he works for his uncle.” He took the bottle of alcohol from her loosened grip, screwing the cap on tightly and setting it on the counter beside him.
“The PI guy? You think he’s working for my mother? You think she’s paid him to take pictures of me?”
“I know he is. I had my guy trace his car—it was parked in front of her apartment. And guess what? It’s registered to a Frank Van Hoff. He’s driving his uncle’s car. I saw it in San Francisco, too. Same model.”Right outside your apartment.“It’s not fully paid off, either. He must be desperate.”
“You really think my own mother hired a cheap PI who’s in debt to follow me around and—” she couldn’t finish. Tears began to form in her eyes. “No. She’s awful, but you can’t believe she’d dothat.”
“I do think that. I think there’s a lot of money at stake and she’s been whoring herself out to Jake to get a discount on services rendered.” His mouth flattened. “She might have even gotten the idea from my father, if he really did tell her about what had been doing on between us.”
Jay shook her head desperately. “Oh god. I don’t want her having that kind of hold on me, Nicholas. She knows I gave up the money for you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“It already has! For years, I searched my name, waiting for the ticking bomb that would blow up my entire life. It might be the past for you, but it wasn’t for me. Until a few months ago,thatwas my present. I don’t want it to be my future as well. Ican’tgo through that again.”
Looking at her face, he felt his desire evaporate, leaving behind something hard and cold. Carefully, he stood, bringing her up with him as he got to his feet. “I know, sweet bird. I’m sorry.”
“I just want to be happy,” she said, brokenly slumping against his chest. “I just want to feel good without someone always trying to make it hurt. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I didn’t think it was too much to ask.”
“I know,” he said again. He walked to the bath and turned the tap, watching the water steam. When his eyes flicked to the mirror, he saw his smile turn sardonic. “Get in the bath. I’ll make you a nice, stiff drink, and then you can talk to me about anything you want while I wash your hair.”
“A bath.” She glanced at the tub uncertainly with a bitter twist to her mouth. “You know, the night I left, I scrubbed myself raw when I got to my motel—as if that could wash the whole evening away.”
Nicholas stared at her as she peeled off her clothes, seeing not her nakedness but the regret on her face. “You told me I didn’t scare you anymore.”
Jay got into the water and put her arms on the edge of the tub as she looked up at him. “You don’t.”
Nicholas felt his heart thump against his chest. With a terse nod, he turned and walked into the bedroom, pouring two glasses of the honey whiskey from the small bar area.So she reallywasthinking about leavingjostled withbut she didn’t—she stayed.She had turned around when he came back, though he saw the muscles in her back ripple as he padded back into the room.
“Tell me what to do.” He set her glass where she could reach it as he swept down to his knees. When she didn’t reply right away, he gathered all her wayward locks of hair into a loose ponytail, and put his hands on her bare shoulders, smoothing them over her back the way he’d done when he was younger and a soft touch was the only tenderness with her that he could fathom. “Tell me how to take care of you.”Tell me how to fix this.
She reached up for his jaw, bringing his face down to hers.
And then, in a quiet but steady whisper, she told him.
???????
“So we have plenty of money in the bank, which puts us in a strong position for Q3.” Jay clicked to the next slide of the Powerpoint that she had spent the last two days putting together even as it felt as if her whole world was threatening to come apart at the seams. “New growth has slowed since Q1, but we’re still projected to make fifteen percent profit year over year.”
As she spoke, it was like she was hovering outside of her own body, watching herself. Public speaking had never been her forte, but practicing with Nicholas made her realize very quickly that she needed to memorize all her speeches because of how badly her notecards shook in her trembling hands. She gripped the clicker a little tighter, trying to hide the shaking.
