“You can’t leave. We’re in the middle of a family meeting.” His father ran a hand over the back of his neck—a sure tell his temper was about to boil over if things didn’t turn his way.
The reasonable portion of the evening was about to end. Jase had been on the receiving end of his father’s temper more than once. He could see how the rest of the meeting would play out. His mother would say nothing. Anna and Zach would try to smooth things over. His father would say things he’d regret tomorrow. Jase would be the one left to figure out how to get half a million dollars back from some schmuck taking advantage of an old woman.
“I vill be staying vith friend who understand Morty is not bad man.” Babushka nodded along with herself. “I vill get my bag.”
“Jase, your ex-girlfriend is here,” Zach announced from the hallway.
Jase turned as Heather sauntered into the room. Shit a brick. What was she doing in the middle of his family drama?
“Sorry to interrupt.” Heather glanced around the room, uncertain.
She’d changed into a pair of yoga pants that fit her oh-so nice and a loose T-shirt that wasn’t tight enough at all. Once his family shit was sorted, he’d take pleasure in removing it for her. She’d also ponytailed her hair. He’d make sure to remedy that so it fell around her shoulders.
“Heather.” Jase scooted around the love seat to where she shifted on her feet. “What are you doing here?”
“Babushka texted me. She said she was ill and needed me to come by.” She leaned closer so only he could hear. “After that other message you showed me, I was worried.”
The last thing he needed was for Heather to see his dysfunctional family in action. By his calculations, they were only moments away from his father losing his shit all over everyone in the immediate vicinity.
Even worse, Jase didn’t need the family meeting to swing in the direction ofhispersonal business.
“This is the girl who broke your heart? You didn’t mention she was hot. Heather, if you feel the desire to try out another Dvornakov, I’m available.” Zach raised his hand.
Anna smacked him on the back of his head. “Shut up, idiot. You have a girlfriend.”
Jase chose to ignore his siblings. “Babushka isn’t sick. She’s just lost her mind.” With a hand on Heather’s back, he led her out to the hallway by the door. “This is family stuff. Trust me, you don’t want to be in the middle of it.”
Heather’s expression went blank. “She asked me to come. Can I at least see her? Make sure she’s okay?”
Babushka rolled her suitcase toward them. “Heather, good, you are here. I vill stay vith you for a vhile.”
Heather’s eyes went wide, a confused expression aimed his way. She cleared her throat. Twice. “I’m—I’m sorry. I’m confused. You said you weren’t feeling well?”
“I am fine. My family, not so much.” Babushka waved to the sitting room. “I vill stay vith you until I am dead. It should not be long.”
And…they were at the death declarations portion of the evening.
Heather cleared her throat again. Then she glanced between the two of them.
“She can’t stay with you,” Jase said. Enough was enough. “Babushka, stop being unreasonable and break up with your boyfriend.”
“You finally agreed to go out with Morty?” Heather grinned wide. “That’s fantastic.”
“You know about this?” A heavy weight settled in Jase’s gut, every alarm bell in his head ringing that this wasn’t going to end well.
“Well, yeah. He owns…you know what? Never mind.” Heather crossed her arms, stretching the T-shirt tight across her breasts.
He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by a nice rack.
“Did she also tell you she gave him five hundred thousand dollars?” Jase asked.
“Um. No.” At least she had the decency to look concerned. She turned to Babushka. “Why would you do that?”
“Business investment. My business, no one else’s.” Babushka harrumphed and patted the suitcase she’d wheeled behind her.
“Did you at least look over his books first? Make sure he’s legit?” Heather asked in total seriousness. Which was ridiculous because nothing Babushka could say would make this situation okay.
“Of course I did. I am not idiot.”
