Damn, have I no self-respect?
“Good morning, Belle. May I come in?”
A sharp gust of cold air made her catch her breath, and she took an automatic step away from the door, which Jared took as permission to enter.
And really, it wasn’t like she would have refused him anyway.
Not when he made her stomach flutter when he smiled at her with that wry grin. He almost looked apologetic.
No, stay strong. The guy practically told you to get lost.
After his mother had been rushed to the hospital.
Jesus, of course I should cut him some slack.
“How’s your mom, Jared? Is she okay?”
As he handed her the coffee, he nodded. “Much better, thank you. She had a bad reaction to a new medication. She told me to tell you she’s sorry we had to cut our night short.” He took a deep breath. “And I’m very sorry too. Please forgive my attitude. It was unconscionable and I have no other excuse than that I was worried about my mother.”
He looked so sincere, her pique with him dissolved in a puddle at her feet. It just shouldn’t be that easy, she thought. He should have to work for it, right? Maybe grovel a bit more. Or at least bring doughnuts with the coffee.
“The medication she’s taking is for bipolar disorder. She’s been dealing with it since I was a kid.”
Her eyes widened with shock. “I’m so sorry. That must be difficult.”
“It is, yeah. But even more difficult to handle was my dad’s infidelity. He cheated on her and I hated him.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. “What I didn’t realize was that she knew the whole time. She actually encouraged him to do it. I’ve hated my father for years because I thought he was lying to my mom. That he was making a fool out of her by cheating on her. But she knew. I guess I’m still having a hard time processing everything because I feel like they’ve both lied to me.”
She had a hard time swallowing, knowing she was lying to him every day she didn’t tell him who she really was. “That’s a lot for a teenager to process. I can’t imagine your dad would hold your attitude against you.”
“Yeah, that’s the thing. He doesn’t. And I’ve treated him like shit for so long, I don’t know any other way to treat him. I don’t know how to fix this.”
“Maybe you don’t have to fix it. Maybe you just have to accept him for who he is, put it all aside, and move on. Forgive him and forgive yourself at the same time.”
There was that smile again, the one that made her knees melt. “Beautiful and smart. Do you know how sexy that is?”
Her own smile broke free, even though the little voice in her head kept battering at her, telling her over and over that she, too, was lying to him.
“I’m glad your mom’s feeling better.”
“So am I. Now, what did you have planned today?”
“Where are we off to?” Annabelle asked as Jared slipped into the driver’s seat of his car.
Jared twisted the key and the car hummed to life. “I thought we’d just drive around so I can get the lay of the land. There’re a couple of properties I’d like to look at but mainly I just want to look around.”
“Then you might want to head out Route 568,” she suggested. “There’s some nice country out there.”
As they drove off, Annabelle let her mind drift. She’d planned to spend the day digging through the Internet for Beatrice’s missing ring. She’d start her search by contacting auction houses and antique jewelry dealers in the tri-state area to see if they remembered seeing or selling the ring at any point.
Beatrice had said the police made a thorough investigation at the time of the robbery. She’d also hired someone to search for the pieces every five years after they’d been stolen until about fifteen years ago, when she’d given up on ever seeing them again.
If the ring was out there, it could be hiding in another box of costume jewelry or buried in someone’s jewelry box. Or safe deposit box.
She’d have to go through her grandfather’s records and see if she could come up with a name or a receipt for the pin, though she didn’t hold out much hope there. If her grandfather had bought a box full of what he’d thought was costume jewelry, he’d probably paid cash and hadn’t gotten a receipt.
Beatrice had promised to email a picture of the ring this morning, though she hadn’t had time to check. Jared’s grandmother had asked her not to say anything to Jared about their arrangement and Annabelle had agreed, mostly because it’d seemed an innocuous request. Maybe Beatrice wanted to surprise her grandsons with the pieces. Annabelle was determined to give the pin back to her as well, even if she didn’t find the ring. It really did belong with her family.
She let her gaze land on Jared. Beatrice had said the pieces united soul mates.
Which was pure fairy tale.
Jared was not her soul mate.
Neither of them was looking for happily ever after. Nothing had changed since she’d first met him.
Just because her pulse leaped in anticipation every time he touched her, it didn’t mean it was love. It wasn’t love. Just pure old-fashioned lust. It could never be more. She couldn’t imagine the scrutiny she’d be under if she and Jared…What? Got married?
She huffed. Was she crazy? She wasn’t thinking about marriage. She’d flat out told him she wasn’t in the market for marriage. And she’d told Kate she was going to break off their personal relationship.
Look how well that worked out.
So had she changed her mind?
No, of course not. They could work together but mind-blowing sex did not make for a stable marriage.
No, but great passion did.
“Hey, you’re not falling asleep on me over there, are you?”
Jared laid a hand on her knee, and even through a layer of denim, she could feel his body heat. His touch wasn’t sexual, just a light squeeze. But electricity jolted through her body, sparking her ever-present desire for him.
As casually as she could, she shifted so she was facing him more fully, but he had to remove his hand because her knee was now too far for him to reach. He slid a glance her way and she smiled at him.
“So, what exactly are you looking for?” she asked. “Was there a property you had in mind? Did you see something in the newspaper?”
He shook his head. “Not really. I’ll know it when I see it. I don’t like to do a lot of prep work for something like this. I like to go with my gut. I knew the moment I saw the building in Philadelphia that it’d be perfect for Haven.”
“And you really think you’re going to find what you’re looking for around here?”
His mouth turned up in a sexy grin, and he reached over to run a hand along her cheek, making her skin tingle. “This past month has been full of surprises. I’m sure there’ll be more.”
Okay, the man didn’t even have to touch her and lust threatened to burn her up from the inside out. Her cheeks flamed and she silently cursed her fair skin.
Luckily, his attention was focused on the road at the moment. They drove the next few miles in silence as Annabelle tried to stuff her desire back into the little box she’d nailed shut Saturday night.
She wasn’t having much luck with that.
Instead, she focused on the scenery, on the rolling farmland abruptly interrupted by sprawling, cookie-cutter housing developments and the occasional thick stands of trees. The closer they got to Reading, the more developments and less open land. So they ended up back on Annabelle’s side of the highway, heading into the hills.
The homes were farther apart up here, the trees more dense, hiding buildings at the end of the unmarked lanes shooting off from the two-lane road.