The Billionaire Playboy Page 17

  Once again there was silence. Part of her wanted him to deny her allegations, but she knew even if he did it wouldn't change anything. Pictures didn't lie and hadn't he already admitted he was in England just like the caption claimed.

  Before he could say anything in his defense she added, “It's fine Jake. Really, I don't care. Enjoy your time in London.” With her final sentence Charlie hit end on her phone and shoved it back into her pocket.

  She should feel relieved. She told him what she thought without letting him know how much it bothered her. Yet all she felt as she walked back into the kitchen was shame and emptiness. Shame at herself for believing that Jake was different. For thinking that maybe he could truly care for her. And emptiness because she'd just lost a tiny part of her heart to him.

  After the line went dead, Jake pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. What the hell just happened? Yeah, he expected Charlie to be a little upset that he hadn't called sooner, but the conversation they'd just had made no sense at all.

  Shaking his head he tried to replay the conversation over in his head. Despite his efforts it still didn't make any sense to him. Obviously she was upset about something. Should he call her back and try to straighten things out? Or would it be better to wait a little while, maybe give her a chance to cool down?

  For some reason he doubted waiting would help the situation much so he hit redial. The phone range several times before going to voice mail. Even though he assumed she wouldn't call him back in her current mood, he left a message asking her to do just that.

  Okay, you can figure this out. Jake paced in front of the empty fireplace. She'd referred to a picture of him and some blonde. He hadn't been out with anyone since meeting Charlie so what picture had she seen? Could it be an old one some magazine just released. Was some media outlet trying to play up the scandal already brewing with Blair? And why had she said he was in London? Had she guessed when he said he was in England? If she'd spoken to Cindy, she'd know he was in Bristol not London. He'd left a detailed message for Cindy to pass along if and when Charlie called. Was it possible she never got the message? But if she had spoken to Cindy she would know he wasn't here on some kind of vacation.

  “AJ is out of the ICU and asking for you,” Sophia, AJ's girlfriend, said walking into the room.

  Lost in thought Jake hadn't heard her come in, but at the sound of her voice he stopped and turned. Petite and blonde, the two words echoed in his head. Sophia was both. Could Charlie have seen a picture of them together somehow? Sophia was the only woman he’d been around lately. Had a photographer taken a picture of them together and published it?

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Listen I want to know how AJ is doing, but I need to check something out.” Jake moved toward the guest room where he'd left his laptop. He didn't bother to wait for a reply. Instead he brought up his favorite search engine and typed in his own name. Several links came up, but he chose the one with the most recent date. After opening the link a color photo popped up and sure enough it featured him and Sophia at the airport together with a short article beneath.

  “What are you looking at?” Sophia asked entering the room. “Is that us?” She peered over his shoulder.

  “Bloody hell,” he swore using one of Dylan's favorite expressions. “She must have seen this picture,” he groaned running his hands through his hair. While he agreed the picture looked bad, he'd hoped that she had a little more faith in him. Didn't Charlie trust him at all?

  “Who are you talking about?”

  Jake turned away from the screen. He didn't need to see the picture or headline to figure out exactly what had happened. “Charlie. Someone I've been seeing. Just talked to her and she accused me of seeing someone else. That picture is why,” he said gesturing toward the computer.

  Damn it. Once again the media was butting into his life.

  Sophia sat down on the edge of the bed. “If you explain, I'm sure she'll understand.”

  Without intending to Jake laughed sarcastically. “Would you? With my reputation to back up that photo?” Jake tried to ignore the dull pain settling in his chest. He'd really thought that Charlie had come to know the real him, rather than the Jake Sherbrooke the media liked to portray. Evidently, he'd been dead wrong. If she could jump to conclusions about him so quickly she didn't know him at all.

  “Maybe. I'm not sure.” Sophia shrugged.

  Jake heard the uncertainty in her voice.

  “You could at least try, Jake. It's her loss if she doesn't believe you.”

  Sophia only had that half correct. If she didn't believe him, he'd be losing a lot too. During their time together he'd come to care about her in a way he'd never felt before. And he knew he would hurt like hell if she walked out of his life forever.

  “How's AJ doing?” Jake didn't want to continue discussing Charlie. Later he'd try her again. He knew in her current mood, she wouldn't listen to him. Maybe if he gave her a chance to calm down she'd hear him out.

  Chapter 13

  A week later Charlie sat on her bed packing. The following morning she was returning to Virginia. She had another week of leave left but she intended to spend it at her own place. She also had an interview at the hospital in Williamsburg. Although she'd hoped to make up her mind concerning her career in the Navy by now, she was still on the fence. Hopefully after this interview she would be able to make up her mind.

  A mere week earlier, before she'd seen that picture of Jake on the internet, she'd been certain she wanted to retire from the Navy and start the next phase of her life. Now that he'd shown his true colors and she was back to thinking rationally, staying in the Navy seemed like an excellent idea.

  But regardless of her ultimate decision, her stay in Massachusetts needed to end. Staying at the bed and breakfast surrounded by thoughts of Jake only clouded her mind. She needed to get back to a place where there were no memories of him.

  Charlie grabbed the turquoise sarong from her pile of clothes and memories of her weekend on Martha's Vineyard came rushing back. She'd bought it while on the island, and it'd been sitting in the bottom of her drawer since coming back.

  Rolling it into a ball, she stuffed the piece of fabric into her bag and wished she could roll up and discard her feelings for Jake just as easily. She'd been trying for the past seven days but so far she hadn't been successful. It was just a fun summer fling, she reminded herself. Something she could tell her friends about when she got back to Norfolk.

  Charlie grabbed a t-shirt next and folded it before adding it to her bag. Why couldn't she forget about the jerk? Why the hell did he have to invade her thoughts all day? Hopefully getting home would help with that. At least he'd stopped calling her. His last call had been two days ago. She was surprised he'd called her back at all. Though she hadn't seen any more pictures of him and his unidentified blonde that didn't mean he wasn't still in England with her.

  Man she'd been a complete idiot. She'd really believed everything he told her. Charlie couldn't remember ever being quite that gullible before.

  She'd never let a man dupe her like that again.

  Charlie pulled her second duffel bag onto the bed ready to fill it, when there was a knock at the door. “Come on in,” she called as she unzipped the bag.

  “You're almost all packed,” Maureen walked in carrying a tray with two steaming mugs. “Thought you might like some company and some tea.” Maureen set the tray down on the nightstand.

  Charlie wasn't in the mood for company. She preferred to be left alone, but since it was her last day home she didn't say anything to her mom. “Thanks.”

  For a few seconds neither woman spoke as Charlie continued to pack.

  “You look tired. Are you feeling okay?” her mom asked sounding worried. “You haven't been yourself lately.”

  “Fine. Just a little uptight about the interview in Virginia. It'd be a big change.” Charlie didn't look at her mom as she spoke. The
truth was she hadn't slept well since her last conversation with Jake. Every time she lay down her brain would replay their time together, trying to figure out how she'd been so wrong. There must have been hints, but somehow she’d missed them all.

  Maureen nodded. “I can't lie. I'm hoping you take the position. But I don't think that's what's been keeping you up.” Maureen picked up a pair of shorts, folded them and placed them in Charlie's bag. “Jake called today. He wanted to talk to you. He said he's been trying to get hold of you all week.”

  Charlie reached for her tea and took a sip. The lemon flavored tea which was her favorite rolled down her throat. “I hope you told him not to call here again.”

  “He told me what happened and why he's in England.”

  “And you believed him! Come on, Ma. He probably has a stock pile of excuses that he pulls out when he needs them.”

  “I don't think so Charlie. He sounded sincere.”

  She wanted to laugh. Obviously some people never learned to be a good judge of character. “He's no better than my father, Ma. Come on, he just up and left for England to see another woman without a word to me.”

  Without warning Maureen snatched the t-shirt out of Charlie's hands and tossed it aside. “He's nothing like your father, Charlotte. Your father was manipulative. He wanted to control every aspect of my life. I couldn't go out unless he knew where I was going and who I was with. And he only ever thought of himself.” Maureen paused for a moment. “If anything Jake is just the opposite. He worked his butt off here, and he didn't have to. Jake could've let his workers handle everything.” Maureen's usual gentle voice took on a hard edge as she spoke. “You're father never would've done that. And do you know that he paid for that ramp at Mr. Quinn's house so he could get in and out while he's in that wheelchair.”

  Charlie could only stare at her mom. She'd never heard her mom talk about her father in such a negative way. In fact she rarely spoke of him at all.

  “I'm not saying you should run off and marry him, but I don't think you're being fair to him either,” Maureen said with some calm returning to her voice.

  While what her mom said might be true, Charlie wasn't ready to accept any excuses Jake came up with. “I have no desire to end up hurt like you Ma. I think it's best to let things end now.”

  “Hurt like me? You can't stay out of a relationship because you're afraid to get hurt, Charlie.” Her mom's voice had completely returned to its normal gentle tone as she reached for Charlie's hand.

  “Come on Ma. You were devastated when my father walked out. No man is worth that.”

  “It wasn't entirely his fault. He left because I …. cheated on him. He'd gone on a fishing trip. It was the first time we'd been apart since getting married. Even though it only happened once, he somehow found out.” Maureen paused for a moment. “I know you’re probably wondering how I could do that, but your father and I never should've gotten married.”

  She could guess what her mom was going to say but still couldn't believe it.

  “I was pregnant with Sean when we got married. Our parents pressured us into it. Things were never great between us. I kept hoping he'd change, but it never happened.”

  Charlie could tell her mom was embarrassed by the conversation. “But you were devastated when he left.” She knew she hadn't imagined that.

  Maureen nodded. “I did care for him or at least the man he was when we first met, even if he didn't love me. But what scared me the most was being a single mom. I had no job, nothing but a high school diploma and two children. That was the hardest part for me. If it hadn't been for Sean, I'm not sure what I would've done.”

  She let her mom's words sink in, wondering how she would react in the same situation. “Does Sean know?”

  Maureen smiled. “No he just thinks he was born early. I think we should keep it that way.”

  Nodding Charlie returned her mom's smile. “That still doesn't mean I should give Jake another chance.”

  “No, but if you do care about him and don't give him one, you'll always wonder. Trust me on that.”

  Somehow Charlie knew there was another story behind her mom's words, but she didn't think she would get it out of her. At least not now.

  Maureen reached for her own tea. “Just consider what I said, Charlie.”

  “What grand excuse did he give you for being in England? Did the Tower Bridge collapse?” No matter what the excuse, Charlie didn’t know if she would believe it anyway.

  “You sound as if you've already decided to not believe it.” Maureen sighed and shook her head. “You've always been stubborn.”

  Stubborn? She wasn't stubborn just determined; Charlie thought but kept to herself. She didn't want to get into an argument with her mom on her last day here. “We'll see.” For now it was all she would commit to.

  “He flew to England because his cousin overdosed and ended up in the ICU. Jake said he had been having problems with drugs and alcohol for a while. The woman you saw in the photo is his cousin's girlfriend. She met Jake at the airport. She asked Jake to come to England.”

  Charlie remembered him mentioning a cousin who was having substance abuse issues. He'd told her he'd been in England a few months earlier to help him; so it was at least a plausible excuse. Still that didn't make it true.

  “It doesn't sound like a story someone would just make up,” her mom insisted interrupting Charlie's thoughts. “People don't usually say those kinds of things about their family.” Her mom stood.

  “That doesn't mean they couldn't.”

  Maureen rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Just think about what I said, Charlie.”

  ***

  Man was it good to be home. He'd only been gone ten days but it had felt like a lifetime. He hoped AJ managed to keep things together this time. He didn't want a repeat of his past two visits. Not that he wouldn't do it again if he got the call, but he wasn't sure AJ could survive another setback and he knew for certain AJ would lose Sophia if he did. One relationship had already suffered due to AJ's problems, no reason to make it two.

  Jake settled onto the couch and turned on the baseball game. Dylan and Callie were due soon and even though exhaustion threatened to overtake his body, he was looking forward to their visit. He hadn't seen them since the wedding. Another added bonus of their visit was the distraction they would provide. More times than not when he found himself alone he started thinking about Charlie. He still hadn't heard from her and he wasn't sure if another phone call would make a difference. A face-to-face visit might work in his favor with most women but he suspected it'd be a waste of time with Charlie.

  He knew she was stubborn, but he hadn't imagined it was this bad. And he wasn't going to beg. Beside, if she was unwilling to at least listen to him what kind of future could they have together?

  Even Callie had been willing to hear Dylan out after his disastrous faux pas. And in that case Dylan had been in the wrong.

  Forget about it for tonight, he told himself. He couldn't do anything about it at the moment anyway.

  ***

  “How long are you guys staying in Washington?” Jake asked. He, Dylan and Callie were on the deck enjoying dinner.

  “The rest of the week. We'll leave on Sunday morning. I'm expected back in the office on Monday,” Dylan answered.

  Jake couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his half-brother look so relaxed. A type-A workaholic, the guy rarely sat down and put his feet up. At least Dylan had always been that way before meeting Callie. While he was still a workaholic he did at least take time off now to enjoy life and spend time with the woman he loved. Jake envied Dylan in that respect. He wouldn't want to deal with running Sherbrooke Enterprises, but he would like to have someone special in his life. For a short time he'd thought he found her, but apparently he'd been wrong.

  “Earth to Jake. Come in Jake.”

  Callie's teasing voice pulled Jake's mind away from his own thoughts. “Sorry about that. I have a lot on my mind.”

 
Callie studied him for a moment with a quizzical eye but didn't ask him to elaborate. “I asked if you were still seeing the woman you brought to the wedding. Her name was Charlotte right?”

  Of all the topics his sister could have brought up, why did she have to choose that one? He wanted to keep his mind off her, not talk about her.

  “We broke things off about a week ago.” Jake tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. By the look on Callie's face though, he figured he hadn't succeeded.

  His sister reached for her wine and took a sip but Jake could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

  “Because of Blair?” she asked.

  The paternity suit was just one more thing he didn’t want to think about. “No, she handled that okay. She saw a picture of me with AJ's girlfriend and assumed the worst.”

  Callie opened her mouth to speak, but Dylan interrupted before she got the chance. “When did you see her? Are they here?”

  Damn. He told AJ that he wouldn't let anyone else in the family know. “Last week. I flew to England to see AJ.” Jake chose each word carefully. “I just got back. It was a last minute trip.”

  Dylan's eyebrows knitted together and Jake knew more questions were about to follow.

  “Must have been. What prompted that? Weren't you just there a few months ago?”

  He should've come up with an excuse just in case family asked about his recent trip, but the thought hadn't crossed his mind. “AJ and Sophia needed some help.”

  While not the complete truth, it wasn't a lie either.

  “Help? What kind of help.”

  Jake knew Dylan was like a dog with a bone. He wouldn't let a topic go until he was satisfied.

  “I can't go into it. But Sophia called and I flew out to help. Some photographer took pictures of us at the airport. Charlie saw them on the Internet and jumped to the wrong conclusion. End of story.”