An Unexpected Attraction (Love Unexpected Book 3) (7 page)

“Marco’s been acting up in summer camp,” she said, sounding tired and frustrated. “Could you call him later and talk to him about his behavior?”

Jay’s eyes found the framed picture of Arturo and Marco on his desk, a year-old shot taken at a studio and sent to him for Father’s Day last year. They both wore suits and playful expressions. Arturo had dark hair and swarthy skin like Jay and most members of their southern Italian family. Marco, on the other hand, was a paler-skinned, towheaded youngster who took after his mother.

“What did he do?”

“He mouthed off to one of the counselors a few days ago and was excluded from activities for the rest of the day. Then today the director called to say he was in a fight with another boy.”

Jay frowned. That didn’t sound like his son. For the most part, Marco was a gentle kid. “Why was he fighting?”

“The boy called him fat, and
your
son punched him. The director said the next thing she knew, they were rolling around on the ground. Marco claims the boy threw the first punch, but the boy said Marco hit him first. None of the other kids actually saw the fight start. If Marco acts up again, they’re kicking him out of the program.”

Jay rubbed his bristled jaw. “It’s tough with him going though that chubby phase. I told him he’ll outgrow it, but he wants to look more like Arturo.” On top of the insecurities about his body, Marco struggled with colorblindness. The inability to see shades of red and green was a disability that added to his son’s misery.

“I understand, but we can’t tolerate this type of behavior. I don’t know what to do with him anymore,” Jenna said.

If he was standing up for himself when bullied, Jay found it hard to be angry.

“Are you there?” Jenna asked, sounding even more frustrated.

“Yes, I’m here. I’ll talk to him.”

“Tonight? They’re allowed to get phone calls at the end of the day.”

“I’ll call him before I leave work,” he promised.

“Don’t forget.”

Jay gritted his teeth. She took such pleasure in schooling him about being a parent, yet whenever she felt out of her depth with the boys, she didn’t hesitate to call.

“I won’t. Anything else?”

Silence.

Impatiently, Jay tapped the pen on a stack of papers. He didn’t have time to dawdle on the phone with Jenna. He had to finish reading and signing these contracts. Then he had to write a memo to the account executives on revisions to the company’s best practices for handling problem clients. All this plus drive thirty miles to a client’s pre-opening restaurant party they’d begged him to attend.

“Are you doing okay?” Jenna asked.

Jay stopped tapping. She seldom expressed concern about his well-being. There were times he wondered if she’d ever loved him at all. “I’m fine.”

“Good.”

She fell quiet again, and while the silence was nerve-wracking enough to want to get off the phone, he didn’t speak until she did.

“I’m seeing someone. It’s kind of serious and…I thought I’d mention it.”

He hadn’t expected her to divulge that type of information and wasn’t sure how he felt. “Oh?”

“I told the boys about him and I’m introducing them to each other this weekend. We’re all going out to dinner.”

Jay didn’t begrudge his ex-wife the opportunity to date. He certainly did—all manner of women from all walks of life. The women were interchangeable and most didn’t last long enough to make an impression. He could barely remember their personalities, and even their physical traits blurred together at times.

In all the years since the divorce, he’d never known Jenna to date anyone seriously. At least not seriously enough to introduce to the boys. He didn’t love her anymore, but she was the mother of his children, a link that made him curious about her new beau.

“Who is he? Do I know him?”

“Do you remember Dale Armstrong? He attended our wedding. We’ve always been friends, but he and I started dating recently, after he and his wife divorced.”

He vaguely remembered meeting Dale, but the memory was a fuzzy one.

“You don’t even care, do you?” Jenna asked. His lack of response had made her angry.

Jay rubbed his forehead. He’d better diffuse the situation right away or she’d have a meltdown. “I want you to be happy. You moving on doesn’t affect me, except I want Dale to treat my sons with care and respect. As long as he doesn’t mistreat them, I’ll be fine.”

“He won’t.”

“Then we should be fine.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

He flipped through the pages of the next contract he had to sign. “Well, I have to—”

“Do you ever wonder if things could have been different between us?” Jenna asked.

Jay pinched his nose. He didn’t want to go there. Rather than answer truthfully, he asked, “Different how?”

“I don’t know. Just…different. You know, if you could have loved me the way that I loved you.” She laughed hollowly. “Maybe we could have been happy and still married. Our lives would have certainly been different. A lot of things would have been different. But of course, you can’t make someone love you. Not any more than you can stop loving someone, can you?” That was a loaded question for sure.

“You enjoy blaming the collapse of our marriage on me, but you’re the one who gave up,” he reminded her. “You’re the one who wouldn’t let me touch you. You’re the one who left.”

“Why would I let you touch me?” Jenna asked, in a quietly bitter voice. “When you were thinking of someone else?”

“There was no one else,” he grated. “Saying it doesn’t make it true. I was faithful to you during our marriage. You gave up.”

“I gave up because I accepted that even though I was your wife and I had given you sons, and you were physically faithful, emotionally you were cheating on me. You didn’t love me. You didn’t have any passion for me. I was a—a substitute for the person you really wanted.”

His neck muscles tightened under the effort to remain calm. “This is a ridiculous conversation. Did you call to rehash the same old arguments again?”

“You’ve never denied it!” Jenna screeched. “Not once have you ever denied your heart was elsewhere. Not once have you ever said that you loved me.”

“I loved you. You know I loved you.”

“But you weren’t
in
love with me. Who was she, Jay?”

He lowered his voice and spoke between clenched teeth. “If you’re so certain there was someone else, why am I still alone?”

“I can’t answer that question. By choice, maybe. Although you sleep around plenty, so your bed is never empty.”

He’d much rather wake up next to the same woman every day, but he’d grown accustomed to seeking comfort in the arms of different women. Thanks to her, his ego had taken a bruising during their short marriage, and she damn well knew it.

“I have to get back to work.” Cutting the conversation short was the best tactic and one he often employed to handle her. Otherwise, they’d end up in a shouting match.

“Yes, get back to work, Jacopo. Don’t let me keep you from your precious job, which is so much more important than our boring conversation.” She slammed down the phone and he winced from the explosive sound.

Jay placed the receiver in the cradle and stifled the urge to yell out loud in frustration. Instead, he slammed his fist on top of the desk.

She’d had an agenda today for sure. She’d wanted to rub his nose in her relationship, but there was something else she wanted to tell him, too. There had been enough hesitation in her voice, an underlying
something
that made him wonder if she’d said all she intended to.

A knock came at the door. Another interruption he didn’t need.

“Come in,” he called.

Terrence appeared. “Hey Jay, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Jay waved him in. “Sure, come on in.”

Terrence took a seat in the guest chair and placed an ankle over his knee. “So, your lady friend from game night—Brenda. Is she seeing anyone?”

Jay stiffened. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I’m interested.” He sat forward on the edge of the chair. “She’s funny, sexy, cute, and we had a good conversation at your house. At least I think so. Thought we had chemistry, but I gave her my number and she never called. Then I thought, what if she lost my card? So I figured maybe you could find out—”

“She’s seeing someone.”

Terrence straightened. “She is? I could have sworn she was single.”

Terrence exemplified the type of man Brenda’s mother hoped she’d meet in Atlanta.
A good black man
.

“That’s incorrect,” Jay said shortly. He didn’t experience a lick of remorse for lying. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen her, remember? Four, five weeks. Something like that.”

Terrence looked deflated. “You think it’s serious already?”

“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be a very good idea to set up an employee with one of my friends.” His voice dripped ice.

Terrence’s eyebrows elevated. “Oh, okay. I understand. Huh. Thanks for your time.” He rose from the chair and headed out of the office but paused at the door. “She is just a friend, right?” He walked out without waiting for an answer.

Jay sat back in the chair and rubbed his jaw. He didn’t give a shit what Terrence thought. He wasn’t the least bit sorry he’d shot him down because he ran an advertising firm. Not a goddamn dating service.

Chapter Seven

Cameras flashed and the sound of applause filled the air as Claudine James, actress on the big and small screen, hoisted a glass of champagne in the air and toasted the audience in celebration. Next to Claudine, Chef Bijoux raised her own glass. Both women grinned at each other, brimming with pride at the evening’s outcome.

Jay secured an invite to the pre-opening event because Omega Advertising helped launch the restaurant, the third in the past two years from a group of investors that placed their celebrity partners out front to garner as much publicity as possible.

Nestled along a tree-lined street in Midtown, the upscale dining establishment was filled with well-wishers, taking a peek at the business marriage between the famous actress and Chef Bijoux, from the Food Network. Stark white linens covered the tables, and the dark wood-paneled walls in the main dining room lent an intimacy that caused the gathered crowd to speak in hushed tones. The assortment of dishes circulated by the servers was a variation of the Southern comfort food the actress had grown up eating, able to satisfy even the most discerning palate.

Jay set his empty plate on one of the tables strategically placed around the dining room floor. He’d practically licked it clean. Minutes before the small dish had been filled with fried green tomatoes garnished with goat cheese and a drizzle of basil aioli.

Now that the festivities were almost over he could leave, confident in the success of another one of their projects. He ambled toward the exit, winding his way between the media people and other invitees, when he caught sight of Brenda over near the wall. He should have known she’d be here.

His footsteps slowed to a halt and he just stood there, taking her in. Dressed in a pair of charcoal slacks, white ruffled shirt with pearl buttons, and a charcoal blazer, she talked animatedly to one of the food critics for the local newspaper. She made sweeping gestures with her hands and used energetic nods to agree with the man’s comments.

At one point she laughed, and even though he couldn’t hear her, his stomach clenched just the same because he knew the sound. Relished it. Missed it.

When her eyes landed on Jay, her expansive movements stopped. After a brief hesitation she acknowledged him with a faint smile. He smiled back and leaned against the wall to wait for her.

He didn’t have long to wait. A couple of minutes later, she excused herself and walked across the carpeted floor to his side. Her soft, sweet fragrance enveloped him, and he stuffed his hands into his pockets to suppress the sudden urge to pull her into his arms. Last time that didn’t go so well.

“Don’t tell me, this is you?” She waved in the general direction of the restaurant and guests.

“We had a hand in the launch, yes. The investors are our clients.”

“I should have known.”

“I thought the same thing when I saw you.” Damn, she looked good up close. Nude-colored lipstick made her already full lips appear plumper and moist. Tonight she’d done something to make her hair wavy and combed it back from her face. He liked the new style.

“I’ve been getting out more now that I’m settled at the magazine. I guess we’ll be seeing each other more often at events around town.”

“Probably.”
Maledizione
, they couldn’t even talk to each other. Their conversation sounded fake and unnatural—nothing like two people who’d known each other for years.

She clasped her hands in front of her. “Well, it was good to see you. I’d better go.”

“Brenda,” he said, as she was walking away. She turned back to face him. “Listen, the last time we saw each other…” He sighed. “Do you think we could go somewhere to talk? We’ve known each other a long time, and I—I don’t want to lose your friendship.”

She eyed him warily, probably suspicious of his intentions. “I don’t want to lose your friendship, either,” she said cautiously. “Where did you have in mind?”

“There’s a place on Peachtree, not too far from where I work. It’s a little wine bar I visit often to unwind after work. We could go there, have a drink, and talk.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

He breathed a little easier. “We could park in the lot near the office.” He took a look at her shoes, black peep-toe pumps. “You’ll be okay walking the three or so blocks to the bar in those?”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, brushing off his concern with a wave of her hand. “What’s the name of the wine bar?”

“Vino Luogo,” he answered.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of her luscious mouth. “Surprise, surprise. Of course it’s Italian.”

“Of course. They have a variety of wines, but you’ll never taste a better selection than what’s available on their Italian list
.
”

Brenda groaned, already loosening up. “You Italians and your food and wine bragging. You actually believe you have the best wine in the world, don’t you?”