Enchanted Heart (21 page)

Jack, on the other hand, usually wore khaki pants and a camp shirt. He'd somehow managed to look appropriately dressed in the restaurant, but also ready to go wrestle a rhino. Since her business was seeing beneath the surface, she knew just how he pulled it off. With attitude and aplomb. Yes, he had on a jacket and the thing at his neck could be construed as a tiepin. She leaned closer trying to make it out.

Jack smiled at her. “It's an Andrinka symbol for protection. I figure I could use all the help I can get in some of the places I've been. There have been some tight spots at times.”

“But you wouldn't give it up for anything,” Cole said.

As the conversation swirled around her, Sonja continued her study of the two men. A girl could have worse things to do on an evening than have a good meal with two fine-looking brothers.

“What are you smiling at?” Cole's own smile was indulgent, rare on both counts.

She leaned forward, reached for the wineglass that Cole had topped off. “How lucky I am,” she said. “And how jealous all the other women in the restaurant must be of my company.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Jack said.

Sonja lifted an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She sipped her wine and leaned back in her chair.

“You know this is the first time we've really had a chance to sit and relax,” Cole said.

“Hmm,” Sonja replied.

“Every time I return to the States it seems there's a backlog of work waiting for me.”

“Do you have a home here?”

Jack nodded. “As a matter of fact I do.”

“Don't be modest,” Cole said. “Tell her.”

Jack grinned. “I have two, is what he's over there saying. A ranch out West and a place in North Carolina.”

“Who maintains your property when you're away?”

What may have been a cloud passed over his face. “I have caretakers. And,” he said, taking a drink from his own glass, “I've been thinking of retiring.”

“Get out,” Cole said.

Jack nodded. “It's true. I'm not getting any younger. It's time to stop wandering the globe and settle down.”

“It sounds like you've found someone to settle with,” Sonja ventured.

His gaze met hers and lingered a beat too long. “Yes. I thought I had, but she's a little skittish.”

Cole laughed. “You've met a woman willing to put up with you?”

Jack's gaze dipped to the V in Sonja's blouse. “Not really. The one I had in mind appears to be off limits as well as skittish.”

Cole leaned forward and slapped him on the back. “It'll happen for you. She's out there. She's just waiting for the right time and place.”

Sonja cleared her throat and downed the rest of the wine in her glass.

“Another?”

She placed her hand over the top of the glass, declining Jack's offer. “So, I never did get the story of how you two actually met. You seem an unlikely duo.”

Both men laughed. “That's the truth,” Jack said. “A renegade photographer and an uptight mogul.”

“I'm neither uptight nor a mogul.”

“Yeah, right.”

The byplay between them fascinated Sonja. Had she ever called Cole uptight, they'd be having a screaming match right now. What was it about guys and their buddies?

She also knew that eventually the conversation would turn to Brazil. At least with Jack present it might actually be a conversation, rather than an argument. Reluctant to spoil the easy camaraderie of the evening, Sonja figured she may as well get the unpleasantness out of the way.

“So you've done some work in Bahia?”

Jack glanced at Cole, the two exchanging a look that spoke volumes.

“What?” Sonja asked.

Jack shrugged. “I thought we'd just enjoy dinner.”

Sonja's gaze leveled on her husband. For a moment, she didn't say anything at all. The only movement at the table was the candlelight flickering in a hurricane lamp. Then, she held up her glass. Cole refilled it.

“Thank you,” she told him.

He nodded, topped off the other two glasses and motioned for the waiter to bring another bottle.

Sonja put her hand over his. “No, Cole. I mean thank you,” she emphasized the words. “I don't know what you told Jack, but . . .” Tears inexplicably welled in her eyes. She blinked them away. “Have you ever been in love, Mr. Spencer?” The question was directed at Jack, but her gaze never left Cole's.

“I thought so, a time or two. But it turns out it wasn't love, just a severe case of lust.”

“Too bad for you,” Sonja murmured. “Love is terrific when it's forever. It can be a beautiful thing.”

“I know,” Cole said. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Sonja closed her eyes, reveling in the tenderness and what it represented. She could enjoy this moment, this evening and thank Jack Spencer for being the intermediary. It was probably the wine, but for the first time in a long while she felt at peace, content with what the future might have in store for her even though the path ahead was clouded in shadows and fog. She was okay with it, and apparently, so was Cole.

After seeing Jack back to his hotel, they picked up Sonja's car and drove home. That night, for the first time in months, Sonja and Cole talked. They talked as if they were strangers getting to know each other. They sat on their large bed and talked the way they did when they were dating. No harsh words entered the exchange, though hard ones sometimes came up.

“I know you don't approve of what I'm about to do,” Cole said, “but it's something I have to do.”

“I know that now. Seeing you with Jack, it became clearer to me. He's an adventurer and you've wanted to do something wild and unpredictable. Brazil is your adventure,” she said. “You'll do well in Bahia. You're passionate about it.”

She left unsaid the fact that the passion between them had long since petered out. Their relationship flared like a supernova, then died the slow, but not quite painful death of apathy.

Cole looked at her. “He's attracted to you.”

She hadn't expected him to notice. Or to care. She started to deny it, to retreat to the safe place where she and Cole had been living for the last six months. “I know.”

“And how do you feel about him?”

Sonja took a deep breath. “I was tempted. For a moment.”

“I see.” Cole stretched his legs out and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Jack seems to have that effect on women. Particularly married and unattainable ones.”

“I feel sorry for him.”

Cole sat up. “Why?”

“He's searching for something he's not likely to find.”

“And what's that?”

“His own truth.”

Cole chewed on that for a bit. “Did he hit on you?”

“No.” There were, after all, she told herself, degrees of being hit upon. “Jack isn't a threat or a factor in this marriage.”

“Yes, he is,” Cole said. “His dynamic got us here.”

Sonja smiled. “That much is true.”

“So where do we go from here?”

She scooted over and got close. He draped an arm around her shoulder. “I think you know,” she said.

He nodded. “Brazil has just been a smoke screen. A separation without truly declaring one.”

Sonja placed her hand on his chest. “I'm sorry.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Me, too.”

They both seemed to know this was the end of the ride. They didn't have to part as enemies. Some couples were better off as friends.

“Should we draw up papers? There's time before you leave.”

Cole shrugged and settled her warm body closer to his. “I don't see the point. Maybe the time I'm in Brazil will give us the breathing room we need.”

“Marriages aren't supposed to end like this.”

“At least we don't have kids. This way is better than the screaming and throwing dishes kind of breakups some people have.”

“If you break my china I'll wring your neck.”

He chuckled. “I think the script usually has the woman throwing the china.”

She playfully punched him. Then she sighed. “Oh, Cole. What a mess we've made of this.”

“Yeah. But maybe we can be better friends than spouses.”

She glanced up at him and nodded, then accepted his kiss. “Yes, we can be friends.”

Julian drove by Viv's store twice before he decided that the lights he saw were more than just security. Even at this time of night he couldn't find a parking space. The Naro was showing a double feature and Starbucks was still open, so latte lovers would be there until they were forcibly ejected from the coffeehouse.

He illegally parked next to a hydrant and called the store on his cell. Dakota picked up on the second ring.

“Thank God it's you,” he said. “I was about to call the police.”

“It's Julian,” he heard her say, her voice muffled, presumably from her hand over the mouthpiece.

A moment later, “Julian?”

He smiled and leaned back. He loved the sound of Vivienne's voice.

Julian knew that Viv vacillated between thinking he was gay, straight or bi. The truth was Julian didn't like labels. He considered himself a citizen of the world, and as such, he took advantage of and sampled from all of the world's great feasts. Since meeting Viv though, he'd been interested in just one dish. And for a while a few weeks ago, he'd been sure that it was all his for the savoring. But Viv had been preoccupied lately. She hadn't been out to the beach house since that night she'd showed up and begged to come in.

Now it was Julian's turn to beg. And he wasn't too proud to do it.

“Yes, love. Open the door.”

“The door. You're outside? The shop?”

Even as she said the words, he saw additional lights flicker on. He locked the car and met her at the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“When I couldn't reach you at home I thought I'd try the store.”

Viv clicked off the cordless she held. “Is something wrong?”

He snaked a hand around her waist and pulled her close to the erection that already throbbed in his slacks. “Yes,” he said as he dipped his head to nuzzle her neck. “I've missed you.”

 

 

Sleep proved an elusive partner that night. Lance instead paced the floor of his bedroom, of the balcony, of his kitchen and living room. At this rate, he'd wear a path in the carpeting. He finally gave up, pulled on some sweats and grabbed the keys to the Jag. He drove fast and furious, letting the speed and the feel of the open road on the dark night soothe his splintered soul.

He'd definitely inherited that Heart gene. Something about driving fast was liberating, mind-clearing. And right now, his mind was keyed into one fact: He had a child, a son. Right here in Newport News.

Every thought returned to that.

Was this how his grandfather felt when he first found out about Bev, Lance's mother? Did a euphoria rush through him even while the ramifications ran on a parallel track? Did he want to pass out cigars and shout to the rooftops the way Lance did right now? Or, more likely, did practical matters get in the way? Practical matters like repercussions and recriminations.

He didn't have an answer and the drive didn't provide one. The open road always seemed like it held all the possibilities; all the questions about tomorrows were held just beyond the next bend or signpost.

But he did know this: Gayla would have to let him into his son's life.

 

 

Whatever fantasies Julian had concocted withered when he saw the inside of the shop. Dakota and two other salesclerks were all present.

“What's going on?”

“Julian, we're pretty busy,” Viv said. “We're getting ready for an event.”

“I've missed you.” Unfortunately, he could tell Viv couldn't say the same. She hadn't given him a moment's thought. Her expression said it all. “I don't like being ignored, Vivienne.”

“I'm not ignoring you, Julian. I've been distracted. You know how I get.”

He pouted and ran a finger along her arm. “When will you make it up to me?”

“Soon,” she promised.

Julian patted her behind. “I'll hold you to that.”

Viv pushed him away. “Don't do that.”

A hard look crossed his face. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

“You all right, Viv?” Dakota called.

“I'm fine,” she answered even as she struggled against him. “Julian, what are you doing?”