Not Quite Dating (20 page)

Jessie smiled and felt a tiny chuckle rise in her throat.

Renee laughed alongside her. Stubbing the cigarette out under her shoe, Renee patted Jessie’s knee. “I know you don’t approve of how I live my life—”

“It isn’t that I don’t approve, Mom. I just want you settled and happy.”

“I am settled, little girl. I’ve been in this house since right after you were born. As for happy…I’m happy most of the time.”

“And miserable every time your relationships fall apart.” Jessie covered her mother’s hand with hers.

“No denying that. I think I’ve fallen in love with
falling in love
. It’s exciting to see your man look at you with diamonds in his eyes, the thrill of a first kiss, the buzz of every touch and taste.” Renee gazed off in her memories.

“With all that buzzing and sizzling, I’m surprised you haven’t buried your husbands,” Jessie joked.

Her mother tossed her head back with laughter. “Life is too short to live it alone.”

“Well, it looks like Danny and I’ll be alone for a little bit longer.” More than a little bit. Jessie wouldn’t be jumping into the dating fire any time soon. Her mom might like the buzz, but the dive after wasn’t something Jessie wanted to experience again.

“I told you, you could fall in love with a rich man just as easy as a poor man.”

As if Jessie could forget those words. “Lotta good that does me.”

“Seems to me you fell in love with both.”

That’s where Jessie disagreed. “I fell in love with Jack Moore. Cowboy waiter who drives an old, beat-up truck.”

Renee stood. “You’re going
to get through this, Jessie. I never did worry about you landing on your feet. Even after you ended up pregnant, I knew you’d be just fine.”

A lump formed in the back of Jessie’s throat. “Thanks, Mom.”

Renee nodded and slipped back inside, leaving Jessie to her own thoughts.

Then the tears finally came.

It was Christmas Eve, and Jack had no idea where Jessie was. For the life of him he couldn’t remember all the last names Jessie had spouted that belonged to her mother. Driving around Fontana looking for a house with Jessie’s new car parked in front of it was a bust.

The hours of sleep he’d had could be counted on one hand, the meals on less than that.

The ring he’d ordered from the jeweler had arrived, and Jack sat on his bed in his room staring at it. It belonged on Jessie’s finger. All he had to do was put it there.

The voices of his sister and father carried from the living room. The two of them had actually joined forces in busting Jack’s balls for deceiving Jessie as he had. It was nice to see that Jack could bring his overbearing father in sync with his meddlesome daughter.

Between the two of them, you’d think one would have a surefire way to find Jessie.

His sister had always butted in uninvited as a kid, so what stopped her now?

Sister.

Jack’s thoughts turned to Monica.

Gaylord was riling Katie about the tightness of her jeans when Jack walked into the room.

“I wear ’em to tick you off, Daddy.”

“Don’t think I don’t know it,” Gaylord chided.

“There you are,” Katie called when
Jack walked by them on the way to his computer. “Are you going to eat?”

“Not now, Katie.”

“Did you figure out a way to find her?” his father asked.

“Jessie’s sister, Monica. I just need to find her cell phone number.” Jack sat down at his desk and turned on his computer.

Katie called out a series of numbers, but Jack ignored her.

Then his head popped up and he slowly turned in his seat. “Monica’s number?” he asked his sister.

His sassy sister winked at him. “Doubt she’ll tell you where Jessie is. I didn’t have any luck.”

“You talked with Monica?”

At least Katie had the good sense to let the shit-eating grin on her face fall. “Don’t look so shocked. Sisters are always looking out for each other.”

“You don’t have a sister.” Jack hoped his sister heard the sternness in his voice.

“I get the divine pleasure of looking out for you.”

“When did you talk to Monica?”

“Before we flew back. I’ve left a message for her since, but she hasn’t called me back.”

All this time Katie may have held the key to finding Jessie and she had held out on him. Why?

Jack picked up the phone. “What’s her number again?”

Katie called out the seven digits and Jack put the number to use. While the phone rang, Jack moved to the patio for some privacy.

He was about to give up when suddenly Monica’s voice said, “Well, if it isn’t the town snake. How is the grass you’re lying in, Jack? Get it, lying in?” There wasn’t a drop of humor in Monica’s voice.

“I can explain everything.”

“Save it. I’m not interested.”

Jack knew he’d lose her if he didn’t act fast.

“There is no other woman. The picture
on TV was of my sister. Sassy woman who talked to you last week.”

Monica was breathing into the phone, but not saying a thing.

“I need to talk to Jessie. Please, Monica.”

“Next you’ll be telling me you’re not a millionaire, or is it billionaire?”

The need to apologize for having money held a bit of irony. “I had my reasons. Reasons I need to tell Jessie, not you. Where is she, Monica?”

The cool afternoon wind blew in his face. Jack turned to-ward it.

“I don’t know.”

“I can’t make this right if I don’t talk to Jessie. I can make this right.”
Please, dammit, give me an address.

“The woman in the picture is Katie?”

He was getting somewhere…he knew it. “I swear on my life. She’s right here, she’ll tell you.”

“If you’re lying to me—”

“I’m not.”

After a long pause, Monica said, “She’s at my mom’s.”

“I need an address.”

“I swear if you’re bullshitting me, Jack
Morrison
, I’ll kick your cowboy ass all the way back to Texas.”

“Address, Monica. Please.”

“Oh, OK, fine. I’m only telling you this because Jessie’s so damn miserable and your sister was sincere when we talked.” She rattled off the address while Jack flew into the suite to write it down.

“Thank you.” Jack studied the address and committed it to memory.

“Thank me by making my sister happy,” she scolded.

“That’s my intention.”

Jack hung up the phone and noticed his dad
and sister staring at him.

“Well?” Gaylord asked.

Across the room was a huge clock hanging on the wall. “I found her.” With any luck, he would be able to bring Jessie and Danny back before dinner.

He hoped.

Jessie’s mom had taken Danny for some last-minute
Christmas madness known as shopping. At first, Jessie liked the idea of a little solitude so she could think about what she was going to say to Jack when the man showed back up in her life. He would, she knew he would. According to her boss, he’d called her work asking about her schedule. Not to mention the messages he’d left on her cell phone, all of which Jessie had deleted without listening to. Now that the house was empty and there wasn’t a single thing to occupy her mind other than Jack, Jessie regretted not leaving with her son and mother.

Gravel kicked up by the wheels of a car sounded outside before Jessie recognized the squeal of brakes. She tossed the magazine in her hands aside and opened the curtains.

Her heart gave a hard kick in her chest when she recognized Jack’s truck in the drive.

He sat in the driver’s seat with both hands on the steering wheel, staring at her car parked in front of his. Jack moved and Jessie shot back, letting the drapes fall into place.

“Oh God.”
Now what?

Heavy boots climbed the few steps to her mother’s porch, and finally Jack knocked on the door.

For a fleeting moment, she thought she could hold still and he would walk away.

“I know you’re in there, Jessie. I saw you in
the window.”

So much for that plan.

“I’m not leaving until you let me explain,” he pleaded from the other side of the door.

Jessie moved to the opposite side of the room and sat in a chair. She closed her eyes and gripped the edge of the chair. She’d just as soon get this over with so the healing could begin. As sure as Christmas would come, Jack wouldn’t leave until he spoke with her…if only to make himself feel better. “The door’s open,” she finally said.

The knob on the door made a loud
click
as Jack twisted it. He breached the door quickly and then hesitated before opening it up enough to see her.

His haggard clothing and the growth of stubble on his chin were evidence that he might have had a sleepless night or two.
Good
, she thought. He didn’t deserve to sleep after the pain he’d caused her.

Shutting the door slowly, Jack took his time to walk into the room. His eyes drifted around the small mobile home before coming to rest on her. What did he see? Jessie looked around the space and saw memories of her childhood. Some pleasant, others well worth forgetting. For better or for worse, this was home. This was the place she ran to when faced with difficult decisions.

Jack was better and worse and a difficult decision all wrapped up in one package. The dress shirt and slacks she’d seen him in at the hotel were replaced with jeans and a flannel shirt. She couldn’t help but wonder if he wore his “Jack Moore” clothes in an effort to look the part. What did he prefer? Business attire or Levi’s?

Jessie shook her head, dispelling the questions as fast as she could.

I don’t care what you wear. Say your piece and leave so I can get on with my life.

Sounded simple, but she knew getting over
Jack was going to take more than words.

“Can I sit down?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

“Sit. But don’t bother getting comfortable. You’re not staying.”

A streak of fear slashed over his face.

Jack perched himself on the edge of the sofa and leaned forward on his knees. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“You’ve had two days to come up with more lies, Jack. What’s the matter? Losing your touch?” The harsh words helped stiffen her spine.

“I didn’t want to lie to you.” As the words left his mouth, Jack sucked in a breath.

“I didn’t see anyone with a gun to your head.”

His gaze slid to his hands and then back to her. “No.”

“Then you must have wanted to lie. Not one little lie, but over again so many times. You must have kept a chart to keep yourself straight. It’s quite a talent, when you think about it.” Thinking of his massive web of deceit angered her.

“Let me explain.”

“You’re sitting there, Jack. Weave the best lie ever, but get it over with. I don’t want Danny to walk in and have any hopes that his
Uncle Jack
is here to shower him with more attention and gifts.” Danny was the innocent one here.

Jack’s gaze leveled with hers. “The night we met, after the guys and I returned from Vegas, I walked into your diner and collided with the woman I wanted to share my future with.” His words were slow and backed with emotion. “I wasn’t expecting you, Jessie. But there you were. All sass and smiles. You blew me away.”

Don’t fall for it, Jessie
, she warned herself.

“Mike, Dean, and Tom are friends I’ve had for years. True friends that don’t hang around because of what I can do for them, of where I can place them on the corporate ladder. Friends who
have never and will never use me because of the financial mecca behind my name. I’ve been feeling like I was missing something for a while. After a weekend with them, I realized what I was missing in my life. I’ve dated a lot of women. My name has cast a shadow on every relationship I’ve had.”

Jack stood and started to pace. “When you smirked and made that comment about my wallet and my ego, I was both amused and, I’ll admit, enchanted.”

The memory of that night floated in and out of her head. Her attraction to Jack had been just as instant, although she’d done her best to ignore her feelings.

Jack stood before her mother’s fake Christmas tree and ran his finger over an ornament either she or her sister had made when they were about Danny’s age. “So I lied to you. Omission of truth, really. I won’t deny the overall lie.”

A tug in Jessie’s neck brought her attention to the fact that she was clenching her jaw. “What else?”

“Excuse me?” He dropped his hand from the ornament and pivoted to face her.

“What else did you lie to me about?”

Jack tilted his head back, as if the answers were written on the ceiling. “There isn’t a grand lost and found at the hotel. I bought the dress, shoes…”

“Earrings?”

“I told you I bought those.”

That’s right.
She couldn’t fault him for the earrings. Costume jewelry was relatively cheap. “Oh God. The earrings…they’re not real. Right?”

Jack’s brows lifted and he shrugged one shoulder.

“Holy cow, Jack. What were you thinking? You don’t give a woman diamonds and pass them off as cubic zirconium. I could have tossed them on my
dresser and lost them.” She hadn’t, but she could have easily misplaced them like so many pairs of cheap dime-store trinkets.

“I was on duty the night of the Christmas party at the hotel,” he continued where he’d left off.

“What?” Jessie was still reeling from the earrings.

“You want me to come clean. I’m telling you that I was serving the guests at the hotel the night of the party. We had a management and waitstaff reversal for the night. Sam, he was the man who was having trouble balancing the tray.”

She remembered him and the comments they’d made to each other. None of which clued her in to Jack being anything other than a waiter. “I remember.”

“He is the manager of the Ontario Morrison.”

“Did you bring me to the party to help me find a date, or was that a complete lie, too?” Even as the question came from her lips, Jessie knew the answer. Jack’s half-assed attempts to show her other men in the room had been lame at best.

Jack sat on the arm of the couch and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’d be lying to myself if I said I wanted you to meet someone who knocked the wind out of you.”

He had already done that, she thought.

“I wanted to spend more time with you, get to know you. I wanted to show you that money doesn’t buy happiness. All those men at that party might have had money, but none of them would have made you happy. I’ve had money all my life, but I’ve never been as happy as I am with you.”

“Jack, stop—”

“No, Jessie, I mean what I’m saying. I wanted to come clean with you. The first night we made love, I went to your room to tell you everything. Tell you about me, the hotel, my lack of a job waiting tables.”

“Why didn’t you?”

He was staring at her now, not letting her eyes
waver from his.

“Because you kicked the words out of my mouth when you took off that ridiculous nightshirt and made love with me. Then the next morning I ran away with myself and proposed.”

“A proposal you knew I wouldn’t accept.” It was then Jessie remembered the woman hanging on Jack in the picture snapped by the media photographer. “Besides, wouldn’t the other woman at the hotel find fault with a second woman in your life?”

Jack’s mouth widened. “What are you talking about? There is no other woman.”

“I saw the picture on the news, Jack, heard the headlines about your rumored impending marriage.” The photo had cut deep.

Jack started shaking his head. “The only woman in my life is you.”

“You forgot the blonde at the hotel already?”

His eyes widened. “Katie? You’re talking about my sister. Blonde, wears her skirts too short?”

Jessie seemed to remember seeing a lot of leg and not much of the woman’s face. “That was your sister?”

“Yes,” he blew out with a half smile. “The rumors about a marriage were all about you.”

“I turned you down.”

Jack’s lips pulled into a full smile. “Do you really think I would have given up after one proposal?”

No, she realized. Jack wasn’t the kind of man to give up so easily.

Unfolding from his perch, Jack walked over to her and knelt down. The closer he came her way, the harder it was to detach her heart from the conversation.

He placed one hand on her knee.

Jessie flinched but didn’t pull away.

“My father heard about you from my
sister. Katie isn’t great about butting out of someone else’s business.”

She sounds like Monica.

“Where my dad goes, so does the media.”

Jack grasped one of her hands in both of his. His gray eyes bored into hers, making it difficult for her to remember how angry she was at him for all his deceit. “You are the only woman in my life, Jessie. You are the one I want to introduce to the world as my wife. I lied to you about my wealth for selfish reasons.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I needed to know if you could love me for me. Your hang-up about finding a rich husband made me wonder if you could ever separate your feelings for me from my money. If you knew from the beginning I was loaded, how could I truly know if you loved me?”

Her chest started to ache, again. “How do I know if I love Jack Morrison? I don’t even know who that man is.”

“Yes, you do, Jessie.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. Jack let her hands drop and spread his own as wide as his shoulders. “This is me, jeans and boots. I wear suits at the office, but not all the time. On the ranch, you’d have a hard time pointing me out with all the hands that take care of the place.”

“The ranch?”

“My father’s ranch. I’m comfortable in the boardroom and the barn. Outside of when I’m desperately trying to convince the woman I love that I’m perfect for her, I’m as honest as they get.”

Jessie bit her lip and felt some of the ice around her heart drip. “You love me?”

He gasped. “Jesus, Jessie, aren’t you listening to me? I love you more than roaches love sticky buns.”

She burst out laughing. So much for the poet who’d walked in the door half an hour earlier.

“Not the best way to put that, was
it?” he asked with that cocky grin surrounded by dimples.

“It’s unique. I doubt I’ll ever forget that you compared our love to a cockroach.”

Jack placed both hands on her shoulders. “Give me a chance, Jessie. Give
us
a chance.”

Suddenly her mouth went dry and her lip started to tremble. “Trust is important to a relationship, Jack. How can I trust that you’re telling the truth?”

“Ask me anything. I’ll never keep another thing from you.”

Now was her time to put every question to the test. “Monica thinks you bought the car for me.”

“She’s right. I did. I knew you wouldn’t accept it if I gave it to you, so I made up the story about a fire.”

Little chance she would have accepted a new car from a man who waited tables. Or the rich one in front of her, for that matter.

“Did you sabotage my other car?” The thought had passed through during a dark moment.

“No. I’d never jeopardize you or Danny.”

It was silly to think he would do something so low, she realized.

“Clarify rich.”

With a dimpled grin, he ran his hands down her arms and up again. “Stupid crazy kinds of money. We have over two hundred hotels under the Morrison name. My father insisted on splitting half the estate when Katie and I came of age. He gave each of us one-quarter of that half. Believe me when I tell you that women with high dreams and fancy needs will do anything to get at what I have.”

Jessie lifted a hand to his arm and felt the rest of the ice around her heart melt away. “I get it, Jack. I don’t like that you lied to me, but I understand why you did.”