The Last Bride (DiCarlo Brides #6) (10 page)

Though she felt sympathy for his predicament, she smiled a little. “You don’t run the world.”

Gage shrugged. “Sometimes it feels like I do. Mom’s not exactly taking care of herself very well either.”

“And you’re caught in the middle. Being the good son, the good brother, and not being able to fix either of their problems because they won’t really let you help them, or there’s nothing you can do.” Her heart went out to him. She knew that feeling. Her dad was sick, he wasn’t going to get better, and he was slowly getting worse. She could send money to ease the financial strain, but she couldn’t make it easier for her mom, or help her in any other way, especially since she was stuck in Colorado. “That’s a rough spot to be when you want to be able to fix everything for them. But to do that, you’d have to fix
them
, and that’s not your job. Even if it would make things
so
much easier.”

His eyes lifted back to hers and there was a little surprise in his tone. “You get it.”

“Yeah, I don’t know the details, but I don’t have to. Sometimes I feel helpless. Powerless.
And
responsible.”

“All at once.”

She swallowed and looked away, fighting emotion. “I brought some treats. Want to see if they’re still any good?”

There was a moment of silence before he answered. “Yeah. Sounds good. I’m starving.”

Jonquil pulled out her tiny first aid kit, her roll of duct tape, the pepper spray she always carried in case of wild animals, and the package of snacks to share. She reminded herself she was in it for the moment. They were friends and that’s all there was to it.

“Duct tape?” he asked.

“It’s the go-to tool for most first aid problems in the wilderness. And it’s handy if we have to repair equipment. I never leave home without it.”

“It’s nice.” He picked it up and turned it, grinning. Purple. I’m surprised it doesn’t have flowers on it.”

“The stuff with fancy patterns is cheaper than this. I don’t trust my equipment to cheap stuff.” She stuck it back in her bag and opened the zipper bag. “Muffin? Rosemary keeps trying to steal my recipe, they’re that good.”

“You won’t share it with her?” He asked as he took one from the baggie.

Jonquil grinned. “I have to be better than her at
something
, don’t I?” She took one for herself and peeled back the edges. When his eyes closed in ecstasy, she smiled to herself. Score one for Jonquil.

Gage enjoyed his afternoon with Jonquil more than he ever expected to. She was surprising, determined, stubborn, beautiful and compassionate. He wondered why he fought so hard against George DiCarlo’s suggestion that they would make a good couple. On the way back down the mountain, she chatted about a kayaking trip she’d taken in college. Her laughter filled the car and her presence made him feel good. Maybe he ought to see what it was like to date someone like her after all. He still wasn’t interested in
marrying
her, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t spend more time together.

When they reached her car, he grabbed her backpack and carried it over to set in her trunk again. “I’m glad we went. I needed to get out and do something different for a change.”

“It was fun. I definitely need to do more of this.” She smiled, confident and casual as the breeze caught at the stray hairs that had fallen out of her braid, making them dance in the sunlight.

“Then maybe I can take you somewhere else next week.” The words were out almost before he realized he was going to say them, but he didn’t regret it. Right now, he knew he wanted to spend more time with her.

“Just as friends?” she asked, her voice a little doubtful.

“Yeah, of course.” There was a dirt smudge on her cheek that had been teasing him since they reached the bottom of the rock and he brushed his fingers against it, unable to help himself any longer. “You have a smudge,” he said in explanation.

As his fingers brushed her skin, he wondered how anything could be that soft. His eyes flickered to hers and his lips tingled a little with the desire to kiss her. Jonquil swallowed as they stood staring at each other for several seconds before he stepped back.

He should say goodbye, but wasn’t ready to call it a day yet. “You want to grab some dinner before heading home?”

She glanced away, looking nearly as confused as he felt. “Yeah. I think I would. I’ll meet you there, though.” When she met his gaze again, all hints of whatever it was that had passed between them had gone. “What did you have in mind?”

They ended up at a little Italian restaurant on the edge of town talking over linguine and spaghetti. Despite his initial impressions of her, Jonquil was bright and thoughtful, she knew more than flowers, though she could wax poetic about those when the subject came up. She also understood more about how a ski resort functioned than the average person, which more than intrigued him.

He had to know everything about her. “So tell me about your family—the one you grew up with. Is it just you and Angela or are there more kids?”

Jonquil twirled another linguine noodle around her fork, trailing it through Alfredo sauce. “There are two brothers between us in age. Mark is in law school and Todd is in the Marines. They’re both dating people, but neither one seems overly serious. There are three years between Mark and I, as Mom didn’t meet my dad until I was already a year old. And then they moved fast.” She smiled a little. “My parents are really cute together, though. Best friends and always there for each other.”

“How did you get along with your stepdad?”

“Oh, he’s great. He always made sure to treat me the same as the other kids. I didn’t start to feel different until I was a teenager, and that wasn’t because he treated me any differently than before. I just started to realize that things weren’t the same. And I was mad at my dad. That’s when I found out about Cami and Lana. I was furious. How could he have cheated on his wife like that and kept everything a secret? Why wasn’t I allowed to meet them? Of course, at the time I didn’t realize I already
had
met them at camp and stuff. He set up all of us to meet at one event or another while we were teenagers. We just didn’t know that we were sisters.”

Gage swore under his breath. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What did he think he was doing? Was he
trying
to get caught?”

Jonquil shrugged. “I don’t think so. I think he hoped we’d become friends on our own because he wanted to get us all together at some point, though why he waited until he died…” Sadness filled her eyes, but she didn’t elaborate.

“He was a coward. He didn’t want to face all of you when you learned the truth.” Seeing how George had hurt his daughters made any remaining respect Gage had felt for him, disintegrate. “He couldn’t face what he’d done, so he let you all find out at the reading of his will.” He slid a hand over hers on the table top, wanting to give some kind of comfort.

Jonquil looked up in surprise. “How did you know that?”

“Guys talk too, you know. And Vince was pretty disgusted when he found out about it all. Jeremy and I agreed.”

She swirling her fork in the pasta sauce on her plate and stared at it while she removed her free hand from under his, using it to take a sip of water, then placing it on her lap. “We all have things we’re not proud of, but it hurt knowing he was too ashamed to admit that I was his daughter. Having him basically announce it to the world in his will wasn’t much of an improvement over the secrecy, though.”

He tucked his hand in his lap as well, still feeling the warmth that had come from hers, and feeling unsettled that she had pulled away from him. “And now that you’ve had time to deal with it? Are you still mad he brought you here and made you get to know the others?” He’d seen her with her sisters, watched her interact and laugh with them. She didn’t seem to have a problem with it, but that could be all a public wash. He knew they put on a good show when they first moved in together even though none of them seemed happy about it when they weren’t in the public eye.

“I like them. They’re a good group.” A smile teased Jonquil’s mouth. “They’re all really smart and confident and, I don’t know, just a good group. It’s easy to feel inadequate when you’re surrounded by all of that, but they never act better than other people.”

“And are you in a hurry to get back to Philadelphia when the summer is over?” A week ago he couldn’t have cared less, unless it was to rush her out the door. Now he wasn’t in such a hurry to see her go. He refused to dissect what that meant, though.

“No. I decided to stay on. I like it here, it’s a good opportunity and I like my work.”

His brows lifted as surprise hit him. “Are you going to live in that enormous house on your own after Delphi moves out?” He was ridiculously relieved to hear she would be sticking around.

She chuckled. “I don’t know. It’s kind of the center of the family at the moment, so I’d hate to let it go. I think. But it’s way too big for just me. I’ve started looking around to places that are up for sale, but I haven’t seen anything that calls to me yet.”

He was stupidly happy with the answer. “When you find the place, I’m sure you’ll know.”

“I think so too.” She smiled back at him.

Gage wondered how he had gotten to this place—this in-between, limbo place where he wanted more but didn’t at the same time. And why had he reacted so strongly to George’s suggestion to begin with?

Jonquil’s head was still full of her afternoon and evening with Gage when she pulled into the drive at home. For a non-date, it had been very much like a date. Instead of dwelling on what that might mean, she focused on the thrill of the climb and the great talk at dinner. She liked him. A lot. She wouldn’t think about their non-future now. Or how stupid it was for her to feel like this when he’d been seeing Angela.

Her good mood fizzled when she walked in and found Angela sitting at the counter. Glaring at her.

“Where have you been? I thought it was just a quick rock-climbing expedition. Did you climb all of this time? It’s been dark for an hour. You don’t look messy and sweaty.”

Jonquil had ducked into the bathroom at the restaurant and freshened up a little before dinner. “You want me to look like a mess?” Jonquil set her purse on the counter and got a glass of water from the fridge.

“I just expected that you’d be home when you were finished. Did you go back to work?”

“No. I went to dinner.” She hadn’t been able to say no.

“With Gage?” The words were almost accusatory.

Jonquil set her chin and turned to face her little sister. “Yes. With Gage. We talked about climbing and mountain biking and skiing. We’re friends.”
Apparently.
“What’s your problem?”

“Just because I started to make a move on him, you suddenly decided you wanted him all to yourself? You’re so selfish. That’s just like you.” Angela stood and stormed around the island. “You always had to have everything that the rest of us couldn’t have. Just because you had this super-secret rich dad, you had all of the opportunities. And look what you did with them—even his money couldn’t keep you in school.” The words were biting and a little cruel. “I’ve had to work hard to stay in college. Mom and Dad have had to scrape by to keep me there and you could have done anything, gone anywhere but you quit. I don’t think you’re smart enough for someone like Gage. He deserves better.”

Jonquil felt crushed at the cruel words. She watched Angela pound up the stairs to Rosemary’s old room, not knowing what to do or say.

“That was enlightening.” Delphi stood halfway up the stairs from the basement, just high enough to look into the kitchen. As the door upstairs slammed closed, Delphi came up to join Jonquil. “So, you and Gage?” She grinned a little.

Jonquil felt her face heat. “We’re just friends. We went rock climbing.”

“Yeah, so I gathered.” Delphi looked over her shoulder toward the room Angela had flounced into. “Come on downstairs and tell me all about it.”

Because Delphi had picked up Jonquil’s purse and took it with her, Jonquil followed. She had no idea what to say. Had Delphi heard the part about school? Was she keeping that tidbit back to spring on Jonquil later, when she didn’t expect it, or was she just so curious about the topic of Gage that she had totally missed it?