by Beevis, Keri
His words had her chest tightening, but she found a smile, tried to keep it casual, not read too much into them. ‘Any time.’
‘We’re getting closer to finding him, Lila. I’m gonna get this bastard for what he did to Steph.’
Lila believed him, knew that Jack wouldn’t give up until he had answers. She only hoped those answers didn’t come at too high a price.
24
Jack didn’t have an Instagram account. ‘Do you have one?’ he wanted to know as soon as they arrived back at the house. Cooper was going nuts to see them, running circles around Jack as he headed straight through to the kitchen, grabbing his iPad from the counter. ‘In a minute, Coop,’ he told the dog, distracted.
‘I do. I set a page up for my photography last year.’
Lila fetched her own iPad, clicked on the Instagram icon and handed it over.
‘Want me to show you how it works?’ she offered.
Jack rolled his eyes as he sat down on the sofa. ‘I’m not a technophobe,’ he told her, his frown deepening as he tapped at the screen.
Eventually he conceded, glancing up with a contrite smile. ‘Yes please.’
Lila sat down beside him, leant in to show him how to navigate the site. This close she couldn’t avoid her leg and hip pressing against his, was aware of the warmth of his breath on her neck as she tapped on the screen, and she was conscious it would take just the slightest of moves to have her lips pressed against his. The thought made her tingle inside, distracting her, made her wonder if Jack was thinking the same.
‘Okay, I’ve got it.’ He pulled the iPad away from her, leaning back on the sofa and breaking the contact, and she realised he wasn’t. He was solely focussed on finding out who had tried to blackmail his sister and not remotely interested in anything else. Lila got that, she really did, though it still disappointed.
It was just rebound sex, Lila. Get used to it.
‘This is the account. Beat The Bishop.’ Jack gave a wry smile. ‘As you said earlier, classy.’
‘Let me see.’ Despite telling herself to play it cool, Lila scooted forward and found she was once again pressed close to Jack as they scrolled through the pictures. This time though she tried to keep her mind on The Bishop, wanting to find out more about him. ‘There it is. The Brando pic.’ She tapped the screen, blew up the iconic image of the moody actor in his tuxedo.
There were several comments and Jack scrolled through the most recent, stopping when Stephanie’s name appeared.
‘We find these kids,’ he told her. ‘Speak to them. One of them will give us the bastard’s name.’
‘No they won’t, Jack. For starters, just because they’ve quoted the line doesn’t mean they got help. Jessica said this Bishop person is picky. For all we know he only helped a handful of them. Plus the kids paid a lot of money for his help. If they were desperate enough to cheat they won’t want anyone finding out what they did.’
He considered that, clearly not liking her answer. On the floor beside them, Cooper whined.
‘I need to take him out.’ Jack got to his feet, and an excited Cooper charged ahead of him into the kitchen, feet slipping on the hardwood floor.
Lila remained on the sofa, watching them leave, wishing she could have gone with them, but knowing the crutches would only hold them back.
She had realised after they had met with Ruby just how vulnerable and affected by Stephanie’s death Jack was. Lila desperately wanted to help him, would continue to try to, as long as he didn’t shut her out. Picking up her iPad again, she logged back into Instagram and on to the Beat The Bishop page. The posts were all movie quotes and there was nothing personal to give a clue about the owner of the page.
Maybe if they contacted Instagram they could find out the account holder details.
Unlikely though. It was a huge American company and she doubted they would be interested in helping.
She clicked on the Brando pic again. The Godfather wasn’t a recent film, which suggested someone older managed the page; though that was a sweeping assumption. Lila was a huge Hitchcock fan and many of her favourite films had been released before she was born.
On a whim, she gave the page a follow, added a comment to the Brando photo. ‘I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.’
It was stupid. The Bishop was easily going to suss that Lila wasn’t a school kid, but maybe it would give him pause for thought, make him consider that someone might be onto him.
She checked her e-mail, uploaded a couple of archive photos on to her Facebook page and Instagram account, aware she had to keep her social media presence active, even if she wasn’t able to get out and about with her camera, and was still debating the stupidity of her decision to post on The Bishop’s page when Jack and Cooper returned.
It was too late to delete the comment without alerting Jack to what she had done, so she kept quiet, hoped he wouldn’t find out, unsure how he would react.
Cooper leapt onto the sofa before Jack could stop him and Lila laughed, could feel from the dampness of his fur that he had been in the water. Still she hugged him back, unable to resist his sloppy kisses.
‘For fuck’s sake, Cooper! Lila, don’t encourage him.’
Jack stood by, watching them in exasperation, a towel in his hands. He looked so frustrated, so adorably angry, his sun-streaked brown hair a scruffy mess, light blue eyes full of annoyance as he failed to control both her and the dog, and Lila’s heart lurched, making her question her decision to come back to the house with him. She gave herself a sharp reminder that she was going to have to be careful around him, knew she had to reel herself in, as it was likely he was going to break her heart.
That had always been her problem with men. She tended to wear her heart on her sleeve, try to put others first, and take everyone at face value. It had been her downfall more than once and was the reason she was so reluctant to get involved with anyone. She had resigned herself to having terrible judgement when it came to dating, knew it was safer to stay solo. Somehow though Jack Foley had snuck around the walls she had built and the more time she spent around him, the harder she was falling.
Why couldn’t she just come at things from a male perspective? Good sex and no strings attached, no feelings involved. It would be so much easier for everyone.
She released Cooper, urged him back towards Jack, watching them together for a moment as Jack wrestled him to the ground, attacked him with the towel, getting annoyed when Cooper kept trying to wriggle away. It was all good-natured though and Lila knew that despite Jack’s protests, he adored the dog, just as Lila was starting to. This wasn’t good. She had fallen for Cooper and she was falling for Jack, and with him just days out of a long-term relationship, it had disaster written all over it.
‘I was thinking while I was out about what to do next.’ Jack gave Cooper a final rub before releasing him and sitting back on his haunches, the damp towel still in his hands. ‘I’m going to head over to my mother and Henry’s place tomorrow, have a snoop round in Steph’s room. She may have kept a diary or something.’
‘Are you going to tell your mum the truth?’
Jack hesitated, shook his head. ‘Not yet. I need to know more before I can tell her… if I ever tell her. This will break her. Thing is, I need to do this next bit by myself. My mum understands you weren’t responsible for the accident, but you were still part of it. And Henry…’ Jack tapered off.
‘It’s okay, Jack. I get it.’
She did get it, but still it stung. She was falling in love with a man she had no right to be with. What would Stephanie think if she knew her brother had been intimate with the woman involved in the car crash that killed her? It was ridiculous to believe that any of Jack’s family would ever accept her. No, the accident was not her fault, but her face would forever be a reminder of what they had lost.
She forced a smile for him, knew it was important that he understood she was okay with it. ‘I’m not going to be about tomorrow anyway.’
&n
bsp; ‘You’re not?’
‘I spoke with Natalie earlier and she’s agreed I can go back to work in the morning.’
Jack frowned. ‘Sure you’re ready for that?’
‘Completely. I can’t keep putting it off. The bills aren’t going to pay themselves.’
He hesitated, looked like he was going to say something then changed his mind. Dropping the towel, he got up, came to sit on the sofa beside her. ‘Don’t go back unless you feel ready. We can work something out.’
‘It’s fine. I’m ready,’ she insisted, keeping her tone light.
Work something out? Lila wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but she suspected it would involve him helping her financially. Something she couldn’t and wouldn’t accept, not after everything he had already done.
‘You paid for the alarm system that’s being fitted at the house.’ She didn’t mean to blurt it out, hadn’t planned on even mentioning it, but there it was, she’d said it.
‘You know about that?’ he said, meeting her eyes.
‘Primrose told me. Why wouldn’t you tell me though?’
‘Because I knew you wouldn’t let me.’
‘But why though, Jack? You don’t owe me anything.’
‘No, I don’t.’ He reached out, tugged gently on a strand of her hair. ‘Maybe I wasn’t doing it for you though.’
As he held her gaze, Lila caught her breath.
They were silent until Jack broke the tension, easing back, getting to his feet. ‘Come on, I need your help in the kitchen.’
‘You do?’ Part of her curious, the other part reluctant, she took hold of the hand he held out, let him pull her to her feet. ‘What kind of help?’ she asked dubiously, as she reached for her crutches.
‘You want to eat tonight, right?’
‘Maybe. It depends what I have to do to earn the food.’
Jack grinned. ‘You really hate cooking that much? Doesn’t part of your job at the café include preparing food?’
She shrugged. ‘It’s different when it’s work.’
He pulled out a stool for her to sit on. ‘Not this, this will be fun. Come on.’
He was right. It was fun. They spent the next forty minutes chopping and sautéing onions, peppers and chicken, the mood back to being light-hearted as they laughed and bickered, Jack learning Lila was not actually as bad in the kitchen as she pretended to be, Lila discovering his hidden talent for cooking. Well, she called it a talent; the curry they had prepared looked and smelt good, but she had yet to taste it. He was easy to be around when she wasn’t thinking about the sex and the attraction bit – which admittedly wasn’t often – and she let her guard down, appreciating his dry humour, the similarities in their personalities, how she got every single movie quote or reference he threw her way and vice versa, and in doing so she fell further down the rabbit hole.
Leaving the pot to simmer on a low heat, Jack retrieved her bag from the hallway, taking it upstairs. Lila reached for her crutches and followed, glad to be unburdened of the decision of where she would be sleeping, part relieved, part nervous, when he headed straight to his bedroom, dropping the bag on the floor. It was so stupid how she had been overanalysing this. They’d had sex on his kitchen table that morning and now she was being prudish, wondering where he expected her to sleep. Still that prudish part of her hadn’t wanted to assume and was making her uncharacteristically shy and a little awkward as she followed him into the room.
What had happened that morning had been spontaneous and for her, so out of character. She didn’t regret it, had wanted it to happen, but one-night stands and sexual encounters just for the hell of it were a first for her. She could count her past partners on one hand, had only ever had sex in steady relationships, and she was still trying to figure out the protocol of how fuck buddies were supposed to behave around each other.
Because that’s what they now were, right? Jack wanted her to sleep in his bed, so he obviously planned on having sex with her again.
Annoyed for overthinking things, she focussed on the view from the floor-to-ceiling window, amazed by the sensational sunset. The sky was ablaze with amber, smeared with little bursts of pink, the anchored boats just silhouettes against the glistening water that snaked a path through the dark marshes out towards the sea.
She had photographed the sunset from the quayside on countless occasions, but she had never viewed it from this window. Jack possessed many material things she would never be able to afford and for the most part none of it bothered her. But she was envious of the window, of the view.
‘This is stunning. I wish I had my camera.’
‘The view is why I bought the house.’
‘It is?’ Lila turned briefly to look at him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, kicking off his shoes.
‘I remember coming back for a second viewing. It was early evening and I got to witness the most gorgeous sunset I’ve ever seen. I knew then that this was home.’
As he spoke, he shrugged off his T-shirt, and for a moment she found herself caught up in an entirely different view: broad shoulders and a defined chest, his stomach taut, toned and tanned, dusted with a light smattering of hair.
‘It really is beautiful,’ she murmured, blushing when he gave her a sly smile, not sure herself what view she had been referring to.
He pulled off his socks, stood and yawned, scratching at his belly, before losing his jeans. ‘I need to shower,’ he muttered, as Lila gaped, distracted from the sunset. With that he disappeared into the en suite bathroom, leaving his clothes in a heap on the bedroom floor.
Lila fought the urge to give him his privacy and leave the room, reminding herself that it had seemed to matter little to him when he was stripping off. Instead she watched the sunset for a few moments longer before realising she wasn’t really focussing and instead turned her attention to the bag she had brought with her.
It seemed bold and presumptuous to hang her clothes, even though there were only a few garments. They would crease though if she left them in the bag. Feeling almost guilty, her movements hampered by the crutches, she opened the large wardrobe, pulled some of the hangers out then, finished with her clothes, put her toiletries bag on the chest of drawers.
She hadn’t expected to feel as uncomfortable as this, given that it was what she had been desperately wanting all day. She wasn’t quite sure what the level of intimacy rules were supposed to be after one brief lust-driven encounter.
She was still fussing over her stuff when Jack emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, just a towel wrapped around his waist.
He offered her a clean towel. ‘Do you want to freshen up?’
‘Thanks.’ She snatched the towel, attempting to go for casual and relaxed; instead her voice came out squeakily high-pitched, sounding uptight and nervous.
Cursing under her breath, she ignored the bemused look on Jack’s face, and grabbing a hairband and the plastic bag she used to tie over her cast, she fled – make that hobbled – into the bathroom.
Dear God! Could she make this any more awkward?
She took her time in the shower, partly because she needed it, but also because working with a broken leg hindered her movements.
When she eventually stepped back into the bedroom, towel wrapped around her, she expected to find it empty, assuming Jack would have gone downstairs, so was a little taken aback to see him sitting on the bed. He was dressed in jeans and a clean T-shirt, though barefoot, a frown on his handsome face, as he studied his iPad.
Hearing her, he glanced up. ‘Everything okay?’
Lila flushed again, aware she was only wearing a towel. ‘I’m fine.’
His eyes were on her, watching as she awkwardly crossed the room, trying to keep her towel around her while holding on to her crutches, pulling clean underwear from her bag and taking one of her dresses off its hanger. Self-consciously, she took her clothes back into the bathroom to get dressed.
He was still on the bed when she returned, though
had shifted to sit on the edge of the mattress, and he was no longer looking at the iPad, his full focus on her.
‘Come here a moment.’ He patted the duvet beside him.
Lila hesitated before doing as he asked. As she leant the crutches against the bed and sat down beside him, she was aware of the scent from his shower and the freshly laundered smell of his T-shirt. It was familiar and comforting, yet somehow unnerving at the same time.
‘What’s up?’ she asked, trying to keep her tone light.
‘This is making you uncomfortable, isn’t it?’ When she didn’t answer, Jack caught hold of her hand, held on firmly when she attempted to pull away. ‘What happened this morning,’ he clarified, though Lila knew exactly what he meant.
‘I’m fine,’ she repeated, even managed a smile for him this time in an attempt to convince him she was. ‘I’m a big girl, Jack. It was just sex, right? I know that. You already made that perfectly clear last night.’
She tried to sound casual about it all, hated that the words stuck in her throat.
For a moment he looked at her confused, eyes slightly narrowed as he tried to make sense of what she was saying then the penny dropped and he let go of her hand, fingers raking back through his damp hair. ‘Christ, don’t listen to anything I said last night. I was acting like a twat.’
‘You were?’ Lila’s tone was wary, her words part question, part agreement.
He gave her a testing look, eyes narrowing further. ‘You know I was.’
‘Yes, you were, but you had–’
He silenced her with a finger over her lips. ‘No “but”; there’s no excuse for how I treated you last night or for what happened this morning. You deserve better, I know that.’
‘Okay.’
‘I got caught up in the moment. Of course that was your fault for seducing me.’
When Lila gaped at him, started to protest, he grinned, mischief clear in his eyes, and realising he was teasing, she relaxed a little. ‘My fault, huh?’