“Dylan, are you sure?”
He lifted the ring from its cushion and reached for her left hand, sliding the ring firmly onto her finger.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
* * *
Dylan glanced around the restaurant. It looked, in a word, perfect. Jenna and her weekend girl, Millie, had delivered the table centerpieces, and they’d just left after putting together the massive tiered floral design in the foyer. Jenna had come up with an idea to use three upended logs of different lengths, and cunningly secured them so they wouldn’t fall over. Her colorful floral displays cascaded over the logs in a tumble of nature’s beauty.
It had given him a new appreciation for her talent as a floral designer, and made him realize there was so much more to her than simply her ability to tweak a few wildflowers in a vase and make them look appealing. An ember of excitement burned deep inside him. He couldn’t wait to announce to all the world tonight that she was his, that they were to be a family.
Today really was turning into the culmination of so many years of hard work, so many of his dreams. God, he missed J.D. and wished the old man could have been here to witness it all. He’d been at Dylan’s side for the opening of each of their previous Grills. Dylan had to hope J.D. was here with him in spirit today. He would have been so proud.
“Dylan?”
Sage’s voice interrupted him, dragging his attention back to the here and now. Dylan turned with a welcoming smile, surprised to see Sage here. But the serious expression on his brother’s face wiped his smile clean away.
“Problem?” he asked.
“Mind if I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure, fire away.”
“In private?”
Dylan looked around at the hive of activity that buzzed about them. Waitstaff scurried back and forth, checking that the tables were all set to perfection and that every glass glistened. Through the serving window a similar hum of commotion came from the kitchen. If they wanted privacy, they’d need to go into his office.
Once they were inside, Sage made a point of closing the door behind him.
“What is it?” Dylan asked, getting the distinct feeling that he wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“Look, I don’t quite know how to begin this.”
“How about at the beginning,” he prompted.
Sage’s expression was stony. He drew in a deep breath before speaking. “I got that report back.”
“Report?”
“The investigation into Jenna.”
Dylan’s blood hit boiling point in an instant. “You had no right—!”
“I had every right, as it turns out,” Sage interrupted. He shook the contents of a large envelope onto Dylan’s desk.
“What’s all this?” he demanded, even as his eyes skimmed the words on one of the sheets that had fanned out.
Thief of Hearts! a headline proclaimed. The story went on to detail the trail of heartbroken victims a scam artist had left in his wake across the length and breadth of the country. Dylan continued to skim the article until his eyes jolted to a halt on a name: James Montgomery.
“Just because this guy shares her surname doesn’t mean there’s any connection,” Dylan said, even though he had the distinct impression he was now grasping at straws.
Jenna had said she didn’t see her father anymore. No wonder, if he’d been caught, tried and incarcerated for perpetuating such calculated crimes against innocent and vulnerable women.
“Keep reading. You ought to know,” Sage said.
A knock sounded at the door and Fee popped her head inside.
“Am I interrupting?”
“No,” Sage said before Dylan could answer. “Come in. You need to know this in case there’s any fallout tonight.”
“Know what?” she asked, coming into the room and closing the door.
“It seems my little brother’s girlfriend is not who she appears to be.”
“You don’t know that,” Dylan argued.
“Don’t be so quick to judge me, Dylan. There’s one thing I do know. That baby she’s carrying is most likely yours. My investigator couldn’t turn up any dirt on her in all the time she’s lived in Cheyenne. Which begs the question, why did she suddenly latch on to you? Did she plan to get pregnant all along?”
“You bast—!”
Dylan lurched closer to his brother, only to have Fee step in between them. She looked from one man to the other.
“Guys, this isn’t going to get physical, is it? I’d rather not be forced to explain black eyes at the opening tonight.”
Her words compelled Dylan to relax the fists he hadn’t even realized he’d made.
“You overstepped the mark, Sage,” he growled.
“Can you blame me for wanting to look out for you? Read the articles then make up your own mind.”
Through the fury that clouded his thinking, his brother’s concern for him filtered through.
“Fine,” he agreed, his jaw clenched tight.
“I’ll leave you to it. Fee, you might need to read those, too.” As Dylan began to protest, Sage overrode him again. “If my guy could discover this information, bear in mind others could, too. People who might want to cause trouble.”
After Sage turned and left, Fee let out an audible breath.
“Wow, that was intense. What’s it all about?”
Dylan swallowed back the bitter taste that had risen in his throat. “Some information he has on Jenna.”
“Jenna? Really? Should we...?” Her voice trailed off as if she wasn’t sure if going any further would be stepping on his toes.
Dylan sighed. “Yeah, we should. Here,” he thrust half the papers in her direction. “Read.”
Dylan finished reading the article he’d already started, feeling a sense of anger rising against Jenna’s father for his callous behavior toward the women involved. Many of them were widows, women who’d lost their husbands and had sought male companionship, even love, only to find their bank accounts emptied and a pile of debt left in his wake when Jenna’s dad left them. Imagine if something like that had happened to his aunt Marlene? Anger welled inside Dylan like a boiling cauldron.
He resolutely picked up the next article. Daughter In On It? questioned the headline. A photo of Jenna, much younger than she was now and with her head shaven beneath a tight headscarf, dominated the page. Even though she couldn’t have been older than fourteen or fifteen, her beauty was easily apparent—perhaps even more so as she’d had no hair, so that the picture highlighted her large brown eyes and sweet smile.
Dylan’s anger burned into a glowing mass of molten rock as the facts were grimly detailed. Jenna’s father, the so-called Thief of Hearts, had used this photo of her and created an online fund-raising profile, saying she was dying of cancer and that they’d needed funds for her treatment. Dylan could barely believe what was there in stark black-and-white. While it was never proved that Jenna was a willing accomplice, questions still remained as to the depth of her involvement in that specific scam, as well as what had happened to all the money her father had conned out of his targets.
The article further revealed that as a minor, under the care of the state when her father was sent down, Jenna would be put into foster care. That certainly explained how she had arrived in Cheyenne and ended up under Margaret Connell’s roof—even though Mrs. Connell had never been known to foster anyone before then. Dylan reached for the printed single page report that summarized the investigator’s findings. It went into interesting details about her financials. She’d attended the University of Wyoming without incurring any student loans and she’d also used a large cash deposit when buying her own home. A business loan had helped her buy the florist business. On their own, he could understand and accept e
ach point, but the report raised far more questions than it answered. Like, where had Jenna gotten the money to attend university and buy her house?
Dylan reread the paragraph of the second article that talked about the sum of money that had been donated toward Jenna’s “treatment.” It was a hefty sum, reflective of the good will that had been shown by their community, and then abused and stomped on by her father. Apparently, the fund had been augmented by a six-figure donation from the woman Jenna’s father had been known to be seeing at the time. Somehow, though, before the full investigation into her father’s behavior, all that money had been withdrawn from the account set up in Jenna’s name, and no amount of investigation had been able to reveal what had happened to it.
By the time he and Fee had finished reading the papers, a worried frown creased the PR manager’s brow.
“Do you want to can the Q&A this evening?” she asked. “It might be best.”
“It would be a complete break in our usual format. Wouldn’t it raise even more questions if we do that?”
Fee pursed her lips. “You’re probably right. I guess we’ll just have to hope that we can steer off any awkward questions, though I have to admit, I’m worried. As Sage said, if he could get this information, so can anyone.”
Again that sense of being duped hammered at the back of Dylan’s mind. It was information he’d have discovered himself if he’d been more diligent. If he hadn’t been so swift to see only what he’d wanted to see.
“Let’s just deal with it if it arises. Jenna’s involvement in her father’s scams was conjecture only.”
Even as he said it, he felt his own doubts rise in his throat to choke him. Fee worried at her bottom lip with her teeth as she scanned the papers one more time.
“Are you sure that’s how you want to handle it? In fact, are you sure you even still want Jenna there tonight?”
No, he wasn’t. What he wanted was answers from Jenna. Answers he should have had from her before now. The fact she’d hidden all this from him hurt at a level he didn’t want to discuss right now.
“Again, that would probably raise more questions than if she wasn’t there. So, yes, I’m sure,” he said firmly.
“Okay, then. I’ll see you tonight.”
Fee rose and left the office. He’d go to Jenna right now, he decided. He had to talk to her, to ask her for the truth behind this whole story. Determined to have this out with her face-to-face, he started to rise from his chair.
A loud crash sounded out in the kitchen, and within seconds a rapid knocking started at his door.
“Chef! Chef! We have a problem!”
Dylan groaned out loud, knowing that whatever was happening outside was far more urgent than talking to Jenna right now. He had more than a problem, he thought, as he shot from his office and into the kitchen to deal with the latest crisis. He had potentially opened up his whole family to someone who could be an accomplished scammer. One to whom he’d be inextricably connected for the rest of his life through their child. One who’d inveigled her way into his heart so securely that even entertaining the suspicion that she’d been a willing accomplice in her father’s scheme caused a physical pain in his chest.
Sage had cautioned him about racing into this full-on, and Dylan hadn’t listened. Had he been thoroughly duped? Had her playing hard to get all been part of her act? He didn’t want to believe it could be true, but a devil of rationality perched on his shoulder told him he needed to consider all his options before taking this any further. As far as he knew Jenna had lived an exemplary life here in Cheyenne. Finishing high school, attending college, working hard and buying a home and a business. On the surface, it all looked so perfect. Too perfect maybe?
“Chef! We need you.”
The shout spurred him into action. Right now, the kitchen was his priority; unfortunately, just when it looked as if his life was jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Deep down, though, Dylan couldn’t help feeling a sense of betrayal. The other night, when she’d finally accepted his proposal, they’d agreed—no more secrets. And if this wasn’t a breach of that agreement, he didn’t know what was.
Thirteen
Jenna stepped from the car Dylan had sent for her, her gown falling around her in a delicate swirl of fiery-orange. The halter neck and empire waistline drew attention away from her bump, although she doubted she’d be able to continue to hide it for much longer. She thumbed the diamond ring on her finger with a small smile. Once their engagement was public knowledge it would be okay to let the news of their baby leak out.
She ducked her head shyly as some of the assembled media took her photo as she walked toward the front door.
“Name please, miss?” the stylishly suited young man at the door asked, before referring to his clipboard and ushering her through when she’d told him.
Dylan was part of a receiving line in the entrance. She drank in the sight of him in a dark pinstripe suit that looked as if it had been tailored specifically for him.
He was hers. The idea filled her with a sense of completion she could hardly dare believe. She really was the luckiest woman on earth. After all she’d been through, he’d become her light in the darkness. Her true north.
He looked up and she beamed at him, covering the carpeted distance between them as quickly and gracefully as her high heels would allow.
“Dylan, this looks amazing!” she breathed as she reached his side and lifted her face for his kiss.
She was surprised when his lips just grazed her cheek, but put it down to the swell of people pressing behind her as they came through the main entrance.
“I won’t take up your time,” she said quickly. “I’ll leave you to your duties.”
“No, wait just a second.” Dylan caught her by the hand and turned to the man beside him.
“Evan, could you look after Jenna for me? Just until I can get free, okay?”
“Sure, absolutely no problem whatsoever.”
“Jenna,” Dylan continued, “this is Evan McCain, CEO of Lassiter Media. He’s come in from L.A. for this evening. You’ll be in good hands.”
Jenna had recognized the ex-fiancé of Dylan’s sister, Angelica, the minute she’d walked in the door, and said as much.
“It’s good to see you again, Evan. I’m glad you could make it,” she added.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” He smiled, his hazel eyes crinkling at the corners. “So, shall we go and see what the waitstaff are serving on those ridiculously large trays they’re carrying around? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
He offered her his arm and Jenna took it with a smile. She glanced back at Dylan, who was watching her with that little frown between his brows.
“I’ll be fine. Just looking forward to when you’re free,” she said with a small wave.
He gave her a nod and turned his attention to the next newcomers in the line, welcoming the mayor and his wife with his accomplished smile and polite patter. As Evan led her away toward the dining room, Jenna couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss. Aside from getting the message, through Fee Sinclair, that he’d be sending a car for her instead of picking her up himself today, she’d not had a single call from him. That in itself had been unusual.
Still, she silently reasoned, he was under a lot of pressure for tonight. In her call, Fee had mentioned the accident one of his staff had suffered in the kitchen earlier today, and Jenna knew he’d stepped into the breach. Did that explain the undercurrent of tension she’d felt? She hoped that was all it was, and that once he knew everything was running smoothly for tonight he could relax.
There was a loud murmur of activity at the entrance and Jenna turned her head in time to see Angelica Lassiter arrive, accompanied by a striking man. Tall, with dark brown hair and eyes that appeared to miss nothing, he loo
ked incredibly handsome and yet had an air of ruthlessness about him that set her on edge. On his arm, Angelica looked absolutely stunning. Her shoulder-length hair was swept up into an elegant chignon that exposed the delicate line of her neck.
Jenna could feel Evan’s tension as he watched his ex-fiancée’s entrance. “Him? Of all the people she could have come with, she chose him?” he muttered.
“Who is he? I don’t think I’ve seen him around here before,” Jenna said, allowing Evan to turn her away from the newcomers and toward a waitress carrying a tray of canapés.
“No, you wouldn’t have. No disrespect to you, but you don’t move in Jack Reed’s exalted circles.”
Jenna couldn’t help but recognize the bitterness in his voice. Evan continued, “He’s from L.A., and has a hard-earned reputation as a corporate raider—all of which makes me wonder why he’s even here. Unless Angelica did this to deliberately annoy me.”
Jenna’s first instinct was to refute what Evan had said. She’d met Angelica again at Hannah and Logan’s engagement dinner, and Dylan’s sister had been gracious and charming. She certainly hadn’t struck Jenna as malicious, even though there was clearly some undercurrent between Evan and Angelica’s date. But then a tiny voice reminded her of something Dylan had said several days ago, about how upset Angelica had been when her father had cut her out of Lassiter Media in his will, leaving the controlling share to Evan.
“Well,” Jenna said quietly, “I guess whatever the reason, the best thing for now is to make do with my company and show her that you don’t mind who she’s shown up with.”
“Make do? Having your company is far better than making do,” he said with a charming smile that lit up his face. “I apologize if I made it sound any other way.”
Jenna laughed, the sound drawing the attention of the newcomers—in particular Angelica, whose set expression and sharp-eyed glare at Evan showed she was about as happy seeing him here as he was in seeing Jack Reed at her side. A swell of people moved between them, breaking the moment, and Jenna felt a wave of relief sweep through her.
EXPECTING THE CEO'S CHILD Page 12