The Princess and the Pauper

by Nancy Bush

  She could sense Bettina coming around to her point of view, though she wouldn’t have been able to say how. It was a woman thing, an intuitive knowledge that she’d reached a part of Bettina on a feminine level.

  “What exactly did your father say to Jesse?” Bettina questioned.

  April’s heart was heavy. “It was a direct challenge.”

  “How direct?”

  “He said he’d crush him,” April admitted glumly.

  “My God.” Bettina’s eyes widened in disbelief. She wagged her head to and fro.

  “I know, I know.” April paced the length of the room. “I’ve been tearing myself apart all morning. I haven’t even talked to my father yet. Believe me, it’s not something I’m looking forward to.”

  Bettina crossed to wear April stood, the heels of her elegant shoes leaving tiny tracks in the thick carpet. “I don’t mean to be the voice of doom, but can’t you see? It will never work out. Jesse’s not that forgiving.”

  April’s hopes died a slow, painful death. She’d known even before she spoke to Bettina. Now she couldn’t meet the other woman’s gaze.

  “I suppose if I had a child all to myself, it would be difficult to share,” Bettina said, apparently feeling her way. “But it might be simpler to let Jesse have what he wants. You don’t have to worry. He wouldn’t hurt your daughter. He just wants to know her.”

  April was aghast. “I know he won’t hurt her!”

  “Then…?”

  She regarded Bettina miserably. No one understood. Not Jordan, nor Bettina, nor even Jesse – especially Jesse… She wanted so much more than for Jesse just to be a weekend father. She wanted Jesse. And she knew, though she hated to admit it, that she’d hoped Eden would be the bridge that brought them together. She hadn’t realized how closely she’d held that hope to her heart until Bettina shattered it.

  “The necklace Jesse gave Eden is beautiful,” April managed to say, as Bettina, recognizing the conversation was over, headed for the door.

  “Thank you.”

  “You do excellent work. Hollis’s is lucky to have you.”

  Bettina hesitated, seemed about to say something more, then shook her head, darting April a glance mixed with pity and sorrow. “Goodbye, April.”

  April listened to her departing footsteps. She rubbed her cheeks with her hands, feeling numb. Gathering her courage, she walked back to her father’s office.

  He was seated at his desk, reading one of the trade magazines. Hearing April’s approach, he glanced up, his stern lips breaking into a tentative smile. “Well, hello. I wasn’t certain you would be talking to me today.”

  “I shouldn’t be. What you did last night was unforgivable. If I were Jesse, I would be furious.”

  “I’m sure he is furious.” Her father was unperturbed. “But he has to know that he can’t interfere. A person like that must be told at the onset.”

  April felt like she was staring at a stranger. “I left home because you made remarks like that about Jesse last time he was in my life. You can’t make those kind of judgments. ‘A person like that?’ You don’t even know him!”

  He slammed down the magazine. “I know enough to recognize trouble when I see it. All he’s caused you is grief, April. He’ll do the same for Eden.”

  “Eden is his daughter!”

  “You’re twenty-eight years old. I would have thought you would have learned something by now. He’ll never be socially right for you.”

  April stared at her father in dismay and disgust. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “I’ve waited for you to come to your senses. You defied me for years, and it was painful for both of us. It was pure hell. And now, just when we’ve found each other again, you’re letting a man like Cawthorne come between us.”

  “A man like—” April choked, cutting herself off. “His name is Jesse!”

  “Your sister married someone she can be happy with. You’ve wasted all this time, remembering one past indiscretion as something more important. Put it behind you, April.”

  Suddenly she remembered the escalating fights they’d had when she’d told her father she was pregnant and that Jesse was the father. She could be eighteen all over again, being given a lecture on how to run her life. “I love Jesse,” she said steadily, admitting it aloud to him for the first time in years.

  “How can you?” her father thundered, crashing his fist onto the desktop in frustration. “What is romantic love, anyway? A myth.”

  April fixed him with angry, furious eyes. “I know what I feel.”

  “I won’t have him as a son-in-law. Choose him, and you’re out of the family.”

  There was a roaring in April’s ears. For the second time in her life her father was using his power against her – by pulling out the familial rug from beneath her feet.

  “Then I’m out of the family,” she said hollowly, turning as if in a fog.

  “Don’t be a fool, April. Do you know what that means? I’ll disinherit you. You won’t have anything.”

  She would have laughed if she could have trusted herself not to cry. She didn’t have anything, anyway. She certainly didn’t have Jesse. “You accused Jesse of trying to insinuate his way into our family. Of being after money! I’d say you’re the one worried about financial status. Consider this my notice of resignation. I won’t be back.”

  She crossed the threshold of his office before the first tears started to fall.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It was all well and good to stand on principle, but it didn’t put food on the table, April decided two weeks later as she was walking down a street in Old Town. Early May sunshine, unseasonably warm, fell onto her head and shoulders, forcing her to remove her jacket. Even the white silk of her blouse felt like a tremendous barrier, and she almost longed for one of the outrageous, strapless tops she could see slithering down the torsos of Touché’s window mannequins.

  The kazoo announced her entrance and the girl with the short spiky hair – Martha, April remembered – grinned at her. “He’s in the back,” she said a jerk of one purple-lacquered thumbnail.

  “Thanks.”

  Jordan was dressed rather outrageous for himself: in shiny suit pants and a body hugging, black T-shirt. He was staring down at some ledgers, however, and April smiled at the incongruity.

  “Have a seat, if you can find one,” he said, glancing up.

  She chose an overturned box, smoothing her palms on her skirt. She cleared her throat, uncertain how to begin, but Jordan snapped the ledger shut and took the initiative.

  “So you want a job, huh?” He smiled.

  “You’re a prince to even consider me,” April admitted humbly.

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You were doing a great job at Hollis’s. You know it, and your father knows it.”

  “My father doesn’t know it.”

  Jordan, who was aware only that April had suffered a major falling out with her family, eyed her sympathetically. “Tell me this whole thing doesn’t have anything to do with Jesse.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with Jesse.”

  “Hmm. You’re lying.”

  April sighed. “Yes, I am.”

  He laughed. “You’re hired, you know. You didn’t even have to ask. And yes, I’m in the process of buying this store and the one on the other side of the river.”

  “I didn’t know there was another Touché on the eastside,” April said in surprise.

  “It was just an idea three weeks ago. It’s turned into reality since I got the go-ahead from the bank.”

  “Jordan, that’s wonderful!”

  “So you see why I need you so desperately? Your being, er, let go from Hollis’s was providential for me. Come on, I’ll show you around. We’ll talk salary later over dinner.”

  “Thank you.” April’s throat tightened.

  Jordan glanced at her perceptively. “It’s been a tough time for you, hasn’t it? Never mind. I’ll try to take your mind off it, seeing
as my family’s partly to blame…”

  The tour of Touché took less than an hour; it wasn’t very big. The scope of Jordan’s plans for expansion took the rest of the day; he had very aggressive and innovative ideas. By the time seven o’clock rolled around, April’s head was whirling. She hadn’t realized how stunted Jordan had been, even at Hollis’s, and for the first time she clearly saw his potential.

  Two hours later, she was sipping her third banana margarita at Casa Mañana and squinting at Jordan, who was looking decidedly fuzzy. It was a celebration. She and Jordan were working together. April had some savings – courtesy of dear old Dad over the past year — that she could maybe even opt for partnership. But she was getting ahead of herself. She was lucky enough just to have a job.

  A sharp pang of regret pierced the happy haze of alcohol. She wasn’t going to think about her father now. Even her mother’s phone call, begging her not to listen to his angry edict, hadn’t alleviated April’s pain. She wasn’t going to let him ruin her life.

  And she wasn’t going to let Jesse, either.

  “Where do you think Jesse is?” Jordan asked, as if somehow divining her thoughts.

  “Who cares?” April stuck her nose back into her drink. “Jesse is an arrogant, insufferable, ego–egotist with an authority problem.”

  “You sound just like Bettina,” Jordan said and laughed.

  April suddenly felt melancholy. She rested her chin on her palm and sighed. “He’s caused me more misery…”

  “Love sucks,” he decreed.

  “You really feel that way? My father says love is a myth.”

  Jordan considered. “No. You love Jesse.”

  “Have you ever been in love? Seriously, I mean?”

  Jordan reached across the table and clasped her hand. His grin was lopsided, and April realized he was in even worse shape than she was. “Love is overrated. Now, if you want to talk about lust, that’s one I can relate to. I have been in lust more times than I can count.”

  She smiled at him, wishing intensely for a moment that Jordan had been the man she’d fallen in love with.

  Jesse found April and Jordan staring into each other’s eyes. He could see the back of April’s shoulders, her black hair shimmering like a soft veil, her hands within Jordan’s. The look on his brother’s face made him go cold.

  That feeling was instantly displaced by a wave of resentment and anger – which propelled him to their table.

  Jordan glanced up and blinked in surprise. “Jesse!”

  April’s reaction made him die a little inside. She jerked back, a frightened look in her blue-green eyes. “How did you find us?” she asked.

  “Martha told me.” Jesse was terse. He’d expected to find Jordan alone.

  “Well, then you can join the celebration,” Jordan said magnanimously. “April and I are celebrating our new relationship.”

  Jesse’s throat grew tight. He gazed down at April’s bent head. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “Sit down,” Jordan told him, gesturing to the side of the booth where April sat. Jesse caught the daggers of fury April’s eyes were shooting at Jordan, but his brother merely lifted his brows in all innocence. April scooted way over to the edge of the booth, and sighing inwardly, Jesse sat down beside her.

  Her skirt brushed his hip. With a small tug she pulled it back, creating more havoc when her efforts caused it to flip upward, exposing her thigh. Jesse caught a glimpse of taut skin in silk stockings before he jerked his gaze away. His reaction was immediate and infuriating, and he just hoped she wouldn’t notice. He gritted his teeth.

  “April has been released from duty at Hollis’s,” Jordan explained a bit thickly.

  “What does that mean?” Jesse swung his attention to April.

  She sipped carefully from the frothy concoction with the fruity banana scent, as if it were a task that required intense concentration. Her hand was trembling. “What?”

  “What does that mean? You’ve been released from duty?”

  “I’m not working for my father anymore. I’m working for Jordan.”

  Jesse was incredulous – and suffused with overwhelming relief. “Is that your new relationship?” he asked his brother dryly.

  “As a matter of fact.” Jordan seemed to be enjoying having the upper hand.

  “What happened?” Jesse asked.

  April finished her drink, setting it down with the slight unsteadiness of someone who had a bit too much to drink and was trying to prove she was still sober. “I’m not really sure whether I quit, or he demanded my resignation. I do recall talk of being cut out of my inheritance.”

  Jesse went utterly still. “Why, April?”

  She slid him a defiant look. “You know why.”

  “Because of me?”

  “Did you really think I could continue on as if nothing had happened, after what he said to you?” April was incensed. She looked to Jordan for support, but he merely gazed at Jesse as if he were being incredibly dense.

  Jesse was stunned. April had chosen him over her father’s objections? He could scarcely believe it.

  “Come on, big brother,” Jordan said affably, snapping his fingers for the waiter. “I’ll get you a drink. You look like you could use one.”

  By the time the three of them left the bar, Jordan was in no shape to drive. Jesse, who had gulped a first drink, then sipped a second, was feeling remarkably sober. His thoughts were clear and sharp. He called Jordan a taxi, then offered to drive April home himself.

  “Are you able?” she asked him cautiously.

  “Mmm.” he cupped her elbow with one hand and led her into the soft, May night.

  “I could call a taxi, too.”

  “Where’s your car?” When she motioned in the general direction, Jesse, who had first-hand experience with this area of town, frowned. “You shouldn’t park that far away from Touché. It’s not safe here.”

  “It’s the only car park around,” April said airily, frowning at him for acting so proprietary. Then she stumbled, her hand connecting with his board-hard stomach. Jesse swept in a breath. When his arm encircled her narrow waist, the warm scent of her skin assailed his nostrils.

  Jesse was silent on the drive back to her house. He was astounded by the knowledge that she’d walked out on her father, and even more amazed that it had been over him. For the first time he wondered if his initial assessment of her character had been warranted. There was more to April Hollis than he let himself believe – than he’d wanted to believe.

  She was fishing through her purse for her keys, and Jesse had to hold them in front of her nose. “Oh,” she said with a breathless little laugh. “I forgot you had them.”

  He followed her inside, amused at how she tried to pull herself together and appear in control for the babysitter. When April offered to drive the girl home, she shook her head and said it was only a short distance.

  Jesse watched the girl hurry down the footpath that curved alongside the roadway; in this exclusive neighborhood there was probably little chance of something happening to her. Still, he kept his eye on her until he saw her run up the steps of the home at the far end of the block.

  April had taken off her shoes and was standing on the stairway, one hand on the rail, peering down at him. “I guess you’ll have to take my car to get home,” she said.

  “I guess so.”

  “Mom?”

  They both turned at the sleepy voice from the top of the stairs. Eden was weaving back and forth on bare feet, rubbing her eyes. April climbed the rest of the stairs, and Jesse followed at a more leisurely pace. He stood back a few steps, enjoying the sight of his child.

  His child.

  “I’m home, sweetheart,” April said, bending to give Eden a hug and kiss.

  Eden squinted at Jesse. “Thank you for the necklace,” she said. To his amazement she held out her arms to him for a hug and after a moment’s stunned immobility, Jesse pulled her into an embrace. He was overwhelmed by her sweet child’s sc
ent and the soft limbs that wound around his neck so unselfconsciously. A moment later she released him, heading back to bed much as a sleepwalker would.

  April was staring at him. She seemed as surprised as he was. “You know I would never keep her from you,” she said. Before he could answer, she hurried after Eden.

  Jesse was glad of the reprieve. He drew in a sharp breath and felt a moment of keen frustration. He’d missed a lot, he realized. He’d wasted years of his life fighting different foes, trying to right all the wrongs. Had it all been an excuse to battle the aspects of his own character he couldn’t stand?

  April returned, her footsteps silent on the thick, luxurious carpet. She, too, weaved a bit on her feet, although her condition was the result of alcohol consumption rather than sleep.

  She’d never looked more beautiful to him. The light from her bedroom shaded her face, deepening the hollows, softening the curves. She seemed at a loss for what to say.

  “I think I’ve had too much to drink,” she finally remarked.

  “Let me help you.”

  Uninvited, he followed her into her bedroom. April curled up on the satin coverlet with a soft sigh, her skirt swirling around her hips. He had so many questions to ask her, and hardly knew where to begin. “April,” he said huskily, sinking beside her, his hand involuntarily following the curve of her calf.

  “You thought I was involved with Jordan, didn’t you? Just for a minute,” she said, drawing her lips into a slow smile.

  “I didn’t want to think it, but you two were pretty chummy.”

  “Why didn’t you want to think it?”

  “You know why,” he said.

  “Do I?” Her eyes, which had been half-closed, now opened wider, regarding him somberly. “The last I heard, you hated me.”

  With a moan of frustration, Jesse gathered her into his arms. “What do you do to me, Princess?” he asked rhetorically, kissing her forehead, her temples, her eyes.

  Her breath escaped on a soft sigh. “You don’t even like me, remember?”