“Oh. Okay, that’s fine. I can wait. Say hi to Uncle Caleb and Aunt J for me.”
“Will do.”
“Hey, sweetie,” Jacqueline said, sounding breathless. “I had to move away from your father and the boys, so we could talk undisturbed.”
“Is Dad okay? He’s never shown interest in my personal life before.”
“Oh, he has. He’s just good at keeping it all inside until I pull it out of him. He worries about you.”
“Then what made him bring it up this time?”
“He had a scare last week, just a heart murmur, nothing serious.”
Faith’s stomach dropped. “Why didn’t you call me? What did the doctors say?”
“He’ll be fine, sweetie. He had strep throat and didn’t take all the medication, which is typical of him. He starts to feel better and decides he has no need for the medication. I keep telling him to finish the dosage, but does he listen to me? He got rheumatic fever, which caused the murmur. But he’s okay now.”
Faith sighed with relief. “So what’s this about officers he wants me to meet?”
“That part, I’m afraid, is very much part of his grand plan. You won’t believe the number of young men I’ve had to entertain the past few months, all potential husbands for you. I told him it had to stop. You’ll settle down when you’re ready.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. He worries about you and will likely come up with another plan.”
Faith chuckled. “I know.”
“But enough talking about your father. I spoke with Estelle earlier today. I’m so sorry about what happened to your store.”
Faith swallowed. “Does Dad know?”
“No, honey. I didn’t want to be the one to tell him.”
The relief was sweet. “Thank you. I’ll talk to him once things calm down. Otherwise he’ll fly over here to try and fix my problems.”
Jacqueline chuckled. “And end up frustrated when he can’t. You know your father well.”
Faith did. The only thing her father ever failed to fix was her attitude during his courtship of Jacqueline. Frustrated, he’d packed Faith off to California to live with Estelle for the summer. He’d called every weekend, asking her if she was ready to come home. She’d missed him and felt out of place among her many cousins, but once she realized the calls were his way of dealing with his guilt for sending her away, she’d milked the situation. Three months had become a year, then two. Before she knew it, three years had gone by and she was a senior in high school. By then she’d matured enough to be rational and had grown close to Jade and Ashley. During her college years, she’d spend summers with her father, Jacqueline, and the twins. Time healed all wounds and she bonded with his wife, grew to love her half-brothers.
“Kiss the twins for me, Jacqueline. I’ll keep you posted.”
“You do that. Don’t wait too long to talk to your father, sweetie. I don’t like keeping secrets from him.”
“I promise.”
Once she hung up, she dialed Ashley’s number. The conversation was one-sided, but by the time she finished talking, Faith felt like a load had been lifted from her shoulders. Ashley didn’t say anything.
“Ash?” Faith asked tentatively.
“A part of me wants to scream at you for keeping all this to yourself.” Her voice shook. “Putting up with that bastard and never, ever letting anyone know why you really left his company, the thieving, conniving bastard. How could you not tell us, Faith?”
“You are screaming,” Faith reminded her, her eyes smarting.
“I’m not screaming. I’m yelling at you for carrying this burden on your own all these years, for being so stubborn, and impossible, and…and anal.”
Faith looked up and blinked hard to stop the sudden rush of tears. “Anal? Really?”
“Damn right. I could bitch slap you if you were here right now. Jade is going to have a cow when she hears this.”
“Don’t tell her.”
“Oh, watch me, Miss Independent. Oh, watch me.” Ash sniffled.
“I’m sorry,” Faith whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
A sigh then Ash said, “I’m sorry…no, I’m not sorry for yelling at you. The timing sucked, but you deserved it.”
Faith chuckled.
“I’m happy you can find humor at a time like this. We must make him suffer, Faith. Have Lex run him out of town.”
Lex could make it difficult for Sean to do business in this town, but it would pit him against Aunt Viv. “No. I don’t want anyone else involved. I just want to complete my collection, which means coming up with new designs for the jackets and hitting the ground running.”
“What about a sponsor?” Ashley asked.
“I’ll find one,” Faith said. “After this article, I wouldn’t be surprised if GGC came a begging to sponsor me again.” She doubted it, but there was nothing wrong with hoping.
“Fine. Just know I can help if you need it. Now, what are we going to do about Sean and Thanksgiving?” Ashley asked.
“Nothing. He’s Aunt Viv’s guest, untouchable.”
“Please, please, tell Lex everything. He and Eddie can boot him out.”
Faith giggled, visualizing the scene and loving it. “Yeah, right.”
“If you haven’t noticed,” Ashley continued, “she never picks on Lex or Eddie.”
“That’s because she adores them.” Lex could do no wrong in Aunt Viv’s eyes because he looked like his father and her favorite brother Aaron. While Eddie…Eddie said and did things his way even if it pissed anyone off, including his father. The devil’s spawn was Aunt Viv’s nickname for him. When Faith joined the family, she’d assumed that Aunt Viv disliked Eddie, until she noticed that she often gave him more expensive and fun presents.
“You still there?” Ashley asked.
“Yeah. No need to involve Eddie or Lex. I’ll make it clear to Sean that I don’t want a relationship with him, personal or business.”
“I should be there to see that,” Ashley said and sighed.
“What? You’re not coming?”
“Unfortunately, no. Ron’s cousin just got engaged and the family is having a big Thanksgiving thing at his grandmother’s place in Las Vegas. Everyone will be there, even Ron’s mother and her new boyfriend. Nina will throw a fit if we don’t go.”
Faith closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d been counting on her cousins being there for moral support. “I hope Jade is going to make it. I missed her call, but couldn’t get through when I called back.”
“Same here. Faith, if you want me to be there—”
“No, that’s okay.” Faith frowned.
“Join us in Vegas,” Ashley suggested.
That was the second time someone suggested she skip Thanksgiving to avoid Sean. “I can take care of myself, Ash.”
“I know, and honestly, I don’t know how you do it. I just think you need a break from everything. Please, come with us to Vegas.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking of asking Ken to go with me.” As soon as she spoke, she warmed to the idea. Let’s hope he doesn’t prefer the Bahamas.
Ash chuckled. “That sounds wonderful. Give the old birds something to yap about.”
***
Ken disappeared into his home office as soon as he got home. He turned on his computer. While he waited for the system to kick in, he made calls, starting with Barbara.
“We did it, Kenneth,” the woman said. “We showed that odious man he can’t mess with someone under our protection. Did you see the article on Faith in the Times?”
Ken frowned. “No.”
“Sean can no longer discredit her. Everyone is looking forward to seeing her collection. Did you get everything you needed to bust him?”
“We did.” She didn’t need to know about their failed attempt to use Deidre or the truth about Faith’s collection. “I couldn’t have done it without you ladies.”
She giggled. “I’ll tell
the girls. Faith can now finish the gowns she was making for us without that odious man breathing down her neck. Oh, I love happy endings.”
Ken didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Just one last thing, I need a P. I. consultant for my next movie. Can my people call your people?”
“Sure.” Ken chuckled as he hung up. He didn’t know whether he was ready to go Hollywood. He logged on his e-mail account. While he skimmed over messages, he speed-dialed his sister’s number.
“Yeah?” a deep male voice answered.
Ken frowned. “Is Misa there?”
“Who’s asking?”
Ken wasn’t in the mood to play Q&A with his sister’s latest boy toy. “Get my sister on the phone.”
There was silence then Misa said, “Ken?”
“Why do you date such—?”
“Don’t say it,” Misa snapped. “He is superhot, super sweet, and super good to me. What’s put you in such a sour mood?”
“I’m not in a sour mood.” He just didn’t get why his brilliant, Stanford-educated sister always dated Neanderthals. “Do you invest in high fashion?”
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” she quipped, her tone reprimanding. “As for your question, the answer is no.”
“Why not? Isn’t that what venture capitalists do…finance entrepreneurs?”
“High-potential, high-risk biotech, IT, and software startups,” she corrected him, “which you’d know if you bothered to attend shareholders’ meetings or read the minutes I send you. What’s going on? Since when does your interest include high fashion?”
“A designer friend of mine is looking for an investor.” Faith would dazzle them with her business plan.
“She needs a sponsor, big brother, not an investor. Talk to Mom.”
His mother would ask questions he wasn’t ready to answer. “That’s okay.”
“Come on. She thrives on helping struggling artists.”
“Local artists,” he corrected.
“Once again you’re behind times,” Misa said. “Seriously, what do you talk about when you call Mom? She went global a year go. She even has a website.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Who is she? One of your charity cases or someone special? Must be something special. Your charity overtures usually extend to ex-military type with surveillance know-how or jobless nerds.”
“She’s special,” he said to shut her up and immediately regretted it. “I got to go, Misa.”
“Not so fast. You can’t just drop a bomb like that and then run. Who is she? How long have you been seeing her? When are you bringing her home to meet the folks?”
“Bye, Misa.” He hung up, chuckling. He should have known she’d start firing questions at him. His cell phone rang again, but he ignored it when it showed his sister’s number. He logged out of his e-mail account then Googled Gemma Frost.
He hated the fact that he could help Faith financially but she was too stubborn to accept his offer. At least locating her mother’s friend, Gemma Frost, was one thing he could do for her without ticking her off.
***
Faith packed things in her car and headed to West Hollywood. She needed to stay busy, keep her demons at bay the only way she knew how. The front of her store no longer looked like it had been burglarized. The broken glass and the police tape were gone, the giant hole on her window fixed. She unlocked the door, stepped inside and leaned forward to disarm her alarm system.
“Ms. Fitzgerald?” a man said from behind her.
Heart hurtling to her throat, Faith whipped around. The uniform and the logo on his shirt registered. Noble’s man. She’d completely forgotten they were watching the store. “Hi. You scared me.”
“Sorry about that, Ms. Fitzgerald. We weren’t expecting you today.”
“I got a call from Jordan that they were done.” She walked forward, taking in everything. How did they find the original display counters? They even did an amazing job cleaning the insides of the display cases and the surfaces.
Faith realized the security guard was watching her. She smiled. “It’s nice to see my store back to normal again.”
“Mr. Noble asked our tech team to upgrade your security system too. He said you could change the password when you got back.”
“That’s good. I’ll do that after bringing my things inside.”
“I can help if you like, miss.”
“Oh, that’s nice of you to offer. Thank you.” Outside, she opened the back of the car and lifted two dress forms. The guard went for a heavier item.
She spent the next hour fixing her store, placing everything where it belonged. Working helped her push aside thoughts of Sean and Deidre, and the mess that was her life. When she was done, she placed calls, the first three to her workers, another to Jordan, the contractor, and the last to her cousin.
“Whose arm did you twist to get duplicates of the display cases I used before?” Faith teased.
Lex chuckled. “No one. Just made a few phone calls. Sorry Jordan missed the deadline.”
Yeah, by twelve hours. Her cousin was unstoppable when he wanted something done, which was why he was a successful real estate developer. “Today worked just fine for me.”
“Good. We should sit down sometime and talk, Faith.”
Faith frowned. Did he know about Sean? “About?”
“This and that, like your trip back east to Fashion Week. You’ll need to transport your people and collection.”
Not sure where the conversation was headed, Faith shrugged. “Yeah, well, I’m not going to worry about buying tickets and whatnots until next month.”
“You shouldn’t worry about it at all. The jet is yours. Call the pilot when you’re ready with your itinerary.”
A lump settled in Faith’s throat. “Lex, that’s more than generous.”
“It’s nothing. The jet is for family use. Let’s talk soon.”
After she hung up, Faith took a moment to compose herself before walking back to the office to talk to the guard. They went over her new security system, set the password before he left. She did a walk through, spent another half hour rearranging a few things before heading home.
A quick inventory of her fridge and a sigh escaped her. It was time to replenish her groceries. Once again, she grabbed her keys and headed out the door. Like work, selecting different bags of salad, choosing which cans of soups and what cheese to add to her pantry, even watching the deli lady slice turkey breast, added normalcy back to her life.
Back at home, she grilled hotdogs, sliced and added them to cooked macaroni and cheese, added pepper and parsley then placed the mixture in a casserole dish. She sprinkled the top with shredded cheddar and set it in the oven to bake at three-hundred-and-seventy-five.
As Faith sliced French bread and smeared it with butter, sadness washed over her. She had no idea what prompted her to cook her grandmother’s favorite recipe. Going down memory lane alone sucked. She put the knife down and reached for her cell phone.
For a brief moment, she didn’t dial Ken’s number. Who knew she would miss him after not seeing him for only several hours?
She dialed his number and brought the phone to her ear. He picked it up after a few rings. “What are you doing for dinner?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“I’ve cooked my grandmother’s favorite dish and I don’t want to eat alone.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Faith frowned. “Five? Where exactly are you?”
“On my way to your place with our dinner, but I’m about to make a homeless person very happy.”
Faith laughed. It didn’t even cross her mind to be insulted that he’d assumed she’d be available for dinner without calling her first.
CHAPTER 18
Ken lifted the roses and the bottle of wine from the front passenger seat, nudged the car door closed with his elbow, and started for Faith’s door. He knew he’d taken a chance by deciding to stop by her place without
calling first, but after he finished researching Gemma Frost, thoughts of Faith had returned to haunt him. No one should deal with the crap she was dealing with alone.
His breath caught when she opened the door with a breathtaking smile on her lips and a sparkle in her eyes. She was dressed casual, sexy—a pair of skinny jeans and a clingy aquamarine T-shirt.
“Are those for me?” Faith asked.
Blood was slow returning to his head. He offered her the roses and the wine.
“They’re beautiful.” She brought the partially opened blooms to her nose and inhaled. “Hmm, smells good. Thank you. Come on in.”
He followed her into the kitchen. Whatever she was cooking smelled good. “What are we having?”
“It’s a surprise.” She got a vase for the flowers then started setting the table. Ken jumped in, taking the utensils from her hands. He was surprised when she brought out a candle holder and lit the candles, turned off the chandelier in the dining room and waved him to a chair.
Instead of taking the chair, he stopped behind her, slipped his arms around her waist, hugged her and studied her offering—macaroni/cheese/hotdog mix, garlic bread and asparagus tips. Such a simple meal yet he knew it was significant.
“This is nice,” he whispered.
“I can never reproduce Nana’s dishes, but I try.”
He chuckled. “Then let’s enjoy it.”
They took their seats and piled their plates. The main dish was good, the asparagus buttery and crisp, and the red wine he’d brought with him perfect for the meal. He had two helpings before he gave his verdict.
“That was great,” he said, wiping his lips on a napkin.
Faith’s smile told him she liked the compliment even though she just shrugged. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He leaned back, sipped his wine, and watched candlelight dance on her cheekbones. Faith was an exceptionally beautiful woman but he now knew her beauty wasn’t just on the surface. She had depth, inspired Hollywood movers to throw their support behind her and…
Ken frowned. She was toying with the leftovers on her plate instead of speaking. “What is it?”
“What are your plans for Thanksgiving?”
“I’ll be around, unless you decide to go with me to the Bahamas.”
Dangerous Love Page 24