“Maybe, but he saw us. He probably got a picture too.” Any other woman he knew would be hoping the photographer had snapped a picture or two, not Charlie.
Charlie continued walking and didn't stop until they were standing by the car he'd arranged to take her home.
“He'll probably think about it later and decide it couldn't be you. Even if he did take a picture he'll think it must have been a look-alike. After all, why would you show up at the airport with some unknown redhead?” Charlie's tone told him she believed every word she spoke.
For the first time since meeting her, Jake associated her with the word naive. If she thought the fact that she wasn't a celebrity would stop the media, she was in for a rude awakening. Perhaps if he'd shown up with an eighty-year-old man the photographer would second guess himself, but Charlie was a young beautiful woman, more beautiful than she seemed to realize.
“Don't count on it Charlie,” he warned, dropping her bag to the ground and taking a step closer.
Charlie wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he felt her fingers dig into his hair. “I'm not worried about it.”
Jake shook his head but didn't press the issue. “I'll call you tomorrow.” Jake pulled Charlie tight against him relishing the way her body felt against his.
“Sounds good. Have a safe trip back.”
He felt her fingers trailing up and down his neck. Once again Jake found himself contemplating if there was any way he could reschedule his morning meeting. “You too,” he replied before lowering his head so he could kiss her. Though it took all of his self-control he kept the kiss short. “You’d better go now.”
Jake waited until Charlie left and then went back inside to re-board the plane.
Chapter 12
Charlie's cell rang for the third time in the past twenty minutes. A quick glance at the number told her what she'd already suspected. She didn't know the person calling and most likely didn't want to talk to them. Picking up the phone she set it to vibrate. Something she should have done yesterday when the calls first started. But honestly she hadn't thought the calls would still be coming in.
The first few had surprised her, although she supposed they shouldn't have. Jake tried to warn her about what would happen when the media learned about her. She'd thought he was exaggerating. Man, had she been wrong. Not only had reporters called her phone as well as the Victorian Rose's business line, but they'd descended on the bed and breakfast.
With the first few who showed up, she tried to be polite, but her patience wore out fast. By the early evening she'd stopped answering the door altogether. Instead Sean took over that duty. Sean could be intimidating thanks to his size alone, but Sean angry was something else entirely. And she knew for a fact that he'd threatened a few of the more insistent reporters.
Thankfully she hadn't heard the doorbell ring since that morning. As much as she hoped that meant things were settling down, she doubted it. Rather she guessed the reporters were regrouping, just waiting for a better time to strike.
How long could their interest last anyway? Once they learned what little there was to know about her, they'd stop bothering her, right? The questions danced around in her head as she paced from one side of her bedroom to the other. Besides once she returned to Norfolk, it'd be more difficult for them to get to her. While her house wasn't on base, the hospital where she worked was. These reporters wouldn't venture onto a Naval base just to snap a few photos, would they?
When she'd put the question to Jake the night before, he'd told her that nothing was off limits when it came to the media. Then he'd offered to hire a private security guard for her. She'd immediately dismissed his offer, insisting that she could take care of herself.
Charlie crossed her room one more time and grabbed the book off her desk. For a moment she stared at the manila envelope containing her re-enlistment documents. She'd finished filling them out weeks ago, but was now having second thoughts. Maybe tomorrow she'd sit down and really think about what she wanted.
After dismissing her professional future from her thoughts, she settled into the chair near the window. The night before, after talking to Jake, she started a classic Steven King novel and she hoped his master storytelling would distract her at least until Jake called. Their conversations always managed to keep her mind off whatever bothered her.
***
“Do you want to talk about it?” Maureen O'Brien asked when Charlie walked into the back flower garden Friday afternoon.
Charlie shoved her cell phone into her back pocket and shrugged. “Talk about what?” Without waiting for her mom to ask, she knelt down and yanked out a weed. Maybe if she played dumb her mom would leave her alone.
“Something is wrong. I can tell by your expression.” Maureen stopped working and turned to look at Charlie. “And you've been edgy all day.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say everything was fine, but Charlie knew it wasn't. Ever since Jake failed to call her two nights in a row, she'd been on edge. Since he left North Salem, no more than a day had gone between his phone calls. The first day when his call hadn't come she'd chalked it up to his busy schedule. Then on the second day she received a short text that just said can't talk tonight. At the time she didn't question the message. Instead she assumed he would call her today.
For most of the day she fought the urge to call him herself. She didn't want to appear needy. But when four o'clock came and went, Charlie caved and tried his cell. It immediately sent her to voice mail.
“I expected a call and it never came.” Charlie tore out another weed and tossed it on the wagon her mom used for gardening. “It's no big deal.”
She spoke the truth. It just wasn't the whole truth. Right now though it was all she would admit aloud. If she acknowledged the sense of betrayal she felt lurking in the shadows, she would have to admit she had strong feelings for Jake. Something she wasn't sure she'd ever be ready to do.
Her mom didn't say anything, but Charlie could feel her mom's eyes on her. When she was a child her mom had always been able to see exactly what Charlie felt. After the divorce her mom became too focused on other things to really notice her anymore. Yet as Charlie sat there concentrating on yanking out weeds so that her mom could plant new flowers, she sensed for the first time in years her mom could see what was bothering her.
“Have you tried calling Jake?” Maureen asked as she moved closer to Charlie.
“Who said I was talking about him?” Charlie asked as she pulled out another weed with more force than needed.
Maureen wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulders. “You didn't have to. I saw the way you looked at him when he was here.”
She wanted to challenge her mom's statement, but it seemed pointless. Her mom could be almost as stubborn as her so changing her mind would be almost impossible.
“He didn't answer his phone.” Charlie reached for another weed only to realize all the ones in that part of the garden were gone. “Just got a short text last night and nothing since.”
Anxious to keep busy, Charlie moved away from her mom farther down the flower bed to a section her mother hadn't touched.
“What about his office? Did you try there?” Maureen asked as she gathered up her gardening tools and followed Charlie.
Charlie shook her head. “I'm not sure I should.” The thought had entered her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. A call to his office might give the wrong impression. She wanted to keep this relationship or whatever it was between them light and casual. After all, serious entanglements were not her style; or his for that matter. A phone call to his office seemed like something a girlfriend would do.
“Bah.” Maureen waved her hand in the air for extra emphasis. “Unless he said not to call, I don't see any harm in it.
Not once had he told her not to call the office. In fact the first time he returned to Virginia he gave her not only his cell number but also his work number. Still something held her back from using it.
“Why don't you go
in and try him now. I can handle the weeding myself.” Her mom gave her a gentle pat on the leg and proceeded to attack the weeds threatening what was left of her favorite rose bush. “You'll feel better if you do.”
A nagging voice in her head kept telling Charlie that her mom was wrong. “It's late. The office is probably closed.”
In the end Charlie waited another two hours before trying Jake again. Once again her call went straight to his voice mail.
Should she try his office? She tapped his business card against the desk in her room, uncertainty clawing at her. What was the worst that could happen? If he couldn't talk now, he'd tell her.
With her mind made up she punched in the number. After several rings someone answered. “Falmouth Foundation,” a crisp female voice said.
Surprised that someone had answered, Charlie paused for a half-heartbeat before speaking. “I'm calling for Jake Sherbrooke,” she said, her voice just as crisp and businesslike as the woman on the other end of the line.
“He isn't in the office.”
Did that mean he wasn't in now or hadn't been in all day? “Do you know when he'll be back?”
“No. He flew out last night.”
The simple reply made the already growing knot in Charlie's stomach double in size. “Is he away on business?” She didn't think the woman would answer but she asked anyway.
“I'm not at liberty to say. But if you want to leave a message you may. I expect he will be calling in at some point.” The secretary remained businesslike, but Charlie thought she sounded a little less stuffy.
Leave a message? Saying what? “No that's okay. Thanks.” Charlie didn't wait for a reply instead she hit the end button on her phone.
Unable to sit still, she walked to her window. The sky outside glittered with stars and a full moon dominated her view, however her mind was too preoccupied to really appreciate the view tonight. Where had he gone and why couldn't the secretary say. If he'd gone away on official business there wouldn't be any reason to keep his whereabouts a secret. She assumed that meant he'd left for a personal reason. And if that was the case why hadn't he told her? Why keep it a secret from her? Why sneak away?
Was that what he'd done? Sneaked away to be with someone else without the courtesy of telling her things between them were over first. Just like her father had done to her mother?
For the first time in years memories from the day she realized her father wasn't coming home flooded her mind. It'd been a complete shock to her when he left one morning and never came back. When he'd finally sent word a week later that he'd moved to Florida and wanted a divorce, the entire family had been devastated. Nothing was ever the same again.
A few tear drops trailed down Charlie's face as she fought to suppress the memories. Even if Jake had decided to call it quits without a single word she wasn't going to shed any tears over it. It wasn't as if she loved him or anything, she told herself. He'd just been another person passing through her life.
***
Charlie checked her emails then switched over to her normal web browser for any interesting world news. She brought up a story about a new space program initiative when her phone rang. When she checked the caller ID she expected to see Jake's number. Instead she saw her friend and temporary roommate Beth's number.
Beth was perhaps her oldest friend in Norfolk. They'd been transferred to the base a week apart and had both worked at the hospital on base. Beth lost everything when the apartment building she lived in burned down so she moved in with Charlie.
“Did you end things with Jake already? Are you crazy?” Beth asked after saying hello. “Do you know how many women would kill to be in your place?”
For a moment Charlie wondered why she told Beth about Jake in the first place. “If I'm crazy I'm not the only one. What are you talking about?”
For a full minute silence stretched out over the phone. “So you two are still a couple?” Beth asked slowly.
“You make it sound as if we're in high school,” Charlie said exasperated. “We spend time together.”
Dead silence again greeted Charlie's ear.
“If you're near a computer look at Today Magazine's site.”
At the tone of Beth's voice ice began to form around her heart. Without asking anymore questions, Charlie typed in the internet address. Immediately a photo of some popular singer she'd never heard of popped up.
“When you have the site up, scroll down to the second article.”
Charlie moved down to the second article and stared. The man in the photo looked remarkably like Jake and he had his arm around the shoulders of a petite blonde. Charlie forced her eyes away from the picture on the screen and read the headline above it. “Playboy Jake Sherbrooke arrives in London with yet another woman.”
When Jake's secretary said he'd flown out, Charlie assumed she meant that he flew to somewhere in the United States not to another country. And although she didn't have any proof, she'd hoped that he'd only left Virginia for business, but the picture on the screen suggested otherwise. Did she want to read anymore, Charlie wondered as she moved the cursor toward the X in the right hand corner of the web browser? Part of her wanted to shut down the computer and ignore the picture on the screen. Unfortunately her jealous half refused to let her. She'd never been one to shy away from things no matter how difficult.
So instead of closing the link, Charlie read the short paragraph under the picture.
International playboy Jake Sherbrooke arrived today at Heathrow International Airport. He was met by an unknown blond who greeted him with an affectionate hug. The couple then got into a black BMW and drove away. This rendezvous follows his most recent outing to Martha's Vineyard with a redhead who he reportedly took to his sister's wedding last month. And while Prince Charming dates beautiful woman on both sides of the pond, model Blair Peters is expecting his first child.
Below the paragraph there were two pictures. The first was a shot of Blair and Jake at some charity event back in January. The other photo was one of her and Jake at the airport in Boston when they'd returned from Martha's Vineyard.
She read the short caption a second time but the words didn't change. Without bothering to shut down the computer, Charlie slammed the laptop closed, then she pushed her chair back and came to her feet with so much force the wooden desk chair toppled to the floor.
“Are you okay?” Beth said, reminding Charlie that she was still on the line.
“Fine. Why wouldn't I be?” Charlie answered through clenched teeth. “We weren't in a committed relationship.” As she spoke Charlie tried to keep her emotions from entering her voice.
“If you say so.” Beth didn't sound convinced. “Charlie if you want to talk later or anything call, okay?”
With anger surging through every nerve in her body, Charlie paced between her bed and the window. “Don't worry. I'm fine. Thanks for calling. I'll talk to you soon.”
After ending the call, she tossed the phone on her nightstand.
The two-timing jerk was off in England spending time with another woman. Did he expect her to sit around waiting for him to come back? Or did he think so little of her that he didn't feel it was necessary to tell her things were over? Either way she should've known better.
What else should she have expected from someone referred to as an 'international playboy’? And to think she'd believed his little story about how the media had it all wrong!
Grabbing a pillow off the bed, she punched it imagining it was Jake's face. He was probably lying about Blair and the baby too. More than likely the baby was his and he just wasn't man enough to own up to it. Evidently even billionaires could be deadbeat dads just like hers.
Damn! He really was no better than her father. How had she missed it? Had she been so overwhelmed by his good looks and average-Joe act that she hadn't seen the real him? She'd always considered herself a better judge of character than that. Obviously she wasn't. She was no better with men than her mother.
“That's not t
rue. At least I didn't fall in love with him,” Charlie said to herself. Yet somehow the words sounded untrue. If she didn't care about him, then his betrayal wouldn't hurt so much. True, she'd still be pissed but not hurt. “You're not hurt. These are tears of anger.” Charlie wiped the few tears sliding down her face and struggled to keep any more from falling. “That snake isn't worth it.” And if he ever called again she'd tell him what she really thought of him.
***
Charlie got the chance later that night when her cell phone rang. Without even looking she knew it was Jake. Did she want to answer and tell him to go to hell or just let it go to voice mail and not bother calling him back? Both options were appealing.
“Are you going to answer that?” her mother asked from across the kitchen.
Charlie pulled the phone out of her back jeans pocket and looked at the caller ID. Sure enough Jake's number filled the screen. “Be right back,” she said as she marched out of the kitchen.
She waited till she was outside to answer. “Hello.”
“Hey, how's my favorite doctor.”
How could he tease her so affectionately when he'd flown across the Atlantic to be with someone else? “Not interested in talking to you.”
Silence filled the other end of the line and for a second she wondered if he was still there.
“You've got a strange sense of humor.” Jake's voice took on a hesitant tone. “If you're mad because I didn't call sooner, I'm sorry. I've been busy and then there's the time difference.”
“I know how busy you've been. I saw a picture of you and the pretty blond you're so busy with.” A warm breeze blew around her and she could hear the crickets chirping in the grass creating a relaxing environment that was completely at odds with the anger raging inside of her.
“Blond?” Jake asked sounding truly confused. “Charlie I don't know what you're talking about. I'm in England. My cousin …”
“Don't bother feeding me any lines. I should've expected as much from someone like you.” Maybe his lines worked with the other women he knew, but not her.
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