by Helen Lacey
“God, no,” he replied. “I’ve never believed that monogamy is a big price to pay when you’re in a committed relationship. So for me, it was a deal breaker. But I would have raised the child with her, even though we weren’t together anymore. However, that’s not what she wanted to hear. That’s when she said the baby wasn’t mine and that she’d only married me for my money. She said that it didn’t matter how big my bank balance was, I would always be working class. And that I would never be good enough for her. That I would never be successful enough. Never rich enough. After that, what ensued was a very bitter and very ugly divorce that cost me a lot of money and my pride and eventually robbed me of my ability to trust anyone.”
It was the first time he’d admitted it out loud. And the first time he’d told anyone other than his attorney how bitter and recriminatory things had become between himself and his ex-wife. But he wanted Valene to know what he was feeling. And why he’d kept the truth from her about the ranch and his considerable wealth.
* * *
Val stared at him, feeling the connection between them with a blistering intensity. Her head was jumbled with so many emotions—compassion and understanding and then rage and resentment toward the woman who had hurt him so badly.
But that still didn’t absolve Jake of his decision to lie to her.
“And the child?” she asked.
“She lost the baby. The last I heard she was living in New Orleans.”
“She broke your heart?”
He shrugged. “More like my spirit.”
Val pressed her knees together. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because you wanted my story.”
“I wanted your story weeks ago,” she said and got to her feet. “Before the feelings started.”
“I couldn’t,” he admitted. “I didn’t know you well enough. I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
“Trust me to do what?”
He stood and paced the room for a few seconds, seemingly oblivious to Bruce dancing around his feet. “To like me for me,” he said softly. “To want me...for me.”
Val couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Insecurity. Vulnerability. Things she knew a man like Jake would consider a weakness.
“You thought I might only be interested in your bank account, and that’s why you didn’t tell me who you really were?”
He shrugged, his broad shoulders sagging. “I had to be sure.”
Val heard the pain in his words, overwhelmed by the reality of what he was feeling. After Diego, she’d also questioned her worth, and she hadn’t experienced anywhere near the betrayal that Jake had. But she still didn’t entirely understand his feelings, considering she came from the Fortunado family.
“I never hid who I was from you, Jake,” she said quietly. “I might not have been shouting my family tree from the rooftops, but it was never a secret. My family is well off and—”
“In trouble,” he added and then shrugged again.
Val’s spine straightened. Suddenly she understood him completely. “You didn’t trust me because you believed my family’s business is in financial trouble and that somehow I might be a threat to your precious bank balance.”
“I couldn’t be sure.”
Her disbelief turned to anger. “Are you that self-absorbed, Jake?”
“Of course not. I’m not saying this to hurt you, Valene. You wanted the truth,” he reminded her. “This is it. I have trust issues, okay? Big trust issues. But I have genuine feelings for you and I don’t want to—”
“Genuine feelings?” she echoed. “Yes, I can tell. I can feel every one of those feelings each time you insinuate that my family and I are after your money.”
“That’s not what I said,” he remarked, clearly frustrated. “You’re mixing up my words. I care about you. I want to pursue our relationship further. I want to date you. I want to make love to you and wake up next to you. I want all those things, Valene. And I’m hoping that we can have them now that we’ve cleared the air.”
“Cleared the air?” She laughed loudly. “Is that what you think? For the record, the air is not cleared. It’s about as hazy as it gets. My family doesn’t need your money.”
He sighed heavily. “I’m not trying to insult your family.”
“Maybe you’re not, but you’re doing a great job, regardless.” She checked her watch. “You need to leave now.”
He looked skeptical. “Is your date running late?”
“No, I’m sure he’ll be on time as always.”
She wasn’t about to tell him that her parents were picking her up and they were going out to dinner together. Jake had no right to assume anything about her. He’d done enough of that already!
“Please don’t go out with another man...not while we’re in the middle of this.”
Pity for the obvious anguish in his voice quickly took hold of her. “It’s not that kind of date. If you must know, I’m meeting my parents for dinner. But I still want you to leave.” She gave him the takeout food she’d placed on the counter. “Go home, Jake. I need some time to digest all this information.”
“When can I see you again?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“I don’t want this to be the end of us, Valene.”
She didn’t want that either...not really. But she was hurting through to her bones.
“Good night, Jake.”
Once he was gone, Val sagged against the back of the door, propped up on knees she had to lock into place. Damn his gorgeous hide. She shouldn’t have let him in. She shouldn’t have listened to his explanation. Because now she was more conflicted than she was before.
The problem was, Val was as much in love with Jake Brockton as she’d ever been.
And she was pretty sure he knew it.
Chapter Twelve
Valene didn’t hear from Jake for three days. Three of the longest days of her life. She knew he was giving her space, exactly as she’d requested, but she couldn’t believe how much she yearned to hear the sound of his voice, or taste his kiss, or feel his breath against her skin.
On Monday he sent her flowers, lots of them—the store-bought variety—which irritated her to no end, even though all the women in the office thought it was hopelessly romantic. On Tuesday it was a stuffed toy in the shape of a bulldog, and Wednesday it was a poster from her favorite zombie television show. Even Maddie sighed a little at his efforts.
“Since when did you become the president of Jake’s fan club?” she queried in the lunchroom when her sister asked if she’d seen him.
“I’m not,” Maddie replied. “Just wondering how you feel about him at the moment.”
“Angry,” she replied. “Hurt. Disappointed. He truly thought I would be after his money.”
“Well,” Maddie said and shrugged, “people are often motivated by a lot less.”
Val’s gaze narrowed. “What are you suggesting, Maddie, that I simply forgive him and move on?”
“Maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”
Val stirred extra sugar into her coffee. “I’m not so sure you’d be as forgiving of Zach if you were in my situation.”
Maddie rested her hip against the countertop. “Do you remember when Dad pitted Zach and me against one another for the CEO position?”
“Of course.”
“Do you remember how I thought Zach had deliberately gone behind my back with a client?”
Val remembered the whole situation. It was the first time she’d witnessed her usually reserved sister at the mercy of her emotions. “I remember.”
“And of course, that wasn’t the case. But I jumped to conclusions based on the facts I believed I knew.”
“It’s hardly the same scenario,” Val pointed out. “For one, Zach was crazy in love with you.”
Maddie’s brows rose. “And y
ou don’t believe Jake is in love with you?”
“I think he wants me,” she admitted, hurting all over. “I think the sex is great and we get along and we became friends and enjoy spending time together and somehow that started to feel like more. But he lied to me, over and over. I believed he was someone else. In all that time when we were getting to know one another, I thought he was a certain kind of man, and he’s not. He’s rich and successful, and as Dad pointed out, he could buy us out ten times over.”
“You almost sound as though you’d prefer he be a penniless ranch hand.”
Val sighed. “I’d prefer he was honest from the beginning. I’d prefer that what we had was real and not simply Jake moving me around like a piece on a chessboard. It feels like Diego all over again.”
“Except that Jake isn’t Diego,” Maddie reminded her. “He hasn’t asked for anything from you other than you. What are you so scared of facing, Val?”
“The truth,” she said dully. “I was duped. Made to look foolish.”
“In whose eyes?”
“Mine,” she admitted.
“So, your reaction is about pride?”
Val swallowed the heat in her throat. “It’s about value. How I value myself. And that I’m not just little Valene, the spoiled daughter of Kenneth Fortunado, who will tolerate anything because I’m compliant and good-natured and easily manipulated. I know I’m not going to change the world, Maddie. I’m not extreme—I’m not passionate about causes like Schuyler is or driven by a need for success like you are. I’m middle-of-the-road. I’m reliable and predictable in the feelings department. I’m the person who always buys an extra gift on the holidays just in case someone unexpected turns up. I’m the person who will always be the designated driver on a night out. I’m the person a gold-digging creep like Diego would target, because I am gullible and have an insatiable need to be liked. I’m the person a man like Hugh would want to be with, because I will never be chaotic or unpredictable.”
“And Jake?”
“Honestly,” she replied, “I have no idea why Jake is attracted to me.”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“I’m not sure I want to hear the answer.”
Maddie reached out and unexpectedly hugged her. “You’re strong and beautiful and kind, and being around you is like balm for the soul, Val. That’s why Jake is attracted to you. It’s why we all love you. Why we all need to be around you. You make our lives better. You make the world better.”
Val’s eyes filled with tears. “I love him, Maddie.”
Her sister squeezed her tightly. “I know you do.”
“I just don’t know if I can forgive him.”
“Well, the only way you’re going to find out is if you talk to him.”
Val knew Maddie was right. When she returned to her office, she stared at the flowers for a few minutes. It took about an hour of emotional yo-yoing before she garnered the courage to grab her phone.
I think we should talk. V.
The text reply came back in about ten seconds.
Love to. Tell me when. J.
She took a breath and sent another message.
Coffee. Tomorrow. Eleven. You know the place. V.
He replied with a thumbs-up emoji. They had a date. It would be make or break. Being in love with Jake was one thing—it was out of her control—but forgiveness was harder. Because if she did forgive him for deceiving her, she’d open herself up to vulnerability and potential heartbreak. It was a giant leap for Val. Being with Diego, and even Hugh, had switched off something inside her. Diego had used her. Hugh had admitted he didn’t love her but she was suitable wife material. She thought about Jake’s words about being wanted for who he was, not his bank balance, and Val understood. Neither of her previous relationships had been about her. For Diego, it was the money, for Hugh, her family tree. The realization had left her with envy in her heart when her two sisters had found love. Not jealousy—because she wasn’t that mean-spirited and she truly adored both Maddie and Schuyler—but she knew she wanted the same kind of deep connection with someone. The way Zach adored Maddie, the way he relaxed her often prickly defenses through love and commitment and support. And the way Carlo clearly loved Schuyler more than life itself, revering her craziness, keeping her grounded. It’s why she’d logged on to the dating app. Why she’d punched in her details and opened herself up to the possibility of meeting a man that a computer program insisted was her perfect match.
And she’d met him.
Hardworking, successful, strong, funny, a man who possessed a strict moral compass. A man who cared for the people around him, who’d quit college to protect his family, who’d built a business from the ground up using sweat and smarts and steely determination.
Too bad he’d also deceived her like the lousy rat he was.
When Val walked into the coffeehouse the following morning, she realized she was more nervous than when she’d done the same thing a month earlier.
A lot had happened since then.
The place was empty except for someone ordering at the counter and a young couple sitting at a table in the back. Val looked around, seeing no sign of Jake, and walked toward the same booth where they’d sat on their first meeting.
A few minutes later, Jake strode through the doors. He looked so gorgeous, so tall and broad and familiar. He spotted her immediately and headed for the booth.
“Mornin’,” he said and sat down.
A waiter approached and took their order, and once the young man left, Val spoke.
“Thank you for meeting me.”
He met her gaze. “It’s good to see you. How are you?”
“Okay. You?”
“Better for seeing you,” he said candidly. “I have some news from the shelter. It looks as though Digby will get his own family.”
Val’s heart rolled over. “I’m so glad.”
“See, sometimes everyone does get their happily-ever-after.”
She placed her hands on the table. “Thank you for the zombie poster.”
He grinned. “My pleasure.”
“The flowers and stuffed toy were a bit over-the-top.”
He shrugged. “I just want to make sure you keep thinking about me.”
Val made a face. “I don’t think I could stop thinking about you even if I tried. But I’m still mad at you.”
“I know.”
“However, I’m trying to be a grown-up about it,” she admitted. “I’m trying to keep things in perspective.”
“Like how?”
“Like, I know you didn’t tell me who you were because you didn’t want to be judged...but by not telling me, you were judging me. And my family. Something I take very personally.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you, Valene.”
Val heard the earnestness in his voice, took a breath and was about to speak when they were interrupted by the waiter with their coffees. After he left, she said, “Okay, let’s take a small step and have a do-over.”
“A do-over?”
“Yes.” She held out her hand. “Hi, my name is Valene Fortunado. I’m twenty-four, single, I work in my family’s business, where things have been a little tough recently. I live in a condo my father bought for me, I have a dog called Bruce, and I once paid twelve hundred dollars for a pair of shoes. I’m spoiled and have an opinion about pretty much everything.”
He grinned as he shook her hand. “I’m Jake Brockton. Thirty-two, divorced, with major trust issues. I own a very successful ranch outside Fulshear and worry that I’m going to be wanted for my money and not myself.”
“See,” Val said with a fake smile. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
“Harder than you can possibly imagine.”
“Don’t keep things from me again, Jake. Trust goes both ways.”
“I know,” h
e said quietly. “I’m learning to let go of the past, Valene.”
She nodded. “I understand. All my life I’ve been overprotected and looked after. It’s as though my family doesn’t believe I can handle the hard stuff. But I can,” she assured him. “I can handle whatever I need to. I can fight fires and slay dragons—and of course I don’t mean that in the literal sense, but you get the drift. I know my parents treat me differently because I’m the youngest, and in many ways, I appreciate being shielded from the world...but sometimes I wish everyone in my family would treat me as though I am a grown-up and able to fully contribute in a meaningful way.”
“You think they don’t?”
“I think I got the job at Fortunado Real Estate as a way of keeping me close. My parents were worried that I was planning on going to college out of state—which was never the case. I love Houston and I love being close to my family. But still, sometimes I’m smothered by their need to keep a watchful eye on everything I do.”
“Family is all that matters, Valene, and if they smother you, it’s only because they care.”
“That’s a nice sentiment, Jake, but I wouldn’t expect a self-made man to understand.” She laughed humorlessly. “You know, the irony is, my father would really like you.”
“I’d like to meet him. And your mom.”
Val took a breath. “Okay. Friday night. My parents are having a family get-together. Schuyler and Carlo are driving in from Austin, and my brother Everett and his wife, Lila, will be there—I think I told you that he’s a doctor. And my other brother Gavin and his fiancée, who I haven’t seen since Maddie’s wedding last month. He’s a workaholic lawyer. Plus Maddie and Zach.”
“Will I be there as your date?”
“I haven’t decided,” she replied. “To be honest, I haven’t decided if I’ll forgive you, either.”
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “I think for both our sakes you should. You know, I haven’t forgotten what you said to me at the ranch last week.”
Val knew immediately what he was referring to. “That was a heat-of-the-moment thing. I was angry and worked up and I can’t be blamed for things that might have been said rashly and without proper consideration.”