“No. But he said he would if you wanted him to. I can’t go into details, but it would complicate things for him.”
“You mean he’d have to pay back the money?” I asked.
“You know about that?”
I nodded. “Not from him, but yes.” I scanned the paper, but I didn’t read the words. I was trying to figure out what Mo would want. I looked at Jeannette. “How did he seem when you saw him? Was he relieved to have me gone?”
Jeannette frowned. “I’m his lawyer, too. I can’t really share what we discussed except that he told me that if you wanted this, he’d sign.”
“But it would hurt him financially.”
She put her forearms on the table and leaned forward. “It would hurt him, yes. I think the financial part was secondary.”
What did that mean? I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t stop hope from blooming again that maybe he loved me.
“I don’t like coming between my father and Mo,” I said. “But there isn’t anything I can do that won’t hurt one or the other.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Funny, Mo said something similar.”
“He did?”
“I got the impression he didn’t like that you were in the middle, or that he was hurting your relationship with your father.”
My eyes filled with tears. “Of course he would. My father, though…he doesn’t see that.”
“Look, when you’re between a rock and a hard place, you have no choice but a difficult one. At that point, maybe you also consider what it is you want. Mo is significantly older than you—”
I glared at her. “I don’t care.”
“He’s also your boss and could get an ethics investigation.”
I didn’t want that.
“Then there’s this crazy marriage, which not only makes Mo and your dad look bad but also I could quite possibly lose my license over it since I had an idea that it wasn’t legit.”
“You’re not helping.” I sagged back.
“You could tell me it was legit,” she said.
I stared at her for a moment, feeling like she was trying to lead me somewhere, but I wasn’t sure I knew where.
She huffed out a breath. “Do you love him?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Then, why are you here?” She said in an exasperated tone. “You’re an adult.”
“My father said he’d ruin Mo,” I said. But even as I said it, I finally understood what Tucker had been trying to tell me. I was giving away my power to my father because I still felt like his child. If I wanted to be treated as an adult, I needed to take my power.
“Listen, there’s no doubt that there are things in this situation that won’t look great for Mo, although the age thing is the least of it. But the same could be said about your father, or even you.”
“Me?”
“Gold digger.”
“No. I don’t care about that.” I pressed both my hands on the tabletop. “And I won’t sign these because I don’t want my father to hurt him financially.”
“It doesn’t matter whether the marriage stays intact. You’re not living with him as his wife. That is cause enough for him to have to return the money or be charged with fraud.”
“What? No. I’ll go back. If he’ll let me stay with him, he can keep the money, right?”
She sat back and studied me. “You know, when Mark and I got together, it was clear from day one that he was my life mate. I don’t understand you people who dance around it. Why don’t you just tell him you love him?”
I looked down. “He…he doesn’t love me, and he worried about my father and the age. I don’t want to make it harder for him.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. If you two ever end up in a happily ever after, it will be a fricking miracle.” She stood. “Life’s too short, Brooke. You’re young. You have a lot to learn and experience. Trust me when I say, if you want something, go get it. You can’t live your life trying to please your dad or Mo.”
She reached for the paper, but I slapped a hand on it. Then I picked it up and tore it in two, feeling my personal power grow.
She smiled. “That’s a start.”
I left the paper on the table and walked with her to the door. “Thank you, Jeannette.”
“You’re welcome.” She headed out to her car.
As I watched her leave, I considered leaving, too. I’d told my father last night what my intentions were. But I decided to stay. This time, when I talked to him, I wouldn’t be reacting to him, he’d be reacting to me. I was going to assert myself and accept whatever he did. If he couldn’t forgive, Tucker was right, that was on him. And then I’d find Mo and do the same. Even if I lost them both, I’ll know I had tried. I’d been true to myself.
33
Maurice
I was in the back bed of my old truck, which was weird because I sold that truck after I graduated from college and moved back to Salvation to help my father run the ranch. I was engaged to Shelley at the time, and she’d insisted I needed a nicer ride.
Shelley wasn’t the woman lying in the back bed, gazing up at the stars with me now, though. It was Brooke. And I wasn’t in high school anymore. Neither was Brooke, which was a good thing because I was touching her. Everywhere. I couldn’t seem to get enough of her. And where I wasn’t touching her, my mouth was on her. Her lips, her neck, her tits, her belly.
Overhead the stars twinkled. Near us, the river flowed, the ripples of water the background music of this love scene.
“It’s not wrong,” she said. “Not if you love me.”
“Fuck. I do love you.” My entire being was filled with it. With this strong, sexy, sweet woman.
“Get your hands off her!” Frank’s voice boomed across the night sky.
I jerked up. He strode across the tall grass toward where the truck was parked.
“You’re a pervert, Maurice Valentine. You’ve ruined my daughter.”
“No,” she said, lying naked next to me. “It’s not wrong. Not if you love me.”
I looked back at Frank, now holding a shotgun pointed to my chest. “Are you willing to risk your life?”
With my hands held up in surrender, I looked down at her. She was so beautiful. She was the only thing in my life that brought me joy. Never in my life had something been so important as to have her near me.
I looked at Frank. “Yes. I’m willing to risk it all.”
I started to move to her again when a blast sounded.
I jerked up, my hand pressing to my chest, fully expecting to find a hole where Frank’s gunshot blasted through me. No hole. No blood, even. I looked around. Not in my old truck. I was in my room. In my bed.
“Fuck.” I flopped back as the remnants of the dream flowed through my head. What did it mean? Was it a warning? Would I lose it all by risking it all? Was it telling me to go for it? To take the risk. Was it showing me that I needed to get up the courage to stand up for what I wanted, Frank and my reputation be damned?
I scraped my hands over my face, then looked over at the clock. It was just before five in the morning. I got up and dressed in jeans to go check on the ranch before showering and changing to go to the office. Today was Friday. All I had to do was get through today, and then I could hide out at home until Monday when I could resign. After that, I didn’t know what the hell to do. Did I go to the hotel and tell Brooke, in front of Tucker, that I loved her? Should I have signed the divorce papers?
I checked in with my foreman and went over some paperwork, then I got ready for my last day as mayor. Whether Brooke wanted to be with me or not, I was exhausted by life, and I’d need all my time to figure out how to pay back the trust, so resigning seemed like my only option. I’d wait only because Sinclair asked me to, and she’d need the weekend to adjust mentally and emotionally for the change. One benefit would be that it would make it harder for Stark to get his man in if Sinclair did a good job until the election.
I was heading into work when I drove past the inn. I didn’
t remember making a conscious decision to stop, and yet, I found myself parking in the lot and walking up to the door I’d seen Brooke go to the other day.
“What are you doing, Valentine?” I asked myself as I stood outside the door. I knocked and waited.
“Hey, gorgeous—” Tucker’s grin stalled. “Ah…you’re Brooke’s…ah…mayor.” He was wearing sweatpants and no shirt. His hair was disheveled like he’d just gotten out of bed.
“Maurice Valentine,” I said, trying to get my heart beating in my chest again. “I was looking for Brooke.”
“She ran home to steal her phone back.” He opened the door. “You can wait if you want. I’m expecting her back.”
Without thinking, I stepped into the room. A large pizza box and beer bottles were on the table. A single bed had disheveled sheets.
“Sorry for the mess,” he said, clearing off the table. “We had a pity party last night. Watched a bunch of rom-coms and one superhero movie.”
To me, it appeared to be the exact right environment for two twenty-something kids. This was what she should be doing. Hanging out with her peers, eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching movies. What was I doing here?
“I’m sorry. I should go.”
“What? Why? She’ll be back soon. She’s helping me move into my place today. I’m getting ready to head over for the walkthrough, and then I get to move in.”
“I don’t want to be in your way, then.” I started toward the door, but stopped short and turned to him. “What did you say about her stealing back her phone?”
“Her dad took it. I always thought she was overly dramatic when she said her father treated her like a kid. Turns out, he does. He took her phone and tried to ground her.” Tucker shook his head.
Perhaps that was why she didn’t respond to my calls.
“Listen, if you have to go, you can find her at my place.” Tucker found the pen and pad of paper that was standard in most motel rooms and started writing on it. “Here’s the address.”
“She’s moving in with you?” I absently took the paper. It didn’t seem like my pain could get any worse, but the idea of her living with Tucker, as right as my rational mind said it was, was excruciating.
“Yeah. She has to get away from her father.”
But not coming to me. As difficult as this visit was, at least I knew now where she stood. Maybe it was time to find Jeannette and sign those papers.
“Oh, wait,” Tucker said, drawing his hand through hair that could use a trim. “Not move in. Just staying. I told her she could stay with me for as long as she wanted unless a certain woman I like decides to move in and have my babies. Then Brooke is on the street.”
My eyes narrowed as I tried to understand what he was saying.
“It’s not like that between me and Brooke,” he said.
“Like what?”
“You know, romantic. She’s my friend. Oh, sure, I tried back in college to win her over, but she wasn’t interested. Personally, I think she was hung up on you even then.”
I was sure I looked like a loon as I stared at him, trying to work out what he was saying.
“How about you?” he asked.
“How about me what?”
“Are you hung up on her?”
It didn’t seem right to tell him how I felt when I hadn’t told her. “I’d like to talk to her.”
He studied me for a moment. “Well, that’s where she’ll be once we move my things.”
I looked around the room. I saw a duffle bag, but no boxes or other things indicative of moving into a new apartment. “Where are your things?”
“The moving truck out in the lot. It’s not a big one. I don’t have much stuff.”
I nodded and put the paper in my pocket. “Welcome to Salvation.”
“Thanks.”
I started opening the door when it hit me what he said. She was hung up on me. I turned again. “Is she still hung up on me?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes. Hence the pity party.”
I stood for a moment as I let that sink in. I looked at him again. “Do you need help moving?”
He arched a brow. “I do have a couple of big pieces that I’ll need help carrying up the stairs.”
I called to let Trina and Sinclair know I’d be out, maybe for the day, and then drove to meet Tucker at his new place. When I’d arrived, he’d done his walkthrough and was ready to move his things in. As I helped him, he yammered on about life in Chicago and looking forward to a slower pace here in Salvation and a potential love interest. I remembered Brooke saying something about his interest in Holly St. James, and I wondered if that was who he was talking about.
We got the large pieces of furniture into the space.
“What about a bed?” I asked as I looked into the truck after getting his couch, dresser, and a small dining table up, but I didn’t see any mattress.
“It’s in that box.”
I looked over at a box that, while large, was too small for a bed.
“New place, new bed,” He said. “When you open it, the bed like…inflates or something. It got great reviews. Want to take a break? Get a beer or something?”
“Sure.” I carried another box up behind him and then followed him to the little kitchen. He handed me a beer.
“This place isn’t much, but it’s bigger and cheaper than what I had in Chicago,” he said as he scanned the kitchen and eat-in area. “I guess you’ve always lived here, huh?”
“I lived away during college, but yes, I grew up here. I live in the same house I grew up in.” In some ways, that made my life feel small. Here was a young man who was venturing out, forging a new direction. Except for running for mayor, I was doing what my father had done and what his father had done.
“Hey, you started without me,” Brooke’s voice carried into the kitchen from the doorway.
I stilled as nerves shimmered inside me.
“You were right, Brooke. This town is nice. Look at the service I got. The mayor of Salvation helped me move.”
She stopped in the doorway, her eyes wide as she looked at me. “Mo.”
I nodded, not sure what to say. I’d spent hours wanting to talk to her, but now that she was here, I wasn’t sure what I should say.
“Did you get your phone?” Tucker asked her.
She shook her head.
Tucker looked from me then to Brooke. “Well, I think I’ll go down and get some boxes. There’s a beer in the fridge if you want one,” he said to Brooke as he walked out of the kitchen.
For a moment, Brooke and I just stood looking at each other. God, she was so beautiful. Her blue eyes stared at me, and I hoped to God I saw hope in them.
“What are you doing here?” she managed to ask.
“I was hoping to talk to you.”
“How’d you know I’d be here?”
My own hope started to falter a bit at her questions. I wondered if she was bothered that I was here. “I saw you the other day at Tucker’s hotel room. I tried to call you, but…”
“My dad took my phone.” She looked down.
“Why did you let him do that?” I don’t know why I asked that.
Her gaze shot to mine with anger. “I guess because I’m just a kid, after all. I guess you were right all this time.”
Wait. What? All of a sudden, this conversation was going off the rails.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going out there to tell my father?” she demanded
Fair question. “I thought I owed it to Frank to tell him the truth. Stark beat me to it, though.” Concern filled me as I imagined the anger Frank had toward me directed at Brooke. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
She turned away. “He forbade me from seeing you like I was sixteen or something.”
And, as far as I could tell, she’d obeyed. Tucker said she was hung up on me, but she wouldn’t betray her father. No, I was the one who betrayed Frank.
“Then he said he’d ruin you if I saw you again,” she finished.<
br />
I was already ruined. But as I looked into her beautiful eyes, I realized it wasn’t my reputation or even my financial future that was in tatters. It was my heart.
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Even after Sinclair read us the riot act and threatened to ruin him, he wouldn’t budge,” she said.
“Sinclair? What?”
Brooke’s eyes filled with tears, and my heart tore to see it. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’d have to pay the money back if we didn’t stay married for a year?”
Her use of past tense on being married made me wonder if Jeannette had found her and gotten her to sign the divorce papers. I shrugged because I didn’t have a good reason for not telling her. I supposed, at the time, I didn’t think it would be an issue because I hadn’t planned on falling for my best friend’s daughter.
“I’m sorry, Mo. I really am. I told my dad I’d fulfill the agreement. It wouldn’t be right for you to lose everything after all you’ve done.”
This time, my heart twisted. She wasn’t hung up on me. She just wanted to do the right thing so that I didn’t have to pay back the money. If she came home with me, it would only be to keep me from losing my money. I considered that if she did come with me, I’d have a year to win her heart again, but I’d still have the same problem with Frank. And right now, she seemed resigned to the fact that whatever had started between us was now dead.
“Is that why you’ve come for me? You want me to finish the deal so that you don’t have to pay back the money?” She said it like she was disappointed.
Tucker peered into the kitchen. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He looked from me to Brooke. “What is taking so long? You love him. He loves you. Now kiss and make up.” He turned back to the living area, mumbling under his breath.
Her round eyes were filled with hope again. “Is that true?”
I realized that it was now or never. I had to come clean with my feelings for her. It was possible she’d still choose Frank’s wishes over mine, but I had to tell her the truth. I’d regret it if I didn’t. I’d go through life wondering what might have happened if I choked at this moment.
Fake Marriage (Contemporary Romance Box Set) Page 60