A Deal With the Devil (26 page)

She took a deep breath. “Do you really believe everyone deserves a second chance?”

He appeared to consider her question and then said, “I do.”

“I want to tell you something.” She mustered her courage and then plunged in. “Your grandfather invited me over yesterday. He shared some things—important things I think you should know—about your father.”

Jake stopped short and his head snapped around, his voice sounding dangerously soft as he said, “You went to see my grandfather yesterday.”

She stopped as well and pivoted to face him as she said, “Yes.”

The set of his jaw hinted at the anger burning beneath the surface of his still relatively calm exterior.

She opened her mouth to speak and then faltered, instantly regretting her decision to come clean. But it was too late now. She had no choice but to keep going, so she lifted her chin and cleared her throat, trying her best to sound calm as she said, “Max asked me to drop by.”

Jake’s mouth set in a hard line. “And you’re just telling me about this now—even though it happened yesterday.”

“He asked me not to.” It was true, though it sounded like a feeble excuse now.

Jake glared at her. “Oh, well if he asked you not to.” His tone dripped sarcasm. “So tell me . . . what made you keep a meeting with my
grandfather—
the man who ruined my father’s life and who seems determined to do the same with me—a secret?”

“For someone who prides himself on being calm and rational, you’re completely the opposite when it comes to your grandfather. You should go see him; ask him what we discussed. It concerns your father and since that’s what’s driven the wedge between you, I think learning the truth could go a long way toward healing your relationship.”

Jake stepped closer, his eyes glittering. “You have one private conversation with my grandfather and suddenly you’re the expert on my father,” he said, nearly shouting the last word.

The sweet afterglow of their dinner had vanished. Max had called it. Apparently the direct approach didn’t work best when it came to Jake.

Still, she couldn’t let it rest and she held her ground, refusing to budge as she said, “I think I know more than
you
do, mostly because I bother to listen. I only mention it because I thought you meant what you said earlier about everyone deserving a second chance. Clearly you didn’t.”

“I meant it. I
do
believe in second chances—for people who actually
deserve
them.”

“Oh and you’re the judge and jury on who’s deserving,” she said, hands on hips. “Is that right?”

“As it relates to my grandfather, yes, I am,” he shouted. “You think you know him so well, but you have no idea who he really is.”

Suddenly aware of the spectacle they must be creating; Amanda glanced around and noticed several interested onlookers hovering nearby. “Stop
yelling
,” she commanded through clenched teeth.

“I’m not. . .” He halted and glanced around too, then took a deep breath and lowered his voice as he said, “I’m not yelling.”

“Well you were speaking too loudly for a public sidewalk and I’m done having this argument in the middle of the street.” She spun around and marched the last few yards toward his townhouse with Jake right on her heels and the cluster of interested neighbors following their every move.

Who could blame them? It must be like watching live theatre.

“What did you expect? You were the one who brought up the subject of my grandfather while walking down the sidewalk.”

She stomped up the stairs and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Jake to unlock the front door. “I thought you could control yourself.” Once inside, she shrugged off her coat and started for the stairs.

“Where are you going?”

She drew a long, calming breath and glanced over her shoulder. “I’m done arguing with you. I have a brand platform to work on.” She muttered under her breath. “I just didn’t realize it was all a lie.”

“I heard that.”

“I meant you to,” she said. “At work, I have a steadfast rule that the brands I work on have to be authentic, which means they have to walk the talk. And that’s exactly what you’re
not
doing.”

He glared at her. “What are you talking about?”

She met his gaze unflinchingly. “Your belief in everyone deserving a second chance; it’s all a lie.”

He closed the distance between them, stopping at the base of the stairs as he said, “It’s not a lie. And you don’t know anything about my family.”

“I understand more than you would imagine.”

“Really.” Jake folded his arms and his entire being oozed arrogance as he said, “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“I know that where your family is concerned, you only see what you choose to see.” She jammed a fist onto her hip. “I know you draw conclusions based on surface observations and never even bother looking deeper to see what’s
really
going on.”

He glared at her. “One private meeting with my grandfather doesn’t make you an expert on him or my family.”

“Apparently spending a
lifetime
as a Lowell hasn’t made
you
one either.” She turned and intended to start up the stairs, but Jake reached for her arm. She yanked it out of his grasp.

“That’s pretty interesting coming from you, especially considering what’s going on with your brother.” Jake’s face settled into a smug half smirk. “Maybe if you were less concerned with my family and paying more attention to yours, you’d be aware of what he’s up to.”

Anger erupted inside. “Don’t even
try
to drag my brother into this. You don’t know anything about him.”

He held her gaze, looking unfazed by her outburst. “I know more than you do—at least based on everything I’ve heard.”

“What do you mean
everything you’ve heard
?”

His entire being oozed arrogance and it took everything she had to keep from slapping him.

“I know about his questionable business partners and I know where the money for the restaurant really comes from,” he said. “I know about the illegal high stakes poker games he and his partners host at his half-finished place twice a week.”

Amanda couldn’t stop her sharp intake of breath.

Jake didn’t miss a beat as he continued. “I—and apparently everyone else in town—know the brother you’re so focused on helping has played you for a fool.”

The blood pounded in her ears and her knees felt weak. “What are you talking about? Why are you making up lies?”

“They’re not lies. And from what I hear, Rob’s escapades aren’t that big a secret,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t too hard for me to find out the details.”

Tears welled and she blinked rapidly, trying to hold them back. “I don’t believe you.” Her voice shook. “I think you’re so jaded and messed up about family; you’re just looking for things to pin on my brother.”

Jake appeared to make an effort to calm himself. “Why would I do that?”

He’d do it to hurt her; that’s why. A wayward tear trickled down her checks and she brushed it away as she continued. “Rob’s not perfect, but I have news for you, Jake. Nobody is—not me, not your grandfather,” —she spread her arms wide— “hey, not even
you.”
She thrust a finger at his chest to punctuate the word. She whirled around and started up the stairs, unable to believe their beautiful, romantic evening had gone so far off the rails.

“Amanda, wait.”

She stopped, but didn’t turn back. “We’re through for the night.”

“Let’s talk about this,” he said. “I don’t want tonight to end this way.”

She turned and her eyes narrowed. “What . . . did you think it would end in your bedroom?” Earlier she’d thought so; hoped so. But now, that was the last thing she wanted and her anger fueled her words as she said, “I told you sex wasn’t part of our deal.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” His jaw tightened.

She glared at him and then tried to calm herself before she said, “I didn’t bring up the subject of your grandfather to upset you and I didn’t go there yesterday to make you angry. I only brought it up because I think you need to reach out to him.”

Jake’s mouth set in a hard line. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

He was, without a doubt the most hard-headed man she’d ever met. Max’s advice drifted back and she finally understood what he’d tried to tell her. The word stubborn was an understatement. No wonder Max had resorted to blackmail in order to get him to listen. She decided to try the rational approach, which always worked so well in business when disagreements got a little heated. She drew a long, fortifying breath and then said, “It isn’t logical to blame your grandfather for everything that went wrong in your father’s life. He was an adult. He made his own decisions. And blaming Max won’t change how his life turned out.”

“True.” Jake’s voice sounded calm, but the hardness in his eyes told a different story. “And coddling your brother as you do will only ensure he never grows up.” Jake paused, but as she glared at him, she could tell he wasn’t finished.

Amanda willed herself to walk away; to leave before he could say more. Before they passed the point of no return, which she sensed they might be about to do, but she remained rooted to the spot and her hand tightened on the stair rail as she braced herself for his next words.

“No matter what you do for Rob; regardless of how much money you give him or how much of your life you continue to sacrifice trying to make everything perfect for him, someday you’ll have to accept the fact that you can’t fix everything. Your parents died, Amanda. They’re gone. And nothing you do can bring them back.” He folded his arms and his eyes locked with hers.

She tried to look away, but couldn’t.

He continued. “And that’s the real problem, isn’t it? Losing your parents is the one thing in your life—and your brother’s—you can’t control, can’t fix. And you’ve spent the past ten years torturing yourself because of it.”

Chapter Fifteen

manda pressed the doorbell twice in quick succession and—when Kate didn’t instantly appear—she pushed it again, holding it down for a count of five. The three block walk in the crisp November evening had calmed her a little, but it hadn’t done a thing to improve her mood; or her patience.

She tapped her foot and peered at her watch. What the hell was taking Kate so long? Unable to stand it a millisecond longer, Amanda balled her fist and pounded on the door three times.

The porch light flipped on.

“Dear God. Are you trying to wake the dead?” Kate’s hair was scraped back into a ponytail and her burgeoning belly poked through the front folds of her pink robe. “Give a pregnant girl time to waddle to the door.” She stepped aside to let Amanda enter and her frown deepened when she spotted Amanda’s overnight bag. Her eyes drifted from the bag to Amanda’s face as she said, “What’s wrong?”

“Take a wild guess. Can I stay here tonight?”

“Of course,” Kate said. “Just a few hours ago at Gigi’s, everything seemed perfect. What happened?”

Amanda tucked her curls behind an ear and looked down at her shoes. “What usually happens? We had a fight.” Sensing a lecture headed her way, she went on the offensive. “And before you start in on me, I think you should know the argument was mostly his fault.”