Home to Me (The Andrades, Book 2) (21 page)

Instantly serious, Nick guided her into his office. “Absolutely.” He closed the door behind them. “What’s going on?”

Rena told him what Julia had said and then shared how Gio had responded to the envelope he’d received the week before. “Julia said Gio hasn’t been himself this week. He told her it was work related. I don’t know of anything that is going wrong at work. Do you?”

“No,” Nick said, but he didn’t look surprised.

He knows something.

Why did I think he would tell me if he knew?

We’re just friends.

Barely that on Sunday through Friday.
She fought back against the insecurities that nipped at her.
And I’m okay with it.

I have to be okay with it.

“Well, if you hear anything, please tell me. Gio has been in a bad mood all week, so Julia might be right. There could be something wrong.”

Nick shrugged. “Gio has been in a bad mood for years.”

“Not since he met Julia. Not like this.”

Nick pulled Rena into his arms and tipped her face up to his. “Hey, you’re really worried about this, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Rena said, fighting the desire to wrap her arms around his waist and bury her face in his chest. She extracted herself from his embrace. If she gave into the pleasure of being with him even a little, she feared she would lose the tight control she’d maintained over her feelings. And she couldn’t risk that.

“Rena,” Nick reached for her again but she evaded him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “We’re at work, Nick. I don’t want to . . . I can’t . . .” She gave up trying to be strong and, in a moment of panic, turned and fled. She cursed herself the whole way back to her office.

Don’t do it.

Don’t ruin the best thing you’ve ever had because you can’t follow your own rules.

***

Following Rena’s abrupt departure, it didn’t take Nick more than a moment to decide it was time to tell Gio he was seeing her. In the beginning, Rena’s rules had been fun. The secrecy had made their time together even more exciting. But lately, Nick was becoming less able to contain what he felt for Rena to Saturdays.

He had started to call her during the week, but she’d asked him to stop.

He’d offered to drive her home from a dinner party they’d attended separately, but she’d refused. He was beginning to see that the very rules that had brought them together were now keeping them apart.

Although their escapades were fun, they weren’t enough for him. He wanted Rena in his bed on more than just one day, and he was prepared to do anything to achieve that goal.

If he’d thought being around her would make him want her less, he couldn’t have been more wrong. She’d become an obsession to him.

He sent Gio a text to come see him when he returned to the office. It was time to remove every obstacle standing between him and Rena.

As he rehearsed how he’d tell Gio, he remembered what Rena had asked him. If something was bothering Gio, it would be better to ask him before rather than after his announcement in case it was something urgent.

Nick didn’t doubt for a moment that Gio would storm off in a huff as soon as Nick told him he’d been seeing Rena, but he was confident they were now close enough that he’d get over it.

Rena would be the harder one to win over.

Why she clung to her rules so adamantly was beyond him, but he was sure if he planned their makeup sex just right, not only would she forgive him, she’d also be in his bed whenever he wanted—which would be every night.

Rena was back at her desk sorting Gio’s mail when her cell phone rang. She hesitated before digging it out of her bag. If it was Nick, she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. If it was Maddy, she definitely didn’t want to talk to her. Kane? Not now. Mom and Dad? Please no. Really, the list of who she was in the mood to speak then was near nonexistent.

Still, her phone continued to ring, so she gave in and answered it. “Hello.”

“Rena, I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time.”

Almost dropping the phone, she was so surprised by the voice that greeted her, Rena strove to sound casual as she said, “Patrice. I didn’t realize you had my number.”

“Of course I do, dear, you’re practically part of my family.”

Her tone set the hairs on the back of Rena’s neck standing on end. Like a snake trying to hypnotize its prey, Nick’s mother was always nicest before she struck. “How are you feeling?” Rena asked, attempting to be polite. Patrice could have won an Oscar for the performance she dove into. She made a small, pathetic sound as if she were in pain, then claimed to be feeling better. Rena rolled her eyes heavenward and prayed for strength.

“Are you with George?”

“No, he’s still at lunch.”

“So, you’re alone?”

“Yes.”

“I’m worried about Nick. He and George have never gotten along well. It must be difficult for him, trying so hard to fit in where he knows he’ll never be welcome.”

“It’s not like that, Patrice.”

“Really? How is it?”

Don’t trust her. Don’t say anything
. “They’re getting along really well. I’ve never seen Nick happier.”

“And you would know what makes Nick happy, wouldn’t you, Rena? I hear you’ve been spending time with him lately.”

Maddy wouldn’t have said something to Patrice, would she?
“We do work at the same company, so yes, that’s true.”

Patrice laughed, but the sound held more malice than humor. “Don’t lie to me, dear. I know what you’re up to, but I won’t tell anyone—as long as I can count on you to help me.”

As much as Rena wanted to hang up on Patrice, she needed to know what the old bat was after. “What do you want, Patrice?”

“What you want—the best for Nick. He’ll never be happy as long as he lives in George’s shadow. Help me convince him to quit Cogent. He doesn’t need a job. He has more money than he could ever spend in his trust fund.”

Rena let out a harsh breath. “Patrice, your sons are finally getting along. You should be happy.”

“Don’t tell me how I should or shouldn’t feel. If you care at all about Nick, you’ll help me.”

“It’s because I care about him that I won’t.”

“You think you know everything, don’t you? I’ve had to stomach watching you insert yourself into my family for too long. I was hoping to avoid this, but you’ve left me with no other choice. You can either convince Nick to quit Cogent, or you can watch me destroy him.”

Rena gasped at the ugliness in Patrice’s voice. “What are you talking about?”

“I know my boys better than anyone else. I know exactly what it would take to get him drinking again, and then he’ll help himself right out of his new job. Push me and I’ll show you the real Nick.”

“You don’t mean that, Patrice.”

“No? You don’t want to be on my bad side, Rena. I can turn all of them against you, and I’ll start by showing the world what a little whore you are. Do you think you and Nick weren’t seen? Weren’t photographed? The tabloids love a good scandal. Could you say the same about your parents?”

As disgust rose in her throat, Rena’s temper soared. “I don’t know what happened to you or why you’re as bitter as you are, but I guess I should have expected this phone call. I heard about how you threatened Julia. You scared her, but you don’t scare me. And you don’t have the control over your sons that you think you do. Not anymore. They are so much more than who you see when you look at them. And they love you, even though you don’t deserve it. You want to hurt me? Bring it on. Try to turn them against me. You’ll lose. And then, maybe, you’ll finally see how loyal and loving your sons really are.”

Rena waited for Patrice to counter with her own threat.

She readied herself for whatever form it would take.

Patrice said nothing for a moment, then there was a sound as if she and the phone had dropped to the floor.

Does she really think I’m going to fall for this?

“Patrice? Patrice?”

She didn’t answer. Rena heard ragged breathing and a faint moan in the background.

It’ll be a cold day in hell before I call 911 for her.

“Patrice. You can stop pretending. You’re not fooling anyone.”

Rena hung up her phone, then started pacing back and forth.
No one believes Patrice had a heart attack. This is just another attempt on her part to use the sympathy card.

Rena tried to call Patrice back, but there was no answer.

Dammit.

She almost called Nick, but she thought about what Patrice had said about driving him back to drink. Was this part of her plan to do that?

She called Luke instead. “Luke, I think your mother just had another episode. She was on the phone with me. Should I call nine-one-one?”

He asked her for the details of exactly what had happened then, said he’d send an ambulance over and meet it there. He hung up without another word and Rena sank into the chair behind her desk.

Gio and Julia walked in, arm in arm, laughing over something. They took one look at Rena and froze. “What happened?” Gio demanded.

“Your mother may have collapsed. Luke is on his way to check on her. I was on the phone with her when she fell.”

Julia rushed to Rena’s side and put an arm around her. “That must have been terrifying, but you did the right thing by calling Luke. He probably has a hundred doctors looking her over by now.”

Gio frowned. “I should go, too.”

Rena stood. “Gio.”

Gio stopped on his way out the door and turned to look at her. “Yes?”

She wanted to tell him what Patrice had said to her. She didn’t believe for a second that Patrice was actually ill, but she couldn’t explain why she thought that without revealing how she felt about Nick. “Do you want me to call Nick and Max?”

“No,” Gio said. “I will.” He strode out the door, half dragging Julia behind him.

Rena sat back down at her desk and covered her face with both hands.

Is it a sin to not pray for someone to live?

***

Nick sat in the main library of his mother’s house with Gio and Luke. Like Gio, Nick was still dressed in his business suit. Luke was in scrubs. The only communication they’d had since they’d arrived was a nod of acknowledgment toward each other.

Luke finally broke the silence. “Does anyone know if Max is coming?”

Gio crossed his legs at his ankles and leaned back in his chair. “He’s in the British Isles looking at some property. I told him we’d keep him informed and tell him if he needed to be here.”

Nick asked, “Has anyone seen her yet?”

Luke folded his arms across his chest. “No one besides her physician. He turned the emergency team away. He claims this is a condition she’s already under treatment for.”

After running his hand through his hair, Gio said coldly, “How possible is it that this is all for show?”

Luke looked at the door with a skeptical expression. “I don’t like to think badly of anyone in my profession, but her doctor is suspiciously territorial. He wouldn’t let me see her or her records. Granted, I’m a surgeon, but I’m definitely qualified to recognize the severity of what he’s vaguely calling episodes. So I have to ask myself, what is it he doesn’t want me to see?”

Nick looked from brother to brother and said, “I’m surprised neither of you stormed in there demanding the truth.”

Gio shrugged. “I don’t even want to be here. I damn well don’t want to be in there.”

Luke shook his head and balled his hands on his knees. “I can’t bring myself to accuse her of something I don’t have any proof is a lie.”

Nick walked over to sit at his father’s old desk. “It’s easy to understand why Father wanted another family, isn’t it? Look at us. What is there about us that anyone could love?”

Gio stood and joined Nick. “Father loved us. He did. What happened between him and Mother didn’t change how he felt for us.”

“I wonder if he and Mother were ever happy,” Luke asked quietly as he also joined them. “I’ve tried to remember a time when I saw them hold hands or laugh together. I don’t think I ever did.”

Nick rubbed a hand over his chin in frustration. “I’m so tired of wondering why we are the way we are. Maybe it’s time to just let the past go and move on.”

Gio stared straight ahead and grit his teeth. “If only it were that easy.”

“Gio, we need to talk,” Nick said.

“Talk away.”

“Not here.”

“I’ll probably be returning to Cogent for a few hours after this.”

“It’s not about work.”

“Okay, I have all day tomorrow.”

“Saturday?” Nick repeated the word, stalling. “Sunday would be better for me. I’m often tied up on Saturdays.”

Luke and Gio both gave Nick a confused look, but Nick pretended not to notice. Although he had decided to tell Gio about Rena, doing it while waiting to hear about the health of their mother didn’t feel right. And there was no way he was going to miss seeing Rena to break the news to Gio. Sunday or nothing.