Love Me: The Complete Series (35 page)

His cell phone summoned again and he pulled it from his damp pants and noted the number. Work. He hit the call button and blurted his name.

His father. “Where are you?”

In an elevator with a gorgeous, wet blonde, thinking about getting her out of these damp clothes, Dad.
“Downtown. What’s up?”

“We need to talk about this new deal you’re working on. I think there might be a problem with our client.”

“Can it wait until tomorrow?” The elevator dinged, the doors slid open, and they exited. He followed as Amanda clipped toward a dark blue Ford Explorer. He still had a hard time with her car choice; he’d always expected something more predictable or perhaps classy.

On the phone, his father huffed. “I’d rather not. We’re having dinner at the Italian place by the office. Why don’t you stop by here on your way out? You’re not too busy for that, are you?”

At the moment, he wasn’t sure. “Okay, Dad. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Jackson wondered if the “we” in his father’s invitation included his mother or someone else.

Amanda’s head swiveled. “That’s your dad?”

Jackson nodded and listened to the voice on the other side. His father spoke. “You’re with someone.”

Not really. “Sort of.”

“Who?”

“Carter’s girlfriend.”

“Oh, you’re with Carter? He has a girlfriend? Bring them with you. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“It’s just her. I walked her to her car.”

Two seconds passed before the voice on the phone responded. “Then bring her. I’d like to meet her.”

Amanda dug her keys from her purse. The jingle of metal in her hand accompanied the patter of rain outside the garage.

Jackson put his hand over the mouthpiece. “He wants to meet you.”

She stopped with the keys in hand and raised a brow. “Does he know I used to work there? That I worked for David?”

He shook his head. Of course not. At the moment all he knew was she was with
Carter.
Her name hadn’t even been mentioned. Ironic that his dad was as interested in Carter’s life as his own. Actually, his father was likely
more
interested in Carter.

An evil twitch at the corner of Amanda’s mouth made him second-guess the offer. Especially when it spread into a grin. “Sure. Why not? I’d love to meet the pompous old fart.”

Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. No matter his own opinion, insulting his parents didn’t set well. “Don’t you have work to do?”

She dropped her keys back in her purse. “It can wait. Where to?”

He shivered. What was she plotting? Suddenly the thought of dinner made his stomach lurch. The pompous old fart comment made him nervous. Was that why she’d left? His dad?

Amanda gestured for him to lead the way.

No, his dad never ventured to the cubicle areas where they’d worked. Not his style. Besides, his father would have mentioned on the phone if they’d met. He would have recognized her name. Wouldn’t he?

Jackson put his mouth back to the phone. “We’ll be there in about five minutes. We’re just a block away.” He hit the end button.

Amanda flung her hair back and water dripped from the ends. “Are we walking or driving?”

“If it weren’t for the rain, I’d say walk, but … can we take your car? Mine’s back at the building lot.”

“Sure, but you drive. I need to dry off a little and you know where we’re going.”

Amanda tossed him the keys and clip-clopped around to the passenger seat. Ten minutes later they strode up to a table covered in black linen and adorned with an appetizer plate of cheese, olives, and bread.

Jackson’s father was an older version of himself. In looks only. They weren’t at all alike in personality. Where his father was stern and boring, Jackson prided himself on being relaxed and fun. Nose to the grindstone for Dad. Nose to the wind for Jackson. His mother wasn’t much better than Dad. Her crisp business suit at such a late hour hinted she’d also worked late. It was such a contrast to the hidden agendas they managed. Jackson never understood how they could continue working together all these years, especially knowing the only depth to their relationship was in the company’s balance sheet. Sad.

Amanda’s hair hung in tendrils around her face, curling into her neck. It was—incredible. So was the flash in her eyes that signified something he hadn’t seen before. Jackson swallowed and started to do introductions.

“Amanda, meet—”

“Amazing.” Amanda slapped a hand on the table. “You don’t
look
like an arrogant, pompous ass.”

“What?” Jackson’s stomach burned. Where did
that
come from? His father’s fork screeched to a stop and the olive in his mouth swan-dived onto his plate, then bounced to the floor.

“I beg your pardon.” His mother’s eyes flared. One thing he’d always loved about Mom was her protective side. Anyone who pounced on her family had a surprise coming regardless of the distance between husband and wife. Amanda had just pounced and Jackson had no idea why.

“Oh, I don’t need an introduction, Jax. I’m Amanda. You’re Robert and Lynn Holstenar.” Amanda thrust a hand out, waited a nanosecond for them to shake hers, which they did reluctantly, then she dropped into the chair beside his dad. Both his parents were speechless. He wanted to laugh. When was the last time they’d been shocked into silence?

Amanda thrust her limp hair back and smiled. “So, how’s the food in this place? Good, huh? Hmm. Wow, what a menu … and look, Jax, it’s all in Italian. Isn’t that adorable?”

“The waiter can—” He stopped when she raised a finger and tsked twice.

“What’s the matter, sweetie, you don’t think this podunk little farm girl can read a menu? Just like you didn’t think I could be a lawyer, let alone a good one?”

Jackson doubted she’d ever set foot on a farm. The waiter arrived and took in the three astonished faces and Amanda’s smug one. He hesitated for a second. Jackson was sure he wanted to go back to the kitchen. “Everything okay here? Any questions about the menu?”

Amanda laughed, and launched into a flurry of Italian. What the hell? Jackson had no idea what she said, but the waiter patted her arm and laughed, then trudged away. Jackson’s parents sat with their mouths agape. She spoke Italian? Why hadn’t he known that? And what the hell had she said to make the waiter wink?

Dad cleared his throat. “So you’re an attorney and speak Italian, or maybe multiple languages? You obviously know more about us than we know about you … other than that you’re dating Carter.”

Amanda slapped a hand to the table and everyone within ten feet jolted. “That’s right. I’m dating Carter. Why is that, Jax?”

He was clueless. “What does that mean?”

Her face was calm in a scary-as-hell way and she plucked an olive from the tray that the waiter dropped in front of her. She waved it, then shrugged. “Nothing. Not a thing. I mean, Carter’s great, right? Smart, nice, handsome. Who wouldn’t want to date him? He’s obviously a high achiever, just like me. Look at all he’s done so far.” She popped the olive in her mouth and grabbed another.

Jackson grimaced. He suddenly had an urge to knock Carter off his pedestal. “He hasn’t really done all that much. He got fired.”

Amanda tapped the cold olive against his nose. It felt like a wet frog. “Heard about that one. Thanks to you. You’re so cute when you’re jealous of his success. You’re
such
a great friend. Does he know you let him go down for your potty-mouth comments?”

“Jackson, what’s she talking about?” His mother reached a fork to the tray and stabbed some cheese, then gracefully slipped it into her mouth.

“Nothing, Mom. She’s just—drunk. We were—”

“I am not.”

Wow, he’d never seen her like this, not that he’d seen her all that much in the past couple of years.

Dad pasted on a smile. “Oh, look, here’s our food. Whatever did you order?” Three waiters arrived with trays and began placing dishes around the table.

Amanda giggled. “It’s not on the menu. I come here once in a while with clients. The chef makes this wonderful fish and pasta dish but it’s by request only because it requires a pretty healthy tuna steak. He normally doesn’t carry a lot of seafood.”

Another surprise. What else did she have up her sleeve? Or, bigger question, what reason did she have for all the craziness?

“So, how long have you and Carter been—an item?” His mother took a sip of wine while waiting for a response.

“An item? Well, Jackson introduced us a little over a month ago. Wasn’t that sweet of him? Just so brotherly like.” She scrunched her shoulders and eyes in a mocking isn’t-that-cute way.

Brotherly? Does she normally exchange saliva with her siblings? Jackson tucked a finger into the collar of his shirt and stretched the material. Geez, it was hot in the restaurant.

“What are you doing, Amanda?” he finally asked.

The chef peeked out from the kitchen and waved. Amanda lifted her fingers and wiggled them in return. “Me? I’m just having a nice dinner. You invited me. I have no idea why you did but, hey, here I am. So, what’s this about?”

Robert adjusted himself in his chair and Amanda wanted to snort but she didn’t. She liked that he seemed just a tiny bit edgy. Thank God Jackson was nothing like his father, other than his looks. “We just thought it would be nice to talk to you. About Carter. He’s been through—”

“A lot, yes, I know. Jackson said that. Good lord, you’d think the guy was twelve, not thirty. Why do you feel this incessant need to be in his business? We’re just going out. I’m not planning to get knocked up and force him to marry me.” Amanda plucked a piece of bread from the basket, ripped it in half, and stuffed a piece in her mouth. With her cheek bulging, she grabbed her wine glass. His parents stared.

Amanda wanted to giggle when the cheese that Lynn Holstenar was chewing fell in her lap. His family had a serious problem with dropping food. Oh my God, this was a hoot. She’d show them. How often does a person get the chance to confront the very people who sent her packing because
she
wasn’t good enough to work for them? And now they wanted to tell her she wasn’t good enough for Carter either? Ha. Fat chance.

Frankly she didn’t care.

Jackson’s mother coughed. “Well, that’s certainly good to know. We’re not trying to get in anyone’s business, Amanda, dear. It’s just that Jackson and Carter grew up together and well, we were there when his sister died.”

Holy shit. Did she really just say that? All Amanda’s remaining bravado hit the brakes with a brain-scorching screech. The giddiness evaporated. “His sister died?”

Lynn nodded. “You didn’t know? Yes, she died when she was a teenager. She drowned trying to save one of her friends who couldn’t swim. It was awful. Carter never quite got past it. He’s never been able to trust anyone since, nor has he made any effort to build long-term relationships. In fact, you’re probably the first girlfriend we’ve heard about.”

The bread Amanda swallowed stuck in her throat and she took a lengthy drink of water. Carter had never mentioned a sister. In truth, he barely talked about family at all. Wasn’t that an odd indicator of just how well they knew each other? “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”

Her eyes started to burn and she blinked to keep the wetness at bay. This was why she couldn’t study criminal law. She prided herself on keeping her emotions controlled but she had limits. Jackson reached under the table and patted her knee. His big fingers felt warm through the skirt. “It’s okay. You had no way of knowing. He doesn’t talk about what happened.”

Suddenly the desire to get even with the entire Holstenar family for forcing her to leave a job she loved didn’t sound too enticing. All she could think about was the nice guy she’d just walked away from when he was celebrating his big work achievement. What a horrible thing to do. Of course, it paled compared to seeing a family member drown. “Was he there when she died?”

“No. It happened while he was at school. He was a teenager.”

“Oh. Wow. No wonder he’s so—distant.”

“You have no idea. He’s a hundred percent better now than he was a few years ago.” Jackson’s voice was strained. His parents’ faces took on a sympathetic veil of kindness.

Amanda wanted to comfort him. It didn’t make sense that she’d feel sympathy for the friend, rather than Carter. “You guys were really close?”

Lynn lowered her wine glass to the table. Wariness crossed her features. Amanda expected Lynn wasn’t sure of her sincerity. Who could blame her? “Until then, they were like brothers. Best friends. The town pretty much knew wherever one went, the other was close behind. Carley’s death was so hard on Carter, we nearly lost him. Jackson helped, though. He kept hounding and pushing until Carter finally stepped back into life. We were so proud of the way he supported him—all of them, really.”

Amanda blinked. How many were there? “All of them? How big a family does he have?”

Jackson sighed. “You’ve dated for weeks and he’s never told you any of this? What the hell do you talk about?”

Good point. Not much, if she was honest. They merely “hung out” together, spending half their time in the same room but doing separate things. Like texting or talking on the phone. She often read her emails and responded. “We haven’t really talked all that much. It’s been more—”

Jackson’s hand flew over her mouth, stopping the words. “I don’t want to know.”

Robert held a glass up for the waiter to fill. Glancing from Amanda to Jackson, he smiled for the first time since she’d arrived. “You should help her, son. You know him better than anyone. Give her a little advice. What makes him tick? How does she get past his shield? We all know what a great kid—”

Jackson snorted. “He’s not a kid, Dad. He’s thirty years old. Besides, Amanda doesn’t need help with men. She’s got that covered.”

“Right. We all know what a great man he is but he’s not going to show that to someone easily. Amanda would be good for our boy.”

Jackson chewed on his food. “You realize you’re saying that about a woman who just called you a pompous ass, right?”

Amanda’s face was hot and she assumed the color matched the red napkins on the table. He was right. She’d said that and more but that was
before
she knew how much they cared. About Carter.