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“Yes, sir.” The limo driver reached for his cell phone.
Jack slammed the car door then took the workshop stairs two at a time.
“What the hell?” he asked as he walked through the workshop door. “I’m going to miss my meeting in New York.”
Hunter gestured to an open trunk of colorful clothes. “Take a look.”
Jack stopped short. “Dresses? You called me up here to see dresses?”
“Kristy’sdresses.”
“So, send them to her.” Jack was trying desperately not to think about Kristy.
“Not to wear,” sneered Hunter. “Do you know what these are?”
Jack knew full well what they were. “Zenia didn’t like them,” he said.
“And?”
“And nothing. Cleveland made a deal on one set of designs. Irene helped her fix them. Zenia said they were technically strong. While these, these—”
“Are her heart and soul,” said Hunter.
Jack flinched.
“She asked you,” said Hunter. “Sheasked you.”
“Is that what you were cozying up to her about on Christmas Eve?”
Hunter glared daggers. “That’s whather sister told me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”
Jack squared his shoulders. “Fine. Is this conversation over?”
“Take the clothes to London,” said Hunter.
Jack snorted his disbelief. Like he could drop everything and do that. Like he could compromise Sierra Sanchez’s reputation.
“That’s something Gramps would do,” he said to Hunter.
Hunter took a step forward. “So what?”
“So, I’m not Gramps.”
“Maybe not. But, cousin, you need to ask yourself some very serious questions.”
Jack turned and started to walk away. He was done here.
“Do you want respect for your business?” called Hunter. “Or do you want Kristy?”
Jack kept walking.
“Do you want more fashion sales? Or do you want Kristy?”
Jack paused at the door, bracing a hand on the jamb.
“Do you want the family fortune? Or do you want Kristy?”
Kristy.There wasn’t a doubt in Jack’s mind. But how could he give in on every front just to make her happy?
“What if they’re good?” Hunter asked softly. “What ifshe’s good? What if she’sgreat and you took that chance away from her?”
Jack scrambled to weigh the facts. Irene said she was competent. Zenia said the dresses were risky.
Everything inside Jack screamed at him to listen to the experts. He always listened to experts. They had the facts, knew the odds, were always right.
“Stop it!” shouted Hunter.
“What?”
“Stop talking yourself out of it.”
“I can’t.”
“Well then here’s one for you. What if she loves you?”
Jack faced his cousin.
“She married you,” said Hunter. “Somehow Kristy doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman who does that lightly. What if she fell in love with you that weekend in Vegas? What if, against all odds, with all the crap you’ve pulled, she’s still in love with you? What do your experts say about that?”
“Who are the experts in love?” Jack all but yelled. “The gypsies?”
“I’d like to think,” came Cleveland’s level voice from the doorway. “ThatI’m the expert in matters of love.”
Jack turned.
With Dee Dee tucked predictably under his arm, Gramps advanced into the room. “You boys both know I’ve been married a number of times.”
“Yeah, Gramps,” said Hunter, calmly. “We know.”
“And I bet you’re wondering how I feel when the young lady and I part ways.”
Jack had never once wondered that.
“I feel great,” said Cleveland. “There are never any hard feelings. No tears. Everyone has a good time. I never give her another thought.”
He walked past Jack and peered into the open trunk. “They’re fancy. I’ll give her that.”
Then he straightened and stood toe-to-toe with Jack, looking his square in the eye. “How ’bout you, boy. You given Kristy another thought since she left?”
Jack didn’t answer. He’d done nothingbut think about Kristy since the moment she’d left the mansion.
“If not,” said Cleveland. “Then you both got what you wanted.” He glanced at the trunk again. “Sort of.
But if you’re thinking about her. If missing her is gnawing at your guts, and if you’d give anything to hear her voice or hold her in your arms again. Well, then you’ve got a problem. Because you’re in love, and you’ve just screwed yourself out of the woman of your dreams.”
