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“You and Allen have been friends since before LeeAnne died.”
Brent drained his martini and then bit into his olive. “Believe me, I know. It’s like a double loss. Look at how I fucked this whole thing up. No girlfriend, no friend, and a company in shambles. You did try to warn me, and I wouldn’t take no for a fucking answer.”
Carl shrugged. “I saw things from a common-sense angle, knew the blow up I saw coming, but I didn’t expect the change I saw in you.”
“What?”
“Man, you light up around Cara. I know you’re happy when we’re at family picnics outside of work or whenever you talk about your daughter. But since LeeAnne died, if you’re not focused on Cara, you look like a zombie. At least you did.”
“Huh?” Brent blinked. He had expected Carl to show up and berate him, to make him feel like the utter pile of shit he was.
“The last four months, you’ve been happy. You smile at little nothing texts from Jessica. You whistle in the office. You’ve never done that. You had this light, man, and it’s been gone since your wife died.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“I thought, at first, you were just… I dunno… having a midlife crisis. Maybe you were sewing some wild oats, whatever. I saw Jessica as being set up to be the one hurt in all of this because for you it was just a phase. But I see how wrecked you are now, and how happy you were before, and I know how much bullshit that all was. You love her.”
“I loved her.”
“No, you love her now. You really are all in with her, aren’t you?”
Brent hiccupped and pushed his glass aside. “What does it matter? She won’t fucking talk to me.”
“Maybe she would. I… You have to keep trying. I saw what losing LeeAnne did to you. You’re not going to make it if you lose Jessica too.”
“Great so if you have a plan…”
Carl shrugged and passed him a piece of paper with an address in San Francisco scrawled on it. “Maybe I do. A little birdie told me that she’s going to her mother’s for a while.”
“She’s what? She doesn’t even talk about her mom.”
“Maybe she just wanted out of ‘So Cal’ – who knows? But this is where she’ll be. If you want her back, I’d get on your jet and think of a way to convince Mama Bear to let you in to see her cub.”
Brent pocketed the napkin, his heart thudding gratefully. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I don’t just want the company back as it was or my best friends to stop fighting. I can see what we can be – who you can be with her – and it’s worth it, man. So, if you really do love her – go fight for her. Be better.”
“I will.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jessica
She didn’t know what to even say when her mom opened the door. Jessica had emailed her mother before she’d left for San Francisco. She’d portrayed it as inane over the email, as just “boy troubles”. If she had to explain about the twins, about Brent, about everything, then that had to be in person. Why she sought out her mother after so long, Jessica wasn’t completely sure.
Maybe it was because she had no moral high ground anymore.
Her mother had made mistakes, too, but nothing had been as big in her whole family as becoming pregnant with twins by your father’s close friend and a man twice your age. That was her mess, her disaster to atone for. Maybe she just needed someone around who’d screwed up almost as badly. If she talked to her dad, then he’d know. Then, there would be judgment and speeches, and he’d probably try to kill Brent.
The woman before her was older than she remembered. Then again, the last time she’d talked to her mother was at her high school graduation. Her mom’s dark hair was cut in a short, dark bob, but by now, Jessica could see the streaks of gray creeping into it. Franny Billings – no wait, it was Vance now – had flawless skin. No hint of lines there, but since she’d remarried a Silicon Valley tech guru, her mother probably had access to all the Botox she wanted. Who knew. She had access to anything she wanted, and no child to worry about.
Jessica stroked her belly with her hand. No matter what else ever happened, she’d be there for her children. She’d never run from them.
“Jessica? It’s been ages. Come here!” Her mother threw her arms around her shoulders and gripped her tighter. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Her mom rubbed large, comforting circles on the back of her shoulders, and Jessica relaxed into the embrace. Maybe she shouldn’t, but she felt so broken, so alone without anywhere else to go. How did the saying go? ‘Home was where they had to take you in?’
