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Before she could stop it from happening, a vision of Jake with his arms wrapped around another woman popped into her head. Anger and jealousy doused the previous anticipation she'd felt. Charlie gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white and tried to purge the image from her mind, but it stubbornly stayed. The traffic light ahead turned red and she brought the car to a stop.
Pull yourself together, she thought. What did it matter what he did on his own time? They weren't in an actual committed relationship. There were no emotions involved. Theirs was a strictly physical relationship.
“The type I prefer,” Charlie said as a reminder to herself. Once you let emotions enter the arena, relationships become too dangerous. They leave you exposed. Physical ones are safer and easier to control.
When the light turned green, she hit the accelerator while repeating her thoughts over in her head. Yet the jealousy remained, churning in her stomach and making her wish she'd skipped lunch.
Gradually her jealousy dissipated and by the time she walked into the supermarket, she had her emotions back under control. The green-eyed monster was defeated.
With a shopping cart full of groceries, Charlie headed to the front of the store eager to check out.
The magazine rack at the checkout was loaded with the usual tabloid magazines as well as copies of Time and National Geographic. She had no interest in the tabloids. Charlie knew that magazines like them would print anything to increase sales even if it meant making up stories. How else could you justify how two magazines could report completely opposite stories about the same people at the same time. So as she stood in line she didn't even glance at the tabloids, instead she reached for the most recent edition of National Geographic. Charlie opened the cover prepared to flip through the pages when another cover caught her eye. Behind the magazine she'd picked up sat a copy of Today.
Jake's intense blue eyes stared back at her from the magazine's cover. It wasn't the first time she'd seen his picture on a magazine cover and she knew it wouldn't be the last. Unable to stop herself, Charlie reached for the magazine, her curiosity too great to do anything else. Instantly she wished she hadn't. The headline below his picture read, Prince Charming, Jake Sherbrooke soon to be a father. The words sent her heart plummeting to her feet. Charlie stared at them. Maybe if she looked long enough they would change or disappear altogether. They didn't.
“Do you plan on buying that?” the young cashier at the registered asked as she snapped her chewing gum.
The young woman's annoyed tone pulled Charlie back to reality. Without a second thought, she handed the magazine to the cashier.
Once outside she tossed the bags of groceries into the trunk as fast as humanly possible. Then she climbed in the front seat and pulled open the magazine. Colored pictures of Jake with a dark-haired woman who looked almost too beautiful to be real greeted her. Below the pictures was an article by Marcy Blake, the reporter Jake had told her about.
Charlie clenched her teeth as she read the words. Was it true? Had Jake walked out on his pregnant girlfriend, Blair Peters? According to the article he had. Dropping the magazine onto her lap she took a deep breath. She didn't want to believe it about him. But it was possible. He did have the reputation of being a playboy. Yet the Jake she'd come to know didn't fit with his reputation. That combined with the way he acted around his family made it hard to believe he could walk away from an unborn child.
You've only known him a few weeks. A person could pretend to be anyone for that short of a time.
Charlie raked her fingers through her hair then picked up the magazine to reread the article. Unfortunately a second pass didn't change its contents. Unease clawed at her. Was Jake just like her father? A man willing to walk out on his children without a backward glance? Even an unborn child?
As if on autopilot she slid the key into the ignition and started the car. Just as she was about to shift into reverse her cell phone rang. She recognized the number on the display. Jake. He'd called her the day before and promised to call her sometime today.
Charlie picked up the phone and held it with her thumb poised over the talk button. Did she want to talk to him right now? She wasn't sure. Hell if what the magazine article said was true she didn’t ever want to talk to him again. Avoiding him wouldn't answer her questions though. Still that didn't mean she had to speak with him now. Later after she digested the article might be a better time to question him.
After a few more rings the phone became silent, and Charlie tossed it onto the passenger seat. Then after one more glance at the magazine on the passenger seat under the phone, she headed back to the Victorian Rose.
Chapter 9
Jake drummed his fingers on the steering wheel Friday night and waited for the car in front of him to move. Traffic on I-95 hadn't budged in five minutes which only added to his current state of frustration.
Thanks to a combination of bad luck and a hectic schedule, he and Charlie had played phone tag on Thursday. Or at least he told himself that was why they hadn't spoken. His subconscious kept telling him a different story. While she had returned two of his calls and left messages when he didn't answer, she had not gone out of her way to reach him. Did that mean she was avoiding him? Had she already learned about the situation with Blair?
The uncertainty had been making him edgy all day. Earlier he'd nearly snapped Cindy's head off when she'd asked if he'd finished some reports. He'd immediately apologized, but he still felt like a complete ass. She didn't deserve to receive the brunt of his temper.
When he pulled into the parking lot of the bed and breakfast an hour later the outside lights welcomed him. Jake carefully maneuvered his rental car in between a Prius and Charlie's Jeep then killed the engine. For a moment he considered leaving his bag in the car. If Charlie had seen the magazine article she might tell him to get lost. Even if she hadn't seen it, once he explained the situation she might decide being involved with him wasn't worth the headache and show him to the door.
How much easier life would be if he hadn't been born a Sherbrooke. Once again Jake found himself envying his half-sister Callie who had grown up not knowing the truth about her father. In so many ways she'd had a better life than him, though he'd never admit that to anyone. If he
did, it would make him look like a complete ass. People saw all the privilege and opportunities he had. They didn't see the paparazzi who shadowed him just waiting for a juicy story. Or the people who used their association with him only to satisfy their own agendas.
Get off the pity train. Jake climbed out of the car and started to close his door. At the last minute he pulled it open again and grabbed his bag from the back seat.
The sweet smell of fresh apple pie greeted him when he walked in. Immediately his mouth watered. He had breakfast but meetings kept him busy through lunch and his dinner on the plane had been less than satisfying.
Closing the door behind him, Jake looked around. The dining room to his left as well as the sitting room to his right were empty, but he could hear voices coming from the back of the house. He decided to head in that direction when Maureen O'Brien walked down the hall toward him wearing her flowered apron.
“Jake, it's nice to see you again. Charlie said you were coming up this weekend.” Maureen gave him a motherly hug. “We just ate, but if you're hungry I can make you something.” Her soft spoken voice and warm embrace instantly made him feel at home.
“It’s good to see you too. If you have any leftovers that'll be fine.”
Maureen started toward the kitchen and nodded for him to follow. “Follow me. Charlie's putting the leftovers away now.”
