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She stepped into the sheltered doorway of a large building and waited. This was not a confrontation she relished. Prior to this morning, the last she had seen of Jake was when she went to the ladies’ room at the wedding reception three days ago.
He caught up to her, panting. “Where’s your car?” His hair was tousled, and his cheeks were ruddy with the cold. He looked like a male model in a winter catalog. Sophisticated. Gorgeous. Out of reach.
“In the garage on the next block.”
“We’ll take mine,” he said, sounding as arrogant as a man who thought he had all the answers. “I’ll get one of Joshua’s guys to drive yours home.”
“No, thank you,” she said politely.
She left the alcove and continued her journey.
Jake took her arm. “Don’t be ridiculous, Nik. We need to talk. We’ll ride together. My car is more comfortable.”
Anger swept over her, dissolving any squeamishness she had felt at facing him. “Don’t you dare call me ridiculous,” she said curtly, conscious of the many passersby. “I’m not the one who took a woman to his brother’s wedding and then slipped out like a thief in the night.”
His jaw tightened. “Maybe a poor choice of words.”
“Sorry,” she muttered.
“You knew where I was.”
“I knew that you and Oliver lost your minds. You hadn’t seen your father in fifteen years, and yet somehow you thought the two of you could track down Vernon better than the FBI? Sorry, Jake. That doesn’t cut it.”
“I made a mistake,” he said. “I was running on shock and adrenaline.”
“The mistake was mine,” Nikki replied, her throat clogged with tears.
“Let me explain,” he said urgently.
Nikki refused to be a pushover. “I know you’re Emma’s father. I won’t play the villain. But when you decide on a visitation schedule that fits your life, I’ll make plans for you to spend time with her in the company of either my mother or yours. I don’t want to see you again.”
His face was frozen in tight planes. His eyes burned. “Give me a chance, Nik. I have things I need to say.”
She shored up her resistance. “I’m cold, and I’m hungry. Goodbye, Jake.” She started walking again, blind to her surroundings. All she could think about was getting away. It hurt too much to be with him.
He followed her, took her arm in a gentle hold and spun her around, his eyes filled with anguish. “Don’t go.” He kissed her then, a kiss that held more desperation than passion. At first, his lips were cold against hers, but then the slow burn kindled again, and they were clinging to each other like survivors of a shipwreck.
In a way, the comparison was apt. Fifteen years ago, their love had crashed on the rocks of tragedy, and they had been one step from drowning ever since.
Jake’s kiss was achingly sweet one second and roughly possessive the next. Nikki went on her tiptoes, striving to get closer. She was courting more heartbreak. She knew that. But how could she be strong when everything inside her was melting with yearning for him?
At last, he stepped back, but he kept her hands in his. “One hour,” he said hoarsely. “That’s all I’m asking. One hour.”
“And you’ll feed me?”
Not even a glimmer of humor lightened his face. “Yes.”
They ended up at the same scruffy neighborhood grill where the two of them and Joshua had eaten after their abortive attempt to visit Vernon in jail. Jake asked for a booth in the back. As they took off their heavy coats, he tried to sit with Nikki like last time, but she waved him to the other side of the table. She needed a buffer zone.
Jake didn’t ask her opinion about the meal. He motioned for a waitress. When the woman arrived, he ordered two burgers, medium, with no onions and extra pickles, plus a couple of Cokes. How many times as teenagers had they ordered that exact meal and then laughed that they were so perfectly matched?
While they waited for the food, awkwardness loomed between them, filling the space, making conversation almost impossible. Finally, Nikki broke the silence. “Have you learned anything at all about the stolen money?”
Jake scowled at his drink, poking his straw through it. “Mom spoke briefly to the lawyer this morning. According to him, Vernon claims there never was a theft. He told counsel that he and Everett were hoodwinked by an unscrupulous deal. They saw a chance to quadruple Black Crescent’s coffers and took it. But the investment went belly up, and they were too ashamed to admit the truth, so they fled.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve read reports from the officers who apprehended my father. He wasn’t living in luxury.”
