“Why I never!” She scowled. “That was uncalled for and very rude, young lady.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.”
Jackson and Stuart walked back over and, instantly, Gwen took his arm and led him away.
“What just happened?” Jackson asked.
I sighed. “Your mom officially hates me.” I pursed my lips.
“Why?” He chuckled.
“She thinks you’re gay.”
“WHAT?!” His voice raised.
“Shh.” I hooked my arm in his. “I told her you weren’t and maybe the reason you don’t believe in relationships is because of the example she and your father had set. Sorry.” I bit down on my bottom lip.
Laughter escaped him.
“Please, don’t apologize. What you said was perfect. And as for her hating you, she probably does after what you said. But that’s her problem.” He winked. “If she wants to think I’m gay, then fine. She can believe what she wants. I don’t really care.”
While Jackson and I were talking, Jules walked up and pulled us to the side.
“I wanted to tell you first before I made an announcement. I said yes to Carter. We’re engaged.” She smiled as she held out her hand and I admired the beautiful diamond that sat on it.
Jackson wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him.
“That’s great, Jules. I’m happy for you.”
“Congratulations.” I gave her a big hug.
“Thanks. I’m going to make an announcement in a few minutes, since everyone is here.”
“Have you told Mom yet?” Jackson asked.
“No. Not yet. I wanted you to be the first to know. You’re happy for me, right?” she asked.
“Are you happy, Jules?”
“Very happy.”
“Then you made the right decision.” He kissed her forehead.
****
Not one, not two, but three orgasms later, I was wrapped up in Jackson’s arms. It was the perfect ending to a perfect party.
“Are you ready for your expansion of the shop?” Jackson asked.
“Ugh. I forgot to tell you. I called Leon and he told me that he sold the buildings. So now I have to wait until the new owners get in contact with me. Can he just sell them like that without telling me?”
“Yes. It’s his property. He can do whatever he wants with them. That just means that you’ll have to pay your rent to the new owners. Nothing should change, since you’re already in a lease.”
“What if they won’t allow me to expand?” I asked with concern.
His lips pressed against the top of my head. “I’m sure they will. I wouldn’t worry about it just yet.”
“I’m kind of anxious to get moving on it. What if they rent the other space out before I can talk to them about it?”
His chest heaved and a long sigh escaped him. Lifting my head from his chest, I sat up and looked at him.
“Am I irritating you?” I arched my brow.
“No. It’s just there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What?” I asked with nervousness.
“First thing Monday morning, I want you to get hold of a contractor and start planning your expansion.”
“Have you not been listening to me? I just can’t do that and I’m not getting my hopes up and then having the new owner shoot it down and tell me no.”
His finger reached out and traced my collarbone as I held the sheet against me.
“I am the new owner and I give you the okay to expand Emily’s Edge.”
“What?” I asked with a laugh. “You bought the buildings?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“For investment reasons and so you could expand. Leon said absolutely not and I thought he was making a mistake, so I purchased the buildings from him and now you’re free to do whatever you want.”
“You’re serious?”
“Dead serious, Emily.”
“When did you do this?”
“Yesterday.”
“And you were going to tell me when?” I narrowed my eye at him.
“Tomorrow over breakfast.” He smirked. “But you wouldn’t stop talking about it.”
A feeling came over me in an instant. A mixture of—shit, I didn’t know. On one hand, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of him buying the buildings so I could expand, but on the other, I was a little frightened by what he had done.
“I don’t know what to say, Jackson. I can’t believe you did that.”
“Don’t read too much into it, Emily. I did it for investment reasons and because you’re my friend, and friends help each other out, right?”
“Yeah. I guess. But that had to cost you a lot of money.”
“What doesn’t cost a lot of money these days? If I didn’t think it was worth it, I wouldn’t have done it. So, actually, my purchase was in the best interest for both of us.”
Leaning over, I brushed my lips against his. “Thank you for letting me expand.”
“You’re welcome.” He pulled me on top of him. “One more round before we go to sleep?”
“Definitely.” I grinned.
Chapter 26
Emily
One Month Later
Life was good. Too good to be true, actually. Things with Jackson and me were phenomenal and our negotiation was working perfectly. He was busy with work, securing new deals and new properties every day, and I was busy with the expansion of Emily’s Edge. Jules popped in to the shop every so often and the four of us went out at least once a week. Jackson told her about our arrangement and she thought it was a little strange, but she wasn’t surprised.
I stood in the middle of the shop and watched as the carpenters worked on the espresso bar.
“This is going to be great,” Evelyn spoke as she stood next to me.
“What’s going to be great is that wall over there with your name displayed on it and your designs hanging underneath.” I smiled.
“That too.” She laughed. “By the way, Dylan and I said those three lovely words to each other last night.”
“Oh?” My brow raised as I stood there with my arms folded. “Isn’t it kind of soon to be saying those poisonous words?”
“Stop it. And no, it’s not too soon. I do love him. Hearing him say those words was magical.”
“You do know that magic isn’t real, right?”
Her eyes narrowed at me as she placed her hands on her hips.
“I think what you and Jackson have is incredible. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you two are no different from any other couple in the world. And don’t deny it. You two are a couple. I’ve seen the look on your face when he cancels a date because something came up at work and he has to switch the day you two see each other. I’ve seen you start to text him and then decide you better not, and I’ve seen the way the two of you are together. You both are crazy and head over heels for each other. You can deny it all you want, sister, but I know there’s more to this so-called companionship relationship than you’re willing to admit.”
I turned my nose up as I walked away.
“You’re wrong. We’re great friends with a little extra spice on the side. What Jackson and I have is perfect. In fact, if more people did what we did, they’d be a lot happier.”
As I was rearranging the display table in the front of the store, a man I recognized from a month ago walked in.
“Hello, Emily. I don’t know if you remember me.”
“Gregory, right?” I smiled.
“Yes. My wife and I just moved to the city and I thought I’d drop by and say hello.”
“So you did make the move. Welcome to New York.”
“Thank you. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to have lunch or perhaps dinner with you one night.”
“Excuse me?” I asked in confusion.
“I would like to talk to you about your mother.”
“What about her?” A look of concern swept over my face.
He
drew in a sharp breath. “We were very close at one time and—” He paused.
“And what?”
“I think you may be my daughter.”
I gulped and whipped my head around when I heard something hit the floor and Katie stood there staring at me as the jewelry rack she was holding fell from her hands.
“I know this may be a shock to you,” Gregory softly spoke.
“A shock is an understatement. Who do you think you are, coming into my shop and saying something like that? My mother didn’t know who my father was. She was a single woman who hooked up with a lot of guys. As horrible as that may make her sound, she was the best goddamn mother in the world,” I shouted. “Now please leave my shop.” I pointed to the door.
“Your mother was the love of my life. I’m sorry to have bothered you.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card, and set it on the table. “I’m sure your mother never mentioned me and I don’t blame her. I’ve lived with my decision for the last twenty-seven years. Have a good day, Emily.” He walked out the door.
I stood there, literally shaking at the news he had sprung on me. My heart was pounding out of my chest and the only person I could think of at that moment was Jackson.
“Emily, are you okay?” Katie asked as she walked up to me.
“I’m fine.”
“Do you think what he said was true?”
“I don’t know,” I spoke as I walked behind the counter and grabbed my purse. “I’m going out for a while. Noelle will be here in about thirty minutes.”
While I was in the back of the cab, I sent Jackson a text message.
“Are you at the office?”
“Hi, and yes, I’m here. Why?”
“I’m on my way. I need to talk to you.”
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
As soon as the cab driver pulled up to the fifty-six-story glass building, I threw some cash at him and took the elevator up to where Jackson’s office was on the thirtieth floor.
“Hi, Emily.” His secretary smiled. “Mr. Caine said to go right in when you got here.”
“Thank you.”
Opening the door to his office, I took one look at him sitting behind his desk and, instantly, my eyes filled with tears.
“Hey.” He got up from his chair and walked over to me.
The tears started to fall uncontrollably, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop them.
“What happened?” He clasped my shoulders and then pulled me into an embrace.
“This man came into the shop.”
Breaking our embrace, he looked at me with a seriousness in his eyes I had never seen before.
“What man? Did he hurt you?” he asked in a stern voice.
I looked down and shook my head and I was once again in the safety of his arms.
“Calm down, Emily, and tell me what happened.”
I swallowed hard and took in a deep breath.
“This man and his wife came into the shop about a month ago. They were visiting from Seattle. He kept staring at me the whole time they were there and when his wife was in the fitting room, he walked over and asked me if I knew Karen Wade. I told him that she was my mother and he said that he knew her and I had her smile. He came back into the shop just a little bit ago and told me that I might be his daughter.”
“What? But your mother always told you that she didn’t know who your father was.”
“That’s what I told him before I threw him out of my shop.”
Jackson led me over to the plush black leather couch in his office and sat me down.
“He said that he didn’t blame my mother for never mentioning him and that he had to live with the decision he made for the past twenty-seven years. He also said that she was the love of his life.”
“Do you believe him?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I kept playing the conversation over and over in my head on the way here.”
“Obviously, he has a reason to believe he could be your father. A man wouldn’t just go up to someone and say shit like that. Why did you throw him out?”
“Because I was in shock! It isn’t every day some stranger comes to you and claims to be your parent. What do I do?” I laid my head on his chest as he put his arm around me.
“Do you want my honest opinion? Or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?”
“Does it matter?”
“No.” He gently smiled as he kissed my head. “I think you owe it to him and yourself to hear him out. Like I said, there’s a reason he believes it. I know you’re in shock and when the shock wears off, you’ll be able to process all of this better.”
What he said made sense. There had to be a reason or something as to why he would believe I could be his daughter. My mother never mentioned a man named Gregory and now I was beginning to question why.
“Thanks, Jackson.” A small smile crossed my lips as I lifted my head from his chest.
His thumbs gently wiped away the tears from under my eyes.
“You’re welcome. You’re hot when you cry. Did you know that?” He smiled.
“I didn’t, but thank you.” I lightly laughed. “I should get back to the shop.”
“What time are you going to be home tonight?” he asked as I got up from the couch.
“Probably around six thirty.”
“Good. I’m coming over as soon as I leave here.”
“It’s not our scheduled night.”
He shrugged. “Then we’ll make it one. I’ll bring Chinese and we can just sit back, relax, and talk.”
“No sex?” I arched my brow at him.
“Now, now, Miss Wade. Is no sex ever an option when we’re together?”
“Just making sure.” I smiled as I kissed his lips and then walked out the door.
I had never run into the arms of a man when I was upset. But he was the first person I needed and I was happy that I ran to him. He made me feel safe and I knew just by talking to him that he’d make me feel better.
Chapter 27
Jackson
Seeing Emily so upset really affected me in a way I didn’t think it would or could. When she stepped into my office and I saw the tears running down her face, I froze in fear that something bad had happened to her. This was the first time since I’d known her that I saw her that way. She crumbled before me and my first instinct was to put her back together. I wanted to be with her tonight, even though I had other plans. The encounter she had with Gregory wasn’t something she would forget about anytime soon and I didn’t want her to be alone.
After wrapping up at the office, I picked up some Chinese food and went over to Emily’s apartment. When I arrived, she answered the door and waved me in, as she was on the phone. I walked to the kitchen and set down the plastic bag with the food in it on the counter and reached up into the cabinet and took down two plates.
“Sorry,” she spoke as she set her phone on the counter.
“That’s okay. It sounded important.”
Taking the food from the bag, she brought it over to the table.
“I was speaking to Crystal, my mom’s best friend since high school. If anyone would know about Gregory, she would.”
“What did she say?” I asked as I took a seat.
“She’s planning on coming here next week and we’ll talk then. I got the impression she was shocked by my phone call and I could tell she knew something.”
“Maybe you should meet with Gregory before her so you can find out if their stories are the same.”
“Do you think?”
“I do. If you want answers now, I think that would be the best thing to do.”
“I don’t know, Jackson. I’m kind of scared to find out if my mother was lying to me all these years.”
“I know you are, sweetheart, but you can’t just ignore it. You’ll spend the rest of your life wondering. It will follow you unless you find out the truth.”
“Did you just call me ‘sweethe
art’?” She smirked.
“I did, and you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because you have a sweet heart.”
She laughed as she took a bite of her chicken. The truth was that it just slipped out involuntarily. I sighed as I finished my dinner.
****
I arrived home from the office the next day and found Jules sitting at the island eating a plate of food that Terrance made.
“Hey,” I spoke as I kissed her cheek.
“Hi.” She smiled.
“On break?” I asked.
“Yeah. For the next couple of hours. I’m pulling a double shift. Mom called me today. She said she tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.”
“I’ve been in meetings all day. I was going to call her later. What’s up?”
“She wants to have dinner with the two of us tomorrow night.”
“I’m supposed to see Emily tomorrow night.”
“It’s the only night I have off this week. I think she may have some news for us.”
“Divorce news?” My brow arched.
“I’m thinking so.”
Rolling my eyes, I poured myself a glass of wine.
“Nothing new there. She can just tell me over the phone.”
“Come on, Jackson. You’re going to dinner. In fact, you can pick me up and we’ll arrive together. Twin support as always.” She pointed her fork at me.
“Then I’ll have to cancel my plans with Emily and I really don’t want to do that.” I threw back the rest of my wine.
“What is really going on between the two of you?” Jules asked.
“You know what’s going on between us.”
“Actually, the only thing I know is that you have some silly contract that dictates your relationship.”
“It’s not silly and it’s working out for both of us. Plus, it’s not a relationship. What Emily and I have is companionship.”
“For fuck sakes, Jackson. You two are in a relationship. Do you need me to look up the definition for you in the dictionary?”
“Be my guest.”
“Fine.”
Picking up her phone, her fingers typed ferociously as the word “aha” spewed with excitement from her mouth.
“‘A connection, association, or involvement. An emotional or other connection between people. A sexual involvement; affair.’ See, you and Emily are in a relationship, so I never ever want to hear you say that you aren’t.”