The Billionaire Playboy (18 page)

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.”

Jake hesitated
for a second. Charlie was his only reason for being here, and he hated not
knowing what to expect from her. Would she throw him out the minute she saw him?
Or would she give him a chance to explain.
Only
one way to find out.

Charlie stood at
the counter covering plates of food with plastic wrap. From where he stood it
looked like roast beef and roasted potatoes, and there was half an apple pie on
the counter near the coffee pot. Immediately his mouth began to water. He'd
always been a meat-and-potatoes kind of man. Fancy dishes that looked as if
they belonged in a museum of modern art were fine on occasion but nothing could
beat a good steak or roast.

“Sit down, Jake.
I'll fix you a plate,” Maureen said as she took a clean plate from the
cupboard.

Jake stopped
near the kitchen table but didn't pull out a chair. Instead he waited for
Charlie to turn and acknowledge him. So far she hadn't even said hello. As the
seconds ticked by his stomach clenched in dread. He opened his mouth to ask if
he could speak with Charlie alone when she whipped around and took the plate
from her mom.

“I'll do it. You've
been busy all day, Ma. I can finish up in here.” Charlie looked over in his
direction for a brief second. With her face devoid of any emotion, there was no
way for him to tell what thoughts were running through her mind

She didn't toss you out on your ass. It's a start.

Maureen didn't
argue. Instead she removed her flowered apron then hung it up on the hook by
the door. “Jake, I'll take your bag up on my way. I put you in the Hawthorne
room again.”

“Thank you.”
Jake waited until Maureen left before speaking again. “Hey.” He kept his tone
natural. He figured it was best to let her set the tone of the conversation. “How
have you been?”

Charlie shrugged
as she arranged several slices of meat on the plate. “Things around here are
returning to normal. I think I'll head back to Virginia soon.”

After heating
the food in the microwave, she carried it to the table. “There's plenty more if
you're still hungry after this.”

Although the
aromas drifting up from the plate had his caused his stomach to growl, he
didn't reach for the food. Before he did anything he needed to explain things.
“We need to talk.” Charlie's less than enthusiastic greeting suggested she'd
seen or heard about Blair. Still he didn't know for sure so Jake assumed the
best place to start was the beginning. Pulling out a chair he gestured for her
to have a seat.

Charlie didn't
say anything. Rather she took a deep breath then slowly exhaled before sitting
down. “Do you remember me mentioning a reporter named Marcy Blake?” Jake asked
sitting down next to her. He wanted to reach for her but forced his hands to
remain on the table.

She nodded yes
but her face remained emotionless.

“She did an
article on me in this week's edition of Today magazine.” Jake wished she’d give
some hint of her feelings.

“I know. I read
it.” He heard just the barest hint of anger in her voice. “They picked a great
picture of you for the cover.”

Okay, so she knows. Now the important question is,
will she believe me?
Jake leaned forward in his chair as he fought down his anger.
 
The article had not painted him in a good
light. “Blair and I dated for several months, but I ended things with her
almost 3 months ago after I got back from a month in England.”

Charlie folded
her arms across her chest and her face went grim. “Is that when she told you
she was pregnant?”

For a moment his
temper flared. He knew the article claimed he walked out after she broke the
news to him. “No. I only heard about it when I was up here. And it can't be
true. If she's pregnant the baby isn't mine.”

Next to him, the
rigidness in her body relaxed but the guarded expression remained.

“The last time
we slept together was more than four months ago. Wouldn't she have known before
last week that she was pregnant?”

“Maybe. Maybe
not. Everyone is different. Or she might have just waited to tell you.”

By the cold tone
of her voice, Jake knew she hadn't accepted his side of the story. Somehow
though he needed to convince her. “Since you're the doctor I'm not going to
argue about her knowing sooner. But we always used protection and if it is mine
why won't she have the paternity test done? She won't even agree to an
ultrasound to determine how far along she is.” If he'd had any doubts about the
baby being his, Blair's lack of cooperation proved to him that either she
wasn't pregnant or she wasn't far enough along for it to be his.

Charlie's
eyebrows came together in confusion. “I can understand her not wanting DNA
tests done before the baby is born. There are some risks involved doing it
prenatally. An ultrasound is harmless though.” As she spoke she unfolded her
arms and rested her hands on the table just inches away from his hands.

“Our lawyers
have talked multiple times. She refuses. Of course Marcy Blake didn't mention
any of that in the article.” Jake picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of
meat wishing it was the reporter's head instead.

Jake ate as he
waited for Charlie to respond. Even though he was anxious to know her thoughts,
he didn't want to push her. Regardless of what he told her, it still came down
to his word against the media. A dull ache formed around his heart. Maybe if
they'd known each other longer she would be more willing to accept his side of
the story.

After finishing
half the meat on his plate, Jake turned his attention to the roasted potatoes. He
had a forkful in his mouth when Charlie finally spoke.

“What are you
going to do next?” Her voice sounded more normal. Much of the coldness he'd
heard before was gone. “You could wait till the baby is born.”

He swallowed the
food and shrugged. “I don't know yet. My lawyer is looking into my options.”
Jake didn't want to discuss how he was going to handle this problem with Blair.
Instead he wanted to know where he stood with her. Eventually everything with
Blair would be settled even if it did take several months. But he needed to
know if she believed him enough to stick around and learn the truth. “I'm
meeting with him again next week.”