Heartless Rebel (13 page)

 
          
“I
hope so. Nathaniel deserves happiness.”

 
          
Interestingly,
she was incensed for Nathaniel, whoever he was. “Does Nathaniel know you don’t
give him very good odds of being happy with his new wife?”

 
          
Jack’s
expression was wry. “I doubt he cares. He’s always done what he wanted. My
opinion doesn’t matter much.”

 
          
“Sensible
man,” she said. “How long have you known him?”

 
          
“All
my life. He’s my brother.”

 
          
Her
heart skipped a beat. He was taking her to a family wedding? She’d thought it
was just a wedding, not a family function. It had seemed so much easier when it
had been simply
a wedding
.

 
          
“What’s
the matter?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.

 
          
Cara
swallowed. “I didn’t realize I’d be meeting your family. That seems much more
personal than a business arrangement.”

 
          
“It’s
not. We’re not a very close family.”

 
          
Something
in his tone made her heart ache. She wasn’t close to her father, not anymore,
but she couldn’t imagine life without Mama and Remy and Evie. It was true she
wanted adventure, true she wanted to explore and do her own thing, but to not
have them to go home to? To not have that safe haven that would always be
there, especially now that she’d done so much to secure it for them?

 
          
It
was unthinkable.

 
          
“I
see this surprises you,” he said. “And yet, here you are, thousands of miles
from home.”

 
          
“I
left for many reasons, but we’re still very close.”

 
          
His
gaze roamed her face. “Yes, I believe that. There’s a light in your eyes
whenever you mention them. And you’ve clearly worked very hard to provide for
them.”

 
          
“I
love them,” she said. And then, because she couldn’t stop herself, she asked,
“Aren’t you ever lonely, Jack?”

 
          
His
expression was tired, bleak. She saw the wounded warrior now, the man behind
the mask—or were there more masks, more layers of obfuscation? It wouldn’t
surprise her if there were.

 
          
“I’ve
been alone too long to be lonely,” he said.

 
          
“That’s
ridiculous. How can you say that?”

 
          
He
traced the line of her jaw with two fingers. “You’re very naive, Cara. We don’t
all need the company of others to make our lives complete.”

 
          
She
bristled. “I choose to think of myself as optimistic. There’s nothing wrong
with hoping for the best. Nothing wrong with wanting to share my life with
someone.”

 
          
The
boat thudded against the rubber bumpers of the dock, signaling that the ride
was over. Jack stepped back, took her hand in his as if she were a child.

 
          
“Wait,”
she said when he tried to lead her toward the gangway. He gave her that look
she was getting to know so well, the one that said he was annoyed but
tolerating her. Well, nothing said she had to stand for it. She wasn’t letting
him barrel through her life, giving orders and making plans—which was what he’d
been doing since he’d walked in and sat down at her table last night.

 
          
“I’m
not naive, Jack. Wanting more out of life and relationships is not naive. I’m a
big girl, I know what I want.”

 
          
He
inclined his head. “No, maybe it’s not naive to know what you want out of life.
If only more people did. But, Cara, wanting more out of
me
is very naive.”

 
          
“I
didn’t say anything about you, did I?” she threw at him. “Honestly, your
arrogance is unbelievable sometimes.”

 
          
She
didn’t wait for him to reply. She strode up the gangway, tears pricking at the
backs of her eyes as a shiver of premonition skimmed up her spine. Because,
damn her, she did want more from him. She wanted there to be something else
besides this incredible heat and pull of attraction between them. She wanted
there to be the possibility of a relationship at the very least. Even if it
didn’t work out, she wanted to know he would take her seriously for more than
the time it took to get her into bed.

 
          
Honest
to God, she should just leave. She should tell him the deal was off. But where
would she go? She couldn’t go back to Nice, and she couldn’t leave Europe
without her passport.

 
          
Cara
shook her head angrily. For now, she would stay. She had no choice but to stay.

 
          
And
she would remember that Jack Wolfe was off-limits, no matter how her silly
heart wanted the possibility of more. He was hiding behind walls that were
stacked to the sky and thicker than the duckweed that choked the bayous back
home. The rare glimpses she’d gotten behind those walls were carefully
controlled constructs that he trotted out for the sake of appearances.

 
          
No,
the real Jack was buried too deep to ever break free. She didn’t really know
him—and she probably never would.

 
          
THEY
spent another full day in Paris before setting out for London on a private
plane only a few hours before the wedding. Cara had never flown in such luxury
before. The plane was furnished in blue and cream, its plush chairs overstuffed
and comfortable. There was plenty of legroom, a table in front of her that
didn’t require anyone to fold down a tray and a sleek chrome bar where a
uniformed attendant was stacking drinks in a refrigerator.

 
          
She’d
hoped to take the train so she could experience the Chunnel, but Jack had
informed her that her lack of a passport would be a problem. They were flying
because, presumably, Jack knew people. At least she hoped he did, because she’d
hate to be sent back to France when he’d gone to so much trouble.

 
          
“How
does one go about renting a private plane?” she asked. The engines spooled up
as they began to taxi down the runway.

 
          
“I
own it,” he said.

 
          
Cara
could only stare at him. He owned a plane?
A
plane?
She glanced around the interior. It seemed even more lush and rich
than it had only moments ago.
My God
.

 
          
Jack
picked up a copy of a British newspaper and flipped it open. Cara turned to
look out the window while the plane gathered speed, shooting down the runway
before lifting into the air in a stomach-dropping ascent. She glanced at Jack,
but he didn’t seem in the least perturbed. She hadn’t flown often, and the
experience was still both exhilarating and frightening every time.

 
          
As
the plane climbed, she watched the countryside below. It was so beautiful, and
vastly different than her home in Louisiana. Here, there were vineyards, cows,
verdant fields and stone villages in abundance. At home, there would be swamps,
a lot of flat wetlands, sand and pine trees.

 
          
A
flight attendant came over and asked if she would like a drink. When the woman
returned with a glass of iced water, Cara thanked her, hoping she didn’t look
as unsophisticated as she felt.

 
          
Real
glass on an airplane instead of
plastic. A man who owned an airplane. Wealth and luxury like she’d never
imagined she would ever personally experience. She’d seen plenty of luxury in
the casinos, but she’d never expected to be on the other end of the luxury.
Enjoying it as if she were entitled to it.

 
          
She
felt like a fraud.

 
          
“Want
the paper?” Jack asked.

 
          
Cara
jerked her attention toward him. He’d finished the paper. The sections lay
neatly folded on the table between them. She shook her head. “No, thanks.” A
moment later, she asked, “Do you think you might tell me a little bit about who
will be at this wedding?”

 
          
“Scared,
Cara?” The skin under his eye was black and blue, but he was still so handsome
in his dark Italian suit. She ran a hand over the turquoise jersey dress she’d
chosen for the wedding, marveling at the weight and texture of the fabric. At
least she wouldn’t look as if she didn’t belong.

 
          
When
she’d emerged in the dress this morning, Jack’s eyes had gleamed hotly as his
gaze slid over her body. She loved the way he looked at her, and yet it
frightened her, too. Because she was coming to expect that little electric
jolt, to need it, and she knew it wouldn’t last. What happened when they were
through with this wedding?

 
          
She
would have to go, would have to break away from this pull between them, if she
hoped to survive with her heart intact.

 
          
“A
little bit,” she admitted. “But I think I’ll feel more awkward than anything.”

 
          
Jack’s
expression said he didn’t understand why she should. “There’s not much to tell.
Nathaniel is marrying a woman he met while doing his last play, I believe.”

 
          
“Is
he an actor? Or maybe a playwright?” Jack’s brows drew together as he studied
her. “You’ve never heard of Nathaniel Wolfe? You are quite sheltered, aren’t
you?”

 
          
Cara
suddenly couldn’t breathe. Nathaniel Wolfe? Jack’s brother was the
award-winning actor? She was going to
his
wedding?

 
          
The
panic she’d been holding in unwound in her belly. Oh, God, they’d see right
through her! There’d be paparazzi, gossip columnists, movie people—and they’d
all know she didn’t belong. She couldn’t possibly go to a
celebrity
wedding.

 
          
Cara
gave herself a firm mental shake before she did something asinine like
hyperventilate. Why on earth would any of those people care about her? They
wouldn’t. It was she who cared, she who was afraid. No one would even notice
her.

 
          
Jack
watched her, one eyebrow arched. As if he were waiting for her to implode. She
refused to give him the satisfaction. She could handle this, she really could.

 
          
“I
know who he is. I just didn’t realize he was your brother,” she said coolly.
And now that she knew, she could see the family resemblance. Jack was older,
she thought, but just as devastatingly handsome. More so, in her opinion. She
didn’t follow celebrity news at all, but she knew there’d been some sort of
scandal about Nathaniel Wolfe, something to do with his father’s death at the
hands of a brother and sordid details about his mother trying to drown him when
he was a baby.

 
          
Cara
shivered. My God, Jack had grown up in that family?

 
          
“Nathaniel
is my half brother,” Jack said. “We had different mothers. Sebastian, another
half brother, will likely be there, as well. Alex won’t be there, but his
twin—Annabelle—will. The three of us have the same mother.”

 
          
“So
you have four siblings.” She couldn’t remember how many Wolfes there were from
the news reports. They’d never featured Jack, or surely she would have
remembered that.

 
          
She
realized he was in no hurry to respond. He flicked a spot on his trousers,
studying it as if he’d found a blemish. When he looked up again, his eyes were
startlingly blank.

 
          
“There
are eight of us. Rafael is also my half brother, as are the two oldest, Jacob
and Lucas.”