The Billionaire Playboy (19 page)

Charlie fell
silent again and Jake could almost see her brain processing everything as she
studied him.

“Charlie I know
you have no reason to believe me.” He reached out, lacing her fingers with his.
“But if I thought the baby could be mine, I'd try to smooth things over with
Blair. I would want to be a part of my child's life. But I don't believe her.
The timing is all wrong, and she's too uncooperative.”

She wanted to
believe him. Everything she'd learned about him so far told her that he wasn't
the type of man who would abandon a child. Then again her mother had probably
thought the same thing about her father. At the same time she couldn't help but
think of the scandal from the previous year with Jake's half-sister Callie. Sure
Warren Sherbrooke claimed Callie's mother never told him about the pregnancy. Who
really knew the truth though? Callie's mom was dead. Had it been a similar
situation? Was Jake merely following in his father's footsteps?

On the other
hand all the evidence he'd given her did seem to support Jake's claim, and
since their first meeting he hadn't given her any reason not to trust him.

Why would his ex
lie about this though? Blair had to know the truth would come out at some
point. There was no way it wouldn't.

“If you want me
to leave just say the word.” He released her hand and pushed his chair back. The
sound of the chair legs scraping across the tile floor was the only sound in
the room.

She caught the
hurt in his voice and knew she'd caused it. So far she hadn't given him any
indication of where she stood on the issue and she probably wasn't the only one
doubting him right now.

You're having fun with him, not marrying him. If it
turns out he's lying it's not your problem.
Charlie reached for his hand and
tried to block out the nagging voice in her head that kept telling her if it
did turn out to be true she'd be devastated.

“No. I want you
to stay.”

He squeezed her
fingers tightly. “You believe me?” There was a slight tinge of wonder in his
voice.

Pushing aside
the tiny inkling of doubt, she nodded. “You've haven't given me any reason not
to.”
 

For the first
time since arriving, a true smile spread across Jake's face and Charlie nearly
forgot to breathe. He always looked handsome, but his smile had a magnetism all
its own. It almost seemed unfair to the entire female population. Honestly, how
could any woman resist him?

“I missed you. I
couldn't wait to get up here this weekend to see you.” As he spoke he caressed
her palm with his thumb. The gentle touch sent shivers up her arm.

“Missed me or my
mom's cooking? You seemed to enjoy that quite a bit when you were here last
time.” She couldn't help but tease him because it accomplished two things. One
it lightened the atmosphere, and two it drew her attention away from the
feelings his admission sparked in her. True, men she'd dated in the past had
told her they missed her but the words had never made her feel all warm and
tingly before.
 
Jake's words did just
that.

“Both, but maybe
the cooking just a bit more.” Jake answered with a trace of laughter in his
voice.

She couldn't
stop herself from laughing as she stood and walked over to the counter where a
half of a pie sat. “I should've known. Nobody can compete with Ma’s pot roast
and apple pie.” Charlie sliced two pieces of pie and carried them over. “It's a
good thing you haven't tried her pecan pie. She'd probably never get you to
leave then.”

“I wouldn't
stick around for pecan. Never liked it. But if she makes pumpkin or blueberry,
that's another story.”

***

Charlie climbed
out of bed the next morning before Jake awoke. Part of her wanted nothing more
than to cuddle up next to him and go back to sleep herself, but at the same
time she didn't want anyone to see her leaving his room. She suspected her mom
and brother knew he'd come back to see her, but neither had outright asked her.
After all, she had spent the weekend in Newport with him. Still that didn't
mean she wanted either of them to see her coming out of his room. So after one
more glance at Jake, she slipped out the door and headed up to her room.

When she walked
into the kitchen two hours later showered and dressed, she expected to find her
mom preparing breakfast.
 
Instead she
found her mom sitting across the table from a dark-haired woman dressed in a
powder blue sheath dress and matching blazer. A basket of fresh blueberry
muffins was in the middle of the table and a mug of coffee sat in front of each
woman.

Instantly the
hairs on the back of Charlie's neck went up. She didn't recognize the woman
but
  
the small notepad in front of her
suggested that she was a reporter which meant her presence had something to do
with Jake. Why else would a reporter be sitting in her mother's kitchen
drinking coffee and eating muffins?

Hoping to alert
Jake before he came through the door, Charlie turned to leave just as her
mother looked over and saw her standing in the doorway.

“Good you're up.
You should be able to help Ms. Blake since you've spent a lot of time with Jake.
She's doing an article about The Falmouth Foundation for her magazine.”

It took all of
Charlie's control not to groan when she heard the name of the woman. “I can try.
We worked together a lot right after the hurricane.” Charlie didn't know for
certain but she suspected the reporter’s reason for being there had nothing to
do with Jake's foundation. “The town wouldn't have started to recover so
quickly without the Falmouth Foundation.”

“I'm hoping to get
some insight into Jake Sherbrooke the man, not just his organization. People
know a lot about the Falmouth Foundation and all the good it does already. They're
more interested in Jake himself. They want to know what makes a man like that
tick.”

As the reporter
explained her purpose for doing the article she smiled. While Charlie assumed
the smile was meant to make her feel comfortable, it had the opposite effect. The
smile made Charlie feel like some kind of prey and the reporter was getting
ready to move in for the kill.

I bet they do,
Charlie thought as a surge of protectiveness swept through her. What people
wanted was more gossip, something she had no intention of giving. “Sorry. I
can't tell you much. I didn't get a chance to really know him. I can tell you
he's a hard worker. He did whatever needed to be done. He even boarded up
windows,” Charlie said with just the right amount of regret in her voice. “Maybe
you can talk to some other people in town.”

Marcy Blake's
smile changed ever so slightly and her eyes narrowed. “Your mom mentioned you
went to Newport with him for his sister's wedding. You must have gotten to know
him a little during that time.”

Nice going Ma.
One of these days her mother's
willingness to talk to anyone was going to get her into trouble. Charlie
couldn't think of a good reply to the reporter's statement. Denying she had
gone wouldn't work. Not only would she be saying her mother lied, but it seemed
probable that the reporter could confirm it on her own. “We spent most of our time
with his family. Family seems very important to him.”

As she tried to
think of other general items she could use to satisfy the reporter, she
listened for approaching footsteps. With every minute that went by it became
more likely that Jake would walk in looking for breakfast. She knew the last
person he'd want to see seated at the kitchen table was Marcy Blake.

“How serious are
things between you and him?” Marcy asked turning to an empty page in her
notepad.

Like I would ever tell you.
“We're friends,”
Charlie answered, pleased at how nonchalant she sounded.

Across the table
her mother waved a hand in the air dismissing Charlie's comment. “She doesn't
believe me. I keep telling her he wouldn't have come up here this weekend if
they were just friends. Don't you agree? Men don't drive that far more than
once in a week to see friends.”

Charlie
envisioned herself stuffing the dish towel hanging from the stove in her
mother's mouth. At this rate her mother was going to give the reporter enough
information to write an entire book not just a single article.

“He's here now?”

Charlie could
almost see the reporter's radar go up, and before she could reply her mom
offered up an answer.

“He got here
last night. I think he plans on staying till Monday. Right, Charlie?'

She wasn't
positive but she thought she heard the reporter mutter ‘interesting’ as she
scribbled something down on her pad. Her instincts told her she should ask the
reporter to leave, but she held back. If she did, the nosy reporter would
assume she was hiding something and that may only make things worse for Jake. So
instead she poured herself a coffee and sat down at the table. If nothing else
maybe she could run interference with some of the questions. Otherwise who knew
what her mother might tell the reporter.

“So you're the
woman that people saw him playing mini-golf with in Newport.” This time the
reporter directed her question right at her.

Charlie found it
unsettling to have people referring to her, yet it shouldn't shock her. After
all she spent the weekend with a man that media considered an international
playboy. “We went for ice cream and decided to play a round.” Charlie tried to
keep her voice level and devoid of any emotion.

Marcy Blake
scribbled something down on her notepad. “Has he told you how he feels about
becoming a father?”

Charlie's
knuckles turned white as she gripped her coffee mug. No matter what answer she
gave it would come off sounding bad. “If he ever has kids someday, I'm sure
he'll be a great father. Like I said he seems big into family.”

“You mean when,”
Marcy replied raising one of her manicured eyebrows.
 
“His ex-girlfriend Blair Peters is expecting. Didn't
he tell you?”

Charlie pictured
herself tossing the coffee mug at Marcy's head as she debated how to reply. Engaging
in a pissing match with the woman would accomplish nothing, but she still
couldn't resist the urge to defend Jake. “So she says. Now unless you have any
questions about the work Mr. Sherbrooke did here, you should go. My mother and
I have a lot to do this morning before the guests come down for breakfast.”

Marcy Blake
closed her notepad and stuffed it into her Coach bag. “Of course. I have some
other stops to make before I leave town anyway.” Marcy gave them both a
blinding white smile. “Thank you both for your time.”

Charlie released
the death grip on her coffee mug and stood. “I'll show you out.” She didn't
trust the woman and wouldn't put it past her to wander around the house looking
to talk to other guests or to run into Jake himself.

Chapter
10

 
Charlie felt Jake's arm drop across her
shoulders and she willingly snuggled close to him as he pulled her against his
side. At their feet sat the remains of their late afternoon snack.

“I didn't mean
to drag you into this. But you need to be prepared for what might come next.”

“Marcy Blake
didn't get anything interesting from me. So relax.” Though he seemed more
relaxed now than he had when she'd told him about the reporter's visit, she
could still feel the tension in his muscles.

“You don't
understand. She's going to paint you as the other woman. It won't matter that
we met after Blair and I split.”

Charlie heard
the anger and frustration in his voice, and she wondered who he was more upset
with the reporter or himself. She sensed it was an even split.

“She'll put
whatever twist she needs to sell more magazines.”

Charlie pulled
away from his embrace. The setting sun cast his face in shadows but she could
still see his incredible sapphire blue eyes. Normally his eyes were bright with
a devilish look, but this afternoon they were hard and filled with anger. “Let
her. I don't care. If anyone asks me, I'll tell them the truth.”

Jake gave her a
pitying look as he shook his head. “You don't get it. People won't believe you.”
he said forcefully. “I'm not even sure my parents believe me. When they see
whatever twist that vulture puts on this story, they'll probably doubt me even
more.”

Some of the
anger left his voice only to be replaced by sadness. She understood the anger
toward Marcy Blake and the media, but she didn't get his feelings toward his
parents.
 
When she met his family at the
wedding they seemed close. “Why?” It wasn't any of her business, but she
couldn't stop herself from asking anyway.

For a minute he
looked away from her. She wanted to press him for an answer and had to bite
down on her lip to keep quiet. When he turned back to her his mouth was tight
and grim.