The Boyfriend List (17 page)

“Yeah. He obviously doesn’t think very much of me, either.” That was the realization that was the most painful, and she could see it on Nate’s face.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

“No. That problem isn’t about you, but one that’s been a long time in the making. But it’s extreme, even for him.” Jenna held Nate, knowing he was hurting, knowing his life had changed irrevocably since she became part of it. Right then, Jenna didn’t know if she was the best thing for him, and it broke her heart to think about.

“Go on upstairs. You look tired. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

Leaving him at that moment was hard, because she knew he was going to face down his two best friends, men who had shared almost every milestone with him. He was doing this for her, but he was also doing it for himself.

However, the honest truth was that she knew being with her was bad for him. The fact that Piper Lansing, who’d been so pleasant at the polo match, had set her gums flapping was only the beginning of the gossip that could damage Reliance, as well as his family’s business. Just as Jenna thought . . . people didn’t need a reason to be rotten to others. The stability he’d built over the years, that he craved, was at risk because wherever she went, a cyclone followed.

If nothing else, Jenna was consistent. Relationships were bad luck for the people she loved, and even though she loved Nate with all her heart, leaving was something she had to consider.

Even if her heart would break.

Sitting on the bed where he had made love to her this morning, where she stayed for an hour, safe, warm, and surrounded by his memory and his scent, Jenna didn’t know what she should do.

He should stand up for what he believes in.

—#9, Jenna’s Boyfriend List

Nate stepped into the kitchen, where Owen and Jason had lapsed into what appeared to be a very uncomfortable silence. It was time for him to step in, stand up for his wife and stand up for himself. The armchair quarterbacking was over.

“What are you doing in here?” Owen snapped.

“Jenna is upstairs,” he said, circling the kitchen. “She’s tired. I wanted to make sure she was feeling okay.”

Jason looked worried. “Jenna’s upstairs?”

“Yup. Just went up. With the party in full swing, we were surprised to hear people when we came into the house.”

Now it was Owen’s turn to be concerned. And he was. “Nate, I . . .”

“Shut up, Owen. Don’t say a fucking word.”

Nate turned to grip the granite countertop, leaned in, and felt every muscle in his back tighten as the anger filled him. Owen had insulted his wife. His friend thought he was some kind of idiot who couldn’t watch out for his own affairs. “You’ve crossed the line this time. I’ve been putting up with your cocksure, I-know-everything attitude since we were fifteen. I’ve been put down, pushed around, and dismissed, and I’m not putting up with your shit anymore.”

“I don’t know what you heard, but you need to calm down, bro.”

“I should calm down?” Nate turned and advanced on him. Even the big tough marine was wise enough to know Nate was not a man to be messed with at that moment. “Fuck you and your orders,
Major Kent
. You don’t insult my wife and think I’m going to stand for it. MY WIFE is off limits. You leave her alone.”

Jason nodded, but Owen dug in. Nate could see he was annoyed at being questioned. “
Your wife
could be a problem for our business. For our lives. Your impulsiveness could end up being very expensive.”

“Is that how my life breaks down to you? Is it only about net worth? That’s it?”

“It’s not just about you. What if she goes after the business?” Owen snapped.

“For Christ’s sake! She’s not going to! Why on earth would she do that?”

“Because it’s worth billions of dollars.”

“So am I.” Nate shrugged. “The business is a corporation. You don’t have anything to worry about. So what’s the real issue? Is it just your personal hatred of her family? Is it something else? What?”

“How do you know she’s the one? I mean, you barely know her. She’s got massive debt and probably hooked up with you for your wallet.”

“How did
you
know? How do you know Kim isn’t looking for a big payout? Do you have a pre-nup?”

Owen froze. Jason was watching and Nate had to wonder what he thought. Jason was rarely without an opinion, but he didn’t always express what he was feeling.

But Owen wasn’t saying a word. “You don’t like being challenged, Owen, you never have. In some ways I don’t know how we’ve been friends all these years.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re acting like an asshole. And while I respect what you’ve given to this country, sometimes you treat people like fucking doormats.”

“Look, we’re partners. We’re friends. I have a right to ask questions.”

“No, you don’t. This is my personal life. My wife, my marriage, my child. You have no say.” Nate thought he’d be screaming, but he wasn’t. His voice was low. Steady. He felt the rage in his chest and if Owen pushed him too far, there was a good chance he might snap.

Folding his arms, Owen stared at Nate. He considered him, his expression. And then like a rock, his friend’s words hit him square. “How do you know the kid is yours? How do you know she’s even pregnant?”

Pain shot through Nate’s neck and heart, lodging behind his eyes, and making his jaw twitch. Heat flooded through him, and before Nate knew what happened, he lunged at Owen and dropped him with a right hook to the jaw.

Grabbing Owen by the shirt, Nate was about to hit him again when Jason grabbed him from behind and hauled him back. “Nate, stop! Don’t.”

Pointing at Owen, the rage bubbled. “You don’t talk about her like that. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Owen stood, rubbing his jaw and licking his lip where Nate had drawn blood. “I’m your goddamn friend. I’m trying to watch out for you. For your business. For everything you’ve worked for.”

“I don’t give a shit about the business. Jenna and our baby—that’s who I care about.” He shook off Jason and stood toe-to-toe with Owen. “Reliance is not my dream. A family is. I’m done. I want out.”

“Nate, you can’t mean that.” Jason moved to one side, positioning himself so he could jump between him and Owen if something happened.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time,” Nate spat. “Jenna and the baby just sealed the deal for me.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Owen snarled. “Again with the baby! What if there is
no
baby?”

Nate moved to hit him again, but Jason intervened. “Owen,” Jason said, “if you say that again, I’ll hit you myself.”

Owen backed himself into the refrigerator and stuffed his hands in his pockets while Nate leaned on the island and dropped his head forward. “I don’t want to do this with you. I don’t want to keep going with Reliance, either. This is not how I saw my life unfolding. I was going to work with my family’s business. That was my plan.”

“You’re going to give up working with us, one of the hottest tech brands, to play with the horses?” Disdain dripped from Owen’s words. Nate should have expected it.

“Pretty much. That’s my passion. Computers, tech, high finance? That’s all cool, but it’s not me. I’m not that intense. You tell me that all the time, Owen.”

“I didn’t mean you should quit.”

“Then what did you mean?” Nate righted himself and stretched his neck. “Obviously I’m not as strong a partner. Lesser somehow.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. Shit.” Owen banged the back of his head lightly on the refrigerator door. “I just meant that you need to be more aggressive. More forceful.”

“I’d have to give enough shits about it to be aggressive or forceful. I think when I hit you I qualified. What do you think?” Nate raised an eyebrow and enjoyed Jason’s suppressed laughter.

Owen rubbed his jaw. “I would say that’s definitely something.”

“If I ever hear you talking about Jenna again, I will make you hurt, Owen. I swear to God I will.”

“Noted. But I don’t want you to leave the company. We need you.”

“To do what, exactly? You can find another person to do my job. Tris is completely able to take over, if that’s what you want.”

“I don’t want that. I want us to keep this going.” Owen turned his head toward Jason. “Jay, say something.”

Jason looked Nate dead in the eye. There was something sad in there, but he had a feeling he knew what was coming. “Your share of the business is worth about two billion dollars. We could do a cash payout for part of it and leave you with a smaller stake in the corporation. How does that sound?”

“Are you fucking out of your mind?” Owen shouted. “What are you telling him?”

“I’m telling him what he wants to hear,” Jason said. “What aren’t you understanding, Owen? This isn’t your decision.”

“Guys have you seen . . .” Kim walked into the kitchen. “Oh, my God.” She walked to her husband and gently touched the left side of his face. It was swollen and a nice bruise was developing. “What the hell happened? You look like you walked into a wall.”

Jason shook his head. “Nope. Nate’s fist.”

Kim raised both eyebrows. “Seriously?”

“Holy crap!” Now Meg was there. Wonderful. “Did you walk into a wall?”

Owen rolled his eyes and winced. “Shit. No. Nate hit me.”

“He what?” Meg stopped, thought for a second, and turned to Owen. “What did you do?”

Owen just threw up his hands.

“You said something about Jenna,” Kim began. “Didn’t you?” When he didn’t answer, Kim clenched her fists in frustration. “I love you, my husband, but sometimes you are such an asshole. Nate, where is she?”

“She went upstairs to lie down.”

Meg and Kim turned to each other and the look that passed between them made Nate’s heart skip a beat.

“She’s not up there,” Kim said.

“What do you mean she’s not?” Fear washed over him. She couldn’t just bolt. Leave without saying anything. She didn’t have a car. “Oh, no.”

All of them ran from the guest house and searched the crowd first for Jenna, but then for Jenna’s parents or one of her sisters. Kim saw Mrs. Albanese first and headed off and, as Nate followed, Leah grabbed his arm. “Did you know your wife’s ex is here? He said to watch out for her, she’s not exactly honest. Has a history.”

“Leah, stop it. You’re an attorney and you’re getting conned. He left Jenna with millions in debt and then took off. He’s the one who was investigated.”

“So she needs the money. See? I was right.”

“She’s managed to pay off most of it on her own. She doesn’t
need
anything. Have you seen her?”

“A few minutes ago. I told her not to try to get her hands on your bank accounts.”

“Leah! What is wrong with you?”

Kim came running back. “Her mother hasn’t seen her, but Tina and Chessie left.”

“Left?” Owen turned his eyes toward the long crushed shell driveway and to the road beyond. Where would she go?

“My guess Jenna was with them.”

“How could she leave?”

Kim drew a breath and narrowed her eyes at Leah, who looked down. “Jenna is very proud. She would hate that you were catching all this flack about her. The gossip. She was burned so badly. Royce most likely took all the money from his clients. But Jenna was stuck with the fallout from the people in San Francisco that he conned.”

“He said she took the money.” Leah folded her arms.

“He said?”

“Royce. Her ex. Twenty minutes ago. He’s over by the putting green.” She pointed. “And Piper had a few things to say as well.”

Kim took a step and then waved it off. “I don’t have time for him now. I can’t imagine she’d leave just based on your argument with Owen. And who is Piper? Is that the woman you dumped last year?” Kim rubbed the back of her neck. “Is there anything else?”

Nate glared at Leah. “Leah has a bad habit of jumping to conclusions and then running her mouth.”

“Perfect. Her ex, Owen, Leah, and hormones. A shitstorm.” Kim sat on a stone wall, surveying the crowd, then she snapped her fingers. “She left with her sisters.”

“She could go anywhere. The city, to see friends, on a trip.” Nate drew a shaky breath, ran both hands through his hair. “I hope you’re both happy now.” His sister and Owen had a hand in this. They pushed Jenna. Drove her away. Now he had to find her. He had to.

“I feel awful,” Owen said.

“You should,” Meg snapped. “You’re better than that, Owen.”

“She couldn’t have gone far,” Owen offered. “Where would she go?”

Nate shook his head. “She’s resourceful and she has friends all over the world. I’m going to head home. Hopefully she just headed there to get out of this hellhole.”

Meg rubbed his arm. He could feel her worry. Crazy Meg. Always in everyone’s business, but the woman had the biggest heart. “What if she’s not there, Nate?”

“Then I’ll find her and beg her to come home. I can’t imagine my life without her.” His breath shuddered. “Jesus. Why did she do this?”

“She thinks you’re better off without her, is my guess.” Kim knew her better than anyone. “People haven’t been loyal to Jenna. They always tend to believe the worst, and I can’t understand why. She’s the best person.”

“She is. God, Kim. Her heart is so big. It has so much love, she’s going to be a great mother.”

“You should have heard her talk about you and the baby this morning.”

“This morning? Is that where you disappeared to?” Owen asked. “To see Jenna?”

“Meg and I took her muffins and coffee and talked about our men,” Kim said. “Just like when we were kids.”

Kim walked away and looked at the people at the party, paying special attention to that weasel Royce. “She was telling me about the day she found out she was pregnant. She took three tests. She was scared about what you might say, Nate, but she was happy, too. She said the same thing about you.” Kim touched his arm. “That you’re going to be the best father.”

That did it. “I’m outta here. Tell my folks where I went.”

“Stop. Where
are
you going?” Owen asked.

Pulling his keys from his pocket, Nate didn’t answer. He headed to the private driveway, where the family’s cars were parked. He didn’t say good-bye, he just got in his car and drove. He’d head home because it was the most logical step. Jenna’s passport was there. Her clothes. If she had any plan to go far, she’d have to go home first.

He hoped he was right.

***

“Do you want to go home?” Chessie asked. Her sisters were in the front seat of Tina’s car and Jenna was in the back, staring out the window as they turned onto Montauk Highway.

“No. Head to Sag Harbor. We’re getting on the ferry.”

Chessie was confused. “The ferry?”

Tina nodded. “We’re going to Shelter Island, drive around the island to the North Ferry, and once we get off in Greenport, we can go hide out at Aunt Marlena’s in Southold.”

“That’s the plan,” Jenna said. Her heart hurt so bad, it was all she could do not to totally lose it. But hearing Nate fight with Jason and Owen and then getting hell from his sister, who was now buddies with Royce, had pushed her over the edge. “I need time to think. I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Jenna, you’re pregnant. And you’re married. It’s a little late for cold feet.” Tina was the best at times like this. She totally cut to the chase.

“I need to think. I don’t want him to feel trapped.”

“Did he tell you he felt trapped?”

“No, he didn’t.” A hot tear spilled on Jenna’s cheek. “He never did.”

“Oh, Jenna. Nate loves you.” Chessie reached back and held her hand. “The way he looked at you, I can only hope someone will look at me that way someday.”

“Me, too,” Tina said. “But if what you need is to get your head together, fine. Regroup and then you can talk to him. Chess, call Auntie Marlena and tell her we’re on our way. And that it’s top-secret. Jenna’s on the lam.”