Wash (4 page)

Rolling his eyes at Jake, Mr. Shelby
continued, “Virginia paid in advance to have the photos examined
for originality and authenticity. I wouldn’t dream of making that
mistake.”

“
How long do we have for
this little globe-trot?” he questioned.

“
You must complete the
entire trip, stopping at each destination one after the other,
within the next twelve months.”

“
And exactly where do we
have to go?” I asked.

He handed me the list.

As I looked down at the names of the
exotic locations, I couldn’t believe it. “What the…? Japan? South
Africa? Paris?” I shook my head. “None of this makes any sense. My
mother was on hefty morphine in her last days, and she babbled a
lot of incoherent stuff. I think we should consider that and burn
this will. She clearly wasn’t of sound mind when she—”

“
Burn it?” Jake said in
disbelief. “Why? Just because I’m in it?”

My lawyer looked at me. “Miss Roberts,
your mother made this will a few weeks after she found out she had
cancer. She was, in fact, of very sound mind at the time, and this
was what she wanted. If you are successful in this endeavor, there
is a video diary that will be shown to you, and her reasons will
become clear. However, you must first complete the task in good
faith.”

It was such a bizarre request, and for
the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why the heck my mother would
want me to spend time with a man she openly deplored, the selfish
jackass who had left me at the altar and embarrassed our entire
family. I didn’t understand any of it. Worst of all, she hadn’t
even discussed it with me; as far as I knew, my mother never kept
secrets from me. Frustrated, I handed the list to Jake.

He studied it closely. “We can get
some of these done fast.”

I bit my lip hard and didn’t say a
word.

“
We just have to be
together in the picture, right? But we can be far apart, no
handholding or smooching?” he asked.

I shot him a glare.

“
What?” he said. “I know
you’ll bite my head off if I invade your personal space, so I’m
just asking. Always good to read the small print.”

“
You won’t have to worry
about that,” I said smugly, “because I don’t want the money. You
can go on this little adventure by yourself.”

Mr. Shelby turned to Jake. “I’m sorry,
but if Miss Roberts doesn’t go with you to the locations, the
contract will be null and void.”

“
And what about the money?”
I asked.

“
It will be held by this
office indefinitely.”

Jake looked at me with his eyes wide.
“Ashly,” he said softly, “if you don’t do it, I’ll get
nothing.”

“
Yeah, I got that much,
Einstein.”

“
There’s so much I could do
with this money. And why give away your inheritance to a lawyer? I
can’t believe you’d do that just to get back at me. At least if you
go, you’ll get half of what your mom left behind.”

“
I don’t care about the
money,” I said. “Revenge is so much sweeter. Maybe that’s why Mom
planned it this way. She knew I’d sit here and let you suffer, you
pitiful idiot. How’s it feel for someone to dangle something great
in front of you, only to have it snatched away?”

“
I’m so,
so
sorry.”

“
Is that all I get? Some
lame apology? I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with you,
a man I foolishly loved and cherished. But you threw me under the
bus for your freedom. You’re pathetic! What was it Nadia called
you? Despicable!”

“
Maybe you two need some
time to think,” the attorney said. “Now that the will has been
read, you have one week to change your minds. If you’d like to
proceed, just contact my office and come in and sign the
papers.”

“
I don’t plan on changing
my mind. If my mother thought I was gonna prance around the globe
with this idiot and smile for pictures, she was sadly
mistaken.”

“
We don’t even have to
smile,” Jake said. “You don’t even have to be near me, except to
take pictures. Why not just do it and get our money? After that, we
can go our separate ways—just a little wealthier.”

“
If you’ll have a seat, Mr.
Connors,” the lawyer said, “we’ll get started.”

I stood and reached for my purse. “No,
I don’t think so.” Seeing Jake had been too great of a shock. I had
cried my eyes out over him for way too long, and I wasn’t ready to
hand my mother’s money over to the man who had hurt me so badly. “I
think it would be best if I just go,” I said, my voice
cracking.

Again, Jake reached for my arm, and
again, I shuddered from his touch. “Please,” he begged.

“
I can’t control what you
do and where you live, but you’d better stay as far away from me as
humanly possible. If you come near me or bug me, I’ll slap a
restraining order on you so fast, your head will be
spinning.”

“
Listen, I promise to leave
you alone if that’s what you want. I was really just hoping to
spend some time with you, but if you feel this strongly, I…well, I
won’t cause you any further heartbreak.”

“
Spend some time with me?
What!? You never wrote or emailed me to tell me what happened, not
in five long years, so why should I care now? I’m so over you, it’s
not even funny.”

“
I thought you’d want
closure.”

“
Nope. I don’t care
anymore. You’re just the worst mistake I ever made, and I want to
forget about you forever. So why don’t you just respect my wishes
and leave?”

“
Because this money would
help… It’d help so much.”

“
So now you want to take
advantage of something my mom wrote when she was out of her mind,
just diagnosed with a deadly disease? Really, Jake.”

“
I’m so sorry about what I
did, Ashly, but I was young. I was facing a four-year prison term
for punching out that guy, for defending you.”

“
You got scared and ran for
your freedom, Jake. There’s no excuse for running away, young or
not.”

“
Don’t be bitter,” he
said.

My jaw dropped. “Bitter?” I repeated,
then shifted my gaze to my lawyer for help. “Did you hear that? Can
you believe the nerve?”

My lawyer sighed and squirmed uneasily
in his seat. “I really think we need to tie up this will and decide
if you two are going to go through with—”

“
I haven’t seen this idiot
since he high-tailed it from our wedding, without giving me any
logical explanation. Did you think I was gonna greet him with a big
smile and a warm hug?”

“
Ashly,” Mr. Shelby
said.

“
I’m sorry. I know I’m out
of line. It’s just that…well, seeing him here has thrown me for a
real loop.”

Jake motioned for me to sit down again
and looked at me with that sad look on his face. We stared into
each other’s eyes. For countless years, I’d wondered if I’d ever
see him again, and now, there he was, right before my very eyes.
His hair was wet and messy from the wind and rain, and I couldn’t
deny that he looked so damn sexy. Still, I’d closed that chapter of
my life and had painfully turned through the next hundred pages.
Finally, I’d gotten back on my feet. Now, I was faced with that
first chapter all over again, and I felt like throwing the book
against the wall.

I was trying to hate him, but I
couldn’t stop staring at his powerful biceps and huge, solid chest.
I had no doubt that under his thin T-shirt, he had rippling muscles
and six-pack abs. I remembered when we’d first met, how he’d made
me laugh right from the get-go. All the memories that I had
desperately tried to block out came flooding back like it had all
happened yesterday: his laugh, his lips, his touch, and his kiss.
We’d been so deeply, so madly in love.

His deep, passionate kisses were
something I’d never ever forget, no matter how many years passed
and how many lovers I invited into my bed. No one would ever
compare to Jake. Of course, none of that mattered. I would never
forget his betrayal; it had rocked me to the very core of my being.
His sweet talk would never work on me again.

I shook my head. “You don’t get it, do
you?”

He inched closer. “What?”

A tear ran down my face. “I was
supposed to be living a happy life with you.”

“
So this is about revenge
now? You just want to stick it to me. That’s why you won’t go on
this trip your mother wanted us to take?”

My lips pressed into grim lines. “Yep.
You stuck it to me, and Mom has given me the perfect way to stick
it back to you.”

“
That’s cold, Ashly. You
have no idea how much that money would change my life.”

“
Cold? Maybe, but you made
me. Because of you, I’ve been cold, mean, and miserable. You
shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces.”

“
Maybe, but I’m a different
man now.”

I stared at him.

“
Hey,” he said in a soft
voice, trying to change the subject, “how’s Tiger?”

Tiger was a white and orange striped
cat we’d adopted when she was only a kitten, a stray who had
followed us home. We both loved her, and she’d become a part of the
family.

“
Is she even still alive?”
he asked.

“
She’s fine and, unlike
you, she sleeps by me every night.” With that, I turned to leave. I
half-expected him to follow me, but he didn’t. Without another word
to him or the attorney, I slammed the door, making sure Jake knew
he could screw off and leave me alone—for good.

Chapter 3

The next night, my best friend Nadia
dragged me out of the house for dinner. She took me to one of my
favorite restaurants, Devin’s.

“
I’m worried about you,”
she said. “You’ve been a hermit in your apartment ever since your
mom passed away.”

“
I know it’s been three
months, but it’s hard to face the outside world. Interviewing
designers and models seems so…shallow and pointless. I can’t just
pretend nothing’s wrong, and…” Not sure what else to say, my voice
drifted off.

“
I just wanted to get you
out,” Nadia said, “especially with the whole Jake thing. You can’t
stay all cooped up, just reflecting back on what that ass did to
you. It isn’t healthy.”

My cell rang, and I glanced down.
“Speak of the devil.” The last time he’d called me was the day he’d
walked out of my life forever. Now, he was just after my mother’s
money.

“
He’s not gonna give up,
Ash,” she said. “Why don’t you let me answer it? I’d like to thank
him for that trip to Mexico.”

I laughed, even though it wasn’t
funny. My mother had spent $20,000 to reserve a honeymoon suite at
the most expensive tropical resort she could find. Since it was
nonrefundable, I decided to take Nadia. During that trip, she
forced me to leave the room and tried to hook me up with a couple
of hunky Latinos, but I was so miserable I just sulked the entire
time, seething as I looked around the frilly, romantically
furnished room that was supposed to be for lovers.

With a huff, I turned off my phone.
“He even stopped by the apartment, but I didn’t answer the door.
When I saw him through the curtains, my stomach
dropped.”

Her expression grew serious. “If he
keeps stalking you, you need to call the police. He has no
right.”

“
I want to get over this. I
do, but—”

“
Girlfriend, he’s a jerk.
You’re better off without a man like that in your life. I mean, I
was there that horrible day when he didn’t show up. We’d spent so
long planning the perfect wedding. I’ll never forget how happy you
were at the bridal shop when we found
the
dress, with all that light
sparkling off the sequins and beads.”

“
Remember how rude the
owner was?” I laughed. “I thought brides were supposed to be the
–zillas!”

“
Yeah, she owned that
little bridal shop of horrors.”

I about spat out my wine.

“
She got mad because you
tried on so many dresses.”

“
No, I think she got mad
because I didn’t like the designer one she picked. It looked good
on the mannequin, but not on me. But you put her in her
place.”

“
Well, that’s what friends
are for,” she said, shrugging. “You’re my best friend, you were
getting married, and if you needed all the time in the world and to
try on 100 more gowns, she could deal with it.”

“
She just knew how rich my
mom was and wanted me to buy the most expensive thing in there. I
hate being treated that way.”

“
Yeah, well, it worked out
to go to that bridal shop an hour away, where nobody knew who you
were.”

“
Yep! And I bought the same
cheap gown I wanted in the first place.” I reached into my purse
and pulled out a picture of me in my wedding gown.

Nadia reached for it and stared. “So
beautiful. It’s a shame you burned it.”

“
That dress was chosen
especially for him. I didn’t want the memories.”