Page 14 of Jake

“Good girl.” He pats my ass and lets me go before adjusting his suit jacket and returning to his vehicle where his driver is waiting. My mother takes me into her arms, giving me a hug.

“I missed you, sweetheart.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes, actually. The police came and…”

“The police,” my father barked.

“Oh. It’s not like that. For some reason they’re under the impression that someone attacked Jake and he was reported missing. He doesn’t know why, but something’s not right because his family knew he was coming here and that dumb broad wants him and she keeps saying she’s engaged to him.”

“I looked her up yesterday,” Anderson said.

“What?”

“I wanted to protect you. Jake’s telling the truth. She’s an heiress looking for someone to dig her claws into. Her father has cut her off financially, and she’s looking for a rich husband. I contacted some friends in New York, and they’re keeping tabs on her.”

“Then why are you being so hostile to Jake?”

“Because I knew he was watching you and I allowed it, believing he was coming back. Then I saw the article and I wanted to kill him.” I threw my arms around my big brother, giving him a big hug. “What’s that for?” he asks when I let go.

“Thank you for looking out for me.”

“Always will, sis.”

“So let’s get you some food and then we can talk about the wedding.”

“Okay.” My dad pulls me in with one arm and a hug.

“I’m glad you’re looking so happy, sweetheart. I hoped everything would work out because I would have hated to have to kill him after all these years.”

“Daddy,” I sigh.

“Okay, okay.”

“Be nice, Dean.”

“Yes, love.” My mother has him wrapped around her finger, and that hasn’t changed in all their years of marriage. Their relationship is what I always hoped for in my own. They were the epitome of happily ever after. My father worshiped my mother with every fiber of his being, and she never had to worry if he was out looking to betray her with another woman. He needed her like his next breath, and she clung to him equally.

“Leave us girls alone for a minute. I need to talk to Lea.” She shoos my father and brother away while my sister, Michelle, who has been completely silent about all this, follows us into the kitchen.

“Do you really love him?”

“Yes, why?”

“I mean, is it worth throwing your future away for a man?”

“I’m confused as to where you have been living your entire life, Michelle.”

“Well, it’s just that Mom and Dad are rare.”

“What about Uncle James and Aunt Hailey?”

“Okay. Yes, and that means this family has had too much good luck already in that area.”

I narrow my gaze at my sister and stare, reading her lies. There is so much she’s not saying in between the protests and objections. Someone hurt her. “Who the fuck is he?”

“No one.”

---