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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After returning to Los Angeles, Jamie had to attend to business, which wasn’t to say he wasn’t plenty distracted. He was already looking forward to the coming weekend, when he and Lucy would visit her niece, Milly. Every day, he spoke on the phone with Lucy. The calls didn’t last long—well, except for the one night Lucy had decided they should have fake-engaged-phone-sex—but they were enough for now, he kept telling himself.
And it wasn’t lost on him why he kept telling himself that.
He’d begun to hope again. Hope that despite Lucy’s vehemence that they could only be friends, that he was starting to wear her down.
He knew he had to be careful with that, however.
Maybe it was because he’d had such a great weekend with Lucy and he couldn’t stop imagining how happy they could be together, if she’d just give them a chance. Or maybe it was because much of the work he had to see to was about the factory in Summitville and his upcoming meeting with the town council. Either way, his thoughts kept wandering to his former girlfriend, Sierra.
Jamie met her at a party the summer after they both turned eighteen. She’d moved to San Diego from Michigan and had already made a couple of friends from Coronado. They’d invited her to a party and at first she hadn’t wanted to go. She’d felt she wouldn’t fit in, but her cousin convinced her to go. When he’d met her, Jamie had spent the night trying to get the pretty girl with dark hair and eyes to give him her number. Finally, she’d given in.
“One date,” she’d told him. “That’s it.”
But it hadn’t been. They’d dated for weeks, and Jamie had adored her. She’d been completely comfortable with him—except when anything came up having to do with his wealth or his friends and family. She’d gotten it into her head that a small town girl from Michigan couldn’t fit in, and no matter what Jamie said or did, he couldn’t change her mind.
They saw movies, took walks, and swam at the community pool. But she refused to do anything with his friends and family for the longest time. Finally, one night, he invited her to a party being held at a friend’s house. She tried to make excuses about why she couldn’t go, but again he was persistent and wore her down.
When they first got to the party, Jamie introduced her as his girlfriend and he could tell she liked that. He’d stuck close to her, but at one point he became distracted talking to some friends and they got separated. By the time he found her, her clothes were askew, her hair was thrashed, and her make-up was smeared from the tears pouring from her eyes.
She ran outside and even though Jamie had followed her, demanding to know what had happened, she refused to tell him for the longest time. Finally, she screamed, “Your asshole friends mauled me and made fun of me, okay? God, why did I ever get involved with you? You’re great, Jamie, but you don’t live in the real world. And your world sucks,” she’d shouted.
He’d put his arms around her. Tried to calm her down. She’d left her sweater inside and complained she was cold. He went inside to get it, but also to confront the bastards who’d hurt her. He’d given her the keys to his car and told her to wait for him. When he got back, she was gone.
She was found an hour later, the lightweight sports car wrapped around a tree. She’d been thrown out and died on impact.
Jamie cursed at the pain the memory of Sierra still caused him.
Once again, he told himself to proceed with caution where Lucy was concerned.
If he’d learned one thing from his time with Sierra, it was that he couldn’t force someone to fit into his life; that person had to find her place in it, and that was only going to happen if she was willing to try.
Lucy wasn’t.
* * *
The following weekend, Lucy took a flight into Palm Spring and was waiting outside the airport when Jamie’s driver pulled up at the curb. Jamie stepped out of the car to greet her. “Hi, sweet thing. You look a bit stressed,” he said.
“You think?” she responded sarcastically. Then she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just nervous.”
Jamie gave her a hug. “It’s perfectly natural to be nervous, but the baby will love you.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” she lied. Thank God Jamie would be there. Though she’d probably never admit it out loud, he had a soothing effect on her.
He loaded her bag into the car and helped her inside, where she said hello to the driver. The atmosphere was quiet and tense as they drove to the small town just outside of Palm Springs, where Mason’s family lived. Diana had asked Lucy and Jamie to meet at her mother’s house so that Milly could visit with her grandparents, as well.
Ten minutes in to the drive, despite the fact they still weren’t talking, Jamie took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly. Lucy smiled at him and squeezed him back.
Finally, the car turned onto the cobblestone driveway of Mason’s parents’ home. The limestone Tudor revival mansion had been built in 1930. The outside of the home was styled with carvings and stained glass windows. The lawns that stretched out on all sides of it were perfectly green and manicured.
Over fifteen years had passed since she’d been here. On that occasion, she’d given Mason her virginity. At the time, she’d daydreamed about her and Mason being married on these beautiful grounds. She could vividly recall the smell of the garden out back, which was a breathtaking sight from the large veranda that took up the entire length of the house.
Once the car stopped, Jamie got out and held the door open for her. When she hesitated, he reached in and took her hand. “It’s going to be okay, Luce. Trust me.”
Before they reached the massive oak double doors, they were pulled open and Diana, Mason’s sister, came out to greet them.
* * *
