Chapter Twenty-One

THE ride from the airport to the family house in Napa seemed to take forever. Adam pulled up the CNN report on his phone, lingering for a few minutes over the photograph of Jonah at the airport and a photograph of Jackson Roth taken ten years before. When they were side by side, it was easy to see the resemblance. But it was just as easy to see why no one had recognized Jonah as Jackson. The dark, curly hair of the younger Jackson had faded to a dirty blond in the sun. The smooth skin of a twenty-three-year-old contrasted with the tanned, freckled skin of a man in his thirties who spent most of his days in the sun.

The same blue eyes.

Adam turned the phone off and shoved it in his briefcase. Reading about Jackson Roth’s miraculous return left him feeling cold and empty.

You know he didn’t lie to you.

The thought was cold comfort.

HE’D barely made it to the front steps when his sister burst out of the front door and threw her arms around him, causing his suitcase to clatter onto the brick driveway. He sighed and held her tight. “Welcome home, Addy,” she said. “I missed you.”

“I’ve only been gone a week,” he pointed out. It felt so much longer.

“So how was it?”

“Wonderful.” Well, it had been until this morning. Had it only been last night that he’d been in bed with Jonah? That had been wonderful too. “The resort was great and the diving terrific.”

“I’m so glad.”

“Mom here?” he asked.

She nodded. “Inside. She insisted on making you dinner.”

“I’m starving.” The slice of pizza he’d grabbed in Atlanta between flights hours ago just wasn’t doing it. And with the four-hour time difference, his body thought it was nearly midnight.

“Good.” She opened the door and he retrieved his suitcase.

An hour later, having stuffed himself on his mother’s perfectly seared steak, new potatoes, and sautéed greens, Adam retreated to the relative quiet of his personal study. He felt much better having eaten something substantial, and seeing how well his mother was doing had been a huge relief. Now, though, the weight of the last twenty-four hours finally hit him, so he made his excuses and promised his mother he’d tell her all about the vacation in the morning.

Someone knocked on the study door just as he opened the liquor cabinet.

“Come in.”

“Something’s bugging you.” Karen poked her head inside.

“Have a seat.” Adam poured himself a double shot of whiskey and traced his fingers over the cut crystal carafe. It had been his father’s, years before, but he’d rarely seen his father pour himself a drink from it, even when he’d offered drinks to others.

“Dad always thought things through,” he said as swirled the liquid in the glass and watched as the alcohol formed legs on the sides.

“And you don’t?” she countered.

He shrugged and faced her. “I saw the footage at the airport. Roth’s homecoming.”

“Whether he’s alive or not makes no difference as far as we’re concerned.” She walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured herself a glass of sparkling water, then touched it to his glass.

“I’m not so sure.” He wasn’t sure of anything, except the dull ache in his chest that wouldn’t give up the ghost.

“Why? Because you think he’ll nix it?” She laughed. “It’s because of that ruthless bastard that Entech destroys small businesses.”

“I know.”

“Then what?” She sat on the couch and waited for him to answer. But how to answer when he knew she was probably right?

By being honest with her.

He sat and took a long sip of his drink, savoring the heat of it against his throat. A second sip and the tension in his shoulders eased a tiny bit. “I met someone,” he said. “At the resort.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said. “But what does that have to do with Roth or Entech?”

“He was a dive instructor with the resort scuba shop. Jonah. A good man. Kind. Great listener.” He took another sip and set the glass down on the table between them. “We…. The night before I left, we….”

“You slept together?” she prompted with a kind smile. When he didn’t immediately respond, she said, “If you’re looking for me to chastise my little brother, forget it. You’ve been a fucking monk for as long as I can remember.”

“It hasn’t been that long,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve been pretty busy.”

“You should never be too busy to have fun. Besides,” she added, “I’m still holding out hope that you’ll meet someone.”

“Someone?” he teased.

“You know damn well what I mean, Addy.”

“This was fun. But I didn’t expect more from it.” He hadn’t. But somehow Jonah had grown on him. Not Jonah… Jackson.

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“Okay, okay.” He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “So maybe I’d hoped for more. In that vacation-fantasy-becomes-reality sort of way.”

“Nothing wrong with that. So I’m guessing things didn’t move beyond fantasy, then.”

“He left after that night.” Adam rubbed his mouth and for a moment imagined his lips touching Jonah’s. Not Jonah. Jackson.

“I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is.” He retrieved his drink and took a long swallow.

She crossed her legs and set her drink down next to his. “So are you going to tell me what this has to do with Prestco or Entech? Not that I’m not interested or anything, but I’m not following the conversation.”

“Sorry.” He finished the last bit of liquor and put the glass back down. “I really was getting somewhere with this. I’m just a little tired.”

“It can wait,” she offered.

“No. It can’t.”

“Okay. Hit me with it, then. Are you pregnant?”

“What?” He laughed so hard he coughed.

“At least you still laugh at my stupid jokes.” Her smile faded, and he knew she was worried about him.

“His name was Jonah.”

“Was?” She frowned. “Did something happen to him?”

“You might say that.”

“I’m sorry.” She leaned forward and put her hand on his knee. He took it in his and squeezed.

“Not like that,” he told her. “He’s alive, I mean. It’s just…. Shit.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to scream or cry. “The guy? Jonah? That’s not his name.”

“Oh.”

“His name is Jackson Roth.”

She stared at him, eyes wide, lips slightly parted. “He… what?”

“He has—had—amnesia,” he said. “Neither of us knew he was Roth. He was just a guy. A nice guy.”

“You think he knew about the deal?”

“Impossible. Think about it. The guy’s been gone for nearly a decade. He’s a billionaire dozens of times over. Prestco may be worth a few million dollars, ten tops.”

“I agree.” She nibbled her lower lip the way she always did when she was deep in thought. “Not a chance that he’d disappear from the planet and reappear to steal our family business.”

“Right.” He’d gone over it a few dozen times in his mind. Jonah—Jackson—knew nothing about Prestco. Nothing Adam hadn’t told him.

“But what does that mean? I’m not sure I can even wrap my brain around this.” She paused for a moment, then asked, “So you think he really didn’t remember who he was? I mean, from what I heard, Roth was the king of the assholes. A manipulator. A heartless jerk.”

“That isn’t who Jonah—I mean Jackson—is. At least, I didn’t see that at all.”

“You think you can speak with him? See if he can get Entech to stop with the takeover bid?”

Adam considered the question. He’d been leading up to it all along, but somehow now it seemed absurd. Jackson probably left Adam because he didn’t give a shit about him. “I… I’ll try to talk to him. If he’ll listen.”

“That’s a hell of a lot better than going into that meeting without a plan.”

Adam wouldn’t tell her he didn’t think trying to talk to Jackson was a “plan” in any sense of the word, but they were all grasping at straws. With Roger’s stock firmly in the Entech camp and his mother waffling…. “I’ll do my best. That’s all I can do, right?”

She stood and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, then kissed his cheek. He offered her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, but she frowned at him. “There’s a lot more to this, isn’t there? You care about him.”

“Sure. He’s a nice man and—”

“Not what I meant and you damn well know it.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I meant you have feelings for him. Hell, if I didn’t know better, I’d wonder if you’d fallen for this guy.”

“Fallen? No. Like I said. He’s a good man. Sweet. Funny.” Good in bed. Attractive. Kind. Adam quickly dismissed the voice in his head.

Karen smiled but said nothing.

“Time for bed,” he said with a gesture in the direction of the empty glass.

“I’ll leave you alone. For now.”

“I’ll see what I can do about getting in touch with him,” Adam said. He hadn’t the slightest idea how to do it, and he guessed there were hundreds of reporters knocking on Jonah’s door at all hours, trying to get an interview. Still he’d never shied away from a challenge.

“Good.” She kissed his cheek again, then turned on her heel. “Night, Addy.”

“Night, Karen.”

“Sweet dreams.” She closed the door before he could answer.

“You always get the last word, don’t you?” He stood and stretched his arms above his head, then yawned. He’d sleep on it and deal with Jackson Roth in the morning.