Thirteen

Everything Bridgett knew of the grown-up Charlie she’d gleaned from the tabloid headlines while standing in the grocery store checkout line. Still, that didn’t prepare her for the young woman who met her in the foyer of Jay’s home later that afternoon. For starters, his sister was very tall. She wore designer skinny jeans tucked into a pair of riding boots, the look making her legs appear miles long. Her rich auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail and hidden beneath a Baltimore Blaze baseball cap. Charlie had wrapped a fluffy teal scarf around her neck, covering up most of her long-sleeved white shirt. Her only other accessories were three silver bangle bracelets on her wrist.

Bridgett felt positively fuddy-duddy standing next to Jay’s gorgeous young sister. She tried not to cringe as Charlie eyed her from head to toe, taking in her outfit of gray slacks, a purple cardigan, and Anne Klein loafers. At least she’d donned her pearls.

Charlie shook her head as she pulled away from the banister she’d been leaning on and headed toward the door. “I’m not sure I know of any stores conservative enough for you, but I’m always up for an adventure,” she said, her long strides carrying her out the front door quickly, forcing Bridgett to have to trot to keep up.

“These are my traveling clothes,” Bridgett said, unsure why she felt the need to defend herself.

“Whatever.” Charlie punched the key fob unlocking the doors to a silver Range Rover parked out front. “The paparazzi won’t be expecting me at J.C. Penney, so there’s that.”

Bridgett climbed into the passenger seat. “I Googled the names of a few boutiques in St. Helena. I’m perfectly happy to go on my own.” Getting to know Jay’s sister might not be as enjoyable of an afternoon as Bridgett once imagined.

Charlie laughed. “And have you pick out a dress my mother would wear? No way!” She turned the key and started the car. “I love my brother too much to allow that to happen.”

They made their way down the winding drive and Bridgett took the opportunity to sleuth a little about Jay and his sister’s relationship. “I take it you two are close?”

“Oh no, you don’t, lawyer lady.” Charlie maneuvered the car along the two-lane road leading to the center of Napa. “I don’t dish on my brother and he doesn’t dish on me.”

“Your life is pretty much an open book,” Bridgett couldn’t resist saying.

Charlie shot her a grin as the Range Rover merged onto the highway, carrying them north toward St. Helena. “Well, Mrs. Cleaver has teeth.”

“Bridgett. My name is Bridgett.”

There was a pause before Charlie spoke. “That’s actually a very pretty name. It fits you. I’m Charlotte, but you already know that.”

“Not Charlie?”

Her tone was sharper than it had been. “My brother is the only one who calls me that.”

They were both silent as Bridgett took in the beautiful countryside zooming past. Charlie groaned softly and began digging into the console between the seats, pulling out a package of crackers. “Would you mind,” she asked softly. “The alternative is that I barf all over.”

Bridgett tore open the package and handed her one. “Would you rather I drive?”

“No, thanks. I get carsick sitting in the passenger seat or the back even when I’m not pregnant.” She glanced over at Bridgett while she crunched on the cracker. “Jay assured me that my pregnancy is covered under his attorney-client privilege. Is that true?”

Technically, no, since it wasn’t Jay who’d told her, but since Bridgett didn’t plan to reveal Jay’s sister’s condition to anyone, it didn’t matter. “You’re covered.” Bridgett gave her a warm smile. “Do you need something to drink with those? I always found the old standbys of weak tea or ginger ale helped during those first weeks.”

Charlie’s head snapped around. “You have kids?”

Bridgett wasn’t sure how or why the words had slipped out. She was as surprised as Charlie by the admission. “No.” She shook her head. “It . . . it didn’t work out.”

“I’m sorry.” Charlie refocused her eyes on the road.

“It was a long time ago,” Bridgett said, glancing back out at the vineyards, ending any further discussion of the subject.

They made the rest of the twenty-minute trip in companionable silence, each wrestling with her own secrets. The only sound in the car was the air whistling through the moon roof as they drove through Oak Knoll, Yountville, and Rutherford. The traffic began to slow as they reached the picturesque downtown area of St. Helena, with its charming tree-lined streets and eclectic mix of twentieth-century architecture. Charlie parked the Range Rover on the street in front of the Woodhouse Chocolatier shop. “We may as well start with the fun part,” she said with a wide smile.

They each picked out a bag of assorted candies, nibbling on them as they strolled along Main Street and window-shopped. “There are a few fun boutiques up the block here,” Charlie was saying, but Bridgett wasn’t listening. Her eyes had homed in on a pair of shoes displayed in a store window. The Kate Spade high heels were covered in pieces of crystal that glittered in the afternoon sun. Bridgett looked at the sign above the door: “Foot Candy.” She handed her bag of edible treats to Charlie. “Here,” she murmured as she pulled the door open. “I’ve found the candy I want.”

Charlie followed her in, chuckling as she did so. “Buying shoes before the dress. We just might get along after all, Bridgett.”

Two hours later, Bridgett had a pair of Kate Spade pumps, a matching purse, and a royal blue Stella McCartney cocktail dress that would require wearing a backless bra and a very meager set of panties—all of which the salesclerk happily added to the shopping bag. Bridgett doubted Stuart would let her expense the entire ensemble—even if he wasn’t mad at her. But the afternoon of retail therapy had definitely lifted her spirits.

Charlie steered the Range Rover back out onto Highway Twenty-nine headed south. “Well, that was more fun than I thought it would be. You’re hiding a bit of a wild streak under those conservative duds, lawyer lady.” She turned on the satellite radio and a song by Train was playing. “I’m beginning to see why my brother likes you.”

Bridgett went to open her mouth to say Jay was just her client, but she bit back the lie. Charlie laughed out loud as though she could read Bridgett’s mind.

“Given the way you dress, I’m fairly certain you don’t share a bedroom with all your clients. And from what Josie says, he’s never brought a woman—other than Mom or me—to the vineyard before,” Charlie informed her.

Glancing out at the sun as it dropped lower over the foothills, Bridgett considered what Charlie was saying. There was no denying Jay more than “liked” her body. But as far as anything more, she just wasn’t sure if she wanted that. He’d been very clear that any relationship they’d have would be physical and not emotional. She just wondered if such a scenario was even possible. They both were holding on to too much anger from that summer. Neither one trusted the other. Her common sense told her to stick to the plan of staying the weekend, then run. Bridgett just hoped her body was able to listen to her common sense come Monday.

“Hey,” Charlie said, interrupting her thoughts. “If I hire you as my lawyer, you’ll definitely have to uphold the whole attorney-client privilege thingy, right?”

“I told you your secret is safe with me.”

“I’m not talking about that secret—although you’d better keep that one or that blogger will be the least of your worries.” She turned the volume on the radio down to make her point. “I mean an even bigger secret.”

Bridgett was beginning to feel very uncomfortable about their conversation. “I’m sure you have quite a team of lawyers representing your trust fund who get paid very well to keep your secrets.”

Charlie snorted. “Those old suits? What a bunch of party poopers. I’ve been trying to establish a nonprofit for the past two years and all I get is gatekeeping. They make too much money off my father’s portfolio that they don’t want to part with any of it.”

“But you do?”

“Well, I don’t want to give it all away. That would be stupid. But it can do a lot of good out there in the world rather than in some hedge fund somewhere. I’ll certainly never need it all.”

Bridgett was stunned by Charlie’s words. “Wow. That doesn’t sound very Princess Charlotte like.”

Charlie shrugged. “You of all people should know not to believe what you read in the tabloids. Or on the Internet.” She glanced over and winked at Bridgett. “Although in your case, it looks to be true.”

Blushing, Bridgett turned back to the window. “My firm doesn’t really handle a lot of nonprofit setup, but I’m sure I can get you a few names of lawyers who’d be happy to help.” She knew all about these firms because once, when she was young and idealistic like Charlie, she’d wanted to pursue nonprofit work.

“But you can handle setting up a trust for my baby, can’t you? I don’t want my father’s lawyers involved in my child’s life. I need something written out before my condition becomes public knowledge. I’m sure you can knock something out tonight while Jay is at dinner. I’ll pay you triple your rate. Hell, I’ll take you on a shopping spree at Foot Candy.”

“I—”

“Please,” Charlie begged. “You already know about the baby, so it’s one less person I have to tell.”

Bridgett sighed. “Sure. We can draw up the paperwork when we get back.”

“Awesome! Now you get to find out who my baby’s father is.”

“There’s no need for me to know that.” Bridgett’s feeling of unease was growing by the minute. Her intuition was telling her that Charlie was putting her in the middle of something and if the plan was for Bridgett to distance herself from Jay after this weekend, knowing the identity of the baby’s father didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“Of course it is. But you can’t tell anyone. Not even Jay.”

A tremor of unease trickled up Bridgett’s spine. “Why do I feel like this is some sort of test?”

Charlie grinned again. “Because it is. I need to know I can trust you. Jay doesn’t let many people in, but you’re here and that has to mean something. I don’t want to see him get hurt again.”

Bridgett swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. “Again?”

“Yeah.” Charlie’s face was grim as she navigated the sharp turns on the road leading to the vineyard. “He got his heart broken pretty good years ago when he was in Italy. Some Italian princess or something. My father had just died and I needed Jay, but—but he was different after that summer. Guarded, like he was protecting his heart. He’s been that way ever since.”

Tears burned Bridgett’s eyes and she hid them from Charlie by studying the scenery outside her window. What happened in Italy had not been her fault.

“So if he’s thinking of opening up to you, I need to make sure you’re trustworthy.”

“You have it all wrong. We don’t have that kind of relationship.” Once maybe, but not now.

“Says you. All the more reason for me to figure out if you can be trusted with my brother’s heart.”

Bridgett wanted to scream. It wasn’t Jay’s heart that had ever been at issue. It was hers. Jay was the one who left her alone and pregnant without even a second thought. “I have no legal reason to need to know the identity of your baby’s father,” she managed to say through her tight throat.

“But you have every ethical reason to keep it secret now that I’ve hired you.”

“Don’t you dare tell me,” Bridgett warned, all but plugging up her ears.

Charlie ignored her. “It’s patient number Z457.”

Anger rolled through Bridgett and it took a moment to absorb what Charlie had blurted out. “What?”

“Yep,” Charlie said smugly as the Range Rover passed through the grove of ancient olive trees. “My baby’s daddy is a sperm donor.”

“I don’t understand.” Except Bridgett was beginning to think she did.

Charlie pulled the car to a stop in front of the roaring fountain. “I Googled you this morning. You come from a big family. A close family. I want that. Now. Not later. I just told you that Jay has been emotionally distant for years. I have no idea if that will change. And my mother—” She shook her head briskly.

Princess Charlotte wasn’t exactly the spoiled little rich girl as much as she was the lonely little rich girl. Bridgett heaved another sigh. “Your child’s fortune will definitely need some legal protection if the father ever comes calling, then.”

“You see, I do need you, Bridgett. I was assured that the clinic was discreet and word wouldn’t get out, but nothing is bulletproof when it comes to the paparazzi these days.”

“I’ll do my best to provide you both a shield of protection where I can,” Bridgett said solemnly. While she didn’t want to be involved with Jay’s family any more than necessary, she wouldn’t leave Charlie and her child unprotected. Clearly, Charlie had no intention of relying on her brother for that protection. He’d be devastated to know his sister had put herself at so much risk. Bridgett would just have to make sure the risk was minimal. “I’ll represent you on this.”

“Good,” Charlie said, her body rigid in the driver’s seat. “Because I may need you to defend me for murdering my brother.”

Bridgett glanced across the fountain at the foyer where an older woman waved at them. Dressed in a black knit dress and sensible shoes, her shoulder-length ash-blond bob blew slightly in the evening breeze. “Who is she?” Bridgett asked.

“The mother I told my asshole brother I wanted to avoid.”

•   •   •

Jay leaned back against the high back of the leather chair in his office at McManus Industries. Housed in San Mateo, the northernmost part of Silicon Valley, the glass-enclosed building overlooked a man-made lake and a tree-lined jogging trail. From his suite on the twenty-second floor, Jay had a great view of the Santa Cruz mountains.

He squeezed at the back of his neck. After four hours of meetings spent getting caught up on the day-to-day operations of his software company, he needed a drink. And a hot shower. Preferably a hot shower with a certain lawyer followed by a smooth glass of Scotch.

He was actually glad his mother hadn’t been in the office when he’d called earlier. Instead of meeting her for dinner, he’d left a message inviting her to the cocktail party on Saturday night. At least he’d made the effort. Now he’d let the traffic die down and then head back to the vineyard, where he could lure Bridgett into the tasting room beside the wine cellar. If all went as planned, he’d be tasting more than the wine in a matter of hours.

His cell phone buzzed on his desk. Jay glanced at the screen to see a photo of Blake Callahan rock climbing down the side of a jagged cliff on some island somewhere. Blake was a bit of an adrenaline junkie—a trait Jay had always shared with his friend until Blake had begun taking on extreme sports that involved a lot more risk. Jay suspected there was some deep-seated reason behind his friend’s death wish, but so far Blake had been avoiding his probing.

“Mac.” His friend called Jay by the nickname he had dubbed him back during their days as college roommates. “You’re slipping. You’re always bragging about keeping your private life private. First I read about a bunch of cheerleaders suing your ass. Then, every feminist group in the country has you on its most wanted list. There are whispers that the commissioner is considering sanctions. But imagine my surprise when I clicked on my computer this morning.” Jay could hear the pounding of Blake’s sneakered feet on the treadmill. “So how was it playing the comforting port in the storm for your sexy lawyer? I’ve seen her at a few fund-raising events in Boston. She’s fire and ice all in one designer package. So I gotta know, which one is the real Bridgett Janik?”

“None of your damn business,” Jay growled into the phone. No way was he discussing his relationship with Bridgett. Not even with his best friend.

“Whoa,” Blake said with a laugh. “Your answer just told me everything I need to know. Don’t tell me the guy who vowed during a two-day bender in Las Vegas that he’d never fall in love has finally succumbed?”

That two-day bender had happened a few months after his return from Italy. Not only had he just been cut out of his stepfather’s will, leaving his plans of developing his winery uncertain, but the one person who could have made his life’s little detour more bearable had betrayed him and broken his heart. “Who said anything about being in love?” What he and Bridgett had was intense chemistry. Jay sure as hell wasn’t going to make the mistake of allowing it to become anything more. Not this time.

“You better not be lying to me, Mac. You and I have been on People’s Fifty Hottest Bachelors list for nearly a decade. It’s actually become a badge of honor. Don’t you dare leave me hanging there alone. Every time I turn around, someone is getting married. I’m running out of excuses to avoid all the freaking weddings I’m constantly invited to.”

The Callahan family was part of old Chicago money, making Blake the city’s proverbial crown prince. The fact that he remained unmarried and ran one of the biggest advertising agencies in the country made him irresistible to society hostesses. They considered him to be the town’s biggest catch.

“You love having women throw themselves at you, Blake. Don’t lie.”

Blake had obviously picked up his pace on the treadmill because his voice was more winded now. “Not when I have no idea whether they’re throwing themselves at me or my money.”

“Have you looked in a mirror lately? They’re all after your money, asshole.”

“Screw you,” Blake huffed as he ran faster. “Speaking of which, why have you been hounding me all day when according to bloggers, you’re entertaining your lawyer lover, who chased you out to your winery?”

“Blogger, not bloggers,” Jay said. “And her information is not factually correct.”

“So you’re not screwing Bridgett Janik? I’m disappointed in you, man. I wouldn’t mind getting to know her up close and personal.”

Jay shot out of his chair and began pacing the room to calm the surge of anger toward his best friend. “Like hell you will,” he snapped. No one was getting to know Bridgett “up close and personal” ever again. She was Jay’s now.

Blake laughed heartily. “Damn, Mac, you’re so easy. And from the sounds of it, you’ve got it bad for this woman. I never thought I’d see the day. I’d like to meet her.” Jay bristled at the thought of Bridgett meeting the man who’d been named Chicago’s Sexiest Bachelor three times in the past five years. “If she hasn’t dumped you by then, bring her with you when the Blaze come to play the Bears next month,” Blake teased. “You know my mom would love to show her around.”

“We’ll see.” While Jay had no intention of letting Bridgett slip out of his life again, he certainly didn’t want to spook her with a weekend in Claire Callahan’s clutches. “As interesting as this conversation is, that’s not why I left you a message to call me. I have a problem that I might need your help with.”

“If it involves the cheerleaders, I’m all in.”

“It might involve finding Delaney.”

Blake was silent on the other end of the line and Jay could no longer hear his feet pounding on the treadmill. “I thought we agreed we were never going to talk about her again?” his friend finally asked.

This was going to be the tricky part. Once upon a time, Delaney Silverberg had been their third roommate—Blake’s lover for over two years. Brilliant and vivacious, she was ambitious as well. The trio had planned to open a winery together, with Jay handling the production component while Delaney, an industrial engineer and software wiz, handled the logistics. As heir to the Callahan Agency, Blake would, naturally, handle all their promotions. The plan, hatched over multiple deep-dish pizzas and beer, had almost become a reality. Almost.

“Unfortunately, it might be unavoidable,” Jay said.

He heard the beep of the treadmill being stopped before Blake released an explosive sigh. “That woman is toxic, Jay. She destroys everything in her path. Hell, she very nearly destroyed our friendship. I don’t want that to happen, and that means keeping her off-limits as a subject of discussion.”

Jay squeezed at the back of his neck again. Blake was right—this was an old wound that didn’t need to be reopened. But he was sitting on a ticking time bomb and all roads pointed to Delaney.

What had sounded feasible over pizza and beer had proved to be nearly impossible for the very reason that most start-ups never get off the ground: lack of money. Jay had hoped to convince his stepfather to invest in the winery, but when Lloyd Davis died, the trustees overseeing his fortune had emphatically denied the request. Blake landed safely in the boardroom of his father’s agency. Jay was offered a job with an investment banking firm in New York, where he would be near Charlie. Delaney would have survived unscathed, too, had her marriage to Blake gone ahead as planned.

“Don’t tell me she’s in debt again and you’re going to bail her out?” Blake asked, his tone harsh.

The problem was, Delaney had a serious gambling addiction, one that had come with dire consequences when two thugs destroyed her car in front of their house one night. Blake had immediately washed his hands of his fiancée, but Jay saw Delaney’s dilemma as an opportunity. The woman had a brilliant mind for software development. Instead of taking the job with the investment firm, Jay took the money he’d planned to use for his vineyard and started his dot-com venture. In exchange for paying off Delaney’s debts, Jay used her intellect to create his empire.

“The last dollar she ever got from me was a paycheck and that was ten years ago,” Jay said.

Delaney’s habits were hard to break, and when Jay had caught her trying to sell proprietary information to the Chinese, it had been the last straw. He’d fired her, threatening that if she tried it again, he’d report her to the Feds. In the ensuing years, she’d kept a low profile, presumably hiding from those whom she owed money to. Jay hadn’t concerned himself with her whereabouts. Until now.

“Heath told me you’d been hit with a rash of sexual harassment suits lately?” Jay asked Blake.

“My brother-in-law talks too damn much.” Blake’s anger about their topic was evident in his voice. “Sure. We’ve had a few at the firm, but all of them were unfounded.”

“Were they all directed at you?”

“Hey, screw you, man. I’m not a serial sexual harasser!”

“But someone is making you out to be one.” Jay’s question was more of a statement, and Blake was silent on the other end of the phone.

“What are you saying, Jay?”

“I’ve had the same thing happening here. I didn’t give it any thought. It was just too coincidental,” Jay explained. “But the lawyer representing the cheerleaders claims to have information on all my cases. The leak didn’t come from here. I’ve checked very carefully. Which leads me to believe that she’s getting the details from the source.”

“Jesus, Jay, you think that Delaney has something to do with this?”

“I don’t know. It could be just coincidence. I haven’t heard from her in years, but she’s the only link between the two of us. I think whoever’s behind our recent spurt of sexual harassment suits might be that blogger, too. You know, the Girlfriends’ Guide to the NFL.”

Blake blew out a whistle. “What makes you think that?”

“Last year, Brody Janik’s wife, Shay, pulled together a spreadsheet about who the blogger had been targeting. I had Linc add to it with the more recent data. It’s very telling. The majority of her targets are on my team or are players repped by the sports public relations department of the Callahan Agency. The very same firm that you head up.”

Jay’s statement was met with more silence before Blake answered. “How sure are you?”

“I e-mailed you the spreadsheet. Check it out yourself.”

Blake swore viciously. “You never should have bailed her out in the first place.”

It had been a brash risk to do so, Jay admitted to himself. But at the time he had been desperate to succeed at something. To show his stepfather that Jay would have been worth an investment—even a small one. What he’d gotten in return from Delaney had been invaluable. Sure, he’d turned the tables and used her but Jay believed in survival of the fittest. Blake wouldn’t understand the necessity to prove himself because his father believed in him, supported him, and made room at his company for him.

“Regardless of what I should or should not have done, Blake, I’ll take care of it now. She’s done hurting those people I care about.”

“Bridgett Janik must really be something else if you’re willing to go to all this trouble to protect her reputation,” Blake said.

Jay’s friend didn’t know the extent of the damage to Bridgett’s reputation Delaney could do if she put two and two together. He’d told both his friends about his summer affair, the baby, and how it had all ended, but fortunately, he hadn’t ever mentioned any names. Given Delaney’s monstrous brain, Jay didn’t want to take any chances. He had to cut her off before things went any further.

“I’m protecting your sorry ass, too,” Jay said. “And don’t bother saying ‘I told you so.’ I know exactly how you feel on the subject.”

Blake tsked. “I was going to ask if you needed any help but since you’re in Avenger mode, I’ll just leave you to it. Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“I’m just going to present her with a very good reason to cease and desist.”

“Yeah, but she has a bit of a fearless streak. Desperation makes her take risks. Just be careful.”

“I’ll be sure to call if I need backup,” Jay said.

Blake chuckled. “That’s your problem. You’ve been flying solo for so long, you don’t even think about depending upon someone else. But I’m here if you need me. Just don’t put me in the same room with the woman, because I would probably kill her.”

Jay’s phone vibrated with an incoming text message. “I’ll call you after I’ve spoken with her,” he told Blake. “I’ll see you next month when my team comes to put a whupping on your team.”

Blake laughed and then hung up, and Jay skimmed the screen to view the text, hoping it was from Donovan with some more news about the case. A small part of him wished that he was wrong and he didn’t have to confront Delaney. Unfortunately, the text was from Linc. Jay unleashed a string of obscenities when he read it:

Your mother has arrived at the vineyard.