I hadn’t even said I’d go yet. But hey, a girl had to eat. Since I was no longer getting free food at the Steel ranch, I’d much rather eat at a five-star restaurant than have a fast-food burger, which had been my plan. “All right, I’ll meet you at your hotel. What time?”
“How about six o’clock? That will give us time for some cocktails before dinner. I’m just dying to hear all about what you’re up to.”
She didn’t fool me for a minute. If she had any interest in what I’d been up to, she would’ve asked before now. I wasn’t sure what Brooke had up her sleeve, but it wasn’t any grand desire to see her long-lost daughter.
“Sure, Mother. That sounds great. I’ll see you at the Carlton at six.”
“Perfect, darling.” She made a kiss noise into the phone.
And I nearly threw up.
“Ta-ta. I’m so excited for you to meet Nico. Until then.”
I ended the call and flopped down in my bed. Just what I didn’t need. Whoever this Nico was, he would be footing the bill this evening. My mother’s second husband had drained her coffers dry with some investment scam. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to get money out of me. Not that I would give her any even if I had it.
But dinner with Queen Brooke would at least keep my mind off Talon. It was inevitable. Brooke would talk about herself all evening, I wouldn’t get a word in edgewise, and I wouldn’t have time to think about Talon.
* * *
Turned out, I was wrong. As Brooke droned on and on at dinner about this new opportunity and that new opportunity, I tuned her out quite easily, and Talon crept into my mind. I tried to erase him. Truly I did. But I could no longer hide from the truth.
I loved him.
I was in love with Talon Steel. All six-feet-three inches of screwed-up man. I didn’t delude myself into thinking he could ever love me back. He had too much baggage. I only wished I knew what it was so I could help him. But did he even want my help? He’d made it pretty clear he didn’t.
Jonah’s voice still haunted me. Don’t go snooping. It’s none of your business anyway, and you might not like what you find.
There was a riddle in those words, and also a warning. I could go digging myself, but where would I start? And here was the irony—had I stayed at my job with Larry at the city attorney’s office, I would’ve been an investigator. I would’ve had all his investigative tools at my disposal. I could’ve learned a lot in that job, whether or not I respected my boss.
But I’d had to leave. I couldn’t take any more of Talon and his drama. It had nearly destroyed me.
How could I have fallen in love with him?
“Don’t you think so, Jade?”
I jerked my head up, forced out of my thoughts. My mother had spoken to me, but I had no idea what she’d said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I was just saying that if Nico plays his cards right, within a few years he could be a candidate for president.”
I looked over at my mother’s new love interest. Nico Kostas was a good-looking man. A dark Mediterranean type, he had black hair, olive skin, dark-brown eyes, rugged features, and a stocky, muscular build. He was graying at his temples and had laugh lines around his eyes. I guessed him to be in his early fifties.
He had been perfectly polite to me all evening, and he treated my mother like a queen. But something was off about him. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about him rattled my nerves a little, made my skin crawl.
“I don’t pretend to know much about politics,” I said. “But I wish you the best of luck if those are your aspirations.”
Nico smiled. “Oh, I think every politician dreams at one time or another of getting to the White House. But right now, I’ll settle for just being one of the two senators from Iowa.”
I nodded. Maybe that was the weird vibe that I was getting from him. Merely that he was a politician. So many of them were crooked. No…something else wasn’t right, and even though there was no love lost between my mother and me, I didn’t really want him near her.
I let out a sigh. None of this made sense. I took a sip of my merlot, which Nico had ordered. It was boring and a little sour. I had learned so much from Ryan at the winery. I could’ve chosen a better wine.
My mother picked at her striped bass, leaving most of it on her plate and scraping all the creamy sauce to the side. Still a supermodel, still afraid to eat.
I, of course, had cleaned my plate of my chicken piccata.
No doubt about it, my mother was a gorgeous woman. She was taller than I easily by three inches and probably weighed about twenty pounds less. Of course, she had no boobs. Mine had come from my father’s side.
She hung on Nico’s every word, never letting an opportunity to touch him pass by.
The waiter came and cleared the table, asked if we wanted dessert.
“Oh, heavens, no,” Brooke said. “I absolutely couldn’t swallow another bite.”
She hadn’t swallowed too many bites yet anyway.
“Just coffee for me,” I said.
“Excellent idea, Jade,” Nico said. “Make that three coffees, please. And I’ll have a Courvoisier also.”
“What a wonderful idea, Nico,” Brooke bubbled. “Make that two on the cognac. Jade?”