“Beyond brilliant,” he said, then pulled her close. He wanted to hold her and never let her go. “Brilliant and ballsy.”
She smiled up at him, her hand going to cup his crotch. “Is that good?”
“Very good,” he said, then slanted his mouth over hers and lost himself in the feel of her for the rest of the drive to her house.
“I want more wine,” she said once they arrived and were at her door. She fumbled for her keys. “And then I think we need to get naked, get in bed, and properly celebrate our emancipation.”
He took the key from her and deftly inserted it, then opened the door. “I like the way you think.”
As they entered, he heard the beep of her cellphone. “Voicemail,” she said. “Someone must have called while we were in the dead zone coming up the canyon.” She pressed the button to play the message, and he heard their mother’s voice saying, “Sweetie, your father—well, he asked me to call and tell you to check your email. I—well, you’ll see. There’s a letter. Baby, I’m so sorry. I love you both so much, and—yes, Eli. I’m getting off right now—Goodbye, sweetheart. I have to go.”
Even before the line went dead, Dallas had his phone out and was checking his mail, and Jane was only seconds behind him.
“Got it,” she said. “Come on, open. Open.”
He was cursing his own slow connection, too, but when the attached letter finally opened he both wished that he hadn’t bothered and knew that he’d been expecting it all along.
He read it once carefully, then again more quickly. Then he looked at Jane and waited for her to finish. He watched her eyes skim the page once, then twice. Then a third time.
He saw when her hand began to shake.
And he was there to catch the phone when she dropped it.
“Dallas,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have done it. I should have thought. I guess I never really believed he’d go this far.”
“I did,” Dallas said.
“But completely disinherited? He’s really taking our houses away? Cutting us off from our trusts? He’s firing you from Sykes Retail? What the hell? He’s our father. How can he do that? I mean, I knew he’d threatened, but I guess I never really believed he’d go through with it. And I should never have taken the risk. What was I thinking putting you in that position?”
“You’re in it, too.”
She shook her head. “Not as deep. He can’t touch my book or film money. But you work for him.” She pressed her fingertips to her temples. “God, I’m such selfish idiot.”
He took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. “If you are, then I am, too. Because there’s nothing I want more than to be with you—nothing.”
“But Deliverance—your lifestyle. It’s all driven by Sykes money. You need your reputation and—”
“No.” He shook his head. “No, the money isn’t a problem. Deliverance is self-sustaining now. I haven’t funded it out of my trust in years. You’re right about the parties and the reputation. The reputation I’ll abandon.” He squeezed her shoulders as he spoke. “But don’t write me out of the parties, yet. Considering the nature of gossip, I probably have a good six months of the kind of notoriety designed to garner all sorts of party invitations. But you are right that this is going to inconvenience us. Hang on.”
He pulled out his phone and dialed Archie’s cellphone. “We have a code nine.”
“I assumed you would be calling. I’ve been watching the news. I take it you’ve spoken to your father since Miss Jane’s announcement.”
“Looks like I’ll be finding a new place to call home. Eli says we can both store our stuff in our houses until we come to our senses. But we both feel remarkably sane, so I think it’s best to have our personal belongings packed up and sent to storage.”
“I’ll take care of everything. I’ll contact Ellen and have her begin working on Miss Jane’s belongings at the townhouse. Where will you be staying?”
It was a good question. He turned his attention to Jane. “Your LA house, is it part of the family trust?”
She shook her head. “No, I bought it when I sold my film rights.”
“We’ll be staying in LA for a few days,” he said to Archie, “then coming back to New York and moving in to that apartment I was considering. Would you call my agent and tell her I want to move in mid-week? If we can’t close the sale that quickly, then I’ll rent the place until closing.”
“I’d be happy to arrange that for you.”
“Wait a second. Tell her that title will be held by both me and Jane.”
“What?” Jane said.
“Of course,” Archie said. “Good luck, Dallas. I’ll speak to you both soon.”
They ended the call, and Jane lifted her brow.
He shrugged. “Don’t you want to buy an apartment with me? Short sale, remember? It’s definitely a good investment.”