An Irresistible Bachelor(62)

"I’m so happy for you. Truly."

After they hung up, Callie looked outside. It was late in the afternoon and the sky was a chalky white. She was surprised that Thanksgiving was so close and pictured herself back in Chelsea popping a Lean Cuisine in the oven and brooding about Jack.

Not exactly a Norman Rockwell moment, she thought.



Chapter 14





By the time Jack got home that evening, he was tired. Nothing had gone as he'd expected. Or particularly well.

Blair hadn't even been in New York.

He'd called her in the morning while on the way to the airport, both at her hotel room and on her cell phone, to make sure she knew he was coming. When he'd gotten voice mail in both places, it hadn't seemed that unusual and the same was true when he'd received no calls from her in response. They'd been playing phone tag a lot lately and sometimes had gone a day or two without even leaving messages.

Nonetheless, it had been a surprise when he'd been informed at the front desk of the Cosgrove that Ms. Stanford and Mr. Graves had flown off to London the night before. The manager had explained they'd gone to see Graves's new mansion in Belgravia and would be back soon. Just how soon, the man hadn't been able to say, and going by his anxious eyes, he clearly wished he had a better answer.

Based on Blair's indeterminate travel plans, Jack had figured he'd just go back to Boston. There was no sense waiting around New York when he had business deals to watch over and planning to do with Gray. He was on the way back to the airport when his cell phone had rung. Clearly, Graves's man had called ahead. Blair was apologetic and anxious as hell about his unexpected visit. She knew unscheduled drop-ins were not a habit of his.

While she'd pressured him for details, he'd just tried to pin down when she was returning. Though she'd be home the following day, she'd refused to get off the phone and kept demanding to know what was wrong. When it was clear she wouldn't wait until they could see each other in person, he had spelled out the truth as gently as he could. Shocked silence had been her first response and then she'd been characteristically stoic. The only question she'd asked was whether he'd met someone else and he'd been honest in his response.

The awful truth was, she hadn't seemed all that surprised about any of it.

When the call had ended, he'd gotten into his plane and told the pilot to take him to Chicago. There was a company there he'd been meaning to visit and he figured the trip would relieve his mind. It didn't work. He remained sorry that he'd hurt Blair, though he felt more sadness about losing the friendship than the intimate side of the relationship.

Shutting Buona Fortuna's front door, Jack put down his briefcase and started to loosen his tie. He wanted a drink. He wanted something to eat.

And he wanted to see Callie.

He walked back to the kitchen and ran into Thomas, who was pulling on his leather biker's jacket. Thomas informed him his mother was out to dinner and the concern in the man's voice told Jack all was not well in Mercedes's world. Jack didn't ask for details. He had enough problems in his own life to worry about.

Thomas paused by the door. "Oh, and Callie, she's out with Gray."

Jack felt a tidal shift in his body. "Oh, really. Where did they go?"

"Said something about Biba's." Thomas hesitated. "You going to be okay here on your own?"

"Yeah." Hell, in his current mood, solitude was safer for everyone.

As the door was shut, Jack headed not for the refrigerator but for his private bar. Hungry as he was, he wanted oblivion more than food.

When he got to his study, he stripped off his suit jacket, hung it over the back of a chair, and went for the bourbon. On his way across the room, he eyed the broken glass that was still on the floor. He hated having his study disturbed, so it was cleaned only once a week and he made a mental note to take care of the mess himself.

He wasn't going to do it now, though.

Picking up a full decanter and a Tom Collins glass, he decided to get good and drunk.

It was the perfect way to end an otherwise horrible day.

He was halfway through his third glass, and just beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol, when it dawned on him it was the anniversary of his father's death.

Which explained why Thomas was worried about his mother.


Jack put the glass down and felt his pinkie ring make contact with the desk, a knocking sound rising up into the still air as the gold hit wood. He twisted his hand around and looked at the crest that had been pressed deeply into the metal. The ring was supposed to be worn by a Nathaniel, had always been worn by Nathaniels, his father included.