An Irresistible Bachelor(82)

Which meant the gloves were going to come off. And everything was fair game.

The question was, how badly did he want to win. And how much was he willing to sacrifice to make sure he did?

"Jack?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you ever get away? You know, take a vacation?"

He swept her hair aside and kissed his favorite spot on her neck, the one right behind her earlobe. "What did you have in mind?"

"Maybe after the holidays, we could go up north. Just for a weekend. We wouldn't be gone that—”

He cut her off with a kiss that went on and on. "Let's take a week. "

The smile she treated him with made Jack think being gone even longer might not be a bad idea.

Later that week, they were lying in her bed and Callie was on the verge of falling asleep when Jack said, "I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"Why did you wait so long to have se—to make love with someone?"

For a moment, she wasn't sure how to answer him. She'd tell the truth, of course, but the wording was difficult.

"Well, aside from being an introvert to begin with, I had to work my way through college and grad school, so it seemed like every minute of the day I had something I needed to do. When I got out of NYU, my mother—was sick and getting worse fast. She had multiple sclerosis, and with her increasing debilitation, someone always had to be with her. We didn't have money for round-the-clock nursing." She shrugged. "You need time and discretionary energy for relationships, and I had neither."

She knew he was frowning by the displeasure in his voice. "You shouldn't have had to deal with your mother's illness alone. What about your father? Where was he?"

"He was, ah, it was a difficult situation." Jack propped his head on his hand and let his cast fall between them. In the dim light, she could tell he was looking at her with his characteristic intensity. "So you handled everything by yourself?" "I had no other choice," she said. "I just coped and sometimes not well. There were a lot of nights when I couldn't stand the pressure and would have done anything to get away from my mother. I cringe at some of the things I felt. She didn't choose to get sick, to suffer, to wilt in her own skin until she died. But I felt so... trapped. I didn't want to leave her because I was afraid something would happen, but I just wanted to get out of the house sometimes. I could have been better, I think. I could have—”

"You stayed," he countered. "That's what counts." Callie released her breath in a sigh. "I wish I could do so much of it over again."

"I think you're too hard on yourself." Jack brushed his lips softly over hers. "And I don't know how your father could have stood by and done nothing."

"Frankly, it was easier than having him involved. Things could get really messy when he was around."

"What was he like?"

She looked up at the ceiling, figuring it was probably okay to let some anonymous details out. "He was... larger than life. Whenever I was around him, I always felt as if I were in the presence of greatness. He was a tall man, almost as tall as you, and I felt tiny around him. Insignificant."

"Were you close?"

"Not at all. He was confident, very sure of himself, until he tried to talk with me and then he became so awkward. I think he avoided me because he didn't like the way he felt when he was with me. Powerful people tend to be comfortable only when they are in control of themselves."

"That's a hell of a way for a father to act," Jack muttered. "What did he do for a living?"

Her eyes flashed to his and she began to think of ways to change the subject. "He was a businessman. But I don't know much about that side of his life."

"Was he gone a lot? Working?"

"I guess you could say that."

"What kind of business was he in?" When she didn't answer, Jack frowned. "You're leaving out a lot, aren't you?"

As she stayed silent, he stared at her for a long moment.

"Let's talk about something else," she suggested softly.



"Okay." She was relieved until he said, "So why don't you want to tell me about your father?"

Callie felt herself bristle. "I just don't want to talk about him, okay?"

"Don't you trust me?"