The Billionaire's Temporary Bride (Scandal, Inc #3)(40)

He couldn't explain why his relationship with his family was so strained, at least not without telling her about Maria and Little Jack. He wished that he could tell her the truth, but the situation was just too complicated. He had promised not to lie to her. Now he just wondered how long it would be before he told her the entire truth.

Finally, one morning, as Charlotte was lying in bed reading, and Jack was putting off heading into the office, he turned over and got it over with. "How'd you like to come to my mother's birthday party?"

"Are you serious?" she asked. "I'd love to. I was starting to think you didn't want me to meet them."

"I don't," he said, watching her expression sour. "It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. Just promise me that whatever happens, you won't hold their actions against me."

"Come on," Charlotte said, "they can't be that bad."

"You have no idea. This stuff goes back decades, and none of it is going to change any time soon."

That morning, Charlotte must have seen something in his face that kept her from asking him to elaborate. The ride to the Coburn mansion from the airport once they'd arrived in Boston was a different matter.

"There isn't even close to enough time to explain," Jack said. "Just know that everyone in my family blames everyone else for all kinds of things. I'm sure you'll figure out a lot of it during the stay, but let's just try not to focus on it."

"Give it a shot," Charlotte said. She leaned over the center console and smiled at him. "Who knows, maybe we can make a game out of it — which Coburn is the rottenest, terriblest, most awful person in the world? What happens if they're all wonderful and it ends up being you?"

Jack laughed. "Then I'll give up," he said.

"Sounds like a deal to me," Charlotte said. "Do you need me to sign a contract for this one too?" she added.

Jack slowed the car to a halt as he approached the large security gate at the entrance to his family's compound. Unlike the crushed shell, two-track road that stretched out beyond it and the shingled houses at the driveway's end, the gate was stark and modern, a new addition since that summer, the last time Jack had been home. He could see the bars of the gate and the cloudy sky beyond them reflected in the shiny black hood of his rental car. He pressed the button on the intercom and waved to the camera as he waited to be buzzed in.

"This is going to be a little bit different than the reception we received at your parents' house," Jack said as the gate slowly slid open.

"Well, if your family is putting up Halloween decorations in early December, we'll know something's wrong," Charlotte said. She had her visor flipped down and was trying to touch up her makeup as the car slowly wound down the long, bumpy road.

"You'd think for a multimillion dollar property, we'd just go ahead and pave the damn driveway," Jack said.

"It adds to the charm of the place," Charlotte said. She struggled to apply eyeliner as the car bounced up and down. "Plus it makes it feel that much further from the real world, like we're going back in time or crossing into some other dimension."

"We're crossing into another dimension alright."

As Jack drove, the cluster of gray-shingled mansions at the end of the drive came into view. His mother's house stood tallest, surrounded by the three other houses that belonged to aunts and uncles who split their time between the Cape in the summer and various world capitals during the rest of the year. Now, in December, as the dark surf crashed on the cold beach, the other houses were dark, and only his mother's house was lit up. Three shiny, new cars were parked out front.

Here goes nothing, Jack thought to himself.

"We're here," he said. "Prepare yourself for a few days of simmering resentment, rampant over-drinking, and several fights."

"Sounds like my kind of fun," Charlotte said.

"I'll make sure we have a room to retreat to in case things get too bad."

"Oh, calm down. We're not invading occupied France, We're visiting your family for a weekend. We'll both survive."

As Jack pulled his car up beside the others, Charlotte put the finishing touches on her eyes.

"Any last bits of information I should know?" she asked.

"My sister, Caroline, can be a bit intense at times. We'll know whether or not she's in a good mood about as soon as we see her. I think I've mentioned to you how my brother Whit spends most of his time sailing around the Caribbean. Sometimes I think he left some part of himself out there, long ago. My mom's my mom. I think she'll like you."

"Ooh, what about the name thing?" Charlotte asked. "Do I wait for her to introduce herself? Do I call her Mom? Do I avoid the situation entirely?"

"Angela," Jack said. "You can call her Angela. My sister Caroline already does."

"Great," Charlotte said.

She stepped out of the car, and Jack felt the raw winter wind sweep through the open door. This place was paradise on a warm summer day, but in the winter it was barren, and it felt like it had been winter for years. Jack wondered if he could get away with a quick hello inside only to turn around. Despite everything, he wanted his family to like Charlotte. He didn't care much what they thought of him, but he wanted her to feel welcomed and loved, especially after the way her family had been so kind to him.