The Accidental Boyfriend Page 8

  He’d known Miranda as long as Robert had, since junior high—that’s when his father had been stationed in France and the two boys had both fallen for the girl next door.

  His hand froze for a moment while straightening his tie. He couldn’t believe Miranda, of all people, had actually bought Holly’s act. She knew better than anyone that Jack didn’t have “girlfriends”. He had “friends”, many of whom happened to be women but none of whom were ever called “girlfriend.”

  She’d probably already told Robert. He could practically hear Robert’s voice now, asking her what she’d been thinking inviting his useless brother to their swanky party. Jack straightened in front of the mirror and shoved back the hair that had fallen into his face.

  He would go and clear up the misconception about Holly. Lord knows he’d learned his lesson on that one, the last thing he needed was word to spread to his parents that he was in a relationship.

  Having to tell them that his engagement with Ivy was a lie had been a nightmare. His mother had actually cried, and not because he’d lied—that she’d taken in stride—she’d cried because she was so disappointed that it wasn’t real. His mother couldn’t understand that he could have a complete and fulfilling life without a wife. Despite all the evidence to the contrary—all of the brief flings and short-lived affairs—she refused to believe that he wouldn’t settle down one day. Only a mother could still hold out hope that her grown son could miraculously change his ways. He would be the worst son in history if he let her get her hopes up again…and with Ivy’s sister, no less.

  Tonight he would show his face, play nice with his brother—assuming Robert didn’t kick him out first—and make sure Miranda knew the truth about him and Holly. Then they’d leave and he would treat Holly to a night out on the town and he would knock back whiskeys until this latest awful run in with Robert was a blurry memory.

  A knock on his door made him glance at the clock. No more procrastinating, it was time to bite the bullet. He opened the door to find Holly looking more beautiful than ever. His mouth froze on the words he’d been about to say. He was speechless.

  She was wearing a dark red slip of a dress—tasteful but sexy as hell. Her curls were artfully tousled, like she’d just come from the beach…or somebody’s bed. Her makeup was subtle for the most part—except for her lips, which were a siren red that matched the dress.

  She looked incredible.

  “You’re…you look….” Jack cleared his throat. “You look great.”

  She grinned up at him and gave his jacket lapel a little tug. “You look pretty good yourself.” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes a bit as though reading his expression. “You ready to party like it’s 1999?”

  His smile felt forced. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  * * * *

  By the time they pulled up in front of a modest home near the outskirts of the city, Holly was ready to do just about anything if it meant Jack would relax. He was staring out the window in tight-lipped silence that was all the more disturbing because this was Jack. He didn’t do silence and no one in the history of the world would ever describe him as grim.

  She impulsively reached out to give his hand a squeeze. He looked over in surprise, as though he’d just woken from a trance. He looked down at her hand on his and she quickly pulled her hand back.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  For a second she thought he wouldn’t answer and he made no move to leave the car. “Of all the brasseries in Paris,” he muttered.

  “Excuse me?”

  He looked over at her with a little smile. “Of all the brasseries in Paris, what are the odds that we walked into the same one today?”

  She had to laugh at that. “One in a million,” she said. She watched him take a deep breath and psych himself up and leaned in a little closer. “That’s why it’s meant to be.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. “How so?”

  Holly tossed some hair over her shoulder and feigned a confidence she didn’t necessarily feel. “You said it yourself, what are the odds? Maybe this is the universe’s way of helping you right a wrong.”

  He cracked a smile that warmed her heart. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. He inhaled deeply and turned to her with the crooked grin she loved. “Shall we?”

  “We shall.”

  Miranda answered the door and gave them an enthusiastic reception. She drew Jack in for a hug and gave Holly kisses on both cheeks. “Come in, come in, we’re so glad you could make it.”

  Their apartment was spacious and tastefully decorated but it paled in comparison to Brunelli’s palatial suite.

  “Everyone is in the living room. Come, follow me.” She turned and walked deeper into the apartment with Jack and Holly in tow.

  They could hear voices coming from the other room and Holly leaned over to whisper, “Tell me about this plan again?”

  Jack’s voice was low enough that Miranda couldn’t hear and it sent tingles down Holly’s spine. “We’ll come clean about the fact that we’re not really a couple, I’ll make nice with my brother for a bit and then we’ll run away and drink our faces off.”

  Holly bit her lip to keep from giggling. “Good plan.”

  Miranda paused in the doorway to the living room, allowing Holly and Jack a chance to catch up. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Robert’s brother, Jack, and his girlfriend, Holly.” She turned to them with a beaming grin. “Jack, Holly, this is everyone.”

  Holly pasted on a smile and was grateful that Jack took her hand in his in solidarity. They faced a group of twenty people, almost all couples, who were smiling at them in welcome. They were standing a step above everyone else in the doorway to the hall and it made her feel like she was standing on a stage with a spotlight pointed right at her.

  Miranda leaned over and whispered, “You’ll have to excuse our friends, it’s not every day they see a celebrity.”

  One man who bore a striking resemblance to Jack made his way through the crowd. She could feel Jack stiffen as he approached. The other man stuck a hand out to Jack and they shook in a formal, stilted manner. “Robert, good to see you,” Jack said.

  Jack turned toward her. “This is my…Holly.” There was only a brief hesitation and Holly was fairly certain she was the only one who heard the silence where the word “girlfriend” should have gone.

  Robert turned to her with a look that was far from welcoming. He didn’t even smile, even though Holly’s face felt like it might crack from wearing such a huge grin.

  “Welcome,” he said. His tone was anything but welcoming and Holly’s jaw clenched painfully in her effort to maintain the polite smile.

  “You have a beautiful home,” Holly said. She pressed her lips together to keep in a nervous giggle. She’d sounded exactly like her mom, the self-proclaimed queen of dinner parties. Miranda murmured her thanks but she wasn’t paying attention to Holly, she was too busy glancing back and forth between the two men as though waiting for a fight to break out.

  “When did you arrive in Paris?” Robert asked. His face wore a slightly pained expression as though making small talk was physically hurting him.

  “Yesterday,” Jack said before clamping his mouth shut. Holly watched Jack, waiting for him to continue. Surely that’s not all he was going to say. She’d listened to this man charm the pants off of a patisserie owner this afternoon using a handful of rusty French and a smattering of Spanish. But here, standing directly in front of his brother, Jack had turned into a mime.

  Come on, Holly, you’ve dined with warring tribesmen in Africa, you can keep a pleasant conversation going among brothers.

  “Have you lived here long?” Her voice came out shockingly high pitched—perhaps so high that only dogs could hear her because no humans in the room paid her any mind.

  The crowd of people around them had resumed talking and laughing amongst themselves—no one seemed to notice the ice storm that was brewing in their midst.

  “So, have you two always
been this weird around one another?” Holly blurted out. Well, that did it. Jack, Robert, and Miranda all swiveled to stare at her.

  “Pardon?” Miranda said.

  Holly ignored her, her eyes were on Jack. She let out a sigh of relief as one side of his mouth began to twitch before breaking into a full-fledged wicked grin. He was back!

  She turned to Miranda, “What I mean is, you’ve known Jack and Robert forever, right? Were they always like…this?” She gestured between the two men, ignoring Robert’s look of shock and trying not to be distracted by Jack’s smile.

  Now Miranda was the one whose lips were twitching and she slapped a hand over her mouth before shaking her head. “No,” she said, her voice choked with laughter. “They used to be rather good friends, actually.”

  Miranda’s soft voice with its gorgeous French accent seemed to have a melting effect on Robert. A bit of the tension eased from his shoulders and the harsh glare on his face softened a bit as he considered Holly.

  “Holly, was it? How did you and Jack meet?”

  Holly’s mind went temporarily blank. “Um,” she hedged. Miranda raised her eyebrows with a pleasantly expectant look as Robert continued to study her. Holly got the feeling the whole Ivy debacle was probably something of a sore subject in this family, where everything seemed to be a hot button issue. She looked to Jack for help and to her great relief, he seemed to read her mind.

  * * * *

  Jack was quick to intervene. Neither of them wanted to mention the Ivy connection in a room filled with curious eavesdroppers. All it would take is one misguided word and the tabloids would be all over them.

  Besides, he’d promised himself that he would tell them the truth about Holly and clear the air, no point in delaying the inevitable.

  He nodded toward the hallway. “Shall we?” he hinted.

  Robert gave a grudging nod and led the way to a large, homey kitchen. Jack was struck by a wave of regret, a common feeling every time his brother’s name came up. The guilt and sadness were more poignant than ever standing there in the same room, close in distance but so far away they might as well have been staring at one another across a great divide.

  If things had been different between them, maybe this kitchen would be a familiar place, a room where he and his brother and sister-in-law cooked together and shared holidays with his parents. But, instead, he was a stranger in a strange land.

  There were matching aprons hanging on a rack near the oven. Did his brother cook? He had no idea. There was a heaviness in his chest that he couldn’t shake. Holly’s hand slipped into his and gave him a little squeeze, bringing him back to the moment.

  The foursome had gathered around the kitchen table and were watching him, waiting for him to speak. Oh right, his relationship to Holly.

  “Holly is Ivy’s sister,” he started. He watched Robert’s lips thin into a look of disapproval as Miranda’s eyes widened in surprise. Good to know at least two people in the world didn’t read People magazine.

  “I’m sure Mom and Dad told you about what happened between me and Ivy,” he started.

  Robert’s cold voice cut in, “Of course they did. They were devastated.”

  Jack’s mouth went dry and he cleared his throat. He’d known they’d been upset when they’d learned the truth, but “devastated” seemed a bit harsh. Was that true? Had he hurt his family…again?

  Memories of his and Robert’s falling out all those years ago threatened to spill out into the kitchen. Looking at Robert’s cold expression, he could remember every accusation, every harsh word. And the overwhelming guilt. The sinking weight he’d been trying to shed for years.

  He cleared his throat again, aware of Holly’s questioning eyes. He knew without having to talk to her that she wanted to know if she should intervene. He gave a little shake of his head and he watched her clamp her mouth shut. Stifling a completely uncalled-for laugh at the look of disappointment on her face at having to remain quiet, he turned back to his brother and sister-in-law.

  “I’ve apologized to Mom and Dad for that. They understand that it was an…unusual situation.”

  Robert’s mouth was so pinched, it looked like he’d been sucking lemons. “Yes, they said you were ‘doing what needed to be done to make EverTech a success.’ How noble.” He all but sneered the word noble, his voice dripping with disdain.

  The ever-present guilt he always felt around his brother niggled at his stomach but for the first time, the guilt was outweighed by anger. His jaw was so tight, he could barely get the words out. “I wouldn’t say it was noble, but I was attempting to take responsibilities for my actions and to make—”

  “That’s a first.” Robert’s words were a lead weight in the room.

  Jack’s mouth clamped shut as a hot flush of anger rushed through him. How many times did he have to apologize?

  Before he could respond, Miranda stepped between them, her sweet, calm face a reminder of everything his brother had always been—the golden child, the responsible one, the reliable one…the one who got the girl.

  “Please,” she said quietly. He and his brother shut their mouths but continued to stare daggers at one another.

  Miranda turned her sweet, lovely smile to Holly, who was watching everything closely. He saw her white knuckles clenching the island in the middle of the kitchen and had the feeling she was physically holding herself back from intervening on his behalf.

  That thought alone made the tension in his body dissipate, his shoulders relaxing slightly. For the first time in a long time, he wasn’t facing his brother alone. He had an ally and at this particular moment she looked like a fiery angel with that red, sexy dress and a halo made of untamed curls.

  She met his gaze and gave him a lopsided grin that sent a whole new type of tension ricocheting through his body. For one insane moment, he actually considered taking her by the hand and finding an empty bedroom—or hell, just a coat closet—where he could steal another kiss.

  He turned back to his brother and sister-in-law to see them studying him. Robert’s face was impassive but Miranda wore a silly grin that nearly made him groan aloud. He knew that grin. Miranda, the romantic, thought he and Holly were really in love.

  That was it. Time to set the record straight before this lie got out of hand.

  He cleared his throat but before he could begin, Robert said, “So you two are a couple then.” He leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed as though daring them to wow him with their love story.

  Everything was always a challenge with his brother. Jack’s spine stiffened and he fought the defensive feeling that his brother stirred up so easily. He would not rise to the bait. Not this time. He had nothing to hide. “Actually,” he started. He cleared his throat again, which suddenly felt tight with emotion.

  “Oh here we go,” Robert said with a weary sigh. His eyes were filled with disdain as he gave Holly a pitying smile. “Let me guess, he doesn’t like the word ‘couple’. He’s probably convinced you that it’s better if you keep things casual, am I right?”

  Jack watched Holly stiffen, her jaw clenched as she faced his brother head on. He knew without a doubt that she wanted to lash out but was trying her best to remain calm. He wondered if that’s how he looked every time he talked to his brother.

  He opened his mouth to respond on her behalf but before he could, Holly said in a quiet, controlled voice, “I believe Jack was just about to explain our relationship before you so rudely interrupted.”

  Bravo! Jack’s heart soared watching Holly put his brother in his place. No one ever did that. Nearly everyone, including Jack, had a tendency to cower before Robert’s smug righteousness. Even better was watching Robert’s mouth clamp shut and Miranda’s attempt to smother a laugh at her husband’s expense.

  Robert recovered quickly and turned to Jack with one eyebrow cocked in sarcastic curiosity. “So tell me, Jack. Have you finally managed to make a commitment for once in your life?”

  Jack ignored the comm
ent. He would not be bullied into telling a lie. “As you may have guessed, Holly and I met under rather…unusual circumstances.” He turned to see Holly giving him a little smile.

  “That may be the understatement of the century,” she murmured under her breath, making Miranda giggle. Robert was still watching, waiting.

  “So it won’t come as a surprise when I say that our relationship is a bit unusual as well,” he continued. Even to his own ears, he sounded like he was justifying himself and he hated that. Why did he care what Robert thought?

  Jack took a deep breath. Just spit it out. Robert, meanwhile, was starting to smile. He looked like the cat who ate the canary as he turned to his wife. “I told you. Jack will never commit.” Turning toward his wife, he held out his hand. “Pay up.”

  Jack looked from Holly, whose eyes were wide with shock, back to his brother. Miranda scowled at Robert and slapped his hand away. “Stop it,” she hissed.

  Robert just laughed. “Fine, you can pay me later.”

  “You bet on this?” Holly’s voice came out in a squeak. “You bet on the fact that Jack wouldn’t possibly commit to me.”

  Robert took a step toward Holly and reached out a reassuring hand. “Oh please don’t take it personally. This has nothing to do with you. We didn’t even know you when we made the bet.” Jack was watching Miranda but she refused to meet his eyes. Her cheeks were growing pink under his scrutiny.

  “It’s just that we know Jack, that’s all,” Robert continued. “He’s never been able to commit to anything—not family, not business, and certainly not women.” He was laughing now, seemingly oblivious to the awkward silence that filled the room.

  Holly looked to Jack, as though waiting for him to speak. Defend himself, perhaps. But what could he say? Robert was right, as always. He had lived up to his terrible reputation once again.

  When Holly spoke, her voice was strong and clear. “It looks like you owe your wife some money because you are dead wrong.”

  All three of them stared at her in shock. Jack knew it was coming but couldn’t bring himself to stop her. Stepping closer to his side so she could link her fingers through his, she said, “We are very much a couple and we are quite happy.”