And I was jealous and feeling insecure. Which pissed me off. I didn’t want to feel insecure, but how could I not? Anya was successful and stunning. She probably knew more about sex and seduction than I ever would. I understood what William saw in her. What man wouldn’t want her? How could I possibly compare? The short answer was that I couldn’t.
But cornered as I was, William wasn’t about to let me slink away. “You had coffee with a man in St. Helena. Who was he?”
“So Darius was babysitting me! I knew it. I wouldn’t even have gone into town if you hadn’t left me alone for two days without any explanation.” I was evading. This sort of ploy had always worked with Jace, but I had a feeling William wouldn’t be so easily outmaneuvered. “Why could Darius get through to you, but I couldn’t?” I challenged him. “I thought we weren’t going to play games with each other.”
“There was no game,” he said, sweeping my smokescreen away effortlessly. “I’m trying to be honest. I didn’t speak with Darius. He was able to reach my pilot via the satellite phone on the plane and leave an update with him. I wanted to know you were okay, Catherine.”
I jumped in, a last ditch effort to derail him. “So that gives you the right to keep me in the dark?”
“The situation is complicated.”
I snorted at that. Complicated was one of those catch-all words that seemed to say something but really said nothing at all.
Undeterred, William went on. “I don’t want to pull you into it. The less you know, the better. Now, who was that guy?”
I sighed. There was no getting out of it. “It was Jeremy Ryder. He’s my former brother-in-law.”
William stared at me, not speaking. His eyes were wide, and he actually looked a little stunned.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know. Darius didn’t allow me out of his sight, and I know George is an expert at finding information for you.” We both knew what I was referring to. We were back to those dossiers I’d found at William’s penthouse. Dossiers about women William might date.
But instead of looking angry, he looked utterly deflated. “Catherine.” His voice was flat, my name more a whisper than a word. “Was your meeting planned? Was it about…your husband?”
“It wasn’t planned,” I said, notching my chin up. “I haven’t spoken to Jeremy in months, not since before I moved to Chicago. It was nice to catch up, actually. And yes, we talked about Jace.” From the corner of my eye, I saw William’s color pale. This wasn’t what I had been expecting from him at all.
“Did he hurt you in any way?”
“No, it wasn’t like that. We talked a lot about Jace, that’s all. And then he gave me a ride. Why?”
William started running his hands through his hair. He looked up at me, frustration clearly evident in his eyes. “I hated that you left with him, but once I knew you were coming home, that it was what you needed, I had to let you go.”
I stiffened and stopped sniveling. “What you do you mean you knew I was coming home and you let me go?”
“You skipped out on Darius a little too easily—and that will be handled—but my security trailed you. Once you got to the airport and they saw you run away from the man you were with, I wanted them to stop you. They ran a trace on the car and it came back registered to an Amy Mason, a lawyer in Pacific Heights. She was clean but that didn’t explain the guy. She’s an only child, no brothers. And no roommates. They were still trying to find some link, but by then the gate agent assured me that you looked fine—a little upset, but fine—so your ticket was issued.”
I was speechless. I had forgotten who I was dealing with. William was one of the richest men in America and, apparently, that meant there were few things his money, power, and influence couldn’t touch—including my apparently feeble attempt at a clean getaway. I was so out of my league here and I started to feel a little sick to my stomach.
It seemed like an eternity passed before he spoke again. “You miss him, don’t you?” he asked quietly.
I didn’t miss Jeremy; in fact, I hoped I’d never see Jeremy again. Then it hit me. He was asking if I missed Jace. He thought I was with Jeremy because of Jace. William thought he left me alone and I had run back to the memory of my dead husband. That he could never compete with that. Oh my God, I had made such a bigger mess of things than I even realized.
I looked up at William and he was watching me closely. My eyes locked with his, silently pleading that we just end this conversation so it would go no further. I was more ashamed than ever of my history with Jeremy and I never wanted William to know about it. He’d never forgive me for it, not now. My baggage was what could ruin us, just like I feared it could from the very start.