The Billionaire Playboy(61)

Damn! He really was no better than her father. How had she missed it? Had she been so overwhelmed by his good looks and average-Joe act that she hadn't seen the real him? She'd always considered herself a better judge of character than that. Obviously she wasn't. She was no better with men than her mother.

“That's not true. At least I didn't fall in love with him,” Charlie said to herself. Yet somehow the words sounded untrue. If she didn't care about him, then his betrayal wouldn't hurt so much. True, she'd still be pissed but not hurt. “You're not hurt. These are tears of anger.” Charlie wiped the few tears sliding down her face and struggled to keep any more from falling. “That snake isn't worth it.” And if he ever called again she'd tell him what she really thought of him.



***



Charlie got the chance later that night when her cell phone rang. Without even looking she knew it was Jake. Did she want to answer and tell him to go to hell or just let it go to voice mail and not bother calling him back? Both options were appealing.

“Are you going to answer that?” her mother asked from across the kitchen.

Charlie pulled the phone out of her back jeans pocket and looked at the caller ID. Sure enough Jake's number filled the screen. “Be right back,” she said as she marched out of the kitchen.

She waited till she was outside to answer. “Hello.”

“Hey, how's my favorite doctor.”

How could he tease her so affectionately when he'd flown across the Atlantic to be with someone else? “Not interested in talking to you.”

Silence filled the other end of the line and for a second she wondered if he was still there.

“You've got a strange sense of humor.” Jake's voice took on a hesitant tone. “If you're mad because I didn't call sooner, I'm sorry. I've been busy and then there's the time difference.”

“I know how busy you've been. I saw a picture of you and the pretty blond you're so busy with.” A warm breeze blew around her and she could hear the crickets chirping in the grass creating a relaxing environment that was completely at odds with the anger raging inside of her.

“Blond?” Jake asked sounding truly confused. “Charlie I don't know what you're talking about. I'm in England. My cousin …”

“Don't bother feeding me any lines. I should've expected as much from someone like you.” Maybe his lines worked with the other women he knew, but not her.#p#分页标题#e#

Once again there was silence. Part of her wanted him to deny her allegations, but she knew even if he did it wouldn't change anything. Pictures didn't lie and hadn't he already admitted he was in England just like the caption claimed.

Before he could say anything in his defense she added, “It's fine Jake. Really, I don't care. Enjoy your time in London.” With her final sentence Charlie hit end on her phone and shoved it back into her pocket.

She should feel relieved. She told him what she thought without letting him know how much it bothered her. Yet all she felt as she walked back into the kitchen was shame and emptiness. Shame at herself for believing that Jake was different. For thinking that maybe he could truly care for her. And emptiness because she'd just lost a tiny part of her heart to him.



After the line went dead, Jake pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. What the hell just happened? Yeah, he expected Charlie to be a little upset that he hadn't called sooner, but the conversation they'd just had made no sense at all.

Shaking his head he tried to replay the conversation over in his head. Despite his efforts it still didn't make any sense to him. Obviously she was upset about something. Should he call her back and try to straighten things out? Or would it be better to wait a little while, maybe give her a chance to cool down?

For some reason he doubted waiting would help the situation much so he hit redial. The phone range several times before going to voice mail. Even though he assumed she wouldn't call him back in her current mood, he left a message asking her to do just that.

Okay, you can figure this out. Jake paced in front of the empty fireplace. She'd referred to a picture of him and some blonde. He hadn't been out with anyone since meeting Charlie so what picture had she seen? Could it be an old one some magazine just released. Was some media outlet trying to play up the scandal already brewing with Blair? And why had she said he was in London? Had she guessed when he said he was in England? If she'd spoken to Cindy, she'd know he was in Bristol not London. He'd left a detailed message for Cindy to pass along if and when Charlie called. Was it possible she never got the message? But if she had spoken to Cindy she would know he wasn't here on some kind of vacation.