The Billionaire Playboy(64)

She let her mom's words sink in, wondering how she would react in the same situation. “Does Sean know?”

Maureen smiled. “No he just thinks he was born early. I think we should keep it that way.”

Nodding Charlie returned her mom's smile. “That still doesn't mean I should give Jake another chance.”

“No, but if you do care about him and don't give him one, you'll always wonder. Trust me on that.”

Somehow Charlie knew there was another story behind her mom's words, but she didn't think she would get it out of her. At least not now.

Maureen reached for her own tea. “Just consider what I said, Charlie.”

“What grand excuse did he give you for being in England? Did the Tower Bridge collapse?” No matter what the excuse, Charlie didn’t know if she would believe it anyway.

“You sound as if you've already decided to not believe it.” Maureen sighed and shook her head. “You've always been stubborn.”

Stubborn? She wasn't stubborn just determined; Charlie thought but kept to herself. She didn't want to get into an argument with her mom on her last day here. “We'll see.” For now it was all she would commit to.

“He flew to England because his cousin overdosed and ended up in the ICU. Jake said he had been having problems with drugs and alcohol for a while. The woman you saw in the photo is his cousin's girlfriend. She met Jake at the airport. She asked Jake to come to England.”

Charlie remembered him mentioning a cousin who was having substance abuse issues. He'd told her he'd been in England a few months earlier to help him; so it was at least a plausible excuse. Still that didn't make it true.

“It doesn't sound like a story someone would just make up,” her mom insisted interrupting Charlie's thoughts. “People don't usually say those kinds of things about their family.” Her mom stood.

“That doesn't mean they couldn't.”

Maureen rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Just think about what I said, Charlie.”



***



Man was it good to be home. He'd only been gone ten days but it had felt like a lifetime. He hoped AJ managed to keep things together this time. He didn't want a repeat of his past two visits. Not that he wouldn't do it again if he got the call, but he wasn't sure AJ could survive another setback and he knew for certain AJ would lose Sophia if he did. One relationship had already suffered due to AJ's problems, no reason to make it two.

Jake settled onto the couch and turned on the baseball game. Dylan and Callie were due soon and even though exhaustion threatened to overtake his body, he was looking forward to their visit. He hadn't seen them since the wedding. Another added bonus of their visit was the distraction they would provide. More times than not when he found himself alone he started thinking about Charlie. He still hadn't heard from her and he wasn't sure if another phone call would make a difference. A face-to-face visit might work in his favor with most women but he suspected it'd be a waste of time with Charlie.

He knew she was stubborn, but he hadn't imagined it was this bad. And he wasn't going to beg. Beside, if she was unwilling to at least listen to him what kind of future could they have together?

Even Callie had been willing to hear Dylan out after his disastrous faux pas. And in that case Dylan had been in the wrong.

Forget about it for tonight, he told himself. He couldn't do anything about it at the moment anyway.



***



“How long are you guys staying in Washington?” Jake asked. He, Dylan and Callie were on the deck enjoying dinner.

“The rest of the week. We'll leave on Sunday morning. I'm expected back in the office on Monday,” Dylan answered.

Jake couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his half-brother look so relaxed. A type-A workaholic, the guy rarely sat down and put his feet up. At least Dylan had always been that way before meeting Callie. While he was still a workaholic he did at least take time off now to enjoy life and spend time with the woman he loved. Jake envied Dylan in that respect. He wouldn't want to deal with running Sherbrooke Enterprises, but he would like to have someone special in his life. For a short time he'd thought he found her, but apparently he'd been wrong.

“Earth to Jake. Come in Jake.”

Callie's teasing voice pulled Jake's mind away from his own thoughts. “Sorry about that. I have a lot on my mind.”

Callie studied him for a moment with a quizzical eye but didn't ask him to elaborate. “I asked if you were still seeing the woman you brought to the wedding. Her name was Charlotte right?”

Of all the topics his sister could have brought up, why did she have to choose that one? He wanted to keep his mind off her, not talk about her.