time, and I never saw her until Daddy died.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded and pressed on. “She slithered out of the woodwork after his passing and claimed me. I suspect it had more to do with my trust fund. Not that Daddy was wealthy, but he was comfortable enough to have left me provided for nicely—until she got hold of it.” Sondra sighed heavily, trying to fight the surge of bitterness that came every time she thought about Amanda stealing the money her father had left her to secure a bright future.
“It was gone within a year, and she was back to her old tricks. My mother slept with men to get things from them. Other times, she participated in con jobs. I know she’d been in prison off and on. In fact, the last I’d heard she is serving time for her part in a bank robbery.”
He took her hand. “I don’t care about what your mother did. It doesn’t affect how I feel about you.”
Sondra quickly steered the conversation back to the direction she had intended, wanting to avoid all talk of emotions. “I hope that’s true, but that wasn’t why I told you. I am not my mother, and I did nothing of which to be ashamed. However, after seeing the way she scammed people, the idea of just taking an apartment from you makes me feel like I’m following the same path.”
He scowled. “You didn’t get pregnant deliberately.”
He spoke with such certainty that she couldn’t help feeling touched by it. Sondra nodded to confirm, though it wasn’t necessary.
“You aren’t out to get everything you can, or you wouldn’t have fought me so hard on accepting my marriage proposal.”
“Which I turned down.”
“For now.” His lips tightened, betraying he was still annoyed by her failure to agree.
The way he spoke with such resolve also sent a jolt through her, though she couldn’t identify it as anticipation or panic.
“My point is we both want to do the best thing for the baby, and having you in a safe, close location would be ideal for me. I have a limited amount of time, and I don’t want to waste almost an hour traveling to your apartment to see you or him.”
It made sense, and rather than reject the idea outright, she gave a grudging, “I’ll think about it and let you know soon.” Another compromise, but what else could she do? Just telling him no didn’t feel right when she viewed it from his perspective. It was a reasonable request, and he could afford it.
But did it have to be in his fancy building? She cringed at the thought of how much an apartment there would cost. Sondra wouldn’t have been enthusiastic about the idea of allowing him to buy her an apartment anywhere, but his upscale neighborhood made it a thousand times worse.
Their arrival at the opera interrupted her reverie, and she allowed Jake to help her from the car. When he tucked her hand onto his arm, she didn’t protest or pull away. It felt nice actually, especially when she eyed the others around her. The women all wore expensive dresses, often ball gown style, and dripped with diamonds and pearls.
She was underdressed and out of her element. Sondra didn’t try to pretend it wasn’t for a measure of security that she moved closer to Jake as he led her through the crowded foyer. The place was packed, and she felt a bit lightheaded as they negotiated the crowd. It was a relief to sit down in his private box and breathe deeply.
After regaining her composure, she looked down and marveled at the rows of seats below her, along with the sharp view of the stage. She wasn’t so gauche as to have never been to the Met before, but it had been a rare privilege, and certainly never in a private box.
“What do you think?”
“Amazing.” She smiled at him before turning back to watch the rows fill with ants below.
“How is your job search going?”
Sondra managed not to grin at the disgruntled tone he used. When his persuasive arguments to convince her to return to WWJ had failed, and she had soundly
He frowned. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded and pressed on. “She slithered out of the woodwork after his passing and claimed me. I suspect it had more to do with my trust fund. Not that Daddy was wealthy, but he was comfortable enough to have left me provided for nicely—until she got hold of it.” Sondra sighed heavily, trying to fight the surge of bitterness that came every time she thought about Amanda stealing the money her father had left her to secure a bright future.
“It was gone within a year, and she was back to her old tricks. My mother slept with men to get things from them. Other times, she participated in con jobs. I know she’d been in prison off and on. In fact, the last I’d heard she is serving time for her part in a bank robbery.”
He took her hand. “I don’t care about what your mother did. It doesn’t affect how I feel about you.”
Sondra quickly steered the conversation back to the direction she had intended, wanting to avoid all talk of emotions. “I hope that’s true, but that wasn’t why I told you. I am not my mother, and I did nothing of which to be ashamed. However, after seeing the way she scammed people, the idea of just taking an apartment from you makes me feel like I’m following the same path.”
He scowled. “You didn’t get pregnant deliberately.”
He spoke with such certainty that she couldn’t help feeling touched by it. Sondra nodded to confirm, though it wasn’t necessary.
“You aren’t out to get everything you can, or you wouldn’t have fought me so hard on accepting my marriage proposal.”
“Which I turned down.”
“For now.” His lips tightened, betraying he was still annoyed by her failure to agree.
The way he spoke with such resolve also sent a jolt through her, though she couldn’t identify it as anticipation or panic.
“My point is we both want to do the best thing for the baby, and having you in a safe, close location would be ideal for me. I have a limited amount of time, and I don’t want to waste almost an hour traveling to your apartment to see you or him.”
It made sense, and rather than reject the idea outright, she gave a grudging, “I’ll think about it and let you know soon.” Another compromise, but what else could she do? Just telling him no didn’t feel right when she viewed it from his perspective. It was a reasonable request, and he could afford it.
But did it have to be in his fancy building? She cringed at the thought of how much an apartment there would cost. Sondra wouldn’t have been enthusiastic about the idea of allowing him to buy her an apartment anywhere, but his upscale neighborhood made it a thousand times worse.
Their arrival at the opera interrupted her reverie, and she allowed Jake to help her from the car. When he tucked her hand onto his arm, she didn’t protest or pull away. It felt nice actually, especially when she eyed the others around her. The women all wore expensive dresses, often ball gown style, and dripped with diamonds and pearls.
She was underdressed and out of her element. Sondra didn’t try to pretend it wasn’t for a measure of security that she moved closer to Jake as he led her through the crowded foyer. The place was packed, and she felt a bit lightheaded as they negotiated the crowd. It was a relief to sit down in his private box and breathe deeply.
After regaining her composure, she looked down and marveled at the rows of seats below her, along with the sharp view of the stage. She wasn’t so gauche as to have never been to the Met before, but it had been a rare privilege, and certainly never in a private box.
“What do you think?”
“Amazing.” She smiled at him before turning back to watch the rows fill with ants below.
“How is your job search going?”
Sondra managed not to grin at the disgruntled tone he used. When his persuasive arguments to convince her to return to WWJ had failed, and she had soundly
Similar Books
