The Duchess Diaries. Merline Lovelace

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      A decadent praline cheesecake smoothed things over. Everyone got back to being polite and civilized, and Ellen deftly steered the conversation in less sensitive channels.

      Gina thought they might make it through the rest of the visit with no further fireworks. She nursed that futile hope right up until moments before she and Jack left to drive back to Washington. At his mother’s request, he accompanied her into her study to pick up a flyer about an organization offering aid to abused children overseas she wanted him to look at.

      That left Gina and John II standing side by side in the foyer for a few moments. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them, broken when he made an abrupt announcement.

      “I had you investigated.”

      “What?”

      “I hired a private investigator.”

      Gina’s brows snapped together, and her chin tipped in a way that anyone familiar with the duchess would have recognized immediately as a warning signal.

      “Did you?”

      “I wanted him to chase down rumors about the other men you might have been involved with.”

      Her hand fluttered to her stomach in a protective gesture as old as time. “The other men I might have screwed, you mean.”

      He blinked at the blunt reply, but made no apology. “Yes.”

      The thought of a private investigator talking to her friends, asking questions, dropping insinuations, fired twin bolts of anger and mortification. Gina’s chin came up another inch. Her eyes flashed dangerously.

      “Why go to the expense of a private investigator? A simple DNA test would have been much cheaper.”

      “You were in that clinic in Switzerland. Jack flew over right after you called him. I told him to insist on a paternity test, but...” He broke off, grimacing. “Well, no need to go into all that now. What I want to say is I accept that you’re carrying my grandchild.”

      “How very magnanimous of you.”

      The icy response took him aback. He looked as though he wanted to say more, but the sound of footsteps stilled him. Both Jack and his mother sensed the tension instantly. Ellen sighed and shook her head. Her son demanded an explanation.

      “What’s wrong?”

      “Nothing,” Gina said before his father could respond. “Nothing at all. Thank you for a lovely lunch, Ellen.”

      She kissed the older woman’s cheek before offering a cool glance and a lukewarm handshake to Jack’s father.

      “Perhaps I’ll see you again.”

      He stiffened, correctly interpreting the threat buried in that polite “perhaps.”

      “I certainly hope so.”

      * * *

      “All right,” Jack said as the Range Rover cut through the tunnel of oaks shading the drive. “What was that all about?”

      Gina wanted to be cool about it, wanted to take the high road and shrug off the investigation as inconsequential, but her roiling emotions got the better of her. She slewed around as much as the seat belt would allow. Anger, hurt and suspicion put a razor’s edge in her words.

      “Did you know your father hired a P.I. to investigate me?”

      “Yes, I...”

      “With or without your approval?”

      “Christ, Gina.” His glance sliced into her. “What do you think?”

      She was still angry, still hurt, but somewhat mollified by his indignation. Slumping against the seat back, she crossed her arms. “Your father’s a piece of work, Ambassador.”

      Which was true, but probably not the smartest comment to make. Jack could criticize his father. He wouldn’t appreciate an outsider doing so, however, any more than Gina would tolerate someone making a snide comment about the duchess. The tight line to Jack’s jaw underscored that point.

      “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

      He accepted the apology with a curt nod and offered one of his own. “I’m sorry, too. I should have told you about the investigation. The truth is I didn’t know about it until after we got back from Switzerland and then it just didn’t matter.”

      Her anger dissipated, leaving only an urgent question. “Why not, Jack? Didn’t you...? Don’t you have any doubts?”

      “No. Not one.” The rigid set to his shoulders eased. His reply was quiet and carried the ring of absolute truth. “We may disagree on a number of important issues, marriage included, but we’ve always been honest with each other.”

      Her eyes start to burn. She refused to cry, she flatly refused, but she suddenly felt miserable and weary beyond words. “Look,” she said tiredly, “this has been a busy few days. I may have overdone it a bit. I think...I think I’d better fly back to New York this evening.”

      He knifed her a quick look. “Is it the baby?”

      “No! The baby’s fine.”

      “Then it’s my father.” Another sharp glance. “Or is it us?”

      “Mostly us.” She forced a smile. “You have to admit we didn’t get much sleep the past two nights. I need to go home and rack out.”

      “Is that what you really want?”

      “It’s what I really want.”

      * * *

      The drive back to D.C. took considerably less time than the drive down to Richmond. No cutting off to ramble along Route 1. No stops at picturesque cafés. Jack stuck to the interstate, and Gina used the time to check airline schedules. She confirmed a seat on a 7:20 p.m. flight to New York. It was a tight fit, but she could make it if she threw her things in her weekender and went straight to the airport.

      “You don’t have to wait,” she told Jack as he pulled into the parking garage at L’Enfant Plaza. “I can grab a cab.”

      “I’ll drive you.”

      She was in and out of TTG’s guest suite in less than twenty minutes. A quick call ensured the cleaning crew would come in the following day. The key cards she sealed in an envelope and slid under the door to the main office. Elaine Patterson, manager of the Washington venue, was due back tomorrow. Gina would coordinate the after-event report with her and tie up any other loose ends by email.

      Her emotions were flip-flopping all over the place again when Jack pulled up at the airport terminal. Part of her insisted she was doing the right thing. That she needed to pull back, assess the damage to her heart done by the nights she’d spent in his arms. The rest of her ached for another night. Or two. Or three.

      If Jack were experiencing the same disquiet, it didn’t show. He left СКАЧАТЬ