This might very well be the last time she spoke to her father since it was more than obvious that he didn’t want her around. Part of her hoped that he’d break down and apologize for her crappy childhood and promise to make it up to her, but she wasn’t some naive girl. She’d always known that she didn’t belong and didn’t expect things to suddenly change now that everything was out in the open.

“Nick?”

“Yes?” he asked, not taking his eyes away from his work as he cleaned her back.

“I know this is last minute, but I need a few days off to figure some things out,” she said, hoping that he could get her out of her obligations since she didn’t want to have to put this off for another day.

His hand stilled on her back. “Is it about us?” he asked casually, a little too causally she noted.

“No,” she answered honestly. Whatever was going on between them wasn’t worrying her at the moment. She knew this wasn’t going to last so she decided not to stress out about it, much. There was no question in her mind that he was going to break her heart when he became bored with her and decided to move on. When it happened she would deal with it, but right now she had other things to worry about.

“You’re going home to see your family?” he asked, running his hand down her back again.

“Yes, I don’t want to put it off and I really don’t want to find out anything else secondhand,” she explained, praying that her family didn’t share anything else with the media. She still couldn’t believe that they did that to her.

“Okay, I’ll go with you,” he said, surprising the heck out of both of them judging by the startled look on his face.

She simply gave him a polite smile as she looked away. He hadn’t meant to say it and she had no plans to hold him to it. When she got back if he wanted to continue with their relationship then that was fine with her and if he didn’t……

She was going to need a heck of a lot more chocolate and Coke to get through it.

******

“You really didn’t have to come,” she said, again as he pulled into the long driveway of a large white two story home with an attached three car garage. One look at the well kept home, manicured lawn and upscale neighborhood let him know that their childhoods had been worlds apart. Why that bothered him he didn’t know.

“I wasn’t about to let you face this problem alone,” he said as he stepped out of his car. When the words rushed out of his lips this morning no one had been more surprised than him by the offer, but once he thought about it he realized that she was going to need him. More importantly, he realized that he’d go crazy waiting for her to return to him and he’d be too damn worried about her to focus on getting any work done. This really was for the best, he decided as he walked around the car to open Jamie’s door. It was then that he noticed the cameras.

Paparazzi.

Fucking perfect, he thought as he took Jamie’s hand and walked her to the door. She’d barely finished pressing the doorbell when the door was practically ripped open and an older woman in her fifties with dark brown hair, a tad too much makeup and designer clothes grabbed Jamie and pulled her into her arms.

Nick looked over in time to see dozens of cameras go off while several more men and women ran to the sidewalk to join in the feeding frenzy. When he turned around he noted that the woman was still holding on to Jamie even though Jamie was rigid in the woman’s arms. He also noted the smug smile on the woman’s face as she watched the paparazzi go nuts.

Having had enough drama for one day thanks to this woman whom he was assuming to be her “mother”, Nick smoothly pulled Jamie away and waited for the older woman to invite them in. With a fake smile the woman did just that. As soon as the door was closed behind them the smile was gone and a look of utter disdain took over the woman’s features as she gestured for them to follow her.

He gave Jamie’s hand a squeeze as they followed the woman through the foyer to a room with double doors. When the door opened he spotted an older man with graying red hair sitting on small sofa, sipping a glass of what appeared to be whiskey as he spoke with a younger man and woman who was obviously this woman’s natural daughter judging by her coloring and pinched expression when she spotted Jamie. When her eyes shifted to him they widened in surprise before they turned calculating.

The woman was beautiful, classically so with her partisan look and it wasn’t too hard to see that the woman had been pampered every day of her life.

Remembering how his little recluse used to look it wasn’t too difficult to figure out that Jamie hadn’t been and the reason behind it. Her mother wanted her real daughter to have all the attention and she’d made damn sure of it at Jamie’s expense.

He looked over at the man at her side just in time to see his expression when his eyes landed on Jamie and did a double take. His eyes lit up when he spotted Jamie and Nick didn’t appreciate the way the man ran his eyes over his little recluse. The smile he sent Jamie’s way also didn’t please him.

“Jamie,” the man said, getting to his feet and walking over to greet her, “you look great.” When the man pulled Jamie into a hug he barely stopped himself from shoving the ass**le aside and telling him keep his hands to himself. Something in his expression must have given away his feelings on the matter because when the man looked at him he noticeably blanched and stepped away from Jamie.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” he said, reaching out to shake Nick’s hand. “I’m David, Caitlyn’s husband.”

“Nick, Jamie’s boyfriend,” he said before he realized what he was saying, but once it was out he decided that he rather liked it, especially if it let this ass**le know that he had a claim on Jamie.

David noticeably startled as he looked between him and Jamie as if he just couldn’t believe it. The looks the other women were sending their way pretty much said it all. They didn’t think very highly of Jamie. The fact that her father and sister didn’t greet Jamie also said it all.

He took Jamie’s hand into his and entwined their fingers. It was then that he realized that she was trembling and that her hand was ice cold. Without waiting for an invitation, he walked Jamie over to the love seat across from her sister and sat down, pulling Jamie into his side. He put his arm around her as he tried his best to give her the support that she needed, but he wasn’t sure what to do.

This was the first time he ever tried to be there for a woman and he didn’t want to mess this up. Jamie needed him and normally that thought would have scared him, but he had to admit that he rather liked being there for her. He didn’t think he would, but he liked being needed by her. Any other woman and he wouldn’t bother.

“I suppose you’re here because of the story,” her father said instead of acknowledging his youngest daughter.

“Yes,” Jamie said firmly. “As much as I would like to know why you leaked the story to the press instead of talking to me about it I’m more interested in my mother.”

He noticed the older woman didn’t protest or get mad that she referred to another woman as her mother. Then again it was more than obvious that Jamie was just a means to get attention at the moment. He didn’t need to be a psychic to know that it had been this woman’s idea to leak the story. She probably felt the attention was owed to her for raising her husband’s unwanted bastard child.

“We really don’t know much about her,” Jamie’s father said, taking a sip of his drink before he reached into his jacket and pulled out an aged envelope and handed it over to Jamie. “She left when she was just a few months pregnant with you. Then when you were four she left you on our doorstop with only a copy of your birth certificate.”

“She didn’t leave a reason why she left me?” Jamie asked, sounding hurt but trying not to show it.

“I’m afraid that’s all we know,” her father said, sighing heavily.

“Henry, you should tell her,” Mrs. Harris said, earning a glare from the man.

“Tell me what?” Jamie asked, shifting in her seat anxiously.

“Barbara,” Henry said tightly in warning.