"I do get a lot of guests with money to burn."

"I don't mind donating, it's just the appearances I don't like. All that champagne and small talk."

"My bread and b.u.t.ter." Jake smiled. It used to be. He had no idea where he was going career-wise. But maybe Brett had a point. Maybe there was more he could do. Art for charity? He had only been thinking about himself and his fundraiser. The PR machine churned in his brain.

"What picture are we talking about?" Patti asked. By the tone of her voice, she obviously didn't enjoy being left out of the conversation.

"A picture of Liv," Brett answered.

"I don't doubt her photo would be beautiful. She's always been photogenic." Patti slipped off the edge of the couch and into the end seat. She turned to face Jake, her hate-on diminished. "Jake, what happened?"

Brett shot her a distasteful look. "None of our business, Pats."

"Yes it is." She raised her voice now. "He knows how we are."

How was it that they didn't know what had happened? He was there that night at McLean's when they all agreed that there were no secrets between them. "She didn't tell you?"

"She told Brett of all people..." Patti shot Brett an annoyed look. "But she didn't tell me. Then she took off. Hasn't talked to anyone. She's not answering her phone."

"I've been calling, too, but I didn't expect her to answer." Was it pathetic to hope that she hadn't returned his calls because she didn't get them? That she was out of cell phone range?

"You don't know where she is?"

"She went home to see her family," Patti said. "I called her mom an hour ago. At least we know she's safe."

"Is she coming back?"

"Eventually." Patti curled up tighter on the couch. "She'll never stay there permanently. They drive her crazy."

She had fled. He couldn't take all of the credit for her disappearance. The burned building was evidence enough that things hadn't gone well for her since the book launch.

"I screwed up." Jake placed his beer on the table beside him then sat back against the couch. "I lied. I pursued her for all the wrong reasons." He looked over at Patti. She had to know how sorry he was. She had to understand why he did it. "But, I didn't know my boss was her father... I never would have taken her to meet him... You have to believe that. I never expected to fall in love with her, either."

Patti let out a long, slow breath. Her eyes darted over to Brett on the chair, then she pulled at her brown hair that was tied up on top of her head. "Does she know that you love her?"

Jake shook his head. In hindsight, it should have been the first thing out of his mouth when he chased after her in the ballroom. But he didn't, because he was a jerk-off.

He needed a plan. He needed help. He needed Liv back in his life, because now that he'd found her, he couldn't live with the possibility of never feeling complete.

"With all the lies flying around, I guess we should be as honest as possible," Patti said. "I think I speak for Brett and Austin as well when I say, there's only one thing we have to say to you."

Her eyes were blank. No longer sympathetic or filled with anger. He looked over at Brett, who held the same indifferent expression. Jake braced himself for the inevitable. The get-the-h.e.l.l-out-and-never-call-our-friend-again speech. He rubbed his sweaty palms along his pant leg. If Patti said don't bother, he would have to listen. What kind of woman would date a man her best friends hated?

Jake tensed in antic.i.p.ation of Patti's words. But they weren't the words he was expecting.

She leaned in and smiled. "How are you going to get Liv back?"

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Liv stepped up to the doorway of her childhood home. The black paint was chipped and the stained gla.s.s had faded years ago. She hadn't been home in at least a few months. She should make more of an effort to visit, especially given the age of her grandparents. They wouldn't be around forever.

Apparently, her mother arranged for the entire family to visit during her stay, which was exactly what she didn't need after having her heart and soul ripped from her body.

Composing herself, she opened the door and stepped inside. Immediately, she was overwhelmed by the familiar smells. The most powerful was the smell of her grandmother's tomato sauce. The second was the unmistakable scent of Febreze. Placing her keys on her usual hook, Liv dropped her bag and headed for the kitchen.

"I'm home."

"Oh, there she is. My sweetheart." Walking as fast as her old lady legs could take her, Evelyn Crawford grabbed Liv and pulled her in for a huge hug.

"Hey, Gram."

"How are you holding up?" Ruth Crawford turned around from the stove and looked just as concerned. No matter how old Liv got, her mother would always worry. "What is going on with the bakery?"

"Everything is going to be fine."

"I wish you would have let me come down there." Her mother laid her hand on her hip. "I should have just jumped in my car and-"

"Mom? Can we talk about this later?"

Ruth nodded then turned away. She knew enough not to push.

Once released from her grandmother's death grip, Liv walked to the stove and gave her mother a hug from behind while she stirred the sauce. "Hi, Mom."

She wondered if her mother had kept in touch with her father and just never told her. Did she know where he lived and what he was doing with his life? Regardless, now was not the time to discuss the issue.

"I hope you're just stirring the sauce and didn't have a hand in making it."

Ruth slapped her arm before she said, "Shut your trap. Grandma made it." Unless it was frozen or came from a box, like a cake mix, cooking just wasn't Ruth Crawford's forte. "Is my food really that bad?"

Liv looked over her shoulder at her grandmother. Neither could contain their laughter.

"Thank you, Mother, Daughter, way to be supportive."

"Oh, come on, Mom. You know for a fact that if take-out and Gram's freezer care packages didn't exist, I would have been a malnourished child."

"Well just nominate me for the worst mother award." Ruth threw the towel at her daughter then returned to the stove.

"Where's Papa?" Liv asked.

"Where do you think?" Her grandmother rolled her eyes.

Liv walked through the kitchen into the family room.

Joe Crawford sat in his usual spot, remote control in hand, staring at the television. He was her favorite person in the world. "Hi, Papa."

"My Olivia." Bending down to give him a kiss, she smiled. He was the only man in the world who ever made her feel special. He was the only man until...

He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. Plopping herself on the couch beside him, Liv glanced at the television to see what was going on.

"What's going on with-"

"Who's winning?" she interrupted. She wasn't ready to get into the details. She could barely register them herself.

Her grandfather eyed her with concern but was a smart man and changed the subject. "The wrong team. How was the drive?"

"Good. Not too much traffic."

He turned from the television and looked at her. On the drive up, she had given her situation a lot of thought. Could she ever forgive Jake? Could she get her business up and running again? Could she have both the business she had always dreamed of and a relationship? There was only one person who could advise her, and he was sitting right beside her.

"Papa? When you had your shoeshine place, did you like it?"

In the late forties, her grandfather had been an entrepreneur. He owned a shoeshine shop-or rather, he had been a bookie who ran his business out of a shoeshine shop.

"Of course I did. I had a great time."

"If you could go back, if you had the choice that you could have everything you had in your life but still get to keep it, would you?"

"If it meant that I could provide for my family and have a secure retirement and, of course, be legitimate, I would definitely keep it. But your grandmother and mother were more important."

Just as she suspected. "You gave up your dream."

"It brought me you, didn't it?" A crack sounded from the television. They both looked up at the noisy commercial. "Bulls.h.i.t!"

"Come on, Papa," she coaxed. "Be honest."

"All right." He turned his attention from the television and repositioned himself on the chair. "Of course I missed it. Of course leaving it behind took away a part of my life, but I was fully willing to give it all up. Not all dreams are practical; some are just meant to be dreams. A memory that keeps us going when we need a reminder that good things do happen, even if only for a little while."

For the first time, she saw regret in his eyes, but not the kind of regret that kept a person up at night. "Thank you."

He patted her hand. "What's this all about?"

"Nothing."

"You will reopen that bakery, Liv. It's your dream. You have the opportunity to keep your dream going. I won't let you hide from it."

Liv sighed. Even if she didn't have a man, she would never be alone. She had Austin, Patti, and Brett. She had a family who loved her.

She wasn't sure what kind of conclusions she was trying to draw by visiting. She had been thinking a lot about the definition of a real man. Despite his own dreams, family and the ones he loved were the most important things.

She knew this visit was a form of hiding out. At least in part. She'd purposely turned off her phone.

Three days later, she grew restless.

She had questions that only her mother could understand. And she still hadn't drummed up the courage to ask.

From her perch on the couch, she stared at the television in her lazy outfit, pajamas.

She wondered if Jake had anything to do with her lack of motivation. Normally, Liv would have jumped on the opportunity to start fresh. Rethink her battle plan and forge ahead with a renewed sense of vigor.

The shuffle of feet caught her attention. Liv's mother walked into the den, pulling her robe tighter to her body. She sat on her grandfather's chair and clasped her hands in her lap. Her short hair was flat on one side.

"Did the TV wake you?"

"Not at all. I just couldn't sleep."

"You and me both." Her waking hours had increased exponentially since the night of the book launch.

"What is the status of the bakery?"

"I met with the fire investigator before I drove up. He should have the report ready by the end of the week. That's all the insurance company is waiting for and then they can proceed."

"Do you have enough money?"

"Insurance should pay for all the renovations. I'll be fine." As a last resort, Liv knew she could count on her mother. But she didn't want to steal her retirement money. Plus with two elderly parents to take care of, money was going to be a necessity at some point.

"I know you'll be fine. You always come out on top." Her mother leaned forward and rested her hand on her foot over the blanket. "Something else is bothering you."

She wanted to talk. She needed to talk. Too much was going on in her life to keep it bottled up. Not to mention she needed answers about her father. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for. But now that the time was finally here, she didn't know if she wanted the answers.

"Everything has gone to s.h.i.t." Her eyes watered, and this time she couldn't stop the tears from falling.

Her mother squeezed her foot.

Liv let out a shaky breath and unleashed her demons. "My business is gone. Nancy betrayed me." Her mother recoiled. "She tried to sabotage me. She got my business loan denied. She ruined my newspaper ad, and...it's possible she could have started the fire."

Her mother gasped and clutched at her chest. "Why on earth would she do such a thing?"

"She was jealous. She didn't want me to steal her business."

Her mother scoffed and mumbled something under her breath.

"But that's not the worst part."

Her mother tensed, and Liv knew exactly what she was thinking. What could possibly be worse than your business burning and your mentor betraying you?

"I met him." She looked her mother in the eye.

Confusion flashed across her face then turned to recognition when her eyes grew wide and her mouth formed into an "o." There was no need for an explanation.

"I see." Ruth sat back in her chair and let out a soft breath. Had she been dreading this day for almost twenty years? Was she trying to protect her from more sadness and heartache? "Where did you run into your father?"