Elisabeth Naughton: Wait for Me

“I’m glad you like it. How’s Reed?”

“Okay.” She thought about her four-year-old son. “He loves being near the ocean. But…it’s hard for him right now. He misses Jake.” She did too, although she hated to admit it. No matter what he’d kept from her, no matter how strained their relationship, she still had trouble believing he could have intentionally done anything to hurt her. There had to be a logical explanation for the secrets he’d kept hidden for so long.

Which was why she’d called Tom and finally taken him up on his offer of a job here in San Francisco. Why she’d uprooted Reed clear across the country. She had to find the answers. She had to know what really happened.

“I know there’s not a lot I can do,” he said. “And I know you won’t lean on me even if I offer.”

A grin curled her lips. He knew her so well.

“Regardless,” he went on, “I’m offering, Kate. I want to help.”

“I appreciate it. Really. Just giving me a job was the best thing you could have ever done.”

“That freelance work you were doing for the Dallas office wasn’t anywhere near your potential.”

Her smile faded. Jake hadn’t wanted her to work. He’d wanted to her to stay home, to, as he put it, “get better”. She’d started writing freelance articles for a geology magazine based out of Dallas because she’d needed to do something to keep busy. But they both knew if Jake hadn’t died, she wouldn’t be here now.

She forced a grin she didn’t feel. “If I need anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Liar.” He reached into his pocket, drew out a slip of paper. “And because I know how stubborn you are, I’m going to give this to you before you ask. That’s the name of a lawyer here in town I’ve used before. I know you’re running into a dead end with that nursing home. Someone knows something. A lawyer might be able to apply some legal pressure, open some doors for you. No one likes a pushy lawyer.”

“Thanks. I’ll give him a call later in the week.”

He rose and set the paperweight back on her desk. “Do that. And zip me a copy of that article when it’s done.”

“Hey,” she called, realizing she hadn’t even asked about his wife yet. “How’s Kari?”

A silly grin crept up his face. “Fat and happy.”

“When’s she due?”

“Four more weeks.”

His beaming face brought a warmth to her chest. After Kari’s bout with ovarian cancer, they’d never expected to have a baby. Thanks to new drug treatments, she was nearing the end of her pregnancy.

“Give her my best. Tell her I’d love to have lunch with her sometime if she’s feeling up to it.”

“I will. Cut out early, Kate. Go home to that kid of yours.”

When he disappeared into the office chaos, Kate swiveled to look out at the view of San Francisco. Water glinted in the distance between towering skyscrapers. Cars honked below on the street. On a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

She’d been here a whole week now and hadn’t remembered a single thing. Nothing was familiar to her. Not the city or the scenery or the atmosphere. She’d hoped beyond hope that something, anything would trigger her memory. Disappointment was something she was learning to deal with.

The nursing home had been a waste of time. She’d driven out to San Mateo, to the site of the home, but nothing there had tugged at her memory, either. The original facility had burned in a fire almost a year ago and the director of the rebuilt facility had all but slammed the door in her face, refusing to answer her questions. Every lead ended in a wall. Someone somewhere knew something. She just had to figure out where to start.

She fingered the lawyer’s name and number Tom had given her as she gazed out at the city again. Swiveling back to her laptop, she pulled up the Internet and paused on the news page.

Along the right sidebar, under Entertainment News , a picture of a man—a really hot man with blond hair—had been posted. The most gorgeous woman Kate had ever seen was literally wrapped around him. His arm was tight around her waist, one of hers was hidden inside his open suit jacket, and the other was draped across his chest. And she was whispering something in his ear. Something that was making him smile like he’d just heard the naughtiest of secrets.

Jake had never smiled like that with her. They’d certainly never been so intimate in public. The pair made an attractive couple, yet…Kate’s gaze kept straying back to the man’s face. She was sure she’d never met him before, but there was something familiar in those piercing blue eyes. Something…

Excitement pulsed in her veins when she realized where her mind was going. She scanned the photo again. They were walking across some kind of lobby—a hotel, she’d bet. Heading toward a night of passion. Lucky girl . A burst of jealousy coursed through her as she read the caption below the photo: Marriage Rumors Swirl Around Top Model and Pharmaceutical Giant .

Kate’s gaze snapped back to the woman, and in an instant, all that excitement deflated in her chest. No wonder something felt familiar about the pair. The woman was a model. An underwear model. Kate had seen her before in numerous magazines.

She frowned. Leaned back in her chair. Called herself stupid for getting so worked up. Over a paparazzi photo, no less. How on earth would she possibly know a pharmaceutical tycoon? The idea was ridiculous.

Putting the matter out of her head, she pulled up a search page and scrolled through the list of lawyers in the San Francisco area. The one name that stood out to her wasn’t the name Tom had just given her.

She stared at it. Debated her options. She’d gone with her gut coming to San Francisco. While she appreciated Tom’s help and his suggestion of a lawyer was a good one, she had to go with her gut again. Something in the back of her head said trusting her instincts was important here. More important than it had ever been before.

Ryan stood at the wall of windows in his office on the forty-eighth floor, hands on his hips, gaze sweeping over the city. The setting sun glinted off the bay. Alcatraz hovered in the distance, the buildings nothing but cold, empty shells of their former selves. Not all that different from him, really.

Shit. He swept a hand over his forehead. He was a fucking good time to be around these days, wasn’t he? If he didn’t find a way to bounce out of this rut he’d been in for the last week, Mitch would find a way to kick his ass out of it. And Ryan didn’t need to give Mitch another reason to kick his ass. Mitch had been gunning for him ever since that day back in college when he’d found out Ryan was dating his baby sister.

The knock at the door brought him around, breaking the memories loose before they could take root and suck him under. Hannah Hughes stuck her head through the crack. “You got a minute?”

“For you, I’ve always got a minute.”

Hannah crossed the room like a female cat, all long-legged grace, the fitted red blazer and knee-length skirt highlighting her runner’s physique. She nodded toward his desk. “Is that the new Reliquin promo?”

He turned the drug layout so they could both see it. “Marketing department just sent it up. It doesn’t hit me.”

Hannah crossed her arms over her chest, studied the page. “It doesn’t scream happiness. This new breast cancer drug’s supposed to make life better for women. You need an attractive woman, kids running around, maybe a few toys littering the floor. Something that says life goes on after cancer.”

“Don’t even think about it.” He knew where she was headed. Hannah had her hand in every part of this company already. She didn’t need to stick a finger in something else. “You have enough to do. Pretty soon, I won’t be able to afford you.”