His Ex's Well-Kept Secret

She had to keep her head on straight and her thoughts clear. The priority was to sell the sapphires, buy her house back from her father’s estate. Then she would have security for herself and Ty. She’d be able to stay in the house where she’d been raised, the place that held a million memories for her.

It was her home, her link to the parent who’d adored her. The only home she, and Ty, knew.

Selling the sapphires was important. Buying her house was important.

Protecting Ty was vital.

Making love to her son’s father was, sadly, not.

But, hell and dammit, she really, really wanted to.

Jaeger dropped a kiss on her shoulder before walking away. She slowly turned and watched as he tossed his sunglasses next to her bag and picked up his tablet. He hauled in a deep breath and made the shift from lover to businessman.

He looked up and sent her a quick smile. “The jewelry isn’t going to value itself, so I’d better get to work.” He opened the doors to a floor-to-ceiling cupboard and pulled out a drawer. On the molded foam rested a choker with five rows of huge round diamonds in descending sizes from the center, separated by smaller emeralds.

Piper hurried over to get a closer look and whistled her appreciation. “Oh...wow.”

Jaeger picked up the necklace, diamonds literally dripping from his fingers. He tapped his tablet, activated the voice app and spoke. “Five-row platinum, diamond and emerald necklace, 1980s, worth about two-point-five.”

Piper gasped, her eyes wide. “Two-point-five million?”

Jaeger grinned. “And that’s just the first piece. I’ve heard rumors there’s a massive green diamond ring in this collection. First one to find it buys pizza tomorrow evening.”

Piper looked at him, puzzled. “Tomorrow? That’s Sunday. What’s happening tomorrow?”

“We’re going through your mother’s boxes, looking for documentation about the sapphires.” Jaeger replaced the diamond necklace and shut the drawer. “Is that a problem? You did give me a two-week deadline to make an offer, and the rest of my week is crazy. I don’t have any plans tomorrow except for the ritual Ballantyne Sunday evening supper at the Den.”

The Den, as everyone who read the society pages knew, was Connor’s huge brownstone on Eighty-Fifth Street. Sage Ballantyne and Linc Taylor-Ballantyne—Connor, Piper remembered, adopted the Ballantyne siblings and Linc in their teens—shared the townhome with Linc’s mother, Jo, and his son, Shaw.

“Tomorrow is good. Ty will be there, obviously.”

Piper saw the muscle in Jaeger’s jaw tense, noticed his grip on the drawer tighten. Well, tough. Ty was a part of her life, and it wasn’t her problem if Jaeger didn’t like being around kids. He’d simply have to suck it up.

“Tell me something,” Jaeger said, releasing the handle to the drawer and leaning his shoulder into the collector’s cupboard. Piper looked at him, knowing an opening like that usually meant an awkward question was about to follow.

“You were desperate to contact me last year,” he said, “presumably because you wanted to sell the stones. Then your calls and messages stopped—”

“I was threatened with a restraining order if I didn’t leave you alone,” Piper interjected, her voice dry.

Jaeger winced. “Is that what happened? Damn, I’m sorry.”

“I’m over it.”

“Yet you didn’t sell the stones. You could’ve sold them to Moreau’s or to another high-end jewelry store, but you didn’t. Now you want to sell them again, but this time you seem to have a very real deadline. Why?”

Piper stared at the Manet painting—her eyes immediately assessing the brush strokes and his masterful use of light.

“My circumstances are different. Can we leave it at that?” Without waiting for his answer, she changed the subject. “Tell me what you know about Manet.”

“Are you avoiding the subject?” Jaeger asked.

“Sure,” she answered truthfully, obviously surprising him. “We spent a short time together in Milan and we reconnected yesterday, Jaeger. There are things I don’t feel comfortable sharing.”