“I’ve thought about breaking into police headquarters and stealing it, but there’s always the chance that I’d get caught and orange isn’t really my color.”

Kate was silent.

“I’m joking, Kate. I have no idea what I’m going to do.” Except she did know. She just didn’t want to think about that right now.

“Is there anything I can do? Should I drive up? I know I can’t fix this but at least I can be there for moral support.”

Tears threatened to spill. She couldn’t start crying or she might never stop. “I love you, you know that? But…no, there’s nothing you can do except what you’re doing now.”

“I love you, too,” Kate said softly. “So, do you think that Ben and Tiffany are a thing?”

Jenna thought it over. “No. I mean, obviously they’re even closer than I thought, and she has this unnatural hero worship going on for him, but he told me they were just friends, and I believe him.”

“So then you and Ben have a shot?”

“No.”

“But—”

“He lied to me, Kate. He didn’t want me to help with his mom’s packing, which is fine, but why tell me something that wasn’t true? And why didn’t he tell me that Tiffany was here visiting? I talked to him this morning and he never said a word.”

“Maybe he was afraid you’d get the wrong idea.”

“Then he doesn’t trust me, and maybe that’s even wors

e than lying.”

* * *

Jenna checked her cell phone but there was still no message from Ben. She swallowed her pride and called again, but it went directly to voice mail, so she hung up. Tiffany was right. Ben didn’t want to talk to her.

The good news (if you could call it good) was that while there wasn’t a message from Ben, there also wasn’t a message from Mimi telling her she’d been fired. She paced her living room floor. Maybe she should have come clean about the tape with Mimi and Pilar this afternoon in her office, but she’d been so certain that Ben would handle things.

What an idiot she’d been to think that she could depend on him. He might be Tiffany’s champion, but he certainly wasn’t hers.

Something about that little speech of Tiffany’s had been bothering her ever since she’d left Ben’s house. So Ben and Tiffany were business partners, huh? Was she a part of the business that Gavin helped him run? And if not, exactly what sort of business did they have?

She pulled out her laptop and Googled Ben’s name. At least a dozen pages came up, most of them having to do with the Martinez and Martinez Law firm, but there were also hits for a company named Roar, Inc. This must be the small company that Ben mentioned owning. But after reading a couple of articles, it was evident there was nothing “small” about Roar. No wonder he had enough money to go around buying video surveillance companies. Despite reading all the articles, however, there was no mention anywhere of Tiffany McAdams.

So she tried something different. This time she typed in both Tiffany and Ben’s name and hit search but instead of hitting the Images button like she’d done in the past, she hit the All button. Jenna sat back, dumbfounded, as page after page came up.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Today was a big day. The city council was set to vote on Nora’s offer. Ben had the chamber of commerce on his side, and they were putting pressure on Mimi Grant. He had Larry Jefferson and Denise Holbert’s vote too, but he needed one more for the win.

And it couldn’t be Jenna’s vote. He wanted her to vote the way her conscience decreed with no influence from him whatsoever. Not that she’d allow herself to be influenced by anyone. She’d do what she thought was best for the city. Period. It was one of the many reasons he admired her. She and Gus and Pilar were staunchly in the no column.

Which meant, the whole thing would end in another tie.

Now that Mom was packed up and ready to move, he didn’t have a reason to linger around Whispering Bay anymore. He could continue Nora’s suit against the city from his Miami office.

Except he did have a reason to stay. He needed to get things settled with Jenna. He’d put Gavin on buying a private plane ASAP. After he took care of this thing with We Gotcha first. Strange, Gavin hadn’t updated him since yesterday, which was unusual.

Ben pulled out his phone. Shit. His battery was dead. He’d been so exhausted when he’d come in last night he’d hadn’t bothered to charge it. He plugged it in then grabbed his second coffee of the morning and watched in amusement as Tiffany came shuffling into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” she mumbled, scratching the top of her blonde head. “Did I miss Rachel?”

“Mom just took her to preschool.”

Tags: Maria Geraci Whispering Bay Romance Romance
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