The Baby Pact (Babies and Billions #5) - Holly Rayner Page 0,30
until this timer goes off. You may as well talk to me, right?”
Zach sighed. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe.”
“What harm could it do?” Jeff pressed. “It’s not trouble with the business, is it?”
“No, no,” Zach said. “Business is better than ever. Expanding to Baltimore was a great decision. Everything’s going perfectly.”
“So then what’s the problem?” Jeff asked. “Family stuff? Girl trouble?”
Something must have registered on Zach’s face, because Jeff’s eyes widened.
“It is girl trouble. I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”
“I’m not anymore,” Zach admitted.
“Ah,” Jeff said knowingly. “Well, who was she?”
“This girl I used to know in college,” Zach said. “Rhea. We sort of lost track of one another after we left school, but we reconnected recently and… I don’t know. Things were going really well.” He sighed. “Or so I thought.”
“So what happened to her?”
“She just stopped returning my calls one day.” Zach said. “I haven’t heard from her in almost a month now, and I don’t know what to think of it. I’m starting to feel like I should just take the hint and stop reaching out.”
Jeff raised his eyebrows. “You mean it’s been a month of no contact and you’re still trying to get a hold of her? You must really like her.”
“I do,” Zach admitted. “We haven’t been back in each other’s lives for very long, but I was really starting to think she might be… you know, the one. I liked her a lot back in college. We even had one of those silly pacts that people make when they’re afraid to admit they really like each other, where you say you’ll get married in fifteen years if you’re both single.”
“That is silly,” Jeff agreed. “But it sounds like you really care about this woman.”
“I do,” Zach said.
“Then you can’t just let her go,” Jeff said.
“But if she’s not returning my calls—”
“Women can be temperamental,” Jeff said sagely. “You have to find out what she’s upset about and make it right. Then all will be forgiven.”
“I don’t know if you’re right about that,” Zach said. “What if whatever she’s upset about is something she doesn’t want to forgive?”
“Why?” Jeff asked. “What is it you did?”
“I don’t know what I did.”
“Well then, it can’t have been that bad, can it?” Jeff said. “If it was really something awful, you would have noticed it, right?”
“I mean, I guess so,” Zach allowed.
Jeff nodded, clearly believing that he had made his point.
“So here’s what you have to do,” he said. “Get in contact with her. Go to her house, if that’s what it takes. Do whatever you have to do to get her attention and make her listen to you.”
“And then what?” Zach asked. “What am I supposed to say once I have her attention? How do I go about atoning for something if I don’t even know what it is? It’s not like I can just ask her. It’s pretty clear to me that if she wanted to tell me why she was upset, she would have done it already.”
“Yeah, you’ll have to win her over with something other than a straightforward apology,” Jeff agreed. “Here’s my idea—you have to plan a dream date for her.”
“A dream date?” Zach blinked. “What does that mean?”
“It means go all out,” Jeff explained. “Take her to the nicest restaurant in Baltimore. Hire a hot air balloon to fly her over the city.”
“She’s afraid of heights,” Zach said.
“A horse and carriage, then,” Jeff said. “Whatever. The point is, you throw money at the problem. Show her the kind of lifestyle she can expect if she forgives you and comes back to you.”
Zach frowned. “I don’t want to try to buy her forgiveness.”
“Don’t be so high-minded about it,” Jeff said. “It’s not like you’d actually be buying her. I’m just talking about letting her see the life you lead. I mean, it’s only fair that she should know what she’s giving up, right? She ought to have all the information.”
“She comes from money,” Zach said. “She’s not going to fall at my feet because I have money.”
“She might,” Jeff said. “You’d be surprised. Maybe she’s been hesitant about spoiling herself with her own money in the past, and she needs somebody to do it for her. Or maybe she’ll be happy to see that if you and she get married, her fortunes will double. You know as well as I do that rich women like rich men.”
Zach couldn’t deny that. Still, he felt a little uncomfortable with what Jeff was