remarked.
“Mmm, but my other hand is empty and not doing anything special. Why waste it when it could be doing something useful like holding my next drink?”
Waiter. The word pained him. Glitz took a drink from Jerome’s tray without saying thank you or even acknowledging his existence. Jerome walked back to his post beside the row of lawn chairs. He stood with his tray held high and a towel over his arm: just another piece of furniture.
He used to be a musician. What had happened to him?
Jerome looked back to the croquet game. Apparently Forrest had convinced Gloria that he was a good enough player to teach her how to shoot. She bent over the ball with her mallet, laughing, while Forrest laid his hands on her arm and shoulder.
Too close for comfort.
Then Forrest called to Jerome over his shoulder. “Waiter! I think this game is getting a little too sober for anyone’s liking.”
Jerome took a deep breath and marched over to the two teams on the lawn. Forrest took drinks for himself and Gloria. He leaned in close and clinked his glass against Gloria’s. “To mopping the floor with these two,” he said, his lips close to Gloria’s ear. Gloria’s face was bright red now.
Jerome trusted Gloria, and Gloria had said that Forrest only saw her as a pal. So what the hell was Forrest playing at, pawing at Gloria like this? Jerome clenched his fists and told himself to calm down. Hank had worked hard to get him here—he couldn’t risk blowing his cover. Thankfully, even if Forrest approved of him theoretically, the man had no idea what Jerome looked like—so Jerome was able to be at his estate without raising any suspicion.
Yet.
Before last night, Jerome hadn’t spoken to Gloria in weeks—even though he’d been so worried about her. He’d seen in the papers that she’d been released from prison and hated that he couldn’t go straight to her. But Hank had said he couldn’t. So Jerome just had to wait and hope that Gloria was thinking of him even a fraction as much as he was thinking of and longing for her.
Then last night had been such a blur of pure joy and relief. The waves of her autumn-fire hair, those brilliant, pale eyes that held more intelligence and strength than Jerome had ever thought a silver-spoon dame like her could possess. God, he’d missed her.
The sun was already rising outside Gloria’s window by the time they got to talking. Jerome lay on Gloria’s enormous bed with her head on his chest, her soft, beautiful hair tickling his nose. He’d been ready to fall asleep in the heaven he’d found in Gloria’s arms, but she’d pulled away and looked up at him with a mix of elation and concern on her face.
“I’m so happy to see you, Jerome. But what are you doing here?” she asked. “I’m working to get us both out of trouble. Hank said—”
Jerome had put two of his fingers to her lips. “Hank’s the one who sent me here.”
He told Gloria how her father had left him in Middle of Nowhere, New Jersey. She gripped the silk comforter hard as Jerome told the story. At one point she interrupted him. “Can you please stop calling that man my father?” A tear ran down her cheek, but her expression remained fierce. “He lost his right to being called that a long time ago.”
Jerome looked at his fiancée for a moment, lost in sadness and admiration for her. Jerome’s own father had never understood him, had done everything he could to tear Jerome away from music. He and Gloria had this in common. “Well, anyway, I woke up on a tiny cot in a ramshackle house. A real sweet old couple, the Walkers, had found me lying on the side of the road not long after I passed out.”
“Thank God,” Gloria said.
“They insisted I stay with them for a few days to get my strength back up, then they directed me to the nearest pay phone in Hoboken. From there I called Hank, and he promised to help me out with Lowell if I helped you with Forrest.” Jerome looked away, unsure how Gloria would react to this next part. “It took Hank a little bit of time, but soon he was able to get an investigation into your father’s business dealings going. Now … well, Lowell doesn’t have any time to worry about who you’re planning to marry.”
Gloria smiled in relief. “Good. One less