“JAKE CAN STAY with us in Rushcutters Bay,” Lana said. “There’s no need for him to stay in a hotel.”
“His company is covering it.” Holding a straw basket over her arm, Elena strolled beside her grandmother at the Bondi Beach outdoor market.
The sky was brilliant today, and the market was teeming with people who’d spent yesterday cleaning up after the storm. When she’d returned home with Jake, her mother and father had insisted that he stay for a family dinner. Grams and Gramps had joined them, and Jake had spent a long time talking to Aaron and her dad.
“That’s not the point,” Lana said, selecting tomatoes from a vendor’s display. “We’d enjoy having him around. He and Aaron have really hit it off.”
“Nice of Gramps to take him fishing today.” Elena ignored her question by tasting strawberries a vendor offered before she choose some. Jake had invited her to his hotel after he returned, and she could hardly wait to see him again.
“I hope it didn’t interfere with his work here.” Her grandmother waved at a group of ladies she knew as they passed. With a sparkle in her eye, she said, “You and Jake seem to have buried your differences, whatever they were.”
“We had a talk.” Elena felt her cheeks flush.
“Is that what they call it now?” She pointed out a couple of passion fruits to the stall vendor. “I’ll take those two. They look ripe, yes?” She slid a glance toward Elena.
The comparison wasn’t lost on her. Grams had always been forthright about her observations. Yet she was intensely private about other matters.
“About his work, Grams. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Lana paid for the fruit and put it into Elena’s basket. “We’ve had this discussion. If what had happened had been today, and not a hundred years ago, it would have been different. You know that. But we are a product of our time. We don’t get to choose when we’re born. That matters.” She held a firm expression, her lips pressed together. “Especially for women.”
As she followed her grandmother around, Elena wondered what she would have done then. And what she should do now.
Later that afternoon, Elena arrived at the high-rise hotel where Jake was staying. She’d bought another new casual dress at the market with her grandmother, and borrowed one of her mother’s lightweight apricot sweaters to throw over her shoulders when it got cooler.
She liked adding accessories, so she chose coral earrings and bracelets that she’d made for her mother years ago from Honey’s collection, and dabbed on a bit of her mum’s ambery perfume from a local brand she liked. Bohemia. That was fitting, she thought with a smile.
When Jake opened the door, he swept her into his arms. Lifting her from her feet, he twirled her around. “I’ve been dying to see you,” he said, kissing her. “And you smell delicious.”
Laughing, Elena ruffled his hair, and then smoothed it back. As she did, her gaze rested on his open suitcase. It was neatly packed, and his toiletries were on top. “Going somewhere?”
“Ah, yeah, about that…”
“Maybe there’s room again at Allison and Zach’s place.” Playfully, she pursed her lips.
“No…”
Remembering what Grams had said, she blurted out, “Please don’t go to Rushcutters Bay with my grandparents.”
He shook his head. “My work is finished here, Elena, and I’m needed at the office. I’m catching a flight back tonight.”
“Why?” She felt the excitement of seeing him drain from her.
“You know why I came here. While I believe you now, there’s nothing more I can do to help you. Whatever your family is hiding will remain that way.”
Feeling like he was abandoning her, Elena folded her arms and turned away, staring out the wide glass windows overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She was hurt that he was leaving simply because he couldn’t get the information he wanted from them. “Is that the only reason you were staying?”
“Elena, it’s not too late to tell me what’s going on.”
He didn’t answer her question. She swung back to him. “It’s not what you think it is.”
Jake put his hands on his hips. “Look, I don’t care if someone in your family stole the diamonds, found them in an alley, or won them in a game of strip poker. All I was trying to do was make sure you were fairly compensated for your loss.”
She stared at him, hardly believing what she was hearing. Letting his words sink in, she asked the question she was afraid of. “And what happened here with us…was it only about finding out the truth?” Bristling, she forged on, unable to stop. “Or maybe that’s a technique you use in your investigations with women. And now that you can’t get what you want, you’re on the next flight out.”
“You can’t believe any of that.” Jake stood in front of her, his lips pressed firmly together.
“I don’t want to believe that, but there’s the evidence.” Her anger rising, she pointed to his suitcase. “So what’s that really about?”
“Your Gramps set me straight. The loss isn’t what’s important here.”
Elena paced the length of the window. “Last I heard, Gramps really liked you. I don’t know what you said on that fishing boat today to change that.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Don’t patronize me.” Elena crossed her arms. She hated that more than anything.
“I don’t mean to.” Jake spread out his hands. “I’m not part of this family, so whatever secret your grandmother is hiding is none of my business. You need to spend time with your father, and when you return—”
“Why should I ever return?” she asked, willing him to give her a reason. Had the declarations he’d made to her during their night of passion meant nothing?
Drawing his dark eyebrows together, he seemed confused. “Your shop, your friends. You can recover from this loss. I’ll get you something for the materials you used. Platinum is expensive.”
“This is not about platinum, or friends, or my shop. This is about family, and where you stand with me, whether you know my family’s entire story or not.”
Jake threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
“Only one thing.” How could he not see how much pain this was causing her?
“I don’t how to help you.”
“I never asked for your help.” Elena bit her lip. “Good manners means accepting people as they are, and not brow-beating them for the truth.”
Jake held up a finger. “I did not do that.”
“Didn’t you? Every chance you got with my grandparents. And it’s not my story to tell.” Hurt and anger surged through her. “Not yet, anyway.”
Leaving Jake to figure it out on his own, she strode across the room, flung open the door, and marched out.
As the elevator doors closed, this time, she noticed, he didn’t come after her. Clutching her arms around her, she fought the tears that filled her eyes.