Big Bad Wolfe

Yeah. He knew.

Chapter Thirteen

If Sarah thought the scene in the parking garage was bad, she really should have taken sick days the rest of the week. Watching Gi

The happy couple had just left for another lunch date. Her stomach turned as she realized they probably weren’t eating. Well, food anyway.

She lowered her head to rest on her crossed arms. She was lost. And she didn’t know what to do about it. A part of her wanted to rail at him until he listened. Understood that, yes, she did set out to get under his skin. But her intentions had been good. She only wanted him to remember what it was like to live with his heart. Instead, she had lost hers to the only man who had successfully frozen his.

Another part of her, the part more prone to roll over and play dead, told her that she could talk until she was blue in the face and it wouldn’t make any difference. He was probably looking for a way to get rid of her anyway, and her little slipup in the bathroom was just the exit he needed. Look how fast he attached himself to Gi

Sarah groaned. Maybe there was a nice hole somewhere she could go crawl in.

“Come now, it ca

“Can I help you?” She wondered if the man was an actor looking for Frank. She had never seen him before, but their prospective client list had picked up a little to the work Falon had done.

“Yes, my name is Armand Cortinovis, am looking for someone actually.” The man’s Italian accent and charming smile had her relaxing. He had a great smile. Almost familiar. Maybe she had seen him in the agency before.

“If you’re looking for Frank or Ralph, I believe they are out to lunch.” She found herself returning his smile, even if hers was a little sad. “Can I take a message?”

The man stood studying her for a moment and the comfort of the moments before fled. “You’re her aren’t you?”

She was startled. “Her who?”

“The woman that has my grandson tied up in knots.” She had to remember not to let her jaw hang open. That was why his smile looked so familiar. Falon had flashed her the same grin whenever he was up to something. Studying the man closer, she noticed they shared the same liquid brown eyes. Only where Falon’s were now full of icy disdain this man’s were a story of regret.

“I don’t think …”

“Mind if I have a seat? I think there are a few things you need to know.” Not waiting for her to tell him it wouldn’t be a good idea, that he couldn’t possibly be more wrong where she and his grandson were concerned, he swept further into the room and claimed a chair across from her.

“Don’t look so nervous. I promise what I have to say will help you to understand the man whose heart you hold.” He raised a staying hand when she made to argue that last fact. “Just listen and draw your own conclusions.”

She nodded. Wondering what had the concern flashing in his eyes.

“I’m sure Falon told you, or at least hinted at, his distaste for me. I ca

“She chose love.” He looked deep into her eyes. “I can see that now, but then I was so lost in my own pride I cut them from my life. I acted as though they did not exist, lost track of them.” The regret filled those expressive eyes, the eyes so much like Falon’s. “I was in Italy when I heard about the accident. It had happened six months earlier and I knew nothing about having a grandson. Grief stricken, I didn’t return to America for another six months only to learn of Falon. He was lost in the system by then and there is only so much foreign money can buy.”

“He said you contacted him at Northwestern.”

His eyes lit up. “So he did open to you.”

The statement caused her to issue a very unladylike snort and the smile returned to his face. “I think you are underestimating your position with my grandson. Life has dealt him some blows. He feels he ca

“What do you mean?”

“After I cut his mother off, their life was hard. They did not have money, but they were rich in other ways an old man is only now begi

“Oh my gosh.” Sarah raised a hand to her mouth. She knew Falon had pulled himself from poverty to become the success he was today, but she had no idea it was that bad.

“He won’t talk about that day.” He shook his head sadly. “I had to access the closed police file for what little details I know. But I believe that day was the last straw, he was only seventeen and had to witness what lack of self-control can do to a man. That, coupled with what I did to his mother, it changed him.”

“You can’t blame yourself.”

“I can, and I do.” He rose from his seat. “My grandson has co

She sat frozen watching him walk out of the room. At the door, he turned to study her once more. “There are many faults with the man he has become. He ca

Then he was gone and Sarah was left to make sense of what he had told her. There was no way he could possibly be right. Right? From her understanding, the man barely knew Falon. How would he know if he … if she … God, just the idea that he might be right made her heart leap into her throat.

A high-pitched tittering filled the outer office as the man in question stepped off the elevator, Gi

***

Falon had listened to Gi

Shaking off the sentiment, he smiled down at the woman on his arm. “I’ll call you.” He gave her a peck on the cheek and pulled his arm free. He let out a relieved sigh when the elevator doors slid shut.