Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Zach

While flying to Los Angeles, I try to figure out what plan Tony might have that will show Yolanda for the scheming woman she is. I come up dry. All I can think about is that Yolanda had to have set her sights on me long before we went out for the first time. The whole thing makes my skin crawl.

By the time I land in Santa Monica, I want to find the first reporter I can and share Yolanda's plot with the world. Yet if I do that, she can still spin it like I'm a crazy man bent on destroying her. And let's face it, there's no one more sympathetic than a single pregnant woman who claims the father of her child wants nothing to do with her—especially if that guy is a well-known billionaire.

Instead of calling an Uber to pick me up, I ask my pilot, Jenny, to give me a ride. Jenny has been with me for five years and she's proven to be as tight-lipped as they come. I've had some big celebrities and politicians on my plane, and she acts like they're no more special than her daughter's soccer buddies.

When we get into her Toyota, she asks, "Will we be flying again anytime soon? "

"You got big plans?" I ask. I usually give Jenny two days' notice before I need to leave but sometimes, like today, I need her on the spur of the moment.

"Hallie wants to have a sleepover with her friends this weekend and Al wants no part of it." Al is Jenny's ex and he's not the biggest help when it comes to raising their daughter.

"I honestly don't know, Jen. Something big is about to happen and my schedule is at the mercy of how things go down."

"No worries," she says. "Honestly, I want four eleven-year-olds sleeping at my house about as much as I want to get married again." She clarifies, "Which is never."

"Tell Hallie I'll make it up to her. I'll even get her and her friends tickets to the next Taylor Swift show if she wants."

Pulling out of the airport, Jenny tells me, "No way. You are not going to spoil my daughter. Her dad tries to buy her affection enough in place of spending time with her. I will not have her thinking men are there just to heap gifts on her."

"You're a good mom, Jenny."

"It's not easy." She sounds like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders.

I remember my mom saying that being a parent was like walking on water in the middle of a hurricane. And that was with my dad right at her side. I cannot imagine how difficult being a single parent is, especially when you have to balance an ever-changing work schedule.

"I could give you the tickets instead," I tell Jenny.

She scoffs. "You can't tempt me with concert tickets, Zach. However, if a gift certificate to Burke Williams showed up in my purse, I wouldn't complain."

"For a two-hour massage?" I guess.

"Make that a four-hour massage and a facial." The look on her face says she's teasing, but I know she could use the break. I quickly text Belle and ask her to make a call and help me make Jenny's dreams come true.

The traffic on Pacific Coast Highway is a nightmare, so I spend the time answering emails. By the time we turn into The Colony, the exclusive gated community where I live, I'm nearly caught up on my correspondence.

Rolling down her window, Jenny shows her ID to the guard at the gate and then proceeds down the road to my house. As she pulls into my driveway, she asks, "Do you need anything else?"

"Just your normal discretion," I tell her. "If anyone asks, I'm not here."

I wave to Jenny as she drives off before I go inside. I nearly scream like a little girl when I see my twin, Mac, standing in my living room. "Holy crap, man, what are you doing here?"

He appears as surprised as I am. "I called your assistant and said that I needed to talk to you. You didn't call back."

"I didn't have time," I tell him. "I've been busy trying to put out a fire."

"Firestorm Yolanda?" he asks.

I walk through the living room and out onto the deck. Mac follows. "Yolanda is pregnant," I tell my brother before sitting down on a reclining chair.

"With your kid?" His horror is apparent.

"That would be physically impossible. But she's going to tell the world it's mine."

He sits down next to me. "Yours or not, that's gonna make you look bad. You'd better warn Mom." I hadn't even thought about how my parents would handle this news.

"Why are you here?" I ask him again. "I thought you were rusticating on your farm."

"Do you remember Jerry Brinker?"

"The movie producer?"

"That's him. He's looking to start a hockey team, and he wants me to help decide the best place to do that." Mac played for the San Diego Breeze right after college. He trusted me to invest his money and I put it into crypto along with mine. As such, he doesn't have to work if he doesn't want to .

"Doesn't California already have enough NHL teams?" I ask him.

"Yeah, but everyone is talking about how Mexico is the next big thing in hockey. We're thinking of looking there or maybe even as close by as Santa Barbara." He shrugs. "I thought it might be fun to be part of a team again."

"Are you going to play?" Mac officially retired a couple of years ago. He claimed not to like all the politics, but the truth is, I think he was tired of living on someone else's schedule.

"No way, my team days are over. I just want to be in the mix without taking any more pucks to the side of the head."

"So, you'd be a part owner?"

"A small part. I don't want any of the hassle of management or anything."

I laugh. While Mac and I are twins, he's way more laid back than I've ever been. Even though we both have enough money to last ten lives, I still like to work. My brother likes to dabble. "So, you called to see if you could stay here?" I ask.

He scoffs. "I know I can stay here. I called to ask if you wanted a piece of the new team?"

"Not in a million years," I tell him. "Once I leave Maple Falls, I'm done with hockey." I spend the next hour regaling him with stories about the Ice Breakers, the town, and even Ellie. Then I suggest, "Why don't you ask Troy?"

"I already did. He said he's got enough on his plate." Eyeing me closely, he says, "Tell me about this Ellie."

I don't even try to play it cool. "She's amazing. She lives in Maple Falls and takes care of her sick mom. She's a skating instructor and Troy and Kelly's all-around helper. She's beautiful and kind and feisty …"

Mac laughs. "You've got it bad, man."

Nodding my head, I agree. "And at the worst possible time."

"You mean with Yolanda getting ready to tell the world she's going to have your baby?"

I practically roar in frustration that this is my life. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I quickly check for messages and find one from Ellie. Standing up, I tell my brother, "I've got to make a call. In the meantime, check the kitchen drawer for takeout menus and order us some supper."

"Why don't we just go out?" he wants to know.

"Because no one can know I'm here. I need the world to think I'm still in Maple Falls."

Walking into the house, I head toward the primary bedroom. As much as I love spending time at the beach, the sound of the surf is so loud, you can't hear anyone on the other end of a call when you're outside. I tap the button to connect me to Ellie and wait while the phone rings.

"Hello?" Her voice is breathy like she's just sprinted a mile.

"It's me," I tell her.

"Zach." Just the sound of her saying my name sends waves of warmth through me.

"How's your mom?"

"She's mad about being in the hospital. She'll be there for a couple more days."

"Tell her hello for me," I say before asking, "How was breakfast with Yolanda?"

She's quiet for so long I start to get nervous. She finally says, "I'm torn."

"About what?"

"Yolanda says you're the father of her baby."

"She's already telling people?" I nearly fall onto the bed at the thought that it might be too late to convince people I'm innocent.

"So you don't deny it?" Ellie's voice sounds strained.

Wait? What? Does she believe Yolanda? "Of course I deny it. I told you I never so much as held hands with the woman." When she doesn't answer right away, I demand to know, "Have you changed your mind about me?"

Instead of answering, she says, "Yolanda knows what an amazing kisser you are."

"First of all, she knows no such thing, and secondly, you think I'm an amazing kisser?" As hurt as I am that she's doubting me, I can't help but tease her.

She quietly responds, "You know you are."

"A kiss is only as good as the investment of both of the people participating in it," I tell her.

Her mood seems to lighten as she asks, "So you think I'm an amazing kisser?"

"Oh yeah," I tell her. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about kissing you."

"Zach." She's back to sounding serious. "I want to believe you, but I'm afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of being hurt. Of being left behind. I'm not a big risk taker and liking you is a huge risk."

I try to put myself in Ellie's position and I guess I can see her point. "I thought we'd agreed to take things one day at a time. If we do that, then surely the risk won't feel so big."

"Says a man who isn't risking anything."

I stretch out on the bed and stare at the raging surf outside my window. "Of course I'm risking something. I'm risking my heart." Before she can respond, I add, "We both have to trust our instincts, Ellie. It's the only way."

I hear her take several breaths before she finally says, "Okay."

"Okay, what?" I need to hear her say the words.

"Okay, I'll trust my instincts."

"And what are they telling you?" Come on, Ellie, believe in me.

"That you're telling the truth. But you should know that I was full of doubts earlier this morning and I told Yolanda you're staying at the cottage." Before I can comment, she asks, "You still are, aren't you? I haven't seen your car here all day."

"I'm in Malibu," I tell her. I don't care what Tony says. If Ellie is willing to trust me, I have to be willing to trust her.

"Why?"

"The man who owns the PR agency I use has a plan."

"Doesn't that agency also rep Yolanda?" She sounds worried .

"They do, but they're going to cut ties."

"What's the plan?"

"I don't know yet. All I know is that he wants me out of Maple Falls when Yolanda tells everyone that her baby is mine."

"Zach," Ellie says. "You said that you trust me, right?"

There's something about Ellie that makes me want to believe everything she says, which is not like me. I'm normally a very cautious man. "I've never doubted you."

"Well, then, I might have a plan, too."

"What is it?" Even though I trust Ellie, I'm not sure manipulating the press is a talent she possesses.

"Give me a little bit of time," she says. "Tell your PR guy you have someone working on your behalf here in Maple Falls."

"And if your plan doesn't work?" I ask.

"Then we'll weather the storm together, Zach. Because I believe in you, and I also believe the truth wins out. We won't let Yolanda have the final say here."

And while I'm not quite as optimistic as Ellie, I like the idea of her and me against the world. I know the kind of woman she is, and I can't believe my luck that she's standing by me. "Okay," I tell her. "But just so you know, I can't wait to come back to Maple Falls and kiss you again. For hours."

As much as I want to get rid of Yolanda, Ellie really has become my biggest focus.