I tilt my head back, looking at his face. “Are you going to bug me until I eat something?”
“It’s quite likely.”
“Okay,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll try some toast.”
Jake picks his phone up off the table and calls through to the restaurant.
After eating breakfast on the terrace, Jake and I go down to the beach for a walk. The food has perked me up a bit.
I know he still has the call with Zane on his mind. He was notably quiet over breakfast, and he still is now.
I figure it’s something to do with the label. Something is going on there, and I want to know what.
“Are you ever going to tell me what that video call was about?”
Jake’s hand tightens around mine. “It was nothing.”
“Jake…,” I push.
“Look, it’s nothing big. We’ll talk about it later. You’re only just recovering from food poisoning, and we’re still on vacation.”
Stopping him, I come around and stand before him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
I tilt my head, looking up at him. “Nothing big, right? So why did you sound majorly pissed off when you were taking to that Zane guy?”
“I always sound pissed off when talking to the staff,” he says with a grin.
“Stop it,” I snap, taking a step back.
His brow furrows. “Stop what?”
“Stop shutting me out, Jake. I wish you would just talk to me. Tell me when something is going on. I might actually be able to help.”
Moving closer, he rests his arms on my shoulders, running his fingers into my hair. “I’m not trying to shut you out. I just don’t want you worrying about unnecessary things. There’s no point when I have a handle on it.”
“I worry more when I don’t know what’s going on. My imagination takes over, and you know how wild that can run.”
“I do,” he says tenderly, running his thumb down my cheek.
“Look, Jake, I just don’t want…” I let out a sigh. “I just don’t want things getting too hard for you, and for you to then…fall off the wagon, and for us to end up back where we did in Boston.”
His body stiffens. His eyes darken. “It won’t happen again. I already told you that. I’m not losing you again. I can’t.”
“I know. And I believe in you, I do. I just know I’d feel a whole lot better if you shared more with me, instead of keeping me out of the loop. I know you’re doing what you think is best for me, but you are what’s best for me—you happy and healthy.”
He leans down, hands holding my face, and presses his forehead against mine, closing his eyes.
For a moment, I stay still, just listening to his deep, contented breaths.
Sometimes I feel like Jake breathes through me. Because of me. That I’m the air he needs. And I breathe in the knowledge of his contentment within me.
“Someone’s been stealing money from the company.”
“What!” I lean back from him, air whooshing out of my lungs.
Jake sighs, then, taking my hand, he encourages me to sit down beside him on the sand.
“Someone’s been skimming for the past six months. And it’s not the money, Tru,” he says, exhaling. “I can take the hit for the cash. It’s just the fact that someone has f**kin’ stolen from me. Stolen from what Jonny and I created.” He drags a hand through his hair. “It just feels like they’re pissing on his memory, you know?” He shrugs, then his shoulders hang heavily forward.
The pain in his voice slices through me.
I hate that after everything Jake has been through in his life, just when things are getting straight for him, someone does this to him. Anger burns in me, but I hide it. I don’t want him to know it’s affecting me. I want him to keep talking to me.
“I know, baby,” I say, taking his hand, trying to ease his pain and frustration. “Do you have any idea who it might be?”
“Not yet,” he says with a shake of his head. “We’re keeping this on the down low, not letting the staff know, so we can catch the f**ker out. With Zane on the case, it won’t be long before we know. That guy could sniff out shit in a garbage dump.”
“Who is Zane?” I ask.
He glances at me, confused. “Zane Fox. He’s the VP at the label.”
How do I not know this? I should know this. I’m soon going to marry this man, and I know so little about his business and the people who work for him. The knowledge makes me feel like crap.
“How long has Zane worked for you?” I trace my fingertip over his rough, calloused fingers.
“From the start. Jonny and I hired him when we set up the label. This is stinging him as much as it is me.”
Okay, mental note. Spend time getting to know Jake’s employees better. Except the one who’s ripping him off. That one I’ll happily kick the shit out of.
“You definitely think he’ll be able to get to the bottom of the theft without you there?”
“Yes.” He digs a finger into the sand and draws a deep line in it.
He doesn’t sound sure. I don’t think it’s because he lacks confidence in Zane. I think it’s because he feels like he’s somehow failing Jonny by letting this happen in the first place. He’s not there now sorting it because he’s here with me.
He’s been so tied up lately with me, with us, that his mind has been off his business. I know right now his loyalty is torn between me and his company.