Familiar Double. Caroline Burnes

second she could see that he was recovering. “What got you upset, Dad?”

      Vincent shook his head. “I can’t really say. You know how these medical things are. No rhyme or reason to them.”

      Nicole noticed that her father wasn’t looking at her when he talked. Even after twenty years in prison, Vincent shared an extraordinary ability to communicate with his daughter. They’d always been able to simply sit across from each other and tell the truth about whatever was happening in their lives. She remembered clearly when Vincent had called her into the kitchen to tell her that he’d been accused of stealing the Dream of Isis. He’d told her flat out, and then he’d also told her that he didn’t do it, but that he was going to be tried as a thief. He’d never sugar-coated a single bit of it, and she’d never doubted that he was innocent.

      “Dad, you aren’t telling me the truth,” she said softly. “What really happened?”

      Vincent looked up at her. “Nicole, I spoke to Carlos Sanchez for you. He’s willing to take the case.”

      “Daddy! We can’t afford Carlos. He’s one of the biggest names in Los Angeles. I’ll get a public defender. I’m not guilty and we don’t have the money to spend on someone like Carlos.” She didn’t bother to point out that paying Carlos Sanchez for defending her father had wiped out every bit of their savings. They’d sold cars, jewelry, tools, furnishings—everything except the house.

      And Carlos had lost the case.

      “I’ve already talked to him. He’s going to handle everything. He’s always felt guilty about not winning my case, though we all know that I convicted myself by talking to the police so freely,” Vincent said. “You need a big name, Nicole. Carlos Sanchez has become a man of great power. I want you to let him help you.” He sat up on the bed. “Why don’t we have a glass of wine and you can tell me everything that happened?”

      “Dad, someone brought me here. My car wouldn’t start. He’s waiting out in the yard. Let me go and tell him that it’s okay to leave me here.”

      “Who is this?” Vincent asked. “A boyfriend?”

      Nicole shook her head, knowing that her father wanted nothing more than for her to find true love and happiness. “No, he isn’t a boyfriend. He’s a…co-worker. Actually, when you get right down to it, he’s my boss.”

      She followed behind her father. As he slowly climbed the stairs, she was reminded again that she should continue to press Vincent to sell the house. He’d be safer in a one-level closer to the medical center.

      Before she could stop him, Vincent went to the door and called out into the night. “Young man! Come inside for a glass of wine. My daughter, as usual, has made my ailments more serious than they are.”

      “Father!” Nicole was outraged. “You called me and scared me half to death and now I’m the one who’s exaggerating things?”

      Vincent grinned at her, signaling Jax into the house. “Leave an old man his pride,” he said loudly enough for Jax to hear. “I scared myself and then I scared you. I’m sorry. I’m feeling much better now. You’re like medicine, Nicole. I look at you and I see your mother and I remember my youth when I was strong and virile and had the whole future ahead of me.” As he talked he opened wine and poured three glasses.

      “Let’s sit in the den. I want to know about your movie and the work, and then I want you to tell me all about this earring they say you stole.”

      Nicole handed Jax a glass of wine but couldn’t meet his gaze. She wasn’t used to talking about her personal business in front of anyone. Vincent didn’t have that problem. He had always been open about his business, his ideas, his plans for the future. And now he was just as open about hers.

      She watched as Jax took a seat directly across from her father. She took a chair between them at the small table.

      “So, you’re Nicole’s boss? Tell me a little about yourself,” Vincent said to Jax.

      Nicole felt a warm flush begin to creep up her neck. She’d never had the experience of having her father grill one of her prospective dates. Vincent had been in prison throughout her entire teenage years. Now he was acting like Jax was her high school prom date.

      Jax flashed Nicole a grin. “I’m from Texas,” he said in his slow drawl, “and I coordinate the stunts on Midnight Magic.”

      “My daughter is beautiful, is she not?”

      “Daddy!”

      Jax only laughed. He seemed to be enjoying her father’s company, though Nicole felt extremely uncomfortable.

      “I have to admit, sir, that Nicole may be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Jax carefully avoided making eye contact with her.

      “I can’t believe this,” she said. “I rush over here because I think my father’s sick, and now the two of you gang up on me and try to embarrass me to death.” She was outdone with both the men. And they were just sitting there, smiling at each other.

      “I’m an old man,” Vincent started out.

      “Daddy, don’t you dare start that old-man stuff. Whenever you do that, you’re going to say something outrageous and then think you can get away with it because you pretend to be old. You’re only sixty-two. That’s not even old.”

      “I’m an old man,” Vincent said again, ignoring everything Nicole had just said. “And my daughter’s happiness is the most important thing to me.”

      “Daddy!”

      “So I want to know what your relationship is to my daughter?”

      “Good lord,” Nicole said, putting her head down on her arms. “I think I just might die of shame.”

      “At the moment,” Jax said, ignoring Nicole and staring Vincent right in the eyes, “I’m not sure what kind of relationship Nicole would be interested in.”

      “That’s a dodge, young man,” Vincent said with a sparkle in his eyes. “A clever one, but a dodge nonetheless.”

      “Daddy!” Nicole wanted to sink through the floor.

      “Your daughter is one of the loveliest women I’ve ever met,” Jax said, and this time his gaze lingered on Nicole. She felt as if her lungs had shrunk. “But I think she isn’t a woman who would appreciate being pushed. So I’m going to have to decline to answer your question, Mr. Paul, because I think the only person who should answer it for you is Nicole. But I can tell you that I’d be very, very interested in hearing her answer.”

      Nicole found it nearly impossible to look away from Jax’s intense gaze, but she dropped her gaze to the floor and took a deep breath. “Then both of you will just have to wait. I’m not prepared to give an answer. And that’s the end of the discussion.”