“I can’t let you do that,” he said.
“You’re not letting me do anything,” I countered. “I want to help. Your dad is like my second dad.”
“I don’t know if she would stay away,” he said. “She might take your money, blow through it, and come back for more.”
“We would have her sign an agreement to stay away.”
“I’m not that desperate yet,” he said. “I will let you know if I get to that point. What about you? Did your dad show up?”
“No.”
That earned a look of shock. “No shit. Wasn’t today the media thing for the building?”
“Yes, it was.”
“And he didn’t show up?” The concern on his face mimicked my own.
“No. I’ve called him and been to his house. I talked with my Aunt Kathy, and she knows nothing. He vanished. I don’t even know if he ever made it back to Vancouver from New York.”
“Wasn’t he meeting with your cousins or something?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t think so. I didn’t hear anything about it.”
“That’s weird,” he replied. “What about the cabin?”
“I called the caretaker. No one has been there.”
“That’s really weird,” he said. “I’ve heard of people just hopping on a plane and leaving. Maybe that’s what he needed to do.”
“I don’t know. I just wish he would check in. I’m not trying to nag him, but we have some business to deal with. We agreed he would lead the opening today and next week. This kind of thing isn’t my cup of tea. I can’t get the media to focus on the property. They’re too busy wondering who’s in my bed.”
He laughed and took a drink. “More of the baby daddy rumors?”
“Yes. How do they get away just printing bullshit?”
“Gossip makes the world go around,” he joked. “Are you going to do the grand opening thing still?”
“I have to,” I replied. “I don’t have a choice. I can’t just walk away. We’ve been planning it for weeks. If I don’t get the rest of those units sold or rented, I’m screwed. I have to be there. I need to find a date. If I’m there with a woman, it might help deter some of the invasive questions about my love life.”
“Don’t tell me you don’t have a woman you can call,” he teased. “There’s a reason the media is all over you about your love life.”
“They act like I’m a man whore. A gigolo. I’m not any of those things. I went out with a woman a few times. I didn’t propose to her. We weren’t committed to each other. These people act like I’m out there whoring around. I just need to find a date and get them to stop talking about Jana.”
“Thea’s looking for a sugar daddy,” he said.
I couldn’t stop the knee-jerk reaction at hearing her name. “Don’t tell me she needs another building for her shelter.”
“She is always in need for that place,” he said.
I stared at my best friend in the world. He just happened to be the older brother of the woman I’d been in a relationship with for eight years. That was a long time ago. The breakup had been messy. It was a miracle my relationship with Rich had survived.
“Very funny. I need to find a woman. I wonder if I could pay someone.”
He rolled his eyes. “You can’t just throw money at everything.”
“Sure, I can,” I said. “It works. Besides, I think I’m probably the last person Thea would want to do a favor for.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “You know how she is with her shelter. I think she’d be willing to sell her soul to the devil if it meant she could help her animals.”