by Amarie Avant
“Bitch, I'm giving you exactly what you wan—”
Liam suddenly appeared and grabbed Raven’s arm. “Don’t come over starting fights!”
Raven opened her mouth to say something. You’re taking up for this asshole?
Instead of defending herself, Raven stalked back to the game room to get her daughter. The enemy and his perfect mate were on her heels as she shouted, “Let’s go, Royael!”
“No.” Chipmunk cheeks puffing out, Royael ran into her dad’s arms. “Mommy’s being mean.”
“Who is she?” Camille looked down at Royael like she was a bug that needed to be squashed.
“His daughter!” Raven’s eyelid twitched. Turning from the Neanderthal to Liam, she decided the woman wasn’t worth it. “You haven’t told her about Royael?”
“Raven, you and I need to chat in private,” Liam spoke with authority. Camille opened her mouth, but it clamped shut as he gave her a quick warning glance.
Hands on hips, voice a little shaky from anger, she replied, “I said have you told the Dinosaur about your daughter? Forget this. My child is not spending the night.”
Struggling with the luggage, she grabbed Royael’s hand and had to drag her away.
“No, Mommy!” Royael pleaded, trying to pry Raven’s hands from around her waist.
“Wait.” Liam followed her with Camille behind him, spewing words in French.
“I don’t take orders from you. Royael is going home.” Raven spun back around in her snow boots, but Royael wasn’t following her. Retreating, she grabbed her again. “C’mon, you can see your father later.”
“Raven, please.” Liam was at her side in a few short strides just as she had her hand on the knob.
“No, Liam. You’ve never put our child first …” This is a good time for you to apologize, and I’m not going to feel sorry for you anymore, so wipe that look off your face.
The next morning, Raven stood in the driveway, watching the loving father-daughter moment, feeling somewhat left out as she hugged herself through a cable-knit sweater. She’d gone overboard yesterday, and Liam’s face was drenched in guilt. Knowing her so very well, he didn’t call her until bright and early today.
“Is the dinosaur here?” she asked with a half-smile. Making light of the situation was better than blowing up. She’d been so angry as of recent; animosity was second nature, even though it wasn’t the Christian thing to do.
“No, Camille’s not here.” He brushed past Raven with Royael’s head in the crook of his neck. She gave her mom the stink eye as the duo went into the house.
I can play nice for the sake of my child. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world, Raven chanted, entering the house with the same Minnie Mouse roll-away. She stood near the pond, watching the Koi fish flit in the clear water. The home was made for perfect serenity, and she didn't want to be selfish. Reluctantly, Raven headed for the towering door.
A loud screech made Raven think otherwise. She raced past the stairs and down the long corridor of rooms. Stopping next to an Italian chef statue by an arched doorway, Raven’s heart slowed to normal. Royael sat on the island with flour in her pigtails, smiling and bossing her dad around. Lighting was bright, since the kitchen was at a corner of the house. It highlighted some sort of creamy batter all over the onyx countertops. Taking a deep breath of nature, since one of the walls were pulled back, letting in fresh mountain air, Raven watched the exchange.
“No chocolate chips? How are we going to have pancakes?” Royael jumped off the counter and marched over to the pantry, where Liam must have been.
He walked out with her on his heels, barking orders. A smudge of flour on his cheek that the old Raven would’ve loved to brush off with her thumb. His flannel shirt fit snugly across biceps bigger than her thighs. There was something sexy about watching a man interact with his child. She couldn’t leave as Liam squatted to Royael’s level, trying to give his child the world.
“How about strawberries or blueberries in the pancakes?” Liam asked.
Too much for her heart to bear, she willed herself to leave. Her child was safe. Still, she stared as his full lips moved into a mock pout to the uncompromising Royael. I’ve never seen my baby so happy …
Sweet honey eyes turned to look at her for help with their daughter.
“Royael doesn’t like strawberries,” Raven began. “She thought the seeds were ants as a toddler.”
“Okay. You and I need to make a list of the things Royael doesn’t like.”
“Royael can tell you.” Raven backed away. The “we” thing made the hairs on her arms stand up. They’d done Pizza Planet and gone to Royael’s school, but it was time for him to take over. Time for father and daughter to learn about each other.
“How about your pancakes, do you still like them with pecans?”
“I’ll be back later,” Raven tossed over her shoulder as she neared the kitchen door.
“Stay.”
At the command, she turned around at the large entryway. “I have to get ready for a date.” Before my movie-dinner date with Bill, I have a date with Sharon, so we can figure out just what to do with you.
12
Liam wrestled with his diamond-encrusted JD cufflinks, praying that Annette would answer the door, even though he needed to speak with her granddaughter. Raven’s presence made him feel more guilt than he ever had in his lifetime. Guilt that a Delacroix legacy shouldn't contain. He also shouldn't crave her, but just his luck, Raven came to the door in a leopard mini-dress and those sexy, glossy lips in a perpetual smirk.
“Hello, Liam. Thanks for not calling and popping in like usual.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re usually so intelligent, but it seems that you’ve forgotten that this is not your weekend.”
Her voice was smooth and sweet, yet dripping with venom. Maybe if he closed his eyes, he could imagine when he’d fallen in love with her. As he stood on the welcome mat, never in his life had he been so baffled. Not when Grand-père Pierre’s second, Mr. Kerr, found out that Liam was to be Pierre’s lead in the American Delacroix Hotel acquisitions. Twenty pairs of wise, old-money eyes from the Delacroix board flitted back and forth as an embarrassed Kerr reclaimed his seat with deflated self-confidence. Pierre grinned, nudged him on. Liam had impressed all the big wigs.
This wasn’t like that. Ever since Camille appeared at his house they’d done the child exchange and kept the talk at a minimum. After Raven’s hasty departure, Liam had forced Camille to tell him how the hell she found out where his other home was. The model had snooped through his mail at the penthouse during their last fuck fest. He’d told her never to come by again, and they hadn’t spoken since.
Now it was three weeks later, and Raven hadn’t allowed him to explain the situation. They needed to communicate better for Royael’s sake. He knew Raven had a very strong bond with their daughter. Coupled with all the missed years on his part, it made for a very tense relationship. And still, Raven bit her tongue to give him various photos and mementos of Royael throughout the years.
“I know it’s not my week, Raven, but—”
“Royael is at Uncle Oscar’s for the weekend. They went camping. You do remember my great uncle? We all camped together at Rover Valley on the occasions that your dad was nice enough to talk back to your mom so you could go. Oh, he’s little brother to Grandpa Otis, the one you left me to mourn all by myself …”
“Move over, grumpy!” Annette voiced in the background. “Come on in, Liam.”
Liam walked past Raven into the tiny living room to find Annette seated on the couch, bowl in her lap, snapping peas. Her face lit up when she saw him. Thank God. Nice to see one Shaw is still happy to see me. He gave her a hug. “Hey, Granny, how are you?”
“Good. We gotta get some meat on your bones like back in the day. Now, don’t you mind that chile. Raven seems to have lost all her manners these days.”
“Granny, this isn’t his weekend.” Raven sighed and shut the door. “The old Liam was
fat and sweet. Granny, we don’t know this one. What is it that you want, Mr. Lemaître?”
“Yeah, well, he wasn’t fat when y’all got to shacking up. Like I just said, chile, Liam is staying for dinner. I made a chocolate fudge cake, your favorite.” Annette winked. “Let me go check on the food.”
“Yes, Granny, I’m staying.” Liam smiled as Annette went to the kitchen. Eyes on his nemesis, he took a seat on the couch.
“Call her Granny one more time, you’ll be eating food seasoned with rat poison,” she warned, reclining on the chair across from him. “Why are you here? You shouldn’t be rewarded with chocolate. Taking your girlfriend’s side over your daughter’s?”
“That was damn near a month ago, Raven.”
“You saw the way that dinosaur looked at Royael when finding out about her. Look, I might be overreacting, Royael has only had a father—in the flesh—for all of four months. So if you have someone important in your life, I’d rather they know about Royael.” She spoke quickly, the undertones of worry and distrust almost breaking his heart. He attempted to place himself in her shoes and understood where Raven was coming from, but she didn’t give him enough time to talk. “What if the two of you get close, and you … you place their opinion over Royael.”
I don’t know, Raven, maybe because we’re not serious. “I spoke with Camille about it, and there will never be another problem there. Why did you send those pictures to the gossip magazine?”
Her defined shoulders shook as she chuckled. He had to set a frown not to laugh, too. Since Camille had been seen around with him, the editor-in-chief of Scandalous requested Liam's approval before allowing it to be added to the segment. Unbeknownst to Raven, her old friend had humored her.
“The Neanderthal blocked me from leaving, she was seconds from hog-tying me to ask how we know each other!” Raven looked toward the kitchen to the sound of pots and pans banging, and knowing it was a cue from Annette to lower her voice, she did. “My baby is not going to be second to one of your little sluts.”
“We broke up,” he replied, the easiest of lies to his ex-best friend.
“Okay.” Raven nodded, then walked toward the door and opened it. A gestured wave should have been incentive for him to leave or at the very least, rise. Liam stayed put.
“Not ten minutes ago, you commented on how I’m usually intelligent. Thus, I’ve decided to take advantage of a home-cooked meal. It’s not every day that I have one. Just so you know, I’m having my chocolate cake, too.”
Raven grumbled. Liam smiled. She sat back down across from him, staring him down. They were silently listening to the sound of Annette’s content hum and smelling all kinds of deliciousness when her cell vibrated. She answered it.
“Hey, babe, I miss you …”
He watched her retreat up the staircase. Legs restless, he thought about Raven with Stephen and went into the green-walled kitchen. “Granny, do you need help with anything?”
“Oh, boy, you know I never need help cooking. It’s too tiny in here anyway.” Annette shooed him out.
Liam backed away slowly as the doorbell rang. Maybe it’s Stephen—that’s the only logical reason she wants me gone. He frowned, imagining them at the dinner table. Chest out, he opened the door. It’s time to see just how serious Stephen is with Raven—for Royael’s sake. A blue sky and a few puffy white clouds were in his line of vision. Eyes glancing downward, he saw a petite woman with a mustard-yellow, long-sleeve dress that fit every curve of her body. When she took off her sunglasses, he instinctively remembered meeting Charlene at the age of eighteen. Her hair no longer in Medusa curls, Charlene didn’t reek of alcohol but expensive perfume, Estella’s fragrance. Gauging from those beautiful, angry, almond eyes, she realized who he was, too.
“Excuse you!” She stormed past Liam.
He watched her climb the stairs as if she already knew where to go, which was odd, because Raven told him that they hadn’t spoken since he took her to L.A. to find the woman.
“So you’re Royael’s father?”
Liam turned back around to see a dark-skinned man with a goatee and impeccable suit, who stuck his hand out and introduced himself as Damien Wright. As soon as the formalities were complete, Damien sized him up. “Have you been helping with Royael? Financially, I mean?”
“That’s none of your concern.” Liam tried to keep the coldness out of his tone. The man acted like Raven’s father.
Damien’s mouth set for what Liam knew was a comeback, but the echo of a stampede descending the stairs made them both turn around. Raven had on her I’m-not-listening-face, and it softened for an instant as she hugged Damien.
“Hi, Dad, why didn’t you tell me you were coming by? And why did you bring her,” Raven grumbled loudly, with Charlene behind her, trying to apologize for something Liam didn’t know. Then Raven’s wrath clicked to ON as she frowned at Liam. “Why did you open the door?”
Charlene gawked. “Raven, don’t refer to me in that tone. Why are you so buddy-buddy with him? He doesn’t care about you. I bet he hasn’t even helped out with Royael!”
Before Liam could retort to the Chihuahua and her equally domineering mother, Annette stood in the dining room, waving her mitten hands. “What’s with all this commotion?”
“Mama, I came to apologize. I found out who leaked Trinity’s baby photos, but Raven has this white thug acting like I shouldn’t have been let into the house.” Charlene placed her hands on her hips.
“I’m far from a thug." Normally, Liam wouldn’t have thought about his affluence, multibillion dollars’ worth of it. However, the room was too small, making it hard to get a word in while Raven and Charlene threw insults like a sibling rivalry.
“I don’t give a damn about you.” Raven pointed to Charlene. “Granny, guess what? It was Char’s assistant who leaked Trinity’s photo! The bitch was always rude to me when I came around. I guess kissing Char’s ass after I came around got a little too hot to handle. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not my mom. Leave now, before I call the police.”
“Let’s sit and talk about this,” Damien interjected, his deep voice momentarily halting the argument. He walked around the coffee table to calm Raven’s rattled nerves by rubbing her back. He whispered in her ears, and that frown on her face slowly disappeared, but her eyes stayed narrowed and on target. Turning away from her, Damien said, “Liam, maybe you should go home so we can have a family talk.”
“Liam is family.” Raven stood in front of him as if shielding him from an unknown horror. He looked over her head at Damien, who shrugged.
“He’s not family! Raven, remember what you told me about the letter. Oh, don’t forget the check.” Teeth gritted, Charlene sidestepped her daughter and got a few punches in, reminding him of a stubborn fly. Liam was stuck in the corner with Raven tugging at her mom and doing a lousy job at stopping the attack.
“Really, asshole,” Charlene ranted in-between punches, “you tried to get rid of my grandbaby with a check. You can’t be family. You’re the enemy!”
“Have you lost your mind?” Liam asked, ready to push Raven—his unnecessary bodyguard—out the way. In his position, he wasn’t able to thwart her hits, but Damien pulled Charlene by the waist and told her to chill out.
“Liam was a dumbass kid, another teen-father statistic!” Raven’s body shook as she spoke to her mom, who stood stunned in her husband’s arms. “You were my mother and you abandoned me twice!”
Not wanting her mother to get the upper-hand in the argument, Raven grabbed Liam’s hand as if they were forming an alliance, as if he was the boy she fell in love with, for the sole purpose of rattling Charlene to the core.
“He’s a monster, a self-absorbed monster!” Charlene pointed her finger at Liam as Damien held her back. Ranting stopped; her eyes popped out in horror as she looked toward the kitchen and shrieked, “Mama!”
White light shone from the hospital ceiling and provided an imaginary thin line, separating them as they sat in a stark whit
e lobby: Charlene and Damien on one side, Raven and Liam on the other. Each man comforted a descendant of Annette Shaw while they waited for an update.
Glaring at her mother while safely snuggled into Liam’s chest, Raven felt comforted by the way he held her. He’d remembered that all she wanted, needed, was his presence. No words, just support. I’m only playing nice to irritate Charlene. Holy crap, this might even work in my favor in the greater scheme of things. That was her mantra. He was her crutch.
“Damien, this is my fault.” Sniffling, Charlene wiped away a stray tear. She hugged him much the same way Liam hugged Raven, but Damien didn’t hold onto the egotistical actress.
Raven’s cell phone buzzed in the pocket of her leather jacket. She'd kept it on to update her uncle and his wife.
Taking it out, Raven noticed Stephen was calling. He cared about her grandmother, so she decided to tell him too.
But when he answered, there was no time for hellos.
“Stephen … My home …?” Raven hung up, face ashen. “My house is on fire,” she spat at her mother. “It’s all your fault!”
13
Orange flames speared the dark sky. Violent flickers highlighted the downstairs windows of the home. As a precautionary measure, the upper half had been drenched, as had the townhomes on either side. Mouth agape, Raven watched the destruction from the park sidewalk. Multiple firetrucks and a hoard of men dotted the street, aiming water at insatiable flames. It was a sick, hypnotizing scene. If it weren’t for glancing at Liam’s arm wrapped around her shoulder, she wouldn’t have known it was there—she didn’t feel it. Like the fire, she fed on rage.
Charlene was at her side, lips moving, her face contorted in sadness and guilt. “I’m sorry …”
“No!” Raven moved to the other side of Liam so as not to be touched by her mom.
Royael’s baby pictures! The thought struck Raven like a stray flame. No thought was involved as she went sprinting across the street with tunnel vision. All she thought of was getting past the firemen to save her daughter’s mementos. Then her feet were lifted off the ground as she was grabbed around the waist.
