“I love you,” Elyse whispered.
Julian brushed back her short pixie-plastered hair from her face. “And I love you, Elyse.”
* * *
“I don’t know about this, Julian,” Elyse said from Julian’s side as they walked up the steps to the family estate in Tuxedo Park the following Sunday. “I doubt very much your family will want to see me after everything’s that happened.”
“I thought you wanted to apologize.”
“I do.” But her face was clouded with uneasiness.
“Then we’ll do what we came to do. If they can’t accept it...” He shrugged.
“Then what? I won’t come between you and your family, Julian.”
“You leave my family to me,” Julian said. And he meant it. Nothing and no one was coming between them ever again. He squeezed Elyse’s clammy hand in his and opened the front door. He followed the sound of voices to the great room, where the entire family was gathered.
All conversation stopped when Julian and Elyse entered the room. Elyse tensed by his side and Julian prepared himself to walk away from his family if need be. But it was his mother who came forward first.
“Elyse, so nice of you to join us again,” she said, glancing at his father. There was no mistaking the warning look she gave him.
“I’m sorry to stop by uninvited,” Elyse said, easing her hand out of Julian’s, “but I wanted to apologize to all of you.” She looked around the room at the entire Lockett clan. “When I met Julian, I had an ulterior motive. Revenge for a perceived wrong against my father.” She moistened her lips.
“Yes, you did.” His father’s chest puffed out, but his mother put a hand on his arm.
“But then I got to know your son, your brother.” She glanced at his siblings. Roman was being stalwart, but Julian suspected that was Shantel’s influence. Giana had a wary expression and Xavier was nowhere to be seen. Where was his younger brother these days? He’d taken to disappearing without telling the family. “And I fell hard. It made me realize I could never betray him, despite Julian finding that folder with my plans.”
“And what about your father?” Josiah asked, folding his arms as he scrutinized his son’s fiancée. “Do you still believe the lies he’s told you?”
“Josiah?” his mother quipped.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Lockett. It’s a fair question,” Elyse said. “No, I don’t, but I want you to know that it didn’t matter. That’s why I went to the Jacksons. It was my way to make amends to you, but to answer you, Mr. Lockett, a couple of days ago, my father had an epiphany after alcohol poisoning landed him in the hospital.”
His father’s expression grew softer. “Is Frank okay?”
Elyse nodded. “Yes. And he finally told me the truth, which is that you tried to help him.”
“I did.”
“But he spiraled out of control after my mom’s death and let gambling and alcohol consume him. He taught me to hate you, Mr. Lockett, but it was lies. All of it. I know it and so does he. He’s finally agreed to go to rehab. And maybe I can finally move on with my life.” She reached for Julian’s hand again. “Our life.”
His mother was the first to ask. “Has something happened?”
“Yes,” Julian added. “I asked Elyse to marry me and she’s accepted. I hope, as my family—” he glanced around the room “—you can be happy for us, because everything from before is water under the bridge. I’m hoping today can be a fresh start for both our families. What do you say, Dad?”
His father stared at him a long moment. “Welcome to the family, Elyse.” Julian was shocked when Josiah held out his arms to Elyse and she walked into them. “I’m happy Frank is getting the help he needs.”
Julian was thrilled to see the Locketts and Robinsons mending fences, but more important, he was happy to have found the love of his life. Because if Elyse hadn’t sought him out, they might never have connected and he would never have known he could feel a love like this.
Epilogue
One month later...
Julian and Elyse rushed down the hall of the hospital holding a big bear, balloons and flowers from the gift shop. As soon as they’d gotten the call that Shantel was in labor, they’d rushed over. When they reached the corridor, Julian saw his brother in the hallway.
“Is everything okay?” Julian asked.
A broad smile crossed Roman’s features and Julian breathed a sigh of relief at seeing his pearly whites. “Congratulations, you’re an uncle.” Roman reached inside the back pocket of his jeans and produced a cigar.
Julian beamed. “I’m an uncle.” He glanced at Elyse. “I’m an uncle.”
“Yes, you are,” Elyse said.
“How’s Shantel?” Julian asked his brother.
“Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Excited. All of the above,” Roman said with a grin. “Would you like to see her and the baby?”
“Absolutely.”
“C’mon.” Roman led him down the sterile corridor of the maternity ward until he reached Room 310. He swung the door open and inside were their parents and half the Wilsons of McDonough County.
“Give him some room,” Roman said, parting the large group until Julian and Elyse could step forward. That’s when Julian saw Shantel, her smile wide as she held a beautiful brown-skinned baby swaddled in a blanket.
“Say hello to Ethan Julian Lockett,” Shantel said, offering her son to Julian.
“You gave him m-my name.” Julian was touched as he accepted the tiny bundle. His heart felt so full of love for his nephew.
“It’s a wonderful name. I hope you don’t mind, Elyse, but Julian’s gotten me through some rough times.” Shantel said.
“Absolutely not. And now that’ve you had the baby, we can share some news of our own.” Elyse rubbed her belly. “Julian and I are expecting.”
“What?” Angelique rushed over to Elyse and grasped her forearms.
“It’s a total surprise, but apparently I’m already a few months along. I guess with all the craziness, I didn’t realize it,” Elyse said. And they hadn’t. With their schedules and the family feud, Elyse had ignored the fact she hadn’t had a period. And Julian had been so caught up in their passion, it had escaped his notice. But Julian was thrilled at becoming a father and having Elyse as his wife.
“Omigod!” His mother clutched her chest. “Another rush wedding!”
Julian laughed as he held his nephew in his arms. “I’m afraid so, Mom. Elyse and I—” he pulled his fiancée to him with his free hand and brushed a kiss across her lips “—want to get married as soon as possible at the courthouse and a more formal ceremony once Frank is out of rehab.”
“Giana.” His mother looked to his sister. “Promise me, you’ll give me time to plan a proper wedding when you get married.”
“Oh, Mama, I’m not getting married anytime soon.”
Julian and Elyse smiled at each other.
Famous last words.
* * *
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CHAPTER ONE
Ashiya scanned the numbers on her computer screen and grinned. Another profitable day for her consignment store, Piece Together. Another day that she’d kept the store she’d opened on a whim from being considered a contender for best dramatic performance by a Robidoux family member. Another day she’d taken that whim and turned it from “that little store,” as her mom referred to it, into the place to shop in Jackson Falls for quality, preowned designer clothes, with a healthy helping of fashion tips and perfect accessories on the side.
She shimmied her hips in the chair as she hit Enter to save the day’s profit numbers in her bookkeeping software. Six years ago, when she’d decided to open her store, she hadn’t believed she’d be here for this long. Honestly, she hadn’t believed she would be able to make it work. She might have grown up in the mix of the Robidoux family with all their drama, fighting for control, and business acumen, but she’d never wanted any of that. She wanted to live life on her own terms with little interference from her family.
Piece Together was something she’d known her mother, cousins, and uncle wouldn’t care about. They’d let her “play around,” and she’d get peace and quiet. Who knew she could actually run a business successfully?
A knock on the office door snapped her from her internal celebration. She glanced up from her computer to the door of her office in the back of the store. Lindsey, the store’s assistant manager, stood there. She’d been one of the first people Ashiya hired to help run Piece Together when she’d opened. Lindsey, with her no-nonsense personality, straightforward style, and keen eye for fashion, had stayed by Ashiya’s side through those early, lean years when Ashiya hadn’t been sure the store would survive. Short, with a cute face, and an upturned nose that reminded Ashiya of a pixie, Lindsey could easily pass for one of the college kids in town despite being thirty-one.
“Hey, I’ve finished straightening up the front of the store. How much longer will you be here?” Lindsey pulled back her normally brunette hair, which was now colored a soft pink, into a ponytail at the base of her neck.
They always tried to walk out together. Downtown Jackson Falls wasn’t a dangerous town, but that didn’t mean they liked to tempt fate. Their parking lot was behind the building, poorly lit and after eight p.m. served as the overflow parking for a few bars in the area. They preferred to be safe rather than sorry.
“I just finished up.” Ashiya hit the Save button one more time just to be sure she cemented the success of the day. “I’ve got to get out of here anyway.”
“Hot date?” Lindsey asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
Ashiya barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a hot date. Not since she finally came to her senses and told her on-again, off-again boyfriend since college to get the hell out of her life. Every time she thought about the time and effort she’d wasted on that relationship, the good things she’d let pass her by, she wanted to slap herself. She would pay whoever invented a time machine all six years’ worth of Piece Together’s profits for the chance to go back and tell twenty-two-year-old Ashiya to stay away from that manipulative asshole and to remember that good sex did not equal love.
She pushed aside thoughts of her wasted years and sighed. “No hot date. My cousin Elaina’s celebrating her engagement.” Ashiya powered down her computer and stood.
Lindsey crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. “So she’s really getting married, huh?”
Ashiya barely contained her chuckle at Lindsey’s dubious tone. “She is, and I actually believe she’s happy.”
Lindsey raised her brows again. “Good for her.”
“I know, right?” Ashiya said. “I’m happy for her. I hope this marriage works out better than her first one.”
Lindsey crossed her heart, pressed her hands together as if in prayer and lifted them to the sky. She wasn’t overly religious, but Ashiya appreciated every bit of good vibes for a better relationship for her cousin. “I hope so, too. She can be…intense, but everyone deserves to be happy.”
Ashiya walked across the small office, which was actually a former storage room that she’d converted into an office for her store, to the coat rack, where she’d hung her purse. A small black Louis Vuitton bag she’d found at a thrift store in Charleston the year before and today had paired with a simple white T-shirt and gauzy leopard print A-line skirt. She lived for finding deals like that.
“Now that she’s engaged and happy,” Ashiya said, putting the strap for the purse over one shoulder, “she’s also making an effort to hang out with the family more. Tonight is ladies’ night to toast to her good fortune.”
“Sounds like fun,” Lindsey said with what came across like forced enthusiasm.
Ashiya grinned. “It will be. I haven’t gotten a chance to hang with my cousins in a while. I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’m waiting for the day your family convinces you to quit running the store and start working at that huge corporation they own.”
“I wouldn’t abandon you like that.” Ashiya flipped the lights off in her office.
“I wouldn’t consider it abandonment. Just remember if you ever decide to go and start making big deals instead of scouring thrift stores for premium goods, I’ll understand and take over the store for you.”
Ashiya wrapped an arm around Lindsey’s shoulders as they walked toward the front of the store. “Not gonna happen, but if I ever change my mind, I know I’ll be leaving this place in good hands.”
They did one more check of the front before locking up the store. This wasn’t the first time Lindsey teased her about potentially leaving Piece Together to work for Robidoux Holdings. Lindsey believed Ashiya would take the skills she’d utilized to turn Piece Together and use them for bigger payout working for her family’s larger holding corporation. Ashiya appreciated her friend’s support, but she wasn’t about to deceive herself into thinking she was smart enough to run anything bigger than this store.
She and Lindsey said their goodbyes as they left the store and got into their cars. As always, Ashiya waited until Lindsey had driven off before exiting the parking lot. She made a left and eased into the late afternoon traffic toward the Jackson Falls Country Club for ladies’ night.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure how much fun this would be. She didn’t dislike Elaina, who was remarkably more pleasant now that she’d taken over control of Robidoux Holdings and found happiness with herself and in her love life, but that didn’t mean Ashiya immediately thought of Elaina when she wanted to go out and have fun. Thankfully, India, Elaina’s younger sister, was going to be there as well. Ashiya refused to turn down any opportunity to hang out with her favorite cousin. Byron’s new wife, Zoe, would also be there. Ashiya liked Zoe well enough and believed she was the reason Elaina had agreed to the night out in the first place.
Ashiya was happy for all her cousins. They’d found love and were living their best lives. She, on the other hand, was single again for the first time since the age of twenty-two. She didn’t know what to do about her relationship status. Well, she knew what and who she wanted, but she’d burned that bridge, and there was no turning back.
She blasted the latest Megan Thee Stallion song on the radio to get her mind right for a night of fun, but her ringing phone interrupted the beat. A number she didn’t recognize popped up on the car’s console. She considered ignoring it, but she’d learned her lesson the hard way about ignoring phone calls. Even from unknown numbers.
Ashiya pressed the button on her steeri
ng wheel to accept the call. “Hello?”
“Hello, I’m trying to reach Ashiya Waters?” a woman’s cool, professional voice asked.
Ashiya rolled her eyes. Telemarketer. Hadn’t she put her number on that list that told them to leave her the hell alone or something? “Sorry, I’m not interested.”
“Ms. Waters, this is Brianna Winters. I was your grandmother Gloria Waters’s personal assistant,” the woman said in a rush before Ashiya could end the call.
Ashiya frowned at the screen. Her Grandmother Gloria? Why would her grandmother’s assistant call her? Ashiya hadn’t had anything to do with her father’s side of the family since they’d disowned him for marrying her mother. Resentment about her mother pursing her father to gain access to her grandmother’s then-growing beauty company went long and deep. Ashiya vividly remembered being eight or nine and overhearing her Grandmother Gloria telling Ashiya’s mother that she wasn’t going to get a red cent of anything that would have gone to her son.
Ashiya kind of understood her grandmother cutting ties after learning the truth behind the reasons her mom pursued her dad. That didn’t stop Ashiya from being hurt when her father’s family didn’t want anything to do with her. She loved her father and knew the estrangement hurt him, too, but she also loved her momma. Ashiya couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be close to someone who hated her mom. As she’d grown, and the animosity festering from her parent’s bad marriage and unresolved issues infected Ashiya’s life in ways that still hindered her.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “Why are you calling me?”
“Because you grandmother died two days ago.” Brianna spoke in a direct manner with only the barest hint of sympathy.
Ashiya sucked in a breath. She squeezed the steering wheel. Every single memory she had of her grandmother involved her telling her dad he never should have married that raggedy whore in the first place whenever they visited. Eventually the visits stopped. That didn’t mean Ashiya had wished her dead.
Blind Date with the Spare Heir Page 17
