Sienna lightly shrugged. “I made it through. My grandmother named me the beneficiary of her life insurance, but my mother felt it should’ve been hers. To keep the peace, I gave her a portion of the money and set to use the rest to pay for college. All was good for a while. I went off to school, met Faith and Bailey at freshman orientation, and we became friends from that day.” She sniffled and retrieved another tissue from the sidebar, then continued. “At Parents’ Day, my mother came, and so did Bailey’s parents. Faith’s father and stepmother were in Bali. They sent a guy down to deliver her a lemon-yellow, convertible Mustang. Freshmen couldn’t get parking decals on campus their first year, but somehow Faith got one. Bailey’s parents brought her a care package of everything you could imagine.” Reminiscing, Sienna laughed softly. “Toiletries, heating blankets, snow boots, and a large box full of ready-to-eat can goods. We had Campbell’s Chunky variety the entire semester.” She sniffled and laughed lightly again, saying, “You would’ve thought Bailey was attending school in Antarctica and wouldn’t have access to rations for months on end.
“My mother didn’t bring anything, but I didn’t care. I was just ecstatic that she showed up. She looked good, too. Not all strung out like she usually looked. History should’ve taught me to know better, though. She didn’t come to see me. She came to ask me for more money. I’d given her thirty K in May. It was October, and she was broke. She claimed the guy she was with stole her bank card and cleaned out her account before he ran off. I’m sure she’d blown a good chunk of it on drugs. Who knows.”
Damn. “Did you give her more money?” Lucas was immensely rapt in Sienna’s life story. Now he understood why she was such a direct and strong-minded individual. She had to be in order to withstand her difficult upbringing and a pathetic mother.
“I was set to give her all of it, which meant I would leave school, return home, and find work because I knew that my mother would either run through it all or simply disappear. Either way, I would’ve needed to take care of myself. She wasn’t big on sharing. At least I wouldn’t have felt guilty anymore. The money should’ve been hers.”
“On the contrary, it sounds like your grandmother was a smart woman. She made the right call in assigning it to you.”
“Bailey convinced me not to turn the money over to my mother. I fought her at first. I told her she didn’t understand, that she’d grown up with parents who loved and cared about her. I had my grandmother, thank God, until she died, but my mother ...” Her eyes misted. “Though she was a piss-poor excuse for a mother, I felt obligated to her. Still do.”
Lucas gave her a disagreeable look and she shrugged.
“I know that sounds crazy, but it’s how I feel. Anyway, Bailey said something that struck a chord with me: If you educate a man, you educate a man. If you educate a woman, you educate a generation. I believe she said it’s by Brigham Young.” Sienna smiled faintly. “She’s always quoting something or another.”
“She does.” Lucas grinned as the sing-song siren of Bailey’s voice feathered across his mind.
“Bailey told me point blank, ‘Break the cycle, Sienna. You can help your mother by completing your education. You don’t want to end up like her. Power within, not power over.’ Bailey was right.”
“I would agree.” She met his eyes and nodded to his nod.
“Bailey was also the one who got us both jobs at Nuagé so she could help me, help my mother. I stayed in school, used the life insurance money for my education and living expenses. The money I make at Nuagé, I send to a PO box for my mother. I assume she checks it. I haven’t heard from her. That’s usually confirmation.
“Bailey insisted on giving me half of her paycheck from Nuagé to add to what I send each month. This way, I don’t cut into the other funds and my mom won’t hound me—bleed me dry. Secretly, I was putting Bailey’s portion in the bank for her to have for a rainy day. She found out and wasn’t happy, but with all the repairs recently with her car, it came in handy.”
Thinking of Bailey, recalling the hurt and betrayal he witnessed in her eyes upon learning what he’d done, Lucas’s chest twisted tight. He released a subtle breath to tamp down the ache. “I have to say you’re very generous to your mother, considering.”
“I have enough to live on. With my docent job and what’s remaining from the other funds, I’m good.” She brought her eyes back to the window. “I went along with you because I really wanted to compete in the art contest. It’s what I’ve wanted for a long time, but it’s tainted now.” Her voice trembled, and more tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m turning it down. I’m going to give my award to the second runner up.”
“Like hell you are.” Looking at her, Lucas sat forward with his elbows on his knees. “I admit that my entering you in the competition was for my self-interest, but you won it, Sienna. Your work is outstanding. Don’t allow my selfish actions to take away your dream. Bailey may be upset with the both of us right now, but she loves you and wouldn’t want to see you deny yourself this opportunity to further your art career. Sienna, are we clear?” He stared at her until she nodded.
The limo parked in front of the apartment building. Isaac assisted Sienna out, and Lucas followed her up the walk. Sienna retrieved her key from her purse and was about to unlock her door, but they both abruptly turned around at hearing Kevin’s door open across the hall.
“She’s not inside.” Kevin stood within the doorframe of his apartment delivering a smug grin to Lucas.
“Is Bailey with you?” Lucas took a wide step, ready to barrel through Kevin to get inside the man’s place.
Kevin revved up sharply. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going? Back the fuck up!”
“Is she with you? Bailey?” Lucas called out to her and glowered at Kevin when he got no response. “Where is she?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” A taunting grin. “I suggest you go find yourself another plaything to occupy yourself. You’ve done enough damage to these ladies.”
“Kevin, is Bailey with you?” Sienna asked, on the verge of more tears. “Please, I need to talk to her.”
Kevin shifted his eyes to her, and they softened. “No, Sie, she’s not inside.”
“Where is she?” Sienna cried.
“You were with her!” Lucas bellowed, his fury near its breaking point. “You know where she is!”
“Yes, and you don’t.” A cocky satisfied grin. He reached inside his apartment and brought out a Tiffany box. “She asked that I FedEx this to you, but since you’re here—” Lucas snatched the box from his grip, brows pinched tight. “Your Amex and key are tucked inside. Go exploit some other woman.” Kevin tacked on a snide laugh. “You thought your expensive gifts, your money, and power would keep her? I guess you can chalk that up to your arrogance. Bailey may have been impressed by it at first, but she came to her senses tonight, saw your true colors.”
Fury churned and simmered in the pit of Lucas’s gut. His eyes narrowed as he took a threatening step forward and was met in the middle of the hall. “You don’t want to start this dance, my man,” he warned. “Tell me where she is now!” His head pivoted to Isaac heading toward them to intervene. Turning back to the asshole in front of him, he gritted, “Where is she?”
“I suggest you have your man servant there take your ass on home,” Kevin sneered.
Lucas took note of Isaac’s right hand buried inside his suit coat, undoubtedly clutching the butt of the revolver he kept holstered beneath his left arm. He waved Isaac off, but Isaac hesitated as his intense gaze stayed laser marked on Kevin. Dark eyes shifted to Lucas. Reading the subtle head shake, Isaac pivoted and resumed his position by the car. Then, Lucas came in tight to Kevin, his voice dropping to a grating snarl. “You’re going to tell me where Bailey is.”
“You had better get the fuck out my face! I won’t say it again!”
“Guys, stop it! I can’t take this shit right now!” Sienna yelled through tears.
Lucas clenched his jaws, conveying
a harsh grin. “Tell me something, Kevin. How long have you been in love with Bailey knowing she won’t ever have you? It must be difficult for you.”
“I could ask you the same question. I’m not the one trying to find her. I, on the other hand, know where she is,” Kevin shot back. “You don’t deserve a woman like Bailey. And as I held her in my arms tonight, I helped her see that she needed to be rid of you. When she returns, my arms will be the ones she come back to, not yours. You’ll never have her ... my man,” he mocked, triumph conveyed in the wide stretch of his stance.
Lucas smiled tight. “See, now that’s where you’re wrong.” He came in close near the bastard’s ear and whispered, “You may fuck her in your fantasy. I, on the other hand ...” Stepping back, he smiled in his success of having hit his target dead center. Kevin’s face had twisted and screwed down tight with the clarity of those words reflecting in his eyes. The man’s sinister glare was so blistering hot, Lucas felt it could have burned a hole straight through his skull.
He was given a millisecond to act. A tightly clubbed right fist aimed high came at him, which Lucas blocked with his left—the hand that still held the Tiffany box. A right jab met Kevin in the gut, followed by a blow to his left temple in quick succession, sending the chump barreling into his apartment door, landing across the threshold.
“Kevin!” Sienna shrieked and rushed over to him. She dropped to her knees, quickly checked his pulse, and lightly slapped his cheeks. “Kevin, are you all right?” His eyes were glassy. She checked his pulse again, then looked up at Lucas. He was pacing back and forth, trying to calm his rage. “Lucas, what the hell!”
“Sienna—”
“You should go.” She lifted Kevin’s head to her lap. He was slowly coming around. Looking up again, she urged, “Lucas, leave now.”
“Please call me if you hear from her.” Lucas walked back to his limo where Isaac stood, having witnessed the entire ugly scene. His expression stoic as usual, Isaac opened the car door, and asked, “Where to, boss?”
“Home.” Before Lucas climbed in, Isaac muttered low, “He got what was coming to him.” The comment surprised him. Isaac was always all business when on duty. That sounded personal. That stupid man servant comment must have hit a nerve.
Kevin was lucky Isaac hadn’t intervened. The man was ex special forces. Five years ago, Isaac had taken the job as driver and security guard because he’d said he looked forward to the ease of it, and that looking after the safety of one would be a cakewalk compared to his previous assignments that sometimes involved watching over thousands in a hostile region.
Lucas shut himself inside the car. He’d done yet another thing that would cause Bailey to despise him even more when she found out.
He loosened his bowtie and rested his pounding head back against the seat. What the hell is wrong with me? Isaac was right about that asshole, but still, things had spun out of control. He was turning into a madman, surprised by his lack of restraint. And the words that came out of his mouth and set the whole thing in motion were despicable. What had she turned him into, a raving lunatic? The ring of his cell phone in his pocket had him jolting upright, pulling out of his mental chaos. He took it out, read the display, and let out the anxious breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in for who knows how long. Taking the call, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, closed his eyes, and put the phone to his ear. “Bailey, love, I’m so glad you called,” he said softly.
“I’m only calling out of respect to you, unlike you toward me. This thing between us was nothing but a game to you. I guess you got what you wanted.”
“It’s not like that at all, and I do respect you. Where are you? Let me come to you. If we could talk about this, not over the phone, face to face where I could also show you how I feel about you.”
“Are you kidding me! You have the nerve to suggest sex as a way to fix everything.”
“No. I meant that if we’re together, I could hold you in my arms, and we could discuss this rationally without anyone else but us. You’ll see that this is all simply a misunderstanding.”
“Manipulating my friend, paying her to deceive me in order to sleep with me, you see that as a misunderstanding? And that whole thing with Faith—”
“I didn’t touch Faith, damn it! Didn’t she tell you that?” he yelled and heard her gasp sharply at his outburst.
“I took a chance here with you, Lucas.” She cried and sniffled through her words, “I can’t trust—”
“Don’t say it! I messed up, I know that, but don’t say you can’t trust me.” Lucas leaned his aching forehead into his left palm. “Our relationship, the rules, I’m learning here, Bailey. We can work through this.”
“What relationship? I was merely a conquest for you.”
“Not true.”
“This is too much for me. You’re too much. I need time to think. Kevin suggested that—”
“Don’t bring his fucking name up in this!” Lucas roared and heard her gasp again and cry out. He took a breath and tried to level his tone. “He’s the reason you’re not thinking about this rationally. He’s manipulating you now. Can’t you see that?”
“I do feel I need space, Lucas. Right now, I just don’t see us working out if—”
Lucas hitched an anxious breath. “What are you saying, Bailey? One error in judgment and you’re out?” His eyes watered, stunned that she would so easily end it. “It’s that simple for you?” He suddenly felt sick. “I get it.”
“Lucas,” she sobbed. “I’m—”
He interjected again. “I’ve never had a purely monogamous relationship, never felt it was worth the aggravation. My conjecture was right.” Pressing his thumb and fingers at his closed lids, he swallowed hard to lessen the ache in his throat. “I took a chance, too, Bailey. Hope Kevin gives you what you believe I couldn’t. Have a nice life.” He hit End on his phone.
“Boss, there’s a car parked at the gate,” Isaac said over the intercom as he pulled onto the cobblestone driveway and came to a stop behind the tan Mercedes.
Lucas stepped out of the limo to see Sandra exiting her car. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! He hadn’t a modicum of patience left to deal with her.
“Sandra, what are you doing here?” When he made no attempt to go to her, she walked over to him and cut a dirty look at Isaac when he remained standing outside of the car. Lucas thought of Bailey and how pleasant she’d been to Isaac.
“Luke, I—”
“That’s not my damn name.” He glowered, and she tensed, then smiled faintly with a nod. “Lucas,” she stressed, “I want to apologize to you for my behavior earlier. You know me.” Her chortle grated his stressed nerves like sandpaper. “I sometimes have a quick trigger.” She glanced back at the house. “How about we go inside and have a glass of wine ... talk.” A light palm came to rest at the center of his chest, and she stepped in close. “I know it was Shelly who told you that I was only using you when we were together. She called herself my friend, yet she told you lies about me because she wanted to be with you. It wasn’t true. I cared deeply for you, still care for you. Shelly sought and succeeded in coming between us. As for Bailey, she could never be the woman you need. But I can.”
Still reeling from his last words spoken to Bailey, Lucas removed her hand and took in a slow breath through his nostrils to hold on to his calm.
“Sandra, go home.” Those were his only words to her before he got back into his car. Isaac climbed in, maneuvered the limo around the Mercedes, pressed in the code to open the gates, pulled through, and the gates closed behind them.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Bailey stood on the side of the road waiting for her dad to show up. She should never have driven his truck in the first place. A typical twenty-minute round trip to the grocer for dinner rolls and milk had turned into a roadside tick-tock.
When her mom asked her to run the errand, she was glad to have something to do. It was her dad who insisted she take his tru
ck instead of her mom’s Subaru, since the truck’s tank was full.
“Geez, Dad, where are you?” She checked her watch for the third time. Forty-five minutes had passed and counting.
At least now her dad was speaking to her again. She’d been home little over a month, and the first week she’d endured the silent treatment from him, followed by grunts in passing during week two, and now full sentences. She could only guess that he assumed that she intended to stay in Darlington. It was likely what brought about his decision to let go of his two-year-long crabbiness over her decision to remain in D.C. following graduation, instead of returning home as she’d promised.
Bailey had quickly realized that she’d outgrown Darlington, but what did she have to go back to in D.C.?
Sandra fired her when she’d phoned asking for a leave of absence to tend to a personal matter. She hadn’t accrued enough hours; therefore, time off was not approved. What’s more, Sandra made clear that if she didn’t show up for work on Monday, not to bother coming back at all.
Joe at Nuagé was much more understanding. He told her she could take as much time as she needed and that her job would always be there. At least I have that, Bailey thought glumly.
Her watch showed another ten minutes had gone by. She glanced up and down the main road that led in and out of Darlington Square. She’d become bored out of her mind within the first week of being home. Nothing had changed. The same faces greeted her from six years ago. Most of the girls she knew from high school were married and had babies. The guys were no different. Many had wed their high school girlfriends.
And they’re all doing a hundred times better than me. At that dismal thought, she peered over her shoulder at her satchel sitting on the passenger seat next to the dinner rolls and soon to be rancid milk that was fermenting in the ninety-degree heat for nearly an hour. The pregnancy test she’d purchased was buried at the bottom of her pack. Lord, help me if I’m pregnant with Lucas’s baby. Fearing the strong possibility, she pressed her palm to her forehead, knowing that she could practically tell time by her cycle, which was exactly four weeks and five days late.
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