Laughing, he shook his head. “Is that yes then? You’ll move in with me? Marry me?”
Biting my lip, I thought of words I once said to him. Words I used to express I was there for him and would never leave. “I’m with you, Truman Drake.”
Placing his hands to my cheeks, he kissed me, and I was so happy I was actually crying. Crying! I couldn’t care less, though. I was going to cry, dammit. I was happy.
“So we’re doing this?” I spoke against his lips, still unable to believe it. “We’re really getting married?”
He was smiling when he pulled away. Pushing his hand into my hair, he studied my eyes. “We are, but there is one thing I want to do first. One thing I need to do, and I want you to come with me.”
He didn’t give me a moment to respond before he turned and opened his side table drawer. He came back with a matching set of plane tickets. He handed them to me and my eyes widened.
“You want to go to South Korea?” I asked, reading the destination on them. This day just kept getting crazier.
He took my hand again. “Yes, but this isn’t just a vacation. I’ve been working with my mom, Lace, and I found out they adopted me from Seoul. I think I’m ready to find my birth mom.”
We were engaged. We were engaged, and we were going to Seoul… to find his birth mother. He said his mom helped him with his plans, but did she know about us getting married?
I swallowed hard. “Does your mom know? About us getting married?”
He flashed me that heartbreaker grin. The one that always managed to make my heart whole. “Who do you think helped me make your ring?”
Epilogue
Lacey
Drake shut the door of his red Jaguar after I stepped out. I was glad he got it back. It was awfully nice not having to borrow other peoples’ cars or take cabs anyone. He even offered to buy me one now that he’d reclaimed ownership of his personal accounts, but of course I said no. I had my own money and could take care of myself. I got a nice little taste of how he felt when I was trying to push my money on him back in Paris. It was kind of ironic how things turned out.
He came around to me and stretched out his hand for mine. He looked so nice tonight in his dress pants and button down shirt. The outfit reminded me a lot of the one he wore when I met him last year. This one fit this time, though.
I laughed internally at the thought, taking his hand.
“You all ready?” he asked, smiling bright.
I let out a breath, hoping I was. When he told me his mom wanted us over for dinner I was more than shocked. After that, I was nauseous. The last time I was in his home his mother was kicking me out of it. Now, Drake and I were engaged and living down the block from their split-level ranch style home. How things had changed.
I nodded, trying to hide my nervousness, but I couldn’t fool Drake. He kissed my forehead then whispered, “Everything will be fine. I promise.”
He let us into his house with his key and a large woman wearing a sweater and long skirt stood there. She spoke to Drake in Spanish, and she smiled at him.
“Lacey, this is Manuela. My parent’s new housekeeper.”
She shook my hand. She definitely had to keep her wits about her here. That Adele could give a girl a run for her money.
Manuela led us through the house and into the kitchen. Mrs. Drake was there. She had a plum-colored pencil dress on that accentuated her tiny figure and matching purple heels. She was cooking over a pot, a white apron around her waist.
My heart thudded, but I kept moving. Adele was also there, cooking beside her mom in a cute white dress. Our steps must have alerted them both because they turned. I didn’t see Mrs. Drake’s reaction because Adele ran up to me and threw her arms around me.
I laughed. “Hey, hon.”
“Hey.” She pulled back. “You look so good.”
“You too.”
The doorbell rang and Adele’s eyes expanded in excitement. “Eek! That’s Pete. I’m going to go let him in.”
Manuela followed behind her when she left.
Drake’s jaw worked, and he pointed behind with this thumb. “You let her invite her boyfriend,” he said to his mom.
I tried to keep myself from snickering. He was so protective of her.
Mrs. Drake shook her head, giving him a hug. “Be nice, Truman.”
He kissed her cheek. “I will if he keeps his hands to himself.”
She pulled back and looked at me, but her beautiful face wasn’t frowning this time. It held a light smile.
“Lace,” Drake put his hand behind my back, pushing me forward, “you know Mom. Mom, Lacey.”
Not knowing what else to do, I opted for a small wave. It turned out that was okay because she did the same.
She faced Drake. “Truman, your father wants to see you in the study before dinner. Why don’t you go ahead? Hurry now, we’re starting soon.”
Drake wasn’t looking too happy about that, but he said all right. He looked down at me, asking a silent, “Are you going to be okay?” with his eyes.
I nodded, though I felt the opposite, and I was left with Mrs. Drake.
“Lacey, would you like to help me?” she asked, gesturing to the stove.
“I’d like that.”
I followed her to the pots she was cooking in. She got right back to work, and I assisted her, handing her the appropriate spices as she asked for them.
“I hear you were in an opera in Paris,” she said out of nowhere, stirring a white soup.
“Yes, ma’am. I was.”
She tilted her head at me. “You can call me Madeline, Lacey. You don’t work here anymore,” she said, though she smiled.
“Of course. Right.” This was going well already.
She went back to her pot. “What are your plans now that you’re here? Oh, can you hand me the paprika?”
I did. “I actually have an audition for a show at the theater downtown.”
She looked pleasantly surprised by that. “I wish you well. You must let me know when it debuts. We have season tickets there.”
I went shy, gazing away. “Hopefully I get it.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Her words sounded genuine.
We worked together at the stovetop for a few moments longer before she wiped her hands on a dishtowel, and then moved to untie her apron. “Would you join me at the bar, Lacey?”
I went with her and took a barstool alongside her. I didn’t know what this was about so I was a bit anxious.
She laid her apron down on the bar then clasped her hands together. “I feel I owe you way more than an apology, Lacey.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. This powerful woman was apologizing… to me.
“It took losing my son for me to realize I failed him. Failed him in so many ways for so long that the damage was nearly beyond repair. I know it will take a long time for us to get to where we need to be, but I can start with you. I thought I knew what was right for him, but it turns out what he needed was beyond my sight. You were there for him when I wasn’t. You made him fight for something, an education, goals, and I can’t express my gratitude enough. He’s matured more in a year than he had in the nineteen years I raised him.”
She laughed, and I couldn’t help but laugh too.
“And I only owe that to you.” Turning at the waist, she pushed an envelope my way across the counter. I hadn’t even noticed she had it there.
She gazed at me to open it so I did. Inside were many documents, and I won’t lie, most of it I didn’t understand, but there was one thing I did. On a title line read the words: Baby Drake.
Below that line were the words: Date of Birth. Next to that, there was a single date, and this date I knew very well.
It was the day of my accident.
I looked up at her, not understanding.
She slid her hand in mine, and the warmth in her stare moved its way over my heart. “We’ve reserved a space in our family plot for my first grandchild.”
My eyes shifted down to the paper where I read the words once again: Baby Drake.
Her first grandchild… was my child.
She confirmed that with her next words. “The one my son had with my future daughter-in-law.”
Tears touched the paper in my hand. Only then did I become aware that I was crying. As the tears streamed, I found myself in this woman’s arms. I didn’t know if I grabbed her, if she grabbed me, or if it was a combination of both. I had a feeling it was the latter. This woman had been the cause of so much pain for me in the past, but now she was the sole reason why my heart felt just a little more on its way to healing. Felt a little more whole again after my accident.
“Thank you so much,” I said to her.
Pulling back, she placed her hands gently on my cheeks. There were tears in her eyes as well. “If you ever need to talk, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ve been there, sweetheart. I’ve been there.”
Drake
Though I knew this reunion was inevitable, I still wasn’t ready to do it. I didn’t have a choice so I made my way to my father’s study to get it over with. Mom said dinner would be ready soon so neither one of us would have to interact long.
When I opened the door, my father was sitting at his desk, thumbing through documents. The déjà vu of the whole scene was crazy. That’s exactly what he was doing the last time I was in here.
I stepped into the room, and he gazed up from behind his spectacles.
He placed them at the top of his salt and pepper hair. “You’re back.”
He was very observant. “I am. You asked to see me.”
Pushing himself up from his chair, he went to his filing cabinet. Once he found what he was looking for, he crossed the distance of the room to me. In his hands was a folder.
God, this really was déjà vu.
He handed it to me and stepped back so I could read it.
I popped it open and didn’t really know what I was looking at. It looked like a contract of some kind. Like the stuff I used to draw on with crayon when I was younger, and he’d yell at me for getting into his things. “What exactly is this?”
“Your mother told me about the financial trouble Lacey’s father is in.”
My eyebrows went up. “Yeah?”
“I’ve taken the liberty of taking care of it. The people he owed have been paid. His debt is clear.”
Okay. Now I was really confused. Did mom set him up to this? “Did mom ask you to do this?”
“No.”
“Then why are you?”
He went back to his desk, pushing in his chair. “Well, Lacey is about to be married into the family. Don’t want a scandal on our hands, do we?”
I shook my head. Same old Father.
He lifted some papers and put his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. I thought he was done with me so I turned to leave.
“By the way, I heard you were reenrolling in school. Your mother told me UIC.”
I stopped but didn’t turn around. And here it goes... I was now about to be lectured about how a state school wasn’t the way to go for a formal education, along with ridicule for why I wasn’t going to his alma mater. “I am.”
“I’ve taken care of that too, and congratulations.”
I turned my head, but he didn’t look at me. Silently, I left the way I came. I think, in his own way, that was his form of an olive branch.
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Lacey and Drake’s story concludes in DRAKE’S DESTINY, a novella to The Dividing Line!
NOW AVAILABLE
Blurb:
His destiny rests in Seoul…
Drake has been through a lot with his fiancée, Lacey, but the biggest obstacle has yet to come.
His journey into adulthood has been one constant struggle due to doors left open from his past. By definition, Drake was adopted into a good home, one of opulence and opportunity. But he wonders about his former life, and the country he was forced to leave behind.
In search of closure, Drake heads to his home country of South Korea with Lacey by his side. He hopes seeking out his birth mother will give him peace, help him on his way to healing, before he begins his new life with his fiancée.
Told from the voice of Lacey, DRAKE’S DESTINY is the story of one man’s search for identity as seen through the eyes of the woman who loves him.
Acknowledgements
Thank you so much to my wonderful friends and family. This story was emotional and their support allowed me to finish. I had such great friends and colleagues work with me on this book, and of course, I have to give them a shout out. Laverne Thompson you are truly a gem. You get this. This niche. This category. I’ve learned so much from you in a short amount of time and can’t wait to learn more. Thank you Ms. Andrea for your hard work on this. Having a great beta reader is crucial, and I was so glad to have you work on this. Thanks Faith for looking at yet another project for me. You rock! Another thank you to my editor Taylor. You’re a fabulous editor and extremely gifted. Can’t wait until the next project with you! And I always name him last, but he is never least. My husband. Good God if I did not have you I don’t know what I’d do. You took on a lot to help me with this project both creative and the logistics of it. I don’t tell you enough how much you help and how great you are. So now the world knows. You’re amazing! Thanks love. <3
About the Author
Victoria H. Smith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She puts it to good use writing romance all day. She resides in the Midwest with her Macbook on her lap and a cornfield to her right. She often draws inspiration for her stories from her own life experiences, and the twenty-something characters she writes give her an earful about it.
In her free time, she enjoys extreme couponing, reading, watching Scandal, and general geekery in the form of Sherlock and DC Comics. She’s a bestselling author and the 2014 Swirl Award winner for Best New Adult Romance. She writes both new adult and adult fiction in many genres, but mainly focuses in contemporary interracial and multicultural romances.
Links:
Blog: http://www.authorvictoriahsmith.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaHSmith
Twitter: VictoriaSmith76
Email: [email protected]
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Other books by Victoria H. Smith
NEW ADULT MULTICULTURAL ROMANCES:
The Space Between
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The Dividing Line (The Space Between 2)
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Drake’s Destiny (The Space Between 2.5)
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Only Love
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NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE:
Holiday Fling (Christmas Novelette)
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NEW ADULT SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCES:
The Crimson Hunt (Eldaen Light Chronicles 1)
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The Bringer’s Quest (Eldaen Light Chronicles 2)
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Incandescence (Eldaen Light Chronicles 2.5)
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Battle for Elda (Eldaen Light Chronicles 3)
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