by Reese Ryan
“Thanks,” Darius said finally, unlocking the cargo gate and lifting it. The two of them put the luggage inside the truck.
On the drive to the home he’d purchased for them in Brentwood, he let the two of them chatter on about their three-week excursion. And he politely answered their questions about Thr3d’s runway show.
Once he’d gotten them home and lugged their bags inside, he shoved his hand in his pocket and leaned against the wall. “I need to talk to you about something.”
His mother nodded sadly as she and Will exchanged looks. “We thought as much.”
“Let’s have a seat.” Will gestured toward the living room where Darius sat in the chair across from his parents. “All right, Darius. What’s on your mind, son?”
He sucked in a deep breath. “I know who my biological father is.”
“That can’t be.” His mother’s eyes were filled with confusion. Will squeezed her hand and it seemed to calm her.
“I was summoned to Royal, Texas, by Miranda Dupree—Buckley Blackwood’s ex-wife. He died a few months ago, and he charged her with finding me and telling me the truth about my paternity.”
“That gutless bastard,” his mother muttered. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. “All these years, he made us promise never to tell you and then he goes and pulls this stunt on his deathbed. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d shoot him myself.”
“Liberty, I know you’re upset, but it’s probably best not to go saying you’d shoot the boy’s father,” Will said calmly.
“It was a cowardly move,” his mother insisted, rising to her feet. “He could’ve had the decency to warn us he was going to pull this stunt. But as usual, he didn’t give a damn about anyone but himself.”
“That’s not exactly true,” Will, ever the voice of reason, countered. “He did provide for the boy. Made sure he was able to go to the best schools and had all of the necessities.”
“The necessities a boy needs include the love, support and discipline of his father. Buckley Blackwood never provided any of that, Will. You did.”
The truth of his mother’s statement hit Darius hard. Will Pratt was a good man. He’d cared for Darius and loved him like he’d been his own flesh and blood. And all Darius had been able to see was that they’d lied to him.
He’d never asked himself why.
“Kellan Blackwood, my half brother, said that Buck may have tied some sort of nondisclosure to his financial support. Is that true?”
“You talked to one of Buck’s sons?” His mother stopped pacing and stared at him in disbelief. “I mean, they were willing to talk to you? Despite...” Her words trailed off and she lowered her gaze.
“Despite the fact that you had an affair with their father while he was married to their mother?” He said the words without malice. “Yes. I was surprised about that, too.”
His mother sat on the coffee table in front of him and pushed up her sleeves. “I didn’t know he was married at the time. Not until afterward.”
Darius raised a brow. “You honestly didn’t know?”
“I swear to you, sweetheart. I didn’t. I know I made a lot of bad choices back then, but believe me, even at my lowest, I thought far too highly of myself to willingly become anyone’s side chick.”
Now that did sound like his mother. She was in her late fifties and still turning heads.
“It wasn’t until I told him I was pregnant that he admitted he was married. He offered...” She lowered her gaze to her clasped hands and sighed. “He knew that if his wife learned he’d fathered a child with someone else, she would’ve divorced him—and taken him to the cleaners. So when I was insistent that I wanted to raise you, he promised to take care of you financially as long as—”
“As long as you never revealed his identity to me.”
“Or to anyone,” she confirmed. “But then Will came into our lives when you were still quite young. He adored you, and when we got serious, I insisted on telling Will the truth.” She reached back for her husband and he squeezed her hand. “But we’ve never told another soul...not even you, for fear he’d stop providing support or perhaps even take legal action.”
Darius walked over to the window and stared out onto the manicured lawn. So many emotions weighed on his chest, he could barely breathe.
“Sweetheart, please say something.” Liberty walked over to him.
“Like what, Ma? What am I supposed to say? That it sucks to know I was Buckley Blackwood’s unwanted bastard child? That this explains why I felt like I never really belonged anywhere?”
“How can you say you were unwanted?” She cradled his cheek. “I knew I was risking my career by taking time off to have a baby, especially as a single mother. But I didn’t care, because from the moment I learned of you, you were mine, and I loved you more than anything else in the world. And think of Will.” She dropped her hand from his cheek as they both turned to look at the man seated behind her. “Sometimes, I think he fell for you before he fell in love with me.”
His mother and Will both chuckled.
“He had no obligation to you, Darius. Will chose to be your father. He even gave you his name. Does that sound like a man who didn’t want you?”
“No.” Darius sighed, rubbing his jaw. “It doesn’t. And it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot these past few weeks. When you first told me Will wasn’t my biological father, I was furious because a part of me believed that if you’d lied about Will being my dad, maybe you’d lied about my real father not wanting to be part of my life. And when you wouldn’t even tell me who he was...” Darius shrugged. “I was bitter, angry and immature, and then I held a grudge against you both. Neither of you deserved that. I’m sorry. I realize now that you were both just trying to do right by me.”
His mother hugged him tightly. Her tears wet his shirt. Will came over and hugged them both.
Suddenly, it felt as if he could breathe more easily. He couldn’t regain the time they’d lost to his bitter grudge against his parents. The missed birthdays and anniversaries. But he could do right by them both going forward, just as they’d tried to do for him.
“Enough with the hug fest,” Darius said, his own vision clouded. “There’s a lot I need to catch the two of you up on.”
Will grinned. “Let me put on a pot of coffee and you can tell us all about it.”
Darius sat with his parents and explained that Buck had left all of his children out of the will, and that Sophie and Kellan had asked them to join them in contesting it. But that it would destroy his chances of working with Miranda’s Goddess brand. Then he told them all about Audra and his time with her in Royal.
“I can’t wait to meet this young lady.” His mother beamed, sipping her coffee.
“And I can’t wait for you to meet her,” he said.
His phone rang. Stasia.
He excused himself to take the call.
Three international buyers wanted to place swimsuit orders if they could get an expedited delivery date.
Darius hadn’t planned to go into the office today. Instead, he’d planned to return home and tell Audra everything right away.
But that conversation with Audra would have to wait a few hours longer.
“Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Wi—Dad, but we’ve got an emergency at the office. But I’ll be in touch to make arrangements for you to meet Audra.”
Will nodded, his eyes glossy. He’d obviously been moved by Darius calling him Dad for the first time since he’d learned the truth.
He hugged the man who’d taught him how to ride a bike. How to hit a baseball. How to be a responsible, loving man.
Then he went to the Range Rover and headed into the office. As soon as he’d resolved the issue at hand, he’d sit down with Audra and tell her the truth.
Twenty-One
Audra returned to Darius’s house a
fter an appointment with a real estate agent. The agent had showed her three available spaces. There was a newly vacant shop in Beverly Hills, a soon-to-be-available boutique at the Beverly Center and an office building in Pasadena that she could remodel to fit her specific needs. The Beverly Hills space had the right address for her upscale jewelry business, but the space in Pasadena was tempting because she could design it any way she wanted. And yes, maybe there was the additional lure of it being close to Darius’s house.
She sat down to review her notes on each space, but her phone rang.
Cash.
He hadn’t contacted her again since their chat at the Glass House in Royal. And since she’d threatened to never tell her mother anything again if she couldn’t keep from blabbing her whereabouts to Cash, she doubted he was in Los Angeles looking for her.
This time, she wasn’t going to ignore his call. Nor would she spare his feelings.
“Cash, why are you calling me?”
“You said we were still friends, right?” His voice sounded strange. “So I’m calling you as a friend.”
She drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Well, you’ve caught me at a bad time. I’m working on something right now.”
“In Los Angeles?”
Her cheeks flamed with heat. “So what, you’re a stalker now, Cash?”
He laughed bitterly. “Hardly. I saw you in the fashion section of the local paper. I can’t imagine your parents are too thrilled about you strutting down the runway in a bathing suit and making out with the designer at a rooftop bar.”
“The photos are in the paper back in Dallas?” Now her face and neck really stung with heat.
It was a wonder her mother hadn’t already called her in a panic with her usual speech about “behavior befitting a Covington.”
“Thank you for the heads-up, Cash. I had no idea about the photos.” Audra paced the floor. “I’d better call my mother before she hears it from someone else.”
“Of all the women I’ve known, I always thought you were the one that never judged a man by the size of his bank account.”
“I don’t.” Audra stopped her pacing and frowned. “You’ve known me most of my life, Cash. So why would you suddenly believe I’ve changed? I told you that Darius and I have known each other since grad school. Back when he had nothing but a dream and determination.”
“So your newfound relationship with the guy has nothing to do with him being on the verge of inheriting millions?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“C’mon, Audra. Are you really going to tell me you had no idea that Darius Taylor-Pratt is the long-lost, secret heir of the late Buckley Blackwood? The half brother of your client, Sophie Blackwood?”
“No.” Audra shook her head as she dropped into the closest chair, her knees suddenly giving way. “That’s not possible. Darius or Sophie...one of them would’ve told me, if that were true.”
“If you honestly didn’t know, I guess neither of them is quite the friend you believed them to be,” Cash said coolly.
“How sure are you about this?”
“DNA test sure.” There was a bitter edge to his voice.
“And how would you know this?” The line went silent. “Cash, how do you know?” she demanded.
“I needed to know who this guy was. That he wasn’t some user who’d only come back into your life because he needed something from you,” he said. “I was only trying to protect you.”
“By snooping into my life and the lives of my friends? I never asked you to do any of that.”
“I thought I owed it to your parents to—”
“Oh, I get it. This isn’t about me at all. If you can’t become his son-in-law, you’re going to try to impress my father by ‘rescuing’ me from a man you believe unworthy of James Covington’s daughter.”
“I resent the implication that I’m doing this for selfish reasons.”
“I resent the fact that you’re meddling in my business. I don’t need or want your help. If you call me again, I’ll tell my father, the police and the local newspapers that you’ve been stalking me and otherwise showing poor judgment by bribing hospital employees.”
It was a guess, but it made sense. Who else could give Cash a peek at the results of a DNA test?
“Audra, I’m sorry for implying that you were after Darius for his family’s fortune. But if he really didn’t tell you why he came to town...well, it’s obvious you can’t trust anything this guy says. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Call me again, Cash, and it’ll be the end of your political career. You won’t be able to get elected as dog catcher.”
Audra ended the call and turned her phone off, dropping it onto the sofa beside her.
He lied to me again?
Her head felt light and there was a knot in her gut. She needed to talk to Darius. But she wanted to look him in the eyes when she did.
Audra wiped angrily at the tears that slid down her cheeks.
She needed a good long swim, a hot bath and a bottle of wine. Then, when Darius got home, the two of them were going to talk.
* * *
Darius returned to the house as quickly as he could. When he stepped inside, he was thrilled to see Audra, but she didn’t look nearly as happy to see him. She sat at the kitchen island clutching a glass of white wine.
“Audra, sweetheart, is something wrong?” His heart suddenly beat harder.
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
She put the glass down, staring at him. “Is it true that you’re Buckley Blackwood’s son? That Sophie Blackwood is your younger sister? That the two of you conspired to get us back together? Was that why she hired me in the first place?”
“No! I mean, yes I am a Blackwood. But I swear to you, the first I learned of it was the day I landed in town. About an hour before you saw me at the diner. That’s why I was there eating my comfort meal. I was devastated, confused... I didn’t know what to think or if I could trust what I’d been told.”
Her eyes were wet with tears. She wiped at them angrily, not allowing the tears to fall.
“So you lied to me. Again.” Her voice quivered.
The pain in her voice broke his heart. He’d let her down. Again.
“I didn’t lie to you, Audra. I did go to Royal to do business with Miranda. But after I arrived, I learned that her real reason for bringing me there was to tell me that Buckley Blackwood, a man I’d never met, was my biological father.”
“So you didn’t lie about being a Blackwood the same way you didn’t lie to me about your parents?” she asked incredulously, her arms folded.
“I deserved that.” Darius ran a hand over his freshly shaved head and sighed. “But I swear to you, Audra, I planned to tell you everything just as soon as I could.”
“When did you know for sure you were Blackwood’s son?”
“I got the DNA test results the day we got paired up to volunteer at the TCC clubhouse.”
“So you knew before we slept together.” The pain in her eyes at the realization broke his heart. Because he’d hurt her again, even if he hadn’t meant to.
“I did. But I couldn’t say anything. Not until my parents got back in town, and I could talk to them face-to-face. I needed them to hear it from me first. I couldn’t let them learn about it in the newspaper or on the cover of some magazine. They’ve been in Europe for the past three weeks.”
She rolled her eyes. “Wow, that’s convenient.”
“It also happens to be true. I picked them up from the airport and told them this morning. I was going to rush back here to talk to you, but Stasia called me with a crisis at the office. As soon as we resolved it, I came right back here to tell you everything, I swear.”
“I honestly don’t know what to believe anymore, Darius.” Audra hopped do
wn from the bar stool. “Even if all that were true, it doesn’t explain Sophie hiring me and pretending she didn’t know my ex was her brother. Nor does it explain us ending up renting the houses next door to each other. There are just far too many coincidences here.” She turned and walked toward the steps. “I may be gullible, but I’m not stupid.”
“Audra!” He followed her up to his bedroom where she’d already pulled out her luggage and started to pack.
“I asked Sophie and Kellan not to tell anyone until I could tell my parents in person. That’s why Sophie didn’t tell you we were siblings.”
“But she definitely knew. That’s why she tried so hard to get us back together.”
“Please don’t be angry with Sophie. She was only trying to respect my wishes and give me a chance to work all of this out.”
Audra picked up the cutout peep-toe heels she’d been wearing when she’d showed up at his office and stuffed them into her suitcase.
“It’s been killing me to keep this from you, but I had to protect my parents. I couldn’t allow them to be blindsided by this the way they were by that article three years ago.”
She continued to pack in silence, her cheeks and forehead flushed.
“Audra, sweetheart, you have to believe me.” He lifted her chin gently, but she still wouldn’t meet his gaze. “This is what I meant the other day when I said there was a lot we needed to talk about.”
“So this is my fault because I didn’t want to talk that night?” She pulled out of his grasp, suddenly indignant.
“No, of course not. How could you have known...” He rubbed the back of his neck, the realization suddenly dawning on him. “Wait...how did you know?”
“My ex called me this morning to accuse me of choosing you over him because you’re a Blackwood.” She held up a hand. “And yes, I’m pretty sure he did something either illegal or just plain shady as fuck to find out. But the point is, once again you’ve made a complete fool out of me, Darius. Because I believed in you. And I love you. But I don’t know which is worse. That I’m not sure if I can trust you or that I know you don’t trust me.”
