by Tina Martin
“Not at all.”
“You just sprung it on her?”
“Yes, and now, this social worker actually thinks we’re getting married which is probably the only reason she’s considering connecting Felicity with her daughter’s foster mother.”
“So, Felicity’s okay with all of this now?”
“No. She’s heated. She stomped away from me and off to her car with her beautiful lil’ self and drove off.”
“I’m confused. What is it that you want me to talk you out of?”
Regal took a breath. “Here’s the deal. I just got off the phone with the investigator. He found out that Felicity’s mother is her daughter’s foster mother.”
“Wait. What?”
“This stays between us, Ramsey. I can’t have Gianna knowing anything about this just yet.”
“About what? I’m still confused here.”
“Felicity’s mother is Dahlia James. Dahlia has had custody of Felicity’s daughter but Felicity has no idea because she’s estranged from both of her parents.”
“What kind of twisted nonsense is this?”
“It’s crazy. I know.”
“When are you going to tell Felicity?”
“I’m not. At least I didn’t plan on it. That’s the part I need you to talk me out of. I don’t want to tell her just yet because I want her to marry me. I set it up beautifully at DHHS. If she marries me, she knows she’ll get custody of Rayne. On the other hand, if she knows her mother has Rayne, then she’s done with me. There will be no need for her to say another word to me.”
“Are you serious right now, Regal?”
“Yes, I am.”
“This is wrong on so many levels.”
“Look—you did what you had to do to get Gianna. I’m doing what I got to do to get my girl.”
Ramsey chuckled slightly. “Boy, how the tables have turned. You pretty much told me I was crazy when I told you about my plans to marry Gianna so soon after I met her and now you’re after Felicity like she’s the last woman on earth.”
“She may as well be. She’s the only one I want.”
“Then I’m going to ask you the same thing you asked me—what’s so urgent? Why do you have to marry her?”
“Because I want her and no one else can have her.”
“Now you understand how I felt about Gianna.”
“Yes. I get it now.”
“It’s a good feeling, ain’t it? It’s madness. I’m still madly in love with Gianna and my baby girl. They’re my world. So, why would I talk you out of your plan with Felicity if you know she’s your one? I’m not one to stand in the way of true love. What I will say is, you have to be very careful how you execute this plan.”
“Tell me about it.” Regal tapped a pencil on his desk. “Well, I’ll let you go. You’re in the office tomorrow right?”
“Yep. I’ll be there.”
Chapter 26
Felicity arrived at the office on time this morning to get work done so she could leave by lunchtime to head to the bakery. She had a lot to talk to Gianna about and couldn’t wait to get out of the office. But first things first. She had to call Tucker. She’d expected to hear from him on Wednesday – Thursday at the latest – but he never called. But she desperately needed to talk to him. If he was any closer to finding Rayne, maybe she could bypass DHHS and Regal’s absurd proposition.
“This is Tucker,” she heard him say through her phone’s speaker.
“Hi, Tucker. It’s Felicity.”
“Felicity, how are you?”
“I would be a whole lot better if the interview would’ve gone a little better on Wednesday.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t think the lady was all that impressed with me, so I was wondering if you were making any progress locating the foster mother. Maybe it would be best if I contacted her directly and worked out some kind of a deal.”
“Uh...well, uh…my advice would be to be patient, take this one step at a time go about this the legal way, you know, through the proper channels.”
“The legal way isn’t working for me. If you know where she is...”
“Unfortunately, I don’t. All I know at this time is that she’s in a foster home somewhere in Charlotte. I’m doing my absolute best to find out more.”
“I know you are. Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome.”
Felicity ended the call and buried her face in her hands. The proposal Regal offered was looking better and better. At this point, she felt trapped like it was her only option.
“Felicity, Brayden Clark is here,” Zandra said, breaking into her thoughts.
She summoned a breath. “Okay, um…”
Zandra looked upon her boss with an eye of suspicion. “What’s going on with you girl?”
“I—I can’t talk about it right now,” she said pulling up Brayden’s information.
“Alrighty, then. I’ll go get Brayden.”
“Thank you.”
“Not a problem.”
When Brayden stepped into her office, he had a smile on his face.
“Mr. Clark, it’s good to see you,” she said standing, then reached to shake his hand.
“You as well, Ms. James.”
“Have a seat,” she told him.
He sat down. The happiness remained.
“What’s going on?” she asked, alternating between looking at him and her computer screen. She’d been so off her game, she had no idea where Brayden was in the process of finding a wife.
“When I first started this process, I wasn’t all that confident you would find the one for me but you have and I’m forever grateful.”
“Wait—” She glanced at her screen. “Sophie is your perfect match?”
“Sophie’s my perfect everything. I sent you an email one day last week. When I didn’t hear from you, I decided to just drop in.”
“That’s good,” Felicity said quickly scanning through her inbox looking for his email. Sure enough, he had sent one. She just didn’t see it.
“When you didn’t respond to my email, I figured you didn’t think I was serious but ever since our last date, Sophie and I haven’t been able to stop seeing each other.”
“That’s...great. You did take my advice, didn’t you? About not jumping into a sexual relationship?”
“Yes. We both agreed we’d wait until we were married. I’m hoping you can arrange the paperwork one day next week.”
Felicity checked her calendar. “How about you both meet me here Monday and we’ll take care of the paperwork?”
“So let me make sure I’m understanding this process. Once we sign the papers, Sophie and I are married?”
“Yes, Sir. When you leave my office, you’ll be husband and wife. If you choose to have a private ceremony with your families that’s completely up to you.”
“Awesome. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to tell Sophie.”
“Hey, before you leave, let me ask you this, Mr. Clark—how did you know she was the one?”
A warm smile came to his face. “Do you see this smile on my face?”
“I do,” Felicity answered.
“She’s the only woman who can keep it there.”
Chapter 27
It was a relief to get out of the office and walk into the comfort of The Boardwalk Bakery, but before she could put her bag down on a table, her phone was ringing.
It was Regal.
“What?” she answered.
“Whoa...is that any way to greet your man, girl?”
“You’re not my man, Regal.”
“I’m ‘bout to be seeing this is your best option right now. But don’t worry—it won’t be so bad having me on your team. I’m a team player.”
“You’re more like an opportunist. You see that I’m in a tough spot so you’re basically cashing in on the situation.”
“My idea is to your advantage. Do you have a better idea?”
“Yeah. Maybe I’ll just g
ive up. Some things aren’t meant to be, and like Ms. Greene said, I gave Rayne up a long time ago. Who’s to say I’m really ready to raise a child alone. She doesn’t think I can do it. You don’t think I can do it. I must’ve been a fool to actually believe I could.”
“Felicity—”
Angry, she hung up the phone. Even when Gianna was heading her way with cupcakes, she didn’t find any comfort. She just talked and rambled on and on, telling Gianna all about Regal’s insane proposition and the reason he had suggested it.
“Basically, he has me backed into a corner,” she said. She angrily chomped into a red velvet cupcake then mumbled, “And you know it just doesn’t help that we kissed.”
“You what!” Gianna said.
“We kissed. Twice, no three times. Maybe four—I don’t know. I lost count. The first time was out in front of the bakery. I’m surprised you didn’t see it.”
“I’m in shock right now. I can’t believe you’ve been doing it up with Regal.”
“Girl, lower your voice. I haven’t been doing anything with Regal.”
“You just said y’all kissed four times.”
Felicity took another cupcake bite. “Yes, but—”
“Nope. No buts. Spill the beans. How was it?”
“How was it?” she asked looking at Gianna sideways. “Did you really just ask me that?”
Gianna laughed. “I did. I’m being bad, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, you’re being bad you lil’ freak. What has Ramsey done to you?”
Gianna was still tickled when she said, “A better question would be what hasn’t he done to me?”
Felicity shook her head. “He definitely brought out a new side of you.”
“He has and now Regal ‘bout to bring it out of you.”
Felicity glared at her friend.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. All kidding aside. This is about you and your little girl and no I’m not going to let you give up, so you may as well get that out of your head. I remember when I was taking care of Gemma—I had plenty of days when I didn’t know if I’d make it or how I would take care of her. Ramsey was a blessing when he came into my life. I don’t know what I would do without my husband. And now, Gemma’s married to Royal and he’s her protector. Her everything. Romulus loves and takes care of Siderra like it’s second nature. Let me just say that St. Claire men love in unconventional ways, and before you get to yelling and neck-snapping, I’m not saying Regal loves you. I’m just saying this proposal of his may not be such a bad idea. Remember the goal is to get your daughter back, and if it were me, I would do that by any means necessary.”
“I just hate being blackmailed into doing anything and Regal seems to enjoy torturing me. Even over the phone, I can hear the haughty tone in his voice.”
“Oh shoot. You’re about to hear and see it in person,” Gianna said looking at the door.
Felicity turned around to see the dynamic duo – Regal and Ramsey – entering the bakery. Her stomach plummeted to her stilettos.
“Gotta go,” Gianna said nearly running up to Ramsey and squeezing him into a tight hug.
Regal took the opportunity to walk over to where Felicity was sitting. On the drive over, he’d made up his mind that he was going to toss out the proposal and proceed with letting Felicity know what Tucker had told him – that Rayne was with her mother. He didn’t want to upset her any further than he already had.
He sat down across from her and crossed one leg over the other. “Hi.”
She looked at him but couldn’t fix her mouth to speak just yet.
“How are you, Felicity?”
“Just cut the small talk, Regal. I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do what?”
“What you proposed. I accept. I want my daughter back, so I’ll do it.”
A part of him, the decent rational side, wanted to tell her it wasn’t necessary – but the other part – the part that wanted Felicity by any means necessary – didn’t want to tell her anything.
“Good,” he responded. “It’s the best thing for Rayne.”
“If you say so.”
“You’ll see.”
Through barely opened lips, she asked, “How do we get this over and done with quickly?”
Brows raised, Regal said, “You’re asking me? You’re the one marrying up folks all around Charlotte and you don’t know how to marry yourself off?”
“I can’t do my own paperwork so we can’t get married the Wedded Bliss way.”
“Then, the courthouse it is.”
“Oh how romantic,” Felicity said with an eye roll. “I can hardly contain my excitement,” she drawled out.
“It won’t be so bad.” He reached across the table and put his hand on top of hers.
Felicity pulled her hand back to which he got a kick out of.
“I’m glad you find humor in this,” she said.
“Rest assured, I don’t. I’m helping you though you don’t see it that way just yet.”
“Yeah, well just so you’re aware, I’m only doing this to get my daughter back, so you can keep your hands to yourself.”
“What about my lips? You seem to enjoy those.”
Felicity narrowed her eyes to slits.
“Felicity stop being so uptight. I know you like me. The kisses we’ve shared are very telling. They tell me you’re ready to love again, but you are afraid of getting hurt and being abandoned – things I would never do to you. Just trust me.”
Felicity bit her tongue not knowing how to respond. She took a sip of coffee instead.
“We’ll meet at the courthouse on Monday. Before then, I would suggest that you talk to your mother.”
“Why?”
If she only knew…
He was trying to give her an out. Whether she took it was entirely up to her. “You don’t think she would want to know that her only daughter is getting married?”
“Not really.”
“Whatever the case, I still think you should call her. I know how hard it can be to reestablish relationships that have fallen apart, so I sent her flowers and said they were from you.”
“You sent my mother flowers?”
“Is Dahlia James your mother?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yes, I sent her flowers.”
“How did you locate her?”
“I have my ways.”
“We aren’t even fake-married yet and you’re already trying to take over.”
“No, I’m trying to help you.”
“Just for the record, I never asked for any help from you.”
“And you’ll never have to. When I see that you need me, I’ll just jump right in. It’s in my nature.”
Felicity took another sip of coffee and for the first time since he sat down, she rolled her eyes to actually meet his gaze. To look at him. She instantly flashed back to the kiss they shared at his house. A flood of warmth flowed through her veins and it wasn’t because of the coffee. It was him.
“I’ll meet you on Monday,” she said standing. She waved to Gianna.
“Leaving already?” Gianna asked her. She was standing at the counter with Ramsey.
“Yeah, girl. I have a big headache. I’ll catch you later.”
Regal sighed heavily, tapping his fingertip on the table as Felicity walked out of the bakery.
“Did you tell her it was off?” Ramsey walked over to ask. He left Gianna by the register.
“No. She agreed to do it before I could tell her.”
“You’re going through with it then?”
“I am.”
“She didn’t look too happy when she stormed out of here.”
“What else is new? She never looks happy.”
Gianna walked over to stand next to Ramsey and said, “I heard what y’all were saying, and she told me about your proposition, Regal. I told her to go ahead and go through with it.”
“Why did you tell her to go through with it?” he asked just to satisfy his own curiosity.
“Because I told her you were a good guy and I think you genuinely like her.”
“I do, and she likes me, too but one minute, we’re laughing, joking around—the next, she’s hitting me with death looks—like the one she gave me before she left up out of here.”
“In her defense, she is pretty stressed out Regal. And do you really think it’s easy for her to move right into a new relationship when the old one was so messed up? It literally broke her spirit.”
“Did you ever meet the guy?”
“Yeah, I met Demontae a few times—whenever he was available.”
“What was he like? I need to know what kind of damage repair I need to do.”
“He was business-minded like you. Tall like you. He came off as very showy and pretentious to me. He was the smooth operator type—always flirting with other women even in Felicity’s presence…always had to make an entrance so people could see him.”
“One can certainly understand her trust issues,” Ramsey said.
“Yes, but how can I navigate around that?” Regal asked, then was back tapping on the table again, in deep thought.
“That’s easy,” Gianna said. “By proving that you’re trustworthy.”
Chapter 28
On Monday after she finalized Brayden and Sophie’s paperwork, Felicity met Regal at the courthouse where they said vows and got married. It felt like a transaction. Sign here. Date there. Repeat a few words and it was a done deal. She wondered if the clients she’d married off at Wedded Bliss had a similar feeling or if theirs were actually one of bliss.
This, she surmised, wasn’t bliss.
She’d come from work.
He’d come from work.
They said vows, and it was over. The one thing she didn’t expect was the huge, brilliant five-carat ring Regal slid onto her finger – such a grand gesture for a transactional marriage.
“So, the hard part is over,” he said, as they walked down the hallway for the exit.
She was only holding his hand as part of the act. “Yeah, I have to get back to work,” she said, freeing her hand.
“At least let me take you to lunch, Felicity St. Claire.”
Hearing him call her by her new surname pissed her off even more. “Why? What’s there to celebrate?” she asked and kept on walking to her car.
