“Neither of us deserves her, you know.” I incline my head, acknowledging the truth of Lee’s statement. I had rented out Leo’s for the evening, so it’s a cozy gathering of just friends and family. Debra and Martin had missed Lia’s graduation due to Debra’s last-minute emergency appendicitis. My aunt had come straight to Leo’s from work and was catching up with Aidan. The meal has been over for some time and I have moved to the outskirts of the room, just enjoying the scene before me. My eyes are drawn repeatedly to the woman I love. She is vibrant in her silky, blue dress as she laughs at something Rose is saying.
“Maybe not,” I finally say, “but I’ll never let her go. I need her too much.” He gives me a look of satisfaction and approval. I think I’ve just passed some kind of parental test, which is both amusing and strangely touching. I’ve heard somewhere that parents form a bond with and love their children from the moment they’re born. If those kind of instant feelings are possible, then I think Lee fell in love with Lia the day he discovered he had an adult daughter. Because that’s what I see when he looks at her—unconditional love. It’s funny when I think about it now. I would have never picked Lee to be Lia’s father. The little I know of him would have been enough to convince me that much like her mother, Lee was not, nor was it possible for him to be, a loving parent. It goes to show how wrong some appearances can be. In my gut, I’m certain that, like me, he would lay his life at her feet and never utter a protest.
“I can’t fathom how something so delicate survived and thrived as she did,” he marvels. “The odds were stacked so heavily against her. She shouldn’t have made it.”
“Don’t confuse her small size with fragility. Her spine is made of solid steel,” I murmur as I watch her get to her feet. She points toward the back, letting me know she’s going to the restroom. She blows me a kiss and I catch it, before bringing it to my heart.
A hand claps my shoulder and Lee laughs heartily. “Yeah, you’ve got it bad, son, and I couldn’t be happier about that.”
Lia
I yawn as I leave the bathroom stall, knowing I’m not going to last much longer. My bedtime has gotten earlier and earlier over the last month. It’s almost ten now, which is late for me. I’m sure Lucian would be thrilled if I requested he take me home to bed—now. I’m smiling as I walk toward the sink, when I see someone sitting on the chair in the corner. I don’t recognize her at first—thinking maybe she’s an employee—then my jaw drops. “What’re you doing here, Monique?” I snap, unable to believe what I’m seeing. I haven’t seen her in quite a while and now I find myself in the restroom with her? How in the world did she manage to get into a private party? I can’t imagine that Leo let her in.
“Hello there, little Lucy,” she taunts as she steps up to the mirror beside me. I smooth my dress down and hate myself for it when she points to my stomach. “There’s not much you can do to hide that I’m afraid.”
I drop my hand and square my shoulders. “I have no desire to. I’m carrying Lucian’s child and I couldn’t be happier about it.” Take that, Cruella! Actually, the nickname I gave her on the first night we met is starting to seem far too nice now. I think I should just go with Rose’s pick of a crazy bitch. It has a better ring to it.
She pretends to study her nails, but I know better. She’s regrouping and getting ready to lob a bomb my way—she’s nothing if not predictable. “That’s really sweet, dear,” she says in a voice that almost has me fooled. “I’m sure you think you’ve hit the jackpot by getting yourself pregnant with Luc’s baby. You have a direct line to his wallet for the next eighteen years. I’ll admit, I really underestimated you, Lucy. So, bravo!”
I’m shaking in anger now, clenching my fists to keep from doing her bodily harm. “Listen, Cruella,” I hiss and almost smile when she looks taken aback by the name, “don’t judge me by your own standards. Lucian and I are having a child together because we love each other. I couldn’t care less about his bank balance. I never have. Just because you’ve done everything short of begging him to stay with you doesn’t mean I’ve had to resort to the same. What man could respect someone so…desperate?”
In the land of insults, I feel like I’ve hit both an epic high and a malicious low. For a moment, I think I’ve rattled her, but she recovers quickly and gives me a pitying smile. “You know, there was another woman who thought she’d get Luc in just the same way. What makes you think you’ll be any more successful than she was?”