For the next twelve hours, I walk around the city, biding my time until I have to show up at Dino’s. I get there an hour early and stand at the door of the restaurant, waiting for my dinner guests. Mom is the first one to arrive. Thankfully, tonight she put an effort on herself. Long gone are the runny mascara, the baggy T-shirts, and yoga pants. In a stunning, black Dior dress with red-sole pumps to match, my mom looks like she’s about to own this night, which bodes well for me since I’ve got just the man in mind to guarantee she does.
“I can’t believe this place is still standing.” She giggles.
“Some things are hard to knock down, Mom.”
“Should we go in?”
“Just waiting on someone,” I reply.
“It’s not just us two?” she asks, surprised, just as Richard’s town-car drives up.
As he steps out of his car, he isn’t able to hide how happy he is seeing my mom. Dick cleaned up nicely, too. Freshly shaven and in a Gucci three-piece suit, the man came to conquer hearts, and I’m betting all my chips that he does just that.
“Richard? What are you doing here?” my mother stutters, cheeks red as she shifts nervously from one foot to the other.
“I invited him. You’re having dinner with your husband, Mom. Not me.”
“Easton—”
“No, Mom. I’m not going to sit back and watch you suffer when I can do something about it,” I explain, squeezing her trembling shoulders. “I need you to talk to him. Figure things out. You both love each other. It’s actually quite sickening how much you do,” I joke, throwing a wink at Dick, who is blushing just as fiercely as my mother. “Don’t let a little public humiliation get in the way of what you have. It isn’t worth it.”
Mom starts shaking her head, the tears beginning to free fall from her face.
“I can’t. I brought too much shame to our family.”
“What are you talking about, Naomi?! I told you, I was in that video, too.”
“No one saw your face, Richard. Everyone thinks I cheated on you.”
“But I know the truth. Who gives a fuck what they think?!”
“I do. I mean, look at the negative publicity your bank has gotten since that tape was leaked? You worked so hard to build your business, and look at what happened to it with me as your wife?”
“Fuck the bank! I’ll sell the damn thing if it means I get to keep you. Because you’re the only thing I want. The only thing I ever wanted, Naomi. I love you. Can you get that into your head? I fucking love you. We made a promise to one another when we got married, remember? We would stick by each other’s side through the good times and the bad times. This is just a bump in our road. Please, Naomi, don’t make it the mountain that will keep us apart,” he begs earnestly, pulling my mother into his arms. “How about we just take a little walk?” he whispers, once her trembling body begins to settle. “We can walk a little bit and just talk. What do you say, sweetheart?” he begs, cleaning her tears from her eyes while his are just as bloodshot.
“Okay,” she stammers, reluctantly pulling away from his embrace.
She then turns to me, hugging my waist as she kisses my cheek.
“I love you, Easton. I’m so lucky to be your mother.”
“Nah, Mom. I’m the lucky one,” I reply, all choked up.
When she pulls away, I turn to Richard.
“Don’t fuck this up, Dad. Fix this shit. You feel me?”
His eyes light up, and I swear I’ve never seen them as big as they are right now.
“I will, son.” He hiccups and then grabs a hold of me with such force, my chest hurts from bouncing off his. “Thank you, Easton,” he sobs into my ear, making me swallow down my own emotion. “Do you want to come with us? Talk about this as a family?”
“No, Dad. You two have stuff to say that no kid needs to listen to.” I laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, okay.” He chuckles, pulling away from our bear hug and squeezing my shoulder.
“You sure you got this?”
“Yeah, I got it from here,” he replies, throwing a loving glance at my mother.
“Good. Don’t let her go back to that shitty-ass apartment we were holed up in, either. Take her to the penthouse and sort your shit out. Lock her in there until she sees reason if you have to.”
“This is your mother we’re talking about, son. I don’t feel entirely comfortable keeping her locked up in a room against her will,” he retorts, pulling at his collar, blushing madly at my offered solution.
Amateur.
They begin to wave me off, but there is just one more thing that I need.
“Oh and, Dad, just so you know, I’m taking the jet.”
I’m going home.
Chapter 29
Scarlett
My swollen eyes are so heavy that it literally hurts to open them. I keep them closed for a little while longer, letting the last remaining beams of the moonlight kiss my face through the gap of my bedroom curtains. Pretty soon, my alarm clock will be ringing, reminding me I’ll have to face yet another day without him.
On those rare occasions that I do fall asleep, Easton comes to me in my dreams. I try to picture his silver eyes in my mind—the ones that are unable to hide the love he has for me—just so I can coax one of those dreams to pay me a visit. At least when I’m out cold, I don’t have to accept the fact that I don’t know when he’ll be back in my arms. Because it’s not a question of if he comes back. I know he will, even if he has his misgivings.
What Easton and I feel for each other cannot be severed by time or space. It’s a bond like no other. Forged in darkness, our love brought light into our dimmed and tainted world. It reminded us that, even though our past may haunt us, it has no bearing on our future. Our future is ours and ours alone. But right now, the uncertainty of our present is what gives me pause.
I let out a soft sigh when a familiar scent wraps itself around me.
Cloves, smoke, and fine leather.
I cling to the smell just like a desert embraces the first touch of rainfall. I can almost feel Easton’s love gently touching my skin, caressing my cheek as his soft breathing tickles my ear. My mouth runs dry when I feel two strong hands wrap themselves around my waist from behind, pulling my body to mold itself against his. I don’t say a word, too afraid this might be a dream and he’ll vanish the moment I open my eyes. When I feel his nose run up and down that small patch of skin behind my ear, another relieved sigh falls from my lips.
“Did you miss me, Scar?”
Every second of every day.
“Hmm,” he hums, tightening his grip on me. “We have a lot to talk about, baby. But right now, I just really need to feel you.”
I turn around to face him, my heart hurting from seeing the dark rings under his eyes. I palm his face with my hands, making sure he’s real and not another one of my lovesick hallucinations.