Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Seriously?
I’d do almost anything for Lavonne Robinson. She was like a second mother to me, and we adored each other. But get back with her son after he dumped me in the most humiliating way possible?
That’s asking a lot.
But I’m not angry at Lavonne. She can’t help what she feels.
I’m not even angry at Leroy for calling.
I’m angry at myself because I don’t hate the idea.
“What do you want, Leroy?”
“Fuck, Sienna. Stephanie was a huge mistake.”
I could get nasty with him. I could remind him of what he said that night—that he didn’t know such a feeling existed before Stephanie, that their chemistry was undeniable. She was a damned stripper at a bachelor party.
It takes all my strength, but I manage to keep those things to myself.
“I could have told you that to begin with. But you’re not answering my question. What do you want?”
Silence on the other end of the line, until—
“I’ve wanted you back for a while now. I just didn’t know how to approach you.”
“Sorry,” I say. “You blew it.”
“Please, See. Can you at least come see Mom? You know how much she loves you.”
“Your mother is a very loving woman, Leroy. I’m sure she loved Stephanie too.”
He doesn’t reply.
Corporate attorney or stripper? Which would she want for her only child? I hold back a scoff once more.
I draw in a breath and concentrate on Lavonne. This is about her. Not about me, and not about Leroy or Stephanie.
“I’m not in a position to leave,” I say, “but please give Lavonne my love. How’s your dad holding up?”
“He’s a mess.”
“I’m so sorry. They both mean a lot to me.”
“You mean a lot to them too, See. It about broke Mom when we split up.”
“You use the word ‘we’ pretty liberally, Leroy. I had nothing to do with that split-up. It was all you.”
“I know. I’ll do anything I can to make it up to you, baby. If you’ll give me a chance.”
I pause a moment. I’m making this about Leroy and me again, and I don’t mean to. “What can I do?” I ask. “I mean, from here.”
“The number your mom gave me contains the country code for Jamaica. Are you there?”
“That’s not telling me what I can do for Bob and Lavonne.”
“Come home,” he says. “I would never ask for myself. But this is my mom, Sienna.”
I close my eyes.
Any other time, despite what Leroy put me through, I’d go running if Lavonne needed me.
But I’m in the middle of trying to snag a billionaire.
And I’ve got two on the hook.
Well, one. I don’t for a moment think that Brett is serious about me. But Alex and I had something I thought might be real—or at least the beginning of real.
“I’ll give it some thought, Leroy,” I finally say. “I’ll let you know in the morning.”
“All right.” He sighs through the phone. “I know I have no right to ask this of you, and if it were just me, I wouldn’t. But it’s for Mom. And I...” He chokes back what sounds like a sob. “If I could take the last six months back, I would. I don’t know why I was so damned stupid, See. Maybe it was a midlife crisis or something. Mom hasn’t forgiven me.”
“Leroy, do you want me back for you? Or for your mother?”
“How can you even ask that?”
“It’s a valid question, and one I deserve an answer to. Why didn’t you come to me before now if you wanted me back?”
“Because I was fucking embarrassed, Sienna! I broke your heart, destroyed the best thing in my life, yet I loved you enough not to pull you back into my drama. I loved you enough to let you go.”
“And now?”
“And now I see that life is fragile. I could lose my mother because of some drunk idiot and a malfunctioning airbag. I should let you go. Let you find a life without me, because God knows I don’t deserve you. But I have to try. And it’s not just for my mother, See. It’s for me, damn it. I love you. I don’t think I ever stopped.”
“Only when you saw a woman take off her clothes at Greg’s bachelor party.”
“I deserve that.”
“You sure as hell do. We’re not getting back together, Leroy. I’ve moved on. But I’ll consider coming home to see Lavonne.”
“It would mean a lot to her.”
“It would mean a lot to me, too. I’ll see what I can do.”
“All right. Good night, Sienna.”
“Tell Lavonne I love her.”
“I will. Goodbye.”
After I hang up, I draw in a breath. This is unreal. I’m not even sure what time it is. Is Evangeline still up? I need to talk to her about this.
I leave the office, head back to my suite, and take off the metal-mesh dress. After all, Brett isn’t expecting me back. He said he needed to talk to the guys.