Danger walks to the fridge, pulls out some soda, and looks at us. “Drinks?”
We both nod and step to the dining table to take a seat.
“So glad you guys are back together. It’s about fucking time. But I’m pretty sure you didn’t come here just to tell us about that and the baby?” Danger asks.
Nate nods and places his hands on the table as Lunar bounds back down the stairs. She isn’t wearing much, just a pair of barely-there shorts and a bikini top. But she can pull it off. She’d look hot in a tea towel.
“So, Lunar, this is really about you,” Nate says, and her ears prick up as she waltzes past Danger, slapping his ass, then joins us at the table.
“So you came to see me. Let’s chat. What can I do you for?” Lunar asks.
I look to Nate, wondering the same question…Why are we here?It’s not like Lunar and I have the best history. Other than a minute ago, we’ve hardly had any positive interactions.
“Ria has decided to minimize her acting career due to the lack of contact she’ll be having with her stepfather and mother moving forward…” He pauses, and she blinks. “That’s another story. Anyway, Ria’s educating herself to teach disadvantaged and special needs children. She wants to get into that, and I think you two… Lunar, with your foundation, and Ria, with your star-pulling power… well, you could make an excellent team if you put all your shit aside and focus on the children. Focus on working together. After all, you both want the same outcome.”
My chest tightens, and I look at Nate, my eyes glistening with such an intense love for him I can’t even fathom.
“So basically, I think Ria could be one of the foundation’s patrons. With her experience, she could use the foundation to her advantage once she has a teaching role. And the advantage for the foundation would be that she would have great pulling power. What do you think?” Nate suggests.
Lunar nods, and my stomach flips with giddy butterflies.
“Oh my God, Nate,” I murmur, and I glance at Lunar, who’s smiling so widely that it’s like the smile might fall right off the sides of her face.
“This is brilliant!” Lunar says, nodding her head. “But what about your acting? Won’t that get in the way of your charity work?”
I shake my head. “I’m not really going to be acting anymore. I want to spend my time with the kids. Well, when I’m not with my child, of course.”
“What do you say, Lunar?” Nate asks.
“I thought you were all about yourself and what you could gain from being a superstar. I really had no idea you wanted to help children like this. This side of you is a breath of fresh air, let alone the fact that you’re back with Nate and having a baby. I’m a little speechless…” Lunar’s eyes sparkle. “Maybe I’ve misjudged you all along. Is this Ria… really you? The real Ria that Nate talks about?”
Reaching out, I grab her hand across the table. “Lunar, this is me. Zaria was a product of what my parents made me to be. I was never really that woman. I hated her. She was so…urgh. I’m so sorry for how I treated you. That diva, she’s never coming back. I swear, it’s Ria from now on. Zaria, the diva, she’s gone forever. I want to help you. I want to help the kids. I want to teach them, to help them learn and grow. I want to be a part of your foundation if you’ll have me?”
She looks at Danger, and he smiles at her with a nod. “Then you’re in. But you gotta work hard and attend everything we tell you. You’ll need to be the drawcard to help promote the foundation. With a name like yours, Zaria, to have you associated with us, this will be big for us.”
“I’m yours, Lunar. Just let me work with the kids, and you can use my star power however you want, however you need. Theonly thing I will stipulate is our baby is not going to be dragged into any sort of fame.”
Nate looks at me and dips his chin. “I agree with that.”
Danger and Lunar both nod and smile. “Done. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to see you this way, Zaria,” Lunar says.
“It’s fine. I’m sorry it took me this long to show you my real side. Oh, and by the way, my friends call me Ria. Can you both stop calling me Zaria?”
Both Danger and Lunar smile.
“Well, no offense, but it’s been a long day for us. I’ve got my woman back, plus a baby. I need to take her home and show her how much I love her,” Nate says, and instantly, my thighs clench together before my heart rate spikes.
Lunar and Danger laugh, nodding in understanding.
“No problem, Ria, we’ll sort out all the details later. You guys go, enjoy your time together, and we’ll discuss this again soon. Glad you’re back, Ria, real glad,” Danger says, standing and embracing me. After everything we’ve been through, it’s also nice to have him back in my life.
“Thank you. And thank you, Lunar. I won’t let you down…Boss.”
She chuckles and nods. “I like that! But seriously, I think we can view this more as a partnership. What do you say?”
I nod before leaning in and taking her for a less wet and far more clothed hug. Nate and I then turn and head toward the door, and I take a look back into Danger and Lunar’s home. It’s so lovely, it feels like a home, and that’s precisely what I want mine to feel like. Not the vast, open, white blah it currently is. I will let Nate revamp our home to make it moreusas soon as possible.
“Bye, guys, thanks again,” I say, and we head out the door toward the car.
