Adria thought of all the turmoil and pain she had gone through when deciding what to do with Bryson, Kaydon, and Seth a few months prior. Xander had forced her to choose between her mother’s safety and the boys. Except in the end her mother’s safety was never in question.
She watched as Xander turned, typing on his computer. Several files were opened, and images of her throughout the years flashed on the screen.
“Once a year, Sophia sends me to check on you. Of course I shared every text message conversation, but every year she would need a little something more.”
Adria looked at the computer screen, cataloguing the years of her life in front of her.
“Please believe me, she wanted to be in your life,” Xander said.
A photo of her in gray sweatpants and oversized sunglasses lingered on the screen. Three years ago. She remembered the morning—the hand holding the coffee was Loretta’s. Loretta had talked her into trying Pilates for the first time, swearing it would help her unwind.
Loretta’s face wasn’t even in the frame, but Adria still felt the grief roll through her, sharp and familiar, like it always did when memories showed up in unexpected places.
“Well, she wasn’t,” Adria said, her voice a little shorter than she would have liked.
Xander motioned for her to sit in the chair next to him, and Adria did.
“Adria, you know the type of people the Nine are. You have been playing the game long enough to understand that there are always more moving parts then we can see. Your mother has been playing the game for even longer, and I am embarrassed to admit she is better at playing it than I will ever be. And as hard as it is, there comes a time where we have to decide who we are going to trust. And I chose your mother. I hope you two can repair what is broken between you and find peace in the past and hope for the future.”
His soft eyes stared into her, the glow of his computer the only light in the room. Adria wanted to forgive her mother for leaving. Bryson, Seth, and Kaydon were showing her a new way of living, and she wanted that fresh start to include Sophia. That, and having her mother back in her life, was like reading the beginning of a story she had long since forgotten.
Maybe Xander was right. Her life was complicated enough; maybe trusting and moving forward was the best option.
“How did you two meet?” Adria asked, genuinely curious.
Xander’s eyes lit up.
“It was after a summit in Rome. I’d been called in to assist Sean on one of his tithes. Ivan was there, his bride on his arm. I think you were two or three. Back at home with the nanny, I’m sure.”
Adria tried to picture her mother in Rome.
“Ivan had to go on a business meeting and left Sofia in the hotel bar, where I sat nursing a drink that I didn’t even like.”
He paused, eyes gazing into the distance like he was trying to place pieces of the memory.
“I believe she offered to buy me the next drink. Bet me I’d like it better,” Xander laughed. “I agreed, of course. Who would say no to an offer like that.”
Adria said, “And did you like it?”
Xander said, “I don’t remember. All I remember is the two of us talking until almost three in the morning.”
Adria left Xander’s office feeling lighter and hungrier. Moving throughout the house, she was surprised that she hadn’t run into one of the boys. A few hallway turns later, she spotted Eric.
He was sitting on another one of the estate’s expansive porches, sipping on some coffee.
“Where is everyone?”
He looked up at her, his face full of indecision.
“Eric?” she said again, voice stern.
He sighed. “Look, don’t be mad, but they went into town.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Bryson, Kaydon, Seth, and your mother got this idea thattheywould be the best to handle Rolland.”
Adria held his gaze. “And no one wanted to mention this idea to me?”
