Sianna nodded “First, we have to keep the secret and hide your mommy’s photos.”
They appeared to buy it and although I felt like crap for using my children, it was for a good reason.
“Okay,” they mumbled in unison.
“Great,” Sianna jumped up. “You guys meet me in the nursery, and we can check our plants, okay?” They nodded and scooted off.
Sianna had stayed on my property for about eight months and while here she gotten the kids interested in gardening. Whenever she visited, she made sure to make a big deal about the plants. Just to please her, the kids took their gardening project seriously.
“You owe me,” Sianna nudged my knee.
“I do. Anything, you name it.”
She grinned. As queen of the Princeton family, she wanted for nothing. “Raincheck for now.” I chuckled and walked out with her. “You better hope like hell your plan works, Trent.”
“You and me both.”
Zayne
STANDING AT THE WINDOW, I admired the view of a thousand lights pulsing in the early morning darkness, slowly disappearing as the dawn crested over the horizon.
Ashrika arrived late last night after having spent the weekend with Trent and had no idea I was home. I lied to her, saying I was traveling just to give him some advantage and I was curious to see how that had panned out. So far, she’d only mentioned Trent’s name once. The morning she couldn’t recall what had happened at the club. Still, I hadn’t pushed. I planned on biding my time, waiting to see if she’d open up. While I accepted that she might choose him over me, I still harbored a little hope that it could go either way. After all, her happiness was the most important thing in the grand scheme of things.
I turned as her bedroom door opened. She stepped out, caught sight of me and lavished me with one of her brilliant smiles. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I waited for my usual hug and she didn’t disappoint. When she slipped into my embrace, I tightened my arms around her, lifted her against me and inhaled the very essence of her.
“When did you get in,” she asked, stepping back.
“Last night.”
“You want some coffee?”
We chatted for the next fifteen minutes. She told me about the charity ball she’d attended, the work they were doing and the people she’d met. I could hear the excitement in her voice like she’d discovered a whole new world. I guess her memory loss allowed her to see each encounter from a new perspective that we took for granted. And still, no Trent.
“You’ve been going out a lot. Are you finally having fun?” Since she opened her door, I expected her awkwardness around me. There was none, until now. Although she nodded, her expression fought indecision. “What’s wrong, Rika?”
