She almost shivered from the sense that all this was

  totally slimy, but she started walking, glad it had been that

  easy. It was like she was buying Sawyer, but in the end her

  girls would get what they wanted—freedom from these

  guys. She heard a chair scrape behind her, but she was

  determined to leave.

  “Wait a minute. Who’s your mother?” Eglin yelled.

  “Amis Renois.” She put her fists on her hips and looked

  right at him. “She’s someone who might remember you,

  because I sure as hell don’t.”

  “You’re Amis’s kid?” His voice died away to nothing, and

  he grabbed the back of his chair.

  “Yes, but that’s of no importance to you. Maybe now you

  know why I understand your granddaughter so well.

  Children are something precious that need time and

  affection.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Kyle asked.

  “This is my bastard,” Eglin said, laughing. “Man. I

  should’ve stuck around.”

  “She’s your kid? Like my sister kind of kid?” Kyle glanced

  between them, appearing to have trouble keeping up.

  “Well, fuck me,” Eglin said, coming closer. “This is why

  you’re trying to take my grandkid? You think money is all

  she’s missing? Maybe Kyle needs to do what he threatened.

  Maybe that little kid needs to be fought over.”

  “The money’s so important that I’m giving your son a lot

  of it. What Sawyer needs is people who love her and want

  her in their lives. She’s tired of being a burden to Kyle, so

  you’re right.”

  “About what?”

  “If you want something, you should fight for it. The

  money was the easy way out, but I’m willing to wait and do

  this in a way I can be proud of.”

  She walked over to Kyle and gave him back the papers

  he’d signed for Sawyer. No matter that she wanted a clean

  start for Charlotte and Sawyer, but she wouldn’t do it by

  stooping to Kyle and Eglin’s level.

  “I’d like for you to make the statement, but after that

  we’re done,” she said to Kyle.

  “I don’t know if I want to do another damn thing for you.

  Thanks for lunch and the money.” Kyle patted his pocket and

  laughed.

  “Bill,” she said, wondering how this guy managed not to

  play in traffic during the course of the day.

  “On it,” Bill said, getting his phone out and calling the

  bank and stopping payment on the check.

  “Mr. Snyder, I can almost predict your next move, so

  think about it before your stupidity gets you deeper in the

  hole you’re already in.”

  “Don’t pretend to know me,” Kyle said, appearing ready

  to hit something.

  “The media card is your next play, but selling your story

  will come back to bite you—hard. I may not know much

  about kids, but dealing with the media is one of my

  specialties.”

  “You’re a lot like Amis, and I’m betting she ended up

  alone,” Eglin said, smirking. “How is old Amis?”

  “She’s the president of a multimillion-dollar fashion

  house. She finished slumming a long time ago.”

  “Fuck you,” Eglin said.

  “You’re both getting ready to learn the literal meaning of

  that expression, dear old Dad.”

  * * *

  Ellis spent the rest of the afternoon running last-minute

  errands for the show. It took a few hours before her head

  stopped hurting from the anger the meeting with Kyle and

  Eglin had built up. When she stopped to pick up dinner,

  she’d started thinking of a way to explain it to Charlotte.

  “Come see, Ellis,” Sawyer said when she put the bags

  down and hugged Charlotte and Amis.

  The room Sawyer had settled into appeared like a

  completely different space. All the canvases Sawyer had

  finished had obviously arrived and were leaning against the

  wall, and most of her clothes were out of her bag and on the

  desk for some reason. Sawyer had also taped some of her

  sketches on the windows, and that’s where she was pulling

  her toward.

  “Sorry about the mess,” Sawyer said.

  “What’s all this?” There were only a few sketches, but

  Sawyer had tried to imitate her style as closely as possible.

  “I wanted to help you because of everything that

  happened, so I designed these.”

  The models in Sawyer’s work were all kids, and each one

  had a different message on the T-shirts they wore. She

  looked at each one and wanted to cry at how sweet and

  thoughtful this kid was. Charlotte came in and leaned

  against her. “This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for

  me. Thank you, and I think they’re great.”

  “Can they be in the show?”

  “Let’s see what we can do, but next year for sure you’re

  going to have your own section, if you come up with more

  designs.”

  “Thanks for teaching me stuff,” Sawyer said and hugged

  her, pressing her face into her chest as if she couldn’t look

  at her for the next part. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, and I’m going to love having you here so

  we can learn stuff together.” Sawyer pressed closer with all

  the strength she seemed to possess, which finally made Ellis

  cry. She glanced at Charlotte, who seemed to read her mind

  when she opened her mouth. It was time to tell Sawyer

  what they’d kept from her.

  “Come here a minute, Sawyer,” Charlotte said, sitting on

  the bed. “We found out a few things recently, and it’s time

  for you to know.”

  “So you’re related to me?” Sawyer asked Ellis when

  Charlotte finished talking.

  “It’s probably weird, but I’m your aunt. Your dad and I

  have the same father, so yeah, we’re related.” She’d had no

  real way to gauge what Sawyer’s reaction would be, but

  having her almost tackle her to the floor laughing wasn’t

  what she was expecting.

  “Then I don’t have to go back. We can live here with you

  and be happy. We can do that, right?” Sawyer was speaking

  so fast she barely understood her, but this was the most

  animated the kid had ever been around her.

  “That’s what I want. Let’s start with dinner, and we can

  plan.”

  They had a pleasant evening, and she helped Charlotte

  get Sawyer ready for bed, leaving her door open in case she

  needed to find them in the night. Once they made it to the

  master bedroom, she spent a long moment holding

  Charlotte as she leaned against the door.

  “Do you want to talk about it? And the right answer here

  would be, you’d love to talk about it,” Charlotte said, putting

  her finger in the middle of her chest.

  “I met with Kyle today and, as a bonus, got to meet my

  father. One of these days I’ve got to talk to my mother

  about her taste in men.”

  “Everyone makes mistakes, baby. I’m living proof of that.

  Like me, though, she rebounded well.” Charlotte kissed her

  chin and tugged her toward the bed.

  “How do you figure? My mom barely dates.”

  “I doubt Opal would agree with you, but we’ll talk about

  that later. Right now I want to know what’s up with you.”

  She told Charlotte everything about her meeting and how

  it had turned out. When she was done, Charlotte moved

  away from her, and she figured she’d get an earful for going

  off on her own.

  “How much did you offer him?” Charlotte asked, but it

  was hard to guess how she was feeling.

  “For which thing?”

  Charlotte smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “To sign the custody papers?”

  “A million dollars.”

  Charlotte’s arms fell lifelessly to her sides. “And for his

  statement?”

  “A hundred and fifty thousand. One was more important

  than the other, but I’m sorry I tried it without talking to you

  first.”

  “You’re an adorable idiot, you know that? You want to

  make a deal with me?”

  “I’ll make any deal you want,” she said, smiling.

  “From this moment going forward, you and me are a

  team. However we get what we want—we do it together.

  Think you can do that?”

  “You’ve got my word.”

  “Good, but this second I’m more interested in getting

  your pants. Hand them over.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Fashion Week started five days later, and Ellis took

  Charlotte and Sawyer to a couple of the shows so they’d get

  a sense of the hype. The music, lights, and endless strings

  of models never got old to Ellis, and the styles, though

  beautiful, weren’t anything close to what they had in store.

  They were leaving a bistro close to her place when she

  noticed Eglin across the street. She left Sawyer with

  Charlotte and promised not to be long. “Are you stalking us,

  or do you need something?”

  “I thought I’d turn the tables and watch you for a

  change.”

  “Okay. I didn’t realize I was that interesting.”

  “At least now I know why that pretty little bitch ain’t

  interested in my boy. She fell in love with the money right

  quick.”

  “Considering who you are, I can see how you’d think that,

  but don’t ever talk about Charlotte like that again. I may

  design clothes for a living, but I’ll hurt you.”

  “Cool it. I only want to talk to you about the kid. You still

  want Kyle to sign those papers?” She nodded. “Double the

  offer, give me half, and I can get him to do it.”

  “That’s a lot of money so I’ll have to think about it.”

  “Try not to take too long.” He jammed his hands into his

  pockets and didn’t move. “You tell Kyle any of this, and the

  deal’s off. Actually, I’ll do whatever it takes to get him not to

  do it if you double-cross me.”

  “Got it.” They walked home after she was sure Eglin had

  left. Tori met them at the door and shook her hand. “You got

  all of it?”

  “Loud and clear. We’ll get Kyle alone tomorrow and show

  him the video. It might not change his mind, but we can

  hope.”

  “Did she get it?” Charlotte asked when they got upstairs.

  “She’s going to show it to Kyle like we planned. Eglin was

  so busy watching us, he never bothered to look around him.

  If it works out, we’ll hear from Kyle next.” The room was

  dark, but she could still see the outline of Charlotte’s body

  when she undressed.

  “You’re not nervous at all?”

  “About Eglin, you mean?” she asked.

  “No. About the show.”

  “Day after tomorrow I’ll be puking, but right now, I’m not

  nervous at all.”

  “That’s what I love about you, baby. You’re always good

  to go.” Charlotte dropped to her knees and unbuckled her

  belt so she could get her pants off. “It’s very flattering in a

  sexy sort of way.”

  “I can’t help that I crave your touch. You’ve been making

  me insane since I met you.”

  “That’s because I’ve wanted you from the beginning, but

  I couldn’t admit it to myself since you were also aggravating

  as hell.” Charlotte got her pants and underwear around her

  ankles and used her thumbs to spread her open. “You make

  me wet and hungry, but I need to touch you first. I need that

  and for you to come in my mouth.” Charlotte looked up at

  her, and her gaze along with her words made her hard.

  Thankfully she hadn’t made it much past the door, so she

  used it to keep herself upright as Charlotte sucked her clit in

  and didn’t let up. She came so fast, it was like they hadn’t

  touched each other in months, but she couldn’t hold back.

  “You make me totally nuts.” She helped Charlotte to her

  feet and kicked her clothes off.

  “Hang those up. I’m not cleaning up after two of you.”

  Charlotte smiled and slapped her on the ass.

  “You’re going to stand there naked and expect me to

  hang my pants up?”

  Charlotte glanced at her over her shoulder and nodded.

  “It might teach you some patience, baby.” Before Charlotte

  could say anything else, she dropped her pants and threw

  her over her shoulder.

  “Let’s test your patience, beautiful.” She placed Charlotte

  on the bed and stood over her. “My God, you’re gorgeous,

  and I finally realize what my mother meant.”

  “About what?” Charlotte sat up and inched toward her on

  her knees again.

  “She always said to wait for and fall for the one who’s

  more beautiful in here.” She placed her hand on Charlotte’s

  chest and kissed her. “Thank you for sharing your heart with

  me, and for bringing joy and fun back into my life.”

  “We learned how to do that together, baby.” Charlotte

  kissed her and pulled her down on top of her. “Make love to

  me.” She began to kiss her way down, but Charlotte held

  her in place. “No. I want to see how you feel while you touch

  me. I love you, but I want you to make me yours.”

  “You are mine,” she said, moving only enough to

  maneuver her hand between Charlotte’s legs. “And I’ll do

  whatever it takes to keep you.” She wet her fingers by

  slowly dragging them up and over Charlotte’s clit, and she

  moaned. That one sound made her hard again, but there

  was time enough for that.

  “Baby, I love you, but I need you to fuck me. Put your

  fingers inside me now.” Charlotte’s hips came off the bed,

  and she pulled the hair at the back of Ellis’s head. “I’ve

  been wet for you all day, and I’m tired of waiting.”

  She slid two fingers in until her thumb pressed against

  Charlotte’s clit, and she didn’t move as she looked down at

  Charlotte. It didn’t matter where they were; this was now

  her home. Charlotte would be the very last woman in her

  bed and the first to claim her heart.

  “You are mine,” she said as she pulled out and slammed

  her fingers back inside.

  “All yours, baby,” Charlotte said and tugged her hair

  harder.

  “Then let me hear you,” she said as she started their

  dance and gave Charlotte what she wanted.

  “Yes,” Charlotte said as she spread her legs wider and

  lowered her hands down to her ass and squeezed as if

  encouraging her to go faster and deeper. She stopped when

  Charlotte screamed and went rigid. Watching her come for

  her was one of the most beautiful sights she’d ever

  witnessed.

  “I love you, but maybe now you’d like to stake your claim

  as well,” she said, chuckling.

  “Oh, believe me, I’m planning to do just that for the rest

  of my life, if you let me.” Charlotte’s hand slid between her

  legs as she spoke, and the touch made her believe in

  happily ever after.

  “I’m all yours, and only yours.”

  * * *

  “What’s on tap for today?” Charlotte asked the next

  morning while Ellis packed her briefcase.

  “Today we rejoin the land of the living, and the living go

  to the office.”

  “We? Are you sure you want me there?” She looked down

  at what she was wearing just in case Ellis was serious.

  “Everyone there thinks I stole from you.”

  “Everyone there thinks that because that’s what we led

  them to believe. Today they’ll hear the truth. If they don’t

  like it, they’re gone, but we’ve come as far as we can on our

  own. I need people working on this so it comes off like I

  want it to.”

  “I guess it’s too late in the game for anyone to steal it

  now,” Charlotte said, heading back to the bedroom to

  change. She’d already met some of Ellis’s people, but she

  wanted to make a good impression.

  “That’s wishful thinking, babe. Until those girls are on the

  runway, I’m not going to relax. I’m usually not this paranoid,

  but someone’s trying to fuck me, and they’re in the

  building.”

  She moved to Ellis, sat in her lap in her underwear, and

  gave her a quick kiss. “There is someone in the building

  who’s trying to fuck you, sweetheart, but I promise it’s only

  because I find you incredibly sexy.” The tease was meant to

  ease Ellis’s tension, and it seemed to do that because she

  laughed.

  “You’re a riot, but get dressed, funny lady.” The phone

  ringing got Ellis to help her up so she could answer it. From

  the conversation, someone was at the door. “This should be