Forgotten Awakenings (Awakenings #2) (29 page)

“Hey, they’re here . . . Okay, one second.” Pressing a couple of other buttons, he replaced the phone and said, “Can everyone hear me?”

“Yes,” Lydia chirped.

“Carlos and I are here,” Felicia replied.

“Dad, what is this about?” Callum asked, his irritation evident.

“Great!” Samuel smiled, ignored his son, and looked over at Elle. “Now, that everyone is present. We’d like to know if we’re getting another granddaughter or a grandson.”

“What?” Elle asked, looking around the room. “What makes you think we know the sex of the baby?”

“Because that son of mine told me you found out,” Samuel told her, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips. “Now, boy or girl?”

“Damn you, Cal, for not keeping a secret,” Elle cursed under her breath. Sighing, she placed her hands on the table and tilted her head up, looking her boss/father-in-law directly in the eye. “You really want to know?”

“Yes,” he said.

“How bad?”

“What?” he chuckled.

“How bad do you want to know?” she repeated herself.

Samuel smirked and leaned forward, mirroring her position on the other side of the table. “Name your terms, little girl.”

“We’ll tell you the sex, but you have to give me your word that you won’t press us for his, or her, name. As with Flora, our child’s name will be released after he or she is born, and not until then.”

“But that’s not fair!” he whined.

“That’s the deal,” she said. “If you, at any time, renege on your word, I have the right to take my revenge. And I don’t play nice,” Elle taunted.

“You do not want to get on her bad side,” Sadie snickered. “Trust me. She’s an evil mastermind when it comes to revenge.”

“No shit.” Derek shivered. “The things she makes us do when we cross her.”

Elle laughed, thinking about the way she had him on his knees three days ago. The sight of him with her silicon cock in his mouth had her aching with need.

Samuel groaned. “Fine.”

“I want to hear it,” she said.

Pressing his lips together first, he sighed and mumbled, “I promise not to pester you about the unfair and torturous withholding of my grandchild’s name.”

Elle smiled. “Well, now that we’ve worked all that out, I guess it’s time to tell you that we’re expecting another girl.”

“Oh, Flora’s getting a sister!” Helina squealed, once more enveloping Elle in her arms. She could hear Felicia, Carlos, and Lydia offering their well-wishes. Tears flooded Elle’s eyes; the support from her family hitting her like a hammer.

“Congratulations, honey,” James said, waiting for his turn to hug his daughter.

“Thanks, Dad,” she cried, softly.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he fretted.

“You didn’t.” She sniffed back the tears that fell with ease. “I’m just a little overwhelmed right now.”

“Suppose we can understand that,” James laughed. “Well, I guess we should get started?”

Elle nodded, but turned her attention to Samuel, who was smiling. “Need something else?”

“Nope. Congratulations, sweetheart,” he said before turning and ending the call to Lydia, Carlos, and Felicia, and leaving her, Sadie, and Derek alone with their parents.

“Do you need me to stay?” Derek asked, gesturing toward the plans spread out on the table.

“No, we’re good.” Elle smiled. “Thanks, though.”

“You’re welcome.” Derek winked at her before leaving them alone.

Elle took a deep breath as she turned and looked at her and Sadie’s parents. “Well, here’s the house I’ve designed for you.”

She grabbed the first set of plans and turned them toward the four of them. “I wanted to give you plenty of space, so I was thinking about something like this. The four/four/four option. Four bedrooms, bathrooms, and garage. The first two bedrooms would be on the west side of the property, along with two of the bathrooms. The other two bedrooms and bath on the east side. Connecting the two wings would be a large living room, formal dining, and state-of-the-art kitchen.”

Elle’s mouth felt dry as she paused and chanced a look at their parents. “I can make any adjustments you want. We can shift the layout, or, um, I don’t know, go with a two-story?”

“No, no, I like it,” Claudia said, smiling as she leaned forward and placed her hands on the table. “How many square feet will it be?”

“A little over three-thousand, which is more than enough for the property you’ve been looking at in Sausalito,” Elle replied. “There will be a laundry room off the kitchen, just inside of the garage. We’d add a large deck on the back, give you a great view of the marina. Plenty of space if you want a pool or hot tub, or whatever.”

“I’d like to keep the colors neutral,” Sadie added, gesturing to her boards that were covered in beige paint chips, swatches of rich, leather fabrics, and warm patches of carpeting. “Most of the house will have hardwood, but for the bedrooms, I suggest a thick, shaggy carpet. Elle’s plans have lots of windows, along with a skylight, so we can utilize the natural sunlight.”

Sadie and Elle fell silent as they looked around at their parents, waiting for them to agree or tell them to fuck off.

“Well, what do you think?” Elle asked, her voice wavering.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say it’s . . .” James paused and shook his head, a smile tugging on his lips. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“Really?” Elle whimpered, lifting one hand to her lips. “You think so?”

“Oh, yeah, sweetheart,” Helina cooed, wrapping her arm around her daughter. “Exactly what we were wanting. Plenty of space. How much will this cost us?”

“Oh, um, we can probably get all the materials at cost, which will come to half a million dollars, give or take fifty thousand. The contractors are reviewing the plans and will let me know what we’re looking at exactly, but once you’ve secured the property, I can summit the plans to the zoning committee and get approval. Should be able to move in by the end of the summer.”

“That soon?” Bruce asked. “We figured we’d be looking at a year at least.”

“Well, we’re not promising anything, but the Asciari Brothers are the best.”

“Wow,” Helina murmured, leaning her head against Elle’s shoulder. “This summer we’ll be getting a new granddaughter and a new house. Everything’s coming together perfectly.”

Elle tried to smile, but found herself wondering what dangers were hiding in the shadows. After all, things in her life had been a little too good.

Twenty-seven

“Elle,” Derek whispered, gliding his hand across her hip, cradling her belly. “Beautiful, time to wake up.”

Elle moaned and pressed her body against his. “What time is it?”

Derek laughed softly as he kissed just outside of her ear. “Almost five in the afternoon. You’ve been asleep for three hours, but we need to leave for the party soon.”

“Don’t wanna,” she mumbled, grabbing his hand and pulling his arm around her so that his hand was pressed against her breast. “Can’t we stay here?”

“Well, we could, but then we’d have to explain to Lucia, Nick, and Aaron, not to mention Jonas and Abe, why we missed their release party.”

Elle groaned and turned her head toward him. “They’d probably be mad, huh?”

“Lucia would be,” he admitted. “The others, I don’t know. Maybe. You know how those guys are.”

Elle pressed her lips together and nodded. After weeks in the studio, Taj were scheduled to release their first album at midnight. Their single, Fusing Love, had already hit the charts and had been on every radio station in the area. Sin Records was throwing them a huge bash to celebrate their release, and Elle had told the band and Ivy the four of them would be there. But now, at twenty-five weeks into her pregnancy, Elle was regretting her promise.

She was exhausted, and her leg ached. Dr. Kemp had hinted that she may need to use a wheelchair for the remainder of her pregnancy, but Elle was willfully ignoring her.

“Did you fall back asleep?” Derek asked, laughing.

“No,” she scoffed. “Have you showered?”

“Nope. I was waiting for you,” he said, kissing outside of her ear again. “Can I shower with you, beautiful?”

“Mmhmm,” Elle hummed, biting her lip as she rolled in his arms. “On one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“Kiss me,” she whispered.

Derek smiled before closing the gap between their lips. Though brief, it left her breathless and wanting more.

Derek climbed over her to the edge of the bed and stood up, holding his hand out to her. “Come on, beautiful.”

Elle’s breath caught in her chest as she placed her hand in his. A sudden burst of vulnerability rocked her to her core and tears filled her eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Derek asked.

Moisture sprinkled her cheeks as she shook her head, her words came out in thick, emotional spurts.

“Nothing. I’m just . . . just tired,” she whimpered.

“Do we need to stay home?” he asked. “I’ll call Lucia and tell her that we can’t come, if you’re not feeling okay.”

“No, don’t do that,” she insisted, wiping away the wetness that glistened her skin. “I’m just . . . I don’t know. I’m okay.”

“Hmm, if you say so.” Derek kissed her once more. “Promise to tell me when you’re ready to leave?”

“I promise,” she murmured.

Though she could tell Derek didn’t believe her, he didn’t push the issue as he led her into the bathroom. Stripping off each other’s’ clothes, the two stepped into the shower together, lost their own little world.

—FA—

Sin Records was in downtown San Francisco, about three miles from Davis Architecture and Design. The skyscraper towered over much of the city, but Elle had never been a fan of the building’s design. Instead of the normal square or even rectangular shape that most structures were built, the architect had created a hexagon shaped building that did nothing to make it appealing. The lines were awkward, the angles odd, and overall, it looked weird.

As Callum pulled into the parking lot outside of Sin Record, Sadie sighed. “I’m not getting decent cell reception here.”

Elle shifted in the front seat and looked back at her wife. The grimace on her face was adorable. Much like Elle, Sadie hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of coming to the party, but for different reasons.

Tonight would be the first night since Flora was born that she was spending the night away from them. Samuel and Lydia had volunteered to babysit the five month old baby girl so the four of them didn’t have to worry about partying too late.

“Here, use my phone,” Callum offered, holding his cell over his head. Sadie grabbed it and quickly found Lydia’s number, pressing send, and putting the call on speaker.

“Hello, my darling boy,” Lydia chirped.

“Um, yeah, it’s not your darling boy,” Sadie snickered. “Sorry.”

Lydia laughed. “Don’t be. I’d much rather talk to you, anyway. Last night, Samuel and I were in bed, and he was doing this thing with his tongue—”

“Mother!” Callum yelled, causing the rest of them to laugh.

“Calm down, Cal. I was only joking,” Lydia teased.

“Whatever,” Callum muttered, the tips of his ears turning red. Elle reached over and covered his hand with hers, causing him to wink at her. “How’s Flora?”

“Who?” Lydia asked.

“Mother!” Callum groused.

“Oh, you mean my adorable, loveable, granddaughter?” Lydia asked. “You mean that Flora?”

“Do you know any others?” Derek questioned, chuckling.

“No, can’t say I do. She has a very old fashioned name, doesn’t she? Makes me wonder if the new baby will, too,” Lydia hinted.

Elle rolled her eyes. While Samuel had stuck by his promise not to pester them for their new daughter’s name, Lydia made it clear she wasn’t letting the issue go. Elle was convinced the only reason Lydia was questioning them so much was because Samuel was pressing her to find out.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Sadie laughed. “Did Flora eat?”

“She did. She and Samuel are watching baseball.”

“Little young for that, isn’t she?” Elle asked, having never understood the way people devoted so much of their time to a sport. Grown men and women acting like fools over a game where people tackled each other, or tried to hit a small ball with a wooden bat.

“Sam says he must teach her while she’s young,” Lydia explained.

“Hmm, okay.” Elle shifted in her seat, groaning from the constant throb in her leg.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Lydia asked.

“Mmhmm,” Elle hummed.

“Okay, we’d better get going,” Sadie said. “Remember that she likes her blanket with the butterfly. And she’ll probably wake up a couple times. If you can’t get her back down, call and I’ll come pick her up.”

“I’m sure we can manage,” Lydia scolded. “Have fun. Enjoy yourselves. You’ve earned it. And tell the band that Samuel and I are proud of them.”

“We will, Mom. Thanks,” Callum said, but Lydia had already ended the call. “Well, nice talking to you, too, Mother.”

“She’s just excited to have Flora all to herself,” Derek snickered, pushing open his car door.

He immediately had Elle’s door open and was helping her out of the car, keeping his arm around her as she tried to stretch her sore and aching muscles. Her cane did little to relieve the pressure the added weight of her pregnancy had on her leg.

“Ugh, your sister and Nick had better appreciate that we’re going out of our way to be here for them tonight,” Sadie grumbled, but Elle knew she was excited. “Okay, are we ready?”

“As we’ll ever be,” Callum said, sliding his arm around her waist.

Sin Records felt more like a popular night club than a business as they entered through the set of double doors. Black, red, and white appeared to be the theme and the Taj’s music was blaring overhead. Tables filled with food, waiters carrying trays of champagne, and lights flashing — Elle had never felt more out of place.

“It’s about time you four got here!” Lucia squealed, rushing through the crowd in a gorgeous silver dress that clutched her body like second skin. A thin chain was all that kept it up over her right shoulder. She had just added a red streak to the front of her black hair a few days ago, and now Elle understood why. They were preparing to market her.

“Can you believe this shit?” Lucia asked, hooking her arm in with Elle’s.

The last few months had changed her in so many ways. She was more confident, happier. She smiled and laughed. For the first time since she stumbled on their doorstep, bruised and broken, she wasn’t trembling in fear.

“No,” Elle laughed.

Lucia led them to the other side of the room, where Aaron, Jonas, and Abe were standing with a young woman with shocking blue hair. Her baby-blue eyes were enhanced by dark eyeshadow and thick mascara.

“Everyone, this is Electra, our PR guru and new manager,” Lucia said, gesturing to the woman. “Electra, this is my brother Derek, his husband Callum, their wives, Elle and Sadie.”

“Oh, so you’re that brother,” Electra cackled, waving a few fingers toward Derek before turning her attention to Elle and Sadie. “Aren’t you two lucky bitches?”

“Yes, we are,” Elle said, her dislike for this woman already seeping deep into her soul.

“I know.” Without another word, Electra strolled past them and disappeared into the crowd.

“What a freak,” Sadie muttered under her breath before threading her fingers in with Elle’s. “Come on, honey; let’s get you something to eat.”

As the evening wore on, Elle struggled to keep from letting her pain show. Her leg had shifted from the usual throbbing she’d gotten used to over the past year, to stabbing, sharp, burning pain that had tears welling up in her eyes. Though, she never let anyone see them. Sadie, Callum, and Derek shuffled her throughout the room as they mingled and danced.

“Hey.”

A look over her shoulder found Ivy appearing nervous.

“Hey,” Elle said, shifting so that she was facing her older sister. Though Ivy tried to be there for Elle, it had still be difficult for her to keep her resentment at bay. “You look beautiful.”

“Oh, thanks,” Ivy scoffed, placing her hand on her hip. She was wearing an icy-blue, silk strapless dress that hugged her curves. Her dark hair was longer than it had been in months. “You look miserable.”

Elle bit her lip as she shifted her attention to Callum, Derek, and Sadie, who were in deep conversation with Abe, Jonas, and Nick. Turning back to Ivy, she said, “I am.”

“Come on.” Ivy placed her hand on Elle’s elbow and ushered her out of the building. The cool night air felt refreshing against her warm skin. They stopped at metal bench and sat down. “Better?”

“A little,” she lied.

“Liar,” Ivy snickered.

“Nothing helps anymore,” Elle said, softly. She shifted her eyes to her sister. “Are you having fun tonight?”

“I am,” she admitted with a smile. “I love watching Nick like this. He’s in his element. He was born to be a rock star.”

“He does seem to thrive. When do they leave for their tour?” Elle asked.

“Two weeks,” Ivy said, her smile faltering. “I wish I could go with them, but the salon won’t give me the time off.”

“So quit,” Elle suggested.

Ivy scoffed. “That’s what Nick said. Told me that I don’t need to work now, that he’s going to take care of everything, but, I don’t know, Elle. This uncertainty — it scares me.”

“It would me, too,” she confessed.

“Yeah?” Ivy raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think I’m being silly?”

“Hell no!” Elle bit the inside of her lip as she turned toward her sister. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course you can.”

“Samuel’s giving me the company.” As the words left her mouth, the weight of her admission hit her hard. They hadn’t told anyone about the plan for Elle to take over as CEO after the baby was born, not even their families.

“Are you serious?” Ivy asked, her eyes popping wide open.

Elle’s lips trembled as she nodded. “After the baby’s born and I come back from my leave, I’ll be the boss.”

“Oh, my God, Elle!” Ivy nearly screamed, grabbing hold of Elle’s hands.

“Not you, too!” Elle whined, pulling away from Ivy.

“What do you mean?” Ivy laughed. “Aren’t you excited?”

“No!” Elle exclaimed. “I’m terrified, Ivy.”

“What? Why?”

“Because . . . because I don’t know. Samuel keeps going on and on about how I’m a natural, how people respect me, but I’ve been there less than two years. There are people who have worked for the company for twenty years, Ivy. Twenty years! How can he give me his company when I haven’t put in my time?”

“Because he trusts you?” she suggested. “Hell, Elle, most people would be jumping at the chance to run a multi-million dollar company.”

“Yeah, I know.” Elle leaned back, her hands sliding over her swollen belly. “But what if I can’t do it all?”

“Do all of what?”

“Be a wife, a mom, a business woman,” she rambled. “Everyone’s depending on me, Ivy.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Ivy grabbed her hand, but before she could say anything else, the sound of someone moving in the bushes drew their attention behind them.

Elle automatically felt her shoulders tense and the image of Trixie Maxwell rushing toward them had her struggling not to scream. Trixie was still in jail; she couldn’t hurt them again. Or that’s what Elle told herself, anyway.