If The Shoe Fits (36 page)

“
And you’ll give custody of Sophia
to Bella.”

The veneer of civility slipped from
Madeleine’s face and she laughed a cruel, heartless laugh. “Over my
cold dead body. That little girl is mine.”

“
She’s not yours. She’s Bella’s
blood, and you care for her as much as you care for Bella. Besides,
with your Board activities, you won’t have time to care for her.”
He nodded at the papers. “And with the sale of the restaurant,
you’ll have more than enough money to live on. You won’t need
Sophia’s money.”

“
I’ve never taken a dime of that
child’s money.”

“
So you say. But the speculation
could ruin your reputation by the time an audit is conducted. Do
you really want to have that specter hanging over your head?” He
looked at the time on his cell phone. “I’ve got an appointment with
the local news in thirty minutes. Do we have a deal or
not?”

Madeleine gnawed on the inside of her
cheek—another not-so-good-look on her—and her eyes narrowed to
slits. She picked up the papers and nervously unfolded and
re-folded them. “Why on earth do you want to tie yourself down to
this provincial little town? You could be in Hollywood. New York.
And to do it with
Bella
of all people? God, man, have you no
taste?”

Reese reigned in his anger. “Just sign the
damn papers. The sale and custody.”

“
What? Did you have your attorney
up all night? I hope he charged you through the nose.”

“
Just sign the papers.” His
fingers curled into a fist instinctively, but he unfurled them. He
would not go to jail for assault; that’d ruin all his
plans.

Of which the first half had just been
completed. Reese patted his front pocket. Now it was time to go for
the touchdown.

***

Luke leaned over and popped a grape into
Staci’s mouth. Thank goodness he’d planned-—
hoped
—ahead. He
had at least four pounds of the fruit to get through.

“
You’re not sorry about pulling a
fast one on your mother last night, then?” he asked
gently.

Staci pulled the sheet up and chewed
thoughtfully. She swallowed and shook her head. “No. I’m glad I
finally defied her. What I didn’t count on was what she’d do about
it. I’d never thought she’d sell the restaurant. Not in a million
years. She liked the income too much. That Mr. Fiorello must be
made of money to offer enough for her to say yes.” She took the
next grape he offered. “Nope, I thought it’d be a way for Bella to
get something nice in her life without worrying that my mother
would send Sophia away.” Staci sat all the way up.

“
You know,” she brushed a swath of
hair off her face. “I never realized how controlling my mother
really is. To what lengths she’d go to get her way.”

“
Really?”

“
Really.” Staci turned to him and
Luke sucked in his breath. Gone was the tacky broad who’d worn the
tight clothing. This new Staci, confident and giving, had an inner
beauty which radiated out through her skin. “If you knew why she
was the way she was, you might understand.”

He liked this new Staci. Really liked her.
Actually… he even loved her. Imagine that. “Eh hem.” He cleared his
throat. “So, why
is
she the way she is?”

“
She’s got entitlement issues. She
thinks that—”

Luke’s cell phone broke into their
conversation. “It’s my attorney. It might be about
Jared.”

Staci nodded. “I understand.”

“
Hello? What? Uh huh. Yeah. Okay.
Sure, sure. What’s the address?” Luke reached for a paper and pen.
“Yeah, got it.” He hung up. Boy, the last twenty-four hours were
just full of surprises. “Well, I shouldn’t have any problems
getting full custody of Jared now that Tanya got arrested last
night.”

“
She did? For what?”

Luke grinned. “You know, sometimes there is
justice in this world. She’s been arrested for solicitation.” He
held out a hand to her. “Were you serious when you said you liked
kids?” He saw her startle of surprise and the little gnaw on her
lip. But then there was a smile as her hand slid into
his.

Her eyes sparkled. “Yes. I was. Let’s go get
your son.”

“
And maybe make him
our
son?”

Luke smiled as he helped a stunned-silent
Staci get dressed and down to his car. This relationship thing was
better than he’d ever realized. And good thing, too, because if
he’d realized it sooner, he wouldn’t be with Staci. And that would
be a damn shame.

***

“
I don’t ever want to go home
again, Chloe.” Bella wrapped her hands around her coffee mug in her
friend’s farmhouse kitchen.

Chloe sat beside her and pulled a tray of
muffins between them. “I know, sweetie, but you can’t just kidnap
Sophia. Sophia’s the ace up Madeleine’s sleeve to keep you dancing
to her tune and she knows it.”

Bella sighed. “I know, but I’m just so worried
she’s going to send Sophia away. You should have seen how angry she
was last night over one little kiss.”

“
Little?”

Bella felt her cheeks warm and not with
embarrassment. She could still feel the heat between her and Reese.
And wanted to relive it all over again, feel the thrill, the
shimmering in her stomach, his body surrounding hers, his
incredibly potent maleness overcoming her senses—and obviously, her
good sense. “Well, okay, it was more than a little kiss, but I am
an adult, for Pete’s sake. Can’t I kiss a guy without being made to
feel like an awkward teenager?

“
Apparently not,” Chloe answered.
“So what are you going to do now that she’s sold the restaurant?
Have you told Sophia?”

Bella shook her head. “I didn’t have the heart
to. I just picked her up from Aunt Theresa’s house last night and
brought her here. I told her Senara wanted to have a
sleepover.”

Chloe poured another round of coffee. “You
know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. Luckily, this
place has plenty of bedrooms, but at some point you’re going to
have to face your evil stepmother.”

Bella dropped her chin into her hand. “Do I
have to?”

“
Yes. You do. Maybe you should
talk to Reese, too. The guy looked pretty bleak when you
left.”

Bella shook her head again. “What more can I
say to him? He heard her, he knows I’ve got no place to run my
catering business from, so he’s definitely not going to be
interested in hiring me again.”

“
What if he’s interested in
something else?”

Bella sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Madeleine’s
proven she’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep me in line. I can
take losing the restaurant, but I can’t lose Sophia.” Bella sat
back, her hands on her thighs. “No, what I’ve got to do is get
started on finding a place to build my catering business. Last
night was a success, regardless of Madeleine’s theatrics. And there
was a huge turnout of this city’s top movers and shakers.
Hopefully, I’ll get referral business.” She stood. “I’ve just got
to go back, eat crow around Madeleine, and keep Sophia safe at
home. Once my business is established, I’ll use my portion of the
sale to fight her for custody. It’s all I can do.”

“
And Reese?”

Bella turned from the tenderness in her
friend’s face. The pain was raw, but she could do nothing about it.
“Until I’ve got custody of Sophia, I can’t see him again.
Period.

“
Uh, Chloe? Bella?” Dakota,
Chloe’s eldest, called from the front door. “I think you’re going
to want to see this.”

Chapter
Thirty-Nine

Reese was more nervous than he’d ever been in
a game, or at any post-game interview. He shouldn’t be; he was used
to talking to the media, but that’d always been about a game or, of
late, his business.

But today was different.

He shrugged into the new shirt and jacket his
mom had brought with her. He could use a shower, but time had been
his enemy last night so he’d have to make do. Some deodorant,
cologne, and toothpaste were going to have to suffice.

“
Are you sure you want to do this
this way, honey?” His mom brushed some imaginary lint off the black
fabric.

“
I’m sure, Mom. That way, there’s
no question in anyone’s mind. Especially Bella’s.”

His mother rolled her eyes. “She’s a smart
lady. She’s not going to question you.”

His mother didn’t know Bella. But he did. And
he knew this was right. For both of them.

“
Is it here yet?” He looked at
Kelly.

“
Just pulled up. As
ordered.”

Reese ran a finger under his collar. “Good. It
has to be perfect.”

“
Oh, honey, how could it not be
with you behind all of this?”

Reese gave his mom a quick peck on the cheek
and shook hands with his father. “Wish me luck.”

***

Jonathan Griff chuckled and put away his
iTouch. “It’s not luck you’re needing, Reese, my boy.”

He picked up the reins, gave them a flick and
started off to make the rendezvous.

***

Bella could
not
believe her
eyes.

Even with Sophia and Chloe’s kids laughing and
hollering about it, and Chloe alternating between amusement and
amazement, Bella couldn’t comprehend what was pulling down the
driveway of Chloe’s farm.

A carriage.

A glass carriage.

A
round
glass carriage with big wheels,
a liveried driver, a pair of footmen, and a bunch of
horses.

And Reese riding inside.

“
Uh, Bella?” Chloe nudged her. “I
think your Prince Charming has just ridden in on his white
horse.”

“
Six white horses,” said
Senara.

“
And television cameras,” added
Sophia.

Bella tore her gaze away from Reese for a few
seconds to see that, yes, there were indeed television cameras in
the news vans following the carriage. When they reached the
circular part of the driveway, the vans split up, each vying for
the perfect angle as the carriage pulled up to the front porch
steps.

The footmen—Giac and Gus—jumped off the back
and opened the doors.

Mr. Griff, the driver, saluted her from the
brim of his hat.

“
Good thing you put that dress
back on,” Chloe muttered.

Bella fiddled with the skirt. She’d come
straight here after leaving the boat and while she’d slept in one
of Chloe’s t-shirts, she’d decided to wear the dress home and
change there.

Reese stepped down from the
carriage.

Chloe nudged Bella’s shoulder. “You might want
to meet him halfway.”

Bella took a tentative step down, but then
stopped. What he was doing… Madeleine wasn’t going to like
it.

“
Bella.” Reese held out his hand
as he climbed the porch steps to her.

Bella wanted to take it, but there was still
Sophia to worry about. “Reese, I can’t—”

He ran up the last three steps and put a
finger to her lips. “Hear me out first.”

Oh how she wanted to nibble on that finger. To
suck it into her mouth and do all the stuff her dreams had imagined
for her last night.

But she didn’t. Because there were kids
around. And camera crews.

Camera crews?

“
What’s with the reporters?” she
whispered.

“
Just pretend they’re not
there.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You might be used to
them, but I’m not.” And didn’t want to be. She wasn’t quite sure
where he was going with all of this, but she had a feeling he
wouldn’t want to get shot down on live tv.

Oh, God.
Live
tv…

He reached for her hand. A dozen cameras honed
in on her face.

“
What are you doing?” she
whispered, trying not to enunciate clearly for lip readers watching
at their homes.

He smiled at her. “It’s all going to be all
right, Bella. I spoke to Madeleine this morning.”

“
You what?” That she said loud and
clear for everyone to hear.

Reese smiled and brushed a few strands of hair
from her face. “I told you. It’s all going to be all right.” He
reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded stack of
papers bound in blue and handed it to her. “It’s all right
here.”

“
I don’t understand—”

“
Read them.”

She bit her lip before taking the papers
warily as if they were going to bite her. She didn’t like
blue-bound papers. Legal papers. She was almost afraid to open
them.

“
Go ahead. They won’t
bite.”

She cracked a smile at that, but still took
her time.

And then she read the words.

And she couldn’t read them fast
enough.

Now she certainly wasn’t a law scholar, but
words like s
ale of Casteleoni’s restaurant to Reese
Charmant
, and
full custody of Sophia Analiese Castaleoni to
Lucinda Isabella Casteleoni, effective immediately
were easy
enough to understand.