“Erik, can we please just eat?” Logan said as he walked into the hallway where Yvonne and Erik were standing.
“No, we can’t just eat,” he snapped, then focused an angry stare on his mother. “Why are we here, when you made it clear that we weren’t welcome?”
“I was wrong.” Yvonne’s eyes filled with water. “I-I . . . For so many years, I went along with everything your father wanted, and I’m trying not to . . . I don’t want to make things worse between us. I love you boys and I’m sorry that I listened to your father when he was the one who brought this on himself. Erik, you didn’t do anything wrong when you turned him in.”
“Why did it take you so long to figure that out?”
Logan placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Chill out. This is our mother and you’re on the line of disrespect.”
Yvonne shook her head. “No, Logan. I’m the one who has been disrespectful, to both of you. I can’t change the past and I can’t undo the hurt that I see in my son.” She reached up and stroked Erik’s cheek. “But I have to make things right. And since I sent the staff home, we better eat before the food gets cold.”
Erik chuckled. “Still afraid to use a microwave, Mom?”
“They cause wrinkles!”
Logan and Erik doubled over in laughter and then Erik wrapped his arm around Yvonne’s shoulder. “You’re lucky that you have a son who can crack the anti-aging code. As a matter of fact, I did that today.”
Yvonne smiled proudly. “Then I’m sure a lot of women are going to be praising your name.”
“Pretty sure he just wants one to do that,” Logan said, then scooted away from his brother’s glare.
Yvonne tilted her head to the side. “Are you going to tell me about this special lady he keeps mentioning?”
“Where’s that food?” Erik diverted. “I’m hungry.”
“Her name is Sylvie!” Logan called from the kitchen.
“Nobody asked you!”
Yvonne linked arms with her son and patted his hand. “She must be special if Logan met her.”
Erik nodded. “She’s definitely one of a kind.”
“Maybe I’ll get to meet her one day.”
He glanced at his mother and offered her a fake smile, but didn’t respond. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to rave about Sylvie and how special she was becoming to him, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring her into the shit show that was his family.
“Oh,” Yvonne said quietly.
“We’ll have to see what happens.” He was sure that his mother didn’t miss the double meaning of his words. When they got into the kitchen, they laughed at Logan’s plate, which was overflowing with macaroni and cheese and cabbage. Just like when he was a kid, he’d poured ketchup on everything.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” Yvonne said. “I hope you left enough for the rest of us.”
“Just a little bit.” He nodded toward the pan with the meatloaf in it.
Erik grabbed a plate and filled it with the savory meatloaf and veggies. He wasn’t a huge fan of mac and cheese, but cabbage was his favorite. He glanced at his mother, who hadn’t placed anything on her plate. “You’re not eating?”
Yvonne shook her head and walked over to the refrigerator. “I’m doing a smoothie cleanse right now.”
“Why?” Logan asked with his mouth half stuffed with food.
She pulled out a tumbler filled with a green liquid that reminded Erik of vomit and took a huge sip. He and Logan shuddered.
“Ma, that looks disgusting,” Erik said as he took a seat beside Logan. “Probably tastes worse than those SlimFast shakes we used to steal at night.”
Logan nodded as he swallowed his food. “Which is why I have to double check everything chocolate to this day.”
Yvonne placed her tumbler on the counter. “It’s healthy and I . . .”
“Is something wrong?” Erik asked as he set his plate down.
She looked out the window and took a deep breath. When Erik saw the tears in his mother’s eyes, he crossed over to her. Drawing her into his arms, Erik hugged his mother. “What’s going on?”
Logan dropped his fork and crossed over to them. “Ma, why are you crying? What’s the matter?” He glanced at his brother and shrugged.
“I wanted y’all here tonight because . . . I got some bad news last week and . . .” Yvonne started sobbing. Erik held her tighter, thinking that this had everything to do with his father. He’d been tamping down his anger at Simon, but if he’d hurt his mother, all bets were off.
“What did he do?” Erik demanded.
“What?”
He rubbed her shoulder. “What did Dad do to make you this upset?”
“Your father has nothing to do with this.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I have breast cancer.”
Erik felt his lungs constrict. Logan held on to his mother’s elbow and led her to a chair at the bar.
“Why are you just now telling us this?” Logan asked.
“It wasn’t as if we were on the best of terms when I found out. But I just can’t keep this bottled up when I know that . . .”
“We can get you the best specialists and you can beat this,” Erik said. “What did Dad say?”
“I haven’t told him yet.” Yvonne’s voice was barely audible.
“You haven’t told Dad? Why?” Logan questioned. “He needs to be there for you. All of us do.” He shot Erik a cold look.
“We do have to have your back on this, Ma. All of us need to be here for you and help you beat this.”
Yvonne rubbed her face and shook her head. “There’s not much we can do. The cancer has metastasized to my brain and my liver.”
“What does that mean?” Logan asked.
“The doctor said that I may have eighteen months to a year, tops.”
Erik wiped his face and shook his head. “I’m not going to lose you, Ma. First thing in the morning, I’m calling my boy at Emory and we’re going to get some answers.”
“The only answer is that I’m going to die and I want my family to be whole before I’m gone.” She broke down again and Erik felt as if he was going to die right then. He couldn’t remember seeing his mother cry. Couldn’t remember his heart breaking like glass, ever.
“You can’t give up, Ma. We’re going to help you fight.” Erik turned away as his eyes filled with tears. He knew he needed to be strong for his mother. And this fight was going to mean that he’d have to forgive his father.
“We can’t fix this,” she said, then rose to her feet. Yvonne paced the length of the bar. “And your father can’t know about this. The last thing Simon is capable of is dealing with hardship right now.”
“This isn’t a hardship, Ma.” Logan slapped his hand down on the countertop. “This is your life and—”
The sound of the alarm alerting them that the front door had been opened stopped all of the conversation. Moments later, Simon walked into the kitchen.
“What in the hell are they doing here?” he boomed as he looked at his sons.
“They are our children,” Yvonne said. “I thought you weren’t coming home tonight.”
“My house, I can come and go as I please, but these Judas-ass bastards aren’t welcome here. We’ve talked about this, Yvonne, and I want them out.”
Erik glared at his father. “You son of a bitch. I’m here to see my mother and I’m not going anywhere.”
Simon stalked over to his son and stood nose to nose with him. “What did I say? Get out of my house!”
“Dad,” Logan called out. “Do you even care why Ma invited us to have dinner with her tonight?”
Simon gazed at Logan and snorted. “Why are you even here? You don’t give a damn about this family, yet—”
“Shut up! All of you shut up! I wanted to have dinner with my children and I did. Simon, just leave us alone.”
Simon turned to his wife and pursed his lips. “We’ll talk about this later.” He start
ed for the back door and Erik punched his father in the face.
Yvonne gasped and Logan rushed over to his brother, grabbing his shoulder. “This isn’t the time,” Logan said.
Simon attempted to punch Erik, but he ducked out of the way of his father’s fist. Shaking Logan’s hand off him, Erik charged at his father and knocked him to the floor. “You don’t want this fight, Simon.”
“You think you’re a big man? Think you’re doing something by running my company. Boy, you ain’t shit.”
“Then I’m just like you! You don’t even know what’s going on in your own house and you want to come in here and act like a caveman?”
“Don’t be here when I get back.” Simon slowly rose to his feet and then left the house.
Yvonne shivered and cried. “This isn’t what I wanted this night to be. I hate seeing this. You two have to stop being angry at your father.”
Erik sucked his teeth. “After all of this, you’re still taking his side?” Shaking his head, Erik stalked out the door.
Chapter 15
Olivia drained her coffee cup, then burst out laughing. Sylvie was not amused.
“You’re falling for Erik Jordan and you don’t want to admit it.”
Sylvie rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers against the coffee cup. “That’s a lie. I said I like him and I enjoy having sex with him. Where in that do you get that I’m falling for him?”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Sylvie, I know you. This role that you’re trying to play right now is a farce. You’re not a casual-sex girl. Had that been the case, you would’ve dropped Stephen years before you did. And if a son of a bitch deserved to be dropped, it was that bastard.”
Sylvie cast her eyes downward as she felt a few tears threatening to spring forward. “I’m not falling for Erik. But he is a really nice guy. Besides, we have business between us and this could get really complicated.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you slept with him again. Obviously, there’s a spark between the two of you that goes beyond sex.”
“What if it isn’t?” Sylvie shrugged. But she knew it was deeper than that. After all, the man wanted to help her fix her car. A car that meant more to her than getting from point A to point B. That was big, wasn’t it?
“I’m happy for you. Because after Stephen, I thought you were going to bury yourself in work and pretend that you didn’t want a happily-ever-after. You know you deserve one, right?”
“Sorry, everyone can’t be like you and LJ. I’m still blown that he’s a Jordan and hid it from the public all of these years.”
“Clearly you haven’t watched his father’s interview today. Logan dodged a bullet that Erik took head-on.”
Sylvie shook her head. “I haven’t watched it because this is so sad. Erik clearly wants to be close to his family, and for them to come against him like this—it’s not a good look.”
Olivia picked up her empty cup. “But you’re not falling for him, yet you’re feeling some kind of way about how his family is treating him. But it’s just casual?”
Sylvie narrowed her eyes at her friend. “Can I be honest for a second?”
Olivia nodded.
Sylvie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I’m pretty sure my relationships are going to have to be casual for the rest of my life. I found out a few years ago that I’m not going to be able to have children.”
“Sylvie,” Olivia said, then brought her hand to her mouth.
“Stephen and I wanted a child and we tried for about a year. After I found out that I only have one functioning ovary, that’s when our relationship went from bad to worse.”
“What do you mean?”
Sylvie closed her eyes to hold back her tears. “Stephen wasn’t supportive at all. You get the worst news you could ever hear and the minute you have a disagreement he brings it up.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “I swear, if I see that fucker on the street I’m going to run him over.”
Tears welled up in Sylvie’s eyes. “You don’t want to do that. His child is going to need a father.”
“His child?”
“With Amanda.”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “Sylvie, are you all right?”
She wiped her eyes. “I’m fine. Okay, that’s a lie. It’s not that I’m holding on to some feelings for him, but knowing that those two are about to have the one thing I know I can’t have makes me feel some kind of way, and I don’t want to set myself up to be hurt by any man who wants the one thing I can’t give him.”
“Which is? You have a big heart, you love with your whole soul, and there are more ways to have kids. And guess what, there are men in this world who don’t want kids.”
“But what if I do? What if I want to give my mama that grandchild she keeps hinting about?”
“Then your rich future husband will have all kinds of specialists come in and get you tested.”
“My what?”
“If you and Erik want to have a baby, he will make that happen. Calm down.”
“Who said I wanted to . . . You know what, I’m not doing this with you.”
“Doing what?” Olivia shrugged.
“Building a fantasy life with a man who has more drama going on than The Young and the Restless. And it’s not that serious between us. We’re just . . .”
“Falling in love. Now, you know I’m not one to gossip, but in the three years that LJ and I have been together, I’ve never seen Erik with the same woman twice. I mean, he’s a love-them-and-leave-them type of guy. But you have the keys to the castle. Don’t miss out on something special because you’re trying to be hardheaded.”
“Really? You’re that girl now?”
“The girl who wants her friend to finally be happy in every aspect of her life? Yes, yes, I am. I will say this—you’ve been smiling a whole lot more these days.”
“That’s because my business is booming. Things are finally looking up for me, despite what Amanda tried to do. I’m a survivor out here.”
“Start singing and I’m going to walk out that door as if I don’t know you.”
“That’s fine. It’s not like I can’t take an Uber or call Erik, since we’re meeting at his house tonight.”
“That’s what we’re calling it now?” Olivia raised her right eyebrow. “You’re going to spend the night with him and show him paint swatches while y’all are naked in bed. I get it. It’s a working affair.”
“You make me sick.” Sylvie didn’t hide her grin. “But that is a good way to make him go along with all of my plans.”
“Eww, you’re really going to use your body to renovate that man’s house?” Olivia laughed. “Get him, girl!”
“I’m not getting him. We’re just . . .”
“Falling for each other like a ton of bricks. It’s okay. Act like it’s something casual and meaningless. That way I can always rub this in your face.”
Sylvie rolled her eyes and sighed. “I need to go home and change.” She glanced at her watch. “Hopefully dinner with his mother didn’t end up in a hot mess.”
“Knowing those people, I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t get in a fight. But I hope LJ and his mother can find their way back to each other. He misses being close to her.”
“I couldn’t imagine not being close to my mama.”
Olivia nodded. “So, what’s wrong with your car now?”
“I need some specialty part that’s available at a parts store about four hours away from here.”
Olivia sighed. “Have you ever thought about just making the Jag a weekend car?”
“No. You know I love that car. I feel really close to my father when I drive it. Sometimes it’s like we’re riding together and I hear him speaking to me. Or I’ll hear a song that he and Mom used to dance to, and I know it’s going to be a good day. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”
“No. But I still think you need a vehicle that’s a little more reliable. I’m still blown away that you drove all around the Sou
theast finishing those jobs without that car breaking down on you.”
“I guess Daddy was looking out for me.” Sylvie smiled. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford another car, or hadn’t thought about it. But she didn’t want to get rid of her father’s car.
“You can keep that car and get a new one. It doesn’t mean any less to you if you do that.”
Sylvie nodded. “I know. I’ll think about it. But for now, I’m leaning on my friends and using this Uber app.”
“As long as you don’t drive that big truck around town, I’m happy. Oh, wait. I have to get those beans for Logan.”
While Sylvie waited for Olivia to make her purchase, she pulled out her cell phone and sent a text to Erik.
Hope you have some dessert at your house for our meeting.
She and Olivia headed for the exit.
When she arrived at home, Sylvie realized that Erik hadn’t replied. She couldn’t help but hope he and his family had made peace. Heading for the garage, Sylvie stood in front of the Jag and rubbed her hand across the bumper.
“All right, Dad. Tell me that this guy isn’t going to break my heart.” She laughed. “I guess you and Mom wrote the book on being able to find the love of your life, huh? Things are different these days. It’s hard to know who to trust. But Erik seems different. Or maybe I’m just fooling myself.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. No response from him at all. That was strange, or maybe it was the sign she’d been looking for. Or she was doing it again, trying to keep herself from falling in love with a man who would certainly break her heart.
Sylvie hadn’t told Olivia, but she did google Erik, and saw what a serial dater he was. Models, movie stars, social media mavens. Everything that Sylvie wasn’t. Mind you, it wasn’t as if she didn’t think she couldn’t compete with anyone, but she didn’t want to wake up and see that she lost herself to love again.
Nope. She wasn’t going to risk that again. What did she have to show for the last time she fell in love? A broken heart and wavering self-confidence. That’s why she had poured herself into her work and swore that she was going live her life with very little drama and extreme success. To her, love brought drama. What she felt right now, glancing at her phone every five seconds because she was waiting on a text, she was living through drama.
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