Unforgotten Passion (Dirty Sexy Fairy Tales Book 4)

by Erika Wilde

  “Someone will be right down to see you,” he said, and if he realized who she was, he didn’t show it.

  “Thank you.” She strolled toward the elevators, expecting her furious mother to be the one to come down and get her. Much to Raevynn’s surprise and relief, when the doors slid open, it was Glen, her bodyguard, waiting inside.

  He was wearing one of his fitted suits and motioned her into the lift. When she joined him and it was just the two of them alone, ascending toward the top of the hotel building, she took off her glasses and smiled at the other man.

  “Good to see you, Glen,” she said, not missing the shocked expression on his face as he looked at her short hair.

  He recovered quickly. “Welcome back,” he returned, his tone wry. “Looks like you made quite a major change while you were away.”

  She gave her head a little toss to make the layered waves bounce and laughed. “I did.”

  “I like it.” His tone was sincere as his gaze came back to her face. “You look . . . rested. And happy.”

  “I am,” she said softly. “To both.”

  Glen inclined his head. “I’m glad to see your guy took good care of you.”

  “He did, and I’m happy to see you didn’t get fired,” she teased him.

  He gave her a pointed look. “Your mother threatened to.”

  “I’m sure she did.” But as she’d told Glen, he worked for her, not her mother, and she never would have let that happen. “Your bonus will be forthcoming.”

  He chuckled with humor. “Trust me, after listening to your mother’s tirades the past three days, I deserve it. I apologize for what you’re about to walk into.”

  She gave him a reassuring smile. “You have nothing to apologize for. I left of my own free will.”

  The elevator pinged their arrival on the top floor, which opened up into the hotel’s biggest, most luxurious penthouse. Normally, Raevynn would be seized with anxiety over what she’d done and her mother’s reaction, but she felt oddly calm as she walked across the marbled foyer while her mother came toward her from the living room.

  “It’s about time you got here,” she said irritably. “I can’t believe you left me hanging for three days, not knowing where you were—” Joyce’s approach and words abruptly stopped at the same time as she gasped, her eyes widening as she took in Raevynn’s short locks with undisguised horror.

  “What have you done with your hair?” she nearly shrieked.

  “I cut it,” Raevynn said with a shrug. “Like I’ve wanted to do for a while now.” She set her bag on the couch while Glen veered toward the kitchen, giving the two of them privacy but still remaining nearby.

  Her mother’s hand fluttered up to the collar of her silk blouse. “Jesus, Raevynn. You run off with someone you barely know, and you cut your hair until you’re nearly bald!” she exaggerated. “Are you having a mental breakdown? Because if you are, we can get you some meds—"

  “Mother, I’m fine,” she said, cutting her off, her own irritation increasing. “And I didn’t run off with someone I barely knew. I left with Collin Donovan, as you well know, who is someone I’ve always trusted. And still do.”

  Her mother’s Juvédermed lips pursed at the mention of his name, but she didn’t address Collin at all, her concern far more superficial. “I suppose we can get a wig commissioned for you to wear in public until your hair grows back. Jesus, we’re going to lose so much in hair product endorsements.”

  Raevynn’s jaw dropped at her mother’s absurd suggestion, along with what she was most worried about. Money. Which had always been far more important to Joyce than to Raevynn—which was evident in the designer labels she bought, the cosmetic procedures she didn’t hesitate to schedule for herself, the high-end jewelry she wore, and other luxurious items she purchased on a whim.

  “I’m not wearing a wig,” Raevynn said, her tone firm and inflexible. “As for future product endorsements, if a company doesn’t like the current length of my hair for their shampoo or conditioner line, so be it. And while we’re having this conversation, here are a few other things I’m not going to do.”

  Her mother’s eyes narrowed, but Raevynn didn’t miss the shadow of worry in their depths. Joyce clearly did not like this new assertive side to her daughter.

  “I’m not signing the contract for another world tour.”

  Her mother sucked in a sharp intake of breath. “You can’t be serious. That’s millions in revenue.”

  “The money doesn’t matter to me, and I’m very serious.” Raevynn crossed her arms over her chest. “Touring the world for nine months out of a year isn’t what I want or enjoy any longer. And it’s not something I have to do to be a successful singer and songwriter. I want . . . I need room in my life for more than just touring and performing. I want room in my life for Collin.”

  “What has that boy done to you?” she asked incredulously. “Did he get inside your head and convince you this is what you have to do? To be with him?”

  “No, he didn’t get inside my head. And he’s a grown man, Mother. Not a boy any longer that you can blackmail or manipulate.” Raevynn blatantly called her mother out on the past and what she’d done, but didn’t wait for the denials and excuses she knew her mother would issue, given the chance. “And what Collin gave me was the time and space and opportunity to think clearly for the first time in seven years without anyone else influencing my decisions. I’ve been feeling this way for a long time now. I just never had the freedom to step away from the spotlight and reassess my life, my career, and my future. Until now.”

  Anger mottled her mother’s complexion, and it was clear she knew her control on Raevynn was unraveling with very little left for her to hold on to. “So, you’re going to give all this up for him?” she asked bitterly as she waved a hand around the penthouse, indicating the luxury surrounding them.

  “No, I’m only giving up the things that don’t make me happy,” she said, though she didn’t expect her mother to understand when the other woman was too immersed in the commercial side of Raevynn’s career. “Not for Collin. I’m doing it for me.”

  Joyce’s chin lifted furiously. “You’re going to regret this.”

  “No, I don’t think I am.” What she’d regret more was losing Collin for good, and that wasn’t an option. “One more thing. I’m firing you as my manager.”

  Her mother’s eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. “What?” Her voice rose to a high-pitched shrill. “You can’t do that!”

  “I can. And I just did,” she said, her tone gentle but without any room for compromise. “I know you don’t see it right now, but I made that decision because I love you as my mother. And that’s what you need to be for me. A loving parent. Not my manager who is in control of every aspect of my life and career. You’ve been that since I was a toddler in beauty pageants. Twenty-four years of focusing solely on me. Dictating my choices, my level of happiness, and who I should and shouldn’t be with. I think it’s time we both figure out what makes us the happiest.”

  Her mother’s panic was palpable, a mixture of dismay and anger as Joyce glared at Raevynn. Without a doubt, Raevynn knew that she and her mother would have a lot more to discuss, and it would take months if not years for them to form a new type of relationship, but for right now, she’d addressed all the important things that mattered the most to her. Everything else they’d have to work out, one issue at a time. Raevynn had finally stood up for herself, and now she felt free and liberated and in charge of her own destiny.

  Now that she’d said her piece, she had one more loose end to tie up. She picked up her bag and turned toward Glen, who wore a holy shit kind of look on his handsome face as he seemingly digested everything that had just happened.

  “Would you mind taking me somewhere, Glen?” she asked him.

  He grinned at her, that shock in his gaze warming to something akin to pride. “Of course not.” He started toward the elevator with Raevynn following behind.

  “Where are y
ou going?” her mother demanded.

  Raevynn didn’t owe her mother an explanation or an account of her whereabouts any longer. But she still turned around and smiled at Joyce, because she wanted her mother to know where, and with who, her heart belonged.

  “I’m going to be with the man who makes me the happiest.”

  “What do you mean you just dropped her off at the hotel and let her go?”

  Collin winced as his sister yelled at him through his cell phone, nearly bursting his eardrum with her high-pitched tone.

  When he’d gotten to his apartment a short while ago, he’d sent Avery a quick text telling her that he was at home after taking Raevynn back to her hotel. Seconds later, his sister was calling him, and when he’d given her a brief rundown of what had transpired, concluding with things being left unresolved with Raevynn, Avery had lost it.

  “Did you at least tell Raevynn you loved her before you let her go?” his sister asked, reiterating his stupidity.

  “No,” he replied, hearing the defensive note in his voice.

  She groaned. “What the hell, Collin? Why wouldn’t you tell her how you feel before you went your separate ways again? How you still feel about her after all these years?”

  Collin dragged his fingers through his hair as he paced his living room, pulling on the strands. “I did it to make things easy on her. So she wasn’t torn about any decisions she needed to make about her career based on my feelings for her. I didn’t want to muddy the situation.”

  “Just like you didn’t tell her what Joyce did to you seven years ago? Just like you walked away from Raevynn back then, to make it easy on her instead of giving her a choice in the matter?” His sister made a tsking sound that made him feel like one of her kids being reprimanded. “Jesus, Collin. You’re an idiot.”

  Having all that thrown back at him definitely made Collin feel like one.

  “She’s a big girl who can think for herself,” his sister went on relentlessly. “An adult, if you hadn’t noticed.”

  “I noticed,” he growled irritably.

  “And as an adult, she’s capable of making her own choices.” Avery was on a roll and barely stopped to take a breath in order to make her point. “But she can’t make the right decision if she doesn’t know all the facts. Like the fact that you love her.”

  Collin rubbed at his temples, where the beginning of a headache was taking hold from his sister’s unfiltered opinion on the matter, which he really couldn’t argue because she was right, damn it. “Okay, okay, I get it. I made a mistake.” And dear God, he hoped he wasn’t too late to fix it.

  “Yes, you did.” Avery huffed on her end of the line, calming down a fraction. “But at least it’s a mistake that can be corrected this time. Do you want Raevynn in your life?”

  The question grabbed at his heart, and he squeezed his eyes shut, seeing him and Raevynn and their future together. He’d never seen any other woman in that scenario. “More than anything I’ve ever wanted.”

  “Then get your ass over to the Plaza Hotel, tell Raevynn you love her and can’t live without her, and plan to grovel, you dumb shit!”

  He laughed, just as a knock echoed in his apartment. “Hey, Avery, someone’s here. I need to go. I’ll keep you posted on what happens.”

  “You’d better!”

  He disconnected the call as he walked over to the door and opened it. His entire body jolted with shock at seeing Raevynn standing on the other side. A few feet behind her was her bodyguard, Glen.

  “You good from here, Raevynn?” the other man asked.

  She smiled at him. “Yes, thank you for bringing me over.”

  Glen nodded, then headed toward the elevator, and a few seconds later he was gone, leaving the two of them alone.

  Collin stared at the beautiful woman in front of him in disbelief. “What are you doing here?” He swallowed a groan. His sister was right. Total idiot. “Is everything okay?” He had no clue how things had gone with her mother.

  A smile tipped up the corner of her sweet mouth. “Everything is almost perfect,” she said cryptically. “Can I come in?”

  He shook some sense into himself and opened the door wider. “Of course.”

  She walked past him, wearing the same casual dress and carrying the same tote bag as earlier, which she set down on a living room chair. She glanced around at his minimalist furnishings and décor, then met his gaze. “Looks like this place could use a woman’s touch.”

  He arched a brow, playing along, even though he had so much to say to her. So much he needed her to know. “Are you offering?”

  “Maybe,” she said, clearly flirting with him. “Depends.”

  Hope rushed through him. “On?”

  “If you want a woman’s touch in your life.”

  He swallowed hard. Hers, absolutely. But he couldn’t say it just yet, not when he needed to make certain that everything had gone okay with Joyce. “How did things go with your mother?”

  That playful light in her eyes dimmed, telling him it had been a difficult conversation. “As well as could be expected, considering she didn’t see my transformation or newfound independent streak coming.”

  He laughed, imagining that had been a shock, along with her shorter hairstyle. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Well, in a nutshell, and in a short period of time, I pretty much took control of my career. And my life. And my future,” she said, her chin lifting a few inches. “I cancelled my world tour and fired my mother as my manager and told her that she needed to figure out what made her happy, because I knew exactly what made me happy.”

  “Yeah?” His heart pounded erratically, hopefully. “And what’s that?”

  “Writing songs. Cutting and producing albums. Maybe a few private performances.” She paused for a few beats before stepping up to him and skimming her fingers along his jaw, whispering, “And you.”

  He groaned, and, reaching up, he brought her hand to his mouth so he could kiss her palm. “Raevynn . . . you need to know I love you. So much. I never stopped loving you. I should have told you before you got out of my car at the hotel so there weren’t any doubts in your mind, but I didn’t want you to make any decisions about what you needed to do for your career based on being tied to me.”

  Her blue eyes softened. “I never doubted how you felt about me, Collin. You might not have said the words while we were at the beach house, but I felt them, to the depths of my soul. And the choices I made about my career are for me. You’re just a bonus. A very hot, sexy one. Whatever it takes, I want to make us work.”

  “We will,” he promised, and pressed his forehead to hers. “I made a lot of mistakes in the past, especially believing I knew what was best and letting you go, but you need to know that, going forward, I will fight to the death for you. You’re mine. Always and forever. I want to marry you and have babies with you and grow old with you.”

  “Yes,” she breathed against his lips. “I love you, Collin Donovan. Always have. Always will. You’re my Prince Charming who rescued me from my ivory tower. You’re my happily ever after.”

  He grinned. “Mmm. I like the sound of that.”

  And like any good prince, he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. They had seven years of lost time to make up for, and Collin vowed that every day she’d know how much he loved her.

  That she was his and always would be.

  Forever.

  Epilogue

  One year later . . .

  Raevynn sat beside her sexy, gorgeous husband in the Mercedes Roadster convertible she’d just bought for him as a birthday gift, which Collin had insisted was way too expensive and over the top, but she’d insisted right back that it was her prerogative to spoil him. Because she could. Her money had been invested well over the years, and while she wasn’t normally an extravagant spender, there were just some things worth splurging on. Her husband was one of them.

  With the top down on the convertible, the wind whipped through her short ha
ir as they drove along the highway toward New Jersey and the fairly modest second home they’d purchased on the coast, which they used as a getaway and for family gatherings. With Collin working for MadX-Tech in Brooklyn, they’d traded in his apartment for a place nearby with more rooms and space, so that Raevynn had her own studio to escape to when she needed a quiet place to write her songs. Her latest release, “Revelations,” was currently topping the charts, and she was spending more and more time collaborating with other big-name artists.

  Not wanting to be the center of attention or risk having her wedding day splashed all over social media, she and Collin had eloped quietly months ago—the two of them running off together to Atlantic City for a quickie ceremony with Avery and Kevin coming along and standing in as witnesses.

  All in all, life was good. The best it had ever been. Her heart was full, she had a career she loved that no longer overwhelmed her, and a man she adored who made sure she knew how much she meant to him every single day. They’d just found out that she was pregnant and Collin was elated. An unplanned surprise, but it was the best and most exciting gift to add to all her other good fortune. Avery was thrilled to be an aunt, and Raevynn was excited to give Harper and Lucas a new cousin to play with. But mostly, she and Collin were looking forward to building a family together.

  The only glitch in her cocoon of happiness was her relationship with her mother. After she’d fired Joyce as her manager nearly a year ago, which had been the right thing to do, things between the two of them had been strained. Not unexpected considering how much of her life her mother had invested into her daughter’s. Managing Raevynn’s life and career was all Joyce had known, and Raevynn knew the transition to managing herself had been a work in progress.

  But the news of an impending grandchild had softened something in Joyce. Made her more accepting, and Raevynn was hopeful that a sweet baby in their lives would help repair the rift between mother and daughter.

  Raevynn glanced at the man sitting beside her, so amazed that they’d found their way back to each other. Who knew that a fairy-tale ball would lead to the happy ending she’d always dreamed of?