by Raine Thomas
“I suppose when I’m visiting his house we’ll be in the clear,” Lily said, producing a weak smile and returning her focus to her soup.
“Based on what I’ve seen in the media, you’ve been almost exclusively at his house since you arrived into town,” his mother said in the same manner before sipping from her spoon.
“Why do you pay attention to that stuff?” Archer asked, infusing the words with exasperation. “You know half of it isn’t true.”
“It’s a guilty pleasure,” his mother replied matter-of-factly. “You’re my son. I read everything I possibly can about you and The Void. I’ve noticed that you’ve been getting quite a lot of press as well, Lily.”
Lily was no longer eating her soup, just stirring it with her spoon. “Yeah. It’s taking some getting used to.”
“Oh, I’d say you’re getting the hang of fame quite nicely,” his mother said with a knowing look. “There were several stories all about your shopping spree out on Rodeo Drive the other day. I have no doubt my son had a hand in that.”
“It was my idea, Mother,” Archer said firmly as though to divert her from the subject. He saw amusement in her gaze over his use of the more formal address rather than his usual Mom. “And Lily was spending her own money. She’s becoming pretty successful in her own right.”
“Is that right?” his mother said as she placed her spoon next to her empty soup cup. “I didn’t realize there was that much money in social media marketing. You’ll have to forgive my ignorance.”
“There were special circumstances,” Lily said carefully. “I don’t make enough to shop like that all the time.”
“I see.” After dabbing at the corner of her mouth with her napkin, his mother asked, “And when did you abandon the idea of becoming a legitimate writer to pursue this role with The Void, Lily?”
Ouch. Archer barely stopped himself from wincing over the dig. Maybe he should have set some parameters with his mother before this dinner.
“I am a writer,” Lily contested, also placing her spoon down to indicate she was finished even though half of her soup remained. “I’ve been writing articles during the tour and my social media posts are garnering a lot of attention.”
“You mean your little videos?” his mother said with a sniff.
Lily’s lips pressed together briefly before she replied, “I post written articles, too. Pieces about the band and some of the fans we meet.”
“I see. Well, that all seems very...worthwhile.”
Looking upset, Lily pushed away from the table. “Will you please excuse me for a moment?”
Archer watched her go and glowered at his mother. “Was that really necessary?”
His mother lifted her hands in an innocent gesture. “What? Am I not allowed to have higher standards for my son?”
“I’ve had enough,” Archer said, balling up his napkin and tossing it onto the table. “We’ll find dinner somewhere on the way to the theater.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, darling,” his mother said, rising to follow him out of the room.
Behind him, Archer heard his father telling Duff that they’d had enough filming in their home and he would show him to the door. Archer figured Duff and the show’s producers wouldn’t be thrilled, but he knew his father would steamroll over any of their objections.
Everything had gone exactly according to Lily’s plans.
He and his mother found her down the hall pacing in the living room. Lily smiled when she saw them, so Archer knew she hadn’t been unintentionally hurt by the staged scene.
“Is he gone?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“Leaving even now,” Archer’s mother said just as quietly, walking directly to Lily and giving her the hug she withheld when they arrived with the cameras filming. “That microphone they hid in the dining room chandelier is the only one I have to worry about, right?”
“Yes,” Lily said. “We’re not miked tonight, thank God.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s dreadful,” his mother said genuinely as she eased her hold on Lily and put enough space between them that she could look Lily in the eye. “Please tell me you didn’t believe a word of that garbage in the dining room.”
“Of course not,” Lily said sincerely enough that Archer believed her.
His mother smiled and gave Lily a true once-over. “My goodness, you look wonderful, sweetheart. You’ll have to tell me all about your shopping spree. Hearing about that was the most fun I’ve had all week.”
“It was a lot better than I thought it would be thanks to Dane,” Lily admitted.
Glancing at Archer over Lily’s shoulder, his mother said, “I’m happy to hear that he’s spoiling you. You deserve it. I almost commented about this spectacular necklace during dinner, figuring I could tie it into the gold-digging hints you wanted me to drop. But it’s too precious to sully with such nonsense.”
Lily reached up to touch the pendant. “Yeah, he surprised me with this and the earrings earlier.”
His mother gasped as she reached up to study the floral earrings. “Well, damn. I really missed an opportunity to play up the gold-digging angle then. I mean, these cost—”
Archer waved a hand to catch his mother’s eye and drew his hand sharply across his neck to tell her to stop that line of conversation.
His mother abruptly cut herself off and cleared her throat. “Well, talking about money is so gauche,” she said, taking Lily’s hands and squeezing them in both of hers. “They look magnificent on you. It makes me happy to know that my overindulged son appears to be proving himself worthy of you.”
Lily laughed. “He’s perfect.”
Lowering her voice to a staged conspiratorial tone, his mother said, “You’re not supposed to let them hear you say that, love. Goes straight to their heads.”
Archer rolled his eyes.
“Oh, well,” Lily said, giving Archer a quick, amused glance over her shoulder. “I’m sloppy over him. Guess there’s no denying that now.”
Archer’s father walked into the room, all smiles. “He’s gone. Now can we move into the kitchen and finish our dinner? That cup of broth hardly put a dent in my appetite.”
“Of course,” Archer’s mother said, linking arms with Lily and tugging her towards the kitchen. “And now I want to hear directly from these two how they finally saw what I’ve seen for years...that they’re perfect for each other.”
* * *
“You don’t have to help clear the table, Sydney,” Megan said as Sydney carried her plate into the kitchen.
“It’s not a problem,” Sydney replied. “My mama would have my hide if I ever sat back and let someone else clear my plate, especially after they treated me to dinner in their home.”
Megan took Sydney’s plate and added it to the soapy water in the sink. “It was the least Jeff and I could do after all the help you’ve offered Lex. Sorry it was just hamburgers and mac n’ cheese. Lex set the menu.”
Sydney smiled and picked up the dish towel hanging over the stove’s handle so she could dry as Megan washed. “I loved it. It was comfort food, which is never a bad thing.”
“True enough.”
They fell into a friendly rhythm of washing and drying. Sydney hadn’t expected to enjoy her evening as much as she had. Megan had extended the dinner invitation earlier that day and Sydney hadn’t had it in her to refuse, especially when Megan said how excited Lex was about the idea. Still, if Sydney hadn’t known that Keith would never attend a family dinner with his mother and stepfather, she might have declined. Her heart was far from recovered over the hole he had shot through it two days ago.
She wondered if it would ever fully recover.
“Did you see the new House of Archer trailer earlier?” Megan asked as she washed a cup.
“Of course.”
She had called Lily afterward to make sure she was okay and had been relieved to hear her friend was fine. Lily, however, had quickly picked up that Sydney wasn’t. She had tried to press for details
and had even offered to come home. Sydney had blown her off, saying she was just exhausted.
That had been true enough. She hadn’t slept much recently.
“How is Lily taking the exposure?” Megan asked.
“She’s doing pretty well, especially considering it was the last thing she would have ever wanted a month ago.”
“I imagine having a relationship with Archer makes it all a little more palatable,” Megan joked with a grin.
Sydney returned her smile. “It sure can’t hurt.”
“God, those dimples,” Megan sighed, shaking her head as she handed the next dish to Sydney. “He’s just a heart-stopper. He and Lily are adorable together.”
“Yeah. They’re off to a movie premiere tonight.”
“What a rough life.”
They both laughed. Sydney found it wonderful to feel amusement after the past couple days of devastating pain. Maybe she should be making more plans and going out rather than moping around her apartment and dwelling on her misery. She definitely felt more human today.
She considered the request Lily had made of her the day before. She had asked Lily to give her some time to think about it. Her first instinct had been to say no because it would involve seeing Keith again, but Lily seemed to feel it would really help the band. Sydney supposed if it was just for the hour or so that Lily promised and she made plans for later in the day to help keep her mind occupied, she could probably manage to fulfill Lily’s request.
“So are you looking forward to getting back to teaching after the summer?” Megan asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Oh, yes. I miss the kids. I’ve been putting together some lesson plans and activities that I think they’ll really enjoy.”
Earlier that day, she had met Jessica, Lex’s teacher from the year before, to have lunch and to do some joint educational planning. It had been helpful getting guidance from someone who had been teaching for a few years, and it was nice to have a friend who fully understood the trials and triumphs of teaching kids with special needs. Most importantly, Sydney felt more prepared for her first day in the classroom as the lead teacher.
“You get along so well with children,” Megan said. “I can picture you with a houseful of your own one day.”
Though the words were friendly, they inadvertently wrenched Sydney’s heart. She guessed she didn’t mask it well when Megan gave her a concerned look.
“Oh, goodness. Did I say something wrong?” Megan asked. “I’m sorry if I was insensitive.”
“No,” Sydney said, forcing a smile to ease the other woman’s mind. “I’m just having a rough time with something right now.”
Megan turned her attention to rinsing the plate in her hand. “It’s Keith, isn’t it?” she asked quietly.
Sydney wasn’t sure how to respond. She didn’t want to lie but she didn’t want to speak the truth to Keith’s mother, either.
“I knew there was something off between you two when you came back from the zoo,” Megan said, handing the plate to Sydney and turning off the water. “I should have known he would hurt you. It’s what he does.”
Sydney dried the plate and put it away before handing the towel to Megan so she could dry her hands. Her throat tightened over the sympathetic maternal look Megan gave her.
Megan waved her over to the small café table off to one side of the cozy kitchen. Not wanting to be rude, Sydney sat in one of the chairs.
“I’m sorry for whatever my son said or did to cause you pain,” Megan said, twisting the dish towel in her lap.
“It’s not your fault,” Sydney instinctively said.
“Oh, yes...it is.”
Sydney wasn’t sure whether she should press for more of an explanation. Megan made the decision easy by speaking before Sydney could.
“You need to understand that I loved Keith’s father, but he was...difficult,” she began, her blue eyes lost in memory. “We argued more often than not. We tried counseling in an effort to keep our family together but nothing worked. I finally filed for divorce from Ron when Keith was six. It felt like the only solution.”
When she drifted off, Sydney nodded in understanding. She had met enough couples over her years as a teacher’s assistant to know that staying together for the sake of a child wasn’t always the best choice.
“I fought for custody of Keith,” Megan continued. “Lord, it was a bitter, bloody battle. Ron made a lot more money than me and he hired a viper of a lawyer. I was stuck with a drone who wouldn’t work one minute more than I paid him for, and those minutes were hard to come by on my pay. But I begged, borrowed, and leveraged every cent I could to try and get custody of my son.
“All the while, Ron was filling Keith’s head with all kinds of nasty things about me any time he was allowed to visit. I could see how it was impacting Keith. He lashed out at me...at everyone. His grades started falling and he was getting numerous reports of aggressive behavior at school. Sydney, it was the worst time of my life.”
Sydney saw the tears in Megan’s eyes. She heard the emotion in her voice. And she believed her.
“Ron is the most stubborn and determined man I’ve ever met. He outlasted me financially and emotionally, and knew when I reached my breaking point. He came to me and said if I granted him sole custody of Keith, he would never say another bad word about me. He would see to it Keith was put in therapy and that he got back on track in school. I was so exhausted by it all that I chose to believe him. That proved to be the biggest mistake of my life. I had to let my baby go.”
Now Sydney’s heart hurt for another reason. It hurt for a mother who had lost her only child and for a six-year-old little boy whose life had been ripped apart.
“It was almost impossible for me to get any information about Keith after custody was awarded to Ron. Eventually, I pieced enough together to learn Ron wasn’t fulfilling his end of our bargain. It humiliates me to admit I didn’t think to have his promises put into the legal paperwork. There was nothing for me to take to the courts. Keith was still struggling in school and he hadn’t been to any therapist. Even worse, Ron started drinking. He became abusive. I didn’t find out about that until years later.”
Sydney pressed a hand to her chest, the pain almost unbearable as she thought of the child who had suffered. “Did you explain any of this to Keith?”
Megan wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’ve tried, of course. But he refuses to listen. You have to consider that from his perspective, I left him and his father to begin another life with another man and another child. He thinks I’m the woman who abandoned him and left him in the hands of his abuser so I could be happy elsewhere. I can’t even blame him for hating me.”
Sydney couldn’t imagine the other woman’s pain. “I’m so sorry, Megan.”
She dashed away another tear. “Thank you. I just thought you should know that Keith, well, he doesn’t bond with people. I was as surprised as anyone when he became attached to Lex. When he decided he wanted to be a part of her life, I was overjoyed. I’ll always be grateful for that miracle. It’s the only way I feel connected to him at all.”
“I understand,” Sydney murmured.
“If he pushed you away, it’s rooted in my failings. He doesn’t make commitments. I have no doubt that’s rooted in his abandonment by me. Lex and his band have been the only constants in his adult life. I don’t know why they’re different than anyone or anything else.
“But I have to admit how much this is killing me now. Because you’d be the best thing to ever happen to Keith if he let you in.”
That brought the tears back to Sydney’s eyes. She blinked them away, not wanting to add to any guilt Megan might be feeling.
“That’s sweet of you to say,” she said, not adding that the other woman’s apparent hopes would never be realized.
Lex walked into the kitchen then, pausing the conversation. Jeff trailed behind her wearing a sheepish grin.
“Sorry,” he said. “I kept her entertained as long as I could.
”
“That’s okay,” Megan responded, discreetly wiping the last of her emotion from her face before smiling at Lex. “Do you want some ice cream?” she asked and signed.
Lex’s face lit up and she nodded. Will you have ice cream with me, Angel? she asked Sydney.
Of course I will, Sydney replied, though food was the last thing on her mind. She’d have to make time later to process everything she had just learned.
“All right,” Jeff said, opening the freezer. “We’ve got chocolate and strawberry. Who wants which?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lily hadn’t ever been to a red carpet event before. She had desperately avoided such things throughout her friendship with Dane. Although he prepped her for what to expect, she was still nervous as hell.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Dane said as he brushed his lips along her neck in the back of the car Trey was driving. It was a sleek luxury sedan from Dane’s garage, fully equipped with a currently-engaged privacy shield between the front and back seats. “All you have to do is smile and wave.”
“Something tells me there will be more to it than that,” she mused.
There had better be, she silently added, picturing herself looking like the vapid models she had seen with other male celebrities at these things over the years.
“I’ll be with you the entire time,” he said, adding his tongue into the mix and making her issue a soft moan. “Well, most of the time.”
She pulled away from him at that. “Most of the time?”
“There’s the cast group shot,” he pointed out. “You’ll be with all of the other plebeians watching from the sidelines for that one.”
“I’d elbow you for that, but I applaud your use of the word plebeians.”
“Thank you. Now get back here.”
She held up a hand to stave him off. “I’ve decided that’s not a good idea. I don’t want to end up on the red carpet with a hickey. It was bad enough talking with your parents about staying at your house all week.”
“Why? Because they know we’ve been screwing like rabbits?”