Love After War

by Cheris Hodges

  Dana walked toward the elevator with Imani close on her heels. “What can I do? I still have a job to do and then there’s this thing with Ian.” She pressed the UP button and waited for the door to open.

  “What thing with Ian?” Imani asked.

  “He’s going to rehab. I had to reshoot his publicity photos today. That’s one of the reasons why I wasn’t in front of a TV to see Adrian’s bombshell. Part of me wants to stick around and be Ian’s cheerleader. Did you know he had a drinking problem?”

  Imani shook her head. “No idea at all. I’m really shocked. But why would you want to be his cheerleader when it’s obvious where your heart lies.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You made it seem as if you and this Adrian guy were going to start your failed relationship over . . .”

  “Watch it,” Dana gritted out.

  Imani shrugged and placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder as they stepped on the elevator. “I just want to make sure you’re all right.”

  “I’ve done this before. I’ll be fine.”

  “Well, you don’t have to do it again. And if you’re going to be Ian’s cheerleader, who knows what might develop romantically?” Imani wiggled her eyebrows.

  Dana rolled her eyes as the elevator stopped on her floor. “Ian is nice, but I’m not up for taking care of a drunk movie star. And wait, you’re actually pushing me toward a man who’s about to go to rehab for his alcohol addiction over Adrian?”

  Imani shrugged. “Well, Ian hasn’t broken your heart. But I guess you’re right. Why trade one set of problems for another set? The best thing to do is toss them all away. Including the newest member of the Crawford family.” They walked into Dana’s room and Imani immediately picked up the room service menu.

  “Imani, I want to be alone.”

  “After we eat, and I promise, no more questions about that asshole. If your gig here is done, you can go back to New York with me. Raymond left this morning because he’s tired of living out of a suitcase and he said he needs to give Keith some time to spend with Celeste.”

  “You married a prince. I hope you realize that.”

  Imani smiled and stroked her stomach. “Yes, I do. And I want you to marry a prince too. You deserve nothing less.”

  Dana’s thoughts drifted to Adrian. She couldn’t deny that she still loved him and yearned for a future with him. Nor could she pretend that she didn’t believe he wasn’t trying to hurt her again. But she was still mad as hell. Still hurt that he felt he had to hide his pain from her. Imani picked up the phone and ordered food while Dana absentmindedly flipped through the channels. She stopped when she saw Adrian’s face on Headline News’s Showbiz Tonight. The host set up the story, saying that Adrian Bryant, a successful Los Angeles nightclub owner, discovered his family roots and went public after his father, famed hotel mogul Elliot Crawford, denied that he’s his father.

  “Sounds like a case for Maury Povich,” the reporter said. “But it’s much deeper than the stories on the salacious talk show as the Crawford family is in the midst of producing a family book. Andrea Jackson is in LA with more on this story. Andrea.”

  The camera cut to a pretty, brown-skinned reporter with the Hollywood sign as her backdrop. “AJ, there’s no lack of drama in Hollywood and this story is just adding to it. Most of us know about former womanizer Solomon Crawford and his connections with some of Hollywood’s sexiest leading ladies. Now, he and his family are dealing with accusations that Elliot Crawford was living a double life and had another family on the West Coast.”

  Dana wanted to change the channel, but she was riveted. And still a little pissed that she had to watch HLN to find out the truth—or at least Adrian’s version of it.

  “That man,” Adrian said, “decided that money was more important than being a father to me or having a relationship with my mother.”

  “When did you find out that Elliot Crawford was your father?”

  “My mother told me with her last breath. Then I researched this man. He wants people to believe that he’s all about family, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  “Why are you telling your story now?”

  Adrian paused, then looked into the camera. “Because people need to know the truth.”

  His last statement incensed her and Dana snapped the TV off and tossed the remote across the room.

  “Damn,” Imani exclaimed.

  “What?”

  “In all of the years that I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you lose your cool like that.”

  Dana shook her head. “No, because you’re the one who usually flies off the handle.” She chuckled. “Remember when you threw a hot dog at that seventy-five-year-old man on Eleventh Avenue?”

  “That dirty old man deserved it. Asking me if I wanted him to put mustard on my breasts. Ugh!”

  “But he sold the best hot dogs ever,” Dana said. “A hot dog would be amazing right now. Did you order room service yet?”

  Imani shook her head. “They had me on hold and I hung up.”

  “Let’s get out of here. We can go to Pink’s.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Imani said as she rose to her feet. “I’ve been dying for a good hot dog since we landed.”

  They headed out the door and Dana promised herself that she would not think about Adrian.

  Adrian paced back and forth in his penthouse, wondering if he’d made a mistake. Not about going public with his family drama, but keeping it from Dana. What if he’d ruined his chances to reconcile with her and eventually marry her? The look on her face when they parted ways reminded him of that terrible day at his penthouse. He’d hurt her again and this time, he hadn’t meant to.

  “I have to go to her,” he mumbled as he grabbed his keys. Adrian rushed to the elevator and waited for the doors to open. It was time to tell her everything. When the doors opened, Adrian was greeted with a right hook to the jaw.

  “I hope you didn’t think your media crusade didn’t go unnoticed,” Solomon snapped.

  Adrian rubbed his jaw. “Dad send you to do his dirty work?”

  “He’s not your father! Where in the hell do you get off telling these lies?”

  Adrian punched Solomon in the face, causing him to stumble backward. Solomon started to charge at him again, but stopped and shook his head. “I could beat you to a bloody pulp, but you’d just use it for more TV time.”

  “I don’t give a damn about being on TV. Why don’t you ask your father who Pamela Bryant is? Want me to get a DNA test?”

  “What’s your end game? How much money do you want?”

  “Money? Is that a Crawford trait? Everything is about money? I don’t give a damn about your money. You and Dad can keep your riches. It’s obvious that I don’t need a damned thing from you. But my mother’s last breath was about that man. Do you know how I felt knowing that my mother left behind the city she loved because this slimy bastard wanted to stay with your mother for money?”

  Solomon clenched his fists at the mention of his mother. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, there was a ring of truth in what Adrian was saying. Los Angeles had always been a forbidden place to build a hotel while his mother was alive—even after they’d retired and he and Richmond were in charge.

  “How did your mother know my father?” Solomon asked.

  Adrian sighed and narrowed his eyes at his brother. “They met when she worked in the Crawford hotel in Harlem.”

  Solomon looked as if he was deep in thought for a moment. “That sorry bastard,” he muttered.

  “What was that?” Adrian asked with a smug smirk.

  “Why now? Why did you decide to come out now?”

  Adrian glanced at his watch. “I don’t have to answer to you. I have to go.”

  “No, you have to answer my damned question,” Solomon said as he blocked Adrian’s exit.

  Adrian slapped his hand away. “Keep your hands to your fucking self,” he growled. “You want answers, go talk to
your father.” Pushing past Solomon, Adrian pressed the elevator button and waited for the doors to open.

  When they opened and he stepped on, he was none too pleased that Solomon followed him. “Look, if what you’re saying is true . . .”

  “What? If you don’t shut the f—Look, I don’t owe you a damned explanation. You need to get that from your father. All he’ll ever be to me is a sperm donor.”

  Solomon leaned back against the mirrored wall and studied Adrian. He could see similarities. Strong ones. “Damn,” he mumbled.

  Adrian glanced at him. “What now?”

  “You’re not lying.”

  Adrian rolled his eyes and bit back a caustic comment. Lying was probably a family trait. He was sure his brother did his share of lying to all of the women he’d strung along. He knew for certain that Elliot Crawford was a liar. When the doors opened, Adrian bolted. He’d entertained his brother long enough.

  “Hey,” Solomon called after him. “We really need to talk about this.”

  “I’m done talking,” Adrian said; then he got into his car. Dana was more important than family ties right now.

  Imani’s eyes rolled in the back of her head as she took the last bite of her hot dog. “God that was so good!”

  Dana laughed, looking down at her half-eaten frank. It wasn’t that it didn’t taste good; her appetite just wasn’t there. Imani caught the blank look in her friend’s eye. “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

  “That obvious?”

  Imani nodded. “You never let a good hot dog go to waste and that is a lot of hot dog on that tray. Why don’t you just call him?”

  Dana cocked her right eyebrow. “Seriously? You were just talking big shit about him.”

  “But you’re my friend and I want you to get over this funk of yours. Besides, that fool owes you answers.”

  Dana nodded and picked at the bun on her hot dog. “You’re right. He does owe me answers.”

  “And I’m going to get another chili dog,” she said. “I’m pregnant and I can eat two hot dogs without worrying about what the press will say.”

  “I can’t believe you’re having a baby and still filming that spy movie.”

  Imani shrugged. “It’s a great role and I have a wonderful stunt double.”

  “I’m sure Dr. Thomas has checked everything out for you and your bun in the oven,” Dana said as she crumpled the rest of her uneaten hot dog.

  Imani nodded and smiled brightly. “I hope this is a boy with eyes like his dad.”

  “As long as this boy or girl doesn’t have an attitude like his or her mom, that kid will be perfect.”

  Imani thumped Dana on the shoulder. “I don’t have an attitude.”

  Dana rolled her eyes and laughed as Imani headed back to the stand. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Adrian’s number.

  “Dana,” he said.

  “We need to talk.”

  “I’m on my way to your hotel.”

  “I’m not there. I’m at Pink’s.”

  “Wait for me. I’ll be right there.”

  Dana clicked her phone off and crossed her legs. Was she ready to hear what Adrian was about to tell her? Imani sauntered back to the table, smiling for a few fans with camera phones before joining her friend.

  “When is that going to get old?”

  Imani shrugged. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for people to recognize me for something more than being ‘flop diva’?”

  “A long time,” she replied.

  “Well lookie here,” Imani said. Dana glanced over her friend’s shoulder and saw Adrian approaching their table. “Do you want me to—”

  “Leave? Yes, I do.”

  “We rode together, remember?” Imani said incredulously.

  “Yes, but Adrian and I need to have a conversation without your comments.”

  Imani stood up, taking her hot dog with her. “Just talk,” she warned.

  Dana nodded, then shooed her friend away. Adrian nodded at Imani, who greeted him with an eye roll as she walked away.

  “She’s still not a fan?” Adrian said as he took a seat across from Dana.

  “At the moment, neither am I. How could you keep this from me?” she demanded, not bothering with small talk.

  “I wanted to shield you from this. When I found out about my paternity and how my mother loved this man who didn’t give a damn about her, I wanted to go to war. My plan was to bring them down to nothing. My mother loved New York and that bastard exiled her here. You’ve often asked me why I hate New York. Well, it’s because I knew it was a source of pain for my mother.”

  Dana nodded, still not understanding why he kept this from her. “Why would you want to go to war with your family instead of getting to know them?”

  “Did that bastard make any effort to get to know me? I needed a father and I got nothing.” Tears welled up in Adrian’s eyes. “And my mother loved a man who didn’t give a damn about us.”

  “Did you at least talk to the man?” Dana asked softly.

  Adrian snorted. “He’s still denying me and his relationship with my mother. That’s why I went to the media.”

  “What do you want from him, Adrian? Your mother raised you well without him and if he was stupid enough to allow you all to be his secret, he lost out. But you can’t let this need to get even with him destroy you.”

  Adrian studied her face and started to tell her that she had no idea what it was like for him, always wishing for a father to show up and teach him how to throw a football, how to dunk the basketball like Michael Jordan, and how he could make his fast ball more effective. There had been nights when he prayed that Paul Wallace would take him to a Cub Scouts meeting and tell the other people in the troop how proud he was of his son. But how could he be proud of a child that wasn’t his?

  Dana lifted her hand to his cheek. “You can’t change all the basketball games he missed. You can’t make up for him not being there for you. But you can show him that you’re a better man because he wasn’t in your life.”

  “How did you know what I was thinking?” he asked as she took his hand.

  “Because I understand how this has to hurt. What I don’t understand is why you felt that I wouldn’t have had your back.”

  “I don’t know. This was something I needed to do on my own. You were busy with your work for Sony and—”

  “I’m talking about two years ago, Adrian. Was that ruse of yours necessary? What did you think I would’ve done?”

  “Exactly what you’re doing now. Talk me out of being bitter and tell me to be the bigger person,” Adrian said. “That’s why I wanted you far away from this. I wanted to bring them down, and every time I had a plan to do something, there you were.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Adrian chuckled. “The first night I saw you with Hollywood Ken, my plan had been to leak a story about Richmond being with a hooker. Then the night of the premiere, I had made sure Heather and Solomon ran into each other, hoping for some fireworks.”

  Dana frowned. “What would that accomplish?”

  “Nothing, everything. The world needed to see the headlines and know that this family isn’t perfect, like they want the world to believe. I want them to hurt.”

  “Again, what does that accomplish? What does it change?”

  Adrian dropped his head for a second as if he was thinking about what Dana said. She had a point. He hadn’t changed a thing. Hadn’t caused them an eighth of the pain that he’d felt all of his life. “I don’t know. It’s not as if they had anything to do with what their father did.”

  “Precisely,” Dana said, stroking the back of his hand. “You need to get past this.”

  “I wish I knew how.”

  “You need to have a real conversation with your family. Away from cameras and without the threat of going to the media.”

  Adrian sighed. He knew she was right, knew that the right and adult thing to do was just what she said. H
owever, he still had the urge to get a pound of flesh. He still wanted Elliot Crawford to suffer and hurt as his mother had.

  “What’s that look?” she asked, taking note of his scowl and furrowed brows.

  “What look?”

  Dana tilted her head to the side and shook her head. “Can you stop acting as if I don’t know you, Adrian? Even when you try to hide something, your eyes give everything away.”

  “Is that so?”

  She nodded, silently telling herself that she should’ve looked into his eyes that night two years ago and maybe things would’ve been different. “Maybe I should let it go. After all, who wants to be a part of this family circus?” Adrian said.

  “Don’t deny that you actually want to get to know them. Maybe you can get the answers you’re searching for.”

  He grinned and brought her hand to his lips. “When did you get so smart?” he asked before kissing the back of her hand.

  “I’ve always been a genius. You just never took note of it.”

  “Did you ride that motorcycle of yours here?”

  “Nope,” she said. “Imani and I came together. I’m sure she’s gone by now.”

  “Let me take you back to your hotel.”

  The couple stood and Adrian drew Dana into his arms. “I love you, Dana.”

  His admission caught her off guard and sent a shiver throughout her body. She wanted to bask in the glow of his love, but she still felt as if she had to look over her shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. What if he didn’t give up his quest for revenge, and what if he let it consume him again? She knew what was going on this time, but would it make a difference?

  Adrian stroked her cheek. “I mean it,” he said. “And I’m going to earn your love back.”

  “Adrian—”

  He cut her off with a smoldering kiss, coaxing her tongue into his mouth, savoring her taste and making her purr. Dana gripped his shoulder, not sure if she should pull away or draw him closer. She wanted and needed him, but could she truly trust him? Finally, she pushed back.

  “Let’s go,” she found the raspy voice to say. “I have some work that I need to finish up and I can’t . . .”