The Complete Legacy Series: Books 1 - 6

by Paula Kay

  Her mother nodded her head in agreement. “Well, it would be quite shocking to her—to tell her otherwise—I’m sure.”

  “Right. But also, as she gets older, it won’t be any less shocking.” Blu frowned. “I do worry that in the end—if—when I do tell her—she’s going to hate me.”

  “No, Blu. She won’t hate you. We’ll make sure of that—that she knows the whole truth. I’ll always be okay with that.” She was nodding her head strongly as she spoke, the determination written on her face. “We don’t have to sugarcoat anything in terms of the part I played in all of this. I will never have you be taken for the bad guy in any of this. Ever.”

  Blu nodded. “I hope you’re right. About her not hating me, I mean.”

  “We’ll just do the best we can. That’s all we can do, right?” her mother said.

  Blu nodded and the two women spent the remainder of the flight in silence, Blu thinking about her sins of omission, and her mother—Blu guessed—lost in her own thoughts about the past and this new future they were trying to figure out together.

  Chapter 31

  Blu snuck up behind Chase in the kitchen, putting her arms around his waist while peering around him at the sauce bubbling on the stove. “That smells delicious.”

  He gave the sauce one more stir before turning around to kiss her neck, breathing in deeply through his nose. “You smell delicious, my darling.”

  She laughed as his light kisses tickled her neck before he planted one long deep kiss on her lips.

  “Do you think we have time to sneak upstairs quick?” Chase winked at her and she laughed, delighted with his teasing.

  “You be good.” She grinned.

  He put a lid on the pot, turning the heat down low for it to simmer, then took Blu by the hand, leading her over to the window. He wrapped his arms around her small frame, pulling her in close, kissing her cheek as they both looked out at their friends gathered on the deck.

  Gigi and Douglas stood off to the side, each with one arm around the other, each with their free hand holding a glass of wine as they toasted to something that looked particularly serious and lovely. Their smiles were wide, a look of hope and infinite possibilities as they looked out towards the ocean, lost in conversation—the picture of being in love.

  Lia, Antonio, and Victoria looked engrossed in a conversation that Blu suspected had to do with her friend’s upcoming anniversary trip to Italy. She’d been talking with her husband about wanting to get to Tuscany, and finally he’d agreed to take the time off work to celebrate their tenth anniversary, an occasion Victoria felt very much deserved such a trip.

  Blu’s attention turned to Jemma, Claire, and her mother Linda, seated at another table, the three of them giggling hysterically at something that Blu imagined the two girls had done to win her mom’s laughter and delight—something that Blu had seen daily since the moment her mom had arrived to stay with them nearly two months ago.

  Blu turned her face towards Chase’s for another kiss, a sigh of pure contentment escaping her mouth as she thought of everything that had happened over the past few months. “I really can’t believe how happy I am,” she said.

  “I love how happy you are,” Chase said and laughed lightly. “You’re beautiful all the time, but especially when you’re happy,” he teased.

  Blu laughed. “I’m just still pinching myself at how great everything has worked out, ya know? With my mother, I mean—and with you, of course—but that’s a given.”

  He squeezed her tighter to him. “It is pretty remarkable. Your mother is really lovely. And I’ve seen her with Jemma—while they’ve been working. It’s something she’s really great at, I’d say.”

  “You think so too? I didn’t have anything to compare it too, but I’ve thought the same thing myself—a hidden talent of my mother’s, I’d say.”

  Blu had made a lot of decisions over the past few months—as had her mother—coming to the conclusion that they wanted to try homeschooling Jemma together, in preparation for the travel—and some big changes—that would be in Blu’s near future. She really did want to take Jemma with her, and now she wanted her mother there also—to be able to share these experiences with her—with both of them. And Chase would join them whenever he could. He’d assured her of that, and had been doing his best to open up his schedule just a bit more.

  The two looked at one another, instantaneously agreeing that it was time to hand out the champagne. The evening was perfect, the sunset magnificent. Blu and Chase made their way to their guests, Blu delivering the sparkling cider to the girls, her mother, and herself, while Chase handed out the glasses of the fine bottle of champagne he’d splurged on for the occasion.

  Blu looked around, tears in her eyes, before speaking to the people around her—her family. And tonight she was especially grateful as she looked towards her mother with her arms around Jemma.

  “Thank you all for coming. It’s always such a pleasure to have you here and tonight I’m—” Chase came up beside her, taking her hand in his. “—we’re very grateful to have you here with us—for you all to meet Linda—my mother.” Blu raised her glass towards her mom, all at once too choked up, as she saw her mom wiping her own tears away, to finish her toast.

  Blu nodded at Douglas, who seemed eager to say something.

  “Well, I would also like to say a thank you to Blu and Chase, always the most lovely of hosts, and give our warmest welcome to Linda—and my wife and I have a little announcement that we’d like to share with you all.”

  Gigi was grinning like the cat who had swallowed the canary as Douglas put his arm around her, squeezing her to him. Everyone else waited in expectation for Douglas to continue, including Blu—who had an inkling as Gigi sent a discreet wink her way.

  “I’ve finally set a retirement date for later this year so that I can give this wonderful woman here the life she deserves—if that happens to include spending more time with this ol geezer.” He laughed at his own joke as Gigi playfully swatted his arm and then grabbed him for a kiss as the rest of the gang erupted into claps and shouts of “congratulations”.

  Blu saw a look pass between Antonio and Lia, who were standing right next to her. She whispered into her friend’s ear. “Go on if you have an announcement to make too,” she teased, knowing full well by the look on her friend’s face that they did.

  After the cheers had lessened, Lia cleared her throat and took Antonio by the hand. “Douglas, Antonio and I are so happy for you both, and we hope that some of those retirement plans have to do with long visits to Italy.” Lia smiled as Gigi nodded an emphatic yes.

  Lia continued. “At the risk of trying to one-up you two in the announcement department—but I mean, come on, how often are we all together like this to be able to celebrate?” Everyone laughed, especially Blu, who couldn’t agree more. Lia and Antonio looked at each other, smiling, a silent agreement passing between them that it was Antonio’s turn to speak now.

  “I’ve asked Lia to be my wife and she said yes.” Antonio brought Lia’s hand to his lips for a gentle kiss.

  “And of course you will all be invited to our wedding at the vineyard.”

  More cheers and hugs all around as the words of congratulations flowed freely. Blu thought that Lia looked the happiest that she’d ever seen her.

  And Blu realized something as she looked around at these people, at her mother laughing with Jemma—her mother, who had become such a big part of her life—of Jemma’s life. She realized that maybe this was the happiest that she’d ever been. The one person missing was Arianna; but especially tonight, amidst all of the great announcements, Arianna’s presence was a thing that Blu felt—that she was sure they all felt.

  As she basked in the happy announcements of her friends, Blu felt Chase’s arms come around her to rest on the slight bump of her small belly. She turned around to kiss him on the lips and whispered in his ear. “It’s okay. We’ll make our announcement later.” She grinned up at him as he nodded in agreemen
t, pulling her close, loving her like she’d never been loved before.

  Legacy Series

  (Book 4)

  Taking Time

  By

  Paula Kay

  Copyright © 2015 Paula Kay

  Cover design by Beetiful Book Covers

  All rights reserved.

  PaulaKayBooks.com

  Chapter 1

  The silence in the room was almost more than Gigi could bear. She could count on one hand the number of arguments that she’d had with Douglas in the four years that they’d been married. She looked at him now across the room where he stood staring out the window towards the garden and the view of the bridge beyond. She loved him so much. Who would have ever thought that the love of her life would be right under her nose for all these years?

  Arianna had known.

  Gigi smiled in spite of the tension she was still feeling. She still missed Arianna so much at times. It had been five years since the young girl’s death, and the truth was that time was making it better—easier, she supposed. But it still overwhelmed her—still threatened her with that lost feeling of not quite knowing what her life was going to be about now.

  She turned her attention towards Douglas, who was crossing the room towards her, looking every bit as unhappy as what Gigi was feeling about their argument.

  “Honey.”

  He reached out to pull her towards him and she stepped away, resisting the embrace that she normally fell into so easily.

  “Douglas, please. I know that look. Don’t patronize me.”

  Even to her own ear, her words sounded too harsh. It was not what he was doing. She knew better than that. He was a good man, loving and generous with his affection for her—something she appreciated so much about him and their relationship. She knew that she’d been difficult to please lately, to understand. Heck, she was so confused herself that she really couldn’t seem to put her general feelings of discontent into words most of the time. She just knew that something was wrong. Something was missing.

  Douglas gave her a look as he pulled her to him, just forceful enough that she conceded as she eased back against his chest, feeling his kiss on her cheek before he spoke again into her ear.

  “You know I’m trying to understand—to figure out what it is that will make you happy, love.”

  Gigi sighed as she turned to face him. “I know, honey. I do know that.” She willed herself to smile, to reassure him that everything would be okay. If only she felt more confident about this herself. She took a deep breath before trying again. “I just don’t understand the big deal about my getting a job. You know how much I enjoyed taking care of Arianna—of the Sinclair family. Douglas, it’s all I’ve ever known and I’m just feeling so—so bored without anything to do. And if I’m being honest, it’s weird for me—having these other people around that you’ve hired.” She felt her position growing stronger as she continued. She had a right to make some of these decisions for them—for herself. She was a confident woman and it was time to start thinking about what she really needed to be happy.

  “But I only want to take care of you—to give you some of the comforts that you’ve provided for others over the years—for you to finally take some time for yourself. You deserve that, honey. And we both agreed that this retirement was going to stick, right?”

  He was teasing her now, but she knew that it was nearly as hard for him as it was for her since he’d retired this past year, something that had been pushed off more times than he’d likely admit before he finally took the plunge himself. She’d gotten to know him quite well since they’d been married, and she had an inkling that his almost daily tee times at the local golf club were becoming a bit boring to him.

  “We did agree, yes.” She was smiling at him despite the irritation she still felt. “Maybe a part-time job, though, for me? Just something to occupy a bit of my day.”

  “But then what about our travels? I just don’t want you to feel tied down—us to feel tied down. What about a little trip? We’ve not been to Lia and Antonio’s—to Italy yet this year. I’m sure she’d love to have us. And we could spend more time with your family.”

  Gigi knew that he was trying hard to please her but deep down, as much as she loved their visits to Italy, she knew that it was going to take more than a trip to ease this feeling she’d been having lately.

  “No, not now. I do want to go back this year, but I don’t think it’s what I—what we need right now. I don’t know, Douglas. Honestly, I’m not trying to drive you crazy. I promise. I just can’t shake this feeling I’ve been having lately. I guess unlike most people, retirement really does not agree with me, does it?” She laughed then, trying to lighten the mood and wanting their argument to be over. She hated fighting with Douglas.

  She’d sort out for herself what needed to be done, even if that meant keeping the appointment she had scheduled with the agency in the city. She had a good reputation with them, and she knew that finding a job would be as easy as reactivating her application on file. She felt bad even thinking about doing it behind Douglas’s back, especially knowing how he felt about it, but after their argument it felt more important than ever that she was able to make some decisions for herself right now. Besides, she was never going to be truly happy unless she figured out a cure for this unsettled feeling she’d been having. She knew that he would understand eventually.

  Douglas pulled her close for another hug. “We’ll be okay. I promise you’re going to get used to having me around. And you know the invitation to let me teach you the joys of golfing remains open.” He laughed as she eyed him with skepticism.

  “What, and spoil your time with the boys? I don’t think so.”

  Gigi really had no interest in playing golf, and she was fine with the fact that it got Douglas out of the house for several hours during the day. It allowed her some time to get together with her friends; and as much as she was happy to have him home more than when he was working all of the long hours in the law office, she suspected that too much time together might not be as good for them as she’d once imagined.

  She turned to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “We’ll talk more about this later.” She needed to make it clear that he didn’t necessarily have the final word in the matter.

  He nodded and she knew that they’d be okay—for now.

  “Okay, hon. Now let’s talk about some dinner. What are you making for me, woman?” He swatted her on the rear playfully.

  “Hey, now. You know that I’ve gotten really good with a couple of things I’ve learned from Lia and Chase.” She laughed at the standing joke that was her lack of skills in the kitchen.

  “I’m not complaining at all. You can delight me with your gourmet Italian surprises any night of the week.”

  Gigi giggled in response. waiting for him to continue. “But?”

  “But I didn’t notice anything being readied in the kitchen, so how about if I take you to that new Mexican place that just opened? I’ve read some good reviews about it and I think we could both use a margarita.” He winked.

  “That sounds great. As does a pitcher of margaritas.” Gigi laughed as she walked across the room. “Let me just change clothes and I’ll see you downstairs in a minute.”

  Gigi stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, willing herself not to cry. She wasn’t okay. She really wasn’t. She could put on a good show, and she didn’t want Douglas to worry about her so much. It wasn’t his fault, even though she wished it were as easy as letting him fix things. Maybe it was time for her to seek a little therapy. She’d never done it in her life, but she’d seen how positive it had been for Arianna as she was going through her most difficult times. And Douglas had shared with her what it had meant to him after the passing of his wife. Gigi was a bit old-school in terms of thinking that she could overcome her emotions, but she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t facing some sort of crisis. And she knew enough about depression to know that it was something she needed to get a handle
on earlier rather than later.

  She quickly changed her clothes, splashed some cold water on her face, and dabbed on just a hint of make-up. She’d suck it up for now, trying to have a “normal” night out with her husband. They had so much to be grateful for. She needed to remember that above all else.

  Chapter 2

  Gigi was humming to herself in the kitchen when she heard Douglas making his way down the steps. She had woken up feeling determined to extend the wonderful time that the two of them had shared the night before—to put any arguments they’d been having behind them and start working on resolving some of these strange feelings she’d been having lately.

  She smiled as she felt Douglas’s arms around her and the quick peck of his lips against her cheek.

  “Good morning, love. Something smells delicious in here. Do you have one of those scones for me?”

  “I do. Yes.” Gigi smiled in response. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll pour you a cup of coffee?”

  “Sorry, no can do. I have a tee time in thirty minutes. But if you’d make me a cup to go, I’d be ever so appreciative.”

  “Sure, honey.”

  Gigi leaned over to return a kiss to his cheek before she grabbed a coffee mug out of the cupboard.

  “What do you have going on today?” Douglas asked as he took the coffee from her.

  “Oh I don’t know. Some shopping maybe, and I’m going to see if Evelyn is available for lunch. It’s been so long since the two of us have had a proper chat and I’m feeling a bit guilty about that.”

  Evelyn was one of Gigi’s best friends, who’d been in her life for all of the years that she’d worked for the Sinclairs—more than twenty-five years in total that they’d known one another. She, like Gigi, had worked as a housekeeper or nanny and for just as many years as Gigi had been in the business, and typically they had lots to talk about and so much in common.