Forgoing a greeting, she points to a chair in front of her desk. “I know why you’re here. I just spoke with Archie and he told me everything.”
What the hell? My breath catches, and I struggle to breathe. There’s no part of me that believes Archie told my mother the truth, which means, I have a bigger problem. “What exactly did he tell you, mother?”
She folds her hands on the desk in front of her. “He told me about Mina.” Her head shakes. “Kaylee, one thing we tried to protect you from in this business is how cut-throat it is. Girls will do whatever it takes to get ahead. Mina’s young and ambitious but also needy. She may have genuinely looked up to Archie, but once she crossed that line…”
I don’t know how long my mouth hung open, but I close it, dumbfounded. “Mom, what are you talking about?” I narrow my gaze at her, praying she can see the pained expression on my face and know what it means. Shouldn’t a mother feel that connection with her daughter? “Archie is the one who crossed the line.”
“Honey…”
I know that condescending tone, and it breaks my heart. “Don’t honey me. I can’t believe Archie did this…and you believe him.” I lean forward in the chair, resting my forearms on my knees. “I saw him with Mina. I saw her face, her body language. She didn’t want it. He had his hands all over her.”
“Maybe what you saw was her reaction, her frustration from Archie’s rejection.”
I can’t believe this. A stinging sensation behind my eyes takes hold. I can’t believe my mother is in such denial and that Archie has brainwashed her.
“What about Carly?”
She moves her glasses from her nose to the top of her head, her face aggravated. “What about her?”
“I think she left because of Archie.”
“Carly left because she couldn’t handle the pressure of the business. It’s not for everyone. Look at you.”
I scoff and stand. Feeling like a caged animal, I pace behind the chair. “How can you say that? You know that’s not why I left. College was important to Dad…and to me. And I still continued to work here awhile…for you.”
She stands then. “Your heart was never in it, baby. And you say you stayed for me, yet now you don’t care what happens to me or this agency?”
I turn to her with narrowed eyes. “What do you mean?”
She stares at me a moment, disappointment, maybe even hurt a faint veil on her face. “I just…can’t believe you would throw your own mother under the bus to further your career. There’s no story here, Kaylee.”
It takes a moment for it to sink in. “Wow, are you serious right now?” My flabbergasted reply is merely a cover for the hurt she just inflicted on me. It’s like she doesn’t know me at all. I stop behind the chair and brace my hands on the back, working to control my breathing, fight the tears that bang on the wall I built. “I can’t believe you’d think that’s something I would do. You don’t know me at all. Dammit, mother, I’m not working on a story.”
“I’m sorry, Kaylee. I just don’t know what else to think. I don’t know why you’re doing this. I know you never liked Archie…but this?”
I know what I have to do to convince her. It will hurt to say it and it will kill her, but it’s the only thing that will make her see. “There’s more you don’t know.” My heart races as I gather my strength.
“Whatever it is, just tell me.” She picks up her phone and looks at something, as if this meeting needs to wrap up quickly.
“I’m sorry, mom.” I hang my head. “I’m so sorry for not telling you this sooner…”
“Kaylee!”
Startled, I look up, her figure blurring before me.
“Now you’re scaring me. What is it?”
“I should have told you long ago, but I was scared…and I need to tell you now.”
Our gazes lock, fear I’ve never known locking me up. I swallow it all back and cough out my words. “Archie…he…tried to kiss me.”
Mouth agape, eyes wide, she scoffs. “That’s ridiculous!”
Shaking my head, I slow my breathing, the worst of the poison gone from my throat. I hesitantly move toward her desk. “It’s true. He—”
“When! When did this happen?” The skepticism in her tone, the look in her eyes, tell me the anger is not for Archie but for me.
I look down at my hands, which are tangled together. “At your wedding.” I lift my gaze and can see her eyes glossing over.
“No…” Her breathing labored, she places a hand on her stomach and shakes her head frantically. “No, that doesn’t make sense. Why— We were getting married.”
I swipe at a tear streaming down my cheek, unsure how much more to say. Her phone pings an alert and she snatches it up, taking in a deep breath as she stares at the screen. Then, she starts tapping away as if I didn’t just deliver her devastating news.
After a few moments, I step closer. “Mother?” I feel the need to explain, to tell her what happened, what Archie said that night. Not to defend him but to somehow make it hurt less.
When she finally looks up from the phone, her lips are pursed. “I have to go.” She pulls open a drawer from her desk and retrieves her purse.
“You can’t go, Mom. We have to talk about this.”
She walks passed me but stops when she gets to the door, her hand on the knob. “I don’t even know who you are, Kaylee…” She throws a glance over her shoulder, eyes narrowed. “But I know I don’t want you coming her again. I can’t see you or talk to you.”
When the door closes behind her, I collapse into the chair, a torrent of tears rushing down my cheeks.
***
I didn’t think I had any tears left by the time I got to Justice’s place, but as soon as he opens the door, more spring to my eyes. Without words, he pulls me into his arms, and we stand that way, out on the porch, until I’m ready to step in. Then, he guides me down the hall, to his room where he closes the door behind us.
We sit side by side on his bed just as we did on my bed when I told him everything.
“What happened?”
I stare at my hands as he rubs my back. “I knew she’d be mad at me…maybe even hate me for a while, but I never expected…”
Justice doesn’t press me, and a moment later, I look up into his gorgeous blue eyes. “She didn’t believe me.”
His mouth parts, but words don’t immediately follow. “Damn…I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that either.”
“Archie got to her first. Turned the whole thing around like it was Mina pulling something on him, like she was starry-eyed or trying to get ahead or something.”
“I didn’t think Archie was that ruthless. I pegged him for a simple-minded douche.”
“Yeah, well he was desperate. You know she actually accused me of looking for a story.”
“What?” Justice looks so thrown he’s speechless. We both sit quietly for a moment. “What about when you told her about the wedding?”
I shake my head, new tears coming to the surface. “She was so upset at me she left.”
“I’m so sorry.” He pulls me tightly against him, and I rest my head on his shoulder.
We stay that way for a while. I don’t even know how long before Justice stands, taking a few steps away before turning back to me. “Kay?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re mom…she’s got some old fashioned ways of thinking, but she’s not stupid. Don’t take this as me defending her, but she’s hurt, blindsided.”
I stand as well. “I know. I’m not so selfish that I haven’t thought of how she’s feeling.”
Justice closes the distance between us, rubbing both my arms. “I wasn’t saying that. Only that I think she’ll come around. She needs time.”
“I don’t know.” But, God, how I hope that’s true. My mother and I may have drifted over the years, and we don’t see eye to eye, but I can’t imagine my life without her in it.
“She will. She loves you and besides, she’ll see what Archie is. I know she will.�
��
“I hope you’re right.”
He kisses the top of my head, then goes to the side of the bed and pulls the covers back. “Come on.”
“What?”
“Take your shoes off and get in. We’re cuddling.”
For the first time today, I grin. “Really?”
“Yeah, it’s proven science to make you feel better.”
I stare at him a moment longer before he reaches his hand out to me and I comply, stepping up to the side of him. I kick off my shoes and climb in. Leaning back against his pillow, I instantly feel better, the scent of him floating around me. When he kicks off his shoes and starts to climb in, I sit up. “Wait.”
“What’s wrong?” he says with one knee on the mattress.
“Take your shirt off. I want skin on skin contact.” I lift my shirt over my head and toss it aside.
A lopsided grin materializes on his face.
“It’s science,” I say.
He shrugs and pulls his shirt over his head, then slides in. I fold into him, hooking my leg over his and resting my head on his strong, smooth chest. The warmth of his skin is like a balm to my whole body and soul. I still feel sad, though. For my mother, for Mina, for any of the other girls I don’t know about. I failed all of them, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make up for that.
“Justice?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not giving up.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
“I just had to say it out loud. I’ll give my mother time to process this, but I won’t let this go now. I made a mistake, and I intend to fix it.”
He strokes my hair. “I know. And I’m going to help. Whatever you need.”
We stay that way a long while, him stroking my hair, my back, until I am in such a daze I almost doze off. Problem is, I’m finally relaxed now and his body against mine feels so good, so inviting. If his warmth made me feel better… I kiss his strong chest and run my hand over his rippled abs. “If you really mean that…”
“About helping?” he whispers, sounding on the verge of sleep himself.
“Yeah… What I need is you, Justice.” I lift up off his chest, our lips nearly connected. “I need you to make love to me. Right now.”
Lifting his head so our lips meet, Justice kisses me sweetly. “I love you, Kaylee. And I’ll make love to you all day, every day if that makes you feel better.” A sexy grin perks up one side of his mouth, and I kiss it. Those words make my heart leap, and I want desperately to say them back. But I know Justice would wonder if it’s because I’m emotional or because he is taking such good care of me. When I say those words to him, I want him to feel one hundred percent certain they are true.
I sit up and reach behind me to unhook my bra.
Justice’s hands land on mine. “Let me…” He places soft kisses on the back of my shoulder as he gently unhooks it, then slides it off me. His hands smooth up my back, over my shoulders, and then down to my arms as he kisses up my neck, sending chills to skitter across my skin.
When he moves away, I feel the instant loss, the ache for his touch, his nearness. I glance over my shoulder, and his lips find mine. Something about the eagerness of his mouth, his seeking tongue, the warmth of his skin to my touch makes me feel like the most wanted woman in the world.
Gripping my shoulders, he leans me back down onto my back and then shimmies out of his jeans before turning his attention to my pants. When his fingers brush across my belly, it sends flutters deep inside. Anticipation ignites at the thought of what’s to come. Justice definitely knows how to please a woman, but if I’m being honest, I hope it’s only this amazing because it’s us. Together. Every touch, every kiss, every word, our bodies as one, all evidence that we were meant to be together.
Chapter 23
Justice
I walk backstage with a singular focus, barely noticing the pats on my shoulder or the smiling faces after my turn on the runway. I thought being back out there again was going to be the worst thing in the world, but after everything that’s happened, everything that’s about to go down, and the fact that I’ve held Kaylee in my arms every night for the last week, strutting on the catwalk is just a tiny blip on my radar.
A few people try to get my attention, but I push past them, heading for a quiet space.
Leaning against the hallway wall with my back to a few random groups of models, I send a quick text.
How close are we?
I know there isn’t much time before Kaylee has to go on, and I want to make sure I see her, so I head back her way while I wait for a reply.
I round the corner and see her up ahead, our eyes locking. When her full mouth curls up, I wonder: How the hell did I get so damn lucky? She’s everything I’ve been looking for and everything I didn’t know I needed.
“Hey, gorgeous?”
Kaylee’s long legs are accentuated by a pair of dressy red short shorts and a short-sleeved white top that looks a little like a pirate shirt. She has a way of making any outfit both sexy and classy.
“Where were you? I snuck a peek at you from backstage, but you just ran off.”
I don’t want to lie to Kaylee, especially since she’s going to find out everything anyway. I just hope it all works out the way we planned. “I had something to take care of.”
Stepping closer to me, she slips her arms around my waist and looks up at me with that expectant expression that makes me forget who I am. It makes me feel like the man I want to be. “Everything okay?”
I stare into her eyes, trying to find the nerve and the words when my phone pings. “Everything is perfect when I’m holding you.” I give her a quick kiss on the lips and then pull back to check my phone. Then, I lace her fingers with mine and say, “Come on.”
She lets out a quiet giggle, as if I’m joking. “Justice, it’s almost my time.”
“I’m sorry, but this can’t wait. The runway will have to.”
I pull her along and head across the room, turn the corner, and head down the hallway toward some of the smaller meeting rooms.
“Justice, what’s going on?” She pulls against my hold, and I stop us halfway down the short hallway.
“We have to be quiet,” I whisper.
“Why?”
“There’s something important you need to hear and unfortunately, I couldn’t control the timing, so it has to be now.”
I pull out earbuds from my pocket and plug them into my phone, so only Kaylee and I can hear what’s going on.
“This isn’t really the time for me to listen to a mixtape.”
I hand her one earbud as she narrows her gaze at me, and I put the other in my ear. “Just listen.”
Kaylee points to the screen on my phone. “Why does it say live audio?”
“Shh.” I put a finger to my mouth just as a voice comes through the speaker.
“So, you finally came to your senses?” he says.
Kaylee’s eyes flash to mine and widen. She mouths the word Archie?”
I nod.
“Actually, no, I didn’t,” Mina says. “I needed to tell you something important.”
Kaylee’s gaze is locked on mine. She gets it now.
“Well, make it fast, because we shouldn’t both be gone for too long,” Archie says.
“Gretchen asked me about you.” A little static comes across the line as if Mina is moving.
“What did you say?”
“I covered for you, but I can’t do this anymore, Archie?”
“What do you mean, you covered for me?”
“I just told her that Kaylee was mistaken. It was a big misunderstanding.”
“Good. Good girl.”
Kaylee snarls her lip at the slimy tone in Archie’s voice.
“Archie, this ends now,” Mina says. “I want you to stay away from me.”
“Oh, you are a naïve little girl, aren’t you?”
“Don’t touch me!” Mina must have jerked away from him based on the noise coming across
the line.
“Don’t be stupid, Mina. How do you think you got all those go-sees?”
“I got them because I deserve them. I worked hard and earned them.” Mina’s voice sounds shaky, like she’s about to cry. It pains me, and I can see the same in Kaylee’s eyes, but we all have to push through this.
“Oh, you’re going to earn them all right.”
“Please, Archie. Why are you doing this to me? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
Kaylee shakes her head. I can see her mind racing, her breathing heavy as she looks down the hall.
No, I mouth.
“I own you, sweetheart. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“But I can.”
Kaylee’s eyes spring wide when she hears her mother’s voice. She takes my hand and squeezes it, tears filling her gaze.
“Mina,” Gretchen says. “I want you to leave and let me handle this now.”
Mina’s the one with the live audio but when she doesn’t show up here, and I can still hear Archie and Gretchen talking, though not as clearly, I realize she’s still there somewhere, listening.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Gretch…I don’t know what you—”
“Save it. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I just want you to leave and be grateful Mina’s not pressing charges. I already packed your bags and had them sent over to Allen’s.”
“What? What did you tell him?”
“That we are getting a divorce. Tell him what you want. I don’t care.”
“You can’t do this to me. After everything I’ve done for you, for the agency… You do this and I’ll—”
“You’ll what, Archie? We both know who’s got the power here. You won’t do anything. And you better not show your face in this industry again, either. You go get yourself something in retail or at a grocery store. Now, I just have one last thing to say before I erase you from my memory.”
There’s a short pause and then what sounds distinctly like a slap and a grunt. “That, is for touching my daughter!”
The door slams and the feed cuts out. We take our earbuds out, staring at each other in disbelief. Obviously, I knew more than Kaylee, but I had no idea it would actually go down like this.
Beautiful Bridges (Bridges Brothers Book 3) Page 19