“Sera has no biological connection to the child?”
“No, but she’s parented the boy since birth. We have a parental termination here as well.” Michael had done what he could prior to his death and gotten all the necessary paperwork completed in severing the bio mom’s parental rights, but because Michael fell ill, the adoption wasn’t complete. Sera’s name was on the birth certificate though.
“I’ll file the adoption papers as soon as you’re married. The court will view that favorably, so I want to wait until that’s completed.”
“We’re getting married this week.”
Collins’ eyebrows shoot up. “That soon?”
“Yes.” Charles had suggested the sooner the better because it would put us at an advantage in family court. Stable household and stable income over a single mother who’d already decided parenting wasn’t for her.
“Then I’ll get all the paperwork ready and file on Monday. It’s not going to be quick, though,” he warns. “The family law docket is crowded. These types of cases are back burnered and won’t come before the judge for months.”
“As long as the child remains with us, we won’t sweat how long it takes. Only that it gets done right in the end.”
He seems relieved I’m being reasonable. We shake hands and then I make my way over to the waterfront. Per the documents Michael left, Christina Journey lives in a three-bedroom, three-bath eight-million-dollar high-rise overlooking the bay. It’s a big space for a single person, which makes me wonder who she is shacking up with.
She’s alone when I arrive, and the modern space looks bereft of any signs of life, including her own.
“I’m surprised it took you so long to visit me, Mr. Bancroft. Do you want something to drink?” She glances at a crystal clock hanging behind her. “It’s not five yet, but I personally don’t ascribe to those rules. We should drink whenever we want, right?”
“I’m fine.”
A faint smile tinges her lips. “Are you here to make me an offer?”
“How much do you want?”
She settles into a cream leather chair and folds her hands in her lap. The silk of her dress rides up high enough that if I cared to look, I could probably see her panties. I don’t care to look.
“A lifestyle like this is hard to maintain. Michael tried his best to provide for me, but I was careless with the money initially. I thought it would go much further.”
Her honesty is disarming.
“I’ve looked over the accounts, and he bought you an annuity that pays out ten thousand a month for your lifetime. You have a car and a waterfront apartment.”
“And debt. Don’t forget about that.”
“He paid your debts off. Whatever you have accumulated since that time has nothing to do with him.”
She leans forward and shakes a finger in my face. “It has everything to do with Michael. I didn’t live like this before him. Before, I had a one-bedroom studio and I worked as an insurance adjuster. It was tedious work that made enough to pay the bills but not much more. Then he gave me all of this, and I was suddenly in a different tax bracket with different friends and different tastes. What Michael gave me wasn’t enough.”
The light bulb goes off in my head. “You think that Sera is living the life you should be living.”
Christina’s mouth tightens. “Maybe so. She was penniless when Michael found her and now she’s worth hundreds of millions? If Michael had told me he was ill, I’d have cared for him, too.”
That tells me everything I need to know. I head for the door.
“Wait. I didn’t hear an offer,” she calls.
I fold my hand around the doorknob and pull the door open before I respond, “I wasn’t making one.”
18
SERA
I’m not one that is used to getting dressed up, so I was sure it was going to be hard to find a dress I’d like. Oddly, I’m having the opposite problem. I’m really loving them all. I kind of hate the tradition of the groom not seeing the dress before the wedding because I’d love to know which Jericho favored.
“Oh my,” the stylist Nicky says when I turn back around from her buttoning me in.
“Oh.” I breathe when I see myself in the mirror. She was right when she said I would know the dress when I found it. “It’s the one.” I stare at myself in wonder. It’s perfect and fits me as if it were custom made for me.
“I swear you’re glowing,” Nicky chirps, making my stomach dip. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I know the reason for that, and it’s not only the dress. I haven’t had a period in a long freaking time. I’ve always been regular when it comes to my cycles. I’m a few weeks late at this point. I have mixed feelings about taking a test. So much is going on, and I don’t want to add this to the pile.