“That is unlikely, Farrington.” He leaned onto his elbows and looked at me. “So tell me, now that you have come to the conclusion that you love her are you going to make this engagement real?”
That was the real question. I knew I loved her, but I didn’t know how she felt. I could only go by our interactions with one another. And as of late she was colder than the arctic circle.
I needed to figure out what was going on with her.
“You know what playing in our world could do to someone like her, Gabriel. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
“Stella seems to manage fine?” I asked about Dominic’s fiancé. She had grown up in an average lifestyle. But she coped brilliantly being the first wife to a Harrison in almost four decades.
“Stella grew up around us. Brianna is a different story. Asking her to be with you for real would mean constant scrutiny.”
“I will protect her from it.”
“You can't protect her from everything.”
“But I will do my best. I can’t lose her Christian. That woman is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Even if I lost my fortune today, I would be fine as long as I had her by my side.”
He stared at me for a moment.
“Then do whatever it is you have to do.”
“I was planning on it.”
No matter what came, all I wanted was for me and Brianna to make it out of this shit storm.
I made sure to be home in time to see her before she decided to go to bed early again. I walked into the penthouse and headed up the stairs.I took them two at a time until I came to my son’s nursery. The door had been left slightly ajar and I could hear Michael and Brianna speaking to one another.
“You are such a sweet little boy, do you know that? And so handsome too. You take after your daddy.”
I watched her rock him in her arms.
Michael stared up at her like she had put the sun and the stars in the sky. “I love you baby boy.”
My heart swelled.
But what followed next caused my entire chest to explode.
“Ma…ma.” My son sputtered.
Brianna stopped rocking him and she looked down at the baby with wide eyes. She blinked her surprise away and brushed Michael’s tiny little cheek. “No baby, I’m Bri. I’m not your mama.”
“Ma…ma…” his little chubby hand brushed her cheek. “Mama.”
Tears welled in Brianna’s eyes. “Oh sweetheart.” She kissed the top of his little head. “I love you so much.”
I walked away from the door and made my way to our bedroom. There was a large lump lodged in my throat. I could feel an unfamiliar sting at the back of my eyes and I did my best to fight it. Now was not the time to fall apart.
He had called her mama.
I walked into the room and went to sit on the bed. There was no way I could let her go now. She completed us. She had become so deeply embedded in our world that I couldn’t imagine her not being in it anymore.
As I was about to sit down, I caught sight of a large yellow envelope on her side of the bed. Curiosity getting the better of me, I reached for it and searched its contents.
I stilled as soon as I realized what was inside of it.
Pictures of Brianna’s mother. Pictures that could wind her up in prison. I then reached inside to find a smaller yellow envelope. Inside was a check for 5 million dollars, written out by none other than my own mother.
I heard the door open and looked up to see Brianna walking in. She stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw me. Her eyes moved from my face down to the envelope in my hand.