Laura opened her mouth and then closed it again, rethinking her comment.
“The decision is yours at the end of the day Star,” Toby said, grabbing her hand. “We weren’t there. I trust your judgment and I know you’d never do anything to hurt Skylar. We both know that,” he said, looking at Laura pointedly. “If this is what you think is best for her, then we will support you, but we want you to be cautious.”
“Thank you. It’s not going to be easy. I’ve never had to share Skylar before, but I know in my heart this is what Lily dreamed of.” She looked to Laura for understanding, adding, “How do I explain to Skylar in the future if she goes in search of him that I had kept him from her for all these years? I can’t look her in the face and lie to her about her father not knowing about her if he wants to be part of her life.”
Tears rolled down Laura’s face, which she swiped at madly. “These pregnancy hormones! Lily would be so proud of you,” Laura said, grabbing Star’s other hand. “I’m sorry I questioned you. I get it, and I know Skylar will be made up when she finds out he knows about her and wants to be part of her life. You have raised a very special little girl – she deserves the best.”
They sat discussing the logistics and Toby asked Star to give him some time to check out any legal implications there might be. The adoption was watertight, but he wanted to ensure that if Christian Dupree came back into Skylar’s life with anything other than pure intentions, he would be in for a nasty shock. Star agreed, thanking both her friends for their unwavering support, before making her excuses and heading to bed.
Damian would probably be in the air now, flying away from her. She placed her phone on the nightstand as the first tears fell. She should have trusted him, but she hadn’t.
∞∞∞
The next week at the office crawled by. Damian had returned to the States, much to everyone’s surprise. There had been no explanation: simply one day he was there, and the next he was gone. Lucas had reclaimed the reins of the London office, although he was still working part-time hours and from home, where Mary could keep an eye on him.
Lucas and Mary stayed silent about Damian’s disappearance, neither saying a word to Star. Star decided they probably wanted to stay out of it. As promised, Mary invited Skylar over to play with the puppies, who were growing at a rate that Star couldn’t believe.
“Careful, Mummy,” Skylar warned as one of the more boisterous puppies came bounding up to her. “They have razor-sharp teeth; you don’t want to get cut.”
Star smiled at the seriousness in her daughter’s voice. It was easy to forget she was only six.
“Thank you for the warning,” Star said as one of the puppies sank his teeth playfully into her hand. Mary laughed, handing her one of the toys so she could exchange flesh for plastic. They stayed several hours, although the house felt empty without Damian in it. It felt like the heart had been removed, or maybe that was her heart.
But she’d already cried too many tears into her pillow this week. So instead, with Mary watching Skylar, Lucas and Star discussed the new business opportunity which was beginning to look more and more like it was going to happen. The Creative Service team’s preliminary mock-ups had gone down well both with the US and the London offices. They were now waiting for the Account Services Team to do their bit.
“It’s all going well,” Lucas said, looking up from the latest update.
“It is, everyone seems very happy,” Star replied.
“Excellent,” Lucas said before adding, “I take it there are no issues with Christian Dupree?”
Lucas’s phone rang, cutting Star off before she could reply.
“Lucas speaking,” he answered, putting the phone on speaker, as he always did.
“Hi, Dad.”
Star’s heart stopped in her chest, the sound of his voice making her stomach contract and heat flood her body and face.
Lucas looked up awkwardly at Star. “Damian, I’m in a meeting. Can I call you later?”
A husky female voice came over the phone, and Damian muffled his reply before saying, “No problem, Dad, I’m at the apartment. Call me when you get a minute.”
Lucas cut off the call, before turning back to Star. “Where were we?” he continued, as if nothing had happened.
Star’s brain was in free fall. Damian was in his apartment in New York with another woman. What an idiot she was! She’d never asked him if he was involved with anyone. She’d assumed he was single, simply welcoming him back into her arms and bed. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought. There had been a couple of times they hadn’t used protection, although she was sure Damian would be clean, but it was not a risk she was willing to take. She would need to get herself tested. It was only then that she realised Lucas was talking to her. “Star, is everything all right with Christian? Are you okay?”
“No, yes, I mean I’m fine, I just remembered I have to get something for Skylar on the way home. No, there are no issues. We’ve spoken multiple times and there are no problems,” Star said, repeating herself, but not wanting to go into any further details. She needed to get out of here and regroup.
When Star walked out of the office, she took a deep breath and looked at her mobile. Christian had messaged while she’d been in the meeting.
Star had been speaking to Christian throughout the week and he was more than happy to keep their personal and private lives separate. She had begun to enjoy their daily chats – discussing Skylar and what she had done that day, as well as reminiscing about Lily and the past, which was both painful and uplifting. It was also helping to keep her mind off Damian.
Star hadn’t realised how much she’d missed talking about Lily. It was not just the passing mention of her name – that was something that happened a lot; it was the in-depth memories, talking about her fun-loving side, her amazing talent as an actress, her love for animals and how she’d stop and rescue anything she found in need. Christian had clearly loved her sister. She could tell that from the way he spoke about her, how his voice caught when the loss got too much.
Star kept Lily’s memory alive for Skylar; she needed her to know she had been wanted and loved. With Christian in her life, Skylar would have someone else who could share their memories of her mother.
Star had kept her plans quiet from Laura and Toby, as she was not sure of their response, but she had arranged for him to visit the house to meet Skylar. She had yet to tell her six-year-old the plan as she needed her to sleep, and she knew that once she opened this door, it would be impossible to get the horse back into the stable.