Chapter 6
Lance and Asia
“I forgot to mention that I ran into Sean at Tubin Steakhouse last week.”
Lance, who strode into the kitchen after putting their son to bed, glanced at his wife, who was seated at the kitchen table, as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. For some reason, it always grated on his nerves whenever she brought up the name of the man she had been engaged to marry.
It didn’t matter one iota that he had cunningly devised a plan to take Asia away from Sean Crews.
Lance had been convinced that although she’d planned to marry Sean, he—Lance--had been the man she truly loved.
And he’d been right. So he tried to appear nonchalant as he popped open his beer and glanced around their condo.
Years ago, after the sale of his first book, and the end of his second marriage, he had purchased his condo, which had a gorgeous view of Lake Michigan.
When his brothers had moved away, pursuing their medical careers — Logan in Florida and Lyle in Texas — Lance decided to buy a place in Chicago, which was less than a forty-five-minute drive from their father in Gary.
He loved his condo. It had been everything he needed and wanted after coming from such humble beginnings.
His place was spacious and was on the twentieth floor of one of the most luxurious apartment buildings in Chicago.
He especially loved his floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window.
He would often stand in front of it, looking out at the lake.
After he and Asia married, he saw no reason to move, and when the apartments were turned into condos, he immediately bought this unit.
Nine months out of the year, he and Asia lived on their beautiful island, Paradise.
The other three months, they made Chicago their home.
However, more than once, Chicago’s hellish winters had sent them racing back to their island, located not far from the Bahamas.
“When were you at Tubin, and why was Crews in town?” he finally asked.
“I had lunch with Haven on Thursday. Did you forget? And Sean was in town to attend a medical seminar,” Asia said.
“Was his wife with him?” he asked. The man had eventually married someone else, thank God.
“No, she’s back in Boston with their kids. His son was born a few months after that time we ran into them at the airport. Now they have those darling twin girls and a son.”
“Whatever.”
He poured a glass of wine and took it to his wife.
She was working on her latest book, which was scheduled for publication the following year.
Then they’d work on a book together. His most recent title, which was published last year--How to Jumpstart a Lasting Relationship—was still on the New York Times bestsellers’ list.
Although he loved Chicago, he missed their island, Paradise.
It was there that he and Asia had ended their separation and pledged their love for each other.
It was also there that, less than a year later, they’d held their wedding among family and friends.
He would never forget seeing his beautiful bride walk down the aisle to him.
With his and Asia’s diverse backgrounds and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology, they had founded the Montgomery Marriage Institute, which worked with couples in crisis or on the brink of total marriage collapse.
They decided that Paradise would be the perfect place to hold marriage seminars and work with couples who truly wanted to build, repair, and strengthen their marriage.
The institute had been in existence now for close to four years, and he was proud to say that numerous marriages had been saved.
“Thanks, babe,” she said when he placed the glass beside her laptop. “You take good care of me.”
He smiled. “Always.” He took a sip of his beer before asking, “So, how are things coming with the book?”
They had converted one of the bedrooms in the condo into an office for her, but Asia preferred writing at the kitchen table with all her reference books cluttering the place. It didn’t bother him because he loved watching her work. She looked so sexy doing it.
“So far, so good. I have less than five more chapters to write. I should have no problem meeting the deadline.”
He nodded as he slid into the chair across from her. “So, how is Haven? I saw her at the christening but didn’t get a chance to speak with her afterwards. Pop said she had to rush out after the service to catch a flight.”
“Yes, she will be in the Sedona Valley for four weeks for a medical research seminar. Before she returns to Chicago, she’s planning to visit Tifton to check on her grandmother’s home. She’s not ready to sell it yet, or rent it out.”
“I understand how she feels. I was so glad Lyle offered to rent Dad’s place out long-term. The idea of strangers living in my family home didn’t sit well with me.” He took a swig of his beer. “With all her traveling, do you think Haven will make it back in time for Thanksgiving?”
“That’s her plan. This will be her first Thanksgiving without her grandmother, and she wants to be around family,” Asia said. “I promised I would take care of her plants while she’s gone.”
“I’m sure she appreciates that,” Lance said. “Most of them were given to her at Dora’s funeral, so they mean a lot to her. I still can’t believe she had them shipped here when she moved. I don’t know how they survived during transit.”
“Well, they did and I’m going to make it my business to keep them alive for her,” Asia said.
Lance took another sip of his beer. Dora and his Pop had been first cousins.
Dora’s mother had been Pop’s father’s sister.
They had been close, and although Dora lived in Georgia, they had always kept in touch.
In fact, right after Edwina left, Dora came to live with them for three months to help Pop out.
She was one of the best cooks he’d ever known, and they’d all enjoyed her Southern fried chicken, cabbage, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and potato salad. Dora had called it soul food.
Dora only had one daughter, Barbara Jean, who had married a man Dora had said would do her no good.
She’d been proven right when Barbara Jean tried to leave the guy, and he’d killed Barbara Jean and then himself.
He probably would have killed their ten-month-old baby if she’d been with them at the time.
Fortunately, she’d spent the night with her grandmother and had been spared her parents’ tragic demise.
Dora had full custody of Haven from that day on.
“Well, I won’t disturb you any further. I’ll go see if there’s a game on television,” he said, standing.
“You’re not disturbing me. Besides, I want to talk to you about something,” Asia said.
He lifted a brow as he slid back into the chair. “What?”
“The letter from Edwina.”
He frowned. “What about it?”
“You didn’t read it.”
“Was I supposed to?” he asked tersely.
“Aren’t you curious as to what she had to say?”
“Nope, not in the least. Nothing Edwina can say to me will ever change my opinion of her. She’s dying. Too bad. We will all leave here eventually. It’s her time.”
“I know you think she wasn’t a good mother and─”
“It’s not what I think, Asia,” he interrupted. “It’s what I know. No decent human being would do the things she did to us. To Pop. To Carrie.”
“Okay, but─”
“No buts,” Lance interrupted again. “If we’re talking about Edwina, there are no buts.
Not only is she not decent, but she’s also wicked, sadistic, perverted, brutal, heartless, sinful, and immoral.
The woman is downright evil. If there were a way to expunge her blood from my body, I’d do it.
I refuse to give her any of my time or my energy.
I’m not going to let her use me in her bid to get into heaven. Do you know why?”
Asia shook her head.
“Because it’s my hope that when she dies, she burns in hell for all eternity.”
Asia stared at him. “You really despise her, don’t you?”
“No, that takes too much energy. I don’t think of her at all. What I do despise is her writing those letters to us, begging for forgiveness instead of just dying and getting it over with.”
Asia took another sip of her wine. “Will you be upset with your father or brothers if they decide to go see her?”
He stood and rubbed a hand down his face. “No. What they do is totally up to them. Everybody had their own relationship with Edwina. Mine just happened to be non-existent. She was too busy entertaining men behind my father’s back to care about me. So, why should I care about her?”
Lance knew he sounded callous, but he couldn’t help it.
He and Asia had talked about his feelings for his mother before, and he had even agreed to seek counseling before they got married, in order to confront some of his issues.
And he’d really thought he’d gotten a handle on them.
So he resented the hell out of the fact that Edwina had sent him a letter that would stir them all up again.
Asia stood and came around the table, slipping off her shoes and wrapping her arms around him. “You’re pretty uptight right now. You know, we decided that when we have kids, we would be the best parents possible.”
“Yes, we did say that, didn’t we?” Did she think that was no longer possible, given that he refused to give his mother any of his time?
“And you’re a great dad. The best. So don’t even think that.”
He nodded. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d figured out what he’d been thinking. “I was just wondering, sweetheart, because you once said that I was a man who didn’t know how to care for anyone.”
“Yes, but that was before we got married. You know, when you were trying to take me from Sean, and I thought it was nothing but a game to you.”
“It was never a game. And just to set the record straight, Sean never had you.”
Asia rolled her eyes. “You can be so conceited at times.”
“Yes,” he admitted without any remorse. “But you love me anyway.”
“Yes, I do. You’re a good man. You’ll figure out what the right thing to do is.” She paused. “But you haven’t said anything about your new brother.”
Lance shrugged. “What am I supposed to say? The thought that Edwina intentionally got pregnant just to scam some guy out of his money just shows how evil she is. I’d love to meet my brother one day, but it’s not likely.
Because of the way things went down between Edwina and this Kingston guy, chances are the man never told his son about his birth mother.
Hell, Kingston might have even made up a story about his son’s mother dying while giving birth or something.
I would hate to think that the boy knows the real story, that his poor excuse of a mother sold him before he was even born.
” He took a deep breath. “Let’s talk about something else, okay? ”
Asia rose up on tiptoes, placed her mouth close to his, and whispered, “Why talk at all?”