Chapter 3
T his wasn’t going how I planned. Not that I really had one. My goal was to get Ruby and Hope to come to a family barbeque. Not all my family; I didn’t want to overwhelm her. Cassie offered to ask her, but I thought this was the perfect time to introduce myself into Ruby’s life.
She’d seen me watching the house. I’d seen her sneaking looks at me through the curtains. I wondered what she thought I was doing watching the house. She hadn’t seemed scared of me when we first met, or when I’d come to the other classes. Hope had left Ruby as soon as she’d entered the gym and stayed stuck to me like glue. I knew down to my soul that even though Ruby didn’t know me, she trusted me, because of everything I’d learned, one huge thing being that Ruby was an amazing mother. Her daughter was her whole life. She would never let her daughter anywhere near me if she didn’t trust me.
Hope liked me. She liked me so much that she’d tried to get to me several times while I sat in the car watching, waiting, and thinking. She was adorable. I couldn’t wait until she could become my child legally. My mother couldn’t wait to meet her and had already bought her everything she could ever possibly want or need.
I’d been watching and waiting for a chance to insert myself in their life. I’d reread the information I’d received on Ruby, over and over. I’d spoken to my therapist about it and tried to come to terms with everything I’d learned. I wanted to be strong for Ruby. I wanted to be prepared for what kind of support I needed to be for her. I needed to get over my own anger, so when she told me about herself, I could be there for her and not go into a rage. I wanted her to know that I could be her person. Her one. A true soulmate. With her background, I knew I couldn’t go to her all caveman and possessive. Well, not yet anyway.
I thought inviting her to a family barbecue, and it being me doing the asking, would show her that I didn’t harbor any hate for her like I did the rest of her family. “I would really like you and Hope to come with me and meet my family, please.”
Ruby pulled on the hem of her shirt, and I zoned in on her mouth as she nibbled on her bottom lip. “Hope’s n…napping. When do y…you want Hope and I t…to go to this bar…barbeque?”
“Now.” I jerk my head toward the stairs. “Princess is awake before you say you can’t come.”
Ruby raised her brow and spun around to see Hope dramatically sneaking down the last couple of stairs. Hope ran past Ruby, and I kneeled and opened my arms, which Hope ran into. “Drrk.” Hope was a good talker for her age, but still had trouble with the ck sound, so my name came out like a long, drawn-out double d and r. It was beyond adorable.
I hugged Hope to me, and she wrapped her arms around me. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Isa miss yous toos.” She kissed my cheek, and my heart felt like it was going to explode with the love that overflowed for her.
“Do you want to come and meet my family, princess? My mummy is so excited to meet you.” I was playing dirty, using Hope so Ruby wouldn’t say no.
Hope bounced in my arms and squealed. I tightened my hold so she didn’t fall. “Mummmmy,” she screamed. “Cans we?” The look she gave her mum made me putty in her hands. I knew if Hope ever gave me that look, I would give in to anything she wanted.
I watched as Ruby melted at the look, sighed loudly, and then glared at me for a moment before she ran her fingers through her hair. “Okay. What do I need to get?”
“Nothing. You have everything you need, and anything you don’t, I can get for you.”
I aimed to have my parents help me convince Ruby and Hope to stay with them. I had learned she wasn’t a fan of some of the other therapists. My parents’ house was huge, and with all the security, safe too. I worried about Ruby and Hope. It was one of the reasons I stayed outside and watched the house. I also had a security team watching Ruby and Hope to make sure they were safe, but after learning what I had about her, I needed them both not just safe, but protected. I never wanted either of them to have to go through anything like what they had again.
With a swift nod, she gave Hope a beaming smile. “Baby girl, go get your shoes, and then we’ll go with Derick.”
Hope’s squeal of joy as she wiggled to get down was deafening. I gently placed her on the floor and watched as she ran back up the stairs. I turned back to Ruby and couldn’t help the curl of my lips as her hands came to rest on her waist and her eyebrow rose again.
“W…what are you up tt…to?” Her brow dropped and her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. Ruby didn’t stutter when she spoke to Hope, and she hadn’t a time or two with me either. This gave me …well, ha, there was no better word but hope.
Shrugging, I leaned back against the wall, trying for a non-threatening look. “I like you. I want to get to know you.”
“Why! I…I…I’m nob…nobody.” Her arms came around herself in a hug.
Slowly, I came to her and gathered her into my embrace. She shrank back at first, but I wasn’t letting her go. “You are not a nobody. You are amazing. Perfect.”
Ruby’s scoff tickled my ear, but she didn’t push me away. “I think tt…there is something w…wrong with y…you. Why would you th…think that? You barely know m…me.”
“I want to know you.” I leaned back so I could look into her beautiful dandelion eyes. “I like what I’ve learned about you. I love that you put your daughter first, and I know you are nothing like your family. Cassie loves you, and she has excellent taste.”
Her laugh was like music to my ears. It reminded me of when I was a young child before I realized how important and powerful my family was. I couldn’t wait to hear it over and over again.
“Oh, now I understand w…why Cassie suddenly b…became so interested to meet m…me and became my n…new friend.” She pushed on my chest and let me go, her eyes flashing, changing to a swirling green. “I don’t need f…f…fake friends.” She backed up and I reached out, grabbing her hand to stop her.
“No. Don’t go. Cassie wanted to meet you. I just pushed her to talk to you now and not wait until you’re out of this house. She in no way is a fake friend. I swear on my life.”
She tugged at her hand but stopped when I finished talking. “Ff…fine. I’m going to go get my b…bag and check o…n Hope.” I let her go and watched as she ran up the stairs.
Ruby
I was sitting in a Silverman’s car. I never even imagined I would ever get close to one like I had with Cassie. Well, she was a wife of one, but Derick was a true Silverman, and the brother of the man my wanker dad had kidnaped. If anyone would have asked me if I would be in a car, let alone be hugged like he had earlier by a Silverman, I would have laughed in their face and told them they were high.
A shiver flowed down my spine as I remembered his touch. It made me feel things I never had before, like tingles and pulsing at my pussy. I’d only ever felt that good when I pleasured myself.
Derick was hot. I’d always thought beards made guys look like they were either homeless or belonged in some violent gang like my father’s, but Derick’s only added to how handsome he was. I wasn’t one to trust easily. I’d learned early in life—and unfortunately, it was the hard way—every time I let go of my trust issues, the lesson was a painful one, and always worse than the time before. I must trust Derick though, otherwise I wouldn’t let Hope near him. Hope had always been a brilliant judge of character too.
Hope sat in what looked like a brand-new, top-of-the-line pink car seat. She was watching Frozen . She loved that movie and was a happy girl if I bought her anything with their characters on it. Derick must have known that too, because she had in one hand a water bottle filled with juice with Anna, Elsa, and Olaf on it, and a snack pack in her other, filled with all her favorite fruit—mango, blueberries, raspberries, and cherries. Those were the fruits my brother usually got her as those were too expensive for me to buy. Hope was one very content little girl.
“Y…you didn’t buy th…that seat just f…for Hope, did you?” It didn’t look like any child had been in it. Hope wasn’t in car seats very often, and she wasn’t a messy child, but I knew that if a kid had been in the seat, there usually was some wear to tell if it had been used. And this one still had that fresh smell.
His shrug was so careless, like spending a couple of hundred dollars was nothing. “I’d get the princess anything. She deserves only the best.”
I couldn’t hold back the rolling of my eyes. I felt like my whole body wanted to join in. Hope was extremely smart and cute. I knew as her mother I was the most biased person when I spoke about her, but I knew it to be true because Hope could get anyone wrapped around her little fingers. She had Derick eating out of her hands.
“You d…do realize you’re p…playing into her little ha…hands. She’s a s....smart one, an…and as much a…as I love her, sh…she’s cheeky, and I swear she knows the p…power she holds.”
His laughter made my heart soar, and I loved the sound. I didn’t love a lot of things; Hope was my number one and my brother was a close second, music was in there too, but there weren’t many other things on the list, but Derick’s laugh was now high up there.
“Oh, I know she’s smart, but she’s adorable and looks just like her beautiful mother.”
Covering my cheeks as they heated, I shrank back into my seat. I’d been called pretty, sexy, and fuckable, many times in my life, and it always made my skin crawl, but when Derick called me beautiful, I didn’t feel anything bad. Instead, I had a reaction I’d never had—I was turned on. I learned growing up around bikers and other low-lives, things children should never know about or see, and I had stopped blushing well before I became a teen.
“Don’t cover it, that blush just adds to your beauty.”
Damn, he was good. I was sure my whole body now matched my cheeks. His smile showed his perfect, white teeth, and I tried not to sigh at what his handsome face did to me. My stomach flip-flopped, and I craved his touch again.
“I’d love to know what is going on in that mind of yours,” he said. “You look like you’re deep in thought.”
Wiggling up, I smirked at him. “Wouldn’t y…you like to kn…know?” I had no fear of joking around with Derick. It was a nice change to how I usually acted around men.
“Yes. Yes, I would.” He chuckled, and it was deep and raspy. It felt like I’d had a nice cold glass of water after walking in the desert for a week.
I kept my smile in place as he turned onto a street that backed up to the beach. The houses that I could see were huge and all had massive security fences, but they weren’t prison-like fences, more elaborate to fit the rich decor around them. These were houses that a lot of people dreamed about. I didn’t even dream of things this nice. I would be happy if I could have a nice little townhouse for Hope and I. These houses—er, mansions, more like it—were right out of a fairytale to me.
Gazing out the window, I wondered what all these people did to afford something so extravagant. Were they similar to the Silverman family and owned pretty much everything, had they inherited money, maybe they’d built a company? My mind flew around with a bunch of theories.
He slowed the car and turned into a driveway with the highest fences and a guard house at the side. It wasn’t a small, single structure; it was a house. I couldn’t see the mansion, an oasis with a white pebbled, winding driveway was at the side, and it looked like you needed to be checked out by the guards before you were allowed up to the mysterious house. The gates opened, and two men who were obviously guards with the muscles they had on them came to the window. The guy who came forward was in his late fifties, and there was no doubt he was in charge.
“Hi, Brand. Is everyone already in?” Derick seemed casual, like he’d known the guy for a while.
“Yeah, all waiting for the guest of honor.” Brand’s voice was deep, like he’d smoked two packs of cigarettes.
“Well, not long now?” Derick barely waited for him to step back from the car before he drove up the pebbled driveway. It wound around the gardens, and it felt like we drove for ages before I saw the roof of a mega mansion, which was way bigger than the ones we had passed. It reminded me of a castle.
“Wow, d…did you grow up h…here?” I knew my mouth was agape. There was extravagant, and then there was this house. It was what you would imagine a king and queen to live in, with vast, beautiful, sculptured gardens, marble beams, and sandstone facade.
“Nah, this is something my parents bought recently. I was brought up in something a little smaller than this in a place called Reed Creek in NSW.”
I hated him in that moment, how blasé he was about having what I considered everything.
I didn’t see any other cars as he parked right at the entrance. He turned the car off and jumped out. He went straight to Hope, who willingly went into his embrace. She was a little traitor, and I knew she would now pick Derick over me.
I went to open my door, but Derick almost shouted, “No. I’ll be around to open your door.”
I ignored him. I could open my own door. I hadn’t ever needed a man. I certainly didn’t need one to open a car door, especially when he held my most precious being. My daughter was, and always would be, my number one priority.
My heart squeezed when my baby girl hugged Derick tight to her and said, loud and clear, “Iza loves you so much.”
She kissed both his cheeks, and I stopped walking. I swear my heart missed a beat. What was I doing? I shouldn’t be here. Hope was way too involved. She already loved Derick. I didn’t yet, but I had a feeling I could. Did I want to chance going further? Did I want to risk all the potential heartbreak?
“I love you too, my princess.” He replied quickly before he kissed her forehead, and there was no missing the beaming smile on his face. “I can’t wait for you to meet my mum and dad. I know they’re going to love you too.”
He came to me, and wrapped his free arm around my waist. I was so shocked at everything I’d seen, I didn’t even try to move away. I let him guide me to a door where I saw an older couple standing there. The woman was a female version of Derick, with shiny blonde hair, but as I got closer, I could see she had blue eyes not the warm chocolate brown Derick did.
“Oh, you’re right, they’re both adorable,” the woman I thought looked like Derick said as she rushed up to us. She held her arms out toward Hope.
My little girl went straight over to her. “Yous looked my Drrk.”
Her laugh was a higher pitch than Derick’s, but still sent the warmth through me. “Yes, I do, because Derick is my baby. I’m his mummy.”
The smile that came over Hope’s face was one of pure happiness. “Iza will loves yous too.” She nodded dramatically, and then rested her head against Derick’s mother’s chest. I held my breath and silently prayed they didn’t break my baby girl’s heart.
“Oh baby, I love you already. Aren’t you just the cutest?” She hugged Hope and then kissed her forehead.
Why was I letting strangers kiss my daughter? I should be worried, but I trusted Hope’s judgement, and if I was going to be hurt, the Silvermans had had plenty of chances since I moved into the house with all the other women. I also wanted Hope to know that the people she’d known all her life weren’t normal. There were good people out there. Families that cared for each other, and I knew the Silvermans were one of those.
“You can call me Nana, Nanny, or Grammy, my sweet baby.” She caressed Hope’s cheek.
Now this I couldn’t have. I wanted my daughter to see how most people were good, but if Hope called her this, she would get attached, and as much as I liked Derick and he seemed nice, I knew deep down that he would never be with me for long. Not after what my family had done to his, even though I was nothing like them.
“Um h…hi.” Waving awkwardly at Derick’s mum, I pasted a smile on my face. “Can I p…please have m…my da…daughter. It’s n…not right f…for her to call you e... either of those. I…it would break her hear…t…t when we l…leave and start our new life.”
Derick’s hold on my waist tightened. “You have nothing to worry about. We will be a part of your new life.” I’d forgotten he still had his arm around my waist. I didn’t feel the need to move out of it either.
I hadn’t had a good life, being the bastard of a biker and one as nasty as my father had been. My life was one of always keeping my guard up and learning where to hide and what to do when others asked questions about bruises and money going missing. The only person to ever touch me without hurting me was my brother. I knew unless all the bikers were put in jail, I’d never be safe, because if they ever found out I’d been a narc, or given out information I shouldn’t, they would punish me. I’d been punished many times. The time Hope was conceived was my worst punishment, but I would go through that over and over to save the little children I had and to have my Hope.
One of the therapists that came to the house thought I should be bitter, or as she asked, angry, but I wasn’t. I tried to see the positive in every situation. Things could always get worse. I’d seen it and even experienced it a time or two. But even though I was a positive person, or liked to think I was, I didn’t think I was lucky enough to have a Silverman show interest like Derick had. I had a feeling that Hope wouldn’t be the only brokenhearted one when the Silvermans moved on.
Looking at my daughter in Derick’s mother’s embrace, I knew I wouldn’t stop anything today. I’d only seen the shining happiness in Hope when we were together alone or with my brother, who spoiled her rotten. She deserved this happiness, even if it was only for a short time.
Lost in my thoughts, my head was tilted back to gaze at Derick’s face. His brown eyes swirled with interest as he quirked an eyebrow up. “What is going on in that head of yours? I’d love to know.” The stare he gave me had my body heating, and I stepped back out of his embrace and his touch.
I shrugged and turned to see that Derick’s mother was giving Hope a present, and Hope was now being held by the man beside Derick’s mother that had the same brown eyes as Derick. “Y…you d…Didn’t have t…to get her any…anything?”
“Oh, sorry, I’m being rude. I should have introduced myself first before I took Hope, but she’s just so adorable and I couldn’t wait to cuddle my first grandbaby. I’m Evelin, Derick’s mother, and this is Lucas, but you’re more than welcome to call us Mum and Dad. We are family now.”
What the hell was this woman going on about? I had a huge crush on her son, and he’d been watching me and had been so sweet to my daughter, but there was no reason she would ask me to call her Mum and her husband Dad. I hadn’t even called my biological parents that.
Evelin didn’t leave her husband’s side and barely took her gaze off Hope, like if she blinked, she’d disappear. “H…Hello, M…Mrs. Silverman. It’s nice t…to meet you.”
She grabbed my hand and shook it quickly. “I’m sorry to be rude, but you’ve given me a granddaughter, and my only one. Our family rarely gives birth to girls. In the last six centuries, only one has been born. I’ve already bought her so many things.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as she clapped her hands and jumped up and down like a little kid showing her excitement. She may be crazy, but she was happy.
“I’m so blessed that all my babies have found their ones, and I gained a beautiful granddaughter.” She tugged at her husband’s arm. “Come on. I want to show her the other things I got for her.”
“What d…do you mean other th…things?” I said as Evelin and Lucas turned, taking Hope with them down the long hall with beautiful, shining white tiles and cream walls with fancy painting on them. I followed them into the house.
There was no doubt the furniture was expensive. It was all leather with elaborate embroidered seats and pillows. The house was mostly open plan, except for the first couple of rooms. My gaze caught what looked like a mostly white loungeroom, and there were stairs as you first came in, and two doors on that side, but they were both shut. The open plan was a large kitchen, like you’d see in a magazine, there was a dining room with a huge, wooden table and twelve seats, and a playroom, with a pool and air hockey table and pinball machines, on one side, and a rumpus or second loungeroom with a massive, almost movie screen sized, TV, but it was all open, so from the kitchen you could still see what was going on. The back of the house was one big French door that opened out to an entertainment area, where there were two couples sitting in an outdoor setting covered with food.
“You’re here. Yes.” Cassie did a fist pump to the air. “We can eat now. I’m so hungry.”
Cassie wiggled forward and stood up, her pregnant belly bigger than even a couple of days ago. She waddled to me and embraced me, holding as tight as a pregnant woman with triplets could. She eased back and looked into my eyes and then over at Hope.
“Oh, you just gave her something she always wanted, a little girl,” Cassie said. “Evelin’s wanted a daughter of her own for years, but the Silverman family are prone to only have sons.” She waved her hand like she was shooing something away. “Sure, Uncle Carl has a daughter, but between aunts, uncles, and us all, she’s hard to get any time with. So, another girl is a dream in this family. Evelin told me that she can’t wait to go to all the Disney princess movies and buy barbies and go to dance recitals.” She pushed me to her side and hooked her arm through mine, and I helped her back toward her chair. “She would totally be hugging you and praising you for your help with Dustan, but she’s excited. They both are. Derick has been holding them off from introducing themselves to you a week ago.”
A man that looked just like Derick’s father, and one I’d never forget because I’d helped him escape, got off the chair and assisted Cassie, guiding her to sit on his lap and not her chair. “Sit, Ruby. I’ve wanted to meet you too. I want to thank you for helping me get away from The Devil’s Queens.”
I felt heat rise in my cheeks, and I went to sit down but yelped as Derick took my spot, but before I got the chance to choose another, he yanked me onto his lap. I wiggled to get away only to freeze when I felt how much he liked what I was doing. I should be asking for help, I should be telling him to let me go, but I don’t.
He cleared his throat. “My parents are never this rude, but then again, as Cassie said, they’ve never had a daughter or ever thought they’d get a granddaughter. My mum has gone shopping every day since I told her about you and Hope.”
Derick kissed my head, and my body melted against him. It was strange, as I’d never done this with anyone. What was it about this man?
“Expect a whole new wardrobe. I got one.”
I darted my gaze from Cassie over to a beautiful, young woman with long, brown chestnut hair and light brown eyes. Her skin had a healthy glow, and the man next to her looked a lot like Derick but a darker version. This had to be Stephan and his wife Jade.
“Cassie and Mum go shopping all the time,” she said.
Thanks to my upbringing, I was good at reading people, and there was no way to miss the tension when Jade said Cassie’s name, and the look she turned her way too was one of longing.
“Don’t worry about Mum and Dad. Once they get Hope to love them, they will come for you.” She waved. “I’m Jade, Stephan’s wife.”
“My love already has Hope picking out everything she wants for her bedroom.” Derick’s father’s deep voice had me craning my neck to see him coming toward us. “She must move in now or she’ll never get her daughter back. Your mother is head over heels for that little angel already.”
My laugh came out as a scoff. “Oh, she’s n…not an angel, I bet it’s Hope th…that already has Mrs. Silverman wr…wrapped around her l…little pinky.”
His laugh was deep, and I liked the sound. It wasn’t as good as his son’s, but it was nice.
“I have no doubt, sweetheart. She is adorable though.” He came closer. “May I hug you? I want to thank you for your help with Dustan and welcome you to the family too.”
He didn’t wait for my answer, and I was glad as it didn’t give me time to think and get worked up. His hug didn’t give me the sickly feeling that I got from others when they touched me. Only my brother and Derick had ever been able to give me affection without my body going into panic mode, but now I could add Derick’s father to that too.
“Thank you, sweetheart, and welcome to the family,” he said. “I hope you take us up on our offer.”
“Mr. Silverman, wh…what do you m…mean offer?” I couldn’t remember in the short time I’d been here if I’d been offered anything.
“Sorry, am I rushing ahead before anything has been asked?”
I nodded, because I had no idea what Lucas was talking about.
“Well, since my son is pussy footing around, I’ll ask.” He dragged a chair closer and then sat. “We would love it if you and Hope moved in here. The house is so large that you could have a section to yourself. We want to repay you for your help and want you and your daughter safe.” He smirked, and that’s when I saw the similarity to Derick for the first time, besides his eyes. “Plus, it would put my son at ease too. If you don’t know it yet, he likes you.”
I stared at Lucas, speechless for a moment. He wants Hope and I to move in? Were these people crazy? They didn’t know me. Well, I knew they had investigated me. My brother had called to warn me that someone was snooping around, wanting to know everything they could about me. Toby had been worried until he’d found out it was a Silverman looking into me. He told me he would come home, but I told him not to rush. Toby wasn’t worried so much about the Silverman family, more about the media and everything that followed them.
“Mummmy!” my daughter screamed as she came running to me in an Anna, from Frozen , costume.
The closer she got, the better I saw her ensemble. There was no doubt this was a top-of-the-line dress-up costume. The crown didn’t go with the outfit as Anna didn’t wear one, but my daughter had an expensive-looking one on, along with hair clips with Disney and other hair accessories. The little clip-clop shoes she had weren’t plastic ones either. Clutched in her arm were real Elsa and Anna dolls. She had the cheap ones I’d picked up, but not the real deal Disney. My daughter had been spoiled.
“Looks whats Nanny gots mes. Isa haves a room toos ands wes picks stuff and Nanny says shes takes me to shops to bus more things.”
Everyone around me laughed. My daughter had barely taken a breath.
“Lucas, isn’t she just the cleverest little girl? She talks so well. I can barely believe she’s only two. You’ve done an amazing job with her, Ruby.” Evelin didn’t warn me before she pulled me off Derick and into her embrace. “I’m so happy to have you join our family.” She spun me to face everyone. “We’ve gained two treasures. We are so blessed.”
This woman was loco, but as I looked at the others’ faces, they were all smiling our way and nodding. I felt like I was in some kind of cult movie, where everyone was happy and in love, or in a dream that I never wanted to wake from.
Stepping away from them, I gathered Hope against me and shook my head. “You are all crazy. W…why me? Is th…this a dream?”
I pinched my arm and Hope tapped my hand. “Nos, Mummy, we stays here now.”
I shook my head frantically. “What is…is g…going on?” I stared at Derick. “You…you, s…ss…said come to a bb…barbecue to m…meet your family. N…nothing about moving in…in or all th…this.” I waved one hand around at the Silvermans and my other hand clung to Hope. Was this all just cruel revenge against what my father had done?
“Son, have you not explained or told her anything?” Lucas glared at Derick.
“I was easing her into all this. Now you just threw that all out the window.” He stood and brought me back down to the chair he’d been sitting on with me on his lap moments ago, positioning Hope so she sat on mine.
“Mummy, no windows.” Hope looked around and I giggled.
“No, baby girl, there isn’t, is there? Derick was using a metaphor.”
Hope nodded like she knew what a metaphor was.
“Keep an open mind please. I know with what I’ve found out about you that you may get skeptical, but I promise we’re not crazy and this isn’t a trick. Please.” His fingers caressed up and down my shoulders a couple of times before he dropped them to his side.
I looked up at his face and I didn’t see any hint of hate or anger. Those two I knew well. I’d seen that in many gazes and different ways. I knew what to look for and what to be wary of.
He sat in a chair next to me and patted his lap. When I didn’t move, he reached over and moved me to sit on him while I clung to Hope. I wiggled a little on his lap and grinned when he groaned softly. Hope laughed as she did the same to me, thinking we were playing a game. Derick didn’t wrap his arm around me or cage Hope and I in. I didn’t mind that I was on his lap. Hope seemed comfortable here with all the Silvermans, and she hadn’t been wrong once about people before, even being a kid.
I was skeptical about what Derick was about to tell me, but I needed to learn to trust again, and I had a feeling these Silvermans were the people to start with. Looking at the back of my daughter’s head, I peered around to see her playing with her Elsa and Anna dolls, and there wasn’t any doubt she was clearly in heaven.
I gave my focus back to Derick and nodded. “Tell me y…your story, and I p…promise to not think you’re too c…crazy or b…b…believe you’re l…lying.”
His eyes turned to the warm chocolate that I was growing to love. The smile that spread over his face I already did, and I wasn’t one to fall in love with anything, anyone, or any action easily. My heart felt like it beat faster when he looked at me like he was now. It wasn’t a fearful reaction like I’d gotten before with my father and his men, this was an awesome feeling. It felt like the sun had come out and shone on me after months of hiding.
Derick’s fingers rose and brushed my cheek. “That light in your eyes turns you from the most beautiful woman to so stunning it almost hurts to look at you.”
My stomach flip-flopped and my heart skipped a beat. “You always seem t..to know just what to say to m…me.” I kissed Hope’s head. “Tell me wh…what I need t…to know.” I raised my brow and waited for the supposed crazy story.
“Well, our family is originally from Russia. We were part of the nobility and very wealthy. We oversaw a large village. A group of Gypsies—I know that now they don’t like to be called that, but back several hundred years ago, that was what they were called. A group of people traveling together with different talents. This was a time when people were cautious of different people, especially when they could do things that would heal what others believed was unhealable and predict the weather and even the future. From what I’ve read of our history and how we were given our gift, one of the gypsies was accused of doing something or being a witch, and the villagers got angry and attacked them all. My family stepped in and helped them get away and stay safe, and for that they gave us gifts. We know our soulmate. Our family will always grow, prosper, and stay wealthy, but with every gift there are challenges.” He sighed loudly. “I wanted to wait for a while before you learned the whole story. Everybody reacts differently when they hear about it, especially the women.”
“Um…mm…women?” I wondered how many ladies he’d told this tale to.
Hope pushed against me and wiggled to get down. I let her slide down, and she ran straight to a golden Labrador puppy. I blinked, stood, and went toward Hope and the guy we saw at the security house. Evelin rose and got to Hope quicker, who was now cuddling the cutest puppy with a pink ribbon around its neck.
“No,” Derick said, and my attention went back to him. He was now standing. “No, I haven’t told any other women. The men in my family only tell their woman.”
“That’s a lie, doofus, as you told me because your brother is a wanker who didn’t tell me either,” Jade interrupted him.
Derick rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Look, I thought I’d be better at this since I’d watched my twin brother fall under the curse—er, I mean gift—and my older brother, not to mention my cousins. I thought when it was my time, I’d do better.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “What I’m trying to say is you are family now as you’re my soulmate. My one. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“W…w…what!” Surely, I must have misheard him. I darted my gaze back to Hope who had dropped her dolls and was smothering the puppy with cuddles and kisses. I took a couple of sly steps toward her.
“I know I sound crazy, but I promise what I said is true. I—no, we—want you and Hope to move in here so you have more room and everything you both deserve.”
He made his way to me as I backed up closer to my baby girl. These people were on something. I barely knew them. Why on earth would I move in with them? The house was nice. Well, nice was such a simple way to describe this house, and it was anything but. I’d never stayed in anything so luxurious. I’d seen pictures and watched shows with mansions like this, but never dreamed I’d have the chance to live in one.
I may have feelings for Derick, which if I went off what I’d just learned, was because I was his soulmate. I didn’t know if I believed in that. I certainly hadn’t seen any stable relationships in my life. Oh, I’d read and fantasized about them, but I wasn’t so delusional to ever think I’d be that lucky. I was alive and had Hope. That was enough for me, or so I thought. My heart felt like it began to beat faster than ever before as I stared at Derick. Could I have the fairytale? Why did my heart and the rest of my body think I could? It was my mind that reminded me to be cautious.
For the first time in years, I ignored my head, looked at my daughter, who was the happiest I’d ever seen her, and then turned my attention back to Derick. “I think I might be crazy like you too, but I’ll move in.”
He rushed me, his arms wrapped around my waist, and he peppered kisses on my cheeks. I froze, never having had this kind of affection from anyone but Hope. This wasn’t a mother-daughter love though. This felt different, like he cared and that I mattered to him. I basked in that feeling as I let him kiss my cheeks, enjoying the first affection from someone other than my brother and daughter. I knew I could very easily get used to this.
“Yay!” Hope’s long, drawn-out yell had me stepping away from Derick to see my daughter come to me with the puppy in her arms, skipping with contentment. “Mummy, Iza got a puppy. Look.” She pushed it up as high as her arms would go. “Shes allz mine.” She brought the Labrador back and cuddled it, swaying like it was her baby. “Nanny says I nameded hers.”
I pushed away from Derick and kneeled so I was face-to-face with Hope. “Baby, I’m so happy you love the puppy, but he’s not yours. He’s theirs, and they should get to name him.”
“Nah-ha,” she whined. “Nanny said she gots her justs fors mes.”
I darted my gaze up to see Evelin nod at me. “I was going to ask, but since you said yes to moving in, I don’t need to beg you. I couldn’t keep her hidden from Hope any longer when she said she wanted a doggy like the one we have running down the back of the yard. I sent Brand from my security to go get her. Kids should have pets.” Evelin came and knelt beside me, her arm wrapping around my back. I sat better to make it all more comfortable. “I would say I’m sorry for just taking over and giving my opinions, but to tell the truth, I’m not. I love you already, and not just for being strong enough to survive what you went through and for helping my oldest son, but for the love and instant family you’ve given Derick and our growing family.”
Evelin eased away, stood, and I followed. I stared, not sure what to make of her. I’d never had a mother, and the women at the club weren’t what you’d call the mothering type. I knew what they were like from TV and books. I’d been terrified when I found out about Hope, not just because of how she’d been conceived, but because I had no idea how to be a good mother. So I’d read book after book and watched every TV show I could on the matter, and when she was born, I just asked myself when I was stuck what would my father do, and I did the opposite.
Now that I’d agreed to move in, I would watch Evelin and the other mothers. I intended to enjoy my good luck and the fairytale I seemed to be in now and live my life. I was going to enjoy how the Silvermans treated me and Hope for as long as it lasted.