Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Lianna’s lack of situational awareness as she stared at Konni in disbelief made Kaya set her hand on his arm to stop his response.
“Gold digger?” Kaya said lightly. “How many times did we hear that about ourselves, Christine? As if humble beginnings made us less deserving of our husbands’ love and attention. Perhaps you should show Lianna where you grew up and a few of those old articles so she knows her roots too.”
Christine flushed in discomfort at Kaya’s polite reminder, but not Lianna’s father.
“Lianna is a Stonestock,” he said stiffly. “She knows her roots and her worth.”
“As does Ms. Elmantas,” Kaya said. “Oh, and before I forget, thank you for withdrawing your investment, Laurence. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to pass the opportunity to Abbye.
“If you’ll excuse us, I see someone Abbye needs to meet. Thanks to Sophia, stocks are soaring, and Abbye’s interested in expanding her investment portfolio with those Steele dividends.”
Kaya took Mom’s arm to lead her away, leaving me with Konni, who had no problem wrapping my hand around his arm.
The silence behind us was deafening as we followed our moms. Keeping my smile pleasant, I suppressed my overjoyed, petty inner bitch.
Kaya did, in fact, introduce Mom to several people with investment opportunities.
To give Mom a break, Konni talked Kaya into a dance.
When he asked Mom to dance next, she offered me in her place.
I couldn’t tell if it’d been pre-planned or if Mom had guessed his real intent.
Either way, he swept me onto the dance floor, and I forgot everything within seconds as the hand on my bare back melted logical thought.
Flecks of gold flickered in and out of existence as he gazed at me.
Afterwards, he led me back to Kaya, who said she was tired and wanted to leave. I could have hugged her for that.
Konni didn’t steer me toward his car like I knew he wanted to. The reporters were still watching and taking pictures.
Neither of the moms brought up the Stonestocks on the way home, sticking to investment talk instead. Unfortunately, the disgraced were determined to demand their due, and Kaya’s phone rang five minutes from home.
She clicked her tongue when she saw Christine’s name.
“Christine’s choice to support Lianna wasn’t meant to devalue your shared history or humble background, Kaya,” Mom said from the front seat. “It’s simply a mother’s blind love.”
Kaya sighed and answered on speaker.
“I’m sorry, Kaya. Lianna shouldn’t have said what she did. You’re right. You and I aren’t any different than Sophia. Will you tell her I’m sorry?”
“No,” Kaya said. “Lianna can apologize to Sophia herself.”
A pause. “You’re right. Whatever it takes to mend this rift between our families. Are you free tomorrow night? Come have dinner at our estate. Bring the Elmantases with you.”
She glanced at me. I shook my head.
“Another time,” Kaya said. “We both know Lianna isn’t ready to apologize, and I think it’s time we stopped trying to smooth things over for our children. They’re adults. They can handle their own business.”
Silence stretched.
“What about us?” Christine asked.
I didn’t know her well enough to guess whether the hurt in her voice was real or not.
“I think some distance would be healthier while Lianna and Konni find their footing separately,” Kaya answered. “For Lianna’s sake, I sincerely hope she scents her mate soon. Goodbye, Christine.”
She hung up and looked at Mom, who’d turned to watch her.
“Whatever it takes to mend the rift?” Kaya repeated with indignation. “Does she honestly think that’s the foundation for an apology?”
“If Sophia did something to upset you, I’d tell her to do whatever it took to gain your forgiveness so I could keep my friend, too.”
“You’re a better person than I am, Abbye, and I’m not sorry your house burned down. Your loss was my gain.”
Mom busted out laughing, and Kaya grinned.
We sat around the table, each of us reading a different article about last night’s gala.
As I’d guessed, I’d made several headlines in some regard as the news outlets tried to leverage my notoriety. The approaches varied. Some still speculated negatively about my relationship with the Steeles, which sparked a lot of debate in the comments. Some reported my attendance impartially.
One stood out.
They fawned over my dress and even featured a photo of me dancing with Konni. The way he was looking at me fueled the comment section with wistful envy and supportive speculation regarding how long readers would need to wait before a more-than-professional relationship was announced.
“It looks like our plan is working,” Kaya said. “I think it’s time for our next step.”
“What next step?” I asked, looking away from the article.
“So far, you’ve been a guest in our house. We need to show more family integration.”
“What do you have in mind?” I asked since we’d just posted pictures of Mom and Kaya cooking breakfast together.
She glanced at Konni, her expression a mix of uncertainty and hope.
“My grandparents are returning today,” he said. “They wanted to attend the gala with us last night, but Mom thought it would be too obvious. So they agreed to wait until—”
A door banged somewhere at the back of the house.
“Where is my new granddaughter?” a woman asked, her voice carrying excitement.
A spear of panic shot through me—from hearing the label and from the unexpected arrival since I hadn’t been mentally prepared for either.
Konni wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Breathe, kitten.”
His grandparents entered the kitchen. His grandma embodied svelte elegance in pearls, a pantsuit, and an excited, welcoming smile. His grandpa was…stoic. Incredibly handsome, though, with thick, silver-white hair and amber eyes like Konni’s.
His grandma spotted me.
“Sophia?”
I nodded, and she hurried over to hug me.
“Welcome home,” I said.
“Oh, you are too sweet.” She gave me an extra squeeze before releasing me and stepping back to give me a head-to-toe sweeping glance.
“You are as gorgeous in person as you were in those trashy articles, no matter how hard they tried to make it otherwise. Come sit next to me. Tell me about yourself. What do you like? Jewelry? Properties? Cash?”
Stunned and amused, I let her lead me away from Konni.
“Becky, you’re making Konni restless,” his grandpa said.
“Then distract your grandson. I’ve been waiting weeks for this.”
“Weeks?” I said faintly.
She grinned at me, the lines on her face barely creasing her skin.
“Konni called after he went to your uncle’s bar to see you the first time. He knew he’d scared you and asked how Palmen had approached me without scaring me away. I told him the truth. He had terrified me. The intense way he watched me. The way he wouldn’t leave me alone.
“I had a boyfriend at the time. A gentleman I was quite smitten with. He was incredibly handsome and rich. And he had this lovely way of—
“Becky.” The pleading way Palmen said her name set off her laughter.
“Do you see? He’s incredibly jealous, even now, but he learned to temper himself, and his instincts, to be what I needed. I told Konni he needed to do the same or you would run like I had back then.
“Now, tell me what type of welcome gift you’d like.”
“Can I think about it and get back to you?” I asked, reeling a little.
She patted my hand and gently pinched my cheek, something no one had ever done in my life.
“Of course.”
When she went to hug Kaya, Konni stole me back, not letting go of my hand. Amused, I watched Becky turn to Mom, who clearly didn’t know how to respond to Becky fussing over her broken arm and everything she’d been through. It was obvious Konni or his mom had kept his grandparents informed.
Mom was in the middle of insisting she didn’t need a welcome gift from Becky when my phone rang.
I saw “Sperm Donor” and turned it over.
Konni’s grandparents saw.
“You can answer it,” Becky said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“It’s okay. It’s not someone I want to talk to. I’d rather hear what ideas Mom has for a welcome gift.” She shot me a look then asked for some time to think about it like I had.
Conversation turned to plans for the day.
“Let’s have a picnic on the lawn,” Kaya said.
“That’ll be a good opportunity for photos,” Becky said. “Do we still have lawn darts?”
My phone pinged with a text alert. Then again and again.
Mom glanced at me. She knew.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, excusing myself.
I didn’t go far, just to the other side of the kitchen to look at Dad’s messages. However, Dad wasn’t the only one who’d messaged me.
Miranda: How dare you flaunt that sexy back without including me. I demand a closet swap as compensation.
Wrenly: Don’t loan her that dress, Sophie. She’ll do nasty things in it. She said something about getting down on all fours when she saw it this morning.
Miranda: Excuse me, but does Bennett know what we did this morning? No. I know how to keep a secret like a good friend.
Me: What happened this morning? Tell me, and I’ll express deliver the dress to you in an hour.
Miranda: Wrenly and I went to the adult toy store. She’s trying for a repeat reaction from Bennett as when she told him she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Wrenly: Bet you wish you hadn’t asked.
Me: Not even close. I’m glad I asked and found out now that I’m no longer in a sisterhood. How could you go to an adult toy store without me?
Miranda: As if anything in that store would be more satisfying than what Konni’s packing under his tailored trousers.
Me: Fair point. But no more excluding me.
Wrenly: Sorry, baby. I’ll treat you extra special next time we’re together.
Me: You better!
Wrenly: Congrats on turning Motan on its ear, by the way. You outshone everyone at the gala in that dress. Hope Lianna was choking on her envy.
Me: I’ll tell you all about it at this week’s lunch meet-up. Be there or miss out!
Miranda and Wrenly both promised to be there.
Still smiling from our conversation, I checked Dad’s message.