10. Marco
CHAPTER 10
Marco
M y daughters had all sorts of advice on how to handle Leah’s family when we met for dinner on Thursday night to celebrate Sofia’s birthday. Since she had a deadline for a class, we met at my place and ordered takeout from their favorite sushi restaurant, just like we used to when Camille was alive.
“If her kids are mean to her, shut them down,” Sofia ordered.
“But nicely,” Isabella recommended.
“If it’s the ex, go all alpha male on his ass,” Sophia advised.
“Yeah. But don’t get arrested. So, no physical stuff,” Isabella chimed.
They weren’t surprised that Leah’s kids were estranged from her, as several of their friends had complicated relationships with their parents. I was glad Camille and I never had to deal with that. Even when they were teenagers, the girls were easy, and we remained a close-knit family. There would never be a time that I’d be nervous like Leah was to see them.
But I understood her trepidation as her family dynamics became clearer.
Leah’s son lived at The Brady in West Midtown. The building was undeniably high-end, the kind of place that turned heads, and I couldn’t help but wonder how a young professional couple could afford it. Leah explained that it wasn’t Davis’s place—it was Kevin’s. He let their son live there rent-free.
It didn’t take much to see how her ex-husband had eroded her relationships with her children. He’d set his kids up better than he ever had their mother, clearly stacking the deck in his favor during the divorce. It was a calculated move, one that had worked, considering Davis and Presley had chosen him over Leah.
That realization made me suspicious of Davis’s motives for extending an olive branch to his mother now. But as my daughters had wisely reminded me, this wasn’t about Kevin or my doubts—it was about Leah. So, I resolved to be supportive and friendly to her children. Kevin, however, was a different story. I’d save my niceties for those who deserved them.
Leah was nervous as we went up to the elevator, so I pulled her to me and kissed her soundly.
“Wow,” she murmured, touching her lips with a finger.
“I have other ways to distract you if you want,” I offered.
She smiled as the elevator doors opened. “That was pretty effective. You can do that again.”
“Oh, Leah, I absolutely intend to.”
She flushed, and for a moment, I thought she was relaxed, but as soon as I rang the doorbell, she went stiff as a board.
“You’ve got this,” I reassured her quietly.
She glanced at me, her green eyes filled with doubt. “What if it all goes wrong?”
“Then we’ll leave,” I stated calmly.
She took a deep breath and nodded.
I was expecting Davis, whose apartment this was, to open the door, but it was Kevin. He was dressed in a crisp white button-down and jeans, his salt-and-pepper hair slicked back.
Oh yeah, he looked like a complete pendejo ! Like, a straight-up payaso . A total clown.
“Leah.” Kevin’s voice was overly jovial. “You made it. And this must be...”
“Marco Cabrera.” I offered my hand, which he shook.
Leah had told Davis she was bringing a plus one.
Kevin stepped away to let us in. “Your name seems familiar.”
I put an arm around Leah and pulled her into me. Anyone who saw us would know we were together .
“I doubt we’ve ever met.” I used my pleasant-but-go fuck yourself tone.
Brittany came running and stopped when she saw me. “Oh, hello.”
Leah all but scoffed at that. Brittany was looking me up and down. I’d decided to go casual for the evening with jeans, a T-shirt, and slip-on shoes. Leah was dressed in something similar. The others I noticed were Spring casual chic, as Sofia would describe it.
“It’s dressing up in high-end stuff but low-fashion things like jeans.”
My jeans came from a Levi’s store at an outlet mall. Kevin’s came from Phipps Plaza.
“Marco Cabrera,” I extended my hand again.
Brittany looked at me coyly and shook my hand. “And who are you?” I think she fluttered her eyelashes.
Before Leah could speak, I replied, “I’m Leah’s boyfriend.” I then paused to look Leah in the eyes, noticed she was fine, and continued, “But at our age, we need another term, don’t you think, carino ?”
Brittany sidled up to Kevin. “Well, at my age, we say boyfriend,” she tittered.
“Yeah, but maybe not at Kevin’s,” I laughed as if I was cracking a joke.
Kevin didn’t think it was funny. Leah smiled wide.
Brittany looked just as I’d imagined she would. She was younger than Leah by at least a couple of decades, with sleek blonde hair and a figure that screamed Pilates classes and green juice diets. She was the kind of woman I could never find attractive.
Brittany gave Leah a once-over, her smile thin and sharp as a knife. “Leah, you look...nice.”
“Thanks, Brittany. You look lovely.” Leah wasn’t nervous any longer. She knew how to reel herself in, and I respected that. It probably came in handy as a lawyer.
Kevin’s smile faltered slightly, but he recovered quickly. “Well, let’s go in.”
As we moved into the apartment, past the spacious hallway, tension followed us like a shadow.
Then I heard a voice call out, “Mom!”
A young man in his late twenties who owned the voice made his way toward us. He had her blue eyes and her soft smile, and when he reached Leah, he pulled her into a tight hug.
“Davis,” she gasped, her voice soft with surprise.
“Hey, Mom.” He took a step back to look at her. “I’m glad you came.”
“Me too,” said a voice behind me. I turned to see a young woman in her mid-twenties, tall and graceful, with long dark hair. Her daughter. “Hi, Mom.”
“Presley,” Leah breathed, her voice thick with emotion.
Presley stepped forward, hesitating only for a moment, before hugging Leah. “I love you,” she whispered.
Leah’s face crumpled for a moment before she pulled herself together.
I stepped back, watching the scene unfold. It was clear that Davis and Presley were trying. Their warmth toward Leah was genuine, their regret palpable.
Kevin was pretending to accept that his children wanted their mother back in their lives—but he didn’t like it. I wondered what the backstory here was and how Leah’s children managed to get their heads out of their asses and away from their father’s clutches. Obviously, not far enough, considering he’d orchestrated his presence along with his floozy during this meet-up.
While her kids were generous and genuine in their affection, Davis’s fiancée Olivia was neither with Leah.
When I introduced myself, her smile widened.
“You’re the CEO of MedSoft.”
Kevin and Davis both looked at me, recognizing that I was one of Atlanta’s business elites. What the fuck ever! I was Leah’s date for the evening.
“Yes, I am.” I put a hand on Leah’s waist to keep her close to me. “ Carino , you want to hand over the wine you have in your bag?”
“Oh, yes.”
Leah had put the bottle of wine I picked out at Sherlock’s Wine Merchant, a wine store in Buckhead that we were both familiar with. I insisted on buying the wine, making sure it was in the two-hundred-dollar range to make Kevin uncomfortable as hell. When he saw the bottle of Montrachet Chassagne, he grimaced.
Yeah, asshole, I have more money than you.
It was petty as hell, but it made me feel better. I wasn’t the kind of man who flaunted wealth. I was a regular professional who’d worked my way up to become CEO, and between Camille and me, we had a very healthy income and savings. But I knew that Kevin seemed to care a lot about money and status, so I wanted to hit him where I knew it would affect him.
“Oh, Mom, this is a really nice wine.” Davis looked at it and handed it to his fiancée. “Lilly, it’s chilled. We can have it with the appetizer.”
Olivia was impressed despite herself. She took the wine from Davis and smiled uneasily. “Thank you, Marco.”
“Actually, it’s from Leah,” I smoothly said. “She’s the one who loves chardonnay from Burgundy. I don’t know much about wine. She’s teaching me.”
Leah caught on quickly. “And he’s teaching me about rum.”
“Amongst other things.” So, I was laying it on thick and brushed my lips against the side of her forehead.
We settled around the dining table with a view of Atlanta from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Compared to Leah’s apartment, this was about a hundred times better. How could this man let the mother of his children be without resources to at least buy a home after she kept theirs for years?
Olivia served the wine we brought with the first course, a poorly made shrimp bisque that everyone complimented her on. However, I noticed that she rarely spoke to Leah directly, and when she did, her tone was clipped, almost dismissive.
“Mom, you’re gaining quite a reputation as a divorce lawyer,” Davis gushed.
“Yeah,” Presley added. “It’s so cool how you built your practice in a year.”
Leah wasn’t expecting any of this, and I knew she was thrilled as hell but also emotional. I put a hand on her thigh to steady her.
“Thank you. It’s been a labor of love. I have a great paralegal who’s a Godsend.”
“In more ways than one,” I added.
When everyone looked at me, I grinned. “Alana bought Leah salsa dance classes, and my daughters got me the same. That’s how we met.”
It was a little over the top for the sake of performance for her family, but the truth was that I was enamored, and I knew it showed.
Leah looked up at me and smiled.
“You need to give Alana a raise.” I stroked a finger down her cheek.
Brittany cleared her throat. “I am an excellent salsa dancer if you need tips.”
“Oh, we’re doing fine stumbling around,” Leah replied good-naturedly.
“She kids, she’s a natural.” I picked up her hand and brushed my lips against her knuckles. Yeah, laying it on thick . But since I loved touching and kissing her, it was working to my advantage.
Dinner continued, and it was evident that the lines were drawn. Olivia, Kevin, and Brittany were on one side, not Leah’s, while her children were trying their best to win their mother back. Knowing Leah, she wouldn’t even make them apologize to her; she’d just hug them close. But that didn’t mean I had to play along.
I understood Kevin and Brittany, but not Olivia. She had no reason at all to be a bitch to Leah. It didn’t sit right with me.
When Leah excused herself to the restroom, and Olivia went into the kitchen, I saw my opportunity.
I cornered Olivia by the fridge. “Olivia, may we talk for a moment?”
She looked up at me, surprised. “Uh, sure.”
“I care a lot about Leah,” I began, and when she raised her eyebrows, I continued, “This dinner means the world to her. Thank you for inviting us.”
“That was Davis and Presley,” she said stiffly.
“It’s nice that they want to rebuild their relationship with their mother. Don’t you think?”
“Not my place.” She crossed her arms and then looked around the kitchen as if for an excuse to end this conversation.
“I see.” I dropped my voice to a concerned murmur. “I can’t help but notice you’re not exactly warm toward Leah.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Hey, I get it.” I raised both hands in a peace offering. “Family dynamics are messy. But Leah’s trying. She’s here because she loves Davis and wants to support him. That’s not easy for her, especially with everything she’s been through.”
Olivia looked away, uncomfortable. “I just don’t think she’s always been fair to Kevin.”
“Maybe not, but their marriage is not anyone’s business but theirs.”
She swallowed. “I work at Kevin’s law firm.”
“There are other law firms, Olivia, but Davis has only one mother.” She looked like I slapped her. “Look, you seem like a smart, compassionate woman. Don’t be the kind of person who tears another woman down when she’s already carrying so much.”
She blinked, clearly caught off guard by my bluntness. “I am not doing that.”
“Yes, you are.” I tucked my hands in my pockets. “How you handle this is up to you. I hope that you’ll see Leah as the kind and warm person she is, and if you can’t appreciate her, you owe her respect.”
With that, I left her in the kitchen.
During dessert, Olivia seemed to have taken my advice to heart because she was softer toward Leah. They exchanged a few words, and though it wasn’t a breakthrough—it never could be—this would do.
As the evening went on, I found myself watching Leah more closely. She carried herself with grace, even when Brittany made snide remarks, or Kevin tried to dominate the conversation. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for, and it hit me then how much Kevin had chipped away at that strength over the years. Still, she stood strong. How had I ever thought that this woman was pathetic?
She didn’t need him. Hell, she didn’t even need me.
Kevin and Brittany were the first to leave, which gave Davis and Presley the opportunity to talk to their mother. I excused myself by going out to the balcony, and Olivia went into the kitchen to clean up.
On our drive home, Leah told me that her children had apologized to her and said they’d wanted to do this early on and had finally decided to do it this way so their father would also know where they stood.
“They seem like good kids, Leah.”
“Yeah, they are. They got lost, though…but then Kevin’s good at making people lose themselves. He can be very convincing.”
“I gathered.”
She put a hand on my thigh. “Thank you, Marco. For being there for and with me. No one ever has.”
I glanced at her, my hands on the wheel. “It was my pleasure. But, Leah, you didn’t need me with you. You’re strong enough to handle anything.”
“You think so?” She was still insecure, but now that I’d seen her with her family, I could see why. It was my job now to bolster her confidence.
“Absolutely.”
She sighed. “I’m just glad it’s over. And thrilled that I’m going to see my kids again. Even Olivia seemed to be less…cold.”
We fell silent again, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it was the kind of peace that came when you were with someone you were entirely in sync with. Right then and there, I made a decision. The decision.
“Leah?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you stay with me tonight? At my place.”
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.