Chapter 31
31
LINCOLN
“You’d like to find your mother, Linc?”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” I say, trying not to sound nervous.
“If that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you.” My father frowns.
In the pit of my stomach lies a little boy who’s all curled up and is not prepared if his long-lost mother rejects him again.
“What if she doesn’t want to be found?” And what if she doesn’t like me?
His expression softens. “You won’t know if you don’t try.”
I evade his sad stare and quietly say, “If she’d wanted to know me, I think she would have contacted me by now. Don’t you?”
“Linc, you know I can’t answer that without sounding biased.” He sighs. “Part of me wants to tell you maybe she’s changed and the other half of me wants to tell you to prepare yourself for heartbreak.”
I’ve thought about that myself .
“What if she’s dead?” I don’t want to think about that as an option.
A shadow of dismay crosses his face. “I never thought about that.”
We both go quiet.
My dad finally breaks our silence. “Do you want me to help find her?”
“I think I need to do this myself. I’m still undecided.”
“Well, Linc, if you decide to trace your mother, please tell me. Don’t keep any secrets from me because I am always here for you, regardless of the outcome. If you want to have a relationship with her, then I will fully support you, and if the opposite of that transpires…” He doesn’t finish his sentence.
Yeah, I don’t want to think about that either. I do, however, have a big decision to make; do I want to find her?
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Whatever you decide to do, you have us. Eva, me, your brothers and sister, we will stand by you.”
My dad is a man of his word. I know they will.
“Do you need any information from me about your mom?”
I take a deep breath in. “I have everything I need if I want to make a start and Violet found me an agency in the UK who finds lost relatives.”
“Did she?” He looks over at Violet. “She must really care about you.”
“She loves me.” Wow, saying that out loud freaks me out somewhat. “I’m very lovable,” I joke, brushing off how much those three little words have changed everything between us.
“It will all work out, Lincoln.”
“Will it, though?”
“If it’s meant to be, it will.”
“And how do you know if it’s meant to be?” This is all new to me. I’ve never wanted to make it work with a girl before and now I have this incredible woman in my life and I don’t know what to do or how to solve our distance problem.
My dad clears his throat but doesn’t answer my question. “Can I ask you something? And you have to answer me honestly.” My dad takes a sip of his beer.
I bob my head.
He licks his lips. “Do you still want to work at the hotel? Is it what you want to do for the rest of your life?”
“What?” He should have slapped me across the face. I think that would have been less painful. “Yes. Always. Never ask me that again.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “I just thought, maybe, if you wanted to move here, permanently—” His eyes focus intently on Violet across the rooftop terrace.
“Don’t say it.” I cut him off.
“Then I wouldn’t stop you.” He finishes his sentence anyway.
“Seriously?” I’m angrier than I need to be. I feel like he’s pushing me away.
“Don’t be mad at me, Linc. I’m setting you free. That’s if you want to be. The hotel will be there for years to come. But she…” He looks at Violet again. “Won’t wait forever.” He stands from his chair and pats my shoulder. “Think about it.”
I don’t know how long I sit there, but Violet appears next to me and breaks my jumbled thoughts. “Everything okay?” The touch of her hand against mine soothes me.
“Yeah.” I pull her sideways onto my lap and loop my arms around her waist.
I don’t mention what my dad said about me leaving the hotel, and instead, I say, “I was asking if he was okay with me tracing my mom. He said he was.”
“Oh, that’s great, Lincoln. ”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“You don’t have to. Fate and destiny will do its job.”
“Like it did for us?”
“Just like us.” She wiggles her bountiful ass against my clothed cock.
I hold her hips still. “Not here.”
She bites her lip seductively. “I enjoy teasing you.”
“I know you do.”
The soft thrum of a piano from John Legend’s “All of Me” tinkles through the outdoor speakers. Automatically, and no words needed, the three couples I love and adore most in the world rise to their feet, couple up, and sway together. Each is lost in their own little bubble as they hold each other close, whispering sweet nothings to one another.
Violet watches them with fascination. “What are they doing?”
“Dancing.”
“I know that.” She swats my hand playfully. “But why?”
“This is what they do: food, drinks, banter, and the night always ends with them dancing. They love each other.” The sight of the three happy couples is inspiring. “I normally leave now or I dance with the kids if they are still up.”
A sudden look of emotion passes across her face. “You have me now.” She slips off my lap and pulls me to my feet. “Dance with me, Lincoln Black.”
We huddle together, swaying, understanding all the lyrics to the love song playing across the airwaves.
The fierce and dynamic woman is so small and delicate in my arms and, with no shoes on, she’s shorter than normal.
My father looks over Eva’s shoulder and winks at me.
He knows.
I do too.
I want to do this with Violet forever.