52. One Way
FIFTY-TWO
ONE WAY
One week later
Lake
From the garage, Prescott bursts into the house and says, “They want your signature, Lake.”
I descend the steps and help him with his backpack. “Who does?”
My aunt points toward the front door. “Mail lady out front.”
I meet the mail carrier outside, and she smiles as she hands me an envelope. “Sign here.”
I sign, and as she departs, I recognize Alessio’s neat handwriting. I open the letter so fast, I cut my finger. I suck on the cut, then pull out two pieces of thick cream paper.
One has my name on it.
The other has Prescott’s.
“What are those?” My aunt walks up and reads over my shoulder.
“I think they’re airline tickets.” My heart’s beating fast when I look up at her. “Aunt Aisha, he’s flying me and Prescott out to see him.”
“Give me those. Let me see.” She grabs them and looks them over. “What airline is this?”
“It’s, um, probably private, and those tickets are more like a message.”
She puts on her reading glasses and examines the tickets. “We’re talkin’ about that billionaire from Paris, right?”
“Mmhm.”
“Six-five. Blue eyes. Dark hair?” She purses her lips.
“Mmhm.”
My aunt looks me dead in the eye. “Start packing.”
I can’t contain my excitement and jump up and down. “He wants to see me again!”
“Well, he wouldn’t be a real man if he didn’t want to see you with his baby.”
“He doesn’t know about the baby.”
My aunt gasps. “Lake Marie Wilder, you’ll be on your own in another country when you tell a man he’s going to be a father.”
“This is a reunion. Alessio wants me back in his life, and I want to be in his life. It’s about us. What we made and will make together will flow from us. Besides, I won’t be on my own. Alessio will be there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. It’s the holiday season. He wants us there because we’re family.”
My aunt turns over the tickets and shows me what’s written on the back. In bold red marker, it reads:
ONE-WAY