Chapter 28
BONNIE
"You look absolutely dashing," I said two weeks later, watching Travis as he buttoned his shirt. We were in the presidential suite of the Maxwell Hotel.
I could pinch myself; it was all so fancy that I was afraid to touch anything. He'd insisted it was better if we stayed here. That way, after the party was over, we could come straight here and sleep. That was fine by me, as I was sure I’d be exhausted by the time the night was over.
I was wearing a gorgeous floor-length red dress I'd bought with Reese. She took me shopping. Ashley hung out with us, too, oohing and aahing at every dress I tried on. After I introduced the girls to her at the yoga class, they'd all been in touch ever since.
My belly was already showing a bit at four months, but the dress was covering it.
Travis was looking at me like he wanted to eat me up right here, right now. He seemed to stumble on his last button.
I smirked. "I see I'm distracting you so much that you can't even button up your shirt."
"I'd rather take it off," he said.
"There will be plenty of time for that later," I replied, finishing the job for him. Then I grabbed the cuff links from the mahogany vanity table and put them on him. They had a black stone embossed with the word Maxwell around it. They were clearly custom-made.
His phone buzzed. It was on the vanity table too. Reese was calling.
"Oh, she called me earlier too. I forgot to call her back.”
“She’s probably hounding us to go downstairs. Are you ready?" he growled.
My eyes widened. "Why did you make that sound?"
"You look so damn good, and all I can think about is taking the dress off you."
I shook my finger at him. "No, you don't. We need to look presentable. If you have your way with me, everyone will be able to tell."
He grinned wolfishly.
"I'm not sure what you're thinking right now, but I'm going." I dashed to the door, laughing.
Travis caught up with me, and we went to the elevator together.
The hotel was beautiful. Even the walls looked fancy, covered in silk wallpaper or something like that. I had no idea what it was, but it felt very smooth. I'd accidentally brushed it on my way to the room and needed to remind myself that I couldn't walk around touching the walls.
We took the elevator down and stepped out into the entrance area.
"Are those outside guests?" I pointed at the glass front of the hotel.
Travis set his mouth in a firm line, adjusting a cuff link that hadn't needed any adjustments. "No, that's the press." He was clearly not thrilled about having them here.
Tim stepped up to us. "Finally, you’re down. Reese called you a few times."
"Yeah, I figured it would be better if we just hurried instead of answering the call," Travis said.
He looked between the two of us, and my stomach bottomed out. Whatever he had to say wasn't good. "Listen, there's been a development. There's unusual interest in Bonnie."
I swallowed hard. "Me? How could that be? How do they even know about me?"
"Your mother made a statement today."
I stiffened. I felt as if I'd fallen into a frozen pool. “My mother,” I parroted. I’d called her a dozen times after she went to the hotel, but she didn’t answer. I took it as a sign that she was giving it a rest. "What did she say?"
"You didn't read it?"
"Read what?" Travis asked in a stern voice.
"The article. Reese told me about it an hour ago."
I closed my eyes, trying to draw in a deep breath. I felt nauseous. That was why she'd been calling both of us. "Can I look at it?" I asked.
"No," Travis replied.
I opened my eyes. "I want to see it."
"I don't have much experience with these things, but I don't think not knowing what it's about will make it easier if the press starts to ask questions," Tim said, taking out his smartphone from the jacket of his suit. He looked questioningly at Travis, who nodded.
He turned his phone toward us. I grabbed it, tapping the screen to zoom in.
The title sent me into a tailspin: "Maxwell Heir Trapped by a Gold Digger.
" I wanted to throw up. My hand started shaking so much that I couldn't read the text.
Travis grabbed my hand, steadying it, and we both read it carefully, scrolling down.
"Why would Mom do this?" I knew, of course, that she wasn't very fond of me. I'd accepted it. I'd also accepted that the only time she remembered she had a daughter was when she needed money. But she'd never actively done anything to harm me. Why now? Tears welled up in my eyes.
"Bonnie, I'll take care of this," Travis said.
I heard him as if from a distance.
"Sorry I'm late," Reese said. She came out from one of the back entrances. Sam was next to her.
"You showed them the article?" she guessed.
Tim nodded. "I'm sorry. I tried to warn you. I saw it a couple hours ago."
"Listen, it's nothing we should worry about," Reese said, "but I wanted everyone to be in the know."
Sam looked troubled.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"I'm not sure it's nothing. I passed a reporter, and the first question he asked me was what I thought about Bonnie banging my brother."
Bile rose up in my throat. I was going to be sick for sure.
Reese ran a palm over her head, as if she wanted to smooth her hair. She didn’t need to, though. It looked perfect. "Why would you say that in front of Bonnie?"
"It’s okay," I replied. "I don't want you to sugarcoat anything."
"Babe, please forget about the damn article," Travis said.
I felt horrible. Suddenly I didn’t feel worthy of any of this.
Like I was playing dress-up and didn’t belong.
I wasn’t a gold digger, but I certainly shouldn’t be part of this family.
Associating with me would only hurt them.
I needed to let Travis know, though he'd probably figured that out now too.
"Sam, why do you have your fight face on?" Reese asked.
I looked closely at him. His features had subtly changed from before. His eyes were harder, there were frown lines on his forehead, and his jaw somehow seemed even more defined than usual, like he was jutting his chin out.
"I have a solution," he said. "I'll make a spectacle of myself and draw attention. I'm the big mystery, the Maxwell no one knows anything about. I'll give them fodder."
Oh my God, he'd actually do that? I was stunned. “No, Sam, I can’t let you do that.”
"Usually I'd be all for it," Reese said. "But how about keeping the focus on the hotel? We’re trying to make the Maxwell name proud."
I closed my eyes, truly feeling like I might be sick.
From the back, I heard more voices. I recognized Paisley and Lena and assumed the whole gang was here.
I needed to leave. My association had done enough to damage this family.
"I'm going to spend the evening upstairs," I declared.
"No," Travis replied.
"Listen, if I'm not here, you can easily avoid talking about me. Besides, I don't think I can do this."
"Bonnie, I want you here. I need you," he pleaded.
I wanted to stay here for him. But right now, all I wanted was to bolt. As Reese said, the focus should be on the hotel.
"Bonnie," Travis said, his voice even harder.
But I shook my head, turning my back and breaking into a run toward the elevator.
Travis
I wanted to go after her, but Mom came right up to me.
“What happened?” she asked. She and Dad were closest to us. Tate, Lexi, and Paisley were next to them. Gran had a hand on Paisley’s shoulder. Kimberly was a few feet away with Luke, Tyler, Declan, and the rest of the gang.
Reese filled them in. I was worried about Bonnie. I didn’t want her to think this was in any way her fault. And what if her blood pressure went up? It wasn’t a concern during the last visit to Dr. Taylor, but she warned us it could still spike.
"I've still got time until the guests arrive. I’m going up to see her,” I announced.
Mom rolled her shoulders. "I'm going up. Travis, stay here for now. I’ll let you know once Bonnie’s better. I know how she feels."
“Mom—”
“Don’t 'Mom' me.”
"Lena, you’re right. The girl is going to need you," Gran said, looking at her with a knowing expression.
Without another word, Mom headed to the back elevators.
Reese pursed her lips. “I think it’s good that Lena’s going to talk to her.”
Kimberly came closer.
Lexi cleared her throat. "I can go up and check on her too.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that maybe her brain is blowing some things out of proportion.
I think the pregnancy isn't helping." She patted her belly.
"I should know. Trust me, the mind can get to very weird places.
Just last night I woke up wondering if I passed out on my belly, what would happen to the baby? "
Tate looked stunned. Honestly, for a moment, she'd even pulled me out of my thoughts. She'd imagined what?
“Jesus Christ." Sam looked just as stunned as Tate.
Kimberly blinked several times. "You know what, I can go up too. I don't think anyone would notice if Lexi and I are missing. There are plenty of Maxwells to go around."
“You’ll overwhelm the poor girl,” Gran said instantly.
“Only one person needs to go upstairs, and that’s me,” I replied.
Gran sighed. “Grandson, your mother knows what she’s doing. Just be patient.”
Patient? I wanted to go up to Bonnie. I started to head to the elevator, too, but in less than two strides, Sam stepped in front of me, together with Reese.
"Can't let you go up, brother, or Mom will hand everyone their asses. Besides, the guests are arriving." He motioned to the front door. He was right. “And you look like you want to bolt from your own party."
"I do," I said through gritted teeth.
"That's not a way to make a good impression. Smile."
I forced the corners of my mouth up.
"Dude, that's a grimace."
"You'll scare everyone away," Reese said. "Okay, fellow Maxwells, why don't you go greet the guests? Distract them for a bit while I give Travis a pep talk."
"No one needs to talk to me," I remarked as my family spread around, greeting the guests. The who’s who of Chicago were here.
I had given free rein to my family to invite anyone they wanted.
It wasn't about business connections. It was about sharing the start of this Maxwell chapter with the people we wanted around us. And damn it, I wanted Bonnie here.
"Travis," Reese asked, "are you here?"
"No."
"Look, Bonnie's upstairs, and your mom is with her. If I know anything, it's that Lena is just what she needs. And Lexi might be right. This might be even harder for her to go through because of the pregnancy hormones. Besides, from personal experience, I know how it feels when your own parent does something to hurt you. At least Dad never meant it. I do get that you want to go after her, though. I really do. But Lena’s smart. She asked you not to go, and she always knows what she’s doing.”
A nerve ticked in my jaw.
Reese pointed straight at it. "What's with that? Am I missing something?"
I shook my head as more guests came inside. "Yes, I'm worried. What if she gets sick?”
“She won’t. And your mom is with her. Now come on. Let's get this show over with," Reese said. "Tonight is the first chapter in the Maxwell Hotels book of life, and we're going to kick ass."