Chapter Sixteen
Donovan
I’m downstairs
Magnum texted one word when he arrived. I slipped my suit jacket on and texted back.
Coming.
Tulya wasn’t in the common area yet, and knowing how nervous she had been when we first came to Miami, I didn’t want to rush her.
Not to mention we’d had dinner mostly in silence on the balcony before retreating to our respective bedrooms last night—too much to say and not enough time to ever make it through it all.
Honestly, I didn’t even know if Cinder had shown up. Part of me would be relieved if she hadn’t. Tuvy and I needed extra time in our bubble; I wanted to go back to Christmas Eve when she was in my bed and underneath me.
So I needed to prolong her having to do something she didn’t want to do—the transfer—and show her how much fun life could be free from our mothers.
A small sliver of my heart started to think she could come to Hawaii with me.
The other seventy-five percent wanted to get this shit done.
I had to put up a boundary with Tulya and get back to the life I was building without her and all of Rubia.
Not to mention, my mother was not patiently waiting.
With a soft rap on Tulya’s door, I spoke through the wood. “They’re here. I’m going to meet them. You come down when you’re ready.”
“Five minutes,” she called back without opening the door.
I waited a beat, hoping she would appear with a soft smile or caring embrace.
It was a dangerous want, but my entire being trembled at the idea of pulling her into my arms and kissing her one last time.
Instead of listening to my outlandish desires, I walked out of the suite and toward the elevators.
As soon as the doors opened downstairs, I saw Magnum and Cinder sitting in the lobby. She was drinking a coffee, and he was tapping his leg up and down. My brother was nervous—the problem was I didn’t know over what. Cinder liking Blake? Blake liking Cinder? Alienating Valerie?
“Mag,” I greeted him, and he stood and shook my hand.
Apparently he’d compartmentalized this into official business.
“Happy Christmas,” I said, then decided to test the waters, turning my attention to my brother’s fiancée.
“Cin, you look lovely.” She sat there in a denim miniskirt and sequined T-shirt.
She looked more like she was going to a pop concert and not to meet her almost-husband’s daughter from another woman.
A child she’d only just learned about— and a mistress who was trying to steal her fiancé.
“Where’s Tuvy? It’s time for her to do her magic and get me out of here. Period. End of sentence.”
Well, I wouldn’t even call her mood lukewarm—it was frigid or cold at best.
I nodded. “On her way.”
“We brought gifts.” Magnum changed the subject, pointing behind him to a bunch of gift bags. “In addition to what you ordered,” he quickly added, a nod to all that I had done. “I picked up some art supplies and candies,” he explained.
It was clear Magnum knew his daughter and cared about her, which I assume was why he’d kept her a secret. He had to know it would come to something like this. If he didn’t think the Minister and our mother would step in, he was only being na?ve.
“I had everything else delivered to the house,” I told my brother, trying my best to ignore Cinder’s attitude raining off her.
“Valerie’s, you mean?” Cinder took the moment to speak with a sinister look on her face. Nothing about this meet-up made me feel good, including when my brother’s fiancée added, “Here she is, the answer to my prayers.”
She knew better than to use Tulya like she was some disposable commodity, yet that was how she was treating her. Then again, Tulya’s own mother acted that way to a certain extent. All of it made my blood boil.
“Magnum, Cinder, good to see you,” Tulya said, coming to my side, the roller coaster we’d experienced the last two nights set aside for the business at hand.
Tulya and I kept a respectful distance, which felt equal parts horrible and awkward, but it wasn’t necessary to give away our secret. Especially since it ended now.
“Let’s get to work.” Cinder stood and tipped back her coffee before setting the empty cup down.
“Are you ready?” I quietly asked Tulya.
“She is,” Cinder responded before Tulya could even nod.
“Come on, Cin,” my brother said, running his hand down Cinder’s back. “You said you were going to try,” he tried to whisper to his fiancée.
If Hollywood were making this movie, the critics would call it not believable.
We, as Rubians, looked like humans, had powers similar to witches and warlocks, walked about the earth with no one knowing our secret.
Earning money and living our posh lives, until boom, my brother has a torrid affair, fathers a child and falls for the woman, while being engaged to a fellow Rubian.
Leaving us now, here in the States, trying to transfer feelings between one of us and a human, and basically steal the child, all the while hoping the fiancée likes the kid.
And praying we didn’t endanger Tulya—at least I was doing the last item.
“I am, I am,” Cinder said, leaning into Magnum. “Especially once Tuvy takes this pain from me.”
I made quick work of stealing a glance at Tulya. She held her shoulders high despite the weight bearing down on her.
Again, an insatiable need tugged at me to comfort her but now wasn’t the time. Actually, never was.
I handed the valet my ticket and he ran for the car while Magnum came up behind me carrying the gift bags, Cinder’s body language anything but saying she was going to try.
Marley answered the door with a sour look on her face.
“I wouldn’t have allowed this,” she mumbled but was stopped short by Blake scurrying to her side. “But here we are.”
“Daddy!” Blake squealed before launching into Magnum’s arms.
It was a well-practiced move and it was clear they had done it many times before.
As startling as this knowledge was to me, I glanced at Cinder who looked like she’d seen a ghost. She was pale white, almost translucent.
I was worried she was going to faint. We’d never imagined a child being involved when this whole idea materialized—I couldn’t help but ponder whether it would have changed the course of action.
Surprisingly, Magnum took notice of Cinder and put one hand on her elbow, holding his daughter with the other arm.
“Hey, Bumblebeeeee,” he said, kissing Blake’s forehead.
Desperately, I wanted to check in with Tulya, but I couldn’t take my gaze off my brother—the family man—and his slowly fading fiancée off to the side. My God, what a mess he’d made.
“Hi, Daddy. Merry Christmas.” The small girl curled into his shoulder in another well-rehearsed move.
“Shall we go inside?” I suggested, thinking Cinder should sit and we should take our spectacle somewhere private.
Marley moved without a word, allowing us entry.
Magnum headed in first, still holding Blake.
Cinder stayed by her man’s side, giving a quick glance toward Tulya with a pleading look.
I grabbed the gift bags Magnum had set down and waited for Tulya to enter, my hand taking a quick moment to touch her lower back.
She didn’t respond but I knew she felt it.
There was some sort of zing that happened when we touched one another.
I’d felt it get stronger the more intimate we’d been, and I knew it wasn’t my imagination.
Sadly, it was likely our polar opposite powers clashing, trying to make order out of the madness.
“Mom!” Blake jumped out of Magnum’s arms and ran toward the kitchen where we first visited a few days ago. “Mom, Daddy’s here, come on.” I heard Blake from afar.
Taking in the room, I recalled seeing the tree the other day. Fresh, if my nose served me right, decorated in all white, a star at the top. Underneath sat several presents, I assumed the ones I sent.
Magnum was clearly familiar with the space and stood next to Cinder as she took it in herself.
On the mantel sat a framed photograph of Magnum holding a tiny infant-sized version of Blake in his hands.
A piece of my heart shattered seeing how much of my brother’s life I hadn’t known about; I couldn’t imagine what Cinder was feeling but I was starting to think it didn’t matter.
Turning my attention across the room, watching Tulya squirm by the tree, I knew she could feel Cinder’s pain heightening.
“Come on.” Blake’s voice carried through the room as she ran toward the kitchen, reappearing, dragging Valerie by the hand. “Can we open the gifts now that Daddy is here?”
Valerie leaned down and talked at eye level with Blake. “We can, sweetie, but remember, let’s be calm, and don’t forget to say thank you.”
It was clear Valerie was ignoring everyone else in the room, and I was fine with that until Tulya came close and whispered, “Break the ice.”
I made a quick note that Marley had long disappeared before nodding toward Tulya, knowing she was right.
Of course she still went on, making her point. “For Blake.” Her words were meant just for me, but I saw Magnum take notice of us.
“Hi, Valerie,” I said, approaching the woman, palm extended. Blake rushed under my arm toward the tree but looked back and her mother had no choice other than to shake hands with me. “Thank you for having us,” I added.
“Blake has never seen her father on Christmas. I would never deny her that experience.”
“This is from Tuvy and Uncle Don! That’s what the card says,” Blake shouted.
She was an advanced reader apparently—no surprise. Blake tore through the paper and found a Lego set I’d picked out.
“Oh, wow! I love it!” She jumped up and down before grabbing another present.
“This is from Daddy and Cinder.” She said the second name quietly, looking up at her mom.
“I hope you love it, Bumble. Both Cin and I do.” Magnum walked over toward his daughter, guiding Cinder, who was holding his hand.
Blake looked up from her unwrapping, taking in the woman clinging to her father.
Magnum spoke quietly. “This is Cinder. She’s very special to me.”
I had no idea where he came up with the shitty expression—very special to me. He was marrying her, for fuck’s sake, but for once, Cinder kept quiet. So I followed suit. My heart and head were scissoring in half, torn between what my mother required of me and what might be best for my niece.
This entire situation was happening backward—the meet-and-greets, introductions, and important messaging after tearing open the gifts.
The sitting around together like one big gathering before any decisions were made; it was bound not to last. If this was a business deal, it was going wrong, but even I knew this whole shebang was personal and way out of my league.
Not to mention, none of us could wield our powers but Tulya. This wasn’t the place for Rubian ways.
Fuck, when it comes to any kid, let alone my human niece, I have no clue what to do or how to act.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Blake,” Cinder said, dropping to her knees. “Let’s see what’s in there.” She pointed to the gift.
“Oh, an American Girl doll! I wanted one!” Blake danced around holding the present Tulya had picked out for my brother and Cin to take credit.
I flashed her a quick look and she winked. If I could steal a million of these moments with her, I would. But I’d sealed my fate yesterday with all my honest talk.
“What is this?” Cinder asked, pulling something else out of the package, trying to get involved when she was nothing more than an interloper.
It was in this moment that I felt sad for Cinder. It was becoming clear where my brother’s heart remained, and it was not with her.
“A matching outfit for me,” Blake declared, jumping up and down. “Look, Mommy, an American Girl! And we are twins.”
For a quick second, the tension in the room disappeared and the different parties with varied interests all cast their smiles on the innocent child dancing with joy. We were an alliance formed only by concern for Blake.
That is, until Valerie said, “So nice of your dad.”
“And Cinder,” Magnum added, trying to get back to the moment of unity.
“I don’t know her, and she is no one to my daughter,” Valerie tossed back, heightening the room into an emotional crescendo.
Unsure of what to do, Blake retreated to the tree, while Cinder wiped a tear from her eye. I caught Tulya running a hand under her hair and over her neck. Clearly, Cinder was sending distress signals Tulya couldn’t ignore, her body answering the call.
Blake broke the tension. “Oh, another one from Uncle Don.”
Tearing through the paper, she found the box holding the coat. “Silly, we don’t get snow in Florida.” Blake ran up to me, wearing the furry puffball of a jacket, still hugging my leg despite the confusion over the present.
Valerie cleared her throat, not leaving anything to chance, seemingly knowing what the warm coat was for.
“It was very nice of you all to be so thoughtful and think of Blake. But she has so much, so I think that’s enough for now.
Like I said, she never gets to see her dad on the holiday, so why don’t we allow them some time?
” She waved toward the front door rather than the kitchen, basically asking all of us to leave.
I felt my eyebrows rise and heard myself saying, “We are her family too.” This little tyke had captured my heart, and whether it was because she was blood, plain cute, or both, didn’t matter. A wild urge to protect her took over when it came to Blake, yet I looked to Tulya for guidance.
Blake might have stolen my adoration, but Tulya had become my guiding star, which was the opposite of what I meant to happen when it came to the latter female.