AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I ponder Landon’s comments as I head out, thinking about how I had felt before my dance. The truth is . . . I have been thinking of getting out of the business. The only reason I put on a show like that was because I’m achy for Willow. Pining for her like I do whenever we have to spend more than twenty-four hours apart. She’s in my heart, my head, and my panties constantly. I have a desperate need that only Willow can fill. The second I see her outside the club, I pounce on her. I cover her in kisses and wrap her up close to me.
“Well, hey to you too,” she says with a smile, breathless but glowing. “What was that for?”
“No reason,” I say, threading my arm through hers and holding her close. “I just missed you.” I give her a smile.
“I missed you too, baby girl, but I have some bad news,” she says.
I feel my heart sink. “What is it?” I ask softly, and she squeezes me tight.
“I can’t show you how much I’ve missed you for another hour because we need to walk past the office. I left my purse in my drawer.”
I let out an audible sigh of relief. “I can wait an hour. Just barely, I think.”
I hold her hand tightly as we walk through the quiet streets, our laughter echoing in the night. It is late, but that doesn’t matter to us. We’re lost in each other’s company, enjoying every moment.
As we approach Willow’s office building, I can’t help but feel a sense of nervousness creeping up inside me. The world can be so judgmental sometimes. I worry about what people might say or think about us. Willow carefully releases my hand and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I will only be two minutes, okay? I can’t let you in. I’d get in trouble . . .” Her voice trails off and I nod, completely understanding. It’s a government site with limited access. I can wait.
I stand outside the towering office building, surrounded by the darkness of the night. My heart beats with anticipation as I anxiously wait for my lover to join me outside. The city lights shimmer in the distance, casting a warm glow on the streets below.
I can’t help but feel a mixture of excitement and nervousness coursing through my veins. Every passing minute feels like an eternity, as I long for her. Thoughts of our last time together dance in my mind, igniting a fire within me that can only be quenched by her touch.
As I glance up at the imposing building, its windows seem to hold secrets untold. What decisions are made behind those walls? What kind of power was wielded there? It’s a place where dreams are shaped and destinies altered, yet here I am, waiting patiently in the shadows for her embrace.
She comes out in a rush and it only takes me a few seconds to bound over to her. Wrapping my arms around her again as she giggles. Stumbling into the shadows with me, kissing me back. Until she stops and freezes like a block of ice.
“Willow?” The voice cuts through the dark like a blade of ice. I have no idea who the woman is--older, expensive, and dripping in couture. But then I can see the resemblance as she steps into the light. And I know, instantly.
“Mom,” Willow replies with a pained whisper. She suddenly sounds eight years old.
And with that one word, I know that everything is about to change.
14
Willow
Icould have blamed my misfortune on complacency. If only I’d been stricter with myself about the affection I showed Lola in public. If only I had called my mom back, instead of dodging her calls a thousand times. If I had just picked up my purse instead of rushing out the door from work . . . If, if, if.
But the real answer is that if I had just told Lola the truth, none of this would have happened. If I’d had the courage to be who I really am, well then, things most definitely would have played out differently.
But of all the things I wish I could change about that moment, it was hearing my name, spoken in that tone. It took me back to a privileged mindset I wish I could erase from my brain. As I pulled away from Lola in that second, I looked at her—and I mean I looked at her, through the privileged Rutherford eyes I had grown up with. I saw Lola’s cheap outfit, her thick makeup, her messy hair with its home dye job, and the fake jewelry. Then I saw her big, hurt, blue eyes, seeing how I looked at her. Understanding in an instant because Lola knows me better than anyone. Seeing how I can change in a second to a person she doesn’t know and wouldn’t want to know. A person that I hated. And suddenly I couldn’t look at Lola. The pain in her lovely, trusting eyes hurt me too much. I turned away from her and greeted my reality.
“Mom.”
15
Gracie
Gracie Rutherford was a rare breed in the city’s prestigious social circles. First, she hadn’t married into money; she was born with it. And not just money, but class. A history that could be traced back to British high society, which meant she knew her Ps and Qs perfectly and her tea from her teas. Secondly, Gracie Rutherford hadn’t married below her social status. Jackson Rutherford, Jr. had some clout when it came to pedigree, fourth-generation wealth—long enough to be considered old money by American standards. Plus he had a bank balance that made hers seem like pocket money. Thirdly, the couple lived impeccably by the rules of their standings. There would be no dirt found on Gracie Rutherford. Not a single smear.
Gracie had supported Jackson in his career as a Senator, but that wasn’t the end of her ambitions. She had her sights set on the White House and she knew it was a realistic next step for them.
Her children, however, had posed some problems. Two boys so close together in age that they competed all the time, but they also lacked direction. It took a considerable amount of background management to get them where they needed to be. It was a work in progress, but Gracie had the time to make it her priority. After all, those boys would be her legacy.
Her daughter posed a different issue entirely. On paper, Willow Rutherford was the perfect child, growing into the perfect polite girl and then into a perfect, high-achieving, beautiful woman. But life was not all on paper. Willow was distant, cold, and unforgiving. Every decision her father made was questioned, every social event Gracie arranged was pushed back on, and the relationship between mother and daughter was fractious and filled with contempt.
But just like with her sons, Gracie wasn’t about to quit. Willow just needed to find the right man who was part of the right circle. Then she would see just how perfect life could, and would, be for her.
Except that this kind of good management required Willow to take Gracie’s calls, and over the past six months, this had barely happened at all. Gracie had seen Willow only once during that time, at a gala Willow was absolutely required to attend for her career, and which she had worked so hard for. But even then, Willow was in and out without a single word to Gracie or her father.
