Leaving my girl to the care of my mom, I was soon embraced by Chanel No. 5. The scent was comforting and familiar, like the tiny woman grinning up at me.
“Hi, Nana. Surprised?”
“Delighted.” She peered past me. “And who is this?” She lowered her voice, but just a tad. “It isn’t the har—?”
“Nana,” I interjected quickly and pulled her off to the side. “No, she’s not the you know who.”
“Then who is she?”
“Eliana is my girlfriend.”
“If you have a girlfriend, why are you boinking ladies of the night?”
Oh. Dear. God.
“Nana, that picture was a mistake,” I said, feeling terrible for getting ready to lie. “She was a fan who happened to jump on my lap when that picture was taken.”
Nana’s face was blank. “Do you consider me a fool, Kane Bartholomew?”
My shoulders sagged. “Nana, can we just forget that other part? I really like this girl. I mean really really like her. As in, if I was searching for the one, she would probably be it. But we’ve only known each other a short while, and it’s way too soon to be putting labels on anything.”
“Well, she won’t stick around for you to get to know her better if you keep having porn stars ‘jump on your lap.’” She air quoted the last part. Watching her bejeweled, wrinkled fingers do something so modern made me smile
“I know. Like I said, we just met, and—”
“Alright, I’ll stay out of it, for now.”
I shot her a look. “Really?”
She smiled. “Of course not. And that leads me to something I was going to do tomorrow. Take me outside to the balcony. I have something I want to give you.”
“Now?”
Nana gave me another blank look and said nothing.
Blowing out a breath, I stepped over to where my girl and parents were. She was smiling and seemed really happy as they chatted. “I’m going to take Nana outside for some air. You okay here?”
“Very.”
I gave her a wink, and she winked back. God, she was beautiful.
Nana cleared her throat. “Coming, dear?”
I tore my eyes away from Eliana and offered my grandmother my elbow. She chuckled and took it, and we walked at a snail’s pace to the doors.
Outside, I shrugged off my jacket and placed it over her shoulders as the evenings were beginning to grow cooler. “Thank you, dear. Now, the reason I wanted to speak with you privately is because I have something heavy sitting on my heart and it’s best said sooner rather than later.”
My gut twisted. What is this all about?
“As you know, I’ll be eighty-four soon, and I’ve just about used up my usefulness on this earth.”
“Nana, you’re—”
“Don’t interrupt me, Kane Bartholomew.”
It didn’t matter how rich or powerful a person grew to be, a grandparent knew exactly how to take them down a notch or two. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sick, Kane, and the doctor has given me only a few months to live. I’ll probably be gone before Christmas.”
My world teetered, and I reached for the railing to steady myself. Nana. The strong matriarch of my powerful family was dying. This couldn’t be real.
“Are you sure? Is there nothing that can be done?”
She patted my hand. “No, dear. They’ve checked and double-checked, but the tumor is in the wrong place for surgery or any other intervention. I wouldn’t tell you such a thing if it wasn’t confirmed. But I’m not here to be maudlin. I’m here because there’s something I want to give you while I’m still able to think straight.” She opened her clutch and pulled out a small box. “This is the ring your grandfather gave me many years ago.”
She placed the box in my hand. I didn’t have to open it to know a spectacular bezel-set Asscher cut diamond surrounded by a halo of baguettes would twinkle up at me in their nearly five-carat glory.
“One day, when you find the right one, you can give this to her if you wish.”
“Nana, are you sure?”
“I’m very sure. I wouldn’t have brought it all this way if I wasn’t. And Kane… I know I have given you much grief over joining the family business, and I do wholeheartedly wish for that to happen someday. But…” she patted my hand, “you do what you want to do. Follow your heart, my sweet boy. The rest will fall into place.” She cleared her throat. “Except sex workers. Please don’t follow your heart there.”
I laughed, just enough to feel the shock of her announcement loosen its grip on me.
“I love you, Nana.”
“I know, sweet boy. I love you too. Now, let’s go find your girl. Take her around the dance floor and let me judge if all those dance classes your mother forced you into were worth it.”
CHAPTER SIX
Eliana
I was dazzled.
Not only by the beautiful surroundings but by the beautiful people surrounding me. After Kane went to take his grandmother for some air, his parents firmly tucked me under their wing, telling me tales about their son as a boy and introducing me to everyone who came our way.
Kane looked most like his father, although he had his mother’s green eyes, albeit hers had soft laugh lines around them. I guessed her to be in her mid-to-late forties. Her dark hair had threads of gold that a talented hair stylist had clearly woven in for her. She was lovely and elegant. And warm. So very warm.
It was wonderful, and I felt the glow of their acceptance. I felt included. I felt like I was listened to and that what I said mattered. Other couples joined us. Some I recognized from the society pages or in the business section of the New York Times. The funny thing was, I didn’t feel intimidated. Not even when I shared my plans of attending veterinarian school next year. Most everyone loved animals and told me how wonderful my career choice was.
Emotion wanted to clog my throat on several occasions, but I forced it back down, not letting sadness or longing for my own mother’s acceptance to tarnish what I was experiencing here.
Until she approached and tarnished it herself.
“Eliana, darling, there you are,” she sang, sweeping in like a witch in her shimmering black silk.
I had tolerated her treatment of me because she was the only family I had left, and I loved her in my own way. But more than that, I felt sorry for her. Her desperate need for attention hinted at a mental instability that I could never fully comprehend.
Marsha’s arm tightened around my waist as if she subconsciously knew she needed to protect me from this woman’s approach. Leaning forward, I air-kissed my mother, one side then the other. “Alize Montgomery, please allow me to introduce you to Milton and Marsha Steele. Milton and Marsha, my mother, Alize Montgomery.”
Alize ignored me and went straight to Milton, simpering and offering a limp hand, clearly wanting it to be kissed. He shook it briefly, then stepped away and gestured to his wife. Nicely done, I thought.
“We’ve so enjoyed getting to know your daughter,” Marsha said. “She’s so very lovely and such a pleasure to be around.”
Alize’s smile lit up the room. “Yes, she is such a dear child. It was a tremendous challenge raising her after her father passed so suddenly.”
Three.
Two.
One.