Taming Lucinda by Normandie Alleman

Chapter 14

Lucinda

"This is a new one," Chloe said, pulling a hot dish out of the oven. "I'm thinking of doing this recipe for the season premiere, but I'm not sure if it's got enough wow."

"I'm sure it's amazing," I told her. Everything Chloe made was always amazing, but she had a much higher standard for the recipes that made it to her show.

Even though she had complete creative control of that side of things, she frequently came to me for guidance or some reassurance. I never complained about her making me a good meal. And seeing Eduardo was always a treat too.

Chloe was normally cooking for a larger crowd, though. With only the three of us, there were bound to be leftovers.

Things had been a lot quieter around here since Dynassy moved back into her house. Bridger had finished all his business abroad before the wedding, and for the last month, they'd been finishing up all the baby preparations together. Their baby from the surrogate was due any day and Dynassy's due date was only a couple months out.

I still hoped that she'd forgive me in time for me to be in the delivery room. I wasn't holding my breath, though. Gradually, Dynassy, Nick, and Ivy had all decided we could be on speaking terms, but that didn't mean I was forgiven. Dynassy especially never missed a chance to point out how I'd stolen her spotlight. Even without being at her wedding I'd caused drama—my absence was conspicuous enough to raise questions with the tabloids and on social media.

I couldn't win.

At least it seemed like Mary Lou had put in a good word for me. Eden no longer looked at me like she wanted to gouge my eyes out when she saw me. She and Nick still weren't accepting any dinner party invitations, though. Not that they'd ever wanted to make the trip down from Fresno before all this.

"It's a shame Cole couldn't be here tonight," Chloe commented, clearly fishing for information. There wasn't much to give, though.

"Much to my dismay, he does have a life outside of this house that he has to care about sometimes."

"Too bad," she teased. "He's always got the best appetite out of any of us. If he goes back for thirds, I know I've got a winner."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate a doggy bag."

"Is everything okay with him?" Chloe asked, concern creasing her forehead.

"More or less," I answered, pouring us all a fresh glass of wine.

Chloe frowned. "More or less? That doesn't sound convincing."

I shrugged. "There's nothing wrong. He's amazing—"

"But?"

"But nothing. He's great. I just don't know why he doesn't want to share that with the world. People would love him. And with your cooking show, his gardening show could launch a whole home and garden section of our brand—"

"I thought you said he's not interested in your money?" Eduardo asked.

"He's not," I admitted. "But I didn't think that meant he wouldn't want to make his own money. So many people would kill for the opportunity I'm offering him, and he just...doesn't want it?"

Eduardo made a face, then looked up to his wife. "I'm not as ambitious as Chloe is. Perhaps he just doesn't have the same drive you do. Sometimes that's a good thing."

Chloe laughed, nodding. "He's right. If Eduardo had been half as committed to his career growth as I was, we never would have made it this far. He wouldn't have followed me out here."

"I couldn't not follow you out here," he answered, adoration in his eyes.

"Have you ever reconsidered being on screen, Eduardo?" I asked. "You two are such a cute couple. Chloe could show everyone what she'd cook for your anniversary dinner, and we could make the closing shot you complimenting her for a job well done."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Like Cole, that sort of thing just isn't for me. We don't mind the hard work, but different things fulfill us."

I sighed. "He loves working with plants. Getting his hands dirty. Creating beautiful designs—I suggested a reality show, but he didn't go for that either."

"It's probably for the best that he's not like us," Chloe said. "For as much as we love to be the star of the show, you wouldn't want a man who likes the spotlight too. It's nice to have someone who's happy to support you from the wings."

"Maybe you're right," I mused. It was hard to think about anything other than the plate of delicious food she'd set in front of me. Not only was it gorgeously plated, but the flavors were perfectly balanced as well.

"She always is," Eduardo chuckled.

"And you really knocked it out of the park with this recipe," I added. "I don't know if Cole would go for thirds, but I know I'm definitely going to want seconds."

Chloe's jaw dropped. "I think that's a first."

"It's really good. It might be time for us to start thinking about a celebrity restaurant for you."

She beamed. "Who's the celebrity?"

Sometimes she was too precious.

"You," I told her. "You have more followers than any of those Food Network chefs, and they've all got restaurants or a line of sauces in the grocery store. Let's make a plan to brainstorm where we want to take your brand next."

Chloe's eyes widened, her face flushing with excitement.

"You really think so? Oh, wow. I never even thought about going beyond the TV show—bigger specials and more spin-offs, yeah, but...Just tell me when and where you wanna brainstorm," she finished, trying to keep herself composed. But I knew her well enough to know she was probably close to bursting out of her skin. It was times like this that I really felt like Chloe was my long-lost daughter. Though Ivy and Dynassy had both found success and diversified their brands well past what I started for them, neither of them had the hunger for it like Chloe and I did. Neither of them were going to fight to make their dreams happen.

They were too complacent. Dynassy had been flirting with full retirement for a while, and with the babies, I doubted she'd be doing much work any time soon. Ivy had all but given up on her career when she got with Russ, only doing a few token appearances here and there because his daughter Jaci was one of her biggest fans.

But Chloe wasn't doing it for anyone else. She was doing it for herself, and that made her a better protégé than any of my biological children.

"We'll get it all worked out, don't you worry," I promised her. "How are things with you, Eduardo? We've been chatting away about everything we're up to—how are you holding up without Dynassy and Bridger being so involved?" They'd had a common charitable cause for a few years, but it had always seemed more like Eduardo's project. Dynassy was in it for her image and Bridger to clear his conscience for inventing that perverted machine. They both liked to tout all the wholesome use cases for that contraption, but everyone knew what it was really for, and there were premium videos all over the internet to demonstrate it.

I was just grateful that Dynassy had never gotten herself roped into one of those videos. Once something like that was out in the world, there was no coming back from it.

"The foundation runs like a well-oiled machine," Eduardo said, completely unaware why his answer made me choke on my wine. He'd said it just as I was thinking about that monstrosity of Bridger's—and how thankful I was that it was completely out of the family now that he'd sold the final part of the business—so the word 'machine' was enough to catch me off-guard.

"I find that even I am not needed most days for more than a bit of supervision. It does give me more time to go where I'm called."

"Eduardo's nearly convinced Leo to let us come visit," Chloe confided.

He nodded. "I'm hoping if I can talk to him in person, I can help him address some of the things that are bothering him the most."

"Like me, you mean," I said.

Eduardo frowned. "Not exactly. I think Leo blames you for a lot of the issues he's struggling with at the moment, but I don't believe you are really at the root of them. He's told me before how much he worries he won't live up to the expectations everyone has of Ziggy Barnes's son, how he's felt a disconnect from the family for a long time—I think this has built up over a number of years and there's just no way for Leo to continue postponing the inevitable. He's going to have to face his demons. He's very concerned about being a good father, and I think I can convince him to consider forgiveness as an example for his child."

"You would be my hero if you could," I said.

"I hope for Leo's sake I can. He might think he's happy living in isolation on a literal island right now, but I know family is important to him."

Chloe reached across the table to hold Eduardo's hand. "If anyone can get through to him, it's you."

"She's right," I said. Yet again I was struck by how lucky I was to have the two of them. Eduardo got along better with all of my children than I did, despite only having been a part of their lives for a few years. Or maybe because of it.

We all had too much history. Too many tangled emotions. Eduardo was so good at cutting through all of that to get to the root of a problem. It almost made me feel guilty that the church had lost out on him when he moved out to L.A. to be with Chloe.

Almost.

They never deserved him. They'd even tried to chase him out. He was better off with us, where he was appreciated.

"I'm so glad we have you," I said, raising my glass in a toast. "This family sorely needed a voice of reason."

I hated to see them go, but they couldn't stay all night. Chloe had a production meeting in the morning and then screentests for the new season. Eduardo needed his rest too. Eventually, they had to leave, and then I was alone again.

In my big, empty house.

With no one to talk to.

No one to even call.

I probably could've called Cole if I really wanted to, but he needed a break. He was still working for me full-time while answering to my every sexual whim. He spent most of his free time commuting back to his apartment to tend to his plants and his cat. A couple of days ago, he'd let slip that he couldn't remember the last time he had a night to just sit in front of the TV and veg.

He would've come to Chloe's dinner if I asked him. I knew he wouldn't let me down.

So I had to make the choice for him. I told him I had business meetings and he had a night to himself. He was considerately disappointed, but his eyes told the truth—relief. He was a young, energetic guy, but even he had limits. He couldn't keep going indefinitely without some time to recharge, and I didn't want to be the one responsible for breaking the most perfect man I'd ever been with.

Whether he was surfing, sleeping, or climbing trees, I decided to leave him to it. I could survive a night on my own.

At least I'd assumed I could. That was until I woke up in my bathtub, jets still pumping, candles burned down to nothing.

I was lucky I hadn't drowned. It had just been so hard to relax. After hours of trying everything I knew, I'd drawn a bath, lit some candles, and slid my hand between my legs pretending I wasn't alone.

That had certainly done the trick helping me to relax—maybe a little too well. I woke up shriveled and cold, my uncaffeinated brain struggling to figure out why it sounded like there was a hornet's nest in a cabinet somewhere.

It was my phone vibrating on the counter. I just about slipped and fell trying to reach for it, but I managed to pull it off at the last second.

Glancing at the screen before I answered, I had to do a double take.

"Ivy?"

"Were you sleeping?" she asked, equal parts worried and skeptical. "You know it's after ten?"

"Is that relevant to your call?" I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes as I pulled myself out of the bathtub, water rapidly disappearing down the drain.

"No, but...Are you okay? You sound weird."

"I haven't had coffee yet," I confessed. That was going to tell her that I was sleeping when she called, but who cared? It wasn't a crime. If I wanted to sleep in, I could. It wasn't like anyone was waiting for me.

"O...kay. If this is a bad time, I can call back later?"

"No, it's a fine time. What is it?"

Ivy let out a heavy sign, the line silent for a long stretch.

"Would you be interested in helping plan my wedding?"

"What?" I wasn't sure I'd heard her right. After the disaster of Dynassy's wedding, I couldn't believe Ivy even wanted me to go to hers, let alone be a part of the planning.

"Russ told me that he basically pressured you into telling everyone your secret. I still think you picked the worst time, but I get why you couldn't keep it to yourself anymore. Anyway, he really wants to get married in a church, which I don't mind, but their reception hall is dark and sad, and the garden looked so amazing for Dynassy's..."

"Of course you can have your reception here," I answered, my throat tightening. I didn't want to cry, but I really never thought I'd be able to salvage our relationship and going through this emotional journey without my morning coffee was bound to cause some extra waterworks.

"Do you think there's any chance we'll get Leo to come?" Ivy asked, sounding so much like the little girl who told me she was nervous the first time I sent her out on stage.

"I don't know, honey. But we'll do everything we can," I promised.