Taming Lucinda by Normandie Alleman

Chapter 4

Lucinda

"Esther, you are a magician," Dynassy said around a mouthful of pancakes.

I was refilling my coffee to spare Esther the trouble. She had her hands full catering to all of Dynassy's pregnancy whims. I'd had three pregnancies, and I didn't think I'd ever had as many odd cravings, hot flashes, and bouts of morning sickness as Dynassy did. This pregnancy was really putting her through the wringer, so instead of being annoyed by her constant requests, Esther and I pitied her and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

I never got a chance to do this with Nick's wife Eden, or Honoré, Leo's wife—I wasn't sure I'd ever get to meet her with the way things were between me and Leo. Ivy and Russ seemed content with Jaci, and I wasn't sure Chloe would ever have children. She was too driven, too focused on building a career like I'd been after the plane crash. It was entirely possible that this was my one and only chance to be a part of the pregnancy and birth of my grandchild. I wanted to make the most of it, no matter how odd Dynassy's requests were.

"Do we have any blueberry syrup?" she asked, suddenly pushing the maple away. Esther was quick to provide. Luckily, she'd always kept a well-stocked pantry, even if there wasn't much cause to cook large meals these days.

"Oh, and could I get a slice of cheese?" Dynassy added.

"For your pancakes?" I asked, an eyebrow arched.

She shrugged, drowning the flapjacks in dark purple-red syrup. "I can't explain it. Blame this one," she said, pointing her fork at her belly. Even though there was a hint of exasperation in her voice, her face told a different story. It was so nice to see her this happy. I'd been skeptical of Bridger and his sex machine business at first, but he wasn't a pervert; he was a wounded veteran. That made a big difference. And he wasn't with Dynassy for her fame or fortune; he had plenty fortune of his own—he might not have been a pervert, but there were a lot of perverts out there willing to pay good money for videos of his invention being used.

There was a lot to like about Bridger, but the thing I liked most was how happy he made my daughter. She'd grown up a lot since meeting him. She'd come a long way from the careless comments she'd made about a homeless man a few years ago. Now she and Bridger did more charity work than anything else with Eduardo there to help guide them.

A man of the cloth being one of the Barnes siblings had been a shock to us all. Despite being a Bishop, Eduardo had never been preachy, he'd never judged our lifestyles too harshly, and he'd always supported Chloe's aspirations. I might not have had a hand in raising him, but I was still proud of him like he was my own son.

"I still can't really believe it," Dynassy said, clearing her plate. "I didn't think there was any way I could be, you know with Bridger's... But surprise! It explains why I've been so tired lately, at least."

"Better get used to that," I told her. "Two babies is a lot harder than one. You're basically going to be dealing with twins."

"At least I don't have to push them both out," she said, scrunching up her nose. "I just wish Bridger wasn't being such a butt about finding out the baby's sex. We know the surrogate is having a girl, so why should we be left wondering about ours? How am I supposed to coordinate the nursery?"

"You'll manage," I assured her. "Babies don't care about the color of their nursery. As long as it's safe and comfy, they'll be happy."

"I guess." She looked down at her stomach thoughtfully, sliding her hand over it again. She was obsessed, but after all their troubles conceiving, I couldn't blame her. "I can't wait to feel a kick."

"You'll be singing another tune once it's tapdancing on your bladder. Nick was terrible about that. I think I was peeing every five minutes. One time, I made the mistake of wearing leather pants to one of your father's shows..."

"Only you would wear leather pants while pregnant." She laughed, shaking her head.

Far off in another part of the house, I heard the door open. A moment later, Cole walked into the kitchen looking at everyone before making eye contact with me.

"Morning," he said, watering the plants in the kitchen before getting himself a cup of coffee.

"So how bad was it?" Dynassy asked.

I was too distracted to know what she was talking about. My kids called me the puppet master. They all thought that I was some kind of scheming mastermind ten steps ahead of everyone else. But there were times when I had no idea what the right call was.

Like now.

Should I greet Cole? Should I introduce him to Dynassy? She'd already teased me about him once, but she was too wrapped up in her own stuff to care about mine. Why would I want to draw her attention to it?

"How bad was what?" I asked, keeping my attention on Dynassy. Not knowing what to do, doing nothing was the easiest course of action. I could have introduced him as my boyfriend, but was that even accurate? Could what we were doing be considered dating?

We hadn't talked about it, and I wasn't sure how I felt about the idea. My last romantic failure was still fresh in my mind, and I wasn't eager to open myself up to another betrayal.

"The leather pants!" Dynassy said. "Did you get them off in time?"

"Have a good one, Esther," Cole said, patting the housekeeper on the shoulder before heading off to water the other plants around the house.

Did everyone else feel how awkward that was? Could everyone else feel the tension in the air?

"Ziggy wound up hosing me off after the show," I admitted, smiling at Dynassy's squeal of laughter. She'd always loved hearing the stories of my wilder days.

All the kids had at one point, but now those stories had an uncomfortable undercurrent. Ever since Leo broke the news that Ziggy wasn't his father, all my children looked at me—and my free-spirited stories—much differently.

"Oh my God! You really were crazy." She laughed some more.

"Some people will tell you I still am," I pointed out.

She rolled her eyes and waved dismissively. "You've chilled out a lot from your streaking down Sunset Blvd. days."

"Maybe a little," I agreed with a small smile. Those days were a lot of fun, but I didn't exactly miss them.

Dynassy pushed some of her hair out of her face, then frowned when it stuck to her fingers.

"How did I get syrup everywhere?" she asked, dismayed.

I didn't think it would be helpful to point out how quickly she'd wolfed those pancakes down. I wasn't surprised there was splash back, but it wouldn't be too long before the self-consciousness about her body settled in. Especially with her modeling career in the balance. She didn't work as much these days as she did before she'd met Bridger, but I didn't think she was entirely ready for retirement. Many supermodels were able to come back after having a baby, but I didn't know how many of them stuffed their faces with carbs every morning.

As much as I wanted to say something to her—as her manager, not her mother—I kept my comments to myself. I was trying to keep one bridge with my children intact. This baby was a miracle, and the only thing Dynassy needed to be worried about was staying healthy for them both. Who cared if she put on a few extra pounds? There were definitely some 'love the skin you're in' type ad campaigns which would love to have Dynassy at a non-zero size, stretchmarks and all.

Whatever happened, I could make it work for us. That was what I did. What I'd always done. For all my kids. Unfortunately, they didn't always appreciate my brand of love.

"I think I'm going to need to be hosed off," she groaned, finding another spot of syrup on the back of her arm.

"Why don't you go take a hot bubble bath?" I suggested, looking toward the window for any sign of Cole. He was keeping out of sight today.

I shouldn't have ignored him the way I did. It was just such a tricky thing to navigate, and I hadn't been expecting Dynassy to move in the way she did, but what could I do? I was her mother; I had to take her in.

Even if my love life suffered for it.

"That actually sounds really great. What time is it?" She found the time on her phone and did a mental calculation before grinning. "Okay, I'll see you later. Stay out of trouble!" she said, laughing as she hurried upstairs.

London was eight hours ahead of us. It was almost noon, which meant Bridger would be back in his hotel room, ready for their video chat. Dynassy was going to surprise him with a bubble bath—I knew it was what she was going to do, because it was what I would have done in the same situation, and whether they liked it or not, all of my kids took after me, at least a little. Considering Bridger's business, Dynassy must have inherited my desire for an adventurous sex life.

Now that Dynassy was otherwise occupied, Esther was free to tend to some of her other responsibilities. I found myself all alone, and before I knew what was happening, I was walking outside. At first, I pretended to be on a casual stroll through the garden, but it didn't take long for me to drop all pretenses to look for Cole in earnest.

The beds were dug up, new plants in plastic nursery pots scattered all over in precise-looking arrangements. He'd already gotten started on his Fall plans, but it was hard to see the vision right now.

"Cole?" I called out, peering around the twisting path, looking intently for my lover rather than where I was going.

"Look out!" he cried, right as I stepped on the edge of one of his freshly dug holes. My foot slipped in the loose soil, and images of my ankle twisted or broken, me hobbling on a cast for weeks on end suddenly flashed through my head. Then Cole's arms were around me. He caught me and pulled me away from the hole before it could hurt me.

And being so close to him again, chest-to-chest, his rich, earthy smell enveloping me, I nearly kissed him right there.

The moment of him holding me was over as suddenly as it began. He released me and stepped back, shaking his head.

"You need to watch where you're going—you shouldn't even be out here right now."

"I'm not allowed in my own garden?"

"Not when it's a construction site and you're prancing around in designer heels."

"Prancing?" He was lashing out. Hurt. I sighed. "Cole, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine," he interrupted. "You don't need to apologize." He turned his back on me and started picking up plants, transporting them to the dug-up beds.

"Are you sure? You seem upset."

"Why would I be upset?" he asked, dropping to his knee, handling the plants with such a gentle touch it made me jealous. "I get it. I'm the gardener and you don't want your kids to know you're sleeping with the help."

"That's not—" I stopped mid-sentence purely because of the look he sent back over his shoulder. It was hard, closed-off, but weary too.

"Don't insult me, Lucinda. I'm not an idiot."

"I know you're not, but Cole, let me just—"

I wasn't sure what I wanted him to let me do, but I didn't have to finish the sentence anyway. He shook his head and stood up, brushing soil from his knees.

"I have to get some more fertilizer," he said, brushing past me without another glance back.

The urge to call him back was strong, but I held my tongue. I let him walk away, even though I hated it. He needed some time. Some space. And it wouldn't hurt me to get the same. We'd been wrapped up in each other for weeks without coming up for air, and now there was a lot to consider.

I doubted Dynassy would miss me, but I texted her to let her know I was leaving anyway. Retail therapy was in order. The changing of the season was as good an excuse as any other. I couldn't be seen in off-season fashion. The paparazzi would flay me.

Of course, I didn't have to pay for my new clothes. That was the funny thing about being rich and famous—once you could afford the designer clothes, you got them all for free. One of the Barnes Bunch wearing a design was more valuable than a great number of ad campaigns. Our photographs wound up everywhere. Dynassy and Ivy had both gone viral more than once—Dynassy even 'broke the internet' with her first post-18 photoshoot, and she'd probably do it again with her pregnancy photos. I wasn't quite as famous or influential as my daughters, but I still got my pick of the wardrobe at any shop on Rodeo Drive. I happily accepted the freebies for myself, but when it came to getting an apology gift for Cole, I insisted on actually paying for it.

While I was shopping, I had a few ideas for the new season of Chloe's show and decided I needed to call her to set up a lunch meeting to go over it all. Before I could call my sort-of daughter-in-law, my phone rang with an incoming call. I half-expected it to be Dynassy—or maybe Cole, a hopeful part thought—but it was neither of them. It was a name I was never overly thrilled to see on my caller ID because it always meant my past was becoming a problem.

I sighed. No way I could avoid him.

I had to answer. "Hey, Russ. What's up?"