A Christmas Affair (18 page)

F
or two days, Lyfe was on top of the world. After their wonderful night together, he literally couldn’t stop himself from whistling periodically throughout the day. He was so confident that he’d won the love of his life back that he’d begun researching some possible architecture firms in the big city. As far as he could tell, his prospects were looking pretty good.

“Don’t forget that you have me to thank,” Hennessey said over his cell’s speaker. “If it wasn’t for me you would’ve ran back here with your tail tucked between your legs.”

“You mean I have Tess to thank, don’t you?” Lyfe countered, even though he knew that his brother would never admit that she had been the one ultimately pulling the strings on this hook up.

“There you go again—doubting my sincere concern for your pathetic love life.”

“Yeah, that makes two of us,” Royce piped up. “I’ve been cheering from the invisible sidelines. Since you never mastered the art of being a player, I guess this Romeo and Juliet thing you got going is the next best thing.”

“Make that three,” Ace rumbled over the line.

“All right, all right,” Lyfe cut them off before the rest of his brothers got a turn. “You’ve made your point, and you’re all a bunch of liars—but I love you anyway.”

They cracked up, sounding like a group of giants on the other end of the phone.

“Well, I got to go. I have to get things ready for this evening. I’ll call you later and tell you when me and your future sister-in-law will be headed back to Atlanta.”

“Damn,” Hennessey said. “Somebody is cocky.”

“No.” Lyfe said. “Someone is in love again.” He ended the call just as room service was arriving with his breakfast. He smiled extra big when he let the server into the room and tipped extra big as he exited. However, his good mood didn’t last long when he reached for his newspaper and saw Rowan James’s picture at the top. Peeling the paper open to the Life section, he saw the headline: ROWAN JAMES AND THE FOXX RECONCILE.

Beneath the heading was a picture of the two actors, caught making out in a bar. “Oh! This doesn’t look good.”

Corona sat in the center of the bed with her morning paper spread out before her and K. D. Hardaway on the television talking in her sister-girlfriend voice.

“The stars are finally realigned as Hollywood’s favorite
couple, Rowan James and Danica Foxx, were caught partying at all hours of the night and making out at a popular pub here in London. The hot couple is currently on location for their next film and, according to the cast and crew, the fire has been reignited from the moment the two arrived on the set. It looks like one Christmas wedding won’t be happening this year!”

“Momma, turn that off,” Melody said, rushing into the room with a mug of coffee. “You don’t need to be watching that stuff.” She quickly handed over the coffee and then snatched up the remote to turn off the TV.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Corona said, shaking her head. At least now she knew why he hadn’t been returning any of her calls.

“It’s
not
okay,” Melody countered, frowning. “I never liked that guy.”

“So I heard,” Corona said, tugging in a deep breath and discovering that she really was okay with this latest development. In fact, she kept waiting for a stabbing pain or a crushing blow to hit her; but all she really felt was relief.

“Does this mean that you won’t be getting married?” Melody asked.

“No, honey. I’m not getting married.”

“At least not to that creep,” Tess said, walking into the room with a tray of pancakes that their mother had just cooked up for her. Pancakes were always meant to make everything better.

“C’mon, Tess. He wasn’t a creep. It just … wasn’t meant to be. Better for us to know now than … later.”

“Amen to that,” her sister said. “Or I would’ve had to fly to London and snatch that heifer baldheaded.”

Melody giggled.

“Aww. Smiles and laughter,” her mother said, strolling into the bedroom. “I see that my ‘Feel Better Pancakes’ haven’t lost their special magic.”

“They sure haven’t, Momma.” She sliced into the syrupy, golden cakes and crammed a whole forkful into her mouth. It felt good to have her family around her. She liked the old familiar sense of home. “I’m sorry I haven’t been back to Thomason,” she blurted out.

Her mother’s eyes grew moist. “It’s okay, Corona Mae.” She leaned over and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

“No, it’s not, Momma. I was being selfish and stubborn and … “

“Scared,” her mother filled in. “Honey, you’re not the only one who has made mistakes, you know. What seems like the right thing doesn’t always turn out to be so. Our hearts and our heads get us so confused sometimes that you got to learn how to forgive yourself when you listen to the wrong voice at the wrong time.”

Corona smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome. Now eat your breakfast.” She winked and then nearly tripped over her granddaughter’s book bag. “Melody, sweetheart. Pick up your things and take them to your room.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She bent over and picked up her bag, but, because it wasn’t zipped, a pile of books fell out. Melody scrambled to grab them, but Corona glanced down before she had time to shove them back into her book bag.

“My diaries.” She reached down and grabbed one of the books. “You took my diaries?”

Tess sprang up from the edge of the bed. “Okay. And
this is when I exit stage left. C’mon, Mom. These two are going to need a moment alone.”

Adele didn’t know what was going on, but she allowed her youngest daughter to pull her from the bedroom.

Once they were gone, Corona glanced at her daughter. “Why do you have my diaries?”

“I was just … I sort of found them,” she admitted.

“What makes you think that they were lost? Or that you had the right to take them?”

Melody lowered her head. “I shouldn’t have taken them. I’m sorry.”

Corona felt stripped. “You’re sorry, or you’re sorry that you got busted?”

“I’m … I guess that I got busted.”

Corona shook her head as more tears spilled over her lashes. “These were personal … private.” She reached over and took her daughter’s book bag and saw four other books.

“You had so many of them, I didn’t think that you’d notice they were gone,” Melody said.

“So you read them?” It was sort of a foolish question at this point, but she asked it anyway.

Her daughter just bobbed her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Please stop saying that.” She tilted her head into the palm of her hand. Now where was she supposed to go with this conversation? And why did this hurt more than being dumped on national television and newspapers had?

“Momma?” Melody finally lifted her head. “Is Lyfe Alton my father?”

L
yfe was amazed at the wall-to-wall coverage that the Rowan James and Danica Foxx reconciliation story was getting in just mere hours. Apparently not only had the two actors hooked up, but they’d hopped a plane to Monoco and had a quick wedding ceremony. Every station, from the entertainment networks to the news networks, was indulging in the scandal.

Lyfe was torn between two emotions. One on hand, this certainly cleared the field for him; and on the other hand, he was concerned about how Corona was taking the news. By noon, he couldn’t stand it any longer and called her cell phone. The call went straight to her voicemail. He tried her office, but after charming Margo for about twenty minutes, he was told that her boss wouldn’t be coming into the office today.

That only heightened his concern.

“I say go over there,” Hennessey said. “If you’re
trying to figure out where you fit in, then this is going to be your chance to step up and be the shoulder that she’s going to need. Women love that stuff.”

“I don’t know,” Royce countered. “Women also love their space. And after this scandal blowing up like this, she’s probably looking for a big rock to hide under. You don’t want to seem too eager, you know?”

Lyfe agreed with both brothers’ points, so he was still torn as to what he should do. In the end, he took a poll among the Alton six-pack and found that they were split right down the middle. Three said go to her and three said to wait for her to come to him.

After another hour of coverage, he developed cabin fever and decided to take a long stroll. However, the minute he hit the streets, there were magazine and newspaper vendors with tabloids screaming the scandal on their front pages. The next thing he knew, he was hailing a cab.

The cab driver asked, “Where to?”

He drew a blank for a moment and then vaguely remembered Tess saying something about … “The Centurion?”

The cabbie nodded his head and took off. Within minutes, he was outside the luxury apartments and was stunned to see a number of photographers outside, smoking. Were they there hoping to get an exclusive shot of the recently dumped fiancée?

He shook that troubling thought from his head and raced inside the building, scooting behind another tenant who was entering the building. At the elevator, he helped an older lady enter with her wheelchair, and in her gratitude, she told him which apartment a Chloe Banks stayed in.

It wasn’t until after he knocked on the door that he realized he didn’t even know what to say if she answered.
Sorry about your breakup?
She would see straight through that lie. At the same time, he couldn’t just stroll into her crib, grinning and ready to perform cartwheels.

At the sound of someone approaching the door, Lyfe decided to play it by ear. When the door opened, he pushed up a smile.

“Lyfe?” Tess’s eyes bulged before she glanced out into the hallway as to see if he was alone. “What are you doing here?”

He grinned. “What do you think? I’m here to see your sister. I’m still pursuing her, remember?”

When his answer did nothing to erase the worry lines across her forehead, he grew a little more concerned. “Is Corona here?”

“Ohhh … uh … “

“Who’s at the door, Tess?” Adele Banks’s voice floated over.

Lyfe looked over Tess’s head and smiled. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Banks.”

The color drained from the older woman’s face. “Lyfe? What are you doing here?” she asked him. She shot a sharp look at her youngest daughter.

“I’m here to see Corona Mae.” Why did this exchange have him feeling like a teenager again? “Well, that’s if Tess will let me in,” he added.

“Uhhh … “ Tess seemed to scramble for the right words. “Look, Lyfe. I know that I have been really pushing for you and my sister to get back together—”

“What? You’ve changed your mind?” he asked.

“No. No. I just think that
today
isn’t a good day for—”

“Melody, please, wait!” Corona Mae called out, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Mom, I have a right to know!” a young voice shouted out.

Mom?
The wheels inside Lyfe’s head screeched to a halt. “Corona has a daughter?” he asked. “How come you never told me?”

Tess glanced away.

“Just answer the question, Mom. Is this
Lyfe Alton
my father or isn’t he?”

At those words, Lyfe felt the world tilt on its axis. He couldn’t have heard that right. With hardly any effort, he shoved open the door and shoulder-bumped Tess out of the way.

Corona’s head swiveled toward the door. Her eyes doubled in size. “Lyfe.”

The teenage girl also jerked her head toward the door, and for the first time, father and daughter locked eyes.

“I know you,” Melody said, her eyes narrowing. “I’ve seen you before.”

In a flash, Lyfe remembered the cluster of teenagers that had bumped into him as he was coming out of the elevator about a week ago. He nodded. “I remember seeing you, too.” His eyes shot over to Corona for some type of explanation.

But all he could see, besides the steady stream of tears flowing, was the face of deception. He shook his head as his heart shattered. Looking back over at the young girl, he recognized his eyes, his nose and even his jawline. “How old are you?”

“Thirteen.”

The wind sailed out of Lyfe’s chest as if he’d just been sucker punched. Once again his eyes zipped back to Corona Mae. “Is she … ?”

“Lyfe … I, uh … I’m sorry.” She came over to him, but he stepped back.

“You’re sorry?” He looked back at the little girl …
his
little girl. She was still there. He wasn’t imagining all of this. Still, he couldn’t stop shaking his head. “You kept something like this from me?”

“I—I—”

“You had my
child
and you never said anything?” His accusatory glare swept around the room. “
None
of you said anything?”

Rufus Banks strolled out from another hallway. “What’s going on out here?”

Lyfe was on a roll. “Now I expected something like this from
him!
But you, Corona?”

“It was like I told you the other night. We were young and—”

“It wasn’t your decision to make,” he roared. “I should’ve had a say in this!”

“I wanted to tell you but—”

“And in fourteen years, you couldn’t find the time to pick up a phone—write a letter—send an email? Is that what I’m supposed to believe?”

“Adele and I didn’t think it was our place,” Rufus interjected.

“You once shot at me and then held a gun to me to marry your daughter, and then
suddenly
you had a revelation of what was and wasn’t your place?”

“Lyfe, please.” Corona raced over to him.

He started backpedaling toward the door. “You’re unbelievable. How could you do something like this?”

“I thought it was the right thing to do.”

“For who? You? Because you didn’t want to be stuck in the same country town and marry a farmer? Your choice didn’t have anything to do with me. It was all about you—and what
you
wanted. What did I ever do to deserve such disregard?”

Larger tears rolled down Corona’s face as she trembled terribly.

“Did you know when you left that day? When you left me standing like an idiot at the altar in front of my family and friends?”