Consume Me (A Burning Desire Novel) (34 page)

He paused.

"You're in love Boo, aren't
you?"

It was my turn to be shocked. I really
didn't expect that.

"Oh come on Cléclé.”

He got some old French endearment out of
the archives, and I smiled amorously remembering the days it was all about the
two of us.

“It's me; you don't have to hide it."

He smiled broadly.

"Actually, scratch that, you can't
hide it even if you tried, which you aren't."

“I don't know."

I looked down at my hands.

"Sure you do, you're just freaked
out. But you have this glow; it's like your perfect make-up. Bright, starry
eyes, wide smiles, every time he's next to you, you seem to be under a spell,
every time he calls you or texts you, your face lights up. That can only mean
one thing, and I'm happy for you, maybe a little happier than you are.”

I blinked at the unexpected admission.

“Frankly, I’d lost hope after everything
the asshole did, and I was afraid of Landon. But I see it, in your eyes and
even more in his. The man is head over heels in love with you."

"You think so?”

He knew me all-too-well. It was true; I
couldn't hide it even if I wanted to.

"Oh, I know so."

He circled me in an embrace pressing a
kiss to my forehead.

"But, don't you think it's too
early?"

It was very frightening.

"If you were truly in love in the
past, you would know that there's no such thing as too early or too late. Love knows
no such things, it just hit you like a rock on the head, and if you ask me, I
think he fell in love with you the moment he saw you in the museum. I mean the
guy chased you across the globe."

He insisted.

"That's impossible, love at first
sight is a fable, and mostly for women."

"Actually, that's completely wrong.
Men are visual, boo, they fall in love with their sight, but women would rather
talk and discover what's beneath the person before falling in love. That's why
I think he fell in love at the museum, while you fell in love during that
charity party where you went all Million Dollar Clea on us."

I looked at him and laughed.

“Million dollar Clea?”

It was quite funny.

“Yep that’s what Ryan calls you in your back.
You were silent, and out of nowhere you went like; One million dollar! I swear
boo; I went blind with disbelief that night.”

He was laughing; and I was too. It was a
crazy night.

"Anyhow; so I know that’s when you
fell in love. And I know it because I care about you, because I love the hell
out of you, but mostly because I'm curious and attentive to details."

He winked at me, and threw me a knowing
look.

He was right; I was utterly and completely
in love with Landon Davis.

Chapter
XVIII

We
barely made it to the airport on time, my mother's flight landed and Jude went
to the baggage claim to get her luggage, she'd brought Ryan's fabrics and
described her suitcases on the phone.

I sent a text to Landon telling him that
I’d missed him.

"Cléa!”

I ran to my mother as soon as she came
through the doors. She looked positively glowing and beautiful. Then again, my
mom had always distinguished herself in a crowd.

She wore a gray pin-stripe dress and her
quilted Chanel; she held her hair in her usual chignon, nothing to suggest that
she just flew for seven hours.

"Ma Chérie."

I plunged myself into a much needed hug
from her and stayed there for a minute or ten, until she started feeling weak.

"I'm glad I came, it seems like
you've been missing me more than I expected."

"You have no idea. How was your
flight?"

I asked.

"Oh Mon dieu! Horrible!"

She exclaimed disapprovingly.

"First class aren't what they used to
be, and a very annoying man spent the whole flight snoring. I suggested he took
care of it as soon as he could."

She tut her disapproval.

I loved my mother, she was one of those
women who hated bad manners and responded to them in the same fashion. She was
hotheaded and big-hearted. However, she’d lived in a world of spotlight for so
long, she was far from the girl who had met my dad during a summer she’d spent
traveling and volunteering across the globe.

"Tante Helen!"

Jude was waiting with the luggage at the
exit.

“Jude Sylvain
Cervi ; Viens la !"

They kissed and hugged, Jude hadn't seen my
mom for over five months, they talked a good deal on the phone, but since I
opted to spend my sabbatical close to home, she hadn't been in the city for a
while.

My mom considered him as much of a son as Brandon,
and he loved her just as much. Ever since he'd been rejected by his father for
being gay, my family welcomed him as a member and we never let him down.

He only realized it, when he found out he
was mentioned in my father’s testament, my dad had left him his collection of
airplanes and some money, but he mentioned him as my sole guardian angel. The
one thing my family never denied was that Jude had saved me, in so many ways;
even I could never understand.

Back at
the apartment, the welcoming committee was ready for dinner. It smelled
heavenly; Jenna made her famous fish filet, composed of salmon and sole, with
grilled asparagus and seafood salad dressed with her father's secret sauce.

My mom insisted on emptying her luggage
and taking a shower before dinner, which gave Ryan the opportunity to inspect
his merchandise, and for Jenna and me to talk a little.

She told me all about this article they
had her working on, and that she's planning to mess with Landon to get some
insight, because it was related to the Ellis case.

I wished her good luck with that and told
her about my week.

Jenna made the same observation Jude did,
and so did Ryan. It was official for my friends as much as it was for me.

We gathered around the table for dinner,
my mom told us about Nana's adventures. My grandmother was sixty-five and
looked not a day over forty; she went on cruises, joined causes.

Just last year, she’d taken her bag and
went to Syria, in the heart of the war zone, and came back carrying carpets and
souvenirs

From a war zone!

"I swear, one of these days, she'll
give me a heart attack!"

My mom exclaimed.

"I mean if a young, healthy young
thief snatches your purse, you let him go. What's done is done. But no, she had
to go and chase the poor guy across the bridge and sent him into the river,
along with her handbag."

We all doubled over in laughter imagining
the scene, she has always been full of life.

"Oh my god, your grandma is amazing
Boo, I have to meet her."

Ryan was laughing his brains out.

"She scares the hell out of me."

Jude blurted out, and we all laughed.

"Yeah, Nana never missed on an
occasion to screw with Jude; this one time, she had him cleaning snow from her
garden at four in the morning, then wore one of those Scream masks and ran out.
He never set one foot in her house since that day."

I doubled over in laughter at the memory.
I’d been an accessory to that incident. I would never forget the way he
sounded.

"Oh my god, I still have nightmares
about that freakin night."

"Alright, since we're all in a very
cheery mood, I wanted to tell you something."

My mom interrupted.

“What is it mom?"

She got our attention.

"Well, there aren't many ways I would
say this. Since you're all family, I don't see why I wouldn't share the news around
a nice dinner, with my favorite people in the world."

She seemed nervous, but it didn't sound
like a bad news, at least I hoped it wasn't.

We were all focused, patiently waiting for
her to say what she had to.

"Well, Cléa, Jenna, boys, there's no
easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it."

She turned to me and held my hand, my
stomach clenched.

 "But please, darling, keep an
open mind about this."

"Just tell me Mom! Are you
sick?"

"No, good god no, I'm just… getting
married!"

Holy Fucking Moses!

I
blanked, or blacked out for a second, just taking in the words she’d just said.
My mother was getting married.

 
Okay,
so she wasn't sick, that was good news. But, married?

The silence filled the space; everyone was
probably waiting for my reaction.

Something curious happened at that moment,
images of our life flashed between my eyes; my father, my brother, my family,
we were always close, happy most of the time.

That was until Brandon moved away and left
me to deal with all the problems.

I hadn't seen my mother that happy for
seven years; she was glowing,
just like I was.
She was in love and ready
to get on with her life.

I couldn't control the tears flowing.

“Oh non ; ne
pleure pas ma Chérie.
S’il te
plait."

She cupped my face and kissed me.

"You have to know that I loved your
father very much, we had a good life together, and we had you and your brother.
Daniel loved you more than you'll ever know, he was mad at himself; he’d always
thought he didn't give you the life you deserved. He wasn't perfect, but he was
my husband, my companion, my best friend and the father of my children."

She stopped when she heard the knock at
the door.

"I'll get it."

Jenna strode to the door.

"I was always faithful to him, and so
was he baby, but today I'm ready for a new life. I'm moving here, we'll live
close to each other. Well, at least in the same country."

"You're leaving Aix? What about
Nana?"

I asked wiping my face.

"Yes, that's the other thing."

"Hello."

I was never that thankful for hearing the familiar
voice, even though he sounded worried.

"Euh… Hi, Landon."

Jude breathed out, obviously shaken.

"Do you actually plan these moments?
How is it that you always manage to appear during intense conversations?"

Ryan admonished with a grin.

I couldn't help it; I jumped to my feet
and buried my face in his neck. He put his arms around and nuzzled my hair,
giving me a moment.

"Hello."

My mom finally said.

"Boys, who is the dashing young man,
that my very secretive and in very-big-trouble daughter just threw herself
at?"

“Her boyfriend?"

Ryan didn't sound very certain.

"Yes, the boyfriend, who happens to
be the son of someone you know Helen."

Jenna explained.

I was still holding Landon, not ready to
let go, thinking about my mom's announcement and everything she said about dad
and I.

"Qui? Qui?”

Her eagerness was nothing short of
obvious.

"He's the son of Uncle Robert; you
know dad and Danny’s friend from the army."

"You mean, Robert Davis?"

The disbelief in her French accent made me
smile against Landon's neck; she was going to make me suffer for hiding it.

I steadied myself and smiled at my
beautiful lover.
.

"Hello Mrs. Dane."

He extended his hand to her and she
surprised everyone by taking him in a hug.

My mother was usually, less emotional.

"You have her eyes."

She’d said tenderly.

Huh?

"
You have Lily's eyes."

She asserted.

We were getting all emotional, especially
Ryan. He looked like he was watching the last episode of Days of our lives,
ready to burst into tears.

"Okay, you can all go to the living
room; I'll bring wine and ice-cream."

Jenna gestured for us to get out of the
kitchen.

I had
no idea how the conversation had shifted from my mother announcing her upcoming
nuptials, to an intense session between her and Landon. It just happened, and
we were all taken by it. She apologized for missing the funeral, because
apparently, it took place during the same period of my dad passing. But
apparently Brandon attended Lily Davis’ funeral; which was news to me.

"I'm sorry Helen, but would you mind
finishing the announcement before we take a walk down memory lane?"

Jenna said popping another bottle of wine.

Mom wiped her tear, held my hand, and
turned to Landon.

"I'm sorry, before you came in; I was
announcing to my daughter that I'm getting married."

"Congratulation Mrs. Dane" He
smiled at her genuinely.

"Please, call me Helen. Mrs. Dane was
my late mother in law. God rest her soul and her lousy manners." She
turned to me.

"The rest of the news, concerns the
person I'm going to marry, honey."

"Who is he? When did you two first
meet? Why haven't you told me when I was with you?"

I just blurted out the questions, eager
and curious.

"Du calme Cléa.”

She squeezed my hand tight.

"I never knew how to approach it, nor
did I expect it to be this official and quick."

She paused for a second before she spoke.

"It's actually, well… it's
Keith."

She announced looking between Jenna and
me.

"Seriously!?"

Jude actually squeaked.

“Keith who? Keith Seiter; you mean Uncle
Keith.”

I couldn’t hold the disbelief in my tone.

I blinked rapidly dumbfounded between
Jenna and Mom.

Jenna looked worried, but unshaken.

"You knew?"

I couldn't believe it, my mother was
marrying my best friend's father, and she didn't say a word.

"Please, don't be mad."

She pleaded.

"Dad called me yesterday and told me,
I wanted to tell you, but he made me promise to wait for Helen to talk to you.
That’s why I was avoiding you. I've only known for like twenty four hours, he
knew what he was doing, he could've told me last week, or last year, but he
knew I wouldn't keep the secret for much longer than that."

The news was nothing I’d expected, not in
a million years.

But I was happy, over the moon.

"My god, this is huge."

I cried out and squeezed the life out of
my mom.

"I can't believe, you hid this from
me, I'm so happy for you mom."

She looked at me with a full grin.

"Thank god! Merci ma chérie.”

Jenna leaned forward and hugged me
tightly.

"We're going to be officially sisters."

"I never needed to be related to you
to consider you one, Jen."

"I know, but this feels good, and
official!"

She beamed with joy

The remainder of the evening was fun. My
mother told me everything about her relation with Keith. It all started recently,
he’d always been there for her before and after my father's passing.