Johnson Family 1: Unforgettable (9 page)

His daughter’s expression changed as he and Ivy explained that he was her father. She looked confused, and rightly so. It was hard for him to comprehend he had a child, and clearly hard for her to understand how she could have another father. For her entire life she’d believed one man to be her father, and now she was told a complete stranger was. The guy she’d met in the building where her mother worked.

“Your first dad took care of you while Lucas was away. Now he’s back, and he can be your father the same way Winston was.”

“So I have two dads?” Katie asked.

“Something like that,” Lucas interjected. “But I’m your real dad.” He wanted to make that clear.

“Oh.” She still appeared confused, and she looked at her mother, seeking guidance.

Ivy placed a hand on her daughter’s slender shoulders. “He wants to get to know you and spend time with you,” she explained. “Would that be okay?”

Katie’s lower lip quivered and her shoulders curled forward. With a vehement shake of her head, she said, “No. My daddy’s dead and I don’t want another daddy!”

“Katie!”

The little girl—his daughter—raced off down the hall toward the bedrooms. With an apologetic look in his direction, Ivy hurried after her.

Lucas sat there, dumbfounded. He was still getting used to the idea of being her father, but deep down he’d hoped she’d be excited and maybe fling her arms around him. Because that’s what he’d wanted to do—sweep her up in his arms in a big hug and start bonding right away.

When she re-entered the room, Ivy appeared embarrassed. She had the same apologetic expression on her face as before and waved her hand vaguely, struggling to find the right words.

Lucas didn’t give her a chance to speak. “She doesn’t want to come back,” he said.

She shook her head, pity in her eyes, and he hated it. “We should take it slow. This is new for all of us.”

He nodded his understanding and rose from the chair. Ivy escorted him to the front door.

“Give her time,” she said quietly. “She’ll warm up to you once she gets to know you better.”

Lucas had his doubts, but this setback wouldn’t stop him from being a part of Katie’s life. “I’m not giving up,” he said. “I’ll be back tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that.”

Having Katie accept him as her father would become his focus. It hadn’t occurred to him she wouldn’t want him in her life, and he hadn’t expected rejection could cut so deeply.

Chapter Ten

At the desk in his hotel room, Lucas stared at the computer screen. His advice column was due to
Essence
in a couple of days, but he wasn’t in the mood to answer questions.

Dear Lucas,

My boyfriend and I have been living together for three years. He’s perfect in every way, but whenever I mention marriage, he clams up. I don’t understand it. We get along well and we share everything. We live together, for goodness’ sake! He says we don’t need a piece of paper and why fix what isn’t broken. I think I can change his mind, but my best friend thinks I’m a fool and I’m wasting my time with him. I believe love is worth fighting for. What do you think?

Confused in Virginia

Lucas tapped out his response.

Dear Confused,

Your friend is right.

His editor would never let him get away with such a cryptic answer, but it was the best he could do right now. His mind was too bogged down with thoughts of Ivy and Katie.

Flickers of light from the television bounced off the walls. He glanced at it to see a local reporter giving the nightly news, but he had the volume turned down too low to hear.

How would things have been different if he hadn’t left after their summer fling? He wouldn’t admit it to Ivy, but he’d had doubts about leaving.

Lucas felt the warmth of her naked body as she lay on top of him.  

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Ivy said softly. She kissed his neck, shoulders, and the middle of his back.  

He groaned. “I’m tired. You wore me out.” 

She giggled. “You promised to take me to breakfast before you go to work.”  

“Did I?”  

“Yes. You’re not reneging, are you?” Her tongue traced his shoulder bone. They weren’t going anywhere if she kept that up.  

He turned and flipped her onto her back. Her eyes shined like little brown jewels, and moments like this made him want to forget the teaching contract in Korea so he wouldn’t have to leave her.   

“How hungry are you?” he asked. Maybe they could have a quickie before they left for breakfast. 

“I’m so hungry my belly thinks my throat’s been cut.”  

He busted out laughing. “I’m going to stop teaching you all these Southern expressions. The words are right but the accent sucks.” 

“It does not! I nailed the accent.” 

“Yes, it does suck. You think you’re doing such a good job, don’t you? Bless your heart.” 

“Don’t you bless my heart.” She hit him in the shoulder and he pinned her arms above her head.  

He nuzzled her throat and then sucked the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder met. “What do you want me to do then? This okay?” 

“Maybe,” she said, pretending to be upset by pouting.  

“How about this?” He licked her nipple and sucked the tip into his mouth.  

Ivy moaned. “You know, I’m not that hungry after all.” 

“You’re not? You sure?” He licked the tight peak of her other breast and she arched higher into his mouth.  

She gasped. “Yes, I’m sure.” 

She wriggled beneath him, spreading her legs to open her body for him and lifting her hips to grind her mound against his erection.  

“Hold on, let me get a condom.” 

“Hurry.” 

When he was sheathed in latex, he slid into her, slow and easy. She gasped and thrust up against him. Watching her lose it was almost as exciting as getting off himself.  

She was so sexy, driving him crazy with how much she loved sex. Her desire for it matched his. It was limitless, all-consuming. Her response to his touch was always frenzied and passionate. Not the fake stuff some women did, like they were actresses in a porn flick where they said everything just right and had to move just right so they didn’t muss their hair. No, with Ivy he could tell she really loved it and lost herself in the sensations.

“Lucas…” She gripped his shoulders.

“I’m right here.” Her feminine walls contracted around him and her fingernails dug into his skin. She came hard, her breathless cries filling the small bedroom. Her face wrenched into a grimace of pleasure, and his brain took a snapshot of that expression like he’d done many times before. He strived to put that pained look on her face. As if his lovemaking was so exceptional it surpassed her expectations and filled her with the exquisiteness of an orgasm so sweet it pained her.  

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Lucas groaned and rubbed his aching groin. He knew from experience the bulge in his pants wouldn’t go away any time soon.

His cell phone, resting on the table in front of the television, started ringing. The unique tone was earmarked for Priscilla Graw, an aspiring model/actress/dancer or producer/director/entrepreneur, depending on the day and mood. Priscilla dipped her toes into more creative pursuits than anyone else he knew. To date, none of her ventures had proved successful.

He and she had been dating off and on over the past five years. Currently they were off, and he hadn’t spoken to her in a few months.

“Hey,” he said.

“Did I wake you?” she asked. She sounded like she was in bed herself. Her voice carried the warmth of slumber, as if she’d been sleeping only moments before. He imagined her pushing her thick corkscrew curls off her forehead.

“No, I’m wide awake and working on a column.”

“We haven’t talked in a long time. How’d everything go?”

She was asking about the tour, but his mind veered to the conversation with Katie and the negative outcome.

He sat down and dropped his head on the back of the sofa. “The tour went well. I sold a lot of books at each stop, and I’m in Seattle now. I spoke in a packed auditorium at an event a few days ago.”

“I’m happy for you, baby. Maybe you’ll be able to hit one of those bestsellers lists soon.”

“Maybe. That would be nice.” He held no illusions about that type of success. He was happy for what success he already had.

“You don’t sound pleased.”

“I am.” But the conversation with Katie still dogged him, dousing any excitement he had felt about his trip up until this point.

“When will you be back in Atlanta?”

“I have some things to take care of out here. I won’t be back for a bit.”

“Oh?” She never came right out and questioned him, and he didn’t know if her reluctance was the result of trust or simply that she didn’t want to rock the boat of their off and on relationship.

“I saw an old girlfriend, and…it turns out I have a daughter.”

“
Oh.
”

The quiet on the other end of the line prompted him to sit up and continue. “I want to spend a little time getting to know her better. Katie’s her name. I was with her and her mother tonight, but it was mainly about Katie—not her mother.” Why he felt the need to mention that he had no idea.

“I didn’t think you’d want to spend time with your ex,” Priscilla said in an overly neutral voice. She always tiptoed around him and his feelings, as if she was afraid of upsetting him. “So she just kept your child a secret from you?”

“Yeah. We ran into each other and I found out by accident.”

“How old’s your kid?” Priscilla asked.

“Eight.”

“That’s a long time.”

“Yeah.” Lucas filled her in on the details.

“Wait a minute.” The slumberous quality disappeared from Priscilla’s voice and he heard the bed linens rustle as she changed positions. “Are you kidding me? Your child’s mother is a Johnson—a member of the family who owns Full Moon beer and the restaurant chains The Brew Pub and Ivy’s?”

“You know the family?” He had to admit he was surprised.

“I don’t
know
them, but I know of them. They don’t make the news often—mostly it’s the oldest son…oh, what’s his name…Cyrus. I saw him on the cover of a magazine once. I stopped to read it because, well, it’s not too often you read about black billionaires. They mentioned how he’s practically been running the company since his twenties, after his father died suddenly. A drunk driver killed him or something. They had a three-year decline in sales recently, but he turned it around with a new marketing campaign. They’re one of the richest families in the country.”

Lucas was surprised Priscilla had paid that much attention to the family.

“You’re a lucky man,” she continued.

“Why am I lucky?”

“Because they’re super rich.”

He snorted and walked to the window. He drew apart the drapes and looked out at the urban landscape. “Their money doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Are you sure? If you worked your way back into your baby mama’s good graces, you’d be set.”

He cringed. He couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not. Plus he hated the phrase ‘baby mama.’ “No way am I interested in sinking my claws into the family fortune. I just want to get to know my kid.” He still didn’t know how he would fit into the picture, especially since Katie had made it clear she didn’t want him around.

“You should consider yourself lucky. You don’t have to worry about child support. I told you how much my brother pays to his ex-wife. He stays broke.” She sighed. They’d had plenty of conversations about the unfairness of her brother’s payments mandated in the divorce decree. “So when will I see you again?”

She must want something. Every time they’d broken up over the past five years, Priscilla had been the one to leave him. She would grow tired of his behavior, his lack of interest—his whatever she chose to fling at him in a fit of anger when she stormed out. But she always came back.

Usually she’d call and need his help with something inconsequential. She’d ask if he could review a car repair estimate and give his opinion on whether or not it was reasonable. Or could he come over and help her move a piece of furniture. She obviously used these tasks as an excuse to reach out to him again.

“I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Not for a couple of weeks. I don’t have any classes at Mercer until the spring, and I can work around most of my promotional gigs until it’s time to start traveling again.”

“I was hoping you’d be back sooner,” she said, her voice filled with disappointment. Yeah, she wanted something.

“How are you doing? You need anything?”

“Well, now that you mention it…I’m a little short on rent this month. Could you loan me a couple hundred dollars?”

To be considered a loan, the assumption was that the money would be repaid, but she never repaid him when money was exchanged between them.

“I’ll transfer the money into your account tonight,” he said.

“Thank you, baby.” Her voice lowered. “I’ll take good care of you when you get back.”