Sins of My Father (Black Brothers #1) (19 page)

CHAPTER

THIRTY-THREE

Archer

Nobody answered the door. At first, I thought Langley was avoiding me. I peeked into the front windows before I realized no one was inside. I refused to go home until I talked to her, so I sat down on the front step of Winnie’s townhome.

Less than five minutes later, I spotted Langley running down the street, her golden hair streaming out behind her. She didn’t see me yet. She focused her gaze on the sidewalk. When she reached the front step of Winnie’s townhome, she halted mid-stride, and her eyes locked on me. Her blood drained from her face, and she swayed on her feet. For a split second, I thought she’d faint.

“Archer?” she said, her voice shaky and a little raspy.

I jumped to my feet and ran down the steps to meet her. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and mascara streaked her cheeks. Seeing her upset knocked the wind out of me. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. “Langley, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

New tears welled in her eyes and her hands curled into fists. “Dammit, Archer. Why can’t you leave me alone? I can’t do this today.”

“No.” I took one step closer. Close enough that I could smell her, breathe her in, and feel the heat radiating from her body. It took every ounce of willpower in my body to stop myself from pulling her into my arms. She wasn’t ready. “I’m not leaving. I need to talk to you.”

She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. “Not today. I just can’t.”

“Langley…” I said, and then took a shuddering breath. Her eyes landed on mine, and for the first time in my life, I was scared.

Scared I lost her forever.

Scared she’d never forgive me.

Scared she’d never look at me with love in her eyes again.

I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “For the past two weeks, I’ve replayed every moment of our time together, wishing I had made different decisions. Wishing I never knew my biological father’s name. Wishing we’d met under different circumstances, but I keep coming back to the same thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I wouldn’t change a single thing because it brought you into my life. I love you, Langley, and I’m dying inside thinking you’ll never give me another chance. I need you—”

Before I could finish, she wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face into me. “My mom knew about everything. She didn’t care what my stepdad tried to do to me. She wrote those notes. She doesn’t care about me. She hates me.”

“Shh,” I murmured, snaking my arms around her waist and rocking her back and forth. “It’ll be okay. I’m here.” Questions rushed to the tip of my tongue. I wanted answers, but more than answers, I wanted to be close to her. Hold her. Support her. Love her. Be anything she wanted me to be.

“I feel so alone,” she mumbled between sobs. “She never wanted me. She blamed me for everything.”

“You’re not alone. You have me.”

Her body turned into stone in my arms before she relaxed again. “Do I?” she said softly, as though the thought wasn’t meant for my ears. I could hear the disbelief warring with optimism in her voice.

She lifted her head cautiously and gazed at me. I framed her face with my hands, drinking in her sea-green eyes, letting her see me. The real me, not the mask I presented to the world…just the man who loved her. “I know you’re angry and you don’t think you can trust me. I get it. But I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

I kissed the still damp trail of tears tracking down her face, leisurely making my way to her lips. I kissed her slowly, lovingly at first, but it didn’t take more than a few seconds for it to evolve into a sensuous kiss. I poured every emotion and ounce of love into that kiss, hoping she’d forgive me. Hoping she’d give me a second chance. Hoping she’d let me be part of her life…forever.

And then she started to cry.

I lifted my head. “What’s wrong?”

“You really love me, don’t you?” she whispered between sobs.

“I do. I really do.”

“I love you too.”

“Even though Senator Wharton is my father—”

She ran her finger over my lips, silencing me. “I don’t care about that. He doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

Just like that, the anxiety that had become my constant companion over the last two weeks vanished. Her simple declaration mended everything I never realized was broken inside of me. I lifted her up, wrapping her legs around my waist, breathing in her light floral scent, giving thanks for everything that brought her into my life…even the man I refused to acknowledge for most of my life. With Langley at my side, I could do anything, be anyone. I didn’t need hate or revenge to fuel me or shape my future. Love was so much more powerful.

“Where are we going?”

“My place. Our place. Together.”

“You’re pretty sure of yourself.”

“No, I’m being proactive. I’m not giving you the opportunity to run away again.”

EPILOGUE

Eight months later…

Langley

“Are you ready for your big day?” Archer handed me a cup of coffee as I walked into the kitchen.

“I’m nervous, but I’m ready,” I answered honestly.

Archer wrapped his arms around me, and I rested my head against his chest, listening to the solid drum of his heart. Six months ago, Archer and I moved to Los Angeles. With the scandal surrounding my stepdad and the fallout with my mom looming over us, both of us decided we needed a fresh start. I missed Winnie every day, but I didn’t regret the decision for a second, and maybe one day she’d agree to move here. I asked her at least once a week.

My stepdad was in jail, and my mom testified against him in exchange for immunity. She tried to contact me once, but I never returned her call. I’d never forgive her for taking his side, or the things she said the last time I saw her. As far as I was concerned, neither of them were part of my family.

Archer started a west coast division of Black Investments, and I enrolled in acting classes. At first, I was nervous I couldn’t live up to my dad’s legacy, but as the days and weeks rolled by, I realized I didn’t care. I had the opportunity to live my dream with the man I loved cheering me on, and that was all that mattered. His love and constant support banished all the shadows in my life, and even if I didn’t make it in Hollywood, I still had Archer.

Archer brushed a kiss on the crown of my head. “Don’t worry, the job is yours. You’re a natural, and the part is perfect for you.”

“They might not agree with you.”

“Well, then they’re stupid.”

“You have to say that. You’re my fiancé.” Just saying the word fiancé made my heart skip a beat.

His arm tightened around my waist and he nuzzled my neck. “Mm…I like being your fiancé. Will you be home by six?”

“I should be.”

“Great. Knox is in town, and we’re going to go out and celebrate the beginning of your new career.”

I tilted my chin up, and his dark eyes zeroed in on me. “I thought Knox was doing some undercover hush-hush job?”

“Apparently, it’s over now. He texted me this morning telling me he’d be in L.A. this afternoon.”

My eyes flickered to the side. Even after all this time, I still felt uneasy around Knox. On the surface, he gave the impression of being easy-going, but his quick smiles didn’t fool me. A dark intensity lurked under his veneer of charm, but Archer loved him, and that was good enough for me. “Sounds perfect.”

Archer grinned. “You’re still uncomfortable around him.”

“No,” I said automatically, shaking my head.

“Your acting skills may fool other people, but I can see right through you.”

I sighed. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“He likes you.”

“He does?” I said, scrunching up my nose.

“Yes. You’re part of our family.”

“Family?” I chewed on my lower lip. “I like the sound of that.” And I did. After my dad died, I never felt like I belonged to anyone. I was always on the outside looking in, waiting for someone to notice me and want me.

Archer changed all of that.

“So do I,” he whispered against my lips.

Acknowledgments

Thank you for purchasing my book. I can’t even begin to put to words what it means to me to be able pursue my love of writing.

To my husband, who puts up with a lot of craziness from me so I can get these stories out of my head.

To Limitless Publishing for continuing to support me, and Rachel Whitwam for squeezing me into her editing schedule.

Finally to Hype PR, all the bloggers, readers, and reviewers: I couldn’t do this without you!

About the Author

After spending years practicing law and running a real estate development company with her husband, Lisa decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer and she must confess that inventing characters is so much more fun than writing contracts and legal briefs. A native of Colorado, she lives with her husband and three children in Denver. When she isn’t managing the chaos of raising three children and owning her own business, she can be found reading or writing a book or tinkering in her garden.

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