The Ties that Bind (Kingdom) (29 page)

Taryn jumped at the suggestion so quickly, Hope knew she had done the right thing.

“Are you ready to leave, Hope?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

Taryn and Mason walked the younger couple to the door. As she was saying her goodbyes, Hope felt a hand on her arm.

“Should we make a date for lunch now?”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, Mom, I promise.” Leaning forward, Hope kissed her mother on the cheek.

Behind his wife, Mason stood with an expectant look on his face. For the first time this evening, Hope took a good look at the man who had shaped so much of her life and realized she felt sorry for him. Her decision to tell Aviva of their relations had started an avalanche that had diminished him.

For her, all she could hope for was that on the journey they all had to take, they would finally find their way to common ground. The truth was she loved her father, she just didn’t like him very much at the moment. All his manipulations had come full circle and were now firmly resting on his shoulders.

Although she pitied him, Hope was unwilling to take on any of his burden. He would have to find someone else to lighten his load. But she didn’t have to make it any harder for him.

“Goodnight, Daddy.” Reaching around her mother, Hope also gave him a kiss to the cheek.

Hope let out a little gasp as Mason enclosed her in a tight embrace. His softly spoken words were only for her ears. “Thank you. No matter what you think, know that I love you and that will never change.”

Pulling out of his arms, Hope joined Steve outside and took a deep breath as they headed to the car.

**********

When both of them were inside her apartment, Hope removed her jacket and toed off her sneakers. Then she pulled her t-shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor. Knowing she had his full attention, Hope unsnapped the clasp of her jeans and slowly wiggled out of them. Intentionally she moved her hip from side to side as she slid the material down her legs.

Hope was a little disappointed she hadn’t anticipated that by the end of the night, she would be doing her best to seduce Steve. If she had she would be wearing something a little sexier than a functional white bra and panty set.

Deciding it didn’t really matter as she had already unclipped the bra. Pulling one strap down her arm, Hope spared Steve a brief look before turning her attention to its partner. Hooking her fingers under the second strap, she brought one arm to rest against her chest, holding the material in place.

Bending forwards, Hope moved her hand from across her chest, shrugged her shoulder and the garment fell to the floor.

Taking her time she rose to her full height with only one small wisp of material left to shield her from his eyes.

Hope could see she had Steve’s full attention, and she was glad. She was sick and tired of the way he was holding himself away from her. Even if they hadn’t shared that brief moment of intimacy earlier in the day, she knew she loved him but she had no idea if he reciprocated her feelings. What she was currently doing was an extension of her love, and before the night was over she would know exactly how he felt about her.

Throughout her adult life, Hope had never felt as vulnerable as she did at this moment. She was baring more than just her body. She was showing Steve that she finally knew who she was and what she wanted, she wanted, him.

“Earlier, you asked me who I was, and I’m done with hiding. I’m just a woman, Steve. A flawed, sometimes self-centered woman who treated you in a way you didn’t deserve. For that, I’m truly sorry. Will you please forgive me?”

The moments stretched on for what seemed to Hope like an eternity without Steve saying a word. So much so that she began to worry that she had miscalculated. Here, she was standing in the middle of her living room, devoid of clothes, apologizing to Steve and all he was doing was staring at her.

Feeling humiliated, Hope took a step backwards. Steve remained absolutely still, only his eyes moved as he tracked her movement. Each step she took moved Hope deeper into her apartment. Her only wish, to get away from him and his blank look.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Hope was confused. She had thought that he would have stopped her before she reached the sanctuary of her bedroom. But he didn’t, once inside her room she remained entirely alone.

As the minutes stretched on Hope realized that he wasn’t going to follow her. Straining, she listened for any sound coming from the living room, but all remained silent. Wanting to go and see if Steve was still there, Hope took a hesitant step forward then abruptly changed her mind.

Maybe it was for the best that he had rejected her attempts at seduction and the words that she had thought he wanted to hear. They had come from her heart, but maybe they had come too late. In all possibility, Steve had finally come to the conclusion that he could do better than her. That he deserved better than her.

As Hope stood under the shower, she finally understood the old adage that described the ever-changing position of those involved in a relationship. In the beginning, Steve had loved her so much. She had known it and hadn’t taken enough care of his feelings. Now that she finally understood how exceptional he was, how much she loved him, he had walked away.

Chapter 31

Aviva ended her call with Hope, and felt sorry for them both. For a while she had thought that Hope and Steve would make it. Throughout their conversation Hope had sounded sad but resolute, in full acceptance that her behavior had finally caught up with her.

From what Hope had said, she and Steve would remain friends as they still cared about each other, but that was all they could ever be. They had shared dinner and made their peace with each other.

There was no doubt about it, Aviva thought, Hope was a bloody nightmare for the most part, but at least Steve hadn’t retracted his friendship. He had stuck by Hope and given her and her family a fighting chance at a functioning relationship.

Steve and Hope had made their peace with each other and for that Aviva was glad. Now all she had to do was somehow persuade Jason to give Hope a chance to apologize for her actions. Aviva knew at some point, probably way in the distant future, he would acquiesce. He would do it for Steve’s and her sake and for no other reason. Aviva knew this with a certainty, just as she knew it would take some fancy footwork on her part to set up the meeting Hope had just requested during their conversation.

Deep into her musings of how she could talk Jason around, Aviva was disturbed by the ringing of her cell. In her distraction she paid no attention to the screen, she just placed the handset against her ear and answered it. She nearly dropped the phone when she heard Nixon’s voice on the other end of the line.

“What do you want?” Aviva asked abruptly, the sound of his voice filling her with untold suspicion.

“I want us to meet.”

“You have got to be kidding me! Why on earth would I want to meet with you?”

“Because you still have unfinished business with me, and I’m sure that’s reason enough for you.”

Aviva was quiet for so long, Nixon inquired if she was still on the line.

A snide thought ran through her mind,
the man was obviously a dumb ass, couldn’t he tell she was still there. They obviously didn’t teach him much in dumb land!
She knew the thought was childish, but it gave her satisfaction to allow herself to think it.

Her mind was made up, Aviva knew she would agree to the meeting. She also knew she was going to do her best to mess with his ego. By all accounts, Steve had started the job of ego demolition, Taryn had consolidated it, and she was going to finish it.

“Where and when?” She asked.

“How soon can you get downtown?” Nixon said after naming a restaurant that Aviva wasn’t familiar with.

“I’m leaving now. I’ll meet you in an hour.” She didn’t wait for confirmation as to whether the time frame suited him. She just hung up the phone with the thought that, dumb ass would recognize soon enough she was no longer on the line.

**********

As any child who had grown up without the presence of a parent, they always hankered after knowing who and what that person was like. Aviva had been no different.

By the time she had spent twenty minutes in Nixon’s company, she had known he had nothing she could ever want or need. Her mother had been enough, and he was not worthy of either of them.

The first time she met Nixon, she was seventeen years old, and fresh off the airplane from the UK. Aviva had immediately noticed that he wasn’t necessarily a handsome man. Rather he exuded a confidence that she had never encountered before. She had done her homework, and she knew where his office was located. She had just walked in there and sat and waited until he granted her an audience. Nixon had made her wait for five hours. Throughout her wait, Aviva had remained perfectly calm. She had realized after the first hour that he was attempting to anger her. She refused to give him, a stranger, that kind of power over her.

Knowing what she did now, Aviva supposed he had used the time to his advantage. When he approached her, she had thought that they would have at the very least spoken for a while. The contrary had been true.

“I take it you’re, Aviva?” He had asked, looking her up and down.

“Yes. I take it you’re my, father?” The thought that came to her mind was that he was a slimy bastard. What her mother had seen in him, she couldn’t understand.

Although he smiled in her direction Nixon didn’t answer her question. Aviva immediately knew that his fake smile was for the benefit of their observers. During her long wait she had managed to attract the attention of the four receptionists as well as the security staff who were unashamedly watching their interaction. No sooner had she finished speaking, Nixon had his hand on her elbow, pulling her out of his office building.

She had wanted to make a scene the likes of which he had never encountered, but had decided against it. That wasn’t how her mother had raised her. So she had allowed herself to be steered along like mindless cattle.

Ensconced in his car, Aviva had attempted to talk to him, trying to get answers to her questions. No matter how hard she tried, he had remained silent, making no attempt to hide the supercilious, dismissive smirk affixed to his face. Knowing she was wasting her time, Aviva lost all interest in him. His silence was the one thing that would haunt her for many years into the future.

If the car hadn’t been speeding along the highway, she would have jumped out and walked away, answered questions or no. But at that time she had no choice other than to sit in silence and watch the landscape that was so alien to her flash by.

She knew that she had retreated, because when she again became aware of her surroundings, the car had stopped before what looked like a private residence. Aviva recalled her reluctance to get out of the vehicle, her uncertainty of the unknown weighing heavily on her young shoulders.

Standing in the doorway had been a tall distinguished man. The man had looked at Nixon with such hatred Aviva had been frightened, unsure of what awaited her. She had wanted to break free and run, but Nixon’s hold on her had tightened. It had seemed to her that as the thought crossed her mind, he read it. That he was drawing strength from her fright and the man’s hatred.

Staring at the tall man, she somehow understood why Nixon had brought her to him. It was a form of punishment. Why or how she didn’t know, but she could see his aversion to their presence.

“Mason, shall we come in?”

Nixon’s words hadn’t been a question. It was just a turn of phrase to maintain the façade of refinement he took such pains to demonstrate.

The house she was led into was at first glance a home. However, Aviva could feel that something was amiss. It looked right, but it didn’t feel right. It was too neat. It was too quiet. Something had happened, either in the house or to the people who lived in it.

She saw a woman coming towards them with an unsteady gait. She was beautiful, but there was something decidedly off with her. Her eyes were glassed over, she only had eyes for Nixon, and she was coming right at him. She looked as though she wanted to hurt him. So deadly was the way she looked at him, all of Aviva’s innate instincts went into overdrive, told her to get away from him, from the grip he had on her arm.

She instinctively knew that he had brought her to these people for no other reason than to hurt them. It was that simple, it was written all over his face and the same knowledge was reflected in theirs.

They had left her standing in the hallway for an unusually long time. So long in fact that, Aviva had taken refuge on the stairs. Yet all the time, she couldn’t dispel the feeling that she was being watched. Someone was taking her in, assessing her. She had first become aware of the sensation shortly after she had entered the home that wasn’t a home. Someone was lurking in the background. Watching... waiting... needing.

Aviva understood at least some of the emotions she sensed. They reflected her position, she was also in need after the loss of her mother.

That person had turned out to be Hope. For years after their first meeting, Aviva would always think of the beautiful young woman she had first met while sitting on the stairs as, ‘Her Hope’. On account of them finding each other when she most needed a friend.

Even with the years that had passed and the way Hope had behaved on her wedding day, Aviva still loved and cared about her.

Hope was a parody. On the one hand, she was the best sister any woman could ever wish for; looking out for her even when she felt she didn’t need it. Yet on the other hand, she could be another woman’s worst nightmare. Too beautiful for her own good and too screwed up by the knowledge she had come about inadvertently, at too young an age.

Aviva soon came to realize that the adults that surrounded her and Hope were pretty messed up too. In Aviva’s opinion, whoever thought that because someone had reached maturity, that they had all the answers, was a bloody fool. Hope was a prime example of this fact. She had grown up with both her parents, yet Aviva knew she had never met anyone floundering deeper in uncertainty than, Hope.