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  “I stayed for a week. Mack told Teresa I’d been staying at the hotel, and she arrived, packed my things, and took me to her place. I stayed with her for a couple of months before I moved in to my apartment. Curtis showed up at Teresa’s place asking why I’d left him, saying that he was a changed man and I’d been the best thing that had ever happened to him. For the first time the blinders came off and his true self showed through, revealing him for the selfish, cheating bastard he is. I also realized I had a very uneasy vibe in his presence.”

  “I’m glad you realized he wasn’t the right man for you. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get a chance to get you alone—which is what I suspect he’s after.”

  Nico bounded into the room and hopped onto the love seat with them. Andréa caught him in her arms and tickled him.

  “It’s getting late, and I need to get this one home and into bed so he can be ready for school tomorrow.” Sebastian laughed as Andréa and Nico groaned at the same time. “How about we take Andréa out to dinner tomorrow night?” Nico cheered at his dad’s suggestion. “Well, Andréa, what do you think? Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?” Sebastian asked.

  She stared into his eyes and admitted to that something between them. It had been there the night after he’d come to her rescue. There’d been plenty of nights where she remembered a pair of deep blue eyes every time she closed her eyes. Maybe he would be safe, considering he already had a son. Maybe he won’t want another child, and if he does he’ll have to find someone else. She’d see how far they could go but she would be sure to warn him that if he wanted more children, they shouldn’t go any further, despite him saying he didn’t think she had a problem.

  “Yes, I’m free for dinner tomorrow night.”

  Chapter Six

  Curtis kissed his mother on the cheek in thanks before he rushed out. He had to get everything in order—he needed to make sure everything went as planned. He had the drug he’d slip into her drink. Once it hit her system she’d be malleable, a puppet in his hands.

  Curtis checked and double-checked everything to make sure he’d missed nothing. He’d had his parents’ housekeeper set everything up out on the patio, and she would answer the door and show Andréa out to the patio before she left. If he revealed his presence too soon she’d bolt, and he couldn’t have that. With them out on the patio alone, he’d put his plan into action. His dad had talked his mother into going out on their yacht, and for that he owed his father a huge favor; he had an idea his mother may have tried to interfere. He pushed thoughts of his mother aside—he had to focus on getting what he wanted, to get Andréa back. After he had her back, he’d make sure to not let her get away from him again.

  Sebastian checked his cell. The display showed Ramona’s name. He hit ignore and let the call roll to his voicemail. After dropping Nico off at school, he decided to go see his parents. His mother smiled at him, surprised by his visit.

  “What brings you by, Sebastian?” Nola asked after her kiss.

  “I didn’t have anything pressing this morning and I just dropped Nico off at school and decided to come by to see you guys.”

  “How did your appointment go yesterday?” his father asked. “Your mother called at her normal time to tell Nico good night and didn’t get you.”

  Sebastian smiled at his father’s interrogation tactics, proof of his years of working as an attorney and then as a judge.

  “My appointment with the person that’s going to design the house that I plan to build out on Miller’s Crossing… As you know, I met with her at my place on Sunday afternoon. We shared dinner with her after she’d finished with the rough sketches. We set up a follow-up appointment at her place last night so that she could show me a virtual view of what the house will look like, and she offered us dinner. We had such a good time and lost track of how late it had gotten. As soon as we arrived home, I put Nico to bed and crashed myself.”

  “You put my grandbaby to bed without a bath? I know he had to be dirty after his day at school,” his mother commented, her voice filled with disappointment.

  “Mom, you’re right. Nico looked as if he’d had a mud bath. Andréa gave him a bath and changed his clothes while I viewed the virtual images. She fed us, and Nico had a wonderful time because she let him create his own virtual images while she and I worked. And after dinner he gave her a kiss and went back to play with his designs.” Sebastian smiled at the stunned look on his parents’ faces. What he’d revealed had surprised them. His son had never taken to anyone outside of close relatives.

  “Well, you remember that today is my day to pick him up from school?” his father reminded him.

  “Yes, I remember, but could you guys not feed him so much? We’re taking Andréa out to dinner tonight.”

  “Well, why don’t you bring Andréa with you to pick Nico up?”

  Sebastian wasn’t fooled—it wasn’t a request but an order.

  After he left his parents’ house, he headed over to Andréa’s apartment. The guard sent him up after signing him in. She met him at the door to her apartment.

  “You ready to get this over with?” he asked.

  “Oh, yes, I’m so ready to get this over with, and I’m excited about going to dinner. Where’s Nico?”

  “My parents collect from school every Tuesday to take him to the zoo. We’ll pick him up from their place.”

  Andréa took a deep breath and grabbed her purse and sketchpad. They decided on taking Sebastian’s truck. She gave him directions to where the Monroes lived. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her wringing her hands and reached over to lace her fingers with his.

  At the touch of his hand to hers she visibly relaxed. “I appreciate you going with me,” she said.

  “I’m glad I’m able to. Besides, like I said, I think your ex is up to no good. I have a vested interest in keeping you safe from harm at his hands; he’s hurt you enough.”

  They walked up the stairs leading to the front door of the Monroe home, and Andréa felt safe and comforted with Sebastian’s hand resting at the lower part of her back. She rang the doorbell, and they waited for it to open.

  She smiled at the Monroe’s housekeeper. “Hi, Ms. Killian. I have an appointment with Bernice,” she informed the woman.

  “Everything is set up out on the patio. I’m sure you remember the way.” The woman slipped on her coat. Her step faltered upon seeing Sebastian. The startled look on the woman’s face confirmed that the bastard had something up his sleeve. He held the door open for the housekeeper as she exited, closing the door behind her.

  Andréa led the way through the house and out to the patio. She froze in the doorway. A candlelit table for two had been set up, and Curtis sat with his back them, pouring two glasses of wine.

  “I know you expected Mother. I put her up to calling you knowing you wouldn’t give me the time of the day. I know I’ve done wrong, but that’s all in the past. I realize you’re the best thing to happen to me and my life…” He turned around to see that Andréa hadn’t come alone. “Who in the hell is this, Andréa?”

  “What is the meaning of this, Curtis? And why did you have your mother call and lie?” Andréa asked instead.

  “I asked my mother to call because you wouldn’t come if I’d asked you to. Now, tell me who the hell he is and why in the hell he’s here,” he snapped, slamming down the bottle of wine.

  “Who he is is no concern of yours. How dare you use your mother to get me here under false pretenses! What, did you think that once you got me here you’d be able to convince me to let you back into my life after all the shit you put me through? All of the cheating you did, let alone the way you went missing in action every time I lost one of our children.”

  “That is all in the past,” he said, brushing her words aside. “I want us to start new. I’m a different person now, and I know you want children, and since you can’t carry a child we can adopt.”

  Andréa didn’t flinch at his dig. “Thanks, but no thanks, Curtis. I’ve
been on that roller coaster ride too many times to count, so I think I’ll pass.” Andréa turned and walked back inside the house, her head held high.

  Sebastian turned to face the prick. He had to move quick before Andréa realized he wasn’t behind her. In a rapid move, he had Curtis pinned up against the wall.

  “Man, what in the hell is wrong with you?” Curtis demanded.

  Sebastian squeezed his neck, cutting off his air supply. “I’m going to warn you once. You stay the fuck away from her, and if you pull another stunt like this or try and contact her in any way, I’ll find you and fuck you up. I’ll do so much more to you than you’ve done to her, and I’m sure you know that is a hell of a lot. Now, I know what you had planned.” Sebastian paused long enough to take the vial out of the prick’s pocket. “From now on, you’ll stay as far away from her as you can, and if you come in contact with her, you’ll be cordial and pleasant, but you will not, and I repeat not, make any of your snide comments. Don’t think you can do it if I’m not around, because even if I’m not there, I’ll know, or even if I suspect, all bets are off.” Sebastian let Curtis go, stepped back, and stared, dispassionate as the bastard slid bonelessly to the floor.

  Andréa reached the door and turned, looking for Sebastian. She headed back to the patio just in time to see him release Curtis and gasped as he crumpled to the floor. She turned her attention to Sebastian and the vial he held. “What is that?”

  Sebastian swung around at the sound of her voice. “This is what he planned on slipping into your drink. I’ll have it analyzed, but my guess is it’s a form of the date rape drug or something along those lines. He’d have slipped it to you, and you’d be compliant and under his control. We’ll discuss this later. Let’s get out of here now.”

  He slipped his arm around her waist and led her through the house and out the front door. He drove to his office and popped the vial in a shatterproof package. Labeling it, he placed it in the outbox on his desk.

  “Okay,” he said, picking up a new patient information form. “Fill this out, and I’ll set up an appointment for you with a friend of mine that is one of the best female doctors in town.”

  Andréa stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Why do I need to make an appointment with a female doctor? I have my own doctor.”

  “Drea, I know his comment about you not being able to carry a child hurt you, and until you can disprove the shit he’s planted in your head he’ll always have that weapon to use against you. No matter how you try and hide it, you believe all the shit he’s been feeding you, and I know that it’s a bunch of lies. But me knowing it and you believing it are two different things.”

  “But what if the tests come back and prove what he’s been saying is true?” she asked, her voice breaking as she aired one of her biggest fears.

  Sebastian pulled her into his arms and held her while she cried.

  “If by some remote chance it comes back that that is the case, we’ll do what we need to do, but we will not allow that bastard to hold you in limbo because of the shit he’s been feeding you to make you doubt yourself and your appeal to another man. He’s doing it to make you think no other man will want you if you can’t give him a child. He’s counting on your believing that, and as long as you believe that you give him too much power. Although you’ll never go back to him, you’d rather be alone than be rejected by someone once they learn that you can’t have children.”

  She admitted to the fear and the power that fear gave Curtis over her. Taking a seat, she completed the forms and looked up hearing the sound of him slipping on rubber gloves. “What are you going to do, play doctor with me?” she suggested.

  “Don’t give me any ideas, or we won’t make it to dinner,” he warned. “I need to take some blood so I can send it to Marlena. She’ll have the results back at the same time as your appointment.”

  She extended her arm and allowed him to take a couple of vials of blood. He labeled everything and left a note for his secretary to get them sent off as soon as possible.

  “Now, let’s go and pick up Nico and get you fed.”

  “Grandma, do you know what time Dad and Andréa are coming to get me?” Nico asked, checking the clock once again.

  “I’m sure they’ll be here at any minute. Are you that ready to leave your grandfather and me?”

  “No, Grandma, I’m just excited about seeing Andréa. She calls me her muffin and she has so much cool stuff in her office and she promised to show me how to set up a virtual system of my own at the new house,” he informed his grandmother. As soon as the front door opened, he dashed out of the room.

  Nola followed her grandson and stood back and let the scene unfold. The beautiful black woman with her son squatted down and held out her arms for Nico. She scooped him up and gave him a big kiss.

  “Hi, Muffin! Did you give your grandparents any trouble today? And did you have a good time at the zoo?” she asked.

  “No, and we had a great time. I thought you guys would never get here,” he complained but gave her another kiss.

  “Give your daddy a kiss hello,” she instructed, handing him over to Sebastian.

  “Hi, Mom, Dad. I’d like for you guys to meet Andréa Morgan. Andréa, these are my parents, Nola and Nicolai York.”

  Andréa stepped forward, her hand extended in greeting. “It’s so nice to meet both of you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Andréa. My Nico has been singing your praises from the time we picked him up from school,” Nicolai informed her.

  “Well, I’m just as crazy about him, Mr. York,” she responded.

  “Hi, Andréa, my Nicolai is correct. You are all our Nico talked about while at the zoo, and it’s nice to put a face with the name.” Andréa accepted the older woman’s hand and smiled.

  “Andréa, do you think we could go to your place after dinner?” Nico asked.

  Andréa pulled him onto her lap. “I don’t think so, Muffin, because you have school tomorrow. I think I know why you want to go, so I brought a little present for you.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a watch. “This is your own personal virtual imager. I designed it for you, and no one else can work it because it’s tuned in to you and you alone.”

  Nico hugged and kissed her before slipping the watch onto his wrist.

  “Did you make this last night?” Sebastian asked.

  “After you guys left last night, I couldn’t sleep, and I could see how much he loved being able to make his own images. I know I promised to show him how to build one for his room at the new house, but I didn’t want him to have to wait that long.”

  Sebastian leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips.

  Nola smiled.

  Chapter Seven

  Curtis used the wall to pull himself up on still shaky legs. The big, muscle-bound white boy had caught him off guard, but next time he’d be ready for his ass—even though he wondered if there would be a next time. He’d just have to find a way to get to Andréa alone, though he’d have to watch what he said to her. He didn’t want her going back and telling the white boy that he’d said anything out of hand. Curtis wasn’t stupid. He couldn’t take the white boy on by himself. Next time, he’d make sure he had some muscle of his own with him. He cursed, remembering Andréa’s companion had taken the vial. A normal Joe Blow wouldn’t know what the vial contained unless he had it analyzed. He guessed that just like most other muscle-bound jocks, the bastard wasn’t smart enough to have it analyzed.

  He’d call Serena and get another vial just in case the opportunity arose for him to use it like he’d planned. Taking out his phone, he called her. “Hey, baby, I need another sample,” he said once she’d answered.

  Serena slipped out of the office and into the hall. “What happened to the other one I gave you, Curtis?” she demanded.

  “I dropped it. Do you think you could bring it to me tomorrow?”

  Serena sighed and closed her eyes, wondering why she always fell for the bastards that treated her l
ike shit. “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything. You know that is an experimental drug and they’re counting every vial,” she whispered.

  “I promise to make it worth your while, baby,” he said in his smooth, deep voice.

  Damn him. He knows what his voice and his promises do to me. He uses it to his full advantage.

  “So, you’re a genius also, huh?” Nicolai asked.

  “Yes, sir, I am, and sometimes it’s like my mind never rests, but lucky for me I had a mentor that recognized this and helped me find ways to work off that excess mental energy. She’s the founder of the school that Nico goes to; she used to volunteer at the orphanage where I grew up and became my mentor.”

  Nola sat next to her husband on the love seat after Sebastian, Nico, and Andréa left. “I think she’s The One.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I think you’re right, my love. She’s the one for Sebastian, but for Nico also, and since she’s a genius and knows what a child genius has to deal with…”

  They went to the local D&B for dinner and games and had a wonderful and exhausting time. Sebastian drove Andréa to her apartment, wanting to go up with her to make sure she made it inside. No, he wanted to walk her up because he wanted to be with her, but it was still too soon. He glanced back at Nico, who slept in the back seat.

  “I had a wonderful time and I enjoyed meeting your parents.”

  “I had a wonderful time also, and I can tell my parents enjoyed meeting you. Don’t be surprised if you’re invited for dinner in couple of weeks,” he warned.

  “Why would I be invited to dinner?”

  “Because I think my mom and dad picked up on ‘this something’ between us, and since you’re the first woman I’ve ever brought to their house with me…hell, you’re the first woman that’s been around my son, and that speaks volumes. This something between us scares you, doesn’t it?” he asked, seeing the flash of fear in her eyes before she could mask it.