I walked out of the school, my heart still tingling with Ellis' kind gesture. Just before I got to my car, I heard a car horn honk down the street. I started and looked over. Ellis' limo was still parked there. He was standing at the driver's door and waving to me. I hesitated but I decided I should thank him for what he did for me and Ken. I walked down the sidewalk. Ellis opened the back door of the limo and held his hand out. "Let's talk," he purred, smirking. "Just talk?" I asked, eyeing his outstretched hand. "Of course," he said, nodding his head. After another moment's hesitation, I took his hand and allowed him to help me into the back of the limo. It was a very intimate setting, alone in the back seat of a luxurious vehicle. Ellis was a gentleman. He wouldn't try anything. "I wanted to thank you for helping out with Ken's tuition and school transportation," I said as Ellis slid into the limo behind me and closed the door. The windows were tinted so it felt
"I can't believe you just did that!" I snapped, grabbing my phone back from Ellis. "We are not together!""And you're not with Bennett, either," he said smugly. His eyes roamed over my disheveled clothes. I hurried to straighten them and smooth out my hair. I must have looked flushed and flustered, which made sense since we had just been kissing. "That doesn't give you the right to interfere with my life!" I snapped. "I told you that I was going to get you back. I will do what I have to," Ellis said, his tone even. He had no remorse over what he was doing. My stomach twisted. He was so determined it was hard to turn away from devotion like that, from persistence. "No!" I cried. "Why won't you listen? You don't have a place in my life or Ken's." I shook my head and jumped out of the car, slamming the limo door. I headed down the sidewalk but Ellis caught up to me. He grabbed my arm to stop me. I spun around, glaring at him. "I'm not letting you go. I love you too
I read in a gossip magazine that Bethany was throwing her own birthday party. There was a snapshot of her guest list and it included every celebrity and prominent name in New York, including the Peterson family. I scanned through the article and read a few of the quotes Bethany had given the paparazzi. She talked about how the Diaz family was rivaling the Richardson family now, and she was going to show that the Diaz family was better. She announced that her birthday party was the true debut of her family coming out as a real power in the city. "That's not good," I muttered to myself. I needed to go to that party. There was a chance I could still talk to Bethany and appeal to her as my sister. Bethany had her issues with me and I had mine with her, but that didn't mean we had to be enemies. We had been close once. We'd been sisters!My mom was at the hospital again and she couldn't watch Ken. I dressed him up in a little tuxedo and found a dress to wear. It wasn't that forma
"I'm not kissing you!" I insisted, stepping back from Ellis. He cocked his head at me, his eyes dancing with amusement. "A kiss is the price to pay. I've been more than generous and that dress is…" Ellis trailed off as his eyes raked over me again. I shivered under his intense gaze, my heart pounding. He always knew just how to look at me to make me feel like I had no clothes on. "… very expensive," he finished, smirking. "What does that have to do with it?" I asked. I crossed my arms to try and shield myself from his eyes. "Seeing as the last dress you wore got soaked in red wine, I do worry how much this act of kindness will cost me, financially. So, I want some collateral. A kiss to seal the deal," he explained, chuckling. "And you can't just do me a favor out of the kindness of your heart?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow. Ellis sighed and shrugged one shoulder. "I've been kind enough, don't you think?" he asked, tilting his head again. "Fine, if you want a
I heard my name being whispered through the assorted chaos. "Olivia Richardson wasn't in the chapel when Toby was pushed in the water," someone whispered. I looked around, my heart beating faster as I heard the rumors and speculations fly through the guests. "She changed her dress," someone else said. "Did she change because her dress got wet?" another voice asked. "Why would she push a child?" "She was the only one not here at the time of the incident," someone else said. "Ellis Peterson wasn't here either," another voice said. I shook my head. How quickly a rumor like that spread. The last time I had seen Toby, he and Ken were playing happily in the gardens together. "You b*tch!" that shrill voice that had been screaming earlier shouted. A woman ran right up to me and slapped my face. My head snapped to the side and I rubbed my tender cheek. "How dare you hurt my son! He could die because of you!" she cried. She tried to hit me again but I stepped bac
"Do something to help him!" Susan cried, hugging Toby's limp, unconscious body. I saw Ellis step aside, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He made a quick call. "I've got the best pediatrician in the state on his way here to look at Toby," he said. "Thank you," Susan said, sighing and hugging her son. We all stood around in silence as Toby lay there completely still and Susan continued to cry over him. I stood on the edge of the crowd, holding Ken's hand. Ellis stayed close to Toby. It didn't take long for the pediatrician to get there. The crowd remained silent while he pulled out his medical bag and started checking Toby's vitals. He got an electric blanket out and put it over him to warm him up. "Do you have a change of clothes for him?" the doctor asked. "We should really get him into something dry.""Yes, of course," Susan said. "Mommy, what's wrong with Toby?" Ken asked. "He got hurt, baby," I explained. "Is he going to be okay?" Ken asked me. I sig
"Bennett?" I asked when he came to my side. I took another step away from Ellis, putting as much distance between us as I could. Ellis still had a challenging smirk on his lips as he looked me up and down and then moved his eyes to Bennett. "What are you doing here?" I asked. I chewed the inside of my cheek and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. "I was at work and got an incoming report about a boy that was injured. There was talk of you being accused of attempted murder. I was worried," Bennett said. He touched my shoulder comfortingly. "Oh," I groaned. "Yeah, that happened. It is all taken care of, though. You didn't have to rush over.""Of course, I did," he said, cupping my cheeks. "Are you okay?""I'm fine," I assured. I covered his hands with mine. Bennett raised an eyebrow. He didn't look convinced. He stepped aside and pulled me along with him. He tilted my head from side to side, examining me closely. Then he ran his hands down my arms and took a
Ken crawled into bed with me early in the morning. "Mommy, I don't feel good," he said, rubbing his stomach. "What's wrong, baby?" I asked. I sat up and felt his forehead. He didn't have a fever but he looked really uncomfortable. "My tummy really hurts," Ken whined, rubbing it again. "Are you going to be sick?" I asked, looking around for the nearest trash can. "No. It just hurts," Ken said. He whimpered and started to cry. "I hurt all over." "Okay, come here," I said. I got up and helped Ken into my bed, tucking him in. I went to the bathroom and grabbed a thermometer. I took Ken's temperature but it was normal. He didn't have the flu or anything. "It really, really hurts," Ken whined, holding his stomach. I pulled the blankets back and pulled up Ken's night shirt. When I touched his stomach lightly, he screamed. "That hurts!" he yelled. My mom hurried into the room. "What is going on here?" she asked. "Ken's in a lot of pain. He doesn't have a fever