Chapter One

I looked at the warm lights from the tall modern-built restaurant that greeted us. The sounds of jazz music flooded the city from the restaurant as the sound of the murmurs of its customers followed it. A faint hum grew louder as we approached the eating establishment. A sigh escaped my lips as we entered. The hostess was a young woman who looked too young to be working here, much less having evidence of the family that was showing underneath her long, black apron. She looked at us with a smile, leading us to a private booth. It was nothing fancy. However, the box was anything but shabby. As the glass sconces burned on the polished wooden walls, the smell of lavender filled the space. The young woman handed Grace and me two menus as we took our seats. I sighed, taking mine sitting on the wooden red leather seat across from Grace. I watched her look at the menu as I looked at mine. Nothing appealed to me on the card stock, decorative paper. "This place has everything," Grace stated, not looking up from her menu, the cheerful tone in her voice clear that she was happier to be here than I was. This made me excited to see her excited. I found my focus on her taking in every detail, thinking of the roads that I had taken to come in contact with the beautiful woman across from me.

"Pretty much." I then looked at my menu, glancing at it rather. This bakery had everything that someone with an addiction to sugar could want. However, for those of us who could do without it, it was a menu of nightmares. I placed my menu on the table, settling for a cup of coffee. Grace had also placed her menu on the table. The hostess looked at us. "Are you guys ready to order?"

"Ladies first." I looked at Grace, who looked at me.

"We'll take two slices of the pineapple upside-down cake, and a basket of cinnamon rolls. Are they fresh?"

The hostess took her menu. "No, sorry. But we can prepare it fresh. It will be a bit before you get it. The cinnamon rolls came out of the oven thirty minutes ago."

"Sounds great. You're not in a hurry to get home, are you, dear?" She looked at me as I shook my head. "Let me guess, you're going to order a coffee."

"You know I am, love."

"We'll take two coffee's one black, and the other with cream and two sugars."

The hostess took my menu, walking from the area. "Two sugars, Grace? Why did you order the coffee if you were going to add that?"

She looked at me. "They didn't have vodka. You can't order vodka at a bakery. It was that coffee or espresso and I'm not a fan."

"You ordered cake and rolls? Are you hungry?"

"Not really, but you are."

"Oh, I am. This is new to me. What did my stomach tell you and failed to share with me?"

She looked at me. "It wasn't so much your stomach as it was the children. You've been like a zombie lately. Riley and the girls worry about you. We all are. You've hardly eaten, you hardly sleep. Leonard, this is your chapter in life. What gives?

I looked at her. "Nothing, Grace. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Jarrod is dead, Natasha is behind bars. I'm living my best life."

"Right? Leonard, you've been working late, coming in at midnight. I've heard of a workaholic. Heck, I'm even guilty of the act. But you are taking it to a new level. You come home to pass out on the couch, in your work clothes. I've lost count on the times I've gotten you dressed in comfortable clothes and into a warm bed. Where you always like this?" Her beautiful hazel eyes looked into mine with a sigh. "Kourtney misses her father, the one that would tell her stories before bed. She loves you, Leonard. Riley is concerned, we're just worried about you."

You and the children have nothing to worry about, dear. I promise this is me. I need to provide for my family. It's not just the two of us, we have two beautiful children and a teenage girl under our roof."

She sighed. "Leonard, is this what your beast mode work schedule is? Love, you know you're not raising these girls alone. We are a team. You don't only carry the load for this family. We both share the responsibilities for the lives we created and the young woman that stays with us. We both have equal parts to play in supporting those we love, it isn't just one-sided."

"I know, love. But as the man in the home, I feel more responsible for the children. My father provided for our family. So I feel like I need to set an example for our children, at least let them know that they have a father that loves them."

She stuck her hand out. "Leonard, it's not about the money that someone provides. It's the fact that the parents are in the lives of their children. Trust me, the money is nice, but if a child feels abandoned, the money won't keep them together for the right reason. Money can buy a lot of things, bring certain happiness, but it doesn't close old wounds of hurt. False love isn't the way to love. You provide for a family by being a part of the memories, not seeing how much money someone can bring home."

I looked at her. "I'm sorry, Grace. Maybe I am being a little work happy."

"A little? Leonard, trust me, I speak from personal experience. If a child isn't happy with her home life, or that a parent pushes them away, they will find it elsewhere. They will love the person to show them what they desire most. Likewise, they will also detest the parent that thought occupation was more important than loving them. I don't want that to happen between you and the girls, as I know you don't want to see it happen. Yes, I know your pains for the anniversary of this year. But let it go. Jarrod is gone, Natasha as well. Your mother and Audra got the revenge they probably wouldn't have asked for, but they got it. Audra would never desire to see you tormented because of her. It would break her heart, your mother as well. You need to consider those you fought for to see them rest easily and the way they would respond with you now. Tell me so that I know, would Audra want you resorting to working until you had no energy?"

"No, she would probably want to see me happy and see me move on with my life, love the children that I am blessed with, love the woman that I had welcomed into my home, and give my last name. She wouldn't enjoy seeing me not being happy, since this is the life that she wanted for herself. She would probably give me an earful if she were still here."

"Alright, and your mother? Would she enjoy her baby being torn up over something that he had settled? I know Rosaline wouldn't have wanted vengeance, however, she would desire to see you happy. What would she, as a mother, say if her son was overworking himself just to make money that, in all honesty, he doesn't need? Tell me just so I know."

I sighed. "She would probably do the same thing you're doing, sitting me down and talking sense into my thick skull."

She placed her hands on mine. "You have spoken about what they would feel. Why not slow down, honor them. Live out the life the both of them would have wanted for you. You will see them both one day, but for right now, live with me and the children. We would like to see the you they have seen. Don't give us second best. I want the man I have fallen in love with, the man that I would battle Jarrod and Natasha 1,000 times just to get to this point. I have zero regrets of Jarrod because it led me to you."

I looked at her. "You all deserve better than this from me, Grace. You deserve my all and beyond that, I could never express in words the love I have for my family. I just fear that I'm going to lose you girls. I try not to, but I think of my life years ago. I just."

"Stop thinking, Leonard. We're not going anywhere. This is our time, this is our moment to be happy. Jarrod is no longer here, no one is out to get us. I promise." She stopped as the hostess set our food on the table and our coffee. "Would you bring us a plate of your best cheesecake? My husband and I are celebrating." I looked at Grace, who looked at the waitress, who smiled, nodding her head, dismissing herself to fetch the order.

"What are we celebrating?"

"Nothing. She was getting on my nerves. She hasn't taken her eyes off of you since we walked into the store. That doesn't sit well with me, I don't like her."

"Ah, you were jealous when there was no competition. That's sweet, I suppose. I've hardly looked at the girl all night. Go easy on her Grace, she's expecting." I took a drink of coffee with a sigh, "It's the flavored kind." I placed the coffee on the table, leaning back into my seat, looking at the sweets in front of me. "You're going to want me to eat this stuff, right?" I felt the churning in my stomach at the thought of eating these dishes. I sighed,

She looked at me. "Nah, I bought this for the girls. Charmaine asked for the cheesecake. I brought you here to settle whatever you had going on. Now that I have, the date will begin. Nicolae wanted to have a sleepover for Aria for her birthday, so the two of us will have the entire night to ourselves. I thought that the two of us could have a date night, go get some Italian food, and maybe spend the night watching movies. Just having some alone time."

"Sounds nice. Movies sound kind of interesting I suppose."

"You don't like movies?"

"I liked them somewhat until Riley and I watched a movie about sparkling vampires. I don't believe in the existence of vampires, but what knowledge I have heard from other people who are obsessed with them, they don't sparkle." I forced down another drink of coffee. "Of course. What do I know? I hate reading. I hate the world of the supernatural. I hate books. Maybe my knowledge of the undead is dead and out of date,"

She looked at me with a shrug. "That's the beautiful thing about the human imagination, correct or bogus. There is no limit to the imagination of a healthy imagination. I rather enjoy the folklore of vampires. It keeps my other career going so I can't say too much about hating something that I find interesting."

"Russian spies enjoy folklore? Now that's interesting."

"I don't know about Russian spies. I've never lived in Russia. My parents moved me here at a young age, so I know little about the nation. Ask my mother, she would have more insight on that than I can give."

She took a drink of coffee, forcing it down. "I think they gave me your coffee and gave you mine. This was awful. Little witch, what is she trying to do? Steal my husband and make me embarrass myself by puking. I can respect her for the attempt, but the husband's attempt, my respect has dropped to zero."

I chuckled as Grace, and I exchanged coffee's I took a drink. With a grin looking at Grace, who took a sip of her coffee with a smile.