Johnson Family 1: Unforgettable (3 page)

No surprise that Cyrus questioned her. His attention to detail was impeccable.

“I guess you could say he’s someone from my past.” She kept her voice emotionless so as not to alert her perceptive brother.

“I saw him checking you out earlier.”

Her heart jumped. “You did?”

“He was watching you from the bar over there.” He motioned with his chin.

“Stop frowning,” she said. She wrapped her arm around his.

He wore a permanent scowl on his face. He’d taken on the responsibility of running the family business at a young age, and he took it way too seriously. A health nut and a teetotaler, Cyrus was the only one in the family who didn’t drink beer, something few people outside of the family knew. He brought a glass of organic white grape juice to his lips and took a sip.

“If you keep that look on your face, people are going to think you’re not having a good time,” Ivy told him.

“I’m not.”

She smiled, amused at his candor. Cyrus was too tactful to be so blunt when speaking to anyone else. He’d only admit something like that to her or Trenton. Speaking of which…

“Where’s Trent?” She scanned the room for their younger brother.

“Probably in a closet somewhere,” Cyrus said dryly.

“You’re never going to let him forget that, are you?”

Several months ago Trenton had been caught with a server in a closet at a charity function. To keep the incident quiet, Cyrus had donated another $75,000 to the cause, doubling their original donation.

Her brother grunted. “If he spent half as much time working as he does chasing women…”

“Now you really sound like Number One,” Ivy teased.

She and Trenton fondly called Cyrus Mr. Johnson Number Two. Their father had passed away years ago, and it had taken a long time for them to get to the point where it was no longer painful to discuss him openly.

He grunted again.

“Trent does a good job and you know it,” Ivy chided, squeezing his arm.

“Think of how much more of a good job he’d do if he focused on work instead of sexual escapades.”

She tended to agree with Cyrus but wouldn’t admit it. Trenton was the youngest of her brothers, and while it was true he still had some growing up to do, she looked the other way at his behavior because of what he’d been through as a child.

“I’m going to head up to my condo,” Ivy said. “Do you think it would be rude of me to leave right now?”

“Who in their right mind would question you?” A healthy dose of arrogance filled Cyrus’s voice. He had a point. This was their event, their year.

“I’ll say good-bye to a few people and then head up. Goodnight.”

He nodded absentmindedly and had barely taken two steps when a guest nabbed him in conversation.

****

Ivy didn’t see Lucas again, and she assumed he’d left after she’d escaped from him. She said her good-byes, left the ballroom and took the elevator up to the private residences of the hotel. At her condo she opened the door and almost immediately the sound of little slippered feet pounding on the hardwood met her ears.

“Mommy!”

Her daughter, Katie, appeared in a blur of pink and flung herself at her, wrapping her arms around Ivy’s waist. She was eight years old but often mistaken for younger, her small size an oddity considering she had height on both sides of the gene pool.

Her daughter would likely go through a growth spurt, the same as she had done in middle school, when she’d shot up taller than most of the boys in her class and morphed into all arms and legs. She looked back on those years not-so-fondly and called them the Awkward Years.

She glanced down into her daughter’s bespectacled face. “You’re supposed to be asleep, young lady.” She cupped Katie’s chin.

Janelle, the babysitter, came rushing up. “I’m sorry, Ms. Johnson. I couldn’t get her to go to sleep. She kept saying you should have been home by now and wouldn’t go to bed until you did.”

Janelle had been babysitting for Ivy the past few months. Ivy had found her through a childcare service, Nanny Services on Call, after the woman she’d been using for several years moved away. Janelle was younger, but she came highly recommended and passed all the usual background checks. Her fondness for Katie and dedication to the job were unquestionable.

“I stayed a little longer at the party than planned. Without Mother there, it was important we have a solid presence. I left Cyrus in charge now that things are dying down.” Ivy pulled cash out of her purse and handed the young woman a few bills.

Janelle refused to take the money. “Ms. Johnson, you don’t have to do that.”

Ivy paid the service directly, but every now and again she gave Janelle a little something extra. “I insist. I want you to get that car you’ve been saving for.” She grasped Janelle’s hand and squeezed the money into it.

“Thank you so much, ma’am.” Janelle smiled down at Katie. “Bye, munchkin.”

“See, I told you she wouldn’t be mad,” Katie said.

“I’m not happy about you being up so late,” Ivy said, “but I’ll deal with you after Janelle leaves.”

“Aww. I was just worried, Mommy. I wanted to make sure you came home safe and sound.”

Every so often Katie made those types of remarks. It stemmed from the fact that Ivy’s husband, Winston, had left one night and never come home. For a long time afterward, Katie had been inconsolable and clingy when it came to being separated from her mother. After Winston’s death, the grave expression on her daughter’s face had been heartbreaking. Better to see her in this state—happy, impish, the way an eight-year-old should be.

“Off you go. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Katie scurried to her room, her cat slippers making slapping sounds on the oak floors extending throughout their home. Ivy said goodnight to the babysitter and turned out the lights before going down the hall. She’d moved into the two-bedroom condo after her husband passed away. The back half contained the bedrooms, a home office, and a media room that separated her bedroom from her daughter’s.

She and Winston had owned a six bedroom house, but after his death, the house had felt too large and empty. Her condo was not small by any means, however. At over four thousand square feet, the dwelling provided more than enough room for her and Katie, while giving the feel of a smaller, more intimate dwelling. The spacious living room/dining room area contained giant windows that gave an impressive view of Elliott Bay with commercial buildings in the foreground and the mountains in the background. From her bedroom she could step onto the terrace to admire the view there too, but it wasn’t necessary. More than half of the bedroom’s walls were floor to ceiling glass and provided a breathtaking panorama of the sun setting over the bay in the afternoons.

She’d grown to love living within the city limits for its convenience. She was close to work and within walking distance of Pike Place Market, where she and the other locals would go early in the morning to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and deli items before the tourists showed up to explore and videotape the singing fish throwers. The Seattle Art Museum was another favorite haunt within walking distance, and when the weather was nice she and Katie went on outings at nearby Waterfront Park.

Moments later, Ivy sat on the edge of her daughter’s bed, maneuvering through a negotiation about a sleepover.

“But
Mommy
, all of my friends are going.”

Ivy did her best to ignore the plaintive wail of Katie’s voice and the frown on her face. “You’re too young for a sleepover,” she said. She tucked the blanket securely around her daughter’s small body.

“I’ll be the only one who can’t go.” Katie pushed her glasses up her nose and pouted.

Ivy leaned over her on one arm. “You’re too young.”

Behind her glasses, Katie’s eyes turned glassy and her lower lip trembled.

Ivy sighed, and sensing she was weakening, Katie went in for the kill. “
Please
, Mommy.”

“Let me think about it.”

Katie squealed and clapped her hands rapidly. “Yes!”

“I didn’t say you could. I said I would think about it.”

Ivy shot her a look, but they both knew her scowl didn’t mean anything. It was a wonder her daughter wasn’t spoiled. By all rights she should be a brat, with her mother being such a softie, her doting uncles and an indulgent grandmother, but she wasn’t. No matter what, her daughter maintained a sweet disposition.

“Okay, I’ll let you think about it,” Katie agreed quickly. She clamped her mouth shut, clearly not wanting to mess up her chances.

Ivy cupped Katie’s chin and looked down into the familiarity of those dark brown eyes bordered by thick, curled lashes on the top and bottom. Was she being overprotective? She brushed aside the thought. Children grew up so fast. Before long, Katie would be dating and giving her hell.

“You know I’m not doing this to be mean, but you’re my baby and I need to make sure you’re okay.”

“I know, but I’m almost a preteen. You don’t have to worry so much, and I know a lot.”

“You don’t know as much as you think you do, munchkin.”

“You worry too much, Mommy.” Sometimes she sounded so mature for her age.

“I’m your mother, and I could never worry enough, believe me.” Ivy smiled. “You ready for our lunch tomorrow?” It was the last day she could fit in lunch with her daughter before school started the following week.

“Yes!” Katie’s face lit up.

Ivy removed her daughter’s glasses and placed them on the bedside table. She tapped her own cheek. “Give me a kiss.”

Katie planted a wet one on her skin and then rolled over onto her side. “G’night.”

Ivy sat there for a little longer and looked at her, her heart cheerful and sad at the same time. Her daughter was a blessing, but also a constant reminder of what she’d lost.

Right now she looked forward to a restful sleep that hopefully wouldn’t include too many dreams of Lucas. She didn’t want to think about him, but knew she would once she was alone with her thoughts.

“Good night,” she said finally. She leaned down and kissed her daughter’s soft cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Katie mumbled, her voice already drowsy.

Ivy exited quietly and went to her own bedroom to undress. Seeing Lucas had her wired, and she needed to calm down. She pulled a silk kimono over her cami and matching shorts and walked back down the hallway. She peeked in on Katie and then moved to the kitchen, her tread quiet in a pair of thick socks.

Inside the pantry, she used the stepstool to reach behind the canned and boxed food to her secret stash of chocolate bars. They weren’t just comfort food; she was addicted to the sweets, and tonight she needed their soothing creaminess.

She poured a healthy dose of wine into a long-stemmed glass and walked over to the window in the living room. Most of the time she kept the motorized shades up so she could enjoy the view any time of the day and night.

She sipped the rosé and bit into the candy, but the flavors didn’t generate the pleasure they usually did. She found little comfort in her late night indulgence, her mind unsettled because she continued to think about Lucas.

The first time she’d seen him he’d flirted with her and her friends, and his sense of humor had piqued her interest. During the course of the meal at the restaurant where he’d worked, she’d caught him looking at her several times, and not in the way a server paid attention to a customer. He’d been interested right from the start, the same way she had been.

She’d paid the tab for the meal, and on the way to the car with her friends, she’d heard her name being called.

“Ms. Johnson! You forgot something.” She’d turned and it was him, and when he caught up with them he handed her a folded piece of paper. With a sexy smile that had turned her insides mushy, he’d said, “You forgot my number. Call me,” and hurried back inside.

Ivy smiled to herself, remembering his words when she finally called.

“Do you have a habit of picking up waiters in restaurants where you dine?” he’d asked.

“Yes. I have one in every city.”

His amused laugh came right away. They’d made a date for when he left work the next day, and so had begun her summer romance with Lucas Baylor.

Ivy sat down on one of two sofas and picked up her electronic tablet from the table beside it. She swiped the screen and did what she’d avoided doing over the years. She did a search for Lucas and found his website.

On the home page she saw his book prominently displayed,
The Rules of Man
, dubbed the relationship handbook for the modern woman. She read the blurb and then continued to explore the site. In the bio section he gave a quick summary of his educational background and his current life.

He was an adjunct professor of creative writing at Mercer University’s Atlanta campus and wrote a weekly blog. She was surprised to learn that he’d spent three years teaching English in South Korea instead of the one-year assignment he’d initially signed up for. He must have loved it there. His author website didn’t mention whether or not he was married, but she hadn’t seen a ring on his finger.