Key To My Heart (Love Conquers All) (5 page)

Sitting up, Starr faced Kevin. “Oh, baby, she didn’t mean it.” After letting out a deep breath, she said, “You’re not going to believe this.” She then proceeded to tell Kevin what Ava had shared with her only hours before.

Once Starr was finished, Kevin said, “Baby, that’s messed up. Is she all right?”

Leaning in, Starr kissed Kevin. “See, that’s why I love you so much.” After letting out a soft sigh against his lips, she said, “Kev, I really don’t know. She’s up to something, though, I can feel it.”

Tugging his wife onto his lap, Kevin kissed her deeply until she was breathless. Breaking the kiss, he said, “Baby, I know you’re going to be there for her. I want you to be there for Ava. You just make sure
you
stay out of trouble,” Kevin warned as his hands slid up her back, unhooking her bra with a flick of his wrist. Kissing the side of her face, Kevin gently pulled her earlobe between his teeth as he whispered, “I know how y’all like to roll gangsta style.”

Starr let out a sultry giggle. “OK,” she purred, arching her back as Kevin’s hand eased around to her breast, teasing a nipple into a turgid pout. Now was definitely not the time to tell her husband that if need be she would get in a world of trouble for her friend.

eee

Summer lay sated in Nick’s arms after being made love to quite thoroughly. Lightly stroking his chest, she whispered, “Nick?”

“Yeah, baby.”

“Do you think that detective guy you use can help Ava find her daughter?”

Nick chuckled. “Baby, Bass can find the proverbial needle in a haystack.”

Propping herself up on her elbow, Summer gazed down at Nick. “Can you talk to him, see if he’ll be willing to take the case if Ava wants his help?”

Oh, man. Why did she have to look at him like that? Eyes seductively at half mast, kiss-swollen lips slightly parted, and her nude breasts rising and falling with each breath she took—she knew he’d give her the world when she looked at him like that.

A sexy, wicked grin danced across Nick’s full lips. “It’s going to cost you,” he drawled, his voice deep and dangerously sexy.

“I knew it would,” Summer cooed, straddling her husband.

God, please bring me a mommy to love me.
Langston shifted in bed, trying to find a comfortable position as sleep eluded him. This was madness. During the day, the daily operations of managing the family’s firm occupied his mind, but at night his mind was haunted by the prayer of a little girl—his little girl.

Every night for over a week now, since the last incident with Beatrice, Zoe’s prayers had ended the same way. She wanted a mother to love her. During all her short years on this earth, Langston had given her the best of everything. Whether it was the private education that cost more than some folks’ yearly salaries, the clothes she wore from the most expensive children’s boutiques, or the ton of toys that had their own room on the third floor, she had the best. As far as Langston was concerned, Zoe was his little princess and deserved nothing less. But although he had provided her with the best money could buy, she still wasn’t satisfied. Zoe was asking for something, rather someone, he couldn’t deliver. And this caused him great pain.

Sitting up, Langston threw the covers back as he swung his pajama-clad legs over the side of the bed. With a large hand he swiped at the weariness on his face. What was he going to do? His little Love Bug was miserable. No longer did his goofy faces or wiggling eyebrows send her into fits of giggles. Now all she would offer up to Langston was a weak smile that didn’t quite reach her once sparkly dark eyes. Seeing his once vibrant daughter beginning to wither away like a slowly dying rose petal was like a tight vise gripping his heart. Her light was slowly being extinguished.

Eyes adjusting to the dark, Langston made his way down the hall to Zoe’s room. A sad smile curved his full lips as he leaned against the doorjamb. All bundled up under the pink comforter that matched her princess-themed room, she reminded him of when she was an infant. Having never taken care of a baby, Langston had awkwardly wrapped Zoe in layers and layers of blankets. He finally realized all the covering was overbearing when the poor little thing would cry, kick, and squirm to be free.

He loved his daughter with all his heart. Every action he contemplated, in his personal or professional life, Zoe was always his number one priority. Women were never pranced around her. His dealings with the opposite sex were always discreet and only served the purpose of female companionship and satisfaction of his carnal cravings. Having Zoe become emotionally attached to a casual fling was absolutely out of the question. Therefore, she had never been exposed to any of his lady friends.

His out-of-town business had been drastically cut to almost non-existent since he’d learned of Beatrice’s abuse. The only time he traveled was if Zoe’s school schedule allowed it, so that she could accompany him, along with Charles, who looked after her during the day. Otherwise, any traveling that needed to be done on behalf of the firm was deferred to one of the other attorneys.

In spite of giving himself and giving his all, he still wasn’t enough. Zoe wanted a mother. She needed a mother.

Pushing himself away from the doorjamb, Langston quietly made his way over to Zoe’s bed. Leaning down, he gently placed a kiss on her forehead. “Love Bug, if you want a mommy, I’ll get you a mommy.”

With this whispered promise, he immediately thought of Ava. The vise that had begun to squeeze his heart earlier tightened its grip, this time twisting and pulling.

Standing to his full height, Langston made his way back to his bedroom. Sitting on the side of the bed, he rested his elbows on his knees. Head hanging low, he wondered,
Where in the world am I going to get a mother?

eee

The swooshing sound of the closing elevator doors caused Ava to take a deep breath as the car began to ascend. Blowing out the nervous breath she’d just inhaled, she worried that she hadn’t been as strategic as she thought. What if he wasn’t in the office? What if he fussed to see her?

Ava shook the absurd notion from her mind. Oh, he was going to see her . . . today. She had questions for Mr. Big Shot Attorney, and he was going to give her some answers…today.

A thousand times she wished she hadn’t seen him on campus that late summer day. A thousand times she wished she had walked on by and kept it moving. However, just her luck she was the out-of-town freshman who didn’t have a clue as to the quickest way to get to Douglas Hall. With only three minutes to spare before class started, she needed someone to show her a direct route to the building.

Roster in one hand, books in the other, Ava’s brown eyes searched the sea of students. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she thought, I should have left with Tammy. Now she was going to be late for her first class.

Although she was only about two hundred miles from home, Ava was feeling homesick. Needing to hear a familiar voice, she had stayed behind to call her mother before running off to her afternoon English class. She told Tammy to go on without her, assuring her roommate that she would find her way.

But now it seemed that everyone on campus was paired off as a couple or in small groups, engaged in deep conversation and oblivious to her lone presence. As she was about to approach a cluster of laughing students, Ava spotted a familiar face.

Relief washed over her. It was the guy who did the campus tour last fall when she and her parents came down to the university for open house. What was his name—Larry, Lewis, Leroy? She couldn’t remember. All she knew was that it started with an L.

Ava picked up her pace. She was sure he’d be able to help her since he knew the campus inside and out. Just as she was within thirty yards, he shook some guy’s hand he’d been talking to and had began to walk away.

“Hey! You in the blue shirt! Wait a minute!”

Taking off his reading glasses, Langston rubbed his weary, tired eyes.
I’m so tired. I have got to get some sleep before I drop dead.

Throwing the brief he’d been reviewing to the side, Langston leaned back in the soft leather chair and closed his eyes. His life was spinning out of control, and he had no idea how to bring it back into submission. This morning Zoe had wanted to know why all her friends at school had a mommy and she didn’t.

Langston had answered the wide-eyed seven-year-old as honestly as he could. He’d explained that she did have a mommy like her other friends. He told her everyone had a mommy. When the child became persistent, asking, “Then why doesn’t my mommy live with us?” lack of sleep and being unprepared for the child’s very valid questions caused Langston to lash out in frustration.

“Because she doesn’t!” he yelled. “Now hurry up and eat before you’re late for school!”

Now he had a massive headache, and no amount of massaging was going to make it go away. Behind closed lids he could still visualize Zoe’s bottom lip trembling as she said, “OK, Daddy,” before sliding off the kitchen chair to gather her books and school supplies.

This was his fault. If he had listened to his father years ago and married while Zoe was a toddler, he wouldn’t have this problem. Zoe would have a mother and she wouldn’t be asking him such difficult questions, questions he couldn’t answer while looking in her innocent eyes. How could he tell his baby girl that he’d destroyed her mother, that he had crushed her spirit, leaving her a broken vessel?

Bile rose up in his throat from self loathing. Yeah, he was young, fresh out of law school, and wanting to please his parents. Yes, he was a Warrington and he had a reputation to uphold. But he should have been a man. He should have never turned his back on Ava. He should have never abandoned her or his love for her. He clearly remembered their first meeting, even after all these years.

eee

Langston turned, certain the feminine voice was calling him. His heart skipped a bit as the pretty, fair skinned student took quick steps in his direction. Mesmerized, his eyes locked in on her average height and slender, but curvy frame, committing everything about her to memory. From the way her naturally dark, curly locks bounced around her shoulders to the way her hips gracefully swayed from side to side and the way her brown eyes sparkled, he locked it all into his memory bank.

Coming to stop a few feet in front of him, she smiled. “Hi, I remember you from open house. You were my group’s tour guide. Lewis? Right?”

Langston chuckled. “No. It’s Langston. And you are?”

Ava turned a shade of bright pink from embarrassment. “Sorry, I’m Ava. I was wondering if you could show me the quickest way to get to Douglas Hall?”

“Sure. I’m actually headed that way.”

“Thanks. I’m still trying to find my way around. I don’t want to be late for my first English class.”

Raising his wrist, he looked at his watch. It was three minutes after one. “Who’s your instructor?”

Holding up her roster, Ava scanned her class schedule. “It says a Professor Harris.”

“Come on,” Langston said, gently grabbing Ava by the elbow. “You better hurry. Harris is one mean old bastard. He’ll probably give the class an extra assignment because you’re late.”

“What!” Ava yelped, not believing a professor would do such a thing, at least not on the very first day of class.

“Uh-huh, so move it,” he said, urging her to pick up her pace to a slight jog.

After dropping her off at class, Langston hung around until he spotted Ava coming out of the building. He wanted to help the new freshman navigate the campus and to hip her to the professors, who, if she didn’t watch her step, could make her life a living nightmare. His attentiveness couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that he was totally smitten with the eighteen-year-old, or so he told himself.

From that day forward Langston made it his mission to befriend Ava. Although he was smitten with her, he initially kept his feelings to himself. He seriously doubted if she would be interested. He never thought of himself as handsome. Girls like Ava never gave him a second thought. Growing up he’d always been teased because of his complexion. Tar baby, black boy, midnight, and blacky were some of the cruel names he’d been called. Even when he outgrew that lanky, awkward, geeky stage and morphed into six feet two and 195 pounds of solid muscle, girls still never gave him the time of day. The only ones who showed him any hint of interest were those his mother attempted to fix him up with. She was obsessed with her son marrying into a cultured family.

And the young women’s parents weren’t much better than his mother. Many of them were eager and ready to give their blessings to a union between Langston and their daughters. His being the sole heir to the Warrington fortune and one day running the law firm that had been in his family for five generations was well worth forcing the coupling if need be. This became painfully evident one evening at a dinner party his parents hosted.

Langston and his frat brother, Jeremy, had helped themselves to six bottles of liquor from his dad’s bar. As they made their way down the hallway, their destination the back door, they heard voices coming from the library. Not wanting to get caught red handed, Langston and Jeremy quickened their steps. They’d promised the other frat brothers that they’d supply the booze for their party tomorrow night. Unfortunately Langston heard his name just as he was passing the library, which caused him to stop walking.