Love After War (24 page)

She inhaled sharply and texted the address to Adrian and entered the subway station. To her surprise and happiness, the train was on time and not as packed as she had expected it to be.

“Thank God for small miracles,” she whispered as she took an empty seat and stuck her earbuds in her ears. As she rocked out to The Roots' latest, she nearly missed her stop. When Dana arrived at the doctor's office, Adrian was standing outside waiting for her.

“I'm going to need you to stop taking the subway as your main mode of transportation.”

“Is that an endorsement for my motorcycle?” she asked with a wide grin.

“Absolutely not!” Adrian nearly shouted. “We're going to have to get a minivan or—”

“Now, I'm not going to drive a minivan—ever!”

Adrian drew her into his arms. “Where are we going to put the other five kids if we don't get a van or at the least an SUV?”

“Carbon footprint,” she said. “Wait a minute, did you say other five kids?”

“Yes, I want a big family. So big we're going to have to move out of the city and get a ranch.”

“I'd like to see that, you living on a ranch and me pushing out six babies,” Dana said. She stroked Adrian's cheek. “Are you all right?”

He shrugged. “I'm fine, I guess.”

“Were you able to talk to him before he . . . you know?”

Adrian nodded but left out the part about his brother coming into the room and starting an argument with him moments before Elliot died. “I don't have all the answers and I doubt I will ever get them. But I've made my peace with that. Maybe my mother had the right idea.”

“Which was?”

“Getting to know the family,” he said. “I wish I hadn't immediately jumped on my father's case and not started this war that no one would ever win.”

Dana stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Now you can focus on the love instead of the war.” She placed his hand on her stomach. “It starts here.”

Adrian rubbed her belly. “That's right,” he said.

“Let's get inside and find out when this bundle of joy will bless us with his presence.”

“Her presence. This baby is your karma and she's going to be the prettiest little girl you've ever seen.”

“Of course, look at her mother,” Adrian said with a wink. Once they entered the doctor's office, they didn't have a long wait to see Dr. Angela Kendall.

She confirmed the home pregnancy test result after taking a blood sample from Dana. Adrian felt as if he could fly when the doctor gave them the results. Smiling, he turned to Dr. Kendall and said, “I have a question.”

Dana rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where he was going with this.

“Okay, what is it?” the doctor asked.

“A pregnant woman shouldn't ride a motorcycle, right?”

“Lord,” Dana groaned. “Can we please settle this now because I don't want to keep hearing about this.”

Dr. Kendall looked from Dana to Adrian. “So, Dana, you're the rider?”

“Yes.”

“It's dangerous for the baby, right? Because she said if you told her it was, she'd give up the bike.”

“Well,” Dr. Kendall began. “Dana is in great shape. I'm sure she's a safe rider. While there isn't an immediate danger to the baby and Dana could ride the bike until she stops feeling comfortable, I don't recommend that be your main mode of transportation. The jarring motion of the motorcycle could cause discomfort for you.” Dr. Kendall folded her hands underneath her chin. “I'm guessing that Daddy doesn't want you to ride, period.”

“That would be correct,” Adrian said.

“Well, this is going to be an argument you two will have to solve on your own.”

“And,” Dana said, “please tell him that a sports car is not a safer alternative.”

Dr. Kendall threw her hands up. “I get the feeling that this was going on way before you guys started a family.”

The couple nodded and Dr. Kendall laughed. “Soon enough, the baby will make the decision about the motorcycle and the sports car.”

Dana rolled her eyes at Adrian as if she were telling him that she told him so. “Don't worry, Doc, I'm not going to do anything to put my baby in danger. And if I have to give up the motorcycle—for a while—then I will.”

“We'll work on making that a forever thing,” Adrian said with a laugh.

Dana nudged him in his side. “Whatever.”

“I'm going to leave you two alone with this argument. I will say this—there aren't baby seats for Harleys. And I know I'd have a hard time giving mine up.”

Adrian shook his head and as he and Dana left the office, he turned to her with a grin. “You would pick a doctor who shared your inane love of motorcycles.”

“I didn't even know she had a motorcycle. Honest!”

“And you have a bridge in Brooklyn you want to sell me as well, huh?”

“No, but we do have to get something to eat.”

“Well, we've been invited to dinner,” he said.

“Really?”

Adrian nodded. “Solomon and I are trying to see how this being brothers thing works.”

Dana hugged him tightly. “I'm really proud of you for doing this.”

“I never turn down free food,” he joked. “Let's get a cab. I will never get used to riding underground.”

Dana grinned and squeezed his hand. “Sounds like you plan on sticking around.”

“You know it.”

Later that evening, Dana and Adrian were walking into Solomon's penthouse on the Upper East Side. She watched him to see if he had a reaction to the luxurious life his brother was living. She saw none. Maybe he had changed. Maybe he was going to have a relationship with his brother. But Dana couldn't help wondering how he'd make things right with Richmond? After all, he had gotten the man arrested and possibly cost him his marriage. Pressing the doorbell, Adrian kissed Dana's cheek.

“I'm pretty sure there won't be any hot dogs on the menu,” he said.

“What a pity,” she replied as the door opened and Kandace greeted them.

“Hi,” she said. “And what's a pity?”

Adrian tossed his thumb at Dana. “She's a hot dog addict.”

“Show me a New Yorker who isn't,” she replied as she ushered the couple inside. Dana smiled at Kandace and complimented her on what a lovely home she had. Kandace leaned in to her and whispered, “The Southerner in me needs a yard.”

“I bet you do,” she said. “But you couldn't imagine living outside of the city, huh?”

“I wouldn't go that far.” Kandace nodded toward Kiana, who was crawling around on the floor. “She needs a swing set.”

Dana instinctively touched her stomach. Kandace smiled. “Are you?”

Dana nodded. “The doctor confirmed it today. I'm six weeks.”

“Oh, I'm going to be an auntie,” Kandace said excitedly. “Now I will have a baby in New York to spoil.”

“At least part of the time,” Dana said as she watched Adrian and Solomon chat in a corner near the window overlooking the sparkling skyline of the city. “I don't think Adrian is going to become a full-time New Yorker.”

“I'm glad to see that he and Solomon are working out this thing between them and are trying to be a family.”

Dana nodded in agreement. “I'm sorry that it took Elliot's death for it to happen.”

The doorbell rang before Kandace could reply.

“I'll get it,” Solomon called out from across the room.

Kandace and Dana headed for the kitchen, where two caterers were about to send trays of appetizers and fresh fruit out into the main room. “I actually miss cooking,” Kandace said. “Well, honestly, I miss getting food from the restaurant in Charlotte. But I do have a surprise.” She crossed over to the refrigerator and pulled out a pink box. “Devon Harris shipped a cake from Paris.”

“You know Devon Harris? I had a chance to eat at his restaurant when I did that photo shoot in Paris.”

Kandace smiled. “Devon and I go way back. He designed the menu at Hometown Delights in Charlotte and he's Kiana's godfather.”

“Wow.”

“And,” Solomon said from the doorway, “he's the reason this woman was single and waiting for me to sweep her off her weary feet.”

Kandace rolled her eyes. “Don't believe him. And what are you doing in here?”

“Trying to figure out what's going on and give Richmond and Adrian a chance to talk.” Solomon crossed over to Kandace. “If Richmond was smart, he'd realize that Vivvy leaving him behind this is a blessing.”

“She left him?” Kandace asked, then brought her hand to her mouth.

Dana felt as if this was a conversation she shouldn't be privy to, but she didn't want to stroll into the living room and interrupt what she was sure had to be an explosive conversation.

Richmond paced back and forth in front of the window as Adrian stood in one spot. “You're a son of a bitch!” Richmond exploded.

“Yeah, I can be.”

“You ruined my life with that damned stunt of yours. If it wasn't for the hooker being honest . . . Why did you do it?”

“Honestly, I wanted you and Solomon to suffer. And I wanted the construction of the hotel to be stymied by controversy.”

“Why? Because of my father's actions? Like I had anything to do with that.”

“I was misguided and I was wrong. Maybe you can explain to your wife what—”

“She gone,” Richmond said, and dropped his head. “Before the news of my arrest was even public knowledge, she was gone.”

“I'm sorry that happened,” Adrian said. “I—”

“Can't really blame you for the loss of my marriage, but everything else I do hold you responsible for. The cost overrun on the construction of Crawford Towers and all the bad publicity, it's all your fault.”

“We've been over this. But look, we're family and we're all we have left. I want to make a serious effort to get to know you and Solomon. Especially since I'm about to start a family of my own. I don't want my child to grow up around the bitterness and the fighting.”

“And you think all is supposed to be forgiven because you said so?”

“No, but what other choice do we have? You already know I don't play fair. We can be enemies or we can learn how to be a family.”

“What about my wife? What about the family I lost behind your bull?”

“If you really love her and if she loves you, then she'll be back.”

Richmond walked over to the bar in the corner and poured himself a snifter full of scotch. “I wonder how Dad had two women, Solomon had so many and still found the one woman perfect for him, and I can't find someone to love me.”

Adrian glanced at Dana, Kandace, and Solomon as they headed toward them. “There's someone for everyone. Maybe your wife wasn't the right one for you.”

Richmond sighed as if he'd heard those things before. “Perhaps you're right,” he said, then downed the glass of whiskey.

“Everything all right in here?” Solomon asked. “I see we're drinking my good stuff.”

Richmond rolled his eyes and poured himself another healthy dose of liquor. “What are you going to do now that you're unemployed?” Richmond asked.

“File for unemployment,” he quipped.

“You need to rethink resigning,” Richmond said.

“We have to present a united front now that Dad's gone.”

“Maybe you ought to think about something more than work these days,” Solomon said.

Richmond folded his arms and Kandace pushed his glass out of his reach. “And what should I focus on? I don't have a wife. I don't have kids. All I have is Crawford Hotels, so what do I need to focus on?”

“Not this alcohol,” Kandace said. “Let's go sit down and eat.”

Dana crossed over to Adrian and whispered, “Did everything go all right?”

“As well as can be expected,” he said, then kissed her on the cheek. “He's mad.”

“He has every right to be,” Dana interjected.

Adrian agreed. “I know, but he needs to chill out. This could be a new start for all of us.”

Dana glanced over at Richmond, who was scowling as he took a seat at the dining room table. “I don't think he's going to be chilling out anytime soon. Adrian, you ruined his life. Do you know his wife left him?”

“Yeah, we were discussing it. But from what he was telling me, his marriage was at the end anyway.”

“Didn't mean you needed to help it along.”

He wrapped his arms around Dana's waist. “Let's eat and then you can show me why this is the city that never sleeps.”

“I like the sound of that.”

After a quiet—at least when it came to this crew—dinner, Richmond turned to Solomon and Adrian and said, “We should run Crawford Hotels together. We can keep the media out of our business, assure the stockholders that the company is in good hands, and—”

“I don't know a thing about the hotel business,” Adrian said before Solomon could reply. “And I have a business and a life in Los Angeles.”

Dana sipped her grape juice slowly. She wished Adrian would've immediately agreed to joining the company and move to New York. But he was right; he had a business to run in Los Angeles and moving away so quickly wasn't going to be easy.

“What about the life you're trying to have here?” Solomon asked. “Even though I didn't want this to be a business dinner, Richmond makes a good point about us putting together a united front.”

Kandace turned to Dana. “This is where we take our leave.”

“No, I want to finish my cake.”

Solomon turned to Dana. “I don't mean to put you in the middle,” he began.

“But you are,” Adrian said with a frown clouding his face.

“You did the same damned thing to us,” Richmond slurred.

Solomon nodded. “At least we're up front about it.”

“That hurts,” Adrian replied with a laugh.

“But it was warranted,” Kandace said as she returned to her seat and waved for one of the caterers. She whispered for him to bring cake slices and no knives.

“Listen,” Solomon said. “Lost, and I mean Lost, Angeles is a great city to visit. But who wants to raise a family in a world of distorted body images and fake skyscrapers.”

“Wow,” Dana whispered. “That was a low blow.”

“First of all,” Adrian said, “I don't live on a movie set, and secondly, my son isn't going to have to worry about that kind of stuff.”

“Son?” Solomon asked. “And you know this because ?”

“Because I had a talk with God,” Adrian replied.

Richmond groaned and reached for Kandace's full glass of wine. She snatched it away from him. “You're cut off,” she said as the caterer placed cake slices on the table.

“I asked God for a son too,” Solomon said, then nodded toward a portrait on the wall. “I was blessed with a little girl who will probably date men just like her dad.”

“Not on my watch,” Kandace said, and she and Dana broke out into laughter.

“Anyway,” Solomon said, turning his attention back to Dana. “You know you can't get good hot dogs on the left coast.”

“Please, don't remind me,” she said.

“Do I need to remind you about the last time you had a famous New York hot dog?” Adrian asked.

Richmond groaned again. “Either we're going to do it or we're not. Why do we have to beg him to be a part of the family?”

“I thought family was about more than a business,” Adrian said.

Richmond narrowed his eyes at Adrian. “What do you even know about family? You're the reason why we need to do damage control.”

“Richmond, calm down,” Solomon said.

“And you! You walked away from the company when Dad needed you and I guess you think that teaming up with this guy will give you an edge?”

“You're drunk and you're about to get punched in the face,” Solomon gritted. “And you brought this up.”

“I'm tired of being the odd man out,” he said. “Tired of being silly Richmond Crawford—who isn't really Elliot Crawford's son but cared about him a hell of a lot more than the two with his DNA.” Richmond pushed away from the table, leaving everyone with their mouths hanging wide open. He stumbled to the sofa and dropped down. Adrian and Solomon exchanged confused looks. Seconds later, they heard snoring coming from Richmond's direction.

“Was that the rambling of a drunk man or is he telling the truth?” Adrian asked.

Solomon shrugged. “Maybe he found out when he tested to see if he was a match for Dad's DNA. What a twisted family tree we have.”

Adrian dropped his head, not wanting to comment on Solomon's mother. Dana and Kandace sat in silence, watching as if they were viewing a big-screen movie.

“We're going to take off,” Adrian said after a few moments of an uncomfortable silence.

Dana rose to her feet and exchanged a hug with Kandace. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Anytime. Maybe we can do some shopping or something later this week,” Kandace said, then shrugged.

“Give me your number. I get the feeling we're going to have a lot to talk about.”

Kandace nodded and wrote her number down on a scrap of paper. “What are you all going to do about him?” Dana asked, nodding toward Richmond's sleeping form on the sofa.

“Sober him up and try to get him to realize that family is more than DNA.” Kandace shook her head. “I've never liked Vivian, but I feel like that man needs her right now.”

“Maybe not,” Dana said. “I don't know her, but maybe he needs a fresh start without her. Even though Adrian set it up, no happily married man would willingly sleep with a strange woman in the backseat of a car.”

“You do have a point there.” The women hugged again as Adrian approached them.

Once the couple made it outside, Adrian was still taken aback by the way dinner had turned out. Richmond wasn't his brother, Solomon wanted him to move to New York and be a part of a business he had no interest in, and he still had a wedding to plan.