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
Ken gave me a cheeky grin and held his hand out. Reluctantly, I handed him his snacks and shook my head. He was such a little planner. I glanced at Ellis, who was still smirking, a glow of fatherly pride in his eyes. "Could you try not to look so proud?" I grumbled at him. "I can't help it," Ellis said, chuckling. "Ken is very smart."The doorbell rang and I tuned out the sound, knowing the butler would take care of it. I went to the refrigerator to get Ken a glass of milk to go with his snacks. "As long as you aren't sick, you can drink your milk with your snacks," I said. I put the glass on the table and patted the chair. Ken climbed up and started munching. I heard a noise in the entry hall and creased my brow. The butler had raised his voice and I heard some of the maids murmuring. "What is going on?" I muttered. I stepped out the kitchen doorway so I could hear what was going on. The entry hall was too far for me to see, but I heard another female voice respond
When my mom got back from the hospital, I tearfully told her what happened while we packed our things. She didn't need any more stress. She wouldn't talk to me about Bethany or my father, and that told me just how upset she really was. I was trying to put on a brave face for Ken because I didn't want him to worry. Ellis called for a car to come pick us up. I rode in the back with Ken. "Mommy, are we homeless?" he asked, tugging at my sleeve. "Um…" I caught Ellis's eyes in the rearview mirror. "I don't want to be homeless. I don't want to live in a box and give away all my toys," he whined. "It won't come to that," I assured. I hugged him against me and held Ellis's eyes. He'd promised that my family wouldn't suffer and I believed him. But we didn't exactly own our own place anymore. Staying with Ellis wasn't the same as having a home of our own. "I promise, Ken, you won't have to get rid of any of your toys," Ellis promised. We pulled up in front of the fami