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“You’re welcome. I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight.”
Lei’s smile spread as she nodded and hung her coat on the rack. “I always enjoy myself with you. Plus, you took me to my favorite sushi restaurant, so that’s always a win.”
Ace chuckled as he shook his head. If she could, Lei would eat sushi for every meal. “Are you going to work tomorrow?”
With a sigh, Lei rested against the wall table and curled her aching toes. The red bottom heels were gorgeous but painful every time she had them on. She made the mental note to have her masseuse come by a few days early as she thought over her father’s question.
“I’m not sure. It’ll depend on if any of my clients made a last-minute appointment. If they didn’t, I’ll probably work from home. This case with Cade is going to drain me, I can feel it already. I need no distractions while I pile through all of this discovery and prepare.”
Ace’s expression turned serious. Though her parents were millionaires and had quickly made her one too, Lei still worked to keep herself busy. She loved being a defense attorney, fighting for people and giving them a voice. Now that she’d found hers, Lei refused toeverbe silenced. The only thing she didn’t like about her job was the cases that forced her to go against Cade. He was a no-nonsense prosecutor who had a 96 percent success rate. Every case she’d had against him so far was either a mistrial or she lost, but Lei was determined to win this time around.
“I never want your job to come between you and your brother. Enough time has passed with you not being in each other’s lives. Don’t ever let a case take more of that away from you.”
“I won’t, Daddy. Cade and I agreed to never let what happens in the courtroom come between us personally. I’ll excuse myself from a case before I let that happen.”
“Good.” Ace placed a kiss on her forehead before heading for the front door. “Get some rest, Princess.”
“Yes, sir. Let me know when you make it home.”
“I will. I love you always.”
“I love you too.”
Lei pushed herself off the wall table to lock the door behind him. Even after a decade of being in Rose Valley Hills, there were still times she couldn’t believe how different her life was. How filled with love it had become. With all the love her true family and new friends showered her with, Lei still hadn’t worked up the courage to open herself up to romantic love again. Steven’s betrayal, though buried by the truth of her biological parents coming out, still scarred her and made Lei never want to give a man her heart again. No part of her desired love and marriage anymore, but she did want a baby.
No one knew, but having a baby was on the top of Lei’s to-do list. She wanted to find a sperm donor by her thirty-fifth birthday last year. A high-profile case halted any personal plans she had. Defending a well-known gang member hadn’t been in Lei’s plans, but when her father asked her to as a personal favor, she agreed. One of the perks of being one of the founding families of Rose Valley Hills and its secret society was having just about anyone at their disposal. With that perk came favors and responsibilities to people Ace otherwise wouldn’t deal with. There was such a high threat level throughout the trial that Ace insisted Leigh have personal security twenty-four seven. In that moment, the last thing she wanted to do was carry a child and worry about their life and her own.
This year, Lei was determined to return her priority to her personal life. For years, she’d excelled in her career and prioritized making memories with her family. Now, it was about what she wanted, and Lei wanted to be pregnant by the end of the year.
After locking up behind her father, Lei grabbed her phone out of her clutch and headed toward the stairway. As she walked, her steps were halted by the sight of Jennifer’s missed call and text message. Normally, she communicated with one or the other, so it alarmed Lei to see that she’d done both. Quickly making her way up the stairs and into the bedroom she’d converted into a closet, Lei emptied her clutch and placed it back on its shelf on the wall. She went into her bedroom as she returned Jennifer’s call, and she answered after the third ring.
“Hey, thanks for calling back tonight.”
“It’s fine. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m good. I didn’t mean to alarm you. I was just hoping we could talk tonight because I need to get the invitations sent out tomorrow morning.”
“Invitations?” Lei repeated, sitting on the cream couch in front of her king-sized bed.
“Yeah. I’m… getting married. I need your address to give to the planner. She’s sending the invitations out in the morning.”
“Oh. Okay. Um… congratulations.”
“Thank you. I was also wondering if you’d like to be in my bridal party. I know that’s a big ask, but I just… wanted to include you somehow if possible. It would be naïve of me to think us talking throughout the years means things are one hundred percent good between us, but I at least had to try.”
“I appreciate the invitation, but I would have to think about that, Jennifer. We talk, but we haven’t seen each other in ten years, and I… I kind of like it that way. I’m not sure how I would feel seeing you after…”
“Yeah, no.” Jennifer chuckled, a bad habit she’d been doing for as long as Lei could remember when she was nervous or frustrated. “Of course. I get it. If you don’t want to come, I understand. And if you want to come and not be involved, I understand that too. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
With a sigh, Lei looked up and focused on the crystal chandelier that hung above her bed. Conversing with Jennifer because of their history was one thing, but returning to Memphis and facing her was a whole other beast. Had she been too lenient with Jennifer? Did she handle her with too much grace? What could have possibly made Jennifer think Lei would be involved in her wedding, as if she hadn’t mistreated her out of resentment after allowing Marcus to bring a kidnapped child into their home? True, Lei saw firsthand the power her family had on both sides, but still. She couldn’t understand how much fear Jennifer had to have in her heart to go along with something like that.
“Can I get back to you on this, Jennifer?”
“Yes, and I promise I’ll understand no matter what you decide.”
With a nod, Lei stood. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll talk to you later.”
“All right. Have a good night.”
