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“They almost killed you.” She howls into my chest, sobbing.
My arms wrap around her on instinct. One hand pressed against her back, the other strokes her hair as I press my lips against the crown of her head. “This is why I didn’t tell you, Princess. I didn’t want to frighten you. But I woke up and I’m okay.”
“What if you hadn’t? They’d have switched off the machines and you would have died.”
“Oh, Stephi…”
But the argument dies on my lips. Stephi doesn’t want to hear a softly spoken speech about what ifs. She doesn’t need to hear any wise words about not allowing things that haven't happened to affect her life. She’s a kid. And she’s frightened. She needs to hear something much more important than everything is all right.
“I love you too, Stephi.”
Stephi’s shoulders shake beneath my hold. She stutters as she speaks. “You… you have to c-come back to LA. He kn-nows.” She cries. “Ryder told him... and... he...he...”
A shadow moves out in the hallway. My gaze lifts from Stephi to the open doorway as Sean fills the frame. He’s holding the drinks that Ryder was supposed to bring back with him. So I guess Ryder knows he’s here and has made himself scarce.
Sean’s momentary stunned expression says more than words never could. Finding Stephi crying in my arms is the last thing he expected to find. But then his gaze takes in the length of me and his shock is gone, replaced only by guilt and shame.
“He didn’t do anything wrong!” Stephi sobs. “He didn’t know!”
“Shush,” I sooth, continuing to brush a hand over her hair. I wait until Sean’s gaze meets mine before I add. “I know he didn’t know. I’m not going to hold that against him. But you’re just going to have to remind him that if he didn’t know he couldn’t do anything about it.”
“He promised me, so he can’t come to New York for you.” Stephi sobs harder. “I’m starting school at Jordan Academy. So you have to come back to LA for him. You have to come back into his life and then he will keep his promise.”
“What is she talking about?”
“She’s fifteen and she gets it,” Sean whispers. “Why don’t you?” He steps over the threshold and places the drinks on the nearest surface as he moves toward me. “Falling off a cliff wasn’t enough drama for you, was it?” He traces my perfectly straight nose. “You had to have all this other life-threatening stuff, too.” The same finger tucks under my chin and lifts my face to his. “So why haven’t you figured out life’s too short for this shit yet?”
“Oh, I know it is,” I reply firmly. “Every minute is so very precious.” I lift my hand to his cheek. “Why do you think you haven’t received any divorce papers from me?” Tears fill my eyes. “I can’t bring myself to sign them. I know I should. I know we should end this cycle. But… she did this to us. She knew about us and she deliberately didn’t tell you what had happened to me.” I blink and the tears spill. “I wish I’d never left New York. We could’ve been—”
“We wouldn’t have been.” Sean shakes his head. “The guilt would have eaten you alive. You’d have always wondered if you could have done more for Mimi. Protecting the ones you love is who you are and what you do.”
“But what about me?” The words come out on a shuddered sigh. “Don’t I get to be happy?”
“There’s another way to end the cycle, Sparkle,” Sean whispers. “I know you don’t trust me. You can’t.”
“There’s a difference between trust and faith. I trust you. I don’t have faith in you.”
“I didn’t know I had trust issues until your sister exploited them,” He admits. “She turned me against you so easily. But I will do anything to stop you from sending those divorce papers, Ashleigh. Counseling. Dating. Starting again. We can figure this out.”
“Please be my stepmom, Ashleigh?” Stephi’s grip tightens as she puts her head back on my shoulder. “Don’t leave us again.”
My arm tightens around her as I look at Sean. “I think your daughter just proposed to me.”
“Oh, she did more than that.” He chuckles. “She just announced to the world that we’re married and told the paparazzi to fuck off.”
Oh my God, I love that!
“Princess, as much as I love you, I’d like it if you’d let me go now.” Stephi looks up, wounded. “Unless you’d prefer that I make out with your Dad with you in the middle.”
“Ew gross!” The death grip disappears as Stephi leapt back. “You’re going to make out, like, all the time, aren’t you? And that means...” She shudders. “You’re going to have babies, which is totally neat, but... ew!”
“Stephi!” I laughs, “Why don’t you go find Ryder for me? He went to the bakery.”
“Yes, absolutely. Thank God!” She spins on her heel and marches toward the door and stops before turning to Ashleigh. “How’s my makeup?”
It’s a little smudged around the eyes, but the waterproof mascara has held. She looks good for a kid who’d spent who knows how long crying. “Flawless.”
“Oh no, young lady!” Sean glares at Stephi. “You’re grounded. And you need to stay away from reporters. Go watch something on TV while Ashleigh and I talk.” She lowers her head at the scolding but Sean’s attention has moved on to me. “And you! You’ve been her stepmom for five minutes and you’ve turned her into a Valentina already!”
