Page 73 of Jace
Nick does. I tell him everything.
He beams at Viv. “Well, I’mnotsaying that Jace has told us he wants you to be his queen, but if he had, we’re happy to help you. And regardless,” Nick explains, “our mom always helps a woman.”
A velvet voice calls, “If you’re going to praise me, say it to my face.”
An hour early, and clad in ivory Chanel, my mom walks in, and there goes Vivian, ducking under the sheets.
“Give me my grandbaby.” Mom comes up, pecking my cheek, stealing Zarina and her bottle from me. “And introduce me to your baby.”
“Mom, this is… uh…” I grin at the cute lump under the covers. “This is my half-naked baby, Vivian, hiding under the sheets, and she?—”
“I’m not hiding,” Vivian protests, sounding muffled and mortified. “I’m sorry, Ms. Faye, but I have better manners than to meet you in my birthday suit with my hair forty ways from Sunday. Please, forgive me.”
“Forgive what, dear?” Mom smiles at the spectacle. “That you clearly make my son happy, and it’s about damn time? Please, never be shy about a roll in the hay. It’s God’s gift to women for all the horse shit we put up with.”
The sheets shake. Vivian’s laughing, so I dive under, fetching her with a kiss. “Come on, Smokeshow. Show your sexy face. You need to meet my mom and your liberation.”
Viv emerges with me, smoothing her tousled hair and elegantly licking her thumb, using spit to wipe her smoky eyes.
“I like her,” Mom decrees.
“Right?” Nick nods, agreeing. “Jace is so smitten he even spent a chaste night with her in his arms, and?—”
I boom, “Can wenotdiscuss our no-sex sex life?”
“Well.” Vivian shrugs. “We did dosomethings, and?—”
“And we need to help you, dear.” Mom works her way around the room, pecking Nick’s cheek, then Zar’s, before she gracefully sits on Vivian’s side of the guest bed while feeding her granddaughter.
Mom admires my future queen. It’s as undeniable as the sunrise through the windows.
“I’m so sorry, Vivian. My son told me about your ex-husband’s crime.” The way my mom opens up to her puts a lump in my throat. “I know what it’s like to have your body and privacytaken, and I hope you know that you did nothing wrong. He’s the criminal. Your body is your property, and he had no right to take it, even a video. I know in a world like ours, it takes time to see it that way, but you will, and we’ll help.”
Vivian blinks back tears. “Thank you. I’m working on it, I promise.”
Damn, I love how sensitive she is.
Vivian lives with her tender heart open. It’s why she’s a natural photographer and the only woman I’ve opened up to. Growing up, I had all these emotions bottled up, but with Vivian, they’re safe. They’re seen. We share them.
I wrap my arm around her, murmuring into her strands. “And I’ll give you all the time in the world, I promise.”
“I’ll be okay.” She nestles into me. “I’m almost free.”
“No, Viv.” I clench my jaw. “I have a bad feeling about this. A man who’s abused you once will do it again. Let me just kill him.”
“Since when are you the unhinged one?” An icy voice enters the room. “You know better. This is a mission, not a murder.”
I whip my stare to Axel, holding Ruby’s hand. They stroll into the room and take their place beside Nick and Zar at the foot of the bed.
“What is this?” I huff, annoyed. “A slumber party?”
Usually, we meet in Mom’s fortified office at Elysium, or our locked throne room at Delta’s. But apparently, my family’s in the mood for a bedside summit.
“Yep, we’re freezing bras.” On cue, Grant booms, waltzing in with Delphine on his arm.
“Jesus, fuck.” I’d yell if my baby niece weren’t in the room. Instead, I seethe, “I just told Vivian we’d give her time, and now you all come in, guns blazing.”
I angle back, telling Vivian. “Excuse my family, please. When they smell injustice, they swarm like sharks.”
