Love Contract. Lisa Watson

28

       Chapter 29

       Chapter 30

       Chapter 31

      Chapter 1

      Adrian Anderson surveyed the array of suits in his walk-in closet. With a critical eye, he chose a dark gray Armani with a double-breasted jacket. His selection included a crisp white shirt and patterned silk tie. He was picking out shoes when his telephone rang. He padded across the floor of his master suite and checked his phone. Mom. Sighing, he tried his best to channel what little patience he had left as he picked up his cell phone. “Good morning, Mother,” he said as upbeat as he could manage.

      “I said I was sorry,” she began without preamble. “How long do you plan on staying annoyed with me?”

      “That would depend. How long do you plan on fixing me up with mental patients?”

      “Sweetheart, I know you’re upset, but there’s no way I could’ve known she was in therapy.”

      “Mom, please. Therapy I can handle, but this chick called her doctor all through dinner. Do you know how weird that was?”

      “Adrian, don’t dramatize it,” his mother admonished.

      “You weren’t there.” Adrian sighed. “Let’s not go over this again, okay? You pleaded your case last night—several times I might add. When are you going to get the point and stop matchmaking?”

      “When you find the right woman and settle down,” his mother huffed. “Which would be sooner than later if you wouldn’t fight me at every turn.”

      Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. His mother was driving him as crazy as his date, Cynthia. He’d dubbed her the Cyber Stalker. She’d called his cell phone and left numerous texts since their disastrous date.

      It was always the same. Any date orchestrated by Norma Jean Anderson—also known as the Love Broker by all his close friends—ended in disaster.

      Each time he got wrangled into one of his mother’s hookups, he would add the woman to his contact list. If the date ended badly, the woman in question would get a nickname that easily stood out on his phone. This trick ensured he didn’t answer a call by mistake. So far, this system worked like a charm. Now, if he could get his mother to find another hobby.

      “Mom, you’ve been at this longer than I’ve been in business.”

      “And look how successful that’s been. You’re doing well for yourself, honey. Business is thriving, you’re a pillar to the community, handsome and smart. All you need is a wife to share your life with.”

      He ran a hand over his stubbled jaw. “The last trip I almost made down the aisle didn’t turn out too well, remember?”

      There was a short pause before his mother said, “I know, honey, but you can’t let the indiscretions of one woman ruin your chance for a happy life.”

      “Indiscretions? You’re being much nicer than that gold digger deserved. She slept her way through half of my friends, and almost had me saddled to her unfaithful butt for the rest of my life. Luckily for me, I interrupted that last romp before she became a married woman. So now I’ve got an ex-fiancée and ex-friends. Trust me, I’m better off not giving another woman a chance to break my heart and wreck my bank account.”

      “Adrian, I know she hurt you. Believe me, I get it. But that was over a year ago. If you let that woman scar you for life, she wins. It’s time you got back in the saddle again. Stop going through women like you do dress shirts and let me find you one that will love you unconditionally.”

      “Tell me again what’s natural about this? I’m a grown man whose mother is trying to control his love life.”

      “Adrian, if I wait for you, I’ll drop dead before I get to see you become a father.”

      He sighed into the phone. “You’ll be a grandmother—one day. Until then, my life is fine the way it is so please humor me and butt out,” he said with a chuckle.

      “I’ll butt out when you say, ‘I do,’” his mother replied with humor. “We’ll discuss this later. Your dad’s taking me to breakfast so I’ve got to run.”

      “Mom...”

      “Have a great day, honey,” Norma Jean said quickly and hung up.

      Adrian set the phone down. When his day started with a disagreement with his mother, it only got progressively worse; and recalling how the love of his life had duped him days before they were to marry hadn’t helped his mood.

      “Great,” he muttered. Ripping the damp towel from his middle, he tossed it in the general direction of his clothes basket.

      With angry strides, he headed toward the bathroom as if he were on his way into battle instead of work.

      * * *

      Turning in front of the mirror, Milán Dixon decided she liked the finished product. The navy blue suit was one of her favorites and it never failed to boost her confidence. A neutral blouse, classic diamond earrings and navy pumps completed the ensemble.

      “You’ll knock him dead,” she said to her reflection before winking at herself. After eight weeks and so many job interviews she had lost count, Milán was more than ready for the tide to turn. Her decision to start fresh in a new city had come as a shock to her close-knit family, but she was adamant on leaving Miami. Thanks to her now ex-boyfriend, Eduardo Vega, Milán was left with a lot of bad memories and the debt to go with it.

      Finding out that the beach house, antique cars and money he had flashed were just a facade was the worst day of her life. Eduardo’s latest real estate plan of buying homes with his investment partner and flipping them had tanked right along with the market. Then she had found out that his investment partner had been his overindulgent father. Thanks to a sobering conversation with Senor Vega, Milán had discovered that the man she had loved and trusted was a liar, and that his father was pulling the plug on financing his son’s ill-considered pursuits.

      Two weeks later, Vega’s lawyer had phoned Milán to let her know that Eduardo was cut off and on his own. The only things his father’s money had not paid for were the furnishings she had purchased to decorate their new home and a few of their joint credit cards.

      When Eduardo had come home that night, she was more than ready for him. Armed with the newly discovered facts, Milán had baited him into talking about the sweet deals he had in the pipeline, and how wonderful their life together was going to be. When she could stand it no more, she had blindsided him with his father’s confessions. At first he had attempted to deny and explain them away, but eventually he had become angry and accused her of breaking his trust.

      Milán had shot back that he should be happy she wasn’t breaking his nose. As if on cue, her family had arrived. Her mother, Pia Aragon Dixon, had circled Eduardo like a lioness ready to defend her cub. Her father, Vincent, and sisters Nyah and Elena had been close behind. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Eduardo had told her she wasn’t worth this and walked out. That was the last time she’d seen him.

      Humiliated and now homeless, Milán had decided to get as far away from her heartbreak as possible. She had packed up everything she owned, settled the joint accounts she had shared with Eduardo and found a rental home in Chicago. With a modest nest egg in her savings account, and the last two paychecks from her job, Milán had tearfully bid her family goodbye. With promises that she would check in regularly, Milán had gotten into her loaded-down car and hit the road.

      It had been a whirlwind of activity ever since. Arriving at her new home, a vintage loft apartment in the heart of Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, Milán dove into decorating her new place and making it her own. The hard work soothed her frazzled nerves