A Family Affair by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Author:ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books

Chapter 21

Bernard’s smile couldn’t get any bigger. Olivia couldn’t help but be touched by the way his eyes lit up whenever they were together. He treaded so lightly most of the time, as if terribly afraid of doing the wrong thing, but he couldn’t hide how he felt about her.

As she took a seat across from him at the Starbucks near England Enterprises, Bernard looked on top of the world. She’d stopped in the coffee shop this morning to get her mocha and saw him reading the Wall Street Journal. She was surprised to see him sitting out in public at a place so close to the office.

“I just love the peaceful atmosphere here,” he’d explained before asking if she’d join him.

“Well, I just wanted to tell you that I found a place,” she said, setting down her steaming café mocha.

“That’s wonderful. Is it one of the places the Realtor showed you?”

She nodded, smiling. “It’s the one that’s closest.” She gave him a sincere look of thanks. “I don’t have much to go in the place, but I’m trying to fill it up.”

Mona had had her brother Charles pack up both her and Olivia’s meager belongings. Before Olivia had left, she had packed all her mother’s things and the things she wanted to keep from that apartment, which wasn’t much, and put them in storage at Charles’s house. Once Olivia and Mona had decided that LA would be their new permanent home, Charles had everything shipped to them.

“Well, you know if you need anything else—”

She held up her hand to stop him. “I know. Thank you. But I’m good. I mean, you’ve done more than enough by paying for the condo.”

When the Realtor had shown her and Mona the condo, Olivia had loved it immediately. However, she knew she couldn’t possibly afford it. But then the Realtor had explained that it had been bought and paid for in full—if she wanted it. While her initial reaction had been to say no, she wasn’t a complete fool. So, much to Mona’s elation, she’d gladly signed on the dotted line.

“It’s the least I could do.” The way Bernard was staring at her sent a funny feeling through her. Not for the first time, she wondered how strongly she reminded him of her mother.

“Well, I need to pay you back,” she said, breaking their gaze.

He nodded, even though the look on his face said he’d never accept a dime from her. “Just the fact that you offered to pay me back means the world to me. I’ll be honest. I don’t see character and integrity like that often in my line of work.”

Olivia took a sip of her coffee. What a 180-degree turn her life had taken. “I’ve never lived in a place that we didn’t rent,” she said wistfully.

“Well, it’s high time you did.” He paused like he was carefully considering his words. “I know I wasn’t there for you while you were growing up and I can never make up for that, but I want to make your life from here on out as stress-free as possible.

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