Valley of Fire (Valley of the Moon Book 2) by Bronwyn Archer

Author:Bronwyn Archer [Archer, Bronwyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bronarch Books
Published: 2019-02-26T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Lacus Doloris ~ Lake of Sorrow

IT WAS OVER. The elevator swooshed down and I held onto the rail for support. Gretchen and Roy chatted with Alexander and I had an opportunity to observe her more closely. Her legs were at least twice as long as mine. I knew she was in her early thirties, but she looked younger. Maybe it was the unnaturally full lips.

She shook her long caramel waves and smiled at me. “If you need anything while you’re in town, let me know.” I tucked non-existent hair behind my ears.

“Will do.”

“What are you going to do with all that money, kid?” Roy asked.

“I honestly don’t even know what to say. This all feels like a dream.”

Gretchen looked at Alexander. “Dinner tomorrow?” She eyed him up and down. “If you can find a change of clothes, that is. Are you guys staying with us at the townhouse?”

Alexander shook his head. “I wanted to give you lovebirds your space. We’re at the Pierre.”

Gretchen laughed. “Slumming, I see.”

Roy grinned. “Don’t spend that money all in one place.”

When we got outside, I blinked in the bright sunshine. Hordes of people streamed up the sidewalk. Sirens blared from somewhere and a jackhammer drilled asphalt across the street. My stomach growled and my toes throbbed.

Gretchen and Roy headed towards the town car and Alexander called out, “Wait—Gretchen, I have one favor, actually. Lana’s going to need some clothes.” I groaned. Not again. “So if you’re free tomorrow during the day . . . ”

She grinned at me. “Meet me in front of Bergdorfs at noon.” She got into her town car and it pulled out into traffic.

Alexander put his hand under my chin and tilted my head up to his. “You okay?”

“Not really.”

I felt a gentle tap on my elbow. Severine materialized at my side. “Lana, may you come with me?”

“Where?” I asked.

“Home. I want to show you where your mother grew up.”

#

“This was her room. Georgette kept it just the way she left it.” We’d finished a lunch of baguette, paté, cheese and salad and Severine was giving me a tour of the apartment. It took up two floors of a spectacular stone building on Fifth Avenue. The rooms were dimly lit and the furniture was sparse and dated, but the main living room was as big as a ballroom.

My mother’s childhood bedroom had a white canopied bed and polished wood floors. An ornate mirror hanging over the dresser had hooks all around its frame. A pair of worn pink satin ballet shoes hung from each hook. “She loved to dance. Until the baby, that is.” I walked over to the dresser and picked up a framed photo of my mother holding a baby. He had blonde hair in soft curls, pink cheeks, and a big dimpled grin.

“My brother Liam?” I asked. Severine nodded. In the photo, she looked happier than I’d ever remembered seeing her. “Who was his father?”

Severine smoothed down the front of her gray woolen dress. “She was engaged to a man she met on a trip to France.

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