Slow Burn (Dynasties Seven Sins #7) - Janice Maynard Page 0,30

Venetian glass. The priceless Persian silk rug and the enormous sets of china, crystal and heavy silver had all been sold off after the patriarch’s disappearance.

Nikki had nothing of that era to pass down to her own daughter.

It didn’t matter, she told herself firmly. Emma knew she was loved, and that’s what mattered.

Eventually, Nikki made her way back to Grand Central and caught the train home. This time she didn’t sleep. She worried. Did she and Jake have anything in common anymore? Could she step back into his world even temporarily? Could she sleep with him and let it be no more than that? And what about the fact that he didn’t understand how much she had changed?

She knew he wasn’t staying. But she badly wanted him to acknowledge all the ways she had survived and thrived. Something deep inside her craved his approval and his love.

And if that wasn’t the most dismal admission a woman had ever made, she didn’t know what was.

Arriving on the doorstep of her familiar small house calmed some of Nikki’s nerves. She and Emma had made it this far and had a good life. Whatever came next, they would handle.

When Nikki opened the front door, the aroma of homemade chicken-noodle soup wafted out. Though her mom and Emma had finished eating, the soup was still warming on the stove.

Nikki shrugged out of her coat and hung it up on a hook near the door. Her shopping bags went in a nearby closet. Then she hugged Emma and smiled at her mom. “Thanks for keeping her this afternoon.” She tried never to take her mother’s help for granted, even though Roberta enjoyed time with Emma.

Emma demanded to be picked up. Nikki nuzzled her daughter’s hair. “You smell like dessert,” she teased.

The routine of the next hour and a half was comfortable and familiar. At Nikki’s request, Roberta stayed. When Nikki told her mother they needed to talk, Roberta raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

At last, Emma was asleep. The two women made their way to the tiny living room, turned on the gas logs and put up their feet.

Roberta sighed. “This is nice. Did you find a dress for the wedding?”

“I did,” Nikki said. “I’ll try it on for you sometime soon. Thanks again for keeping Emma. I tried to get back as quickly as I could.”

Roberta cocked her head. “You said we needed to talk. Is this about Jake?”

“Not directly. He and I are having dinner tomorrow night to discuss Emma and the future.”

“What’s to talk about? He’s her father.”

“Jake being Emma’s daddy isn’t what I wanted to talk to you about, Mom.”

“Oh?”

Carefully, and as calmly as possible, Nikki shared what Joshua had told her about his plan to compensate Roberta and Nikki for all they had lost. She went on to explain that all of the Black Crescent clients who lost money fifteen years ago had received payments at an agreed-upon rate. It had taken Joshua a very long time, but the ethical and legal obligations had been met.

Roberta listened in silence, though her eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed.

When Nikki finished, Roberta sat up on the edge of her seat, clearly agitated. “Vernon stole that money. Why should you and I get anything?”

“That’s what I told Joshua, Mom. But he says Dad stole from us, too. Joshua wants to do this.”

“Dear Lord.” Roberta seemed dazed.

“The payments will begin January first. It’s a lot of money. Not like what you had before, but plenty if we’re careful. We’ll need to invest some and save some. You don’t want to get to the end of the ten years and find yourself right back where you are now.”

Roberta nodded. “I didn’t know a single thing about finances when I married your father. I’ve regretted that more than once since he left us.”

“I’ll help you. And I suspect Joshua will be willing to advise us.”

“And Jake, too. If he’s such a financial genius.”

“Yes,” Nikki said hesitantly. She’d told her mom how Jake had supported himself for years by day-trading. “Jake, too. Think about it, Mom. You can go back to your old friends. Pick up the good pieces of your old life.”

Roberta’s face hardened. “They turned their backs on me.”

“No. To be fair, you and I disappeared. We didn’t give anyone a chance to help us. We were embarrassed and too humiliated to show our faces. I’m sure there were a few of your friends who might have shunned you for what Daddy did, but I have