Six Hot Summer Nights. Leslie Kelly

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СКАЧАТЬ him to sort out his feelings about his upturned life would pay off. For both her and their baby.

      Bronson made a late-night trip to his mother’s house. After seeing the baby on the ultrasound earlier in the day, he’d done nothing but think about his mother and the decision she’d made decades ago.

      That’s not true. He’d also thought of the hurt he’d seen in Mia’s eyes. Bronson knew there was nothing more she wanted than her own family, but he wasn’t here to be part of a fairy tale. This wasn’t a script, this was his life, and he honestly had no clue what the ending would be.

      He found his mother sitting in the formal living room, reading. The timeless Hollywood icon sat with her legs folded beneath her on a white chaise. An oil painting of a young Olivia holding her first Oscar hung on the wall opposite the doorway. His eyes traveled from the portrait to the woman, a smile spread across his face. Not much had changed. His mother had truly grown more graceful with the years.

      “Mom.”

      Startled, Olivia jerked her head toward the door. “My heavens, you scared me.” She set her book, open side down, over her leg. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back once you had time to think.”

      Bronson moved into the room, too restless to sit, too exhausted to pace. There was no happy place for him lately—except when he’d seen the baby on the screen.

      “We’re having a girl,” he blurted out.

      Olivia clasped her hands together. “Oh, how wonderful, Bronson. I’m so glad you and Mia patched things up. Is she excited?”

      Bronson walked to the wet bar, tempted to get a drink, but knowing no alcohol could change his fate. He leaned an elbow against the dark wood bar.

      “We haven’t patched things up,” he informed her. “I went to the appointment and left after I found out the sex and that the baby was healthy. I promised Mia I would be there for the baby.”

      Olivia moved her book to the coffee table and swung her legs down. “Just the baby? Mia doesn’t warrant the same devotion?”

      Bronson shrugged. “I’m not quite ready to take Mia at face value, considering the circumstances.”

      “Oh, son. You know in your heart she was in a rough position. Why torture yourself and Mia? She’s just as torn up about this as you are. I guarantee she battled with herself over whether to tell you because I can assure you, that woman loves you with every ounce of her being.”

      Bronson raked a hand through his hair. He didn’t want to hear about Mia’s loyalty or love for him when she also had loyalties to Anthony. Besides, love was based on trust. Plain and simple. And he’d finally begun to trust her before this latest life-altering blow.

      “I’m here to talk about you,” he told her. “Mia can take care of herself.”

      Olivia’s eyes closed. “If you truly think that, then you don’t know the girl at all.”

      He couldn’t get into this. He was still trying to come to grips with everything and sort through his feelings. Couldn’t people understand that he couldn’t take another betrayal?

      “When I saw the baby on the screen today, I thought of you.” Bronson pushed off the bar and moved across the wide room to sit in a wing-back chair across from his mother. “How you must’ve felt to give up a child, how selfless the act was.”

      “The act was utterly selfish, Bronson. I gave Anthony up because I was starting a promising career and was rising fast in the movie industry. I knew I wanted a career first and a family later, and I wasn’t even in love. I had a fling—plain and simple. I was a selfish woman.”

      “That’s not selfish, Mom, that’s love.”

      Olivia batted a hand in the air. “Maybe so, but I knew giving him to a family who wanted a child would be best. Soon after, Anthony’s parents discovered they were going to have a baby of their own. Giving him up was the hardest decision of my life, and I questioned myself every day, but I know, looking back, I did what was right.”

      Bronson leaned forward on his knees. “Tell me the truth. Did you not tell me and Victoria because you thought we’d be disappointed or because Anthony and I are rivals and you were afraid of the outcome?”

      With misty eyes, Olivia smiled. “Both. I was afraid if you found out Anthony was your half brother, you’d hate him more. But mostly I feared you and your sister would look at me with disappointment in your eyes. I worried what you’d think of me.”

      Bronson’s heart melted. “I think you’re human. Do I like that you kept this from us? No. Do I like that Anthony is a blood relation? Hell, no. But I love you, Mom. Unconditionally and forever.”

      A cry escaped Olivia as she closed her eyes against the tears. “You don’t know how much I wanted you to feel that way, to understand my actions and not hate me.”

      Bronson moved to sit next to his mother. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her to his side. “When I saw that baby today I realized that I would do anything to ensure a good, stable life for her. That’s when I realized you had to have battled this guilt for years. All you wanted was to give Anthony a good life with a loving family.”

      Except for when his father died of a sudden heart attack, Bronson had never seen his mother this vulnerable, this emotional.

      “Please, Bronson,” his mother sniffed. “Please don’t throw away what you have with Mia. Try to make this work. She loves you and she loves this baby.”

      “How can I be sure she won’t deceive me?”

      Olivia sat up, looked him in the eye. “If she were out to deceive you or she had something going on with Anthony, don’t you think she would’ve gone to the tabloids the second she uncovered the truth?”

      Bronson swallowed. “I suppose. I just can’t live with another broken heart.”

      “Who says you have to?” Olivia patted her damp cheeks. “I can almost guarantee that if you go to Mia, she’ll not only welcome you with open arms, she’ll forgive you for doubting her. That’s how true love works. It’s forgiving. You’ve forgiven me, haven’t you?”

      Bronson smiled. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

      “And that’s how Mia will feel. Don’t shut her out when you need each other most. Believe me—love only comes once. Don’t waste time arguing over my past sins.”

      Pulling his mother into another hug, Bronson kissed her cheek. “Quit blaming yourself for this. All your children turned out fine. We all love you and we’re going to be okay. Somehow, this will all work out.”

      “What do we tell the media?” Olivia asked, fear lacing her voice.

      “Nothing.” He pulled back. “We wait until we are comfortable talking about this, until we all can stand before a camera as a united front.”

      Her eyes bore into his. “Can you do that? Can you bury your hatred for Anthony?”

      Bronson swallowed. “I’m beginning to realize he’s not the man I thought he was. True, we clash on film sets, but as for the private life he’s led, СКАЧАТЬ