Bare Devotion. Geri Krotow

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СКАЧАТЬ gone through with. Henry wasn’t a people-pleaser though, especially not to his parents. He’d bucked their sensibilities and desires by choosing to marry her, a black woman from a bayou family. Henry had never seen her as anything other than the woman he’d decided to marry. She believed that.

      What Henry had refused to see, however, was that his father was never going to leave the firm to Henry as long as Sonja was his wife. The firm was going to be dissolved and all of his father’s money locked up in trust funds for future grandchildren, be it theirs or his siblings’. Sonja didn’t care about the financials for her, but she cared for Henry. He deserved more, and his constant state of denial with his parents drove her nuts. Henry’s younger brother, Gus, had formed his own life with his shipbuilding business in New Orleans, and Henry’s sister, Jena, was very much her own person.

      Henry’s younger sister was a social worker who thrived on her job in New Orleans, but she was also in the U.S. Navy reserves and often traveled overseas. Jena had missed the un-wedding because she was somewhere in South America doing who knew what kind of operations for the government. She hadn’t gone to law school; neither had Henry’s younger brother, Brandon, always “Gus” to Henry.

      It wasn’t about the money, which was significant, but about family legacy. Henry was the man to change it, to turn the law firm into a contemporary, relevant part of the community, serving diverse clients and causes. He saw that corporate law didn’t have to mean serving the same good ol’ boys his father had.

      But Henry would never have the chance to improve upon his family legacy if she were around...unless he’d taken her up on her suggestion that they start his own family firm. She remembered offering her opinion after work last Christmastime. He’d looked at her like she had horns growing out of her head, so she’d dropped it. Thought Henry would come around to seeing he needed to start his own legacy. She’d been wrong. Henry was too loyal to the Boudreaux legacy. His father might be a jerk, but one of his great-grandfathers had worked to rebuild a free South after the Civil War. Henry wanted that to be his legacy.

      The younger siblings had gotten the hell away from the family dynasty. But not Henry. Henry needed to be part of his father’s legacy in a way the other two didn’t. Because Sonja saw this, saw the need in the man she loved so desperately, she’d had no choice but to back out of their marriage. She’d do anything for Henry’s happiness, and Henry would never be happy without knowing he’d made a difference in what his father had begun.

      He’d never forgive her for leaving him the way she did, and that was all right. Sonja didn’t want Henry’s forgiveness. She’d wanted his love, understanding, and trust, but her expectations had been too much.

      Henry didn’t have it to give. And just as well—she hadn’t been completely honest with him. All of the discussions she’d had with his parents, no matter how acrimonious, should have been relayed to him.

      And as she watched him, the one man she’d ever pinned all her hopes on, she had to face the cold hard truth. She was as unworthy of trust as Henry.

      Chapter 4

      Sonja was relieved beyond measure when the business meeting with the McNeelys wrapped up early. She needed a break and ducked out of the office to meet her best friend Poppy Kaminsky for a quick cuppa.

      The promise of Poppy’s soothing presence made her pick up her pace, eager for the solace only a best friend can give. Poppy wasn’t in the café yet, so Sonja gave her order at the counter. When Sonja turned to find a table, Poppy walked in the door and offered her signature full-wattage smile.

      Sonja waved. “Hi, boo.”

      “Hey, girlfriend.” Poppy enveloped her in a hug, and Sonja soaked up every last drop of affection from the woman who’d been with her through thick and thin. Poppy took a step back and gave Sonja a once-over.

      “Geez, Sonja, you look good, really good. Even though I know you’re feeling like hell.” Poppy’s wonder was evident in her open expression, the way she looked Sonja up and down like she was some kind of suffering fool.

      Which she was.

      “I’m okay. I’ll save us a table while you get your order.”

      They sat at the tiny table, and Sonja waited for Poppy to ask the obvious.

      “So you haven’t told him about the baby yet?” Poppy didn’t disappoint as she eyed Sonja over the frothiest cappuccino Sonja had ever seen.

      “I couldn’t this morning. I tried to, at the house. I stopped in to take a look at it, and Henry showed up. And then so did Deidre.” She filled Poppy in on the Deidre scene, and the more awful exchange she and Henry had in the master bathroom. Poppy took it all in, compassion evident in her large eyes. Sonja couldn’t stand the feeling of being pitied and squirmed in her seat. “You know, Poppy, if that foam was any higher you’d fall in it.” Sonja preferred to keep their conversation on the light side, but nothing was ever that simple with her college roommate and soul sister. Poppy saw through Sonja’s bullshit and was never afraid to call her on it.

      “Stop deflecting.” Poppy’s eyes were sharp. “The baby. You should have told him by now. How do you know that crazy bitch isn’t going to try to move in on him? Or do something else to scare you?”

      “You mean like leave a squirrel boiling on my stove?”

      Poppy’s eyes widened in recognition. “Yes. It’s not funny, Sonja. You said yourself you think something’s not right with her. Take it from me, there’s a lot more going on there. I should know—I went pretty crazy myself when I found out my ex was cheating on me. She could be a real psycho, though. Look what she did showing up in front of you like that at the wedding.”

      “You did your share of over-the-top tantrums in front of your ex’s family, too.” Sonja didn’t want to hurt Poppy, but it’d been all over social media. Poppy had quite the reputation as a wronged woman out for revenge before she’d found her happiness in New Orleans.

      Poppy put her chin on her hand. “I did. And I’m telling you, if I hadn’t had your wedding—I mean, you know—to focus on and escape to, who knows when I would have stopped going after Will and that pathetic excuse for an assistant I had?”

      “You were wronged.”

      Poppy shook her head. “That’s my point. Deidre was wronged, too, even if it was a long time ago. And she has more than Henry as an ex, right? She’s got a lot of bitter to spew. Henry and you are her most convenient target right now.”

      “It’s hard to reconcile the sweet Southern belle I met that day and just saw at the house with the woman who made his life a living hell. And I don’t think she’s actually crazy, just incredibly self-absorbed and used to getting her way.”

      Poppy nodded. “Exactly. That describes me a few months ago, too.” Poppy stirred the dusting of cocoa into her coffee, making it look more like café au lait. “Henry’s one tough dude, if he put up with all of that in college and even Brandon never knew about it.”

      “He and Brandon were estranged back then, remember? I know it looks to you like they’re the best of brothers, friends, but it’s only been since the we—since the rehearsal dinner. What, three, four weeks?”

      “Almost four.” Poppy’s smile was back. The daze of new love.

      “Feels like a lifetime ago.” Sonja sipped her seltzer water. It was all she could СКАЧАТЬ