Page 31 of Like You Love Me

He had no legal right to her, yet no matter what she thought, he was her biological father, and Sierra had a right to know. Otherwise, if Sierra ever found out the truth on her own, she would hate her and London for it. Bianca released a shaky breath. She just needed to find the right time to discuss with her husband.

Tonight. I’m going to do it tonight.

Bianca emerged from their bedroom, showered, and dressed in an oversized sweatshirt and shorts. She headed into the family room, where Sierra was standing in the middle of the room, reading lines from her script.

“What did I miss?” she said, flopping down on the sofa beside London.

He handed her the script. “She’s reading lines.”

London ate his dinner while they watched their daughter practice. Halfway through the scene, Bianca looked over at London and grinned. Sierra had natural talent.

“Bravo!” Bianca said with applause.

Sierra grinned and blew out a long, exaggerated breath. “Okay, I’m thirsty.” She dashed into the kitchen.

“My little drama queen.” London shook his head with laughter. “Before you came down, she talked about her drama teacher, Mr. Clark. Have you had a chance to meet him?”

“Uh, yeah, just briefly.” Bianca couldn’t believe she was lying to her husband.

“Well, I’m happy she’s found something she likes.”

“So am I,” she said, avoiding eye contact.

“I guess we better get ready for opening night. I’m sure I’ll get a chance to meet him before then.”

She would have to tell him the truth before she allowed that to happen. “Baby, I have something I would like to talk to you about later.”

He looked up from the script and studied Bianca before saying, “As soon as we run through this scene, I am all ears.”

While Bianca went upstairs to help get Sierra ready for bed, London carried a slice of apple pie into his home office and took a seat in the large executive chair. The restaurant had a huge event coming up in a few weeks. He wanted to take a few minutes and look over the catering orders again. Earlier, his mind had been so preoccupied that he didn’t feel one hundred percent confident he had everything ready to submit to his distributor. The last thing he ever wanted was to run out of chicken at his restaurants.Heaven forbids. In a town this size, the news would spread so fast it would take years to recover from a scandal. They would think the restaurant was having a problem and would soon be going out of business. Nope, he could not take that risk, so he still placed all produce orders. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his managers; it was just something that he had always held onto himself. His father had been the same way.

He bit into a forkful of the delicious apple pie as he reran the numbers. He hated taking work home, but after the event with Mona Lisa, he couldn’t wrap his head around anything else he needed to get done. Even now, thinking about Caleb made him so angry, so much he wanted to find him under the rug he had rolled and shake some sense into him. Caleb had been an alcoholic since he lost his job on the stock market, and he never recovered long enough to be able to find another. London drew a breath and stretched his arms high above his head as he remembered when Mona Lisa had first introduced him to the family. Everyone had been excited for her, especially their father. Caleb was a widower with a one-year-old daughter, Gabriella; his wife had died during childbirth. A lump formed in London’s throat as he remembered how the family had embraced them. Mona Lisa had quickly become attached to the little girl, and within months, she had become his wife in a small ceremony. Everything had been great. She was happier than he had ever seen her until Caleb lost his job, and he started gambling.

London’s cell phone rang. He had left it on the nightstand beside the bed, but the call came through his MacBook, and his sister’s name flashed on the screen. Using his mouse, he hit Accept and waited for the call to connect.

“Carmen, is everything okay?” She was the youngest of his twin sisters by three minutes.

“I’m fine. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing?”

He admitted when he had left Mona Lisa’s house, he was upset when Camille had called. Probably angrier than he should have allowed his sister to hear. “I’m okay. I was pissed and should not have said anything to Camille.”

“What do you mean? That’s what sisters are for.” She gave a rude snort. “I would have found out anyway.”

A smile curled his lips. Yes, they were a close-knit family. If one was having problems, then they all were having problems. With the death of both of their parents, they had grown even tighter over the years.

“Have you spoken to Mona Lisa?” he asked as he continued to run the numbers.

“Yes, that’s the reason why I am calling you. He’s back at home.”

London closed his hand into a tight fist. He knew Caleb would reappear by morning. That was when Mona Lisa got paid.

“I just want you to know I was over there when he walked into the front door like it was no big deal.” She went on to tell a story London had heard time and time again of him staggering in smelling like he had fallen headfirst into a barrel of tequila. “Mona is over there getting him cleaned up and making dinner.” She drew a long breath. “You could see the relief on her face. Anyway, I left and came home, but she asked me to let you know.”

Because she was too embarrassed to tell me herself.London didn’t say it aloud, but he knew. Leaning forward, he rested his elbow on the desk. “Where was Gabriella?”

“She was up in her room. I just don’t know how Mona does it.”

“You know why she does it,” he replied with a long breath.

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