My Beloved: A Thin Love Novella(24)

“Ransom. I have no idea—”

“Keira! Keira over here!”

Through the side doors where no security was stationed, where anyone, absolutely anyone could come through and crash this wedding without a second thought, the parasites descended.

“Son of a bitch,” Ransom said, pulling Keira behind him. “Mark, please,” he told Keira’s friend and then nodded for him to take Keira out of the lobby. But there were too many cameras, too many desperate, eager photographers clicking away, surrounding Keira, blinding her with quickly blinking lights and spouting out questions that were intrusive, utterly rude.

“Keira, does Kona know you’re cheating on him?”

“Keira, are you and Ransom going to move with Kona to California?”

Ransom jerked around, glaring at Keira like she’d slapped him. “What the hell are they talking about?”

“Keira, let’s get you out of here.” Mark was insistent, dragging her away from Ransom.

“Keira, who did your dress?”

“Keira, is it true you’re pregnant?”

If she had to guess, she’d say there had to be dozens of paparazzi in the lobby, maybe twenty or thirty, much more than the guest loitering around waiting to be seated, and they all cornered Keira, their questions and flashes like a machine gun striking right at her, over and over until that weak breath she couldn’t keep hold of left her completely. So when she saw through the press of bodies and flashing lights the small, strangely familiar woman waiting to be seated, she thought fleetingly that with all the stress she must be imaging things. Or perhaps she simply was not recognizing Auntie Malia, that the old woman had found the time to cut her long hair, or have it done up, tucked under a wide brim hat with beautiful ribbon and fresh flowers. But then time slowed to a crawl, and the woman turned and looked Keira in the eye, her smile lowering, her hand pulling away from Kona as he posed for pictures with his cousins.

“She’s your mother and who are we?”

“You’re my family. Keira, you and Ransom, you’re my everything. No one else matters to me.”

The argument had happened months ago. Before Lalei Alana stopped simply pleading with Kona to forget Keira and his son and had moved on to blatantly sabotaging Kona’s relationship with Ransom. After that, Kona had left her behind, paid her off. He’d chosen Keira and Ransom over his mother.

So why the hell was she standing a hundred feet from Keira with her hands pulling on Kona’s sleeve? Her mouth was slack, skin pale, head hairless under that giant hat, but her eyes bored into Keira’s.

Ransom tried blocking Keira from the steadily clicking cameras and when he looked past them, to where Lalei stood trying to regain Kona’s attention, Ransom turned toward his mother and took her by the shoulders, forced her to look at him and not the wizened old woman standing just feet away.

“That’s what we were trying to tell you Mom.”

“Kona invited… her?”

“No. I did.”

Keira jerked out of her son’s arms, stepped back against Mark and had to hold his hand to keep herself upright.

“How could you do this to me, son? Why…”

“Mom… please…”

Oddly, the voices around her quieted. There was still the constant stream of clicking cameras, the low mumbles of shock from the guests as Keira’s makeup smeared, clotted with the weight of tears spilling down her face.

“Keira.” That voice brought her gaze from Ransom’s pleading eyes, had her tightening her fingers around Mark’s hand as she held onto him. How many times had that same voice told her she was a whore, accused her of being manipulative? A gold digger? How many threats had that same voice made to Keira?

And now she was supposed to what? Forgive? Accept her at her wedding? Accept that her son had gone behind her back and reached out to the woman who tried to destroy him only months before?

Lalei walked away from a distracted Kona, holding her hands up as she got closer to Keira as though she was afraid she might strike, attack. The woman opened her mouth, took a breath, but Keira wouldn’t hear what she had to say. She couldn’t.

“Mom. Please let me explain.”

“You… you can’t.” Her gaze shifted back and forth, from Ransom to Lalei and then, to the form walking toward them, guests parting, paparazzi backing away as Kona walked into the lobby.

“Baby…”

“No,” Keira said, moving her wrist along her nose to wipe it dry. The flowers in her hands tickled against her forehead. When both Kona and Ransom stepped forward, Keira threw down the bouquet until it rolled in front of Kona’s feet. “I said no!”

“Baby, I tried to tell you, I’ve been trying to tell you since last night.”

Keira laughed, but there was no real humor in the sound. “Last night? And how long have you known our son wanted your mother here?”

“I…”

“I said no!”

Kona stepped back when Keira’s voice raised above the clicking refrain around them. “How long did you know you’d be leaving us? When the hell were you going to tell me you’d taken that job?”

Kona’s face paled and he let his shoulders fall, rubbing his neck when Ransom jerked his head toward his father.

“Wildcat. I’m sorry. I tried.”