Star Promise
G. J. Walker-Smith
Star Promise
G.J. Walker-Smith
Star Promise
© 2014 G.J. Walker-Smith
Cover Model: H.M. Walker
Cover by Scarlett Rugers
http://scarlettrugers.com
Formatting by Polgarus Studio
http://polgarusstudio.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places or people, living or dead, is coincidental.
Other Books by G.J. Walker-Smith
Saving Wishes (Book One, The Wishes Series)
Second Hearts (Book Two, The Wishes Series)
Sand Jewels (Book 2.5, The Wishes Series)
Storm Shells (Book Three, The Wishes Series)
Secret North (Book Four, The Wishes Series)
Silver Dawn (Book 4.5, The Wishes Series)
Contact the author:
https://www.facebook.com/gjwalkersmith
mailto:[email protected]
http://www.gjwalkersmith.com
Dedication
For Michaela,
the princess of gentle nudges and the queen of hard shoves.
Acknowledgements
To my family, thank you for affording me the opportunity to write when the mood hits, even at the expense of dinner and clean clothes. I love you very much.
To my friend, Sophia. Thank you for all that you do. When I grow up, I hope to be just as organised and brilliant as you are.
To my Gems. I am in awe of the unwavering support you all give, and I’m so very appreciative of the friendships I’ve made.
To my girlies in the NGs. Don’t tell any one, but I love you all dearly. Thank you for making my days so much shinier.
Contents
Other Books by G.J. Walker-Smith
Dedication
Acknowledgements
1. GREAT HEIGHTS
2. GIRAFFE STOCK
3. ART ADVENTURES
4. THE LITTLE BAD WOLF
5. CREEPY BABIES
6. APRON STRINGS
7. TREASURE
8. JUVIE
9. SEA DOGS
10. FLYING STRAIGHT
11. BURNED AT THE STAKE
12. DEBT
13. SLIGHTED LOVE
14. LUCKY STARS
15. NOBILITY AND TITLE
16. MEAN GIRLS
17. PILLOW TALK
18. PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
19. DIRECTION
20. DISAPPOINTMENT
21. GOOD LAWYER, BAD LAWYER
22. DEAD FAIRY GUTS
23. FLASHLIGHT FAIRIES
24. PUPPET
25. THE PERFECT DRESS
26. HABIT À LA FRANÇAISE
27. RESEARCH
28. UNCOOL
29. LA LA DEFICIENT
30. GOOD ODDS
31. CONFUSION
32. ACCIDENTAL VILLAIN
33. STREET URCHIN
34. SLOW POISON
35. SOCIETY SOWS
36. DIRT
37. STAR PROMISES
38. JUNIOR NEGOTIATOR
39. DANCING FEET
40. MERMAID HELL
41. ADVENTURES
42. PLAYING IT COOL
43. TEN MORE BRIDGETS
44. STRANGE AND ANTISOCIAL
45. NIPPY CHIHUAHUAS
46. CLEARING THE AIR
47. PECAN PIE
48. VULNERABILITY
49. LULU
50. STARTING FIRES
51. BUSINESS AS USUAL
52. WHINY DISPLAYS
53. CAJUN RECIPES
54. PIGEON WRANGLING
55. DUMB LUCK
56. PURE ENCHANTMENT
57. CONNECTIONS
58. EVERYTHING IS FIXABLE
59. SUNSHINE AND TEQUILA
60. UNDERLYING TENSION
61. NO GIRLS CAN FLY
62. BACK TO BASICS
63. INVINCIBLE
64. HOBBY
65. DAMAGE
66. A HIT OF MAGIC
67. CHECKED BOXES
68. RING-INS
69. GRAND FINALE
70. BLOOD AND BANDAGES
71. BACKUP PLAN
72. THE MAGIC STICK
73. WILD ANIMALS
74. BARISTA EXTRAORDINAIRE
75. SPECIAL AGENTS
76. THE BOONDOCKS
77. STARS
78. LOVELY
79. DÉNOUEMENT
Connect With G.J. Walker-Smith
1. GREAT HEIGHTS
Charli
The Décarie men are no angels.
Adam can be regimented and stubborn, Ryan can be arrogant and cocky, and their father can be downright tyrannical. I’d been at war with all of them at one time or another, but tonight’s battle was with Jean-Luc.
Attending Ryan’s birthday dinner was a chore made more difficult by the fact that Adam didn’t show up. The king’s smugness when explaining why was almost harder to bear than the abominable food. “You must understand, Charli,” he said. “Work comes first. It’s the way of the world.”
“Not our world,” I shot back.
He smirked. “Your world must be a wondrous place.”
Most of the time it was, just not when I was left to defend myself against Jean-Luc’s invisible blows.
I didn’t blame Adam for not showing up. Thanks to his father, his workload was impossible. Accepting a job at Décarie, Fontaine and Associates was a mistake, but the only one with the power to pull the pin was Adam. And as long as he felt the need to stand up to the king, that was never going to happen.
I wasn’t sharing the same level of career dissatisfaction. I loved my job at the gallery. I was surrounded by beautiful art all day and the cushy hours I worked meant that I got to spend plenty of time with my little girl.
Bridget had made the switch from the Apple Isle to the Big Apple without fuss, swapping days at the beach for days in the park. The change hadn’t hurt her. Her imagination was still perfectly in focus, which meant that as far as parenting goes, we were doing a good job.
While she was occupied playing under the coffee table, I slipped out to call her dad. Standing in the big empty foyer near the front door wasn’t going to buy me any privacy. I knew from past experience that even whispered words echoed off the marble floor, so I retreated to the downstairs bathroom.
Adam answered straight away. “Hey, I’m sorry.” I hadn’t even said a word yet. It proved that he knew what an ordeal dinner with his parents was when he wasn’t there. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’m not mad,” I insisted.
“No?”
“No. Your dad is being a jerk but I escaped.” I sat on the edge of the bath. “I’m hiding out in the bathroom. I wish you were here.”
“That could be dangerous – or productive, depending on how you look at it.” His low laugh sounded positively sinister, with good reason. We were ninety-nine percent sure that our daughter was conceived in that bathroom.
“Wise guy. What time do you think you’ll leave work?”
He sighed, and I could hear him shuffling papers around. “Late, I think. I’ve got so much to do.”
It was a reply I was expecting, but it still disappointed me. “Okay, well you know where I’ll be when you’re done.”
“In the bathroom?”
“No, in bed,” I laughed, “waiting for you to make it up to me for blowing off dinner.”
“Challenge accepted, Charlotte,” he replied. “I’ll see you later.”
***
I returned to the lounge room feeling slightly more opt
imistic about making it through the evening until my father-in-law took one more shot at pulling me into line.
“I don’t enjoy tension, Charli. I hope you’ve calmed down.”
That was a lie. Jean-Luc thrived on tension. I didn’t bother answering. I sat next to Ryan and tried my hand at silent combat instead. I could’ve stared him down indefinitely, but the battle was cut short when Bridget and Fiona walked in. I’d been so focused on the king that I hadn’t even noticed they were gone.
Fiona kept a firm hold on Bridget’s hand as she paraded her around the room. My little girl looked thoroughly miffed, which was understandable considering she was sporting a heavy tweed coat in July.
I was annoyed for a different reason. Fiona constantly took it upon herself to rain expensive gifts on Bridget. Absolutely nothing was off limits and I resented it, but like most Décarie related gripes, I kept it to myself.
I managed to force an insincere thank you just before Bridget broke free and landed in my lap.
“I don’t like it, Mummy,” she whispered.
“Shush,” I replied, determined to keep the peace.
We made it through dinner and got out of there as quickly as we could.
I probably would’ve taken Ryan up on his offer of walking us home if we’d been heading that way, but I had bigger plans. If Adam couldn’t come to us, we were going to go to him.
***
The massive foyer of the office building looked even bigger than usual when it was all lit up and empty. I knew the front doors would be locked but was hopeful that someone would be there to let us in. I was prepared to bribe security with cake if necessary, but I didn’t get the chance. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Our surprise was totally ruined, leaving me with no choice but to call Adam to come downstairs to get us.
“You’re here?” he asked.
“We’re outside,” I explained. “But we’re locked out.”
“We brought you cake, Daddy,” yelled Bridget.
Adam told me to stay put. “I’m coming down now anyway.”
It seemed to take forever for him to get there. Bridget – ramped up on an excess of chocolate cake – killed time by jumping around on the front steps.
“Slow your roll, Bridge,” I ordered. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Mummy, I hate Mamie’s coat,” she said.
I didn’t give her declaration too much credence. There were no shades of grey with Bridget. She either loved something or she hated it. She also changed her mind at the drop of a hat. There was a fair chance that it would become her favourite piece by winter.
My opinion, on the other hand, was firm. I hated the bloody coat.
“We’ll talk about it another day,” I said, unwilling to discuss it with her.
“I love paper money,” she said randomly.
“Do you?”
“Papy gave me paper money.” She reached into the front pocket of her dress and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill. “See?”
I fought the urge to snatch it from her. “You’re a lucky girl,” I said falsely. “Put it back in your pocket, baby.”
“Why?”
I pointed at the glass behind her. “Because your daddy is here.”
As Adam ambled across the empty lobby, a security guard appeared out of nowhere and let him out. Finally he was free – at least until morning when he’d don his pretentious suit and go back again.
“Hey, little girl,” he crowed, scooping Bridget off her feet.
She leaned back and took his face in her hands. It was Bridget’s most powerful move, one she made when commanding total attention. “Ry’s very old today,” she announced making him laugh. “We happy-dayed him.”
“Awesome.” Adam leaned across and kissed me. “Sorry I missed dinner.”
I shrugged. “Are you hungry?” I half heartedly waved the plate of cake at him.
I couldn’t blame him for his look of distaste. The frosting had run and the chocolately mess was stuck to the Clingfilm.
“I made it,” said Bridget proudly. “I let Ry help.”
“How about we find a restaurant and get Daddy some real dinner before he has his cake?” I suggested.
“Yeah.” Adam shifted his hold on Bridget to check his watch. “Let’s go.”
***
The balmy July night was perfect weather for walking, but Adam was tired and Bridget’s slow wander was beginning to grate on him. She was tired too, scuffing her little boots along the pavement with each step she took – but she still insisted on walking.
Her father finally lost patience and picked her up. Bridget didn’t complain, which meant she truly was ready to drop at any second. When she buried her head in his shoulder, I used the opportunity to dump the cake in a nearby bin while she wasn’t looking.
We ended up at the first restaurant we came across, a little Chinese place hidden behind scaffolding on Broadway. Adam ate, I drank tea and Bridget embarked on a one-girl sword fight with a pair of chopsticks. It was a short war. She climbed onto Adam’s lap a few minutes later and crashed, still holding her weapons.
Adam somehow managed to keep eating with the dead weight of a sleeping child in his arms. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” he asked. “I’ll share.”
“No thank you.” I huffed out a long breath. “Your mum cooked tonight. I won’t be able to eat again until Wednesday.”
“I’m sorry I missed it.”
It had to be the fiftieth time he’d apologised in as many minutes, and judging by the grimace on his face, he was beginning to annoy even himself. I moved quickly to change the subject. “You look tired.”
He abandoned the frown in favour of a sly smile. “Not too tired.”
I smiled back. “How was work?”
“I don’t want to talk about work.” The frown set in again. “How was your day?”
Adam never talked about his job. I wasn’t even sure what he did during the long hours he spent at the office. I never pushed for an explanation. I knew he was unhappy there, and I also knew that as long as we were in New York he was never going to admit it to me. As a result, we had a lot of conversations that danced around the subject.
“It was okay. We spent the morning at Ryan’s making cake, had a quiet afternoon and then headed to the palace for dinner.”
Adam pushed food around his plate. “Dad gave you a hard time?”
I shrugged. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
I could see the tension in his jaw. “I don’t know what his problem is.”
“I do,” I volunteered. “You married her.”
Tired as he was, his dark blue eyes shone as he smiled across at me. “A mistake, you think?”
“A massive error in judgement,” I confirmed. “You’ll never amount to anything now.”
Adam reached for me. “You’re wrong, Charlotte.” He kissed my hand and then kissed the top of Bridget’s head. “I’m pretty sure I’ve reached great heights.”
2. GIRAFFE STOCK
Adam
After eight months of taking care of Bridget during the week, Mrs Brown was starting to become unreliable – and always at the last minute. Keeping up with Bridget was hard, and it was becoming more and more obvious that sweet old Mrs Brown just wasn’t up to the task any more.
“We need to find someone else, Charli.” I slipped my phone into my pocket. “Mrs Brown isn’t working out.”
“I know,” she agreed, kissing the top of Bridget’s head as she passed. “We’ll sort it out.”
If Charli had a plan, she wasn’t sharing. She was heading for the door as if our childcare problem didn’t exist.
“Stop right there, blondie,” I ordered.
She dropped her grip on the door handle and turned back. “I’m going to be late.”
“I’m already late,” I replied.
“Me too,” added Bridget.
Both of us looked across at the scruffy girl at the table eating breakfast. Some mornings we were organised, and some mornin
gs we weren’t – like today. There was a puddle of milk on the table, Bridget was still wearing pyjamas, and even from a distance I could see oatmeal in her hair.
“One of us has to stay home.”
“I would love to.” Charli’s smooth tone would’ve sounded completely believable to Bridget, but I knew better. “But I have a meeting at nine.”
I didn’t even need to put my argument forward. There was no way I could swing a day off.
“He owes you a day, Adam,” she added. “You’ve worked late all week.” I shook my head but didn’t reply, mindful of little ears. “Fine,” Charli huffed, changing tack. “We’ll resolve this like adults.”
Scissors, paper, rock probably wasn’t the most adult way to settle who’d stay home, but that’s how we decided. Charlotte won because Charlotte always wins, but Bridget was confused by the result. “Who’s the winner?”
“Your daddy is,” she replied, grinning at me. “You’ve got him for the whole day, Bridge.”
“I just love that winner!” she squealed, whacking her spoon on the edge of the table.
Bridget scored the first kiss. I got one in the dying seconds as Charli was leaving. Even in heels, she had to stretch to kiss me. She wasn’t the least bit apologetic so I stood tall, making access difficult. “I love you both,” she said, straightening my tie.
As the front door closed, I looked across at my newly acquired sidekick, wondering how the heck I was going to tie the day together. I had a mountain of work waiting for me at the office, and not getting it done would mean another night of working back late.
“Bridge, what experience do you have in drafting stock purchase agreements?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I like giraffe stock.”
I smiled. “Perfect. You’re hired. Let’s go.” She clambered off the chair before asking where we were headed. “You can come to work with me today.”
