The Sweetest Love (Love Conquers All Book 5) (10 page)

“Would you stop looking at the door like that every two seconds,” Karen admonished, shifting on the bench. The hard cushion on the bench did nothing to help her get comfortable.

Starr flashed her sister a nervous smile. She and Karen had been flabbergasted when their mother told them they had a younger sister. Immediately they wanted to reach out to her.

“I just hope she shows up.”

Shifting again Karen assured her, “She’s coming. Maybe she got held up in traffic or something.”

Starr lifted a comical brow at her sister. She sure was restless. “What’s the matter with you? You got ants in your pants?”

Laughing, Karen plucked the paper wrapping from the straw she’d balled up across the booth at Starr. “Shut up. Your nephew is over here acting up.”

Starr hadn’t been quick enough at ducking. The tiny ball of paper bounced off her nose and onto the table. “Nobody told your little nasty, fast tail to go get pregnant again,” she joked.

Karen Peretti was six months pregnant with her fourth child. Her first two children were by her deceased husband. Alicia was twelve and Kyle ten. Thirteen month old Noah was the love child of Karen and her second husband, Dominic (Dom) Peretti, Jr.

Karen’s sassy comeback was halted by the look on Starr’s face. She’d look as if she’d seen a ghost.

Turning to investigate what had stopped their playful bantering in its tracks she had to do a double take. “Oh my God,” she murmured in disbelief.

Roxy’s belly was a tangled ball of nerves. She’d declined the waitress’s offer to take her to the table where the Peretti party was seated. Her legs were literally trembling as they took her to the back of the diner. All day she’d been anticipating this meeting; had called Adam and her mom a hundred times expressing her anxiety. Part of her was eager to get this meeting over with, while the other part of her was excited and prayed she and her sisters would at least want to get to know each other.

At the last minute, she called Adam to drive her to the diner. Before getting out of the vehicle, he kissed her and assured her he’d be waiting right there for her, if she needed him.

The diner wasn’t filled to capacity, which made it easy for her to locate their booth. The moment she saw the two women talking and laughing, she felt something stirring in her spirit.

Easing closer to the booth, her heart raced like a runaway train. The woman facing her looked strangely familiar.
Where do I know her from?
she thought as her steps slowed. Startling awareness dawned on her.
Oh no. This can’t be.
She knew where she’d seen that face.

Before Roxy could recover the woman with her back to her turned around. The second their eyes connected she felt the air in her lungs seize up in her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She blinked several times to keep the tears burning the back of her eyes from falling.

All her life she’d been told she looked like her mother. And she did. So how was it possible that she was looking at a mirror image of herself? Was this one of those strange phenomena where a person became a chameleon and took on the physical appearance of another?

Karen and Starr slid out of the booth at the same time as Roxy made her final approach to the booth.

“Hi Roxy. We’re your sisters.” Karen reached out and took her trembling hand. “I’m Karen.”

Starr reached out and took Roxy’s other trembling hand. “And I’m Starr.”

So full of emotion, Roxy was choked up. All her life she’d only had her mother as family. No father. No grandparents. No aunts. No uncles. No cousins. And now she had two sisters. And the only thing she could feel radiating from them was lots of love. Even though they’d just met less than a minute ago, she knew without a shadow of doubt that they loved her. And she loved them in return.

“Oh honey, don’t cry,” Karen soothed as she took Roxy in her arms, hugging her the best that she could with her pregnant belly in the way.

Roxy’s body shook as she let herself go and really cry. Starr had stepped behind her and hugged her, too. The feeling of love she immediately sensed was cocooning itself snuggly around her heart and soul.
I have sisters.

They stood there in their sisterly embrace for what seemed like forever, not caring about the curious stares of the other diners. Karen was the first to break the embrace. “I need to sit down. This baby is moving like crazy.”

Starr and Roxy laughed.

“Can I?” Roxy timidly asked.

Karen smiled at her sister, her mini-me. “Sure.”

Gingerly Roxy placed her hand on Karen’s belly. She had never felt a baby moving while in the uterus. “Wow,” she whispered in awe at the tiny fluttering beneath her hand.

Taking their seats in the booth, Roxy sat next to Starr. Turning to her she said, “I know you.”

She giggled when Starr and Karen both raised a suspicious brow. Shaking her head she clarified, “I’m sorry. I guess I should have said I know who you are. You’re my boss’s wife. I’m an accountant at Dawson Investments. I saw your picture in his office.”

“Shut up!” Starr and Karen both shouted in disbelief.

“This is so crazy,” Karen commented. “First we find out that we have a baby sister.” Winking at Starr she teased, “You’re not the baby anymore.”

Starr playfully nudged Roxy. “Thanks a lot kiddo.”

Roxy laughed, shrugging her shoulders. “Sorry,
big
sis.”

Beaming, Starr admitted, “I like the sound of that. You know I get to boss you around. How old are you?”

“Twenty-six. I’ll be twenty-seven on December 24.”

“Mmm-hmm, get ready baby sis. I got twenty-six years to make up for.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “As I was saying…”

Starr leaned over and whispered loud enough for Karen to hear. “You gotta watch her. Everybody thinks I’m the bossy one, but it’s really her. But don’t worry; we can take her down when she gets out of hand.”

Roxy laughed, already enjoying the sisterly taunting.

“Anyway, like I was saying,” Karen interrupted. “First we find out we have a sister. Then we find out that sister works for other sister’s husband. And baby sister got a nerve to come strutting up in here looking like me!”

Starr and Roxy laughed at Karen’s exaggerated scowl.

“I know! I almost had a heart attack when you turned around. Everybody always comment on how much I look like my mom, but I look like you, too.” Looking at Starr she said, “And we have the same eyes.”

Starr smiled at her new baby sister. They did have the same eyes. For years she hated her eyes because they reminded her so much of her father’s. She would never admit this to anyone, but she was glad that she had most of her mother’s features. Growing up she felt terrible for Karen. Her sister would always express she wished she looked more like their mother. Starr would often comfort her with reminding her that they both had their mother’s adorable dimples when they smiled.

“Yep, we do have the same eyes.”

The trio stopped talking long enough to give the waitress their dinner orders. After the waitress left, Karen turned the conversation to serious talk.

“I really wish we would have found out about you much sooner.”

“Me too,” Roxy quietly admitted. “It was really hard growing up with just me and my mom.”

Tilting her head to the side, Starr studied her. “You don’t have any other family?”

Shaking her head in the negative, Roxy disclosed, “My grandmother left my mom with my grandfather when she was a little girl. She hasn’t seen her since. And when my mom got pregnant with me, my grandfather beat her and put her out. The last time she saw him was at his funeral.”

Karen and Starr both sat seething when she told them how her step-grandmother pretty much only used Reba as a live-in maid and did nothing to come to Reba’s defense as her father battered her.

It was Karen who wanted to know, “And you never met our father before.”

“No. I wrote him a letter once, when I was about eight years old. But he never responded. I used to think it was my fault he didn’t want to see me.”

“Good old Harold. At least he’s consistent with something. ” Starr sarcastically drawled.

Reaching across the table, Karen took her youngest sister’s hand. “Honey, he had Starr and me feeling the same way growing up. It was nothing for him to not come home for days, weeks or months at a time.”

Roxy’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Gone weeks or months at a time?” Nelson West was the closest thing to a father figure she had known. She couldn’t imagine him just up and disappearing like that.

Karen lifted her glass and took a sip of water before setting it back down. “Girl, we’d be here all month if we told you half the crap that man pulled while we were growing up.”

All of Roxy’s fears were put to rest as she and her sisters got acquainted over dinner. They didn’t dwell too much on their father. As far as they were concerned all of his past shenanigans of dodging his responsibilities of being a father were a moot point.

“Starr and I have let all of the bitterness go where our father is concerned.” Shrugging a slim shoulder, Karen further pointed out, “We refuse to give him that kind of power over us.”

Both Karen and Starr supported her in her decision to meet their father. “I just want to look him in his face… just once.” She smiled when they also offered to be there with her when she did finally meet him.

As if sensing his presence Roxy looked up to see Adam sauntering toward her. She was so nervous, she hadn’t paid attention to how good he looked with his fresh haircut, white t-shirt and tan cargo pants.

Starr also looked up after seeing the smile curving Roxy’s lips. “Humph, brother sure ‘nough got swag.”

Whipping around Karen had to see who they were talking about. Whipping back around facing her sisters, she mouthed the words, “Lord… have… mercy.”

Three sets of eyes stared up at him when he stopped at their booth. “Hey,” Roxy greeted.

Adam breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t take waiting any longer in the car. He guessed since she hadn’t come back outside that all was going well. But he had to see for himself.

“Hey. I’m just checking on you. You alright?” he queried his dark eyes searching her face.

Before she could answer, Starr and Karen were all over him. Starr rolled her neck in defense. “Checking on her?” And Karen put her hand where a slim waist used to be as she snipped, “Of course she’s alright. She’s with her sisters.”

Having to have the last word, Starr huffed with an air of haughtiness, “You don’t have to come in here checking up on her.”

Oh… my… God!
Roxy watched, utterly horrified. What in the world? They had just shape shifted into a couple of roaring lionesses. Her eyes bounced from Starr, to Karen, and then to Adam.

A lazy smile curved Adam’s full lips.
Now that’s what I’m talking about.
He was definitely feeling their protective nature. Just as Roxy was about to try and smooth things over he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “It’s cool baby,” he whispered against her mouth.

Standing, he flashed a smile as he offered his hand first to Karen. “Ah, you must be the older sister. Karen, right?”

Impressed at how loving he was with Roxy, Karen glanced over at Starr.
He’s alright.
Starr nodded, reading her sister’s mind. Returning the smile, she accepted the proffered hand. “Yes, that would be me and you are?”

“Adam West” Releasing her hand, he reached for Starr’s. “And you are Starr.”

Nodding her head, she said, “Yep, that’s me.” Further breaking the ice she winked at Adam, making a purring sound, imitating Cat Woman. “Nice to meet you, Batman.”

Roxy joined in as they all laughed at Starr’s wacky sense of humor. Shaking her head, first the girls at work and now her sister; poor Adam. He must have gotten horribly teased as a kid because of his name.

Adam was a good sport though, taking the light-hearted teasing in stride. “I see you’re in good hands. I’m going back to the counter to see if my order is ready.”

“Oh, well go get your food and bring it back here and eat with us,” Karen offered.

Adam thanked her, but declined. Now that he knew Roxy was fairing ok, he was satisfied. He didn’t want to intrude on their first meeting. She needed to have this time with her sisters. Besides, if things continued smoothly on the path he and Roxy were travelling, he was sure to see them again.

As they watched Adam disappear around the corner to the counter, Starr smiled at Roxy. “He seems really nice. Are you dating?”

Shyly smiling, Roxy admitted, “I guess you can say we’re moving in that direction.”

“Well good for you,” Karen said as she dug through her purse.

Roxy oohed and ahhed over pictures of her nieces and nephews that Starr and Karen just so happened to conveniently have in their purses. She couldn’t wait until she met all six of them.

She only had two pictures in her wallet which she proudly shared. The one picture was of her mother and her when she was toddler.

After Starr looked at the picture she passed it to Karen. She studied it marveling at how much Roxy resembled her baby pictures. “I can see where you look a lot like your mom, too. She’s really beautiful.”

Roxy bashfully smiled. She thought her mom was beautiful, too. “Thanks.”

The other photo was of her and Abby the year before Abby died. “Abby was Adam’s little sister.”

They sat quietly listening as Roxy told them about Abby and how they became friends. “She really was like my sister. I miss her so much.”

Roxy leaned her head on Starr’s shoulder when she wrapped her arm around her in a gesture of comfort. “Oh honey, I’m so sorry.” Tears welled up in her eyes, because she didn’t know what she would do if anything ever happened to her sister, Ava or Summer.

“I’m sorry, too,” Karen said, wiping a falling tear. “That poor little child was too young to die.”

“Thank you.” Roxy whispered choked up, really missing her friend.

“You’re welcome,” they both said in hushed tones.

The double meaning of Roxy’s thanks didn’t go unnoticed. They knew her thanks were not just for their empathy, but for their willingness to open their hearts and let her in.