Page 24 of Kisses Behind The Spotlight 2: Finale

Me: Fine. Send me my money back.

Yarissa: Rude responses. Yeah, this is definitely Milly. Is this like a signal for me to go tell daddy you got kidnapped?

Me: Never giving you a random Apple Pay again. Enjoy it.

I laughed at the phone and typed a reply. Stepp slipped into the car and snatched my phone. His brows furrowed until he saw it was Yarissa’s smart mouth texting.

“Oh, you better be texting your family or something, smiling that fucking hard,” he grumbled.

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Stepp,” I joked, connecting my phone to the car.

We were two sides of the same coin, and I had to tip my hat to Yarissa. Spoiled as fuck, and didn’t know what the word no meant. That was until Stepp was assigned as my security while I traveled internationally a year ago. The weekend I fell head over heels for Stepp was such a rollercoaster that I’d never forget.

I arrived in Milan during Fashion Week with Jameera and Q, but our itineraries and commitments were so different that I would be alone for most of the trip. My dad, Mama Marissa, Yarissa, and most of the men who worked for Xain had COVID and couldn’t travel, so I had no choice but to bring security. I didn’t mind traveling alone, but they insisted. Mama Marissa called in a favor from her ex-husband’s family and suggested Stepp as my security. From what Q told me, they’d known him for years, since he spent years working for their Uncle Vincent before he bounced over to work for Q’s cousin Karmello, the current head of the Bentley Family in Miami.

On our second day in Milan, Stepp and I bumped heads about going to see the Duomo with Q and Jameera that morning. He told me no, refused to take me, and, unbeknownst to me, hid my phone until it was too late to even think about squeezing the excursion in before my call time. I made it to the Prada Fashion show on time and killed it when it was my time to walk. The moment was a dream come true, and I was riding such a high after the fashion show when Stepp guided me out of the venue. Just before we reached the door, I bumped into a woman, and she dropped her clutch. I wasn’t sure who was at fault, but I bent down to grab the clutch. When I stood up and came face to face with my egg donor, I froze. The chatter in the room faded, and my hands trembled as my brain scrambled for my next move.

My mom hadn’t been in my life since I was a toddler. She chose to chase her modeling dreams, got addicted to drugs, and even after my dad put her in rehab with hopes that she would be a better mother, she still had no desire to get to know me. My mom was a model, owned a clothing line, married a man in the fashion industry, and lived a very public life without ever acknowledging me. Most of what I knew about my mom came from her parents, who I was still in contact with, and from what the media publicized about her.

I always knew there was a chance we could cross paths. However, it hadn’t happened in the seven years I’d been modeling, and I guess I’d shoved the possibility to the back of my mental Rolodex. I watched her eyes scan my face as she offered a faint smile and removed her clutch from my hand.

She strutted off, and my eyes followed her. The further she got, the lower I felt, and the more my heart shattered. The few times I thought about us crossing paths, I’d wondered if we’d talk. If seeing me face to face would make her realize that I was worthy of a relationship. I’d learned neither option would be my reality. I knelt over, struggling to catch my breath. Stepp helped me stand up straight and led me outside.

“Excuse me. She needs air! Make a hole!” He demanded in the crowd of affluent assholes who couldn’t give a fuck about me struggling to breathe. Stepp started elbowing people to get through the lingering crowd until we neared the waiting truck. I was full-on sobbing and didn’t care who saw. Leaning over, I placed my hands on my knees as I had a snotty-nosed cry.

“Who was that lady? What happened?” Stepp placed his hands on the sides of my face and forced my head up.

I cried harder because Stepp saw me with snot running down my face. He wasn’t fazed, though. Stepp pulled a napkin from his pocket and gently cleaned my face while I tried to slow my breathing. After a few minutes in the night air, Stepp helped me into the backseat of the truck and surprised the fuck out of me when he sat with me and allowed me to finish crying on his shoulder.

“That was my mom. My first time seeing her since I was a toddler,” I whispered once I got myself together.

“Damn,” he commented.

I laughed, pulling myself out of his grasp. “I shouldn’t even be crying. That lady ain’t never been shit, and she never will be. It’s my fault for thinking she would change. I’m twenty-five. She’s had plenty of time to reach out, and she chose not to. I’m genuinely mad at myself for wishing things went differently.”

“Your reaction was natural.”

“No, it’s not. I should’ve known better. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Unfortunately, I was given up at birth. Neither of my parents wanted me. I bounced around foster homes until I got older, and then it was group homes. I asked Tech to help me find my parents a few years ago. Shit crushed me when I found out that I was the result of infidelity, and both of my parents have other kids that they raised and took care of.”

“That’s fucked up,” I lamented, glancing over at him.

“What’s even more fucked up is I still wanted to meet them, but they refused. The shit fucked me up, so I burned both of their houses and all of the happy memories they created in them with the children they chose to claim,” he grinned.

The satisfaction on his face sent jealousy coursing through me. “I wish I had the nerve to tell Janna about herself back there. Or tripped her when she walked off. Hell, I could’ve stolen her clutch. Anything other than look like a deer caught in headlights. Your grin tells me burning the houses down was healing.”

“It definitely was,” he laughed, and I noticed how handsome he was.

The man was usually mute and menacing. Stepp was light-skinned, with the prettiest pink lips and sandy brown locs he’d probably had retwisted right before we left the country. In the dimly lit truck, I paused to truly take in his perfect features for the very first time. The smile he hid was perfect, and I wanted to tell him to smile more, but decided against it as he kept talking.

“Burning their houses down was the best high I ever rode in my life. But fuck that, you have a big ass family that loves you regardless. You didn’t grow up missing shit. Fuck her. Vincent and Xain became my family because they were always there for me. Family isn’t who you’re born to. It’s who shows up for you.”

“You are right about that. Still, if I’m ever in her presence again, I’m going to seize the moment and give her the business,” I affirmed as we pulled up to the restaurant where we were supposed to meet Q and Jameera after the show.

I quickly pulled my compact mirror out of my purse to make sure I didn’t look too terrible after my meltdown. Besides the puffy eyes, I was fine. It took me a few seconds to whip out my lip gloss and swipe on a coat. Stepp climbed out of the truck, then helped me out.

“Awww, shit. If you really wanted to seize the moment, this is your chance,” Stepp’s words had me scanning the area for Janna. Sure enough, she was dangling off her husband’s arm, cackling with the two other couples approaching the entrance with her.