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  And he wasn’t going to let her run away this time.

  He wouldn’t go to her just yet; he’d give her a bit of space for the next couple of days. Knowing how easily she was spooked, Jonathan knew better than to add any extra pressure. He didn’t want give her any incentive to skip town.

  Although, he was fairly certain that wouldn’t happen. The invitation-by-text he’d gotten from Sienna this morning guaranteed Ivana would be in town for at least the next few days. Toby had been nominated for a Producer of the Year award by some association for music agents and producers and Sienna was throwing a small gathering on Wednesday night to celebrate.

  After receiving her text, Jonathan had replied, asking if she’d told Ivana about it and, if so, had her sister given her any indication she wouldn’t be able to make the party. Sienna told him she hadn’t given her a chance to make any excuses, pointing out the years’ worth of family get-togethers she’d missed to guilt Ivana into attending.

  There was a slim chance she would defy Sienna and leave, but unlike three years ago, Jonathan wasn’t willing to let her stay gone this time. If she left, he was going after her. He would not allow her cowardliness to rob them of any more time together.

  He would give her these next two days to work through her fears on her own. If she needed more time, then she would have to spend it with him at her side.

  He pushed his chair back from the desk and grabbed his empty coffee mug, preparing to reward his sudden resolve with a much-needed shot of caffeine. He opened the door to his office and nearly ran smack into Nicolas.

  “Whoa,” Jonathan said, rearing back.

  “Oh, sorry!” Nicolas said, backing up several steps. “I was just coming to see you.”

  “Welcome back,” Jonathan said, patting Nicolas’s forearm. He held up the hand with the mug. “Have a seat in my office. I’m going to grab myself more coffee and then we can talk.”

  LaKeisha appeared out of nowhere, snatching the mug from his hand.

  “I’ve got it.” She nudged her chin toward Jonathan’s office. “You two go talk.”

  Nicolas hitched his thumb toward LaKeisha’s retreating form. In a lowered voice, he said, “I’ve been meaning to ask, has she always been this bossy?”

  “Yes!” His receptionist yelled from the break room.

  “She also has a heightened sense of hearing,” Jonathan said. He gestured for Nicolas to follow him back into his office. “Come on. There are a few things I want to discuss with you.”

  By the time he was settled in his chair, LaKeisha was already back with his black coffee.

  “How is your grandmother?” she asked, handing Nicolas a second mug of coffee.

  “Thanks.” He smiled. “My grandmother’s doing a lot better. She was released from the hospital two days ago. The biggest problem now is keeping her out of the kitchen. She wants to cook for all of her children now that they’re all home.”

  “Sounds like my grandmother,” LaKeisha said with a laugh. “Glad to hear she’s doing okay.” She squeezed Nicolas’s shoulder before leaving them alone.

  “Is your uncle still there?” Jonathan asked.

  “Yeah, he’s going to stay for a while. Thanks to Ms. Dayton, he’s already been in touch with an immigration lawyer who’s going to help when he’s ready to come back home—back to New Orleans.”

  “Back home,” Jonathan emphasized. “And I’m happy to hear Serena is on top of things, not that I’m surprised. She’s a fantastic lawyer.” He leaned back in his chair. “What do you think about the kind of law she practices?” Jonathan asked him.

  “Immigration law?”

  Jonathan nodded. “I’ve watched you this past month as you worked with Ivana. You seemed to have taken an interest in it. Am I mistaken?”

  “Not at all,” Nicolas said. “I’ve…I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I just…I don’t know. When I told my family I wanted to be a lawyer, they were all excited because it meant…” He rubbed his fingers together, the international symbol for cash. “Immigration lawyers aren’t known for raking in the big bucks.”

  Jonathan leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk. “I won’t give you any self-righteous bullshit about how everything isn’t always about the money. It’s important to assess the earning potential for whatever path you choose for your future. However, if you find yourself in the right situation, you may have the chance to practice the kind of law you want to practice while also making a good living.”

  Nicolas’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “I’m not following,” he said, running his palms up and down his thighs.

  “Look, Nicolas, as smart as you are, you’re going to have firms coming at you from all sides, offering you the moon in order to join them. And I wouldn’t blame you one bit for taking one of them up on an offer.”

  “But?” Nicolas asked.

  “Harrison and I would really like you to join Campbell & Holmes once you’ve completed your studies,” Jonathan said, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer. “We want to make the advocacy program you and Ivana have been working on a permanent fixture, and I can’t think of anyone better to run it than you. If you’re interested, that is.” Jonathan put up his hands. “I know a small, two-person law firm in the Quarter doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of those big firms in the high-rises on Canal Street and Poydras, but—”

  “Yes,” Nicolas said. “I want it. I’ll take it.”

  A smile curved up Jonathan’s lips. It was his first real smile since Saturday night.

  “Well, that was easier than I thought it would be,” he said. He held his hand out to him. “Welcome to the firm.”

  Unpinning the skirt from the line, Ivana clipped the wooden clothespin next to the others on her sleeve and folded her favorite ankle-length skirt over her arm. She slowly twirled the circular clothesline around, freeing the last of the garments and carrying them into the house. She dropped them onto the plain, light brown wooden table that had replaced the reddish oak one that had sat in her Granny Elise’s dining room for years. She began rolling her shirts into tight logs and stuffing them into the suitcase that sat open on the table.

  She’d just tucked a maxi dress into the suitcase when her hands stilled and she nearly collapsed into a nearby chair. She folded her arm over the pile of sun-fresh laundry and dropped her head onto her forearm.

  What was she doing?

  “You don’t have to do this,” she whispered. She didn’t have to run away.

  But how could she remain here, knowing how Jonathan must feel about her? She’d had the chance to do the right thing. She could have talked to him, told him about Patience’s suggestion that she not return to Haiti for the sake of her health, and that she was seriously contemplating heeding her supervisor’s warning. What would have been the harm in just sharing that small bit of information with him?

  It was as if she couldn’t help but screw things up when it came to the man she loved more than any other on this earth. He didn’t think he could trust her to tell him the truth, and Ivana couldn’t blame him one bit. At this point, she wouldn’t trust herself.

  But just because she’d likely messed things up beyond repair with Jonathan didn’t mean she had to leave the country. She could go with her contingency plan and move to a nearby city. That way, when she had some kind of family obligation, like the party Sienna had planned for tonight, Ivana could be just a short drive away.

  The ache that had resided in her chest since Saturday night began to throb.

  She didn’t want to leave New Orleans. This city was a part of her. It was in her bones, in her very marrow. She’d fallen in love with it all over again—had been reminded every time she passed a saxophonist blowing out a bluesy tune on a corner in the Quarter, or caught a whiff of spicy jambalaya from the open window of a nearby restaurant, just how much there was to cherish about this place of her heart.

  She was startled by a knock at the front door.

  “One minute,” she called, certai
n it was yet another real estate scout coming to ask if she was interested in selling her property. She peered out the front door’s small crescent-shaped window and blinked twice at the sight of Willow Holmes’s smiling face staring at her from the other side.

  “Hey there.” Willow waved.

  Ivana opened the door. “Willow! Hello!” she said with a hug. “What brings you here?”

  “I was at that cute new cafe on Piety Street and took a chance that you would be here,” she said, stepping inside at Ivana’s urging. “I hope it’s okay that I stopped by.”

  “Of course,” Ivana said. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “No, I won’t be long. I just wanted to quickly talk to you about something.”

  “At least sit,” Ivana said. She guided her toward the couch and they both took a seat. “What’s up?”

  “Well, I was speaking to Sienna this morning, and she mentioned that you were home to stay. Harrison was under the impression that you were only here on a short leave and would be returning to Haiti.”

  “It was up in the air for a while,” Ivana said.

  “So, are you here to stay?” Willow asked.

  She hesitated for a second before she answered, “Yes. Yes, I’m here to stay,” Ivana said.

  The relieved smiled that spread across Willow’s face was both touching and a bit confusing. Ivana wouldn’t have thought her plans would have mattered that much to her.

  “That is so good to hear,” Willow said. She folded her hands in her lap. “Now that I know you intend to remain in the city, I have a proposition for you. Wait, are you still working on that program for the firm? I think it’s amazing and necessary what you’ve helped Harrison and Jonathan set up, by the way.”

  “I’m done with that,” Ivana said. “Jonathan was going to ask Nicolas Flores if he would run the program.”

  “Oh, that’s perfect. Nicolas is such a sweetheart, and so smart. I hope he accepts the offer. I’ll have to ask Harrison about it when I get home.” Willow clapped her hands together. “So, this may work out even better than I thought,” she said. “You know about the foundation we’ve set up in Diane’s name, correct?”

  “Speaking of amazing and necessary things,” Ivana said.

  Willow nodded. “The response has been phenomenal. In fact, we’ve gotten so much press and support that we’re going to need more help. Indina and I have interviewed several candidates, but the only one who had everything we were looking for in a director was just offered a position in Jacksonville that was too good to pass up. And then, like a gift from God, I find out that you’re moving back to New Orleans.”

  Ivana’s heartbeat began to escalate. “Are you asking me to run the foundation?”

  “Yes,” Willow said. She put her hands up. “Let me explain a few things. First, we’re still in the early stages, so this isn’t a full-time, forty hours a week job. I’ve been doing much of the work so far, and I’d say I’ve spent maybe four to five hours a day, so you’re looking at part-time employment for the first few months. However, based on how everything has progressed since the launch, I have no doubt we’ll need a full-time director soon.”

  “Can I ask why you don’t want to stay on as the director?” Ivana asked.

  “As much as I would love to stay on, I can’t,” Willow said with a smile that contradicted her apologetic tone. “I was just accepted into the graduate program at Tulane.”

  “Wow!” Ivana hugged her. “Congratulations! What are you studying?”

  “Biomedical Engineering,” Willow said. “That’s just one reason I still plan to work closely with you. One of the foundation’s goals is to offer STEM-related activities for girls, so in between classes and lab work, I plan to help develop programming for the after-school clinics and summer boot camp we want to start.

  “I know this is a lot to consider, and you probably already have a job lined up, but I hope you do consider it, Ivana. The Diane Holmes Foundation needs someone who is committed to helping those who really need it, and I don’t know a single person who has given more of her time to helping others than you. You’re an inspiration.”

  Ivana’s throat tightened to the point she could barely speak.

  “Well, if I knew you’d make me cry I would have never let you in the house,” she said.

  Willow laughed, then in an almost pleading tone, asked, “Will you think about it?”

  Ivana nodded. “I’ll think about it. I don’t want to give you an answer on the spot, but I’m 99.9% sure that I’m a yes.”

  Willow’s eyes went wide. “Are you? Oh, Ivana. I promise not to pressure you into doing anything that isn’t right for you, but I feel it in my bones that this is right. With the way everything has fallen into place with this foundation, I wouldn’t be surprised if Diane isn’t up there running this whole thing from heaven.”

  “She would be the one to do it,” Ivana said with a laugh. She sobered. “Thank you for entrusting me to lead something that’s so important to the entire Holmes family—to this city. That means a lot to me.”

  “I hope you say yes, Ivana.” She put her hands up. “No pressure! No pressure, but we would love to have you.”

  After gathering her in another hug, Ivana led Willow to the door and walked her out to her car. Once inside again, she went over to the open suitcase and stared at the contents. A thick, uncomfortable knot formed in her throat. She tipped her head back, closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath.

  When she opened her eyes again, she knew what she had to do. A sense of peace washed over her as she began to remove the rolled up shirts from the suitcase. She went into the bedroom and placed them in the second drawer of the cedar chest of drawers, then went back into the dining room and gathered the rest of the clothes she’d taken in from the line.

  After she’d put away her clothes, Ivana rolled the suitcase into the bedroom and tucked it inside the closet. She didn’t plan to take it back out anytime soon.

  Maybe she would rent this house from Sienna. Or maybe she would look into buying one of her own.

  Or maybe she could convince Jonathan to give her another chance.

  “You have some nerve,” Ivana whispered.

  It was downright ballsy of her to presume Jonathan would be willing to ever see her face again, but if it took the rest of her life, Ivana was determined to earn his forgiveness.

  No matter what happened, she was home to stay.

  Jonathan made the block around Toby’s house, searching for a parking space that wouldn’t result in his car being covered in a pile of leaves and acorns later tonight. Parking was a bitch in this neighborhood if you didn’t make it here before the residents came home from work. He’d planned to leave the office over an hour ago, just after Harrison had, but a phone call from a client had held him up.

  He managed to slip into a space in front of Toby and Sienna’s next-door neighbor’s house—a space that was, thankfully, free of arching oak tree branches. He walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell, scrolling through live basketball scores on the NBA’s Twitter feed as he waited for someone to answer.

  Jonathan had almost managed to convince himself it was the chill in the air that had his hands slightly trembling, and not nervousness over seeing Ivana when he walked into the house. Or worse, not seeing her.

  She’s in there.

  She had to be there. Not because she wouldn’t leave New Orleans without saying goodbye to him. She’d proven three years ago she had no problem doing that. But she wouldn’t leave if Sienna had asked her to stay. When it came to her baby sister, Ivana was nothing if not loyal.

  After a minute or so, Toby opened the front door, a broad smile stretched across his face. “My man.” He held his hand out. “Thanks for coming!”

  “As if I would miss this,” Jonathan said, slapping his offered palm and bringing him in for a one-armed hug. “Congrats, man. I’m proud of you.”

  They stepped into the foyer and he clamped a hand on Toby’s shoulder.
“Now, when it comes to winning this Producer of the Year thing—”

  “I know, I know,” Toby interrupted him. “It doesn’t matter if I win or lose. It’s an honor just to be nominated.”

  “Bullshit. If you don’t win I’m clowning you like a dog.”

  Toby barked out a laugh. “I’d do the same to you.”

  “I know damn well you would,” Jonathan said with a grin. He followed Toby to the open-concept kitchen, living, and dining room, and did a scan of the space. He quickly swallowed the panicked feeling that threatened to come over him when he didn’t spot Ivana anywhere. Maybe she was in the bathroom? Or maybe Sienna and Toby’s kids were at home and she was in their room reading them a bedtime story?

  “Hey honey.” Sienna walked over to him, tilting her cheek up for a kiss.

  Jonathan obliged, then whispered in her ear. “Is your sister around?”

  Sienna’s brow furrowed. “I thought she would have come over with you.”

  His heart skipped several beats. She wasn’t here.

  Don’t panic.

  “I was late leaving the office,” Jonathan said.

  There were a million and one possible explanations for Ivana’s tardiness. He wouldn’t jump to the worse-case scenario.

  What Jonathan found most interesting was that Ivana hadn’t mentioned anything to Sienna about Saturday night. If she had told her sister about their argument at Mack’s victory celebration, Sienna wouldn’t have assumed Ivana would have come here with him.

  There were several ways to interpret that, but Jonathan was taking it as a positive. Unless she planned to send Sienna a text from whatever far off country she’d fled to.

  “I’m sure she’s on her way,” he said, though the only thing he knew for certain was that he would find her, wherever Ivana eventually landed. If he had to practice law from Haiti, he would do it.