“Austin. Austin?”
He glanced up to find his mother staring at him, concern in her eyes.
“What’s on your mind? I called your name several times. Is it work? Your dad told me the negotiations regarding that New York condominium project have been a little stressful.”
Glad to have his thoughts steered away from Janna and what should have been, Austin grabbed a bottle of water.
“Yeah, we’re getting close to an agreement, but it’ll take a trip out there to finalize everything.” As the chief financial officer for their family’s company, Reynolds Development, he was used to tough negotiations. After graduating from college, despite already being a millionaire, he had joined the family business and taken the company to the next level with his negotiating abilities.
“Please tell me this trip is not going to cause you to miss the anxiety and depression awareness benefit Saturday. I want my whole family to be there.”
“I’ll be back in Atlanta Friday evening.” He hated attending formal events, but this cause was close to his mother’s heart. Shunned and disowned by her wealthy family for marrying Austin’s father, who at the time was a carpenter, Sheila had attempted suicide when Austin was twelve. For years, she had suffered from depression. With the help of therapy, she’d grown stronger. Once they moved from New Jersey to Georgia, she became an advocate for others suffering from depression. It was her own form of healing.
“I know Zoe is looking forward to the gala. We went shopping the day before yesterday for our dresses. You’re not going to want to leave her side when you see hers,” his mother said, interrupting his thoughts.
Oh, great. Seeing Janna had made him totally forget about his broken engagement, which spoke volumes about his lack of feelings for Zoe. His mother absolutely adored her and had already considered her the daughter she’d always longed for.
“I hate to tell you this, but I guess you’re going to find out eventually. This afternoon Zoe and I called off our engagement.”
“Oh, no!” The pained expression on his mother’s face sent a stab of guilt straight to his heart.
“Why? What happened?” She set down the large spoon she was using to stir what looked to be collard greens. His mother was the only person he knew who cooked large meals at least three times per week. “No, don’t tell me. It was you again, wasn’t it? I had hoped you were finally ready to settle down. How many hearts are you going to break before you understand that you can’t go around dating a woman for years, or in this case asking a woman to marry you, when you don’t love her?”
“What’s going on?” His father, Patrick, walked into the kitchen and set his car keys on the counter before planting a kiss on Sheila’s cheek. “What’s with the scowl?” he asked her before turning his attention to Austin. He and his father were about the same height, but Patrick was a tad thicker around the waist.
“Your son...” Sheila started but stopped, her scowl growing more intense.
“I just told Mom that Zoe and I called off our engagement.”
His father shook his head and clasped a hand on Austin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Austin knew his dad well enough to know what he was thinking, and he knew that at some point in the very near future, probably when Sheila wasn’t around, there would be a man-to-man talk. Neither of his parents could say anything that he hadn’t already thought about. But his mother was definitely right in saying that he had to stop this. It wasn’t fair to the women involved, and it wasn’t fair to his family, especially his mother, who had worried over the years that he still wasn’t over Janna. Before today, he was able to blow off her concern. But after seeing Janna at the bakery, he wondered if she wasn’t far off in her assessment.
Macy handed Janna a few more hairpins. “Thanks for attending the End Depression fundraiser with me since Derek couldn’t.” They were riding in a chauffeured car while Janna pinned her sister’s hair up.
“I’m glad you told me about it,” Janna said, anchoring another one of Macy’s curls in an updo.
“Me, too, especially since you were willing to donate to the silent auction.”
Janna was passionate about working with young girls and teens on self-esteem and self-care. When Macy told her about the silent auction, Janna couldn’t wait to put together a package to auction off. A theme—a day in the life of a model—immediately came to mind. The winner, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one, would receive an opportunity to spend at least two days with Janna, who would give tips on everything from makeup to personal style. They would also receive a pampering day, including a makeover, as well as a mini shopping spree.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of bids for your donation.”
“I hope so. I love what the charity is doing, and if my small token can help them to their goal, all the better.”
Janna removed the last pin from between her lips and stuck it into her sister’s long hair, hoping they would hold the updo in place. Macy had missed her hair appointment and Janna was attempting to create a hairstyle that would show off the gorgeous jewelry her brother-in-law had bought for his wife.
“Oh, by the way, I saw that Phoenix is going to be in a made-for-TV movie with R.J. Tulane,” Macy said.
Anger boiled inside Janna at the mention of her birth mother’s name and she pushed the back of Macy’s head forward.
“Ow!” Her sister turned and glared at her. “What’s your problem?”
“Why do you always do that?”
“Do what?” Macy rubbed the back of her head.
“Ruin a conversation by mentioning that woman! We weren’t even talking about actresses and you manage to bring her up,” Janna ground out between gritted teeth. “What she does has nothing to do with me. I hate it when you and Iris mention her.”
“Janna, you have no idea how painful it was for me to find out that even after I was grown, my mother wanted nothing to do with me. You have an opportunity to—”
“No. I already know what you’re going to say. Just because Phoenix wants a relationship with me, that doesn’t mean I want anything to do with her. The day she signed away her parental rights is the day she stopped being my mother. Mama Adel is the only mother I have and the only one I need.”
They rode in silence. Janna hated that she’d snapped, especially knowing this was a sensitive topic for Macy. The three of them might have lived in the same foster home, but their backgrounds were very different. Iris had been fourteen when her mother was killed, while Macy’s mother had been in and out of jail. She had forfeited her rights when Macy was very young. And then there was Janna. She’d been the only one of the three to actually be adopted by Mama Adel, their foster mother, after Macy and Iris had gone off to college.
“Janna, honey, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Janna sighed. “I know. I shouldn’t have gone off on you. I just don’t want to talk about her.”
For the past few months, Phoenix had been showing up at different events where she knew Janna would be. So far, Janna had been able to avoid her, but she had a feeling that the rumors she’d recently heard were true. An A-list actress, Phoenix had been approached to do a reality show, and Janna had a feeling that her birth mother might try to get her involved. The media didn’t know their connection and Janna wanted to keep it that way.
“Can we forget I said anything?” Macy bumped shoulders with Janna playfully, a stupid grin on her face.
Janna shook her head and smiled. “Yeah, yeah, I guess. Let’s just go in here