“Sweetheart, I know you think you like him. But you’re smarter than that. Let Hakim go and you’ll find another man, a good one.”
That only made Lauren cry harder. Hakim was a good man—arrogant and occasionally a jerk, yes—but at heart, he was good.
He was kind and thoughtful, he cared about his family, and she knew without a doubt that he cared about her. If he’d wanted to use Lauren to get back at Patricia, BingeWatch’s money crisis would have been the perfect opportunity. Lauren would have made it even sweeter, asking him for his help instead of going to her mother. But Hakim hadn’t taken advantage of her problem. He’d helped, in the most generous way possible.
Lauren looked up and shook her head. “You don’t know how wrong you are. About him, about me. But you are wrong. And if you can’t see that, I feel sorry for you.”
Patricia’s face contorted and Lauren was certain her mother was going to unleash another torrent of invective. But instead, she picked up her purse and stood.
“Fine. You’re right. You are an adult and so you can deal with the consequences of your choices. But if you choose to stay with Hakim—if you ever bring him into this family by marrying him—I will cut you out of my life. You’ll gain a husband, and lose a mother. If that’s what you want, then you go ahead and make your decision.”
Stunned and angry, all Lauren could think to do was point at the door and say, “Get out, Patricia.”
With her mother gone, Lauren was too numb to even cry anymore. Patricia would rather never see her daughter again than have to deal with Hakim being a part of her life. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right, and Lauren didn’t have the faintest idea how she could fix it.
Or, rather, how they could fix it.
It would take a negotiation worthy of a seasoned diplomat, but Lauren needed to broker a peace talk between her mother and her boyfriend. It was her only hope.
Chapter 22
Hakim
Reflecting on the last two days, Hakim wondered if their plan would work. It was a last resort, a way to force Patricia to talk things out with him. He’d do anything to be with Lauren and so he’d agreed to meeting with her mother in person.
When Lauren had called him after her confrontation with her mother, she’d been so upset she could barely talk. It had taken Hakim almost five minutes to get anything out of her that made sense, and even then, he didn’t really understand what Patricia was doing. Cutting her own daughter out of her life was about as drastic a threat as it was possible to make, and Hakim wondered for the first time how much Patricia Sanders had to hate him for her to be able to do that.
He’d suggested meeting Lauren at the dog park where she’d taken Zeus. It was something approximating neutral ground, so maybe her mother’s watchers wouldn’t follow her there.
He felt like a spy arranging a secret swap of information. Wearing a ball cap and sunglasses, Hakim sat at one of the picnic tables watching Zeus run and play, while Lauren entered the dog park chatting with another woman. Zeus ran up to Lauren and she greeted him, taking the time to pet him thoroughly. When Zeus ran off again, she casually made her way to his table and sat down on the other side.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Still in shock. I never thought she’d do something so extreme. She wouldn’t even listen to me, wouldn’t even try to see my side.”
“I’m so sorry, Lauren.” He felt helpless, and that was the only thing he could think to say right then.
She shook her head. “No, this one isn’t on you. It’s all Patricia.”
“I’ll go see her. I’ll set up a meeting and tell her that I take all the responsibility for our feud. I’ll apologize; I’ll even grovel if I need to.”
Hakim risked a look at Lauren and was happy to see her smile at that remark.
“I think a meeting is exactly what we need. And I would appreciate you apologizing. I might even look forward—just the tiniest bit—to seeing you grovel.”
Internally, he sighed in relief at the return of her cheerful, teasing tone. As long as she believed they could fix things, he could believe that, too.
“I am worried that even you groveling won’t be enough,” Lauren added sadly.
Hakim had thought about that possibility, too. Things were so bad that a simple apology might not be enough, so he was working on another plan.
“Do you trust me?” Hakim asked.
Lauren turned to face him fully. She tilted her head and looked into his eyes for a long moment.
“Yes. Completely.”
“I’ve got something else planned. Groveling might not work, but I think I can do something that will convince her of my sincerity.”