Chapter 1

I felt the sun shining in my eyes as I rolled over on my white satin sheets trying to block it out. "What's the use?" I mumbled to myself as I open my eyes. Just then, my husband ,Marc DiRuccio ,came in the room holding a plate of pancakes and some orange juice. Marc is a good-looking middle-aged man with graying hair that had once been pure black and beautiful dark brown eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful", he smiled setting the orange juice on the nightstand and sitting down on the bed beside me.

"Hey. You didn't have to bring me breakfast. I was just getting up actually", I said sitting up and taking the plate out of his hands.

"Yeah. I figured so but Laken insisted I bring you breakfast", Marc said.

"She's up already?" I ask as I take a bite out of the pancakes. Usually, I have to drag my daughter out of bed in the morning.

"Sure is. She's already eaten breakfast and everything."

"Oh, that's right. You're taking her to the zoo today", I remembered. "I knew there had to be a reason she woke up so early."

"Speaking of", Marc smiled as a mop of dirty blond curls came running into the room.

"Mommy! You're awake!" Laken squealed.

Laken is my three year old daughter. She has long, unruly locks of dirty blond curls and big blue eyes identical to my own. She's the most energetic and friendly child I have ever seen in my entire life and she's incredibly smart for her age. And I'm not just saying that because I'm her mother. It's actually very true. Okay, so maybe it's a little because I'm her mother.

"Good morning, my angel", I greeted her as she ran into my open arms.

"Good morning! Daddy's taking me to the zoo today!" she informed me excitedly as she pulled away from my embrace.

"I know! You're going to have so much fun!" I exclaimed grinning at my little girl.

"Tell you what? Why don't you let Mommy get dressed and I'll come help you find something pretty to wear", I told her.

"Okay!" she agreed as she ran out of the room.

"I'm so lucky. I have an incredible husband that I adore and a beautiful daughter that gives me a reason to wake up every day. What did I do in this life to deserve you?" I asked Marc.

"I'm the lucky one", he smiled sitting on the bed beside her. "You miss them, don't you?" he asked with a knowing look on his face.

"All the time", I admitted. "But it's for the best. They're all grown with their own lives. Their own families. They don't need me anymore."

"I bet they miss you though", Marc said. "What are they like? I mean, you never talk about them."

"Where do I start?" I wondered aloud. "Okay, Nikolas is my oldest. His father's family is horrible but they are incredibly rich. That's why he lives on a private island. He is very outspoken-well, all my kids are really. He's has two boys and another baby due next month with his new wife, Brook. He's had to raise his oldest son, Spencer, by himself because his mother, Courtney, died after he was born. He's ten. His younger son, Aiden, is four. He's actually only a few months older than Laken. Now, Aiden's mother is actually my other son's on-again off-again wife, Elizabeth", I said.

"Wow. Your family sounds kind of complicated", Marc breathed.

"Oh, I haven't even told you about my other two yet. My younger son's name is Lucky", I began.

"Wait. You named your kid Lucky?" he asked.

"Well, that's actually just a nickname. His actual name is Lucas Jr.", I said.

"So, he has a different father than your other son?" Marc asked.

"Yes. Anyway, Lucky is a cop and he is currently married to Elizabeth. You remember-Aiden's mother."

"Uh…yeah", he said.

"Well, Lucky is the adoptive father of Elizabeth's oldest two boys. Cameron is ten and Jake is seven. They also have a four month old daughter, Lauralee."

"After you?" Marc asked.

"Yeah. Lucky and I have always been very close. But then again, he's the only one of my kids that I actually raised from birth to adulthood", I said regretfully.

"Wait, what?" Marc asked me with a puzzled expression.

"Well, I made a decision to walk away from Nikolas when he was a baby and I had to leave my daughter, Lulu ,after I had a mental breakdown when she was a kid", I explained.

"Okay", he said taking all this information in.

"Well, my daughter, Lulu, is my youngest of those three. She works for a fashion magazine called Crimson and she's married to a cop, Dante, with a two year old son, Lorenzo."

"Your family loves L names, huh?" Marc asked.

"Yeah. I don't think the L thing was really intentional at first. Lucky was named after Luke. Lulu is actually short for Lesley Lu after my mother. Lauralee was named after me. Lorenzo is Luke and Lucky's middle name.", I tried to explain.

"Then there's Laken", Marc pointed out. "Was she named after someone? I always just thought you liked the name."

"Yeah. I always liked the name. And it fits her so well, doesn't it?" I asked. "It's so…unique."

"Yeah, it is", he agreed. "Just like her."

As if on cue, Laken came running into the bedroom already dressed.

"I'm ready daddy!", she squealed jumping into Marc's waiting arms.

"Sweetie, I thought you were going to wait and let me help you get dressed", I said in an annoyed voice trying to conceal how proud I was of her independent streak.

"I can get dressed myself, mommy", Laken stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Of course you can, baby", I said letting myself smile at her know-it-all attitude.

"Well, what do you think Laken? You ready to go?", Marc asked her.

"Yes!", Laken exclaimed as Marc stood up with her in his arms.

"Wait a minute. Doesn't mommy get a hug first?" I asked.

"I guess", Laken said wriggling out of Marc's grasp.

She threw her arms around my neck and I felt this enormous abundance of love as I held her.

"Bye mommy. I love you", she whispered.

"I love you too, baby girl. More than anything", I smiled at her.

"Bye honey", Marc said kissing me lightly on the cheek.

"Bye. You guys have fun", I called as they walked out of the room.

"We will", Laken called back.

After changing into my favorite pair of jeans and a baggy T-shirt, I walked downstairs to the kitchen. I opened the magnet and picture-clad refrigerator door and was searching for something to eat when I heard the doorbell ring.

"Who could that be?", I wondered as I walked to the door.

But I was nowhere near prepared to see the person that was waiting on my door step.