Silence filled the kitchen as Axel continued to stare at her. She fought the urge to squirm, staring right back at him.
He broke the silence with a quiet voice. “I was planning a trip back to Belize to question every single employee at our resort. I even set up a meeting with a sketch artist to draw a picture of you that I could take with me to show around.”
Stunned, Naphressa’s mouth slowly fell open. “You’re kidding.”
Instead of responding, Axel picked up his phone from where it was charging on the counter. After a few clicks, he handed it to her. She looked at the screen and gasped.
“What’s this?” she asked, though she knew exactly what she was looking at.
“What does it look like?”
“An American Airlines flight confirmation to Belize.”
“Then that’s what it is.”
“You were really going back there?” she whispered.
“Believe me now?”
Naphressa swallowed the lump in her throat. “I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
He cupped her face. “You don’t have to come to the birthday party. I want you to meet my friends and spend time with me outside of this house, but you don’t have to come. I’ll leave early, call you when I’m on my way home, and we can get together afterward.”
“I don’t want you to leave your friends because of me.”
“I want to,” Axel said. “Look, I admit to being impatient, but you’re right, it’s only been a month, and it’s clear Byron messed with your head in a major way. But don’t doubt my feelings for you. They’re real. They’re intense. They keep me up at night. Take all the time you need to get used to me. I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled. “You’re stuck with my ass.”
11
“Where are you?” Hazel asked.
“At the mall, looking for a gift for Taylor’s birthday,” Naphressa replied. She had a Bluetooth inserted into her ear while she lifted different articles of clothing, trying to decide which one to purchase for her nephew.
“I told you what he wanted.”
“Yes, I know. I already bought the game, but I want to add to it. Maybe a nice jacket for church?”
“He wouldn’t care, but I’d like that. In addition to feeding kids, clothing them is expensive, too. Consider yourself lucky.”
“Am I lucky?” Naphressa mused.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t know…I’ve been thinking a lot lately, about marriage and kids.” She fingered a display filled with ties. Specifically, marriage and kids with Axel. She suspected he’d be a great dad and husband.
“Okay. Huh. I thought you were through with the idea of getting married again, at least for a while. Where did that come from?”
“Been doing some thinking, that’s all.”
“Has this come about because of a certain corporate attorney who works for Abraham, MacKenzie & Wong?”
“Maybe.” Naphressa picked up an orange and blue tie and then set it back down.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
“Hell if I know.” Naphressa let out a heavy sigh. “I’m all mixed up, and I need to talk. I’m leaving here in a little bit. Let me finish my shopping and I’ll stop by your house so we can talk.”
“Yes, do that, because this conversation is different from ones we’ve had in the past. I’ll be done cooking by the time you get here, so you can eat dinner with us.”
“All right. See you when I get there.”
Naphressa walked around the store a little longer, searching through the racks and tables for the perfect gift for her nephew. After a while, she found the cutest little tan jacket with a red and tan pocket square. She took it to the salesperson, and he helped her pick a shirt and tie to go with the jacket.
Satisfied with the purchases, she was about to leave the store when she passed by the men’s section. Her footsteps slowed as she thought about Axel. He was such a nice dresser, she wondered if she could pick clothes for him that he’d like. Before their relationship fell apart, she used to like shopping for Byron. There was something satisfying about dressing her man in clothing and colors that looked good on him.
“Axel’s not your man,” she chided herself in a low voice.
Dismissing her silly idea, she continued striding toward the door, but then stopped. She could get him something, couldn’t she? It wouldn’t change the nature of their relationship. And after all, so far he’d been extremely good to her. Each time she came over to his house, he cooked dinner and breakfast the next morning. She was actually getting used to being catered to.
“I’ll get him something small,” she murmured.
She turned around and went back to the men’s section. There were so many options, and she could envision Axel in each jacket or tie or casualwear. He was tall and clothes fit his body well. She knew that almost anything she purchased would look good on him.
Finally, she settled on a lavender shirt with a black and purple plaid tie, something he could wear to work. She bought the items and rushed out of the store before she changed her mind.
As Naphressa entered her sister’s kitchen, her nephew Taylor came rushing at her legs. “Hi, Auntie Nessa!” he screamed.
“How’s my big boy?” Naphressa bent down and gave him a tight squeeze.
“Good. Look.” The six-year-old grinned up at her, showing off his missing front teeth.
“Oh, my goodness! You lost more teeth?”
“And the tooth fairy left me five dollars under my pillow.” Taylor’s eyes widened.
“Five dollars? The tooth fairy has really stepped her game up since I was a kid.” Naphressa locked eyes with her sister, who was busy setting the table.
The sisters looked very much alike. Both had dusky-dark skin and Hazel was only half an inch taller, barely noticeable. But unlike Naphressa, she wore her raven hair straight.
Hazel shrugged. “The ‘tooth fairy’ overdid it and has created some lofty expectations in these children. I tried to tell the tooth fairy it was too much, but he didn’t listen.”
That meant Hazel and her husband, Darren, had disagreed about how much to give the kids for their teeth. Hazel didn’t work, but she took care of the family budget, paid the bills, and managed the savings account. Her husband left everything to her but could be a bit extravagant with his spending habits. It was thanks to Hazel that they were able to maintain a fairly comfortable standard of living even though she hadn’t worked full-time since a few years after they married.
“Well, I guess it’s okay to splurge every now and again, isn’t it?” Naphressa asked.
“It’s fine, but when you’re saving for a vacation for a family of five, being prudent is a lot better than being extravagant in most cases. Anyway, I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and dropped the topic. You need to change clothes?”
“Yes. Do mind?”
“Check the second drawer in my dresser. I should have some clean T-shirts and sweatpants in there you can wear.”
Naphressa went into the bedroom. She peeped at her niece sleeping in a bassinet near the bed, smiling at her plump cheeks and the way she breathed through her mouth. She then hung up the jacket and other items she’d bought for Taylor in the closet, careful to remove the tags.
She found a T-shirt and pair of orange sweats right where her sister said they’d be. Hazel was a size bigger, but the clothes were comfy and perfect for lounging around the house in. As she exited the bedroom, Darren and the other two boys arrived.
“We’re back!” Darren called, heading toward the kitchen. He was about six four with a heavy voice.
“Is that Auntie Nessa’s car outside?” she heard her oldest nephew ask.
“It sure is,” she answered, coming into the kitchen.
The eight-year-old and three-year-old boys, who’d gone to the store with their father, let out a yell of surprise and barreled toward her with arms outstretched and big grins on their faces. After the greetings and
hugs were over, they all sat around the dinner table. The boys ate chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese with a side of broccoli, while the adults had a similar meal, except with fried chicken.
Afterward, Naphressa helped Hazel clean up while Darren took the boys into the den. When they finished in the kitchen, Naphressa sat down on the couch and her sister plopped down beside her.
“You look tired,” Naphressa said.
“I am, a little. But I’m going to savor this moment while Darren has the boys occupied and you and I get to talk.”
At thirty-five years old, Hazel was three years older than Naphressa. They had always been close, but each had taken different paths in life. Hazel was married to her high school sweetheart. She and Darren had been together off and on since their junior year in high school. For almost 10 years, they’d been in and out of each other’s life, until Hazel grew tired of the back-and-forth and told him she needed a clean break and was moving away.
Darren wasn’t having it. He finally came to his senses. Not wanting to lose her, he proposed within a matter of days, and within a year they were married. As far as Naphressa knew, Hazel had never regretted the decision to stay with Darren, nor the decision to give up her career in communications, no matter how much she complained about her kids and her lifestyle. Naphressa knew she was exactly where she wanted to be.
On the other hand, Naphressa had been slow to figure out what she wanted to do, skipped college and went straight into the workforce. She held a multitude of different jobs—working as an administrative assistant, working in restaurants, and at one point doing janitorial work at night while she took real estate sales classes during the day. In the end, she finally settled on property management and met the man who she thought would be her lifelong partner. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
She’d wanted the type of love her sister had with Darren, but that was not to be.
No fairytale for her. Only harsh reality.
Resting an elbow on the back of the sofa, Hazel crossed one leg over the other and gave Naphressa her undivided attention. “So what’s going on with you and Axel? And by the way, aren’t you usually with him on a Friday night?”
“Usually.” She hadn’t told her sister the true nature of their relationship, but Hazel knew that Friday nights was their night to spend time together. “But tonight he’s at a birthday party for one of his friends.”
“And you didn’t go with him?” Hazel frowned.
“He asked if I wanted to go, but I declined,” Naphressa replied, her sister’s reaction making her feel guilty.
“Why?”
“Because it would be too…intimate? I mean, once you a meet a man’s friends, that changes everything, doesn’t it?”
“It could. How did he react when you turned him down?”
“He wasn’t happy but he said he’d be patient. He’s leaving the party early, and he’ll give me a call when he does so we can meet at his house.”
“Help me to understand what’s going on here. You said over the phone that you’re starting to think about marriage and kids. If you really like this guy, why are you pulling back from him?”
“That’s the million-dollar question. Part of it is because…I guess I’m scared.” That was hard to admit openly, even to her sister, her best friend.
“Of being hurt again?”
“Yes.” She cast her eyes downward.
“Based on everything you’ve told me, he sounds like a really good person. Has he given you any reason to doubt his sincerity?”
“None, but in a lot of ways he reminds me of Byron, which makes me suspicious.”
“How is he like Byron?’
“For one, he’s into me. I mean, really into me, the way Byron was. He’s also an only child, handsome, and a sweet talker.”
Hazel twisted her pouted lips to one side. “I get what you’re saying, but…”
“I know, I know, I shouldn’t judge him by my past experience with Byron, but I can’t help it. He constantly reminds me of him.”
“Do you think he’s being fake? If you have reservations, you should go with your gut.”
Naphressa temporarily covered her face and let out a groan. “I don’t know! I’m worried that maybe I’m not a very good judge of character and could be falling for the same trick again. I don’t want to end up like…you know.”
Sympathy filled Hazel’s eyes. “Yeah, I know.”
Their mother.
Their father had been a jerk who ranted at their mother often and harshly. He never hit her, that Naphressa knew of, but he battered her self-esteem with verbal blows. The sisters’ bond was irrevocable because of what they’d seen as children, but their past affected them in different ways. Hazel escaped to college and never went back home. Neither did Naphressa after she graduated high school, but she wandered aimlessly through life for a while, trying to figure out what she wanted to do.
Looking at past photos, it was clear their father’s constant belittling and verbal barbs had made their mother shrink from the outgoing young woman she’d been when they met, to a closed-off adult who looked ten years older than she really was when she passed in her early fifties. Estranged from his daughters, their father passed only months later, as if he couldn’t stand to be alone with no one to pick on anymore.
“I understand why you would have reservations, but I think you’re going to hurt herself in the long run. Why don’t you do this—enjoy yourself. Don’t overthink your relationship with Axel. And the next time he invites you to an activity planned with friends, maybe say yes and see how it goes?”
“Easier said than done. There aren’t a lot of Darrens out there.” Darren was the opposite of their father, and Naphressa had thought she’d found someone like him in Byron. She couldn’t believe how wrong she’d been.
“True. I lucked out.” Hazel flashed a grin. “But you know I’m right. You can’t let fear run your life forever.”
“You’re right. I know I’m doing it, but I can’t stop.”
Hazel patted her knee. “It’s only been a year since Byron passed away. Give yourself time, but don’t limit yourself, either. If Axel is as great as you say, he’ll continue to prove himself worthy of your time.”
12
She took him up on his offer to paint at his house.
After lunch on Saturday, Naphressa set up her easel and paints and went to work. He also invited her to spend the evening with him, so for the first time they were going to spend the entirety of Saturday and Saturday night together. She couldn’t deny being a little excited when she accepted his offer.
The sunlight coming in through the windows was magnificent, and she chose to paint the photos she’d taken of the Brixton building the other day. Axel worked on his laptop at the breakfast table instead of in his office, for which she was glad, because even though they weren’t talking to each other, she enjoyed having his presence thereby.
They already had a weekly routine, which she’d grown accustomed to. So much for her determination to keep their relationship purely sexual. Her so-called resolve was already crumbling.
She only wished she could paint portraits. If she could, she would paint him as she saw him in this moment, with his attention focused on the screen in front of him. Every now and again he frowned and then rubbed his bearded chin. Did he have any idea how sexy he looked doing that?
Her ringing phone pulled her from her trance. “Hey, sis, what’s up?” she said.
“I need a huge favor. The babysitter canceled on us, and Darren got us tickets to see Sinbad at the Cobb Center. I hate to ask last minute, but do you mind watching the kids for us tonight?”
“Of course not.” There went the prospect of spending the evening with Axel, gone as quickly as it had come. “I have plans tonight, but I can postpone them.”
He looked up at her then, his eyes questioning.
“You sure?” Hazel asked, sounding hesitant.
“Absolutely.”
“I knew havin
g a little sister would come in handy one day.”
“Ha, ha. Just tell me what time you need me to be at your house, and make it fast before I change my mind.”
Hazel laughed, sounding a lot more relieved than she did when she initially called. “Can you be here by five? You’ll need to order dinner for the kids later. A pizza or something should be fine. You know where I keep the coupons in the kitchen drawer, and I went to the store earlier today, so there’re also plenty of snacks in the pantry. Please don’t eat them all and save some for the boys.”
“I’m starting to rethink my decision to help you.”
“Don’t! I’ll stop. Five, okay? Don’t forget.”
“I’ll see you then.” Naphressa hung up and walked over to where Axel was still looking at her at the kitchen table.
“Sounds like we’ll have to postpone our plans tonight,” he said, sitting back in the chair.
She nodded. “I’m really sorry, but Hazel and Darren need me. Their babysitter canceled and they have plans tonight. Maybe you and I could spend time together tomorrow night?”
“Yeah. Maybe tomorrow night.”
He looked disappointed, and she hated to be the one to change their plans, but it couldn’t be avoided. “At least we have the rest of the afternoon together, until five.”
“Perfect,” he said in an emotionless voice. She couldn’t read his expression
“Okay, great. We’ll plan to be together tomorrow or another day. I’m going to see how much of this painting I can get done before I leave.”
He didn’t say another word and went back to work, and she walked back over to the easel. She glanced at him. He’d seemed oddly detached by the cancelation.
Love Me (Irresistible Husband) Page 7