He stiffened and bit his bottom lip as she used her sugary walls to draw all of his seed from his dick. His tip was ultrasensitive and he knew he could hit a high note to shatter glass if he didn’t keep a grip on himself.
“Now I have to drain the pool,” he mused, his head resting in the sweet valley of her breasts as she held him close.
She laughed and it caused her walls to push his dick from inside her.
He swam around her and then climbed from the pool. He reached his arm down to her and when she gripped it, he helped her out of the pool with ease. “Mona, I thought I asked for some time,” he said.
“And I thought you asked for the same time I did, which was a week, and that week is over today,” she said.
“You hungry?” he asked, deciding they needed to be dressed for any type of serious conversation. “I’m going to warm up some leftovers.”
Mona eyed him skeptically before she quickly moved past him to walk around the pool and pick up her clothes. “Do you need more time?” she asked, turning to look at him.
Anson looked up at the ceiling and then back at her. “No, because everything I felt and believed that night I still feel and still believe,” he said.
She eyed him.
He could see her annoyance. He could see the words forming in her head to spill off her lips.
“Okay,” she said simply. Too simply.
He eyed her. Assessed her. Tried to figure out where she was coming from.
“Carina knows about us,” he said to her as she walked toward the door to the pool room.
She looked at him over her shoulder. “It wasn’t a secret. Was it?” she asked, her voice unworried.
“Actually, she was pissed and wanted to steal me from you,” he said, baiting her.
Mona’s eyes instantly flashed, but then she forced a smile. “Really?” she said. “Well, I’m not worried about her or anybody, to be honest.”
“Why?” he asked.
Mona began getting dressed. “I’m not having this same debate with you again, Anson,” she said.
He walked over to the teak shelves against the wall in the middle of the rows of matching chairs. He grabbed one plush navy blue towel and covered his nakedness. His skepticism was with her confidence on the matter and how she refused to fight for her position.
“I can’t believe that you don’t get the fact that if your vision was interpreted by your aunts differently, then you wouldn’t even want to be with me,” he said. “How can you not see how that makes me feel?”
“And how can you not be thrilled with the idea that you are one of the lucky ones to connect and be with your soul mate?” she asked, now dressed in her tank and oversized denim overalls that she wore cuffed at the ankles. “How in the world could you think something bad about that?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said. “And here’s another one for you. If your aunts said Hunter was ‘the one,’ then you would have left me alone, right?” he asked.
“Yes,” she admitted.
One word spoken from her lips and he felt a pain as sharp as a knife’s blade.
“And if there’s another vision or the mirror ball shows you something else or someone’s knee hurts or some other superstitious bullshit—then what? Then you leave me? You chuck deuces and haul ass because—oops—it wasn’t meant to be?”
“That won’t happen, Anson,” Mona insisted.
“Just like this sudden ability to foresee your own future although you told me that had never happened before,” he shot back at her.
“Anson—”
“I can’t do this,” he said, the truth of his feelings hitting him as he spoke them. “I just think we should go our separate ways.”
“Okay, Anson,” she said simply. Again.
He felt like she mocked him even though he knew it wasn’t her intent. “Because I will get over this and we will be together because it’s meant to be,” he said mockingly, disturbed that she was unbothered by the breakup.
She smiled at him and nodded as she went to stand in front of him. “That’s right. Listen, I’m sorry my big mouth got us into this. I really am. But you take all the time you need to let your brain wrap around it all, if that’s what it takes,” she said. “I’ll give you all the time you want because we have the rest of our lives. Believe it or not, Anson, we will be together, and soon I will say ‘I told you so.’”
He honestly didn’t know what to feel outside of frustrated. Part of him wanted to escort her to the porch and close the door on her and her foolish notions and another part of him wanted to kiss her.
She lifted up on her toes and leaned in to taste his mouth. She leaned back from him just before it landed. “I guess I’m not supposed to do this until we get back together?” she asked, truly doubtful. She shrugged.
“Now, during this time I will have to think about feminizing the decor around here for when I move in, because this is a bachelor pad. A big, beautiful bachelor pad made for a king . . . but not a queen. This queen. Your queen.”
Anson was speechless.
“Which room would be good for a nursery?” she asked. “Maybe I can design that during our little break.”
“Are you crazy?” Anson asked.
“Do you think I am?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted.
Mona reached for his towel and snatched it away. She slowly perused his body from head to toe. “And I do not want the dick returned to me with any extra miles on it,” she said with the utmost seriousness.
“Maybe you should just go, Mona,” he said, taking his towel from her and wrapping it around his waist again.
“I guess you’re right,” she said, walking out of the pool room and holding the door open for him to follow.
“You drive careful,” he said, not really knowing what to say. It ranked pretty high as one of the most bizarre breakups he’d ever experienced.
On the porch she stopped to look back at him. “Just consider changing the way you think about it and the whole idea of all of this will give you goose bumps,” she said.
“I’ll miss you,” she added, before she jogged down the stairs and climbed into the car.
She sent him one last sad smile before she drove out of his life just the way he wanted.
Then why do I miss her already?
Mona barely found the strength to knock twice on her sister’s front door. As soon as the door opened, Reeba took one look at her reddened eyes and her heaving chest and spread her arms wide.
“What happened to ‘I ain’t got no worries’?” Reeba asked as she guided her to the sofa.
Mona flopped down and buried her head in her sister’s lap. “He broke up with me,” she said in between tears that fell freely. “It didn’t really hit me until I was driving away, and then I realized he doesn’t believe we will be together like I do. He was ready to walk away from me forever.”
Reeba had a pained expression. “But you two will come through this even better and stronger on the other end,” she reminded her.
“It doesn’t make the road going through it any easier to handle, ReeRee,” she said, closing her eyes as her sister stroked her hair and her back.
“Your life is already mapped out before you’re even born, and whether you know your future or not, you have to go through every step of it to get where you’re supposed to be,” Reeba said. “Some of it will be blissfully good and some will be hellishly bad. You have to go through it, Mo.”
“I hear you,” she said, sitting up as she wiped her face with her hands.
Reeba rose and walked into the bathroom right off the living room. She came back with a box of tissues. “Feel a little better?” she asked.
Mona looked over at her. “I was . . . until it hit me that it might take thirty years for our time to come. Anson’s six-pack will be a barrel and he’ll probably be balding with false teeth and a broke hip.”
Reeba side-eyed her. “Girl, that is so shady,” she said. “Because you would
still want his barrel belly, balding head, fake-teeth-wearing, broke hip self.”
Mona smiled. “I sure would,” she said without hesitation.
“You love him, don’t you?” Reeba asked.
“With all my heart,” she admitted. “Every last bit of it.”
Chapter 14
One month later
“Thanks so much for coming,” Mona said, shaking the hands of one of the many couples she’d invited out to a group dinner at California Dreaming in Charleston to celebrate their union.
The levels of the couples’ relationships ranged from first dates up to those who had been married for several years. She was proud of each and every connection and she felt it was important to celebrate their love and her success. They went hand in hand.
“Mona, we’re here.”
From her spot at the top of the long stairs, she looked down at another familiar couple as they came up the steps to hug her before moving inside. At last count she was looking for two more couples, and she was determined to be the proper hostess and greet everyone outside before staff escorted them inside.
She looked up at the darkening skies and then glanced down at her diamond watch. It was a little after seven and she was starving. She turned and looked through the glass to make sure her guests were being seated. The other restaurant patrons not in her party had to be seated too, and a short line had formed outside the dining room.
“They have the best she-crab soup.”
She smiled and turned at the sound of a woman’s voice, but the smile faded at the sight of Anson—her Anson—and a woman who was obviously his date coming up the stairs.
He looked up and spotted her standing there watching them. His face filled with surprise and he halted his climb up the stairs as he stared up at her.
“Everything okay?” his date asked, turning to look back at him. “Did you forget something in the car?”
Mona shook her head and looked up as she released a heavy breath. I really, really didn’t need this right now.
The last month had not been easy.
And this moment, standing there while the man she believed would one day be her husband arrived with a date, wasn’t easy either. Will he speak? Pass me by? Pretend not to know me? Give me a dap? What?
He jogged up the steps beside his date—a sexy petite number in a bright red dress.
“Hello, Mona,” he said, barely able to meet her eyes.
“Anson,” she said softly, not even sure if he could hear her.
Her heart was pounding from being near him again. Seeing him again. Smelling his warm and spicy cologne again. And loving him still. Always. This is one of the lows on the roller coaster ride to happy, Mona, she tried to tell herself.
Seeing him with another woman was not easy at all, and if she had known in advance there was a chance of this, she would have opted to miss the show.
Anson held the door open for his date. “Will you excuse me for just a moment?” he asked her.
Mona turned her head and closed her eyes as the beat of her heart kicked up another notch. In the last month her love for him had deepened while he was clearly moving on, and even though she believed it would all work out in the end, it was hard to swallow that fact.
“I’m sorry, Mona,” he said as soon as they were alone.
She stiffened her spine and turned to face him. “For being on a date? For dating? Or for me seeing you?” she asked.
He hung his head. “It’s not like that, Mona,” he said, his eyes locked with hers.
“Oh, it’s business? She’s a contractor or something? That’s one hell of a business dress,” she said.
“No, it’s not business,” Anson admitted.
“Enjoy your she-crab soup and your she-crab, Anson,” Mona said, turning away from him with an arched brow that was condemning.
When she turned back he was gone.
For a second she had the urge to run down the stairs, climb in her car, and speed away from it all, but she didn’t. She pushed through. She would get through it.
Her last guests arrived and she smiled as she greeted them and followed them inside the restaurant. “That should be everyone,” she told the head waitress.
As Mona followed her to the rear of the restaurant where her party was seated, she spotted a flash of red and just knew it was Anson and his date at their table. She refused to look in their direction. She absolutely refused.
Anson’s eyes followed Mona in the deep purple dress she wore, which clung to her body like a second skin, and he couldn’t look away. He hungered not just for her body but also for the fun she had created with him. Her spontaneity. The spice.
The last month had been hell without her and although he had convinced himself that he was fine, seeing her again had brought it home that he was not. Not by a long shot.
“Is that your ex or your next?”
Anson tore his eyes away from Mona’s retreating back and shifted in his chair before focusing his attention on his date, Diana Hawkins. “My ex,” he admitted, before reaching for his brandy to take a sip.
“And I’m your first date after the breakup,” she stated, as if it was a known fact.
“Actually, no. No, you’re not,” Anson said.
She looked surprised and then skeptical as she watched him over the rim of his glass. “And no one compares, right?” she asked, settling back in her chair to cross her legs.
Not a one.
“So, Anson, here’s what’s going to happen,” Diana said with a kind smile. “I’m not up for being the rebound girl. So I’m going to enjoy my wine and you are going to ask the maitre d’ to call me a cab, and this first date with the already awkward beginning must come to an end.”
“I understand,” he admitted. “But I will take you home.”
“No, I don’t want you to,” she said. “And I will deal with Jade later for setting me up with a man who is still hung up on his ex.”
“It was nice meeting you, Diana,” he said, rising to his feet.
“Same to you,” she said, taking her wineglass to sit at the bar.
As he walked from the table, Anson actually felt relieved. The last month of his life had been a series of first dates set up by well-meaning people convinced that a new relationship would help him get over Mona. They had all been wrong.
He did indeed ask someone to call for a cab and paid the bill for their drinks. He was halfway to the door when he turned and headed back to the rear of the restaurant, where Mona had disappeared.
She was sitting in the center seat at a long row of tables pushed together to accommodate all her guests. Her face was animated and lively as she leaned this way and that to talk to everyone. When she flung her curls back and laughed, Anson’s gut clenched from wanting her so much. Missing her so much.
He looked on as she lightly tapped her glass with her fork and rose to her feet. The dress she wore was a killer. But it still doesn’t do justice to her naked body.
“I just wanted to take this time while we are waiting for our drinks to sincerely thank you all for being here tonight. It’s wonderful to sit among all this beautiful black love and take pride in the role I played in bringing together really good people who deserve to be happy,” she said, looking at the faces of the couples at the table with her.
His heart skipped when she glanced up at him and then did a subtle double take. He started to retreat, but decided to remain there leaning against a pole to watch her.
Mona looked down at the glass she was holding before looking back up. “I believe in love, and in happily-ever-after, and that’s what Modern Day Cupid is all about. And that’s what life is all about.”
She looked over at him. “Finding the one person made just to love you,” she said, her eyes serious. “Flaws and all. Who wouldn’t want to have that in their life?”
Anson knew the question was truly meant for him, but it also confirmed that Mona still did not understand or respect his point of view on their relationship. Allowing h
imself one last look at her, he turned and walked away.
One week later
Mona couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned and punched the pillow like it stole something from her, but nothing brought her comfort. Seeing Anson on that date had sent her world into a spin. Seven days later and she still hadn’t recovered.
It had been a performance worthy of a reality TV show to keep a smile on her face throughout that dinner. And late that night when she was home alone in her bed, she couldn’t escape assumptions of just who was in Anson’s bed.
She still couldn’t.
Mona sat up in the middle of the bed and flung her pillow across the room. So he’s dating. Replacing me. Forgetting me.
The rationale that it would work out in the end could not outweigh the jealousy and anger she felt that Anson was moving on with life. For the last month her life had been Modern Day Cupid and nothing else. She made her business her focus while she waited on her personal life to pan out. That didn’t stop her from missing him and wanting him and continuing to fall headfirst in love with him.
Pulling her bent legs up to her chest, she rested her head on her knees and tried to breathe through all of the emotions clawing at her. Tugging at her.
Reeba was right. It was better not knowing. Since their breakup, Mona had replayed the missteps that led to her life being in limbo. Carina walking into Modern Day Cupid for a love match was one, and her going out to search for Anson to warn him about being injured was another. She wouldn’t have hit him with her car or been in his house to meet or accidentally read his brother—the start of it all. Instead fate would have led to her meeting Anson at another place and time and falling in love without this drama in the middle.
“My drama. He’s fine,” she mumbled, reaching for another pillow to throw.
It hit a picture of her and Anson during one of the better days of their relationship. She climbed off the bed and picked the frame off the floor, walking over to her bedroom window to look down at the picture by the moon’s light.
Want, Need, Love Page 17