“Is that why you left the construction business?” she asked.
His jaw tightened and he didn’t speak for a while. Renee rubbed her thumb over the condensation on the bottle, hoping she hadn’t gone too far with her questioning.
“She was my best friend, my business partner,” Clive said in a grave, quiet voice.
Was he still in love with his wife? She hoped not. Renee swallowed the lump of jealousy in her throat.
“Shutting down the business was the best decision. I couldn’t do it on my own. It wasn’t the same without her. Nothing was the same without my Margaret.” Clive balled up the fingers of his left hand.
Renee covered his oversized hand with her palm. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m fine,” he said gruffly.
She squeezed his tight, tension-filled fist. “Hey, I have an idea. How about we dance?”
“Dance?”
“Yes, dance. I learned something new about you today, and now you can learn something about me. You already know I love reading and going to literary events, but I also love to dance.”
Renee went back inside and retrieved her purse. When she came out, she removed her phone and pulled up one of her many Spotify playlists. She hit play, and the first song was “Use Me.”
“Bill Withers,” Clive said, the furrow of his brow loosening. He pulled her into his arms.
“What do you know about Bill Withers?” Renee teased, tilting her head back and admiring the strong angles of his jawline.
“Have you seen the men I hang out with?”
They laughed as he pulled her closer, and they turned in a circle around the deck. Renee draped her arms over his shoulders and relaxed in his arms. As they danced, she smoothed her hands over his biceps, reveling in the strength exuded by the muscles beneath his shirt.
“I haven’t danced in a long time,” Clive said.
“You’re doing a pretty good job,” Renee said.
Clive turned her in a slow spin and she shook her hips.
“Wait a minute now,” he murmured, pulling her back against him.
Laughing, Renee tossed her head back and settled against his chest. With the deck lights breaking up the shadows across the back yard, they swayed together in time to the music, like one unit, as if they’d always been together.
Renee realized with deep sadness that there hadn’t been many moments like this in her marriages. Her second marriage in particular had been more like a business arrangement, two people proud of the fact that they could talk about the intersection of politics and education at cocktail parties and education summits.
But no dancing. No laughter. No fun.
“I think it’s time for us to go to bed, don’t you?” Clive asked. He was already hard against her bottom.
Renee rubbed her ass harder against him and he groaned.
“Do you want to go to bed, or do it out here?” Clive whispered huskily. He cupped her breasts and squeezed. “Hmm?” Nuzzling her neck, he moved her toward the railing.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“I thought I could bend you over this railing…”
She gasped. “I’m not tall enough.”
“I can make it work.” His hand slid between her legs.
“Behave.”
Renee slapped away his hand and shoved back with her bottom. Clive groaned again, grinding hard against her ass this time.
“Here or in the bed. Make a decision.”
“In the bed.”
Renee turned and nibbled on his lips a little bit because she simply couldn’t help herself, before they both went back inside and eventually exited the house, locking the door on the way out. They made their way to her house next door and once inside, kissing and touching, moved to the bedroom.
As Renee was undressing, Clive laid back on the mattress on his elbows.
“You are absolutely stunning.”
Renee stopped moving. She was half naked, wearing a lacy white bra and panties, both put on because she had anticipated making love with him tonight. The heat in his eyes, the thickness in his voice, tightened her chest with emotion.
“Keep talking like that and you’ll get laid.” It was supposed to be a joke, but neither of them laughed. They simply looked at each other.
Renee straddled Clive’s thighs and he sat up, cupping her bottom with his hands.
“Are you still in love with your wife?”
His eyebrows flew higher. “No. Why would you ask that?”
“Because I had to know. Our conversation tonight made me wonder.”
“I told you before, I loved my wife dearly, and we had a wonderful marriage. But I’ve moved past the pain.”
“Good, because I want to share everything with you, and I don’t want there to be any barriers between us.”
“There are no barriers. I promise.”
She kissed him gently, softly. “Remember I told you about one of my author-clients, Angela Washington?”
He nodded. “The one who has the event coming up?”
“I’d love for you to attend with me.”
“A reading?” Clive wrinkled his nose.
“Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“A reading?” he said again.
“Yes!”
“I’ll be bored out of my mind.”
“Oh, come on. I came to your cookout.”
“And had a great time, I might add.” He laid back on the bed and pulled her with him.
Renee nestled against his hard-on, nudging the hardened length with her leg. He grimaced.
“You know that feels good,” he murmured, running his hands up and down her spine.
The soothing motion warmed her skin and her nipples tingled.
Renee kissed his neck, caressing his chest as she did so. “Come on. If you hate it, I’ll never ask again.” She sucked his earlobe.
“You drive a hard bargain.” Clive rolled her onto her back and settled between her thighs.
The fullness of his erection and his hard thighs made her squirm and thread her fingers into his soft white hair.
“Is that a yes?”
“You promise, if I don’t like it you won’t insist I attend another event like that with you?’
“I promise.”
Clive slid his hand under her panties and into the slick evidence of her desire. Renee sucked air hard between her teeth and arched her back, pressing upward into the single digit he used to tease her.
“Okay, I’ll come.”
“Just for that, you get a very special reward.”
With a saucy grin, Renee began undoing his belt buckle.
14
“I’m almost ready!” Renee yelled from the bathroom.
Seated on the edge of her bed, Clive shook his head. He’d been waiting ten minutes already while she rushed around getting dressed for the event tonight. At this rate, he’d have to drive like a bat out of hell to get there on time.
Renee came out of the bathroom in a black dress with a bejeweled neckline and the same design around the ends of the three-quarter-length sleeves. His mouth went dry as he scanned the way the dress hugged her curvy body and showed off her cleavage.
“How do I look?” She did a quick spin on three-inch patent leather pumps.
“Beautiful, like I told you eight minutes ago before you changed into this outfit.”
“I know you’re annoyed, but I want to look my best.” She held up two sets of earrings, one in each hand. “Which ones do you think? Diamonds or pearls?”
“Diamonds,” Clive answered.
Renee stood in front of the mirror and held one earring up to her ear, then the other earring up to her other ear. Shaking her head, she said, “No. I think the pearls go better with this dress.”
Clive didn’t say a word. His wife used to ask his opinion about outfits, shoes, and jewelry, but ended up doing whatever she wanted anyway. He was fairly convinced that women only asked those questions so they knew which items not
to choose.
After inserting the earrings in her ears, Renee smoothed her hands over her hips in the fitted dress. She turned to the left and then turned to the right, checking her appearance before finally taking a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
Clive stood, but she wasn’t actually ready. He groaned quietly as she dashed over to the walk-in closet and came out hopping on one foot while slipping on a different black heel on the other. Finally, she took another deep breath and stood erect. “How do I look?” she asked again.
“Fantastic. Can we go now?”
Strutting over to where he stood, she cupped his face and planted a kiss on his hairy jaw. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“I’m starting to wonder if this was a good idea. I thought this was your student’s event, but you’re so nervous I have to wonder if it’s really yours.”
She walked to the dresser and picked up her black beaded clutch. “It’s because I’ve known her since she was a fifteen-year-old kid in my class, and we’ve worked together for years. This is a big deal for her, and I guess in a way for me, too. Watching her grow and become the success that she is makes me so proud. I kinda feel like a mama.”
“Why didn’t you have kids of your own? You obviously have a tender spot for the young people you teach.”
Renee paused, a thoughtful frown coming over her face. Finally, she said, “I do love children, young people in general. But not everyone is supposed to be a mother—and liking young people is not enough of a prerequisite to be a parent. My calling was not to be a mother. My calling was to be a teacher. And I’m a darned good one. Besides, I never needed children of my own. Not when I’ve had the privilege of molding the lives of thousands of kids over the years.”
She often amazed him, but now Clive was actually proud to walk in with her on his arm. He took her hand. “Let’s get out of here and go see your kid do her thing.”
They left the house in Renee’s Volvo, with Clive driving. Amazingly, they arrived at the boutique hotel on time with one minute to spare. Outside the room where the event was taking place, the person at the door greeted them with a smile and escorted them to two reserved seats three rows back from a stage where two comfy-looking chairs faced each other. The audience chairs were arranged theater-style with only a few empty spots.
“Full house,” Clive whispered out the side of his mouth as he settled on the seat.
Renee crossed her legs and leaned toward him. “I’ve been to other author events and they’re not usually this crowded, but Angela has name recognition. She also hardly ever does events, so a lot of people are attending tonight because they don’t know when they’ll see her again.”
As the lights lowered, a hush fell over the crowd. A young man with a low Afro in a navy suit stepped onto the stage holding a sheet of paper.
“Good evening,” he said.
The audience murmured their response.
“I said, good evening,” he repeated, voice louder.
“Good evening!” the audience greeted him back.
He went into the reason why they were there, to hear a reading by Angela Washington from her latest work, Fire in My Heart, a fiction novel that explored the tense relationship between a woman, her mother, and the Black man they both fell in love with during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. He provided information about her background, previous works, and accolades before stating, “Please hold your questions until after the reading. Now, without further ado, I present to you the reason we’re all here tonight—Angela Washington!”
Angela walked out—a slight-looking woman, dark-skinned, with shoulder-length black hair and thick glasses. Clive sensed her nervousness as she waited for the thunderous applause to end. Finally the audience became silent, and a bright smile stretched across her face, as if she suddenly realized she was worthy of the praise.
“Look at all of you here tonight. Don’t you have anything better to do?” she asked.
The crowd laughed.
“Thank you all for coming. I was blown away by all the wonderful things Thomas said about me. Is he really talking about me, I wondered?” More laughter trickled through the crowd. “As you can tell, my life as an author is still surreal, and I couldn’t be here without each and every single one of you. Before I begin reading the passages I’ve picked out, I want to give a special thank-you to someone in the audience—someone who encouraged me when I doubted myself. Someone who not only pushed me to dig deeper in my writing, but who helped me improve my writing. She didn’t know I was going to do this tonight, so she’ll probably kill me, but is Renee Joseph here?”
Angela looked a little anxious as she searched the crowd, and Clive could well imagine her as a shy but brilliant writer who, thanks to the nurturing and encouragement from Renee, became the bestselling author that she was today.
Renee raised her hand, and Angela’s face lit up.
“Miss Joseph, please stand.”
Slowly, hesitantly, Renee stood and all eyes turned to her.
Angela continued. “I don’t mean to put you on the spot, but I had to let everyone know that the reason my books exist is because of you. Miss Joseph was my tenth-grade English teacher. She refused to let me doubt myself. With tough love, encouragement, and well-needed critique, she elevated my writing and brought me out of my shell so much that I decided to become an author, and I know I wouldn’t be here without her because I’ve never submitted a work without letting her review it first. I’ve thanked you profusely in private, and now I want to thank you publicly. Thank you, Miss Joseph. For everything.”
Angela clapped her hands, and the audience joined in the applause. Renee blew a kiss to her former student, and as the clapping died down, she took her seat.
Clive slipped an arm across her chair back and squeezed her shoulder. She smiled at him, blinking back tears as Angela took a seat on the stage and joined Thomas in a conversation that began by giving background information about the book.
Clive half-listened as Angela read the first passage. He couldn’t stop thinking about how many lives Renee had impacted—lives she didn’t even know she had because not everyone was vocal about their appreciation. Not everyone recognized how much she influenced their writing and their life.
Renee was an amazing woman. One who deserved to be with an amazing man.
So what in the world was she doing with a man like him?
15
Where in the world is he?
Antsy, Renee stepped away from the group and took another look down the hallway. The reading had finished and most of the crowd dispersed. Only a few stragglers remained behind. Angela, her assistant, Thomas, and three of Angela’s personal guests hovered together chatting.
Renee and Clive had been in that group talking about the book, the themes, and writing in general until he stepped away to use the bathroom.
Angela touched Renee’s arm. “We’re going to the restaurant upstairs. They’re open until midnight and have the best appetizers and a great wine list. Would you and Clive like to join us—my treat?”
“That would be lovely. As soon as he gets back, I’ll let him know.”
“Perfect.”
Angela rejoined the group, and Renee cast another look in the direction of the restrooms.
Finally, Clive appeared and she hurried toward him.
“Hey, what took you so long? Angela invited us to join them for appetizers and wine in the restaurant upstairs. I almost left without you,” she said with a teasing smile.
“Now?” He frowned.
“Yes.” He’d been acting strange ever since the event ended.
“It’s kind of late to be eating, isn’t it?”
“Since when do you turn down a meal or care about eating late? We’re not eating a full dinner and maybe having just a drink or two.”
Clive rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know, I hadn’t planned on doing anything else except attending the reading. Now I have to go eat and drink wine, too? I don’t even l
ike wine.”
“Then order a beer or some other drink. I only mentioned the wine because Angela said they have a great selection. Listen, I have two words for you. Free. Food.” She was starting to get annoyed.
“I’m not in the mood, Renee. Why don’t you go ahead with Angela and Thomas and the rest of them. I’ll head home.”
“I want you to join us.”
Clive shook his head. “It’s not my thing.”
“What’s not your thing? Eating, drinking, and having a conversation? We did that a couple of weeks ago at your Fourth of July party. You included me in a part of your life, and I don’t want to exclude you from this part of mine.”
“You’re not excluding me. This is my decision because I’m honestly not interested in talking about books and eating a bunch of expensive, fancy food. That’s your thing.”
Renee’s jaw locked in anger. “Should I be offended?”
“No,” Clive said wearily.
“Well, I guess I’ll remember this the next time you ask me to participate in one of your events. I believe we were going fishing next week?”
When she’d told him she’d never gone fishing before, he invited her to join him and his granddaughter. Despite her reservations, she was excited about spending more time with him and being included in yet another part of his life. But why didn’t he want to be included in hers?
“Renee, don’t act like that.” He reached for her, but she stepped out of his reach.
“Go. I’ll call you later,” she said, voice frigid.
“You’re upset, but I told you from the beginning this wasn’t my thing.”
“Of course I’m upset, Clive. I like spending time with you doing a variety of activities. But so far we’ve only ever done what you want to do. I went to your favorite burger joint. We watch the movies you want to see. I attended your holiday barbecue. Tonight was the one time I’ve asked you to do something that I like, and you act as if it’s too much. You’re actually going to back out.”
“It’s one event,” he said through his teeth, as if he had any right to be upset with her.
“It is not one event. You know what, never mind. I don’t have time for this. Take the car back, I’ll catch an Uber home. See you later.” She walked away.
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