Shane McFiggins.
Yolanda paled, for a moment unable to move. Then, realizing that she was keeping him waiting, she straightened the front of her clothes, sniffing them to make sure they didn’t smell, and then sniffing herself. Afterwards, she hastily combed her hair with her fingers, put on her cardigan and opened the door.
“Shane,” she said upon seeing him, summoning her brightest smile in order to make up for making him wait. “This is a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“Since you weren’t well enough to come to my house, I thought I’d come to your apartment,” he said, smiling. He lifted his hands. “I brought dinner.”
She looked at the bags of Chinese take-out boxes. “You shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted to,” he said. “Figured if I was coming to visit you, I had to bring you something and since I didn’t know what flowers you liked, I brought dinner instead.”
“Good choice,” she mumbled, taking the boxes from him before opening the door wider. “Come in.”
“How are you feeling?” Shane asked as he stepped inside.
“Better but still a little weak,” she told him the truth. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back home? You might catch my cold, you know, or whatever virus it is. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for you losing your voice.”
“It’s alright,” he said. “Now’s a good a time to get sick as any since I’m done with my tour.” He looked around. “You’ve got a nice place.”
“Thanks,” Yolanda said as she set down the bags he brought on the coffee table. Inside, though, she wished she had fixed it up some more. Well, at least it wasn’t cluttered or dusty. “You didn’t have to come, you know,” she added, still unable to believe Shane was right here in her apartment.
“Do you want me to leave so you can rest?”
“Oh no,” she said quickly. “That’s not what I meant.”
If truth be told, resting wasn’t such a bad idea since her stomach hadn’t fully settled, but at least right now it seemed a little calmer, and she said a quick prayer to baby Jesus hoping it would stay that way. After all, she would be damned if she turned Shane away twice in one day.
“You don’t have a dog?” he asked as he sat on the couch.
“No,” she answered. “The building doesn’t allow dogs.”
“Oh. That’s sad.”
“Then again, I’ve never had a dog so I’m not sure I would have gotten one if it was allowed.” She said as she took the boxes out of the bag. “Let’s see, you got beef and broccoli, sweet and sour pork, Kung Pao chicken, fried dumplings, egg rolls, fried rice and luohan zhai. Wow, either you must be hungry or you must think I have a big appetite.”
“I didn’t think that,” he said quickly, blushing slightly. “I just didn’t know what you’d like so I got a bit of everything.”
“That you did,” Yolanda agreed, grinning. “And I was just teasing you. I know I really can work up an appetite sometimes.”
“Are you hungry now?” he asked.
“A little,” she said. Strangely, it was the truth. She hadn’t really eaten anything after breakfast, after all, or more accurately, after those blasted chocolates.
“Good.” He smiled. “And just to set the record straight, I don’t…” He stopped, his expression seemingly tormented as he tried to come up with the right words to say. “I don’t mind…” He scratched his brow. “Like I said before, you’re beautiful.”
“You mean you don’t mind that I’m a little overweight?”
“Yes,” he said. “I mean no, I don’t mind. I mean…” He stopped, getting confused himself.
Yolanda chuckled. “I get it. I get it.”
“But really, you are beautiful.”
Yolanda looked away, thankful that her skin was dark enough to hide the blush that had suddenly spread throughout her cheeks. She wanted to tease him again, tell him he probably told that compliment to a million girls already but something in the way he spoke, something in his eyes told him he wasn’t one to say things just to flatter, just as he didn’t sing just to impress people.
“Thank you,” she simply said. Then, to prevent an awkward atmosphere from settling in the room, she added, “Shall we eat?”
Shane nodded.
For a while, they talked about the food as they used their chopsticks to taste a bit of everything, otherwise eating in silence as they savored the feast. Yolanda ate slowly, trying not to eat too much in spite of her hunger, often pausing to watch Shane gobble up his share.
So he was hungry after all, she thought with a grin of amusement.
“So how come you never got a German Shepherd when you wanted one so much?” he asked when they had finished about three-quarters of the food.
“Whenever I asked my Mom for one, she would say ‘Ask your Dad when he comes back’ but then, my Dad never did,” Yolanda said. As soon as she had said the words, she felt surprised at how easily she was able to talk to him, a part of her already trusting him even though they had only met yesterday. At the same time, she felt glad, feeling as if she had found a kindred spirit.
“So your Dad left?” His voice conveyed only curiosity and concern, none of the pity she had long received from others.
“He left before I was born.”
“Have you ever tried to find him?”
Yolanda shook her head. “If a person doesn’t want to be with you anymore, there’s nothing you can do,” she said. “Besides, it’s not like I even know how he looks like.”
“You don’t?”
“But my Mom said I got the shade of my skin from him, since my Mom’s skin is few shades lighter,” she answered. “And the shape of my eyes. Of course, she could just have invented it.”
“I doubt she would,” he told her. “Where’s your mother now?”
“She’s still alive. She lives with my stepfather and my stepsister.”
“I see.”
“I also have two stepbrothers. One already has a family of his own and the other is in the army,” she said. “You have a sister, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. My mom is living with her, too, helping out with the kids.”
“How old?”
“Four and two. Both boys. They’re quite a handful.”
Yolanda chuckled. “I’m sure they are. Even my stepbrother’s wife sounds like she’s going to lose her mind whenever she calls and talks about their daughter, and she’s less than a year old. It’s their duty to scare the shit out of us singles, huh?”
Shane, too, gave a chuckle. “I still want to have a family, though.”
He fell silent after that, and based on her experience interviewing people, Yolanda knew he was reflecting on something from his past but didn’t want to probe. Instead, she asked, “Do you want to watch a movie or something? Or do you have somewhere else you have to be after this?”
“Not at all. I saved the whole evening for you.”
His words made her blush again.
“I haven’t watched a movie in a long while, actually. What do you have?”
“Let’s see.” She went through the rack beside the television. “I have The Godfather but that’s too long, It’s a Wonderful Life but I only watch that during Christmas, West Side Story…”
“You like classic movies,” he remarked.
“I do,” she admitted. “As everyone should.”
He grinned. “Good taste.”
“There’s Last of the Mohicans, The English Patient – hey, we’re getting into the 90s now – and then there’s The Fugitive and Erin Brockovich and Sleepless in Seattle…”
“You got anything that isn’t all just white people?” Shane asked in jest.
Yolanda laughed. “Oh, well I don’t have any Tyler Perry movies if that’s what you mean. I do have some Waiting to Exhale but I figure that’s too much chick flick even for the occasion. There’s also The Bodyguard and Jungle Fever…” she let herself trail off, thinking the last two titles might have been a bit on the nose.
Yolanda nodded. “Just like the classic Affair to Remember but with…” She stopped. “I shouldn’t spoil the movie for you. Would you like to watch it?”
“Yeah, let’s.”
“Okay.” She took the disc box from the rack. “I’ll just get some drinks. Would you like wine or soda or orange juice?”
“Wine is alright,” he said.
“Let me go pour some.”
She went to the kitchen, returning minutes later with two wineglasses and the bottle, which she poured. Then, she started playing the movie.
All throughout, they sat on the couch, only exchanging short remarks every now and then. At first, they sat inches apart but somehow, somewhere along the way, she found herself sitting right next to him, their knees touching and his arm around her. Strangely, although she had already expected it, she did not find it unpleasant, the only reason for her discomfort the fact that she found it hard to focus on the movie as she felt the warmth from his body seep into hers, the side of her left breast pressing against his chest.
Still, she managed to sit still until the movie was over. When it ended, she got up from the couch to turn it off and returned to sit beside him, putting a few inches between them.
“So what do you think?” she asked, turning to him as she leaned on the backrest of the couch.
“It was quite good,” he answered, looking into her eyes. “It just goes to show that if two people are meant to be, they will be, don’t you think?”
“So you believe there is someone out there meant just for you?”
“I’m not sure about the ‘out there’ part,” he told her. “For all I know, she could be right here.”
His answer made her breath catch and she was unable to reply. Then again, it seemed as if there was no need for words. There was only one perfect next step and Shane seemed to know it since he started to lean towards her, closing his eyes.
She, too, closed her eyes, surrendering to the magic spell that seemed to have fallen over the room, waiting to be swept away.
Then, all of a sudden, her phone rang.
Just like that, the magic disappeared. For a moment, Yolanda was tempted to ignore it, to try to recapture what had been lost, but seeing that the moment had already been ruined, she answered her phone with a frown, mumbling an apology to Shane.
“Deana, you better have a good reason for calling.”
“I do,” Deana said. “Turn on your television.”
Yolanda sighed.
“Just do it.”
“What channel?”
“Fourteen.”
Yolanda picked up the remote and pressed a few buttons. “And what exactly am I…?”
She stopped as she saw her picture on the screen, then gasped as she read the headline, her hand falling to her side as she clenched her phone tightly.
Did Yolanda Gray Have An Affair With Kian Matthews?
When she finally found her voice, there was only one word she could say, which she spoke through gritted teeth, knowing full well who was behind the rumor.
“Bastard.”
Chapter Four
Roy Carmichael sure was a difficult man, Yolanda thought as she went to the gym on Monday afternoon. She had left her office early to let off some steam, still annoyed about how her evening with Shane had been cut short and how she had spent her entire Sunday trying to curb the rumor that had been spread about her.
True, he had said the chocolates were only the beginning, but to think that he would make his second move so soon, only hours after practically poisoning her. Was it because he had learned that Shane had entered her apartment? She wouldn’t put it past him to have spies.
Whatever the reason was, he was certainly an opponent not to be taken lightly.
Yes, he was an opponent. He might think of himself as her suitor, as her admirer, but he was her enemy. He had made himself one by resorting to such despicable courses of action just to take her to his bed, which in itself was a despicable end.
Well, he was a despicable man, Yolanda thought as she stepped on the treadmill.
At least she had managed to quiet down the media to some extent, using her connections to straighten out the story. Thankfully, her colleagues were just as eager for the truth as they were for a hot story and so the rumor had been quelled considerably. The fact that Kian Matthews, who was now recovering from his cancer, also issued a statement, helped, along with the breakout of other large news stories on Sunday afternoon, such as the shooting in a nursing home in Idaho, the death of the former Secretary of State and the official announcement of Elizabeth Lambert’s divorce upon her return to New York, all of which pushed Yolanda’s own non-story into the background.
Once again, Roy Carmichael had failed.
She was still annoyed, though, and not wanting to continue with her present mood, she decided to think of something else, the first thought to enter her mind being of Shane.
At the memory of her near kiss with Shane, she blushed.
What had happened there? Were they both merely being carried away by the romantic movie they had just watched or was it actually the result of the fact that they were both really attracted to each other even though they had only just met?
If Deana had not called, if that rumor had not suddenly broken out, what would have happened after the kiss?
She felt her blush heighten and she turned off the treadmill, suddenly feeling too warm and out of focus to continue. Taking the towel draped on her shoulder, she wiped the sweat on her brow and stepped off the machine to rest on a bench.
What was going on between her and Shane?
No, that question was too complicated. The simpler question would be: How did she feel about Shane?
Could it be that she had fallen in love with him without knowing? That she had finally truly gotten over Gil before she knew it?
Gil was her first boyfriend out of college, a veterinarian in Atlanta whom she met while she was still working for the local newspaper. He had remained by her side even when she switched to working for the local television station, and she had thought that they would end up getting married, which was why she was devastated when he said he wanted them to break up upon learning she was moving to New York.
She had respected his decision, but had taken the fall hard, the heartbreak in addition to the stress from her new job combining to make her gain weight and driving her into an anxiety attack. Even now, when she had risen above all that, she still had not forgotten him, a part of her thinking she was still in love with him.
Apparently, that part no longer existed.
She could not say for sure if she had fallen in love with Shane. She did not believe in love at first sight, after all. However, she knew that ever since she met Shane, she had gone two whole days without so much as thinking of Gil.
And if she was asked to make a decision now between Shane and Gil, she would choose Shane.
At the very least, she wanted to spend more time with Shane and, thinking that she owed him for what he did for her last night and for just suddenly asking him to leave her apartment, she had an idea that snapped her out of her bad mood.
She knew just what to do.
~ ~ ~
“I heard Mr. Shane McFiggins was here,” Yolanda said in a whisper as she entered the radio station, her face immediately lighting up when she saw him inside the booth.
“He is,” a woman said. “After seeing him guest on your show, the local country music station asked if he could guest, too, on one of their evening programs, and we couldn’t just refuse. Are you here to see him? I’m Jill Moore, Shane’s agent.”
She offered her hand and Yolanda took it. “Yolanda Gray.”
“I know.” Jill gave a slight grin. “The program will be over in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Yolanda waved at Shane as he turned around in his seat, with obvious
surprise on his face upon seeing her. “I’m sorry to drop by so unexpectedly. I just wanted to tell him something I forgot to say the last time we talked.”
“Oh, right.” Jill lowered her voice one more notch. “He was at your apartment Saturday night, wasn’t he?”
Yolanda felt a little surprised that Jill knew, but nodded.
“Are the two of you dating?”
Yolanda was taken aback by the blunt question.
Jill seemed to realize it, too. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry or offend you or anything. It’s just that I’m not sure romance is something Shane needs right now, I mean, just between you and me.”
“I understand, but Shane and I are just friends.”
Jill ignored her. “A relationship with another celebrity in particular might not be good for his career, plus, I’m afraid that he’ll just get hurt and…”
“Shane and I are just friends,” Yolanda repeated, annoyed by Jill’s prying, which was what she was doing even if she didn’t mean to. “And I assure you, Miss Moore, I’ve been through a lot of things. I’m not a child anymore, so I can very well realize the consequences of my own actions, but thanks for the advice.”
“Okay. Sorry.”
Yolanda gave her a forced grin, then turned her gaze back beyond the glass towards Shane. Just as Jill had said, in just a few more minutes, the program ended and after talking to the host off the air as well as signing a few autographs, he made his way to her.
“Now, this is a surprise.” He smiled at her.
“One surprise for another,” she told him.
“How did you find out I was here?”
“I have my sources,” she simply said.
He grinned. “Of course you do. Why did I even ask?”
She just chuckled.
Shane followed up with, “Perhaps I should ask why you’re here, instead?”
“Do you have anything else after this?”
Shane glanced at Jill and shook his head. “No. Why?”
“I thought I’d treat you to dinner this time.”
He scratched his chin. “Hmm.”
“Just to return the favor,” Yolanda added quickly.
“Well, that’s fine, but it will have to be take-out,” Shane said.
Twists and Curves - A Sexy BWWM Interracial BBW Romance Novella from Steam Books (Romantica) Page 4