She smiled and shook her head. “What, you mean two times last night just wasn’t enough for you? You want more?” she teased, lowering the sheet to her hips.
“Don’t tempt me, woman,” he nearly growled. “There’s a private jet and a neurotic agent waiting for me to meet him in L.A. right now.”
“Newsflash, mister—I’m waiting for you, too,” she sassed, knowing that he wouldn’t do anything. After all, he didn’t have time. But she was very, very wrong.
In the blink of an eye, he pinned her hands down over her head and kissed her hard. Then he trailed intense kisses and tiny bites down her neck and across her shoulders to her chest. He licked her nipples, causing her surprised gasp to turn into a deep, throaty moan. He secured both her wrists with one hand and felt his way down her body with the other. She twitched and writhed beneath his skillful hands, followed closely by his equally masterful mouth.
Then, as he’d done their first night together on the balcony at his place, he went down lower and lower until he found what he treasured. Gently and purposefully he feasted like a condemned man. Dipping deep and enjoying the lusciousness of her giving body. She came hard the first time, and then begged her surrender after the second time. She lay breathless with her eyes closed tightly. Her body was a liquid mass of tingling nerves. She felt Devon’s kisses on her body again. He trailed back up her body, kissing the diamond star tossed near her shoulder.
She opened her eyes, seeing him straighten the pendant around her neck, purposely brushing each nipple. “Know that I always want you. Place and lack of time will never make a difference, so never tempt me.”
She nodded and closed her eyes again. She must have fallen right to sleep, because she woke up two hours later to her cell phone ringing. She grabbed it quickly, thinking it was Devon. “Hello.”
“Hey, you ready to shop ’til we drop?” Savannah said brightly.
“Are you here?” Jazz asked excitedly.
“Yep, I got in late yesterday. I intended to call you last night, but jet lag had me staggering into walls. So, come on out—it’s time to play.”
“Give me an hour. I’ll meet you at our regular spot.”
Devon’s flight landed on time. Reed met him as the hatch opened as soon as the jet engines stopped. “Welcome to L.A.,” Reed said happily.
Devon got into the waiting car, and the driver headed to the Stallions main office. “You look happy.”
“I am happy.”
“Okay, I’m here. So, what’s going on?”
“Looks like your little secret is out. You’re all over the Internet. It seems Jazelle Richardson has been tempting you to the East Coast, or so some say. Check this out.” Reed handed him his PDA. There was a photo of him and Jazz standing at Tiffany’s window, kissing. The caption read that he’d just proposed and she’d accepted.
“It’s not true—at least not yet, anyway,” Devon said.
“It doesn’t matter. I got that gem from the Stallions front office. They want to know what’s going on. You ate dinner at the same restaurant at the same time that New York’s head coach was there with a few of the owners of the franchise. Coincidence, perhaps, but the Stallions’ owners don’t think so.”
Devon laughed. “Are you joking? I didn’t even know they were there. Dennis Hayes is my cousin. He owns the place. The President of the United States could have been there last night and I wouldn’t have known,” Devon said honestly.
Reed chuckled joyfully. “Again, it doesn’t matter. They think the rumors are true. It’s no secret that New York wants you. By all accounts it looks as if they’re secretly courting you. And to add a cherry on top of this, your new girlfriend’s father, Frank Richardson, is a part-owner of the New York franchise.”
“What? How did all this come out?”
Reed was almost giddy. “My assistant found out that little gem. She’s got a best friend at Simon Wells’s office, who just happens to be Jazelle Richardson’s agent. They hatched this little infofest. A blog here, a photo there—we might as well have the rumors working to our advantage for a while.”
“But it’s all just coincidence and circumstantial,” Devon declared. “Jazz never even mentioned her father’s affiliation.”
“Call it whatever you want. The Stallions are hungry to sign you at your price, and that’s all that matters.” Reed laughed heartily as the driver pulled up in front of the office building housing the Stallions franchise.
Devon’s phone rang just as they entered the building. “Hey, what’s going on?” he said, knowing it was his sister, and continued walking to the bank of elevators.
“Don’t ask. Where are you?” Terri asked.
“I’m in L.A. What up?”
“What’s up is that you’re supposed to be here this evening escorting me to this banquet. You remember. The one you talked me into attending and even sent a gorgeous green evening dress for me to wear.”
“Oh no, Terri. I completely forgot all about it. Okay, I’ll get there as soon as I can. I promise.” He closed his cell as the elevator doors opened.
“Here, take this,” Reed said, handing him a brand-new Montblanc pen. “You're gonna need it.”
Chapter 18
EXTERIOR—NEW YORK
Jazz and Savannah laughed, talked, shopped, ate and shopped some more. They spent the whole day together catching up. Jazz told Savannah all about Devon and their time together, especially their first real date the night before. She spared most of the juicy details, much to Savannah’s dismay. Savannah smiled, delighted by the news. “No wonder you look so fabulously elated,” she said. “Seriously, you’re like glowing over there.”
Jazz laughed joyfully. “Am I that bad?”
“Yeah, you haven’t walked on the ground all day. But that’s a really good thing. Jazz, I’m so happy for you, girl. It’s about time you found yourself a winner. It’s definitely your time to be happy.”
“You know what? I’m happy for me, too. I’ve never felt so incredibly loved. It’s like what my mom said. I’m just so happy inside. I feel like I’m about to explode with joy.” She giggled. “Savannah, he loves me, and I actually know it. I feel it. The way he looks at me makes me feel like I own the world. It’s like colors around us are brighter or something. I know it sounds crazy strange, but that’s how it feels.”
“Honey, it doesn’t sound crazy strange at all. It sounds perfectly divine. He loves you. Well, what about you? Do you love him, too?”
Jazz nodded joyfully and smiled wide before nearly crying with heartfelt joy. “Yeah, I do. I love him. I feel it all over. When he’s away I miss him, and when he’s with me I can’t get enough of him.”
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about. That’s love. Girl, look at you,” Savannah said. “You’re damn near giddy.” Both Jazz and Savannah giggled and laughed happily. “Come on, we need to celebrate some more.”
By early evening they’d gone to all of their regular boutiques and even popped into a few newer ones. All purchases were being sent directly to their respective homes in L.A. Jazz was overjoyed to be back and happy to have her best friend with her. “Are you sure you bought enough shoes?” she asked Savannah, a self-proclaimed shoe fanatic.
“A woman can never have enough shoes,” she said as they walked through the fashion district one last time. “Look, what about that one?” Savannah asked, stopping to look in the boutique window. A sexy violet dress caught her eye. Jazz stopped to check out the dress in the window. She considered getting it, but decided it wasn’t quite what she was looking for.
“No, I want something really spectacular. When Devon comes home tonight, I want his jaw on the floor when he sees me.”
“Whoa, what’s that?” Savannah asked, seeing the reflection of the newsstand behind them in the glass window. She turned, walked over and picked up the paper. Jazz and Devon were smiling as they headed into Spotlight NYC. “Looks like the tabloids didn’t waste any time on you two. Can you believe this crap?”
Jazz walked over and looked over Savannah’s shoulder. She went cold, and her heart sank instantly as she read the headline Jazz Temps Bolt to the Big Apple. She grabbed the newspaper from Savannah. The attendant looked up at them and frowned. Jazz kept reading as Savannah tossed him payment for the paper. Jazz, hands shaking, hungrily read the article. She was stunned. It was like reading that her fairy tale had turn into a nightmare. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered.
“What’s it say?”
“It says that I got Devon to leave L.A. and sign to play here in New York. The Stallions are cutting him.”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s all just lies to sell newspapers.”
“No, it’s not,” she said too calmly. “It makes perfect sense. That’s why Devon’s agent called and wanted him in L.A. as soon as possible. They’re cutting him because of me, because of this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The article says that Frank is a part-owner of the New York football team and through me is negotiating with Devon. The Stallions team owners walked away from negotiations. Devon lost his contract because of me.”
“No,” Savannah said emphatically, “you know that’s not true. And even if it is, which I seriously doubt, he lost it because of this trash, not you. What happens with his contract has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me. He knew something this morning, but he just didn’t say it. I need to go,” Jazz said, then immediately stepped out into the street and raised her arm for a cab. “I can’t be responsible for him losing his contract and ending his career.”
“What? Where are you going?”
“L.A.,” she said, shaking her arm impatiently as several cabs sped by. “This is why he didn’t want me to go with him this morning. His contract is in trouble, and he knew that it was my fault.”
“Jazz, listen to yourself. You’re sounding paranoid. You’re so afraid of repeating your mom’s life that you’re jumping at the slightest boo. Since when do you take this trash seriously?”
“Since Devon left this morning.” A cab driver pulled up, and they climbed in and gave her address. Jazz dialed Devon’s cell phone, but no one answered. “He’s not answering. His flight landed hours ago.”
“Don’t panic. I’m sure everything’s fine. Nobody pays any attention to these rags, certainly not the owners of a professional football team all the way in L.A.”
“Savannah, everything in here is true enough to make sense. If he loses his contract and gets cut, it means that he won’t be playing football anymore anywhere. He loves that game. I can’t be the one to take it from him. He’d hate me the rest of his life.”
Just then the cab driver’s sports-talk radio station started talking about Devon. They announced that Devon’s contract was stalled in negotiations and that dating her was probably a good idea since he was going to need the money. They talked about his recent drama and the team’s interest in a much younger college player.
“Excuse me, would you change the station, please?” Savannah said, seeing Jazz’s distress. The cabbie reached over and turned to a reggae station. “Thank you. Okay, listen to me. First of all, you’re not sure about any of this. The newspaper, the radio station—it’s all publicity talk for ratings. You know that.”
“Savannah, I know that his agent called early this morning, telling him to get out there as soon as possible. He sent a private plane for him. What else could it be?” They arrived at Jazz’s apartment. She headed right to the bedroom and started packing.
Savannah sat on the bed, frustrated by the day’s turn of events. She watched her friend whip quickly around the room, gathering her essentials for a quick flight. “You can’t just leave like this. What are you going to do?”
“Talk to the team owners. Tell them it’s not true. If it means they want me out of his life, I’ll do it.”
“You’d give up love for his career?”
Jazz stopped and looked at Savannah. Suddenly, it was all so clear. This is what her mother had done years ago. She had walked away from her father to save his career. “Yeah, I would. I love him that much.”
Savannah nodded and smiled. “Let’s do this.”
“There’s a standard flight out of LaGuardia in about two and a half hours. Book me on it.”
“Yes, fine, I’ll book it for us,” Savannah said. Jazz looked at her. “What, did you think I wasn’t going, too? I know that it’s the anniversary of Brian’s death, one year ago tomorrow. You’re not going alone. Besides, it’ll give me at least three hours to talk you out of this craziness.” She walked over to the desk and opened the laptop. A few minutes later, she booked the flight. Jazz finished her packing and turned just as Savannah closed the computer. “Okay, you’re set. There was only one seat available. I’m booked on the next flight, four hours later.”
“Thanks, Savannah. Well, I guess I’ll see you in L.A.”
Savannah nodded. “Jazz, don’t do anything rash.”
“Do I ever?” Jazz said, hugging her friend.
“All the time,” Savannah said, hugging back. “See you soon.”
Devon stood and applauded wildly as Terri walked to the stage and held her much-deserved award in her hands. She thanked the other talented nominees, her staff and associates and, of course, her family. Devon smiled proudly. It was a thrilling moment, and he was delighted he could share it with her.
There were drinks and dancing afterward but neither Terri nor Devon wanted to stay. “It looks like they’re going to party all night long. Are you sure you didn’t want to stay and celebrate your win?” he asked as they stepped outside the hotel and he motioned to the limo driver he had hired to take them to the awards banquet.
“Positive. It was fun, but I’m exhausted and I have a million things to do tomorrow. Let’s just go home. You’re staying over, right?”
“No. I need to get back to New York tonight.”
She looked at him skeptically and then at the fog’s thickness around them. She could barely see across the street. “I don’t think so. It looks like it’s too foggy to fly out.”
“I hope not,” he said.
Just then a couple walked by. They overheard the end of their conversation. They’d apparently just left the airport and were complaining that all flights had been grounded.
“Devon, there’s this thing called reality check, and the reality of this situation is that when the fog rolls in this thick, all flights are canceled and planes are grounded. The best you can hope for is maybe a flight tomorrow morning.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Yes, it is,” she said.
“No, it’s not,” he asserted.
“You are so stubborn,” she insisted.
“And you are so pessimistic,” he joked.
They glared at each other and then started laughing as only brother and sister could. She slapped him on the arm, barely disturbing his tuxedo jacket. They laughed again. Just then two women walked up and asked Devon for his autograph and a photo together. He grabbed his sister’s hand and pulled her next to him. Appeased but disappointed, the women walked off smiling still. “That’s not the photo they wanted,” Terri said.
“But that’s the only one they’re getting tonight. I’m here to celebrate you, not me.”
“Actually, we should both be celebrating—my award and your new contract,” Terri said as the limo driver pulled up. They settled in the backseat as the driver got back in and pulled away from the curb.
Devon chuckled. “I still can’t believe they wanted to give me the five years I asked for. Even Reed was shocked by that.”
“Yeah, but what I can’t believe is that you didn’t accept it. You actually turned them down. I never thought I’d hear of that happening—you retiring.”
“Well, not quite yet. In two years.”
“It sounded like they were handing you the sun, the moon and the stars. It was everything you always wanted. The perfect five-year contract,” she
said, softening her voice so that only he could hear her. “I’m stunned you turned it down.”
Devon nodded. “I realized that playing football and the perfect contract weren’t everything. If they gave me what I wanted, they could never have signed Craig Anthony to play for the team. I couldn’t be selfish like that. He deserves his chance just like I got mine years ago. He’s a good quarterback, and I want to do my part to help him and the team. Armand helped me when I was rookie—it’s time I passed on that tradition. It’s all about balance.”
“I talked to Grandmom. She told me about you and Jazelle. You know you’d make my life a lot easier if you proposed. I could get to sign her for the national cosmetic campaign I was telling you about.”
“Then by all means consider your life made easier.”
Terri continued talking without really hearing what Devon had said. “I mean as my sister-in-law, I could probably get her to do a dozen or so commercials. I’d have clients coming out of the woodwork. I read up on her after we talked that night. Did you know her best friend is Savannah? Is that the coolest thing or what? Savannah’s mother owns the hottest modeling agency in Europe. And with Jazz’s father being who he is, I’m talking product placement on TV and in films. I’d have a monopoly, and I’d—” She stopped and looked over at him. “Wait. What did you just say?” she asked hopefully.
“Do you ever stop talking business?” he asked as he dialed Jazz’s cell-phone number for the thirtieth time that day. Her phone was still turned off.
“So, wait, go back. You said for me to consider my life easier, right? So that means what?” she questioned anxiously. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying this.” He reached into his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a stunning diamond ring.
Terri’s jaw nearly dropped to her lap. “Oh my God.” She started laughing. “It’s beautiful. You proposed. Wait, no, you still have the ring.”
“I picked it up today.”
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