Asher shrugged. “I like to keep my promises.” He peppered the tease with a lazy wink.
“Well, now she’s your biggest fan.” Riley focused in on one of her black peekaboo pumps. “‘Not only is he sexy and gorgeous as hell, but he keeps his promises,’ I think she said.”
Asher hugged himself. “Ms. Virginia is so good for a man’s ego.” He burst into laughter at the playfully sour look his wife sent him.
Waverly, Connecticut, epitomized the phrase “small-town allure.” The Hudsons had moved there when Asher’s father became the town’s first black bank manager.
Riley had always been somewhat awed by Asher’s childhood—not the norm by any standards. At least not any standards she was familiar with. His parents were high school sweethearts who grew up in a town much like Waverly. They were both from large, well-to-do families with staunch African Methodist backgrounds. Jones and Cassell Hudson had attended the same college, where he majored in finance and she obtained a teaching degree.
But Cassell Hudson had never utilized her degree—not in the workforce at least. Instead, she’d lavished all her considerable knowledge on her son. This had become even easier when Jones obtained the position as bank manager.
As a full-time mom, Cassell had been anything but the norm. While most toddlers were learning how to put one block on top of the other and using their fingers to pick up food, in addition to chewing on them, Asher was being taken to museums at home and abroad. The trips didn’t end once he started public school, though. Weekends were spent visiting historical sites all over the country, and Asher had a fierce command of American history. So much so that when it came time to learn from the pitiful lone chapter on slavery and the Civil War, Asher informed his teacher that the material was grossly inaccurate.
The teacher brushed him off, of course. That is, until Cassell stepped in and, after little debate, was brought in to give a lecture to her son’s fifth grade class on African American involvement before, during and after the Civil War. She was a phenomenal woman, Riley believed, so similar to her own mother yet so different in other ways.
Being a wife and mother was Cassell’s life, and she thrived on it. For Riley, it was hard to swallow that a woman could so happily put her welfare and the welfare of her child in the hands of her husband—high school sweetheart or otherwise. But Cassell had, and the results were marvelous.
Asher drove into the wide horseshoe drive before his parent’s home. Clearly, the neighborhood catered to a mostly older set. People who’d already raised their kids and sent them off to prosper in the world. Coral Crest was too serene, too polished, too quiet a development.
Such perfection gave Riley an eerie sense of unease. She thrived on the craziness of the city, the unexpectedness of it all. Areas such as the Hudson’s suburban oasis, with everything elegantly in its place, unsettled her.
Asher shut down the rented truck’s smooth engine and soaked up the quiet. Unlike his wife, he thrived on the environment. There were no hordes of people all jockeying for a place on the same square inch of concrete. Fresh air, a place to think…He cast a glance at his wife, knowing the peacefulness was enough to make her heave.
Opposites attract was a very real statement as it related to them.
“You know, she’s gonna ask us to stay the night,” he warned and let her see his surprise when she said she’d packed a bag and put in a few things for him as well.
The natural arch of Riley’s brows rose a few inches. She smiled.
Asher smirked and pulled the keys from the ignition. “I was sure I’d have to bully you into a shopping trip for the things we’d need.”
Riley’s smile deepened and narrowed her eyes. “I’m always in the mood for shopping, but we’re good unless you need anything.”
“Sounds good,” he murmured, nodding as his light eyes drifted toward her mouth. “Give it up,” he ordered.
Riley scooted over the gearshift lever and eagerly obliged the order for a kiss. She was seconds from straddling his lap right there in his parents’ front yard when Asher broke the kiss and left the truck. He walked around to open her door but wouldn’t let her pass when she stepped down.
“Thanks for doing this.” He smoothed a hand across her tummy and nudged her ear.
Riley’s smile turned curious. “You say that like I would’ve had a problem with coming out.”
“Obviously, visiting my folks isn’t tops on your to-do list.” He shrugged. “You’re right in New York, and I’m in Phoenix. I probably speak to ’em more than you do.”
“Well, baby, they are your parents.” She scanned the landscaped perfection past his broad shoulders. “And everyone stays so busy, you know? Your dad’s still on the go with the bank, and your mom has all her volunteer projects. I’ve got my job….”
Asher looked down where his hand still covered her stomach. “With the baby coming, I guess you won’t have much of an issue with that.” He didn’t wait for a response but pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and went to get the bag.
Riley frowned as she watched him.
Jones and Cassell Hudson were fit to be tied when their son and his wife announced the addition to the family. Asher, like Riley, was an only child. Jones and Cassell had struggled for many years with the fact that there would be no other children due to Jones’s low sperm count. The news of the baby meant more to them than anyone knew.
There was a round of drinks before the group left for the restaurant.
“I guess I’ll have to tally my frequent flyer miles for all these trips to Phoenix to see my new grandbaby,” said Cassell.
Riley’s grip tightened on the goblet of sparkling grape juice when Asher didn’t correct his mother’s assumption. Thankfully, Jones was there to keep her mind off of it. His attentiveness and interest in whether she had everything she needed soothed Riley’s racing thoughts. Having never really known her father, she’d always felt a closeness with Asher’s dad. She’d often told her husband that his father had a soft, easy, yet firm manner with people, which probably came in handy. She was certain customers left his bank with smiles in place, even after being turned down for a loan.
“So will you be having the baby in New York?” Jones topped off her juice.
Riley studied Asher and his mother across the den. “I plan to have it here.” She smiled when Jones smothered her hand in one of his. “As for the rest…We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
Jones’s dark, mellow stare narrowed as he focused on his son. “I expect you won’t stick around long, but I do hope the baby’ll be enough to make Ashe visit a little more.” He sipped a bit more of his cognac. “I don’t know if anything’s got the power to do that.”
“Yeah…” Riley blinked as tears filled her eyes.
“Still…this is a baby. Men turn to mush over their babies, you know?”
Riley considered the man’s words. “Mr. Jones, what do you know about Asher’s…aversion to New York?” Her dark face was aglow with curiosity. “I mean, I know some folks just don’t like the place, but I just think it goes way deeper for him.”
Jones grimaced while the alcohol burned his gullet. “Cass and I never understood it much, either. He wasn’t always like this.” The man stroked the whiskers roughening his honey-toned skin. “He lived his life in the suburbs. Trips to the city were like going to the zoo, and he was happy to be there, but happier still to return home.” He shook his head. “Whatever happened to make him…hate it so…happened during his second year in the league and whatever it was made the hate specific to New York.”
“He was shot during that time. The store robbery,” Riley replied, turning the goblet in her hands. “That must’ve played a part.”
Jones only smiled. “He never told us. Who knows? Maybe it was just that. Being shot and the devastation of it were probably enough to make him hate it.”
The explanation was simple enough and quite understandable, Riley thought. She couldn’t zero in on why she didn’t believe it.<
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Chapter 14
The drive from Connecticut was silent the following afternoon. The silence was not a comfortable one. Asher kept waiting for Riley to snap and was pleased when she didn’t. He felt the pending discussion was an event best saved for the privacy of their apartment.
When they got there, however, it seemed that the uncomfortable silence would continue. Riley headed for the bathroom. Asher was about to follow when his phone vibrated. It was Talib, and judging from the sound of his voice, things weren’t going altogether smoothly.
“New Jersey’s having issues with Vic maintaining his free-agent status in light of the kind of money they’re shelling out.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Asher’s mind was still on his wife, but he shifted gears easily to business. “I’ll meet you at your hotel.” He headed for the study to grab his briefcase. “We’ll strategize and then give a call to Vic to discuss his options.”
“What’s up?” Talib inquired, sensing the distress coloring his friend’s voice.
Asher didn’t bother to deny it. “Just trying to understand the mind of a pregnant woman, is all.”
Talib whistled across the line. “That is harder than negotiating a contract could ever be, I’m sure. Good luck, mate.”
“Mmm,” Asher grunted and closed the phone. He walked in the direction his wife had taken to the bathroom. Along the way, he shed the lightweight jacket he wore over the black shirt, which hung outside his sagging denims.
Having stripped down to a lacy bra and panty set, Riley was adjusting the water for a bath. She straightened and rolled her eyes away from Asher when she noticed him leaning against the doorjamb.
“You gonna make me guess, Riley?”
“Guess what?” She selected a bath oil from one of the oak cabinets above the toilet and carried the bottle to the tub.
Asher caught her on her way back to the cabinet and trapped her against the marble countertop. “Spill it.”
“Oh, come off it.” She bristled at his hold. “You know what this is. We’ve been skirting around it since you came to town.”
His light eyes narrowed dangerously. “And you pick now to catch an attitude over it.”
“I think an ultimatum like the one you issued is good cause for an attitude.” She relaxed a bit, yet her eyes were throwing ice daggers at his.
Asher bowed his head close to her shoulder. “Can’t you just forget about it?”
“Why? You haven’t.”
“What?”
“Not once did you correct your parents about us moving to Phoenix. Why is that?” She waited for him to look at her. “Because you knew I’d go along with it in the end? Or maybe you were just caught up in all that fairy-tale land up there…I don’t know….”
“Hell, Riley, I wasn’t about to get into that with them when we haven’t even settled it.”
“Your father’s hoping the baby will be enough to get you to come home.” She smiled when new emotion flickered in his deep-set gaze. “Guess I’m not the only one who’s wondering why it can’t be you who does the relocating.”
Asher turned and began massaging the back of his neck. “New York’s no place to raise a kid,” he grumbled.
Riley heard him clearly. “Is that a fact? Well, someone should’ve told my mom or all the other parents raising all the kids I see running around the city.”
“You know what I mean.” He pointed an index finger in her direction.
“Actually, I don’t.” Riley crossed her arms over her chest. “I mean, we’ve been together all this time, and I still don’t know why you hate this city.”
Asher’s sleek brows rose. “I think a lot of people feel the way I do.”
“Yeah, but it’s personal for you. More personal than for most.”
He let her glimpse his unease before shaking it off. “I can’t talk about this now.”
Riley waved him off. “Mmm-hmm…What else is new?” She returned the bath oil to the cabinet and went to stand before the long lighted mirror above the sink. “Why’d you want to marry me, Asher?”
He stopped in the doorway. “What did you say?”
Riley combed her fingers through her clipped crop and then removed her bra. “All the time we were together, I lived here, and all the while, things were great. I never pressured you about marriage. So why’d you marry me?” She watched him in the mirror when he walked into her line of sight. “Why? Did you figure it’d be the best way to keep me faithful to you?”
On slow steps, Asher closed the distance between them. Riley swallowed her nerves. She wanted to rouse his temper in hopes of getting him to tell her whatever he was hiding—whatever he was afraid of.
He trailed his fingers along her spine. “Maybe you should ask me why I didn’t marry you long before I did.”
Riley blinked. “Because I was in New York, and there’s something about this place that you won’t—”
He was shaking his head. “More than that. A lot more.”
The moment of truth was arriving, but Riley’s attention was shattering. Asher’s touch grew progressively demanding the longer he spoke.
“I never saw you coming,” he admitted while driving his thumb into her spine, using delicious massaging strokes. “A man in my profession doesn’t have much trouble attracting women, you know?”
Riley’s breath stopped in her throat. Asher Hudson’s ability to attract women had nothing at all to do with his profession.
“A relationship with a woman in New York has as little chance for survival as one on the moon.” He pulled her back against him. “But there you were, and you terrified me.”
Her eyes flew to his face in the mirror. “Terrified?”
“I didn’t like what you did to me.”
Riley thought she understood. “My story could’ve ruined your agency.”
“Perhaps.” His lazy grin appeared. “But that wasn’t it, either.” Again, he began the circular massage to her spine. “The more I had you, the more I wanted you. When you weren’t around me, I couldn’t focus.” He shrugged in spite of himself. “Started to affect my work. Then we started to see more of each other, and it was enough just knowing you were there in some way.”
“So what happened?”
“What happened was I loved you too damn much to not want to make you mine in every way.”
“Asher.” It was a chore to murmur his name. She ached sweetly from head to toe, as his touch had stirred her to a frenzy. By then his fingers were inside her panties. One hand cupped a breast, and his perfect lips started to nibble her earlobe.
The triple caress dissolved any other thoughts or questions. Asher rested his forehead on her shoulder and freed himself from the confines of his jeans. He took her quickly and enthusiastically against the counter. Afterward, he shut off the water and carried her into the bedroom. Once there, he made love to her all over again. When it was over, Riley couldn’t keep her eyes open. Asher left her in bed, sleeping like a stone.
Riley added hot water to the tub, which had only been a quarter filled when Asher had shut off the taps before carrying her off to the bedroom earlier. She tried not to think about the fact that they’d made love because he was trying to shut her up. And she’d let him. But as she settled into the fragrant heated water, her thoughts would center around nothing else.
Still, he’d told her much more involving his love for her and their marriage. Yet there was lots more he wasn’t saying, and for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why he was keeping his secrets.
Whatever he was hiding, she had little doubt it would encourage him to understand why she wanted to remain in New York. And he doesn’t even know about your new job offer.
Riley groaned and buried her face in a wet cloth. She had to tell him. He deserved to know that little tidbit as much as he had deserved to know about their child. Hell, Riley, your job as it stands now is a major factor in why you want to stay! How deeply into this conversation was she willing to go? She wondered and recalled th
e talk with her mother.
Was she ready to tell Asher why working meant so much to her? Whatever happened, she needed to tell him and fast. Things would go from tension filled to untenable in the span of ten seconds if he heard it from someone else.
Over a late lunch, Asher and Talib were brainstorming options for their newest client. They worked in silence for a time, each so involved with his individual tasks that they had no idea how closely they were being studied.
“Asher Hudson ain’t a media-friendly guy,” Diane Sims noted as she watched her friend and colleague hunt for a fresh pad.
Justine Duke offered a simple smile and continued her search. “A grunt from Asher Hudson is like a full-page comment from anyone else of interest in the sports world.”
Diane shook her head of kinky twists. “So you just wanna go over there and get shot down?”
“There’s always a story surrounding Asher Hudson.”
“Well, forget Victor Lyne’s rumored signing deal. I’m pretty sure that’s gonna be confirmed and handled in-house.”
“Agreed.” Justine cheered as she located a pad. “But what I’m interested in has little to do with sports and everything to do with entertainment.”
Diane was floored and didn’t mind letting the amazement show all over her round dark face. “The man is in town to negotiate a surprise multimillion-dollar deal for a walk-on, and you’re interested in him for an entertainment angle?”
“You got it.” Justine set aside her pad and tote and fixed Diane with a focused baby-blue glare. “Do you know how long I’ve been in awe of that marriage?”
“Asher Hudson and Riley Stamper.”
“They’re fascinating public figures who have managed to keep their very unorthodox marriage out of the papers. Doesn’t anyone find that unusual?” Justine leaned back and spread her frail-looking hands about her. “All that distance between them and they remain just as in love as ever.”
“And this is what you want to ask him about?”
Justine gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I’d work my way up to it.”
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