Myles’s smile grew wider. “That you will.” He nodded to Zabrina. “Good night, Brina.”
She returned a smile that failed to reach her eyes. “Good night, Myles.” She bent over to pat the Yorkies. They jumped up in an attempt to lick her face, but she pulled back in time.
Taking Rachel’s arm, she forcibly pulled her to retrace their route. “I could kill you for inviting Myles to go out with us,” she hissed between her teeth, although they were far enough away from Myles so that he wouldn’t hear her rant. “You made it seem as if we’re desperate, widows gone wild.”
Rachel extricated her arm. “What are you talking about?”
“What if I didn’t want him to go out with us?”
“Why wouldn’t you, Zabrina? Didn’t the two of you grow up together?”
“I was friends with one of his sisters.”
“Is he married, Zabrina?”
“No.”
“Does he have a special woman?”
“I don’t know,” Zabrina answered truthfully.
Rachel flashed a knowing smile. “We’ll find out soon enough when we all go out together.”
Zabrina stopped mid-stride. “Why your sudden interest in Myles Eaton?”
Resting her hands on her slim hips, Rachel pushed her face close to Zabrina’s. “I’m not interested in him for myself, but for you. You were so busy playing with the puppies that you couldn’t see the lust in Myles’s eyes. And if I didn’t know better I’d think you have something wrong with your eyes if you didn’t notice that he’s so hot he sizzles.”
“If he’s so hot, then why don’t you go after him?”
“Maybe I will once I find out whether he’s available. That is, if you don’t want him.”
Rachel’s pronouncement rendered Zabrina speechless and motionless. She’d seen a photograph of her neighbor’s late husband, and he was the complete opposite of Myles. But who was she to say what Rachel’s type was? She didn’t want to admit that she was jealous. For years she’d thought of Myles as hers even though she’d married another man. Every night when she went to bed—alone—she pretended Myles Eaton was in bed with her. And there were times when she prayed he wouldn’t find another woman to love because that meant losing him forever. Myles had always said that when he married it would be for the rest of his life.
The sky had darkened and millions of stars twinkled in the heavens when Zabrina and Rachel returned home. She said good-night to Rachel, walked up the porch to her house and unlocked the door. Silence greeted her as she walked in. It wasn’t often the house was silent because either a radio or the television provided background noise while she cooked or completed her household chores.
After Adam came home from school he went through the ritual of washing his hands and changing out of his school uniform before settling down at the kitchen table to do his homework. By the time he finished dinner was ready. It was their time together when Adam recounted what had gone on in his classes.
Although Adam looked nothing like Myles, his facial expressions and body language were almost identical to his biological father’s. Zabrina dreaded the time when she would have to tell her son the truth about the man who’d fathered him.
She dreaded it almost as much as the revelation that the grandfather he’d loved and respected was a thief.
Chapter 7
Zabrina had just finished applying her makeup when the doorbell chimed. The contrast of the smoky shadow on her eyelids made her eyes appear lighter than they actually were.
As promised, Myles had called her Monday evening to inform her that he’d made dinner reservations for three at a popular restaurant in the heart of downtown Philadelphia that featured live music and dancing. His mention of reservations for three answered her question as to whether he would have a fourth person join them. If she hadn’t lived a cloistered existence for the past decade, Zabrina would’ve invited a man to come along as her date in order to put some physical distance between herself and Myles, because it would take a miracle for her to exorcise him from her heart. He was the first man with whom she’d fallen in love, and she would love him forever.
Walking out of the en suite bathroom through the bedroom, she made her way down the carpeted hallway to the staircase in a pair of four-inch black crepe satin Christian Louboutin pumps with an asymmetric bow. She’d selected the designer footwear for Thomas’s swearing-in ceremony, but hadn’t attended because she’d come down with pneumonia and her doctor had advised against traveling to D.C.
What was ironic was that her closets were filled with designer clothes and shoes she’d never worn, shoes and clothes purchased for her by the young man whose responsibility it was to dress his boss and his boss’s wife. Most times the designer garments remained on the padded hangers when she refused to attend a dinner party or fundraiser with Thomas. He had lost his temper several times, but when she threatened to divulge that he’d blackmailed her into marrying him he glared at her and stalked out of her bedroom suite. It was the last time he’d asked her to accompany him. However, her wardrobe continued to increase with Thomas’s hope that she would eventually change her mind.
She never did.
When she’d taken the shoes out of the box, Zabrina glanced at the price tag for the first time. Spending nine hundred dollars for a pair of shoes was unconscionable, and there were at least four-dozen boxes containing shoes comparable to the pair she’d selected to go out with Myles and Rachel. Slim black stretch cuffed slacks and a white long-sleeved cotton wrapped-waist blouse completed her casual chic outfit.
Glancing through the side window in the door, she saw Myles’s SUV parked in her driveway. She opened the door and went completely still as a sensual smile spread across Myles’s face. The gesture made her feel something she’d almost forgotten existed. Even when she woke Sunday morning to discover that she was sharing the same bed as Myles Eaton, none of the sensations now coursing through her body had been evident. Maybe it was because her senses had been dulled by alcohol, but the tiny tremors between her legs made it difficult for her to maintain her balance in the high heels.
“You’re early.” He’d come half an hour before he was supposed to pick her up. She opened the door wider, and he walked into the expansive foyer that led to the living room. She closed the door, turned around pressing her back to the door.
Myles registered the husky quality of her voice. His smile slipped slowly away when he stared at Zabrina under the soft, flattering glow from a chandelier hanging overhead. Unconsciously Zabrina was seducing him with her smoky voice and sparkling eyes. His gaze lingered on her face. Her luminous eyes, the exotic slant of high cheekbones and her full lush mouth were sexually arousing. She was thinner than she’d been when they were engaged, but her size did not diminish her femininity. There was enough roundness in her hips to belie any notion of her being mistaken for a boy.
Leaning closer, he kissed her cheek. “How did you get so tall?”
Zabrina laughed softly. “It’s the heels.” Extending her foot, she displayed the stilettos.
His eyebrows lifted. The heels she wore were higher than the ones she’d had on at Belinda’s wedding. “Are you certain you’ll be able to dance in those?”
Zabrina affected a sensual pout, drawing Myles’s gaze to lips enhanced by a glossy magenta. The shade was perfect for her lightly tanned face. “I’ll sit out the fast tunes.” His eyelids lowered, reminding Zabrina of a predator watching and waiting for the exact moment to seize its intended prey. “Should I add your name to my dance card?”
If you think I’m taking you out so you can dance and flirt with other men, then you’ve truly lost your mind.
The thought had popped into and out of Myles’s head in the blink of an eye. In that instant he had to admit that Chandra was right. Just when he’d believed he’d gotten over Zabrina, she’d come b
ack into his life. Even if he’d been able to exorcise her from his thoughts, what he hadn’t been able to forget was the searing heat and passion between them.
The first time he and Zabrina had shared a bed he’d known she was different—special. And it hadn’t had anything to do with her being a virgin. There was a time when Myles thought he’d remained faithful to his sister’s best friend because he’d taken her innocence. But, when he compared her to the other women he’d slept with, he knew her virginity did not figure into the equation. The reality was that he had fallen in love with Zabrina before they’d slept together.
She could always get him to laugh even when he hadn’t felt like laughing. She wasn’t as needy as some of the women he’d known. They were the ones who complained if he didn’t call them every day, or tell them they were pretty. Not only was Zabrina beautiful, but she was also smart and independent—something he hadn’t expected her to be since she’d grown up pampered by her father.
He hadn’t remembered Zabrina’s mother that well. He’d been twelve when she’d finally lost her mother to brain cancer. At that age he’d begun noticing girls and sports had become a priority. However, he wasn’t completely oblivious to the gossip about Jacinta Mixon’s shadowy background. Some said that the beautiful woman was the product of a short-lived marriage between an African-American soldier and a young woman he’d met in the Philippines. Others claimed that she’d come from Mexico with her migrant farming family and caught the eye of Isaac Mixon when he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Whatever her racial or ethnic background, Jacinta had given Isaac an incredible child.
Myles blinked as if coming out of a trance. “What do you think, Brina?” he asked after a long silence.
A slight frown appeared between Zabrina’s eyes. Myles was looking at her as if she were a complete stranger. “I don’t know what to think. That’s why I asked, Myles.”
“Of course I want to dance with you.”
She smiled. “Good. I just have to comb my hair, then I’ll be ready.” She’d washed her hair, applied a small amount of gel and all she had to do was style it.
“Do you mind if I look around your house?”
Myles’s question threw Zabrina for a few seconds. “No, I don’t mind. Why don’t you come upstairs with me, then you can work your way down.”
“I’m trying to get an idea of what kind of house I want to buy.”
Turning on her heels, Zabrina walked to the staircase. “Whatever you choose should complement its surroundings,” she said over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs. Myles was right behind her.
“There are a few new developments going up in some of Pittsburgh’s suburbs, but what I don’t want is a cookie-cutter house.”
“Why don’t you have it built to your specifications?”
Myles stared at the gentle sway of hips as Zabrina made her way along the carpeted hallway. “I don’t want to wait that long. I have a lease on an apartment that’s due to expire at the end of August. I’d like to move into a house before Labor Day. I’ve been preapproved, so all I have to do is find the house I want.”
Zabrina stopped at her bedroom. “I’m going to be in here. The bathroom is across the hall, my son’s room is on the left and a guest bedroom is at the end of the hall on the right.”
Myles stared at the woman whose head was only several inches below his. Zabrina stood close to six feet in her heels. “How many bathrooms do you have?”
“There are two full baths upstairs and one half bath off the kitchen.”
“Your house looks bigger than Belinda’s.”
“It is. Her subdivision is ten years older than this one. The same developer designed both subdivisions. But when he decided to build here, putting up McMansions was all the rage. These homes are what I call mini-McMansions. The smaller ones range between twenty-five hundred and three thousand square feet. The larger ones go as high as five thousand square feet.”
“I doubt if I’ll need five thousand square feet. Three or four would be more than enough. What I really want is a wraparound porch, lots of trees and enough property that a couple of dogs can have the run of the place.”
Zabrina patted his arm.
“It sounds as if you’re nostalgic for your childhood home.”
A beat passed as Myles thought about what Zabrina had said. She was right. He was nostalgic, longing for what was and would never be again. “Maybe I am,” he admitted reluctantly. “What about you, Brina?”
“What about me?”
“You’ve spent the past decade living in a mansion with a staff to see to your every need, and you gave it all up to live here?”
Her delicate jaw hardened. “That house wasn’t mine. It belonged to Thomas. As his widow I could do whatever I wanted with it, and I decided to sell it.”
“What about your son, Brina? He’s a Cooper. Shouldn’t he live in his family’s home? After all, the house was his birthright.”
Thomas Cooper came from a prominent Philadelphia African-American family. Ephraim Cooper had been accused of being a front man for a group of unscrupulous businessmen when he sold worthless railroad stock to poor blacks who wanted to cash in on the American dream.
Ephraim, a self-taught attorney, successfully defended himself in court, suing the men he worked for. He won the case and earned a reputation as a champion of the underdog. The publicity made him one of the most sought-after attorneys in Philadelphia. He enlarged his practice, built what came to be known as Cooper Hall and eventually returned all of the monies to those who’d invested in the phony railroad stock scheme. Before Ephraim passed away he’d been referred to as the unofficial mayor of Philadelphia’s Negro population.
Zabrina closed her eyes and swallowed hard in an attempt to suppress the rage threatening to erupt. When she opened her eyes all traces of gold were missing, leaving them a cold, frosty green.
“Do not talk to me about something you know nothing about. What I did was sell what you think was my son’s so-called birthright and put the proceeds in an account for his future. His education and the man that he will become mean more to me than his living in a museum with servants waiting on him hand and foot.”
Myles realized he’d pushed the wrong button when he’d mentioned her son. It was apparent discussing Adam Cooper was taboo. It was a mistake he would not repeat. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said, apologizing.
Zabrina nodded. “I’m sorry I went off on you, Myles. I suppose I’m a little protective when it comes to Adam.”
He winked at her. “I guess being protective comes with parenthood. Now that I’ve taken my foot out of my mouth I’m going to see the rest of your house.”
Myles walked to the end of the hall, peered into the guest bedroom and flipped the wall switch. The space was twice the size of his Pittsburgh bedroom. Zabrina had decorated it in a soft, calming taupe and seafoam green. The room held a queen-size bed, double dresser and nightstands, and a love seat covered in soft green was positioned under a trio of windows. Sheers were hung above the windows, a rug in a muted color, a stack of books and magazines on a low table beside the love seat and the ceiling fan overhead created a calm, relaxed feel to the room.
Turning off the light, he moved down the hall to the bathroom: recessed lights, white mosaic tile, a garden tub with a Jacuzzi, twin stainless-steel sinks, a free-standing shower and a dressing area with mirrored walls made the space appear twice as large.
Adam’s room was the quintessential boy’s bedroom with a trundle bed covered with a red, white and blue patchwork quilt. The colors were repeated in the rug and built-in shelves cradling books, a desktop computer, printer and television. The bedroom was spotless.
Myles’s mouth twitched in amusement when he remembered Roberta Eaton’s reaction whenever she opened the door to his third-story bedroom. Because he was the only boy, he�
��d been given the attic bedroom. She usually had to scour the room to find mismatched socks under the bed, underwear, T-shirts and occasionally dress slacks on the floor of the closets in order to put them in the wash or send them to the dry cleaner. It was only when he moved into his own condo that he took steps to keep his living quarters neat and clean. He hired a cleaning service. He walked over to Zabrina’s bedroom, rapping lightly on the door.
“Come in,” Zabrina called out from somewhere behind the door.
Myles entered the master bedroom, stopping when he saw the elaborately carved mahogany four-poster bed with all-white bed linens that was the room’s focal point. The mahogany furniture and creamy white fabrics harkened back to a bygone era where women sipped tea on the veranda.
“Where are you, Brina?”
“I’m in the bathroom.”
He turned in the direction of her voice and stood at the entrance to her bathroom. It wasn’t a bathroom so much as it was a home spa. A cedar soaking tub, candles and incense, a built-in bench lined with pillows for lounging or meditating offered a comfortable spot to stretch out before or after soaking or sitting in the sauna. The windows were covered with shades that let light in while providing complete privacy.
Zabrina sat at a dressing table putting the finishing touches on her hair. Using her fingers, she’d lifted the damp strands at the crown and feathered wisps over her forehead.
Myles entered the bathroom. “Did all of this come with the house?”
Smiling at his reflection in the mirror, Zabrina shook her head. “Unfortunately, it didn’t. I had to sleep in the guest bedroom for three weeks while the contractor completed the renovations. I was vacuuming up dust for at least a month.”
He took another step, bringing him closer to where she sat. “It’s incredible.”
“If you ever want to come over and unwind in the sauna, just let me know. Spending half an hour in the steam shower, then soaking in the tub is the cure for whatever ails you.”
Forever an Eaton: Bittersweet LoveSweet Deception Page 25