Do Me Baby (The Beaumont Series)

by Angie Daniels

  “That’s awesome,” she said, but her eyes didn’t quite match the excitement in her voice. He could see hints of that vulnerability starting to surface again. “Well, I guess we need to package up these cupcakes so you can take them with you.” She started to climb off his lap, but he grabbed her arm.

  “Deb, look at me.”

  He didn’t miss that stubborn look of hers as she raised her eyes to his. “I’m not leaving until morning. That means we get to spend the rest of the night together.”

  She lifted her chin higher. “Then what?”

  Then he wasn’t sure. They were in the playoffs, and he never dated during that intense series. If they made it to the finals, well, then that meant he was even more focused. “I can’t make any promises now, but as soon as I can, I’ll be back to see you.”

  Her eyes searched his before she finally nodded and turned away.

  “Hey, thanks for bringing me here and inviting me into your world.” He reached up and tickled her chin. “If you’d like, I’ll even fly you down for a game.” He wasn’t sure where that idea came from, but once it was out he had no regrets.

  She gave a sad smile. “Maybe. But I’m going to be awfully busy. And like I said before, basketball really isn’t my thing.”

  He nodded, afraid to answer. “I understand.” It was only a few weeks. Why did it feel like forever?

  They went back to her apartment and spent the rest of the evening in her bed, making love and pretending nothing else existed.

  “I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you,” he said when the sun was just beginning to rise. “You are truly someone special.”

  “Thanks, Rance. That means a lot coming from you.”

  In less than an hour he was going to have to get out of bed and head back to Philadelphia to pack and catch his ten o’clock flight. But what he really wanted to do was just lie there and hold her in his arms.

  What was happening to him? Never had he felt this connected to a woman. And yet the thought of not waking up tomorrow with her lying beside him panged at his chest.

  Somehow he had allowed her to get too close and mean more to him than he had wanted.

  Now he wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  Chapter 16

  After another sleepless night spent thinking about Rance, the last thing Debra needed was the air condition in her bakery not working.

  “C’mon, Carl. You gotta get that sucker working.”

  “I’m trying. But she’s old. You really need to think about replacing her.”

  She gave a rude snort. “With what? My good looks?”

  “Hey, if you ask me, you’re worth a new top-of-the line Lennox air conditioning system,” he said, and there was no mistaking the attraction in his eyes. Carl had been her handyman since she’d bought the bakery, and he had never been afraid of letting his feelings for her be known. He was a sweet round guy with an even bigger heart, but he was just too boring for her taste.

  She sighed. She had always been attracted to the ones she could never have. Maybe she was more like her mother than she thought.

  “Debra, Ms. Terry wants to know if it’s possible to get three dozen devil food cupcakes tomorrow afternoon.”

  She looked over at Jenna, who had just stepped into her office.

  Debra wiped her hands on her apron and walked over to look at the schedule for the coming afternoon. She already had cupcakes for a sorority tea. “I might be able to squeeze it in if Dixie is available to come in tomorrow.”

  “I’ll give her a call and see. I know Tyler’s been teething.”

  Dixie was a new mom and Debra’s new part time baker who worked as long as it didn’t interfere with her family. Debra often wondered if she’d ever have that in her life. Thoughts of Rance rose to the surface, but she pushed them away. She hadn’t heard from him since he’d left three days ago. “I’ll call her.”

  While she sashayed back into the store, Debra moved into the kitchen to the industrial oven and removed another batch of yellow cupcakes.

  Her summer helper, Blake, waltzed into the room with his skinny red jeans, aqua green contacts and flamboyant personality. “Debbie, honey,” he began as he puckered his glossed lips. “We’ve sold out of red velvet and are running low on lemon.”

  “We can’t keep those in the store,” she said, and was pleased, although through the end of the beach season she was going to have to start baking a few extra dozen.

  “No, girlfriend, we cannot,” he said with two-finger snaps.

  The bell rang over the door and he spun on his heels and sauntered back into the store to assist Jenna. Debra brought her hands to her waist and shook her head. The shop had been increasingly busy lately. She smiled as she thought of the full page advertisement Bianca had posted in the free summer ad sheet.

  “Mail’s here,” Blake sang, and waved the rubber band stack in the air.

  Debra didn’t bother to look up as she instructed, “Just put it over there near the sink. I want to fill these before they cool.”

  “No problem.”

  She reached for the pastry bag and loaded it with creamy white filling, snapped a Bismarck tube in place, then carefully injected the cake until full. By the time she was finished Carl was gone and cool air could be felt flowing inside the store.

  It was almost five when Debra finally removed her apron, washed her hands, and reached for her mail. She thumbed through the stack and cringed. Most were bills. The story of her life.

  But the last was a large white envelope from a lawyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Curiously, she broke the seal and reached inside. After quickly scanning the papers, shock punched the air from her lungs. There was no way this could be what she thought it was. Moving into her office, she took a seat at her desk and took her time reviewing the documents. When her eyes spotted the name on the last page, Debra grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

  “Jenna, I’ll be right back.”

  “B-But you have a pick-up—”

  Debra held up a hand. “I promise to be back in a flash.” Without another word, she walked out the back door and climbed into her van.

  She arrived at the Beaumont Hotel just as most of the day staff was heading out the front revolving door. She hurried across the marble flooring over to the employee’s elevator and made it up to the executive offices. She was clutching her purse while her mind was racing with so many questions. Part of her didn’t want to know the answers, nor did she understand.

  As soon as the doors opened, she stepped off the car and hurried down the hallway, hoping she’d catch Bianca before she left for the day. She released a sigh of relief when she spotted her administrative assistant sitting at her desk, still clicking away at her computer.

  Debra waved without stopping, then barged into her best friend’s office. “Bianca, you gotta—” she stalled when she noticed Bianca’s older brother sitting in the corner. Self-consciously, she smoothed the front of her blouse. There was something about him that always made her feel underdressed. “Hey, Jace.”

  He smiled. “Hello, Debra.” He rose. “Sis, I’ll see you at dinner.”

  As soon as he turned his back, Bianca stuck out her tongue.

  Debra waited until Jace was gone and the door had closed behind him before she spoke. “What’s wrong?”

  “Can you believe him?” Bianca fumed. “Sheyna’s been trying to plan a family reunion for almost two years, but nobody wants to agree on the month, location, nothing. It’s stressing her out, so Jace thinks I need to take over since I’m in charge of marketing.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “Do you know how hard it is to coordinate anything with Uncle Richard and my father? They are so stubborn and pigheaded. They haven’t spoken in years, and none of us even knows why. We’re hoping this event will finally bring the family together.”

  She dropped down onto a blue couch. “Well, at least it hasn’t stopped any of you from associating with each other.”

&nb
sp; “Hell, no. I love my cousins.” She smiled. “So what brings you over here?”

  “Speaking of cousins...” Debra fumbled around inside her oversized purse, removed the envelope and held it out. “Look at this.”

  With a raised brow, Bianca reached for the envelope and removed the pages. As soon as she realized what it was her eyes widened. “Oh, my goodness!” she started squealing. “No, he didn’t!”

  “Yes, he did. And I want to know why he did it.”

  “Why do you think? He likes you,” Bianca chirped loudly.

  Debra shook her head because it still didn’t make since. “Well, I like him, too, but not enough to do something like this.”

  “Oh, my, this is so romantic! Wait until I tell London he’s slipping.”

  Bianca handed back the paper and Debra’s eyes lowered again. She was holding the deed to Kona Donuts. It was now hers. Thanks to Rance.

  “How did my cousin know you were interested in the place?”

  “I had mentioned the place was up for bid, but I never even suggested…”

  Bianca shrugged. “I didn’t know he had it in him. You must have been doing something he liked.”

  “What-ever.”

  “I’m serious. I’ve never known him to be serious enough about a girl to do something like that. And I mean, never.”

  Debra’s heart was pounding so hard she didn’t know what to make of it. She had come over hoping it was some kind of mistake and she had been reading things wrong.

  “But why would he do that?” she asked, shaking her head.

  “Why don’t you call and ask him?”

  Debra inhaled deeply. She couldn’t do that because she was too afraid of what he would say. Or even worse, what he wouldn’t say.

  She loved him. There was no denying that now, but she still had no idea how Rance felt about her. “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not? Debra, talk to me… What the hell is going on between the two of you?”

  Debra slowly raised her head and stared across the desk at Bianca’s probing gaze.

  It barely took three second before the light in Bianca’s walnut-colored eyes brightened. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

  Debra swallowed and nodded. What was the point of denying it any longer? “Yes, I am.”

  Excitedly, Bianca fell back against her chair and started stomping her feet. “I knew it! I told Jaden it would work, but he had doubts. Ha! He owes me!”

  Debra gave her a look of horror. “Owes you? The two of you bet on me?” She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t heard it for herself.

  “Well, of course. Why else do you think we tricked the two of you into taking a cruise? I just didn’t think things would progress as quickly as they had.” She smiled confidently. “But then I am good at everything I do.”

  “What-ever,” Debra mumbled.

  Bianca sprang from the chair, hurried around her desk and flopped down on the couch beside her friend. “Sweetheart, it’s going to be alright. I can think of things that are far worse.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well…, like my hairdresser canceling my hair appointment at the last minute,” she said with frustration.

  Debra raised her eyes to her head and grinned. “Yeah, you do look a hot mess.”

  Giggling, Bianca replied, “See, now that’s something to be upset about.” She pointed at the deed. “Rance bought you the place of your dreams. The place I tried to get for you and you refused to let me buy.”

  “I know,” she said then sighed.

  “Has Rance said anything about how he feels about you?”

  Debra met her probing gazing and shook her head.

  Bianca snorted and rolled her eyes. “That dude cares more about you than he’s probably ready to admit, but if he’s anything like the rest of the Beaumont men, he’ll come around eventually. You’ll see.”

  * * *

  “Yo, Drib! I’ll holla in the morning.”

  Rance gave his teammate, Kwame Brown, a fist pound and strolled down to the end of the hall, where he swiped his key in the door. As soon as he stepped into his hotel room he dropped his duffel bag onto the floor and moved over to the bed, falling back against the mattress.

  He was bone tired, but it had been worth it.

  Tonight they had beaten New York 109-100. He was responsible for twenty points and the last four assists, and he couldn’t be happier.

  Well, that wasn’t completely true.

  Seeing Debra would have made him happier. He closed his eyes and immediately images of her started dancing before his eyes. Her smile. Her body that was shapely in all the right places. Every single detail was burned in his memory.

  Leaving her had been the hardest thing he had ever done, and that’s why he hadn’t called her. The last thing he wanted was to be thinking about a female during the playoffs. Women were a distraction he just didn’t need.

  But for the first time in his life he felt lonely. He wanted to pick up the phone and hear her voice. Maybe it would get him in the zone for game two.

  No longer able to resist, Rance raised up on the bed and removed his phone from the side pocket of his duffel bag. He moved over to the couch and lounged across it while he dialed. Just thinking about hearing her voice had his heart pounding. When the voice mail picked up, Rance couldn’t hide his disappointment. He hit End and placed the phone on the coffee table. There was no denying how disappointed he was that she wasn’t at home. Glancing over at the clock confirmed it was almost eleven. Debra was probably asleep, he thought, and mumbled to himself under his breath how selfish he was to call so late.

  Rance got up and moved across the room. He was pulling off his sweatpants and preparing for bed when his phone chirped. He almost tripped trying to retrieve it. “Yo.”

  “Hello?”

  He knew that sultry voice anywhere. “Hey. What’s up?”

  “Did you just call me?”

  “I don’t know. Did I?”

  “What-ever, Rance. I’m too tired for games.”

  “Then that makes two of us. I’m dead on my ass.”

  Debra sighed softly and it reminded him of the sound she made when he curled his body beside her. “How’s the playoffs going?”

  “Hard on this old man’s body.”

  She snorted. “You’re far from old.”

  “I wish someone would tell my body that. I’ve been at this game for years, and my limitations are starting to show out on the court.” He followed the admission with a laugh.

  “I don’t remember seeing any limitations the other night.”

  He chuckled. “I see you’ve got jokes.”

  “Always when it comes to you. Speaking of jokes… I received a package in the mail today from your attorney.”

  “No joke. I wanted you to have it.”

  “Why?” she said in a somewhat annoyed tone.

  “Because for once I wanted to do something good for somebody I cared about,” he blurted out. He did care about her. More than he was ready to admit.

  “But I can’t accept it.”

  “Why not?” he barked.

  “Because it isn’t right. Now I’ll feel like I owe you.” The anger had slightly eased from her voice.

  “You do… some loving just as soon as the season is over.” He felt a stirring in his boxers at the mere thought.

  Debra chuckled. “Is that right?”

  His mouth quirked. “Yep. That’s right.”

  There was a very long pause. “Thank you, Rance. I would usually be kicking and screaming and demanding you take it back, but I’m just too happy to complain. Someday I’ll be able to repay you.”

  He moved over to the bed and took a seat. “It’s not a loan. It’s a gift. Two different things.”

  “Then it’s one helluva gift. I don’t think I can give you anything that’ll come close to this.”

  “I don’t know. Last I checked you had that good-good.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, Mama alway
s said it was worth more than I’d ever imagine.” Her joke lacked humor, and he quickly sobered.

  “Hey, it doesn’t have anything to do with that,” he said, his voice low and deep. “I did it because I’ve never met a woman who was so passionate about her work.”

  “Been dating too many blondes, huh?”

  “Last I checked you were blonde,” he teased.

  “Ha-ha! My hair is far from blonde.”

  Rance lowered onto his back and rested his head on the pillow. “All jokes aside, I just want to see your dream come true.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so…” her voice broke. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said and shifted on the bed. “You missing me yet?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Are we going to go through this every time? I wanna know if you miss me yet.”

  There was a brief silence. “I think about you from time to time, especially today, after I got the envelope,” she admitted.

  “I hope they’re good thoughts.”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know.” There was a pause. “Have you been thinking about me?”

  “All the damn time. I can’t stop thinking about that phat booty.” Debra gasped, causing Rance to chuckle loudly into the receiver. “Nah, seriously. You’re in my head. I can’t seem to get you out.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “No, but right now it’s not a good thing either,” he muttered. “I need to stay focused.”

  “Okay… So focus. How do all the other players do it?”

  “I’m not them,” he pointed out.

  “Then I guess you have to figure out what you have to do to get me out of your system.”

  “I tried that last weekend, but it didn’t work.” He couldn’t believe how honest he was being.

  “Wow… Really?” Debra sounded almost offended, but he wasn’t sure.

  “Seriously. I really like you. I’m not sure exactly why, but I do.”

  “You sure are great for my self-esteem.”

  “No, I don’t mean it like that. I mean, you’re different from any other woman I’ve dated. You don’t have a hidden agenda.”

  “What do you mean?” she seemed to be getting impatient, so his best bet was to explain.