“Let’s not forget the schools. All the good ones have a waiting list. Get your name on them now and you should be in like Flynn.”
“Whoa. Whoa. Slow it down.” Leila pushed herself out of her chair and raked her hands through her hair. “You guys are going too fast for me. I have other things to handle before figuring out doctors and schools.”
The women settled down at her grave expression.
“I mean, how am I going to break this news to Garrick?”
Roslyn sat back on her haunches. “He’s not going to be happy?”
“Are you kidding me?” Leila laughed. “He’s going to be ecstatic.”
Again Roslyn and Ciara glanced at each other.
“So…what’s the problem?” Ciara asked cautiously.
“The problem is that I don’t want him to use this as an excuse for us to get back together.”
“So now you want to get back with him?” Roslyn asked, trying to keep up.
“Of course I wanted us to get back together—I just didn’t know how to go about doing it.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re neurotic?” Ciara asked.
Roslyn touched Ciara’s shoulder and nodded. “Plenty of times.”
“Ha. Ha. Make jokes.” Leila stopped pacing and thought about the small life starting inside of her. Her smile was instant and an undeniable warmth radiated through her. She was going to be a mother.
“I think I need to sit down again.”
The women helped her to a chair.
“So when do you think you’re going to tell him?” Ciara asked after an awkward silence had passed.
“I don’t know,” Leila said dully.
“Are you going to tell him?” Roslyn asked.
Leila shrugged as those damn tears came back again. “I don’t know.”
The room fell silent again until, at last, there was a knock on the door.
“Tell whoever it is I’m busy,” Leila groaned as she buried her face into the palms of her hands.
“Will do.” Ciara rushed to the door; however, she was shocked into silence the moment she opened it.
“Hey, is Leila in?”
Roslyn’s head jerked to the door. “Who is it?”
At her sister’s sharp gasp, Leila glanced up. “Samantha.”
Chapter 25
Samantha stood frozen at the door as if attacked by a sudden case of stage fright. The air in the room thickened with tension and became difficult for them all to breathe. Emma, oblivious to what was going on, squirmed with excitement in her mother’s arms.
“Hey!” Emma shouted and gave Leila a wide two-teeth grin.
Leila’s heart squeezed as she smiled lovingly back at her.
“I didn’t know both of you would be here,” Sam croaked nervously.
Roslyn crossed her arms. “Sorry to have disappointed you,” she said, unable to deflect the hurt in her tone.
“I’ll leave you guys alone,” Ciara announced. “Call me tonight if you need anything—books, referrals, or even bail money.” She flashed Samantha a meaningful look and then eased around her.
Leila watched until the door closed before she lit into her sister. “What is it now, Sam? You came to drop Emma off again, or do you need money?”
“Maybe you’re in trouble with the law or you need a place to stay?” Roslyn jumped in on the act.
“No, it’s nothing like that.” Sam closed her eyes as hurt rippled across her face.
Leila, despite her nausea, toughened her resolve. There was no way she was going to let her sister manipulate and use her again. She had her own set of problems. “Then what is it?”
Sam fidgeted some more and hedged for a while before she shook her head and turned back toward the door. “Sorry. This was a mistake.”
“That’s right. Run away.” Leila tossed up her arms. “That’s what you’re good at.” The moment the words were out of her mouth, she felt like a hypocrite. Wasn’t that what she’d done with Garrick?
Sam didn’t face them again, but Emma played hide-and-seek over her mother’s shoulder.
The little game made it difficult for Leila to hold on to her anger.
“I’m tired of running,” Sam whispered to the door. “I don’t know why I do it. All I know is that I can’t keep doing it.”
Leila caught something that she’d never heard in Samantha’s voice. Was it sincerity? She shook her head, not believing that she was actually falling for this.
“So what are you going to do?” Roslyn asked, her voice tight.
“I’ve stopped.”
Slowly, Sam turned around and met Leila’s gaze dead-on. In that moment, Leila knew her baby sister had grown up. “What brought all of this on?” she asked, standing from her chair.
“I had a little help.” Sam’s face lit up like a ray of sunshine as she glanced lovingly at her daughter.
Leila’s resolve finally softened when she reflected on just how much Emma had changed her life as well.
“Emma…and her father have really helped me see how much my past was ruling and destroying my future.”
“Her father?” Leila and Roslyn asked in equally shocked voices.
Samantha tinted as she lifted her right hand and showed off a diamond ring.
“You’re married!” the sisters shouted in unison and then flew to her with outstretched arms.
“Who’s married?” Ciara ducked back into the room—a dead giveaway that she had been listening outside the door—and joined in the celebration hugs.
Emma giggled as if the human stockpile was a new game.
“You have to tell us everything,” Roslyn declared, leading Sam to the plush leather couch.
Leila took Emma from Sam’s arms and showered her with kisses before settling on the cushion next to Sam.
“I can’t wait for you two to meet Emmanuel,” Sam said, glowing. “He is the most loving, patient, and kind man I have ever met. We met in Chicago. I thought we were just having some fun, you know. He’d just gone through a divorce and wasn’t looking for anything serious and you know I’m never looking for anything serious. Then I got pregnant—freaked, and ran to Las Vegas.” She lowered her head. “It was weird. The entire time I was pregnant I was convinced that I could take care of my baby and that I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes Mom made—just so many plans. But that isn’t what happened at all.”
Sam extracted her daughter from Leila and held her close. “After she was born—I felt this awful disconnect, a deep indescribable level of depression. It was so all-consuming. I couldn’t think straight.”
“Postpartum depression,” Ciara said, nodding. “I’ve heard some horror stories.”
“Initially I thought it would fade with time, but it didn’t.” Sam met Leila’s gaze again. “I left Emma with you because I feared what I might do. To her as well as to myself. Leaving her was one of the saddest days of my life.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all of this a couple of weeks ago?”
“You and your boyfriend had already tried and sentenced me before I walked in the door,” she said with a laugh. “I see why you like him though. On top of being extremely handsome, he’s very protective of you. He must love you very much.”
Leila grew warm at the unexpected observation and battled not to become a babbling idiot for the umpteenth time that day. Garrick Grayson did love her. She had instinctively known that from the first time they’d made love. What was worse: she had fallen in love with him as well.
“So when did you get married?” Roslyn asked.
“Well, in the three months I was gone. I did some heavy soul-searching. I even went back to the house where Mom…”
Roslyn and Leila glanced at each other and then reached for Sam’s hand; both were riveted by her next words.
“The house is empty.”
“And on the bad side of town,” Roslyn reminded her.
“Yeah. But the minute I walked into that place…I felt her presence. I just started crying,
weeping, and wailing until I didn’t have anything left.” Tears splashed down Samantha’s face. “After that…an unbelievable peace settled over me. That’s when I came back for Emma and then took her up to Chicago for the first time to meet her father.” She smiled and wiped her face. “As it turns out, he’d combed the whole city looking for me.”
“Oh, I think I’m going to cry.” Ciara jumped up and rushed for the Kleenex box from Leila’s desk. “This has been a day of great news. First, Leila’s pregnancy and now this.”
Samantha’s eyes snapped wide in shock. “What?”
Leila shrank with embarrassment, shrugged, and then managed to squeak out, “Surprise.”
Whatever work Garrick had planned to finish was long forgotten by the time Ned left his office. Now he was consumed with memories of his short, whirlwind romance with his hot, complicated neighbor. On one hand, the woman was completely wrong for him; but on the other, she was his soul mate.
Giving up for the night, Garrick grabbed his things and locked up. The idea of dinner with Orlando and his family while they, too, continued on the “Leila was the best thing that ever happened to you” campaign didn’t sit well either.
The moment Garrick slid behind the wheel of his car, he decided a long drive was the type of therapy he needed. In no time, Leila rode to the forefront of his mind. The woman had actually run a criminal report on him and, of course, her laugh. Those deep musical tones had a way of bringing an instant smile to his face.
And then there was the lovemaking.
By day, Leila Owens was a dominant woman, but by night she was submissive in all the ways he found pleasing. Even now, alone in his car, he longed to hear his name whispered from her lips during the throes of passion.
Garrick lost count of how many times he drove around the Atlanta perimeter, but suddenly everything clicked in his mind and he knew what he had to do. He was just sorry that it had taken him so long to figure it out.
Leila liked Emmanuel. More importantly, she believed wholeheartedly that he truly loved Sam. Patrick was perhaps the hardest on the man. He spent the whole evening drilling Emmanuel about what he did for a living, how much money he made, and what plans he had in place for Sam and Emma.
The proceedings were adorable and Emmanuel was a doll for putting up with it. Leila was extremely happy for her sister and perhaps a little envious.
She cut out on the dinner celebration at Roslyn’s a little early. She felt guilty for blaming her sudden fatigue on her “condition,” but she needed some alone time to think.
“Leila,” Roslyn called and rushed out to the car. “Are you all right?” she asked when she reached her. “I mean, you seem a little distant tonight.”
“Have a lot on my mind,” Leila answered honestly.
Roslyn nodded, but seemed to hesitate to say more.
“What is it?” Leila prompted.
“Well, you never said whether you were happy about the pregnancy.”
Leila chuckled and then slung an arm around her sister. “I’m thrilled about becoming a mother. It’s my next frontier, right?”
“And I’m going to be right there beside you.”
“So am I.” Sam’s voice floated over to them. She moved from behind Roslyn to slip her arm around Leila as well.
“I love you two,” Leila said and kissed them good-night. She didn’t immediately go home. Instead, she thought a long drive was just the therapy she needed. In no time, Garrick rode to the forefront of her mind. Strangely, she wondered if he’d ever taken care of the one traffic ticket he had outstanding.
She chuckled and then languished in a few memories that made her laugh, smile, and tingle. Then, like always, she replayed the last memory of them together and she winced at some of the words that had spilled out of her mouth.
“Maybe it’s true—I am neurotic.”
She lost count of how many times she drove around Atlanta’s perimeter, but suddenly everything clicked in her mind and she knew what she had to do. She was just sorry that it had taken her so long to figure it out.
Leila sucked in a deep breath as she walked up the short stone steps of her old childhood home. The white brick house looked smaller than she remembered, the neighborhood rougher.
“I can do this,” she whispered and reached for the doorknob. It turned and opened with a loud squeak.
She glanced around the dark neighborhood and the even darker house. It had been a nice house once—great structure.
Leila moved slowly about the room. In her head, she changed the dingy, chipped paint to the freshly coated white from yesteryear and then filled the room with her mother’s old furniture—still neatly encased in plastic.
“This place has a lot of happy memories.” She turned toward the hall and caught an image of her father hunched over with her and Roslyn hanging around his neck and begging to be the first for a piggyback ride. If she remembered correctly, Sam won the battle since she took up the tactic of clinging around his leg so he couldn’t walk.
Leila moved from one room to another, besieged by memories and haunted by distant laughter from so long ago. Sam had been right. There was a strange peace about the house—despite the fact it looked like the perfect locale for a horror movie.
When it came time to visit the last room—her mother’s room—she stalled.
She shook her head and wiped at the few errant tears that streamed down her face. “I have to do this.” She opened the door and was finally able to put the ghost of the past to rest.
It was close to midnight when she arrived home. It was late, probably too late to pay Garrick a visit—but she wanted to get this over with and there was no better time than now. She climbed out of her car and closed the door.
“I thought you weren’t coming home.”
Leila jumped. When she turned around, she came face to face with Garrick. “What are you doing here?”
He stepped out of the shadows and the night’s full moon illuminated his handsome features. “I take it you’re not happy to see me?”
“Actually, I’m thrilled.”
Her response surprised him. When he finally recovered, he boldly erased the shallow distance between them. “I made a decision tonight,” he said.
Leila fought to maintain her composure, but his closeness was playing havoc on her senses. “What kind of decision?”
Before she could blink, let alone think, Garrick kissed her. The mouth was hungry, possessive, and soul stirring all in one. Just when she was getting used to the taste of him, he pulled back.
“I decided that I love you.”
“Garrick, I—”
“Let me finish,” he said, drawing in a deep breath and erecting his towering frame. “I love you and I’m not going to let you get rid of me. You were right the last time. I can’t offer any guarantees about the future—it’s part of the mystique of falling in love.”
Leila lowered her head as she reflected on the truth of his words.
Garrick’s strong fingers gently lifted her chin and forced their eyes to meet. “Another component is that I am willing to compromise.” With his free hand, he drew her pliant body against him. “I know motherhood has never been a part of your plans and I accept that.”
“Garrick—”
“If you don’t want children, then we won’t have any. But one thing I will not do is become second fiddle to your job. If this is going to work, I’m going to be number one in your life. Just like you will be number one in mine—as my wife.” His lips captured hers in another tantalizing kiss.
Wife? Leila melted as she slid her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Until that moment, when the familiar heat and strength of his body pressed against hers again, she hadn’t been sure if she was dreaming all of this. He’d come back to her without knowing about the baby.
Like before, the kiss ended too soon, but she continued to hold on to him for support.
“Does this mean we have a deal?” he asked.
“You want to marry me?�
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“Weird, huh?”
She smiled. “Yeah, because what are the odds that I’d want to marry you, too?” She kissed him again. “Won’t you come inside? There’s something I need to tell you.”
Chapter 26
“You’re what?” Garrick’s eyes bulged with incredulity, and then looked as though he needed to sit down. “Are you sure? When did this—when did you find out?”
Leila directed him to the sofa and urged him to take a seat. “I found out this afternoon. Ciara and Roslyn bought me a home pregnancy test.”
“And it was positive?” he asked as if he were afraid to hope.
Leila’s smile bloomed as she nodded.
“Woo-hoo!” Garrick leaped into the air. “I’m going to be a father!” He turned to her and pulled her into his arms and began bouncing around the room. Then just as suddenly, he realized what he was doing. “Oh, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be doing that.” Gently but firmly, he directed her back down to the sofa. “Can I get you anything? Do you need some water or something?” He propped her feet up.
Leila burst out in giggles. “No. I don’t need anything.”
“Are you sure? It’s late. Maybe I should get you to bed?”
Still fighting her laughter, she tugged his sleeve and made him sit down next to her. “Are you going to be like this during the whole pregnancy?”
“Like what?” he asked with wide-eyed innocence.
At that moment, he was the most adorable man she had ever seen. He glowed like a kid in a candy shop who was given his parents’ platinum credit card. “Now, I know this isn’t something you planned,” he began. “But I want you to know that I’m more than willing to do most of the—”
“Shh. Shh.” She placed a finger against his lips. “This baby is definitely a part of all my plans…and so are you.” She kissed him and then smiled against his lips. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into. Some people tend to think I’m a little neurotic.”
“You don’t say?”
“By the way, I sold my company.”
“What? Why? I thought Atlanta Spice was your baby?”
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