by Vera Roberts
“Um, okay,” Tiana hurried grabbed her purse and light sweater, “Mom, Kieran and I are going to farmer’s market. We’ll be right back!” The door closed behind them.
Barbara walked out of the room, still holding Tyson. Her daughter had always made questionable decisions and her choice of nanny didn’t go unnoticed by Barbara. Still, she couldn’t fault her daughter’s behavior. She would’ve gotten out of her marriage a long time ago if she’d had the same choice.
****
Tiana walked down the street looking around at the various vendors. The aromas of tamales, noodles, smoked meat, and a variety of other ethnic foods tickled her senses, causing them to go into overdrive. She had been used to the bland and beige diet she was on to maintain her figure, she had forgotten what real food smelled and tasted like.
She saw vendors selling beautiful flowers, fruits and vegetables straight from their farms, local bakeries selling their pastries. Children were laughing and playing on a rented bounce house, a street performer was singing an old rock tune, and college students were in a corner haggling over prices of their purchases.
No one was stuffy. No one complained about their gardener or maid. No one complained about the mileage their newest luxury car was getting. Everyone was…real.
“Well, what do you think?” Kieran asked.
“It’s so…so…” Tiana inhaled a deep breath and a big smile formed on her face. “…wonderful.”
“Isn’t it?” Kieran slowly walked down the street, occasionally stopping to check out the local vendors. “I go here all the time to pick up fresh fruit and veggies. Some of the local cuisine is really good as well. Support local farmers and businesses.”
“Is it every Thursday?” Tiana asked.
“Yes, from six to nine p.m.,” He nodded.
Tiana mentally began penciling in her new schedule. “I guess I can see if I can make some time.”
“I think you’ll like coming here.” Kieran stopped by another vendor and picked up a tomato, examining how ripe it was. “You come once and you’ll want to keep coming back.”
Tiana watched how gentle Kieran was with the tomato. He slightly squeezed it, trying to feel how soft and firm it was. His hands were big, gentle, and strong and Tiana’s thoughts immediately went to how she would like him to apply the same pressure on her breasts as he moved inside her. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and concentrated on the zucchini before her. “So, do you cook a lot?”
“All the time. I prefer it to junk food.” Kieran grabbed a few tomatoes. “I like to eat out occasionally but with restaurants they put so much fat and grease into their food and you never really know what you’re eating. When you cook at home, you always know. And besides, what better chef to prepare your meal than yourself?”
“I guess,” Tiana had never been much of a cook. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to cook; she simply didn’t want to. Since her split, she had relied on leftover Chinese food and take-out on the way home. She had gained ten pounds already.
Kieran smiled at Tiana. He found it particularly amusing she was studying the various vegetables in front of her with a scrunched-up nose and pursed lips as if she really didn’t know what she was looking at. “Having difficulty deciding?”
“No, it’s not that,” Tiana rested her chin on a palm. She had eaten out so much within the past week, she was starting to run out of options. “I just don’t know what I want for dinner tonight. I hadn’t even thought about it.”
“I’ll make you dinner,” he offered.
Tiana looked back up at Kieran and was greeted with another smile, followed by his equally warm eyes. She had never seen such love and compassion in them. “And what’s for dinner tonight?”
“Whatever the lady wants,” Kieran grabbed Tiana’s hand and kissed it, “the lady gets.”
****
Tiana looked around at her guest home. She purposely built the guest home so whenever a lot of family and friends came over, they would sleep there and not have to travel to some hotel and spend a small fortune. Truth be told, she’d only had a few people over and it was usually during the major holidays. Now, she was a guest at her own residence.
It was cozy and quaint. Maybe it was little too fabulous for Kieran but he never complained. As she looked around, Tiana saw a little personification from Kieran: his motorcycle helmet on one of the end tables. His vast array of sneakers by the front door. A wide selection of DVDs and blue-ray discs. There were a few pictures of his friends and family.
Tiana got up from one of the bar stools and looked at a framed picture of Kieran and his mother.
He towered over her short and stocky frame. She boasted the same huge and welcoming smile he had. “Beautiful woman.”
“Yeah, I’m a Mamma’s Boy,” Kieran glanced over at her as he chopped up vegetables. “It was just me and my brothers growing up. A single woman raising five sons on her own. It wasn’t easy.”
Tiana thought she had it rough with Tyson. All she had to do was go to work and leave him in the care of someone else for the day. She had a life of luxury most would dream about and needed to count her blessings. “It doesn’t sound like it.”
“I’m the second-oldest. My dad left when we were all young; I think my youngest brother, Tony, was no more than a few months old. He just took off one day and that was that. I had a hand in raising all of my brothers.”
“Doesn’t sound like you had much time for a social life,” Tiana commented.
“I was in sports; I played football. I dated a little in high school but it really picked up in college.” Kieran quickly sliced the zucchini. “But after everything was done, I was at home doing chores and cooking.”
“Cleaning as well?” Tiana rejoined him in front of the bar.
“Oh no,” Kieran chuckled, “I don’t clean.”
“I bet you were real happy with the maid service coming over,” Tiana smiled.
“You betcha,” Kieran stopped chopping up vegetables and stirred his marinara sauce. “Here, try a taste of this.” He scooped a small bit of sauce on a spoon and held it to Tiana’s lips.
“Mmm…” Tiana nodded in amazement. “That’s delicious! Where did you learn how to cook?”
“Old family recipes,” Kieran sprinkled a little more oregano into the sauce. “My mom and nonna never wrote down recipes. It was always a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I just happened to pick up some of it.”
“Do you speak a little Italian yourself?”
“Solo un po’,” Kieran smiled, “Just kidding. I’m actually fluent.”
“Tell me something in Italian.”
“Il mio nome e' Kieran. Sei bellissima. Ti penso sempre e voglio scopare,” Kieran cooed.
Tiana giggled. “Now what did you just say? For all I know you just told me to clean the kitchen.”
Kieran came up with a half-truth. “My name is Kieran. You’re beautiful and I think about you all the time,” the last part of what he said – I want to fuck you all night – he kept silent.
Tiana felt her cheeks turn just a shade of pink. “You’re a charmer.”
“I can be.”
“So tell me about your past?” Tiana leaned on the bar. “What’s your history? How did you end up in child care?”
“Grew up in Staten Island, with just my mom, brothers, and grandparents. My real father never bothered. We had plenty of uncles, aunts, and cousins around us. I joined the Army when I was fresh out of high school and did a couple of tours. I wanted to see the world and get some money for college. When I got home, I went through some personal drama but once I got back on my feet, I enrolled in college to study early childhood education and started my business a few years ago. Being a nanny can be lucrative but you really have to love kids and well, I really love kids.”
Kieran began slicing bread. “Haven’t looked back since. I’m in the middle of trying to find a permanent place so I was staying at an extended-stay hotel. I’ll start looking again once this assign
ment ends.” He flashed a welcoming smile.
Tiana felt her heart collapse. Kieran had only been there for a short time yet she wanted him to stay forever. “That’s simple and straight to the point. Sounds a lot better than my boring story.”
“Boring?” Kieran questioned. “You live in a mansion and you’re a millionaire. What’s so boring about that?”
“I worked really hard to get to where I am. I’m not a trust fund baby or got rich because of some dude,” Tiana defiantly said, “I really wanted to know more about money and all that entails. It’s just my personal life, I wasn’t smart about that.”
Kieran thought back to his own past; he knew all too well what Tiana was talking about. “Tell me about it if you want.”
“I think I got married, not because I was in love but, because I thought Christopher was safe.”
Tiana admitted.
Kieran was intrigued. “What do you mean?”
“I was impressed by him. He was a hip-hop producer; he had his own label. When I first went into his office, I saw all these diamond and gold records. I thought I found someone who wasn’t trying to rob me of my fortune.” Tiana reminisced. Christopher would take her on shopping sprees and they would walk the red carpet at industry events. “He bragged about me to his friends and family; mentioned me in interviews. It was perfect.”
“So what happened?”
Tiana stared out into a blank space and her mood quickly turned somber. “It wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t the only one; I was just number one. There was a number two, three…seven, eight, nine…who really knows? I found out the money we had in our joint account been being spent on his Ho of the Week. I stopped funding it due to my suspicions. And do you know what he had the nerve to ask me? That fool had the nerve to ask if everything was okay at work and if I was going broke!”
Kieran poured Tiana a glass of wine and slid it to her. He knew heartbreak all too well. When he returned home from serving overseas, all he found was a Dear John letter from his ex and his clothing. He was fortunate that he had family who provided him with hot meals and a roof over his head until he got back on his feet.
“I was stupid enough to think that if we had a baby, it would stop. So we got pregnant and all it did was just increase his appetite. I came home one day from a business trip and well, that was it.” Tiana took a big gulp of the sweet wine. “Anyway, enough of my pathetic sob story. I’m sorry I ruined dinner.”
“No, not at all,” Kieran grabbed Tiana’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “not at all. Thank you for being comfortable enough to share it with me.”
Kieran’s touch shot through Tiana’s body like a gun. It was electric. It was magnetic. It was something she hadn’t felt before. “You will make a woman so lucky one day,” Tiana smiled,
“you will be a great boyfriend to somebody.”
Kieran slightly hoped Tiana was referring to herself. There he went again with his personal feelings getting in the way of his professionalism. “You think so?”
“I know so.” Tiana smiled, “You’re hot, you’re smart, and you’re great with kids. Tyson just adores you! What woman wouldn’t find that attractive?”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Kieran began to fix plates, “but I’m not interested in dating anyone.”
“Why not?”
Because the woman I really want is in front of me. Kieran erased the thought from his head. “I’d rather devote all my time and energy in watching Tyson.”
“That’s a sweet gesture, but you need a life besides me and my son,” Tiana suggested, “You need a woman.”
Kieran couldn’t have disagreed more. All he wanted was to watch over Tiana and Tyson. His heart opened for both of them to reside permanently in there. “So you say.”
After the delicious dinner, Kieran walked Tiana back to the front door of her home. “You didn’t have to walk me here. I know my own house.”
“I’m not letting a lady walk home when it’s already dark,” Kieran insisted. “I don’t care if it’s in your compound or if you live next door.”
Tiana smiled warmly. She never had a man go out of his way show her…what was that thing she never got from her ex…oh yes, respect. It was something she could quickly get used to. “Thank you, Kieran.”
“You’re welcome, Tiana.” They arrived at her front door. Both had awkward stances about how to proceed next. “I’ll guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” Kieran finally broke the ice.
“I guess so,” Tiana wanted Kieran to make a move on her but hid her true feelings. She also didn’t want to compromise their working relationship. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Kieran.”
“Bye, Tiana. Sweet dreams.” He winked and walked off.
Tiana watched him walk into the darkness and listened for the door to his home to close. She then leaned against her front door and sighed. Kieran went against every stereotype she ever thought of and was straight out of the fantasy pages of a romance novel. He would make one woman very lucky one day. “Sweet dreams, Kieran.”
THREE
“TeeTee!” Erin Kressley greeted her best friend. She was a full-figured Black female who grew up with Tiana. She often wore wigs to change up her hairstyle to go along with her eclectic personality. When Tiana went into the financial sector, Erin went into the performance arts and became a back-up singer for several A-list stars. They had known each other since middle school. “Girl, you blow up and become Ms. Fancy Executive and we never see you anymore!”
Tiana bounced Tyson on her hip. “I’m trying to get my groove back like Stella, if you forgot.”
“How is everything?” Erin asked. “How’s Chris? Has he been in contact?”
“When he wants money,” Tiana shook her head, “I’m starting to believe that’s why he wanted me to begin with.”
“Unbelievable,” Erin commented.
“No, actually it is pretty believable,” Tiana replied.
“What’s unbelievable is the piece of eye candy walking towards us,” Rocio Martinez eyed Kieran. Rocio was Tiana’s other best friend. She was a tall, model-esque Latina with silver eyes and a long, black mane. She was happily married to an NBA player and expecting their first child. “Who is that?”
“Who’s what?” Tiana asked.
“That fine specimen walking over to us,” Erin took notice.
Tiana turned around and waved at Kieran. “Oh, that’s Kieran. He’s my new child care provider.”
“Child care provider?” Erin asked. “Is that a fancy way of saying nanny?”
“Nanny?” Rocio eyed Kieran as he approached the women. “Is that what they’re calling the escort services nowadays?”
“Stop it,” Tiana greeted Kieran with a hug. “Kieran, these are my friends, Rocio and Erin. Girls, this is my nanny…”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever…” Erin sashayed her way to the man with olive skin and ebony hair. “Hi, I’m Erin but you can call me whatever you want.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Erin,” Kieran flashed a warm smile towards the young beauty.
“It can be,” Erin winked.
“Girl, stop,” Tiana shook her head. “You’re a few months away from getting married.”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing wrong with looking, huh?” Erin looked around Kieran’s hands and noticed there wasn’t a wedding band. “How are you doing, handsome?”
“I’m doing just fine, Erin.” Kieran shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “How are you this wonderful day?”
“It’s much better now,” Erin flirted.
“Okay,” Tiana stood in between Kieran and her friends. “Enough introductions here. Kieran needs to rest. He just moved in recently.”
“It’s fine, Tiana,” Kieran smiled. “It’s nothing.”
“So handsome,” Erin moved her way towards Kieran, “how do you like working for Tiana? I know she’s a pain in the ass.”
“Erin!” Tiana was embarrassed for her friend.
“It’s cool,” Kieran smiled.
“I don’t mind being in the company of beautiful women.”
“Oh, he’s definitely a keeper,” Rocio nudged Tiana with an elbow, who shushed her friend. “So TeeTee, are you ready for the BBQ?”
“Yeah, I just need to go grab Tyson’s diaper bag and stroller then we can go,” Tiana replied.
“Hey, Kieran, what are you doing today? Why don’t you come with us?” Rocio asked. “You can get some great food and there’s plenty of adult interaction.”
“Well, if it’s okay with Tiana,” he suggested, “I don’t want to intrude on her private life.”
“What private life?” Erin smirked. “I’m sure she has cobwebs in places cobwebs shouldn’t be.”
“Erin!” Tiana didn’t know if she was more embarrassed for her or her friend. She turned to her nanny. “Kieran, if you want to come with us, that’s perfectly fine by me. You don’t need my permission to do anything.”
“I would love to come,” he warmly smiled, “let me go grab my jacket and I’ll meet you ladies back here.” He then walked off.
Rocio and Erin admired the sight of Kieran’s tight ass as he left. “So how is he in bed?” Rocio asked.
Tiana looked at her friend in shock. “You know I would’ve expected that comment from that one but not from you,” she referred to Erin.
“Oh, come on, TeeTee! He’s freaking gorgeous and he’s just your nanny? Girl, bye!” Rocio shook her head. “He likes you, you know that?”
“He likes me as his employer,” Tiana added. “We have a strictly professional relationship.
We’ve only hung out a little since he started a short while ago.”
“Well, this couldn’t have been any better!” Erin smiled. She loved playing matchmaker to her friends. “I say this is a great opportunity for the two of you to get to know each other and maybe you won’t be so stuffy.”
“I’m not stuffy,” Tiana defended. “I’m just not ghetto fabulous.”
Rocio and Erin looked at each other. “Stuffy.” They said in unison.
****
“Well, well, well…look who decided to come by and entertain us little folk,” Tiana’s longtime friend, Timothy, greeted her with a big hug. He was a Black man of average build with a light goatee and nice fade. “You blow up and act like you can’t be around us anymore.”