“No woman has ever cared for me the way you do, no woman’s ever challenged me the way you do and no woman has ever come close to satisfying me the way you do,” he informed her. Seeing the look on her face he was happy to elaborate. “That’s right, Nina. You are the most exquisite sex partner I’ve ever had. You turn me out every time we’re together, baby, you make me feel like a king. I’ve never made love to a woman with as much passion as you and I never will. You make me happier than I ever dreamed I could be. Ever since my parents died I felt empty inside. And now, with you, my heart is overflowing with love, I feel excited to be alive and grateful for every day. I don’t give a damn about what happened before we met. I regret any pain you’ve ever felt and it’s going to be my pleasure to make the rest of your life wonderful. Just remember, Nina, you’re all that matters to me. You’re a magnificent woman, far better than I deserve. Just let me love you for the rest of our lives, that’s all I ask, baby. Just let me love you.”
John cradled Nina against his shoulder and felt an immense relief when the tears came. It was like a damn had burst and all her anguish was pouring out. “Go ahead and cry, sweetheart. Let it all out so there’s nothing left but our love,” he murmured.
She sobbed openly for a long while and the tears eventually subsided until she was hiccupping and sniffing like a little girl. “Oh, God, I’m a mess,” she wailed and tried to pull away from John.
His eyes crinkled in a loving smile and he admitted she’d looked better. “But you’re still beautiful to me, my love,”
“What a liar you are, John Flores. I know how I look when I cry which is why I try never to do it. I look like a tree frog, my eyes swell up and my nose turns red and I look like something off the Animal Planet. One of those little green critters with the big red eyes, croaking. Let me up so I can go wash my face,” she said crossly.
“Say you love me.”
“I love you. I love you with all my heart, God help us both,” she muttered. “Now let me up so I can do something about my frog-face.”
John was happy to oblige at last. While she dashed off to the bathroom, he gathered up all the dishes and the tray and took them into the kitchen where he rinsed them well and put them in the sink. If they were going to be together forever as he planned, he’d have to clean up his act. Nina wasn’t the type to put up with his sloppiness for long and she shouldn’t have to. That task done, he went to his suitcase in Nina’s spare bedroom and got something out.
By the time he returned to the bedroom, Nina was already there wearing a very short, very sheer mint green nightgown with thin ribbons for straps. She had turned down the duvet and was under the blanket and sheet waiting for him. Her face did look better, she’d applied cold water to her eyes and the swelling had all but gone. She looked radiantly lovely and was smiling.
John stood over her for a moment, enjoying the sweet picture she made. “Close your eyes, I have a surprise for you,” he said.
Nina made a face. “Haven’t you surprised me enough for one day? I don’t know how much my heart can take,” she said drolly.
John assured her she would like this surprise. “Close your eyes,” he said again. When her eyes were shut tight, he knelt beside the bed and took a small black velvet box out of his pocket. He opened it to reveal a glowing four-carat oval cabochon stone set in yellow gold, bracketed by brilliantly sparkling diamonds. “Now open them, chica.”
When her long lashes fluttered open he put the box in her hand and said, “Nina before I met you I was going through the motions. Now I know what love is because I know you. Please do me the honor of becoming my wife so I can show you what love is for all time,” he said, his voice deep and full of emotion. “It’s a fire opal. It reminded me of you because it’s full of color and life.”
Nina covered her mouth with one hand while she stared at the ring. She looked at John, looking so handsome and virile and yet so vulnerable and she fell in love with him all over again. Finally she said the word that would change their lives forever. “Yes.” Her eyes bright with tears, she said it again, just because it felt so good to say it. “Yes, John, yes a thousand times.”
“Oh, no you don’t. Put this on before you change your mind, then you can cry all you want,” John said happily. He got into bed with her and they both admired how the ring looked on her hand. “Now kiss me so we can make this official. I love you like crazy, Nina.”
“And I love you right back, John. Thank you for the ring, it’s so beautiful,” she said softly.
“You know what, my love? You talk too much,” he said as he lowered his lips to hers. Their mouths opened at the same instant, renewing their passion in a long, sweet and intimate kiss. When Nina finally pulled her lips away from John’s, her eyes were heavy with desire and she gave him an incredible smile. “John, I missed you so much, I thought I was going to die,” she confessed.
“We’re never going to be apart again, Nina. Never,” he vowed and began to make love to her like it was the very first time.
***
The next morning, John awoke to the appetizing aroma of bacon and coffee. With his eyes still closed he mumbled, “Sweetheart, is that coffee I smell or am I dreaming?”
The rich, enticing aroma grew more intense and Adam’s voice replied, “Yes, darling, it’s really coffee and you’re not dreaming. Get up and let’s get to work.”
John’s eyes flew open to find Adam standing next to the bed with a cup of coffee that he had no doubt just waved under John’s nose. He was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a big grin. “C’mon, you lazy rascal, we have work to do. Nina’s making us breakfast and we’re tired of waiting for you,” he said as he turned to leave the room. He turned back and added, “Nice legs, though, you really are one of us aren’t you?”
John got out of bed quickly and took a fast but thorough shower. His hair was still damp when he entered the kitchen, dressed like Adam for a day of hard labor in jeans and an old Coachella T-shirt. What he witnessed when he entered the room stunned him to say the least.
Nina was standing at the stove making a big fat fluffy omelet and from the looks of rapture on the faces of Alicia and Adam as they devoured theirs it tasted as good as it looked. They were also consuming big golden biscuits oozing with butter, and creamy grits. There was a plate of sliced fruit at each place setting and a cup of coffee. Alicia looked up as John came into the room and gave him a big smile as she spooned something onto her biscuit. “John, wait until you taste this. Delicious peach preserves and Nina made them herself,” she gushed.
John loomed over Nina and stared down at her accusingly as she quickly and expertly put two kinds of cheese, sliced sautéed mushrooms, onions and red peppers on one half of the omelet and flipped the top over it. “I thought you couldn’t cook,” he said accusingly.
Nina gave him her most beguiling smile, the one he was beginning to recognize as her get-out-of-jail-free smile. “I said I didn’t cook, I didn’t say I couldn’t cook,” she hedged. Giving the pan a couple of shakes, she slid the completed omelet onto a heated plate and waved it under John’s nose. “Aren’t you hungry?”
He growled, “I’ll deal with you later. Feed me, woman.” He kissed Nina on the forehead and took his seat at the table. Soon he was groaning his pleasure along with Adam and Alicia. “Nina, I can’t believe you were holding out on me like this. All those pots and pans should have been a dead giveaway, though. All this time you could do all this and you had me believing you can’t cook. Shame on you, chica,” he scolded as he made short work of the delicious meal.
Nina patiently defended herself. “I never said I couldn’t perform the act of meal preparation. I said I didn’t do it and how could I in that hotel suite or your apartment? I need a real kitchen to do what I do. I wasn’t deliberately trying to deceive you, not really,” she said demurely, looking at him over the rim of her coffee cup.
She looked so cute in a neat little T-shirt with horizontal red stripes and a pair of carpenter pants, that he couldn
’t find it in his heart to be angry with her. Besides, he’d just devoured three biscuits, six slices of crisp, maple-cured bacon, and the fluffiest omelet he’d ever eaten. John made a mental note to ask Nina how she did it later. “And you really made those preserves from scratch?”
She nodded her head. “Yep, I really did. A lady taught me how to do it a long time ago,” was all she would say.
John raised his cup of perfectly brewed coffee and gave her a smile of utter contentment. “Salud.”
***
Nina sat back and watched in amazement as the last of her belongings were put into a huge moving van. As incredible as it seemed, Adam had made a few phone calls and was able to get a mover there that day to not only pick up her things, but to pack them all. She’d anticipated having to get a U-Haul or something, and that the process would take days, but this was like magic. Her most fragile belongings were given first class treatment and she had no cause to worry about things being broken en transit. The transit part gave her a little concern at first because it was just assumed that her things would be shipped to Michigan instead of remaining in California. She started to protest and then realized there was no place else for her things to go. She was about to start a new life with John and that life was in Ann Arbor. So there was nothing for her to do but watch, as the highly efficient movers packed everything she owned into what seemed to be hundreds of neatly labeled corrugated boxes.
While the burly movers methodically emptied every room, Nina and Alicia went next door to say good-bye to Miss Velma. As soon as they were out of earshot, John turned to Adam to confirm he’d meant what he said the day before. “That guy Giddens, I want him dead, Adam.”
At Adam’s raised brow, John gave a short laugh and clarified. “I don’t mean not-breathing dead, but I want him dead financially. If he’s done this to Nina, he’s done it to a lot of other people. This has to be his modus operandi and he needs to be stopped once and for all. A nice little class action suit might be just the thing for him,” John said grimly.
Adam agreed. “Alicia and I took a walk around the neighborhood last evening and we talked to a few people who knew Nina. It seems like Nina was really instrumental in turning this neighborhood around. When people saw how hard she was working on her house, they started doing the same thing to their houses. And guess who owns eighty percent of the houses in this area? Why, Mr. Oscar Giddens, of course. And it seems as though he plans on doing the same thing to them that he’s doing to Nina. Promise them they can buy the property in return for renovations and then pull the rug out from under them and leave them homeless. I have a feeling he’s been doing this kind of dirty dealing for years but nobody’s called him on it,” Adam said angrily.
“I called Alan and Andre this morning and they’re on it. They called Titus Argonne who’s probably the best investigator in the country. Whatever little secrets Mr. Oscar Giddens is hiding are about to come out in the open.”
“Good,” John said with satisfaction. “I haven’t said anything about this to Nina yet because I’m pretty sure she’s going to hate the whole thing. She has this stoic philosophy about life. If something catastrophic happens just walk away from it and don’t look back. She’s like a phoenix; she just rises from the ashes and starts all over, stronger than before. She’s like no other woman I’ve ever met, Adam.”
“Yeah, well she’s gonna react like every other woman you ever met when she finds out what we’re doing, so just get ready for it,” Adam predicted. “Eventually it’s all going to come out and she’s going to give you holy hell for going behind her back, but you can deal with that. Whether she likes it or not, and she won’t, by the way,” Adam said with a twisted smile, “you have to protect what’s yours. What’s the point of being a man if you can’t take care of the woman you love?”
“Man, it’s a good thing Nina and Alicia can’t hear us right now or we’d be in a world of trouble,” John laughed. “But I don’t care, that’s something I can handle. I just can’t tolerate the idea of anyone mistreating Nina. That I won’t stand for, not while I’m living.”
Nina gave Miss Velma one last hug. She’d presented her with one of her prized lady vases and several of her plants. “You took such good care of them while I was gone, it’s only fair you have them, Miss Velma. And you have to promise to come visit me in Michigan,” she entreated.
“Oh, sugar, it will be my pleasure. I want to be there when you and that big handsome man get married. I never saw a man so crazy about a woman in my life,” she said fondly. “You just let him love you, sugar, and you’re going to have a beautiful life, the two of you.”
Nina looked around the immaculate parlor of Miss Velma’s little bungalow with a pang in her heart. As excited as she was to be starting on a new phase of her life, she would truly miss her neighbor. Miss Velma was really the only person who knew everything about Nina’s past and she’d never judged her, never done anything but give her love and support. Nina felt her eyes filling with unexpected tears at the prospect of not seeing her dear friend again. They were sitting on Miss Velma’s comfortable sofa, holding each other’s hands tightly . Nina was trying to memorize everything about her friend’s face so she wouldn’t forget her smile or the way her eyes twinkled when she was telling one of her fascinating stories.
Miss Velma’s coffee brown skin was smooth and unlined, her hair had very little gray and her figure was plump and shapely. And she always smelled fabulous. Miss Velma dressed every day as though the man of her dreams were about to drop by and take her somewhere wonderful. As a result, she was always ready for the many gentlemen callers she still entertained. She smiled at Nina with great love and told her not to worry.
“You’re doing the right thing, sugar. This is the man created just for you and you’re the only woman in the world for him. I’ll always be here for you, Nina; you don’t ever have to worry about losing my friendship. But it’s time for you to have some real happiness. Go on now, and don’t forget to send for me when it’s time for the wedding,” she said softly. “And don’t forget to e-mail me. I have DSL now so I can really rock on the keyboard,” she added impishly.
Both Nina and Alicia burst out laughing. It was so easy to forget that older people weren’t just about crocheting and arthritis, they were exciting and vital and many of them embraced technology in a way that even the Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers didn’t.
All too soon, it was time for the visit to end. They rose from their seats and hugged tightly. Miss Velma stroked Nina’s face and smiled. “It’s going to be just fine, sugar. Better than anything you could imagine. You’re going to have a beautiful life,” she told her with such sincerity and love Nina’s eyes filled up again.
As Nina and Alicia walked back to her house, Alicia asked her about Miss Velma. “She almost seems like she’s making predictions when she talks. Does she have second sight or something?”
Nina smiled. “She wouldn’t call it that. She doesn’t consider herself a fortune-teller or anything. But she is by far the most intuitive person I’ve ever known. I’m not sure if it’s because she has the wisdom that comes with age or because she really has some kind of special give of insight. But you know what?” She looked at Alicia in total seriousness. “I’ve never known her to be wrong about anything. If Miss Velma says something is going to happen you can count on it to come true.”
By now they’d reached Nina’s home just in time to see the movers making a final check of every room to make sure they had everything. Nina walked through the house slowly with John at her side. She looked sad and preoccupied as she looked around the place where she’d invested so much time, so many of her dreams. She stopped in the middle of the dining room and looked around for the last time. Suddenly she looked at John with a brilliant smile and put her arms around his neck for a big kiss.
“I just realized something. A house really isn’t a home. My home is with you, wherever we are.”
John held her tenderly and kissed her back. “Then let’s g
o home, Nina.”
Chapter 19
The only point of contention between John and Nina regarding the trip back to Michigan was her car. John was all for having it shipped, but Nina insisted on driving. They had stood in the garage and debated the topic forever. Nina was leaning against the tarp-covered car ticking off points on her fingers.
“You’re on winter break from school and your classes don’t start until after the new year. It’s only a thirty-hour drive from Oakland to Detroit, we can do it in a couple of days,” she said reasonably. “Besides, she hasn’t been driven in months and she needs the exercise. Come on, what are you worried about?” she asked with her beguiling smile.
John groaned when he saw that little smile. “I hate it when you look at me like that, chica. You look so adorable I can’t say no to anything you want from me. It just turns me to mush, that smile.” He wrapped his arms around her and bent his head for a kiss. “You drive me crazy and you know it,” he said softly.
Nina purred with contentment and rubbed against John. “So does that mean I can also drive you to Michigan?” she asked brightly.
John kissed her again and sighed with resignation. “Okay, you win. But I’m doing most of the driving. I still get nightmares over the way you drive.”
Nina tried to put out but failed; she was too tickled by John’s assessment of her driving. “I drive assertively, not aggressively and I’ve never gotten a ticket,” she informed him.
“That’s because they can’t catch you,” John muttered. When Nina pulled the tarp off the car he covered his eyes and groaned. “Madre de Dios what have I just agreed to?”
Nina’s car was a sporty red Crossfire convertible and it was obviously made for speed. The prospect of driving all the way to Michigan in that thing was daunting to say the least, especially with Nina’s lead foot on the gas pedal. “Okay, that settles it. I’m doing all the driving and no arguments from you.”
A Fool for You (The Cochran/Deveraux Series Book 7) Page 19