Long Time Coming

by Rochelle Alers

  “Who’s getting married?” Simone asked, joining the two at the stove.

  “Not I,” Faith said.

  “Nor I,” Tessa intoned.

  Simone moved closer, dropping an arm over her sister’s shoulder. “You may want to rethink that statement.”

  “What are you talking about?” Faith asked.

  “Tony and I ran into Tessa and her boyfriend last week, and there was no mistaking the heat coming off both of them.”

  Faith gave Simone an incredulous look. “You met Micah? And what were you doing with Tony?”

  Simone’s eyes widened. “You know Micah?”

  “Answer my questions first, Simone Whitfield. What were doing with that sorry-ass excuse of an ex-husband?”

  A rush of color darkened Simone’s cheeks. “We’re just talking.”

  Tessa shot her baleful look. “Talking about what?”

  Lowering her gaze, Simone stared at the floor. “We’re thinking of reconciling.”

  “Is he still unemployed?” Faith spat out.

  Now you know the answer to that, Tessa mused as she turned her attention back to the pan filled with rice, chicken, andouille sausage, clams, mussels, shrimp and green peas. Faith had just verbalized what she’d wanted to ask her sister, but she had learned to bite her tongue whenever the subject of Anthony Kendrick came up.

  “He says he has something lined up.”

  Faith’s dark eyes flashed fire. “You know good and well that that bum—”

  “Drop it, Faith,” Tessa ordered firmly as she adjusted the heat under the pan and covered it with a lid. “You and Simone will never agree about Tony even if he becomes CEO of a Fortune 500 company.”

  Faith opened her mouth, then closed it just as quickly. Tessa was right. She’d never liked Anthony Kendrick—not because she thought of him as worthless and shiftless but because he’d had the audacity to cheat on her cousin not once but twice during their short-lived marriage. Her expression brightened. “So you and your Micah are going at it hot and heavy.”

  Simone, grateful that the focus had shifted from her to Tessa, smiled. “He didn’t take his eyes off her the entire time.”

  “What does he look like, Simone?” Faith asked as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

  “He’s tall, dark and very much a manly man.”

  “You’ve got to tell us everything,” Faith insisted. “Well not everything,” she said when Tessa rolled her eyes at her.

  Simone looped an arm around her sister’s waist. “I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me.”

  “I could say the same thing about you and Tony.” Tessa touched fingertips with Faith when she sucked her teeth loudly.

  “You know you’re going to hear it once Aunt Lucy gets wind of you and Tony getting back together.”

  “And I’m going to have to remind her that I’m a thirty-three-year-old woman who can take care of herself, thank you.”

  Faith shook her head. “Let me know when you’re going to tell her so I can stay away from Mount Vernon until the smoke clears.”

  “What did you bring, Faith?” Tessa asked, deftly changing the topic.

  “It’s a spicy Scandinavian apple cake with chopped walnuts. You don’t have to refrigerate it because it’s best served at room temperature.”

  Simone picked up the bouquet of flowers. “Do you want me to set the table?”

  Tessa shook her head. “I did it already. I decided we would eat in the dining room tonight. What you can do is arrange the flowers. You know where I keep the vases. Faith, could you please take the salad out of the refrigerator and put it on the table?”

  The three women moved around the kitchen in synchronized precision, carrying bowls and bottles of white and a fruity rosé into the dining room, where Tessa had set the table with a set of fine bone china she’d inherited from her grandmother.

  All thoughts of Anthony Kendrick and Micah Sanborn were forgotten when they sat down to eat and discuss their upcoming projects. Simone had made an appointment to visit Franklin Lakes on Thursday, while Tessa would meet with Bridget’s maid of honor on Wednesday. Faith revealed that Bridget and Seth were scheduled to come to Let Them Eat Cake on Saturday to select their cake design and filling.

  Simone had offered to stay and help clean up, but Tessa shooed her and Faith out the door, saying there wasn’t much to clean up because she’d used only one pan when making the paella.

  The hands on the clock inched closer to nine when she finally turned off the lights, set the alarm and went upstairs to her sewing room to cut out a pattern for a size-twelve gown in black satin. Losing herself in the task, she basted the garment together before draping it over a dress form. The bridesmaid gown would be similar to Bridget’s with the exception of the train. It was after two when she made her way down to her second-floor bedroom. Showering quickly, she pulled a nightgown over her head and got into bed.

  Tessa was asleep within minutes of her head touching the pillow. She slept soundly without the erotic dreams that usually kept her from a restful sleep.

  * * *

  Tessa huddled closer to Micah as they left a small movie theater in Greenwich Village that featured two-week runs of foreign films. She’d sat, her gaze fixed on the screen as she’d read English subtitles to Jean Cocteau’s 1946 black-and-white masterpiece, La Belle et la Bête.

  The below-freezing temperatures had abated, the mercury reaching a balmy fifty-four midday, and the streets were teeming with New Yorkers taking advantage of the warmer weather.

  Micah had come directly from work to pick her up to take her to Il Mulino, advertised as the best Italian restaurant in the Village. Even with reservations they’d had to wait to be seated in the dimly lit restaurant with exposed brick walls and bentwood chairs. The wait was more than worth it because of the lagniappe of delicious fried zucchini served within minutes of their being seated.

  She hadn’t expected to see a classic French film with English subtitles but quickly became engrossed in the beautifully filmed version of Beauty and the Beast. Tessa found herself moved to tears whenever the beast tortured himself when he thought Belle wasn’t coming back to him.

  Micah’s arm tightened around Tessa’s waist over her coat. “Were you crying, darling?”

  Tilting her chin, she met his gaze. “I admit to shedding a tear or two because I felt sorry for the beast.”

  His expressive eyebrows lifted. “He knew he was taking a risk when he permitted Belle to return home.”

  “But he loved her so much.”

  “And it was apparent that she’d fallen in love with him, because she did come back.”

  “Yes, but only when he was close to death.”

  Micah smiled. “But he didn’t die, and like in all fairy tales, they get to live happily ever after.”

  “Do I detect a hint of cynicism, Micah?”

  “No,” he countered. “It was just a grown-up version of a classic fairy tale.”

  “Fairy tale or not, I really enjoyed it.”

  “So did I,” he admitted.

  What he wanted to admit to Tessa was that he’d enjoy anything as long as she shared it with him. He’d spent the week traveling between New York City and Albany for meetings that had been extended from one to four days. After the first night, when he’d returned home too late to call Tessa, he called her within minutes of leaving the historic landmark courthouse. Their conversations had been light and playful, and when he’d rung off he’d made certain not to blurt out how much he missed her, missed her and couldn’t wait to see her again.

  Activating the remote device, he opened the passenger-side door to his car. Tessa got in and he closed the door and came around to the seat beside her. Shifting, he stared at her profile. “Come upstate with me.”

  She turned and stared directly at him. “When do you want to go?”

  “Tonight.”

  “Now?”

  He nodded. “We’ll stop at your place so that you can get a change of clo
thes.”

  “When do you plan on coming back?”

  Reaching out, he pushed tendrils away from her satiny cheek. “Tomorrow.”

  “You want to drive more than three hundred miles, then turn around to come back the next day?”

  “When do you want to come back?”

  “Sunday.”

  “I thought you had business to take care on Sunday.”

  “It’s something that I can do over the phone. May I make a suggestion?”

  “Yes, you may, as long as you don’t change your mind.”

  “Can we take my truck?”

  Micah’s smile was dazzling. He’d consider himself lucky if he was able to spend one night with Tessa. Two days with her was akin to winning the lottery. Wrapping a hand around her neck, he pressed a kiss to her hair. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

  * * *

  In order to save time, Tessa didn’t bother to change out of her dress and heels. She filled her overnight bag with sweatpants and shirts, jeans, socks, running shoes, a pair of boots, nightgowns, underwear and personal items while Micah left his sports car in her parking space at the garage, then drove several blocks to fill up the Highlander. She’d suggested taking her vehicle because she could relieve Micah if he was too tired to drive. She wouldn’t mind driving his racy two-seater, but it’d been a while since she’d driven a car with a stick shift.

  The doorbell rang as she closed the bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. Walking out of her bedroom, she pushed a button on the intercom next to a hallway wall switch. “Yes.”

  “Micah.”

  Depressing another button, she disengaged the lock to the front door. Less than a minute later she handed the bag to him, set the alarm and made her way off the stoop to where he’d double-parked. The official placards he usually stored under a visor in his car rested on the windshield.

  Waiting until she was seated and belted in, Tessa pointed to the placards. “Are those for me?”

  Micah buckled his own belt and shifted into gear. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t give them to you.”

  She stared at his distinctive profile, pushing out her lower lip in a pout. “But I thought I was your girlfriend.”

  “You are my girlfriend. But if you’re ever stopped by the police, then call me.”

  “What if I can’t reach you?”

  “Accept the citation and I’ll handle it.”

  “Well, well, well,” she crooned softly. “What happened to the straight-laced former police officer who said he wouldn’t fix a parking ticket for me?”

  A hint of a smile softened Micah’s firm mouth. “That was before you became my girlfriend.”

  “So now it’s different?”

  He nodded, grinning. “Oh, yeah. Very different.”

  What Micah wanted to disclose to Tessa was that he was a different man from the one who’d first walked into Signature Bridals. Before meeting her, it’d been all about Micah Sanborn and what he wanted for himself. He understood himself well enough to acknowledge that he was selfish—selfish with his time, his emotions, while always withholding a part of himself from others. This is not to say that he didn’t love his family and wouldn’t give up his life to protect them, but it had never been that way with a woman.

  Tessa had changed him—inside and out. She was independent, spunky and brutally candid. She’d established the rules for their relationship, and if he’d been less secure, he would’ve walked away from her. The reason he hadn’t was because she wanted what he wanted: a relationship that was open, trusting and comfortable; a relationship where they would enjoy what made them male and female without the fairy tale ending of happily ever after. His father had warned him about dating a woman for more than a year and not committing to a future with her, but what Edgar didn’t know was that Tessa was content to date him without a promise of marriage. For them it’d become a win-win arrangement.

  He planned to enjoy the woman sitting beside him, enjoy what she willingly offered, and in return he would give her most of himself. The only thing he would withhold was something he’d given away as a child—his unconditional love. That he’d given to his mother.

  * * *

  Once Micah maneuvered onto the interstate, he increased his speed. It was close to midnight, vehicular traffic was light and there were stretches of unlit roadway that permitted him to exceed the limit by twenty miles. He and Tessa sang along with a station that played old favorites and golden oldies as the darkened landscape whizzed by. The trip which he normally accomplished in under four hours was accomplished within three. They’d stopped at a twenty-four-hour supermarket to pick up enough groceries to last several days.

  Outdoor solar lights highlighted the converted barn as he parked in front of his vacation retreat. He rested a hand on Tessa’s arm as she attempted to open her door. “Stay here while I check inside.”

  Tessa waited, watching as Micah disappeared inside. Seconds later the entire first floor was ablaze with light and then so was the second story. She couldn’t wait to kick off her heels and stretch her legs.

  Micah reappeared, opening the passenger-side door. “Everything’s okay. Why don’t you go upstairs and bed down while I unload the truck?”

  “I’ll help you.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve got it, darling. Keep my side warm for me,” he teased, handing her her overnight bag.

  She didn’t have to be told twice. Reaching for her purse, she made her way toward the house, across the yawning living/dining area and up the winding staircase to the loft.

  * * *

  Micah walked into the bathroom and found Tessa, eyes closed, her head resting on a folded towel, in the tub as pulsating jets swirled the water covering her breasts. When he’d walked into the bedroom he’d expected to see her in bed, not lounging in the bathtub.

  Going to his knees, he leaned over and brushed his mouth over hers. “Do you want company?”

  Moisture spiking her lashes, Tessa’s lids fluttered as she struggled to open her eyes. The warm, pulsating water had relaxed her so much that she’d drifted off. Micah had stripped down to his boxer-briefs.

  “I was getting out.”

  “When?” he whispered against her parted lips. “Tomorrow morning?”

  She met his gaze. “It’s already tomorrow morning.”

  “True.” Rising, Micah reached for a towel, then hunkered down again and lifted Tessa from the tub as if she were a child. He headed for the bedroom. “After I dry you off, I’m putting you to bed.”

  Her arms went around his neck. “I can’t go to bed until I do things.”

  A frown creased his smooth forehead. “What things, Tessa?”

  Tessa pointed to a number of bottles lining the marble countertop. “I need my deodorant and my moisturizer for my face and to put crème cologne on my body.”

  A smile replaced his frown. “Relax, baby. I’ll take care of everything.”

  Minutes later she lay on the bed as Micah straddled her, blotting the moisture from her face, arms, back and legs. Light from a bedside table lamp shimmered off her rosewood-brown skin. She pointed, indicating which bottle contained the creams she used on her face and body. His ministrations were slow, deliberate, gently massaging her muscles as if it were something he’d done many times before. Tessa closed her eyes and gave in to the comforting touch of his long fingers, the strength in those digits when he kneaded several knots in her calves. There was no area he left untouched.

  Pressing light kisses along the length of her spine, his mouth lingered on the area at the small of her back. “Don’t go anywhere, darling. I’ll be back as soon as I take a shower.”

  She nodded. Never had her body felt so supple, relaxed, stress-free and at rest. “Where would I go, Micah? We’re in the middle of nowhere and I’m not ready to have a face-to-face with a bear.”

  He kissed one buttock, then the other. “You won’t see any bears because they’re hibernating.”

  “Whatever,” she drawle
d.

  Moving up, Micah kissed her shoulder. “You smell good enough to eat.”

  Pinpoints of heat found their way up her body to her face before reversing and settling in the region between her legs. Vivid memories of the first time they’d made love were burned into her head. She’d begged him to make love to her and he had. His lovemaking was strong and passionate enough to make her forget the men with whom she’d lain. Tessa lay facedown, eyes closed and shrouded in a cocoon of warmth as she waited for Micah to return to the bed. And he did return, smelling of soap and toothpaste. He got into bed, his body covering hers, most of his weight supported on his arms.

  “What took you so long?” Her voice was low, sultry.

  Nuzzling her ear, Micah pressed his mouth against the side of her neck. “I wasn’t gone more than fifteen minutes.”

  Tessa smiled without opening her eyes. “That was five minutes too long.”

  “What’s the rush, baby? We have all night.”

  “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to make love to me?”

  Pressing her down to the mattress, Micah fastened his mouth to her nape. “Do you think it has been easy for me, too? Every time I talk to you on the phone I get aroused. There’s something about your voice that sends my libido into overdrive. I wanted you last weekend, but you were on your period. I wanted to tell you that I’ve never been turned off by blood, but I didn’t want to gross you out.” He smiled when she gasped. “You’re not good for me, Tessa Whitfield, because since meeting you I’ve become an insomniac. I’ve lost count of the number of times I stopped myself from getting in my car in the middle of the night to drive over to your place just to be with you. Even if we didn’t make love, I just wanted to feel you, smell you.”

  “You’re feeling and smelling me, Counselor. Now can you please finish your summation and make love to me?”

  Micah’s response was to move down the bed and press light kisses over the heels of her feet. His teeth and tongue nipped and tasted every inch of flesh in his journey to brand Tessa his most precious possession. He lost himself in everything that made Tessa Whitfield who she was and would become. He wanted her—all of her.