I Heard A Rumor

by Hodges, Cheris

Zach let out a low whistle. “Please tell me it’s a convertible.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “All right,” he said as he pulled out the keys to his car, “we’ll take mine. It is a convertible.”

  “What kind?”

  “Nothing as fancy as yours. The seventeen-year-old in me rented a Mustang GT.”

  Chante grabbed the keys. “I love a Mustang, and since I know where we’re going, I’m driving.”

  “Bossy is another layer, I see,” he quipped.

  They headed for the parking lot and got into the blue convertible GT. “This looks like a lot of fun,” she said as she started the car.

  “There’s a lot of power under that hood. Can you handle it?”

  She sucked her teeth. “I can handle anything.” Starting the car, she tore out of the parking lot, making the tires squeal, and Zach wondered if he would be able to handle the ride with Chante.

  They drove into Folly Beach and headed for the historic Folly Beach Pier. “This is beautiful,” he said as they got out of the car.

  “And strong,” she said. “My grandmother and I used to come here and fish over there.” She pointed to a corner of the 1,045-foot-long pier.

  Zach gave her a curious glance. “You fished with your grandmother?”

  “Yes. Much to my mother’s chagrin. I’d come home covered in fish scales and dirt underneath my nails, and she’d nearly have a heart attack. I think Elsie Mae did it just to get a rise out of my mother.” They walked among the tourists until they found a spot where they could look out on the ocean.

  “Must have been nice growing up around all this beauty.”

  She shrugged. “You take it for granted until you move away from it.” Chante leaned against the wooden railing and inhaled the salty ocean air. Zach leaned against her, pressing his nose into her hair. Damn, she smelled good. Sweet like a Carolina rose. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist. He expected her to push him away, but she fell into his embrace. Silence enveloped them as they watched the ocean waves.

  Chante’s thoughts troubled her, made her think of past mistakes—namely Robert. But something about Zach’s touch put her mind at ease while making her body tremble with anticipation. It occurred to her, as they stood in the sun, that in the time they’d spent talking over breakfast and the walk up the pier, he knew more about her than Robert ever did. Not once during their courtship had she thought about bringing him to Charleston or telling him about Elsie Mae. Maybe if she had introduced Robert to Elsie Mae, things wouldn’t have gone straight to hell. Her grandmother probably would’ve sniffed out that self-serving son of a bitch the moment she laid eyes on him.

  Chante turned around and lost herself in Zach’s brown eyes. What would her grandmother make of him?

  “What?” he asked.

  “I want to show you something special,” she said.

  “I’m already looking at it,” he replied with a smile.

  Chante rolled her eyes. “Are you always like this? I mean, if I didn’t want to drive your car, I’d push you over the edge for being so damned corny.”

  “You sure know how to hurt a brother,” he said, then feigned a pout. “This is your show; whatever you want me to see, I’m down for it.”

  “Good,” she said, still basking in his touch. Zach felt his erection grow as she licked her lips. He wanted this woman more than he should have since he’d told himself he was taking a break from the opposite sex. But her lips drew him in like a magnet to metal. Kissing her softly, he slipped his tongue between her pillow-soft lips and reveled in the sweetness of her mouth. Chante moaned as his hands traveled down her back, resting right above her ample behind. She broke the kiss and looked up at him.

  “We’ve got to stop doing this,” she said.

  “Why do you like to deny yourself pleasure?”

  “Let’s go.”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Ever think that people get into bad situations because they move too fast?”

  “Maybe people miss out on a good thing because they don’t live in the moment. We have a moment, Chante. Right here and right now. We don’t have to look five or six years down the road. You want me and I want you.”

  She shivered, unable to come up with a rebuttal to him. Did she want him? Yes. Could she live in the moment? She didn’t know. It wasn’t her style. She was a planner; she did weigh her options and look toward the future.

  And what has planning gotten you so far? You planned to be a partner at the firm by now. You’re not. You planned to be married by now. You’re not.

  “Chante?” Zach asked, breaking into her thoughts. “Can we have this moment, no matter how long it’s going to last?”

  “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes. We can.”

  He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. Slow. Deep. Passionate. She pressed her soft body against his hard one, losing herself in his kiss. Giving in to the pleasure of his tongue and his touch.

  This man was kissing her senseless, and Chante liked it. Needed it. Wanted it. Breaking the kiss, his lips curved into a seductive smile. “So what’s this special thing that you wanted to show me?” he asked.

  “Umm,” Chante began as clouds of desire cleared her brain. “My grandmother’s legacy. She has a shop on Folly Beach that is a must-see tourist spot.”

  “Sounds like you’re pretty well connected in this city. Why did you ever leave?”

  Shrugging as they started walking down the pier, she replied, “Wanted to blaze my own path, and I couldn’t do it in the shadow of my family’s history.”

  What she didn’t say was she wanted to be far away from her mother’s judgment. Chante was sure that had she come up with a cure for cancer without being married, Allison would’ve found fault with it.

  “Interesting. I knew that I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. And leaving New York wasn’t an option for me in my younger days. I wanted to be bigger than Trump. Then I realized I had the best role model ever because Trump is an idiot.”

  Chante laughed. “That is the truth. My mother and grandmother have different views on legacies. Figured it was best to make my own.”

  “Miss Independent. Bet you started walking when you were six months old,” he said as they reached the car.

  “Funny. I was about eight months old, thank you very much.”

  Giving her a slow once-over, he was thankful she had those hips and that round booty. He was thankful for those lips and the skillful way she used them.

  “Let’s go,” he said, feeling the burgeoning of his growing erection against his zipper.

  Chante locked eyes with him, seeing something that made her thighs quiver.

  “Okay,” she said, then did her imitation of Bo Duke and hopped in the car without opening the door. Zach’s knees nearly buckled as he laughed.

  “Did you just . . . ?”

  “There is a seventeen-year-old in me who’s having so much fun right now. Get in the car so we can go!”

  Opening the door, he got into the car and buckled up. “Giddy up!” Chante took off like a bolt of lightning. Zach gripped the side of the door.

  “Your seventeen-year-old is a little out of control,” he quipped.

  Chante eased off the gas. “Yeah, it is tourist season, and the last thing I need is a speeding ticket. My mother would call me a criminal.”

  “I get the feeling that you two aren’t that close,” he said. “I thought that was a southern thing.”

  “You haven’t mentioned your mother,” she said, not wanting to get into her relationship with her mother.

  Zach nodded. “My mother passed away when my sister and I were young. I think the reason Dad and I were so close is because we felt we had to team up and protect Zoe.”

  “And how did she feel about that?”

  Zach laughed. “My sister is a rebel, so she was none too pleased. I think that’s why she became a private investigator—so she can take all the risks we tried to protect
her from.”

  “She’s older or younger?”

  “Younger by about five minutes. Zoe’s my twin.”

  “Wow,” she said. “I wish I had a sibling, but to have a twin, that must be exciting.”

  “Eh, when she’s not in one of her moods. But I love my sister, and I’m so proud of her. She’s saved my ass more than once or twice. I still worry about her, though.”

  “Because she’s a woman? I don’t know why men think women aren’t capable of handling ourselves. And if your sister is a PI, she’s probably kick-ass and . . .”

  “Whoa, whoa. I don’t know where that came from, but I don’t doubt that a woman can do anything. At the end of the day, that’s my sister.”

  “Sorry, it’s just a bit of the feminist in me.”

  “There’s a lot of things inside you,” he said, while thinking, I want to be inside of you myself.

  “Here it is,” she said as she pulled up in front of Elsie’s Gifts and Goodies.

  “Wow. This was actually one of the places the concierge recommended I visit,” he said as Chante put the car in PARK.

  “See what I mean about shadows,” Chante said when they exited the car, looking up at the white wooden storefront and the black script across the top of the fascia.

  “Will your grandmother be here?” he asked as they walked up to the door and he opened it for her.

  “No, she’s on a cruise around the world and . . .”

  “Chante Elaine?”

  “Mother,” Chante said, “what are you doing—hi.”

  Allison Britt offered her daughter a plastic smile as she crossed over to her as if she were the queen of Charleston. She gave her daughter a slow once-over, then smiled. “So you breeze into town and can’t even say hello to your own mother? Is that how they treat their mothers in North Carolina?”

  Chante blinked and swallowed the urge to ask her mother when was the last time she’d spoken to her own mom. “I was going to call you and dad after I got settled in. But when I arrived and saw the state of Grammy’s . . .”

  “Your grandmother is trying to wipe out all traces of my father’s history. She thinks this shop allows her to . . .” Allison glanced at Zach. “Oh, Chante, how rude of you. Who is your companion?”

  Zach could feel the tension in the air like humidity. He could see why Chante and her mother weren’t close. How were they even related?

  “Zach Harrington,” he said, extending his hand to Allison.

  She smiled and gave him a limp handshake. “So how are you and my daughter acquainted?”

  “Mother,” Chante said.

  “Are you dating, or is it time to finally start planning a wedding?”

  Chante slammed her hand against her forehead. “We actually just met, and according to you, there’s a certain time for a courtship, right?”

  “Your sarcasm is not welcome,” Allison said in clipped tone. “At your age, we’ll just have to take what we can get.”

  Zach inhaled sharply and waited to see what Chante’s response would be. When she didn’t say a word, he was shocked. Then again, this was her mother, and he couldn’t expect a verbal dressing down.

  “Anyway,” Allison continued, “Mr. Harrington, where did you and my daughter meet? Are you also a lawyer? I’d love to have you two over for dinner. Though it’s short notice, I’m sure I could pull something together for this evening.”

  “Well, Mrs. Britt,” Zach began, “Chante and I have plans tonight, and I wouldn’t want to put you under that kind of pressure.”

  “Where are you from?” Allison asked, and Chante groaned.

  “New York.”

  Allison looked at Chante and shook her head. “Ah, a Yankee.”

  “Mother, the war is over,” Chante said, then rolled her eyes.

  “Well,” Allison said as she toyed with the pearl choker around her neck. “Please call me and your father once you’ve settled in. And how long are you going to be here, Chante?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.”

  Allison nodded. “Mr. Harrington, it was a pleasure. Chante, will you walk me to my car?”

  “Sure thing, Mom,” Chante said with forced gaiety in her voice. Once they were outside, Allison shook her head at her daughter.

  “That’s the best you can do?”

  “Mom, we’re not even dating. We’re just spending some time together and having fun.”

  “Having fun? Don’t you think you’re a little too old to just be having fun? When are you going to have a family?”

  Chante shook her head. “This is why I needed to get myself together before I called you. I’m . . .”

  “Chante Elaine,” Allison said touching her daughter’s arm, “if you’re going to get married, please don’t let it be to a damned Yankee.”

  “I thought I didn’t have many choices left,” Chante said sarcastically.

  “If you put a little more effort into looking like a lady, then men wouldn’t just want to have fun with you. I mean, Liza Palmer married a senator. Yet you’re still single.”

  “Tell Dad I’ll give him a call.” Chante turned back to the shop and counted to ten before walking inside. Zach was about to smile at her when he saw the look on her face.

  “Everything all right?”

  She waved her hand and forced a smile. “That’s my mama,” Chante said.

  “You two seem like night and day.”

  Chante thought oil and water was a better description, but she didn’t want to get into a discussion about her mother. She hadn’t even wanted her mom to see her with Zach or any other man because she knew where the conversation would lead.

  Changing the subject, she pointed toward a wall of handwoven baskets. “My grammy used to make these herself. She tried to teach me, but my fingers were too small.” Chante held up her hand, and Zach took it in his bigger one. Soft, slender fingers linked with his, and he didn’t fight the urge to spin her around as if they were on a ballroom dance floor.

  “What are you doing?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Trying to restart the fun. Your mama was pretty intense.”

  Chante wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let’s not talk about my mama, and let’s get a basket with chocolate in it.”

  All Zach wanted to do was hold her and kiss her until the sunset, but knowing the shop was her grandmother’s place made him feel a little awkward about that. Still, it didn’t stop him from copping a feel of her round bottom.

  “Chocolate, huh?”

  “Yep. Chocolate and biscuits. Best thing in the world.”

  “I think you’re wrong on that one.”

  Chante raised her right eyebrow. “How can you say that when you’ve never had it?”

  Zach pulled her against his chest. “I haven’t had you either, but I know you’re going to be better than chocolate and biscuits.” Then he flicked his tongue across her ear lobe. Chante took a deep breath, then placed her hand on his chest.

  “You know what,” she began. “I think you’re trying to seduce me.”

  “Yes. I am,” he whispered. “I’d kiss you right now, but I feel like your grandmother is watching.”

  Chante brought her mouth level with his. “And if you kissed me right now, she’d give you a high five.”

  “In that case,” he said as he brought his mouth down on top of hers. Chante welcomed his tongue, reveled in the sweet and spicy taste of his mouth. And those hands roaming her back, cupping her bottom and pulling her against him, should be outlawed.

  “Really?” Allison exclaimed, causing Zach and Chante to break their kiss. “Is this a lawyer thing? I didn’t raise my daughter to act this way.”

  “Mom,” Chante said, “I thought you were gone.”

  Allison closed her eyes and counted to ten, causing Zach to laugh inwardly. Was she serious? She acted as if she’d just walked in on two sixteen-year-olds having sex in her bedroom.

  “Mrs. Britt, I take the blame for what you just walked in on. I asked Chante a question,
and she said yes.”

  Suddenly, Allison didn’t seem so traumatized. Chante shook her head as she saw the sparkle in her mother’s eyes. “Well, let me see the ring,” Allison excitedly said.

  “Mom, you . . .”

  “I haven’t had a chance to pick out the perfect ring for this woman, but that is next on the agenda. We really didn’t want to say anything yet because it’s just been such a whirlwind romance.”

  “What are you doing?” Chante asked through clenched teeth. Zach smiled at Chante.

  “Were you trying to keep this a secret?” Allison asked. “I should’ve known that you weren’t just . . .”

  “Mom, Zach, can we talk about all of this later? In private? Without an audience?” Chante nodded to a few customers who were staring at them.

  Allison nodded. “That would be proper. Let me call your father.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Chante punched Zach on the shoulder.

  “Do you know what you’ve done?” she asked in a tense whisper.

  “Yes. I’ve gotten your mother off your back for a little while.” Zach winked at her. “She thinks you’re going to marry a damned Yankee.”

  Chante laughed quietly and shook her head. “How in the hell am I going to live this down?”

  “Easy, when you go home, you will realize the error of your ways and move on to a more suitable mate or decide that marriage isn’t your thing.” Zach kissed Chante’s hand. “When you get back to Charlotte, you tell your mother what an asshole this Yankee is, and you’re golden.”

  She sucked her teeth. “You don’t know my mother.”

  “I have an idea.”

  Chante pinched his arm again. “She’s putting together a dinner party right now. This isn’t going to work.”

  “I got this, dear.”

  Chante slapped her hand on her hip. “Don’t call me dear; it’s very condescending.” Zach kissed her on the forehead.

  “Darling or sweetheart? I mean, I have to call my fiancée something.”

  “How about Chante?” she quipped with a wink.

  “All right, darling, I will see you later,” Allison said as she walked over to Chante and Zach. Pointing her finger at her daughter, she smiled. “Your father said you’ve been holding out on him. So we’re having a low-country boil tonight, and you two are expected to be there.”