Solid Soul (Kimani Romance)

by Jackson, Brenda

  Chance nodded. That was eight months away. “Will you?”

  “There’s no reason for me not to, I suppose. Being engaged for almost six months is long enough, don’t you think? See you later.”

  When the door closed behind Bas, Chance stood and walked over to the window and looked out. Deciding to rid Bas and his issues from his mind, he turned his thoughts to his own problem.

  Kylie Hagan.

  He couldn’t help wondering whether she’d made a decision about the camping trip yet. Several times that day he’d been tempted to call her but had changed his mind.

  He felt excited at the prospect of having her at the cabin for an entire weekend, even with the knowledge that their kids would be around to keep them company. It would be hard to keep his attraction to her at bay, but he would.

  He figured the reason she was hesitating was because the thought of them spending the night under the same roof bothered her. She was well aware that the kids would have to go to sleep eventually, and when they did, it would be parents’ time.

  She was fighting the chemistry between them. He knew that just as he knew it was a fight she wouldn’t win. But he would let her try, up to a certain point. He’d give her until the end of the week and if he didn’t hear from her by then, he would take some necessary action.

  “So, have you decided whether or not you and Tiffy are going camping with Chance Steele and his son?”

  Kylie glanced up from the meal she and Lena were sharing during their weekly lunch date at a popular restaurant in town. “Who told you about that?” she asked.

  Lena smiled. “Who else? My goddaughter, of course. She’s all excited at the thought of going camping.”

  Kylie rolled her eyes. “I’m beginning to wonder if it’s the camping trip that has her excited or the thought of being around Marcus an entire weekend. If it’s the latter then she might as well get unexcited because if I do decide to go, I’ll have my eyes on her and Marcus the entire time. Any time they spend together will definitely be supervised.”

  Lena couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips. “So you think she has an ulterior motive for wanting to go?”

  “Hey, remember I was young and in love once, and when you are their age, you look for every opportunity to be together, whether you’re under your parents’ watchful eyes or not.”

  “Yes, that could very well be, but at some point you’re going to have to start trusting her, Kylie. You can’t continue to judge Tiffy by the way you behaved with Sam. The more you do, the more she’s going to resent it.”

  There was anguish in Kylie’s eyes and a wee hint of guilt. “It’s so hard being a parent these days, Lena. You want the best for your kids and you go on the premise that experience is the best teacher, but then you’re faced with the question of how you can be there to protect them without suffocating them.”

  Lena nodded, clearly understanding. “I think for you it’s more difficult because Tiffy is all you have. Over the years she has become your life. Have you given thought to becoming involved in other things?”

  “Other things like what? I have a florist shop to run, Lena. It’s not like I don’t have anything else to do with my time.”

  “Yes, but only when Tiffy is at school. Other than that you’re a full-time mother who really doesn’t have a life other than her child.”

  Kylie knew where this conversation was leading since they had been down this road several times. It was the one topic she and Lena didn’t agree on. Lena felt it was a crying shame that she didn’t have a man in her life and hadn’t had one since high school.

  Her thoughts shifted to Chance Steele and how much she had enjoyed his company on Sunday. It had felt strange sharing her time with anyone other than Tiffany, but she had to admit it had felt good, too. Too good. After they’d eaten they’d played a game of volleyball, the young against what Marcus and Tiffany had considered as “the old.”

  Kylie had been surprised at how much energy Chance had. The kids had been surprised, too, and she and Chance had won the game, showing Tiffany and Marcus that age was nothing but a number. Afterward, they had eaten ice cream and the cake she had baked.

  As much as she had enjoyed Chance’s company, she knew it was out of the question for something to develop between them. There was no way she would start depending on him or any other man for her happiness. She had done so once and refused to go that route again.

  “I don’t want a man in my life, Lena, at least not now,” she decided to say. “Maybe when Tiffany leaves for college I’ll feel differently and I’ll get involved with someone, but I’m not interested now.” She then turned her attention back to her meal.

  “Okay,” Lena said, placing her glass of iced tea aside. “Tell me about Chance Steele.”

  Kylie looked up again, giving her friend an uncomfortable stare. “What do you want me to tell you about Chance that you don’t already know?”

  “Well, Tiffy couldn’t stop singing his praises when I picked her up from school yesterday. He definitely made a positive impression on her. She thought he was cool and fun to be around.”

  Kylie smiled. “She’s right. He was a lot of fun.”

  She quickly resumed eating her meal, afraid that Lena might see all the lust that filled her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to tell Lena that Chance was the cause of her surging hormones lately. Which was exactly why she didn’t think going on a camping trip with him, Marcus and Tiffany was a good idea. The longings he stirred within her could be relentless at times, and it took all the will power she could muster to hold on to her sanity. Her needy libido and her out-of-control hormones confined in a cabin for the weekend with Chance Steele were way too much to ignore. Especially when she’d have to stay focused on Marcus and Tiffany.

  “Chance is not a bad catch you know, Kylie. He’s good-looking, wealthy, intelligent and generous to a fault.”

  Kylie glanced up. “Umm, sounds like someone you should be interested in, then.”

  A sad smile tugged at Lena’s lips. “You know the story of my life. Because of Mom’s failing health, the two of us are a package deal and not too many men want that. At least none I’ve met so far. The moment I mention that I’m my mother’s caretaker, they conveniently drop out of the picture. However, I do believe Chance would be different, but he and I never connected that way. I can only see him as a friend and nothing more.”

  Unfortunately, Kylie could see Chance as a lot more than a friend but she blatantly refused to go there. But right now, at that moment, her main concern was not the issue of her and Chance. It was Lena. She silently searched her mind for something to say that would ease the raw pain she’d heard in her best friend’s words.

  Propping her chin in her hand, she gave Lena a serious smile. “There’s a man out there for you, Lena, who will be more than happy to take you and whatever and whoever comes along with you. I’ve always known that if I got interested in someone, that person would have to love Tiffany as much as he loved me. For some men it’s easy to accept a package deal. For others it’s not. And those who can’t are the ones that women like us do better leaving alone.”

  Lena reached across the table and took her hand. “And I believe that there’s a man out there for you, too, and believe it or not, he can be depended on. I know Sam and your dad let you down but you can’t continue to judge all men by their actions, Kylie. Every young girl needs a good male role model in her life. Because of Dad’s death, I missed having that, and you’re cheating Tiffy of having that as well. I think as a single mom you’ve done an admirable job in raising her. But don’t you think at some point she needs to see you in a loving relationship with a man?”

  Kylie looked Lena squarely in the eye. Conversations like this tended to expose emotions that she would rather keep under wraps because along with the emotions came the memories of the hurt and pain that Sam and her father had caused.

  “Even if I did, Lena, that man can’t be Chance Steele. For heaven’s sake, he’s
the father of the boy that my daughter thinks she’s madly in love with.”

  Lena placed her elbows on the table and laced her fingers together. “And what does that have to do with anything? More specifically, what does it have to do with you and Chance?”

  “I don’t want to confuse her, nor do I want to send out a negative picture about anything.”

  Lena shook her head. “Your daughter and my goddaughter is a lot smarter and mature than you think, Kylie. Kids these days know the score. They aren’t as naive as we want to think they are. If something is going on between you and Chance, she’ll be able to pick up on it, and personally, I doubt if she’ll see anything wrong with it.”

  “She might not see anything wrong with it but I will. How am I going to lecture her about the difference between love and lust when I’m having problems knowing the difference between the two myself?”

  Lena smiled. “So you are attracted to Chance.” It was a statement and not a question.

  “Yes, more than I want to be,” she said, deciding to finally be completely honest with her best friend. “Around him I feel things that I’ve never felt before, Lena. We’ve kissed. Twice. And I’m not talking about a little kiss, either. The man takes kissing to a level I’ve never experienced before. All he has to do is get close enough to breathe on my mouth and my lips automatically open. Isn’t that pathetic? Now can you understand why I’m hesitating about going on that camping trip?”

  “Yes and no.”

  At Kylie’s confused expression, Lena explained, “Yes, I can see why you’re hesitant about going, and no, I don’t agree with your assessment of the situation. So what if you have the hots for Chance? You’re both adults and should be able to do whatever you want to do. Your attraction to him shouldn’t have any bearing on what’s going on between Tiffany and Marcus and how you’re handling their situation. I know you and no matter what you do, you will always set a good example in front of Tiffany. However, what you and Chance do in private is your business. But then, like I said earlier, I think it’s important for Tiffy to see you in a loving relationship with a man, and I can’t think of a better person for that man to be than Chance Steele.”

  “There are bound to be complications, Lena.”

  “Only those of your own making, Kylie. Take it from someone who knows. Good men are hard to find, so if you meet one who’s interested, you better grab him, hold on tight and not let go.”

  Later that night Kylie got into bed, wrestling with the knowledge that the main reason she didn’t want to go on that camping trip was because of her growing feelings for Chance. She had to finally admit those growing feelings to herself after having lunch with Lena.

  Their discussion had made her realize two things. She found Chance attractive and sexy, and thought he had a body that was all that and a bag of chips. But there was more to him than that. He’d already proven that he was dependable, unlike Sam and her father. When Chance and his girlfriend had been faced with a teen pregnancy, instead of leaving her in a fix like Sam had done to her, Chance had done the noble, honorable and responsible thing. He’d made whatever changes the situation called for to make a home for his wife and child. She could tell by his relationship with Marcus that he was a good father and from what she read in the business section of the Charlotte Observer, he was also a highly respected businessman. And she wanted to believe if he had shown up at her shop that day to tell her that their kids were involved in an unplanned pregnancy versus a plot to cut school, he would be angry, true enough, but nothing would make him turn his back on his only child, as her father and mother had done to her.

  She sighed. One of the problems she was having trouble coming to terms with was the knowledge that their relationship—if they could call it that—had developed because of their kids. She doubted they would have met any other way. There was a strong possibility that if they’d been in the same room together at any given function, he wouldn’t have given her a second look. So in her mind their meeting was a twist of fate rather than by their own choosing.

  She jerked her head off the pillow at the sound of the phone ringing. The last time she had gotten a call this late it had been Chance. Sensations raced through her at that possibility and she quickly reached over and picked up the phone. “Hello.”

  “Sorry to call so late,” Lena was saying. “But I forgot to mention today that the American Cancer Society is sponsoring their annual ball and I’m on the committee. The price of the tickets is high but it’s all for a worthy cause, of course. Would you like one?”

  Before Kylie could answer, Lena quickly inserted, “In fact you can get two if you like and bring a date.”

  “I’ll take one ticket, Lena,” Kylie said softly, hoping Lena didn’t pick up the disappointment in her voice. A part of her had hoped the caller was Chance. She hadn’t seen or talked to him since Sunday, which was three days ago.

  “Sure you don’t want two?”

  Kylie rolled her eyes. “No, I only want one ticket, Lena. I won’t have a date that night. Will that be a problem? I either come alone or not at all.”

  “No, that won’t be a problem but I was hoping there was someone you could ask. Someone like Chance, perhaps?”

  Kylie sighed. She knew where this conversation was leading and wasn’t in the mood. “No. Only one ticket, Lena. Good night.” She then hung up the phone.

  A few seconds later, before Kylie could reclaim her comfortable position in bed, the phone rang again. She frowned. There were times when Lena was worse than a dog with a bone. She didn’t know when to let up.

  Snatching the phone, not giving her best friend a chance to say anything, Kylie said, “Look, Lena, forget it. There’s no way I’m going to ask Chance to go with me.”

  There was a brief pause and then…

  “And just where is it that you won’t ask me to go, Kylie?” Chance Steele asked in a deep, husky voice that bespoke more than mild curiosity.

  Kylie’s eyes widened and hot color rushed into her face. If she’d been standing she would have melted to the floor in embarrassment. Instead she found solace in burying her face under the pillow.

  But even that couldn’t drown out the sound of Chance’s voice when he said, “Okay, Kylie, tell me. What’s going on and why won’t you ask me to go wherever it is that you’re going?”

  She closed her eyes and moaned. Her only saving grace was that she’d heard the teasing in his voice and was glad he had such a good sense of humor, even if it was at her expense.

  “Kylie?”

  She pulled her head from beneath the pillow. “What?”

  “Are you going to tell me voluntarily or do I have to come over and tickle it out of you?”

  The thought of Chance actually tickling anything out of her had a stimulating effect on her rather than an amusing one. Yet she couldn’t help but smile. “I doubt if you can tickle anything out of me, Chance.”

  “Don’t let me come over there and prove you wrong,” he warned in an even huskier tone of voice.

  Kylie closed her eyes and in her mind she could envision him lying in bed saying what he’d just said. He would be propped back against the pillow with a sexy smile on his lips and a teasing glint in his dark eyes.

  She allowed her mind to go a little further by envisioning him lying on top of the bedcovers completely naked. Her overactive imagination spread warmth through her as she envisioned her gaze moving down his muscular chest and firm stomach before coming to rest on his exposed groin. He was hard as steel.

  She inhaled deeply and wondered what it would be like to touch him there, caress his body all over, bury her face in the curve of his neck, taste his skin and nibble him in a few places to brand him hers. She would let his musky scent fill her nostrils before pressing her mouth to his, getting the deep, tongue-tangling kiss she knew awaited her. She would let her hand reach down to touch him in his most private area, feeling the heat of him, hot, hard and thick. The mere thought of seducing him that way had blood racing reckles
sly through her veins.

  “Kylie?”

  She swallowed, trying to bring her thoughts back in check. “Yes?”

  “Tell me.”

  The sensuous tone of his voice was playing havoc on her sensibilities. She leaned back in bed, letting her body cool from the heated thoughts that had flowed through her mind earlier. Her lids lowered and for a long second she didn’t say anything, wondering if she should. But she knew he wouldn’t let up until she told him.

  “Lena mentioned that the American Cancer Society is having their annual ball and she’s on the committee,” she started off by saying. “So quite naturally she’s trying to get rid of as many tickets as she can. I told her I’d get a ticket to support the cause and then she tried talking me into getting two, knowing full well I wouldn’t have a date that night.”

  “And?” he asked when she paused briefly.

  That single, softly uttered word stirred an area of her body that it shouldn’t have. “And…Lena suggested that I invite you.”

  “So that’s what you meant when you screamed in my ear.”

  Color rushed into Kylie’s face again. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”

  “I see. Don’t I have a say in the matter?”

  “No. The only reason we met, Chance, is because of the kids,” she said, giving voice to her earlier thoughts. “If we had been at any function together you wouldn’t have noticed me. I’m not the type of woman you would have been drawn to enough to show any real interest in.”

  “You think not?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if I said you’re wrong?”

  “We’ll never know, will we?”

  When he had no comeback, she said, “Besides, I don’t date. I mentioned that to you before.”

  “Yes, you did mention it. Is that also the reason you won’t go camping, because you see that as a date?”

  “No, that in itself is a whole other set of problems, Chance. I just think the two of us spending a weekend at a cabin isn’t a good idea, even with the kids there. Especially with the kids there.”