He adjusted his stance to lean back against a wall, appreciating the fact that they were standing in a part of Jessie and Carla Devereau’s home that afforded them privacy, right next to French doors that led to the patio. The party was crowded, so they were unlikely to be noticed or singled out for any reason. Not that he cared. As far as he was concerned, he had just staked his claim. He had told Grey earlier to keep Brandy out of his affairs. That meant it should have been smooth sailing from here on out. Not so, if the way Courtney was handling what he’d said earlier was anything to go by. Apparently she’d never had a man tell her his intentions before.
“I take it you don’t believe me,” he said, about to take a sip of his drink only to find his glass empty.
She simply smiled and said, “Of course I don’t believe you. Why should I? You only met me tonight, so to claim that you’re going to be a part of my future—an intricate part, at that—is kind of silly, don’t you think?”
Personally, he didn’t see anything silly about it at all. Some men go through their lifetime looking for the perfect woman, a woman destined to be their soul mate. He’d always believed that he would know the woman who would share his life when he met her. Something about her would give it away. So he had gone through life not really dwelling on such things, not caring that he was about to turn forty and wasn’t in a serious relationship. His career, his business, trying to keep his professional life on the upward swing, had taken up most of his time.
But it was time to focus on something else for a change. His future. He was a person who’d always believed family came first, which was why he shared such a close relationship with his brothers and sisters. And to him, his mother would always be a phenomenal woman. His father had died before he’d turned six, leaving his mother alone to raise seven kids. As far as he was concerned, she had done an outstanding job in making them God-fearing, law-abiding citizens.
“Lake?”
Seeing she was waiting for his response, he said, “No, I don’t see anything silly about it.”
He saw a frown settle on those lips. “Well, I do. Look, I expected a lot more honesty from an older man. You’re past the age of playing games, so why are you?”
He wanted to throw his head back and laugh, but the irritation in her voice kept him from doing so. He was being as honest with her as honest could get, and because he was an older man—past the age of playing games—he had moved from the small stuff to going straight to the big picture, making it clear as glass for her. It seemed he would have to use another approach. “I’m not playing games, and once you get to know me better, you’ll see that part of my makeup, an essential component of who I am, involves being straightforward. I don’t particularly like surprises and like to extend the same courtesy to others.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I thought of all people that you should be the one to know that I want you. For all the right reasons. I’d even be cocky enough to believe the reason you’re not involved with someone is because I’m the one you’ve been waiting for, just like I believe you’re the one I’ve been waiting for.”
She crossed her arms over her delectable chest and tilted her head back to glare up at him. “I think you have me mixed up with someone else.”
His lips quirked into an even broader smile. “Trust me, I don’t.”
He saw her measuring him with her eyes and immediately knew that trusting him was the last thing she planned to do, and that she didn’t want to have anything to do with him. He detected her confusion, felt the guard she wouldn’t let down, and knew he would have to do whatever it took for her to see things the way he saw them. “Have dinner with me. Get to know me.”
When he saw her hesitation, he leaned closer and asked, “Just what are you afraid of?”
Courtney held his gaze, thinking she could answer that question in twenty-five words or less. Disappointment would head the list. After recently dating three men who’d turned out to be just that, she was reluctant to get involved with anyone else too soon. She had even come to the conclusion that she didn’t need a man in her life. Just her luck to be drawn to someone with the same characteristics as her father, and she refused to go there.
Besides, she’d always heard that anything that appeared too good to be true, usually was. Lake Masters was too good to be true, and the mere thought that he could be a part of her future had her in a tailspin. Men who looked like him were involved with women who didn’t look like her. She looked fairly decent, but she figured he would go for the tall, sexy, Beyoncé type. Gorgeous even on a bad day.
“Courtney?”
She zeroed her thoughts back on him and met his gaze, remembering the question still out there. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Then have dinner with me. Get to know me. Allow me the opportunity to get to know you better.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to bring to his attention that he really didn’t know her at all. But still, she would be a fool not to admit she was a little intrigued, more than a bit curious as to why this man—who had the ability to make any woman drool—felt he was the man for her. And what baffled her even further was his claim that it went beyond being just a “bed thing.” However, considering her dating history, she would be naive to take any man at face value. Doing so would be bad for her peace of mind.
“All right,” she heard herself saying. “I’ll have dinner with you.”
He smiled. “Will tomorrow night work for you?”
She frowned. He wasn’t wasting any time. “Yes, tomorrow night will be fine.”
“What time do you want me to pick you up?”
Now here is where she would draw the line, even if he was Grey’s brother. She had a rule about never giving her address to anyone she’d just met. “You name the restaurant, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Lucian at six.”
She nodded. Lucian was known for its elegance as well as its good food. If he was trying to impress, he was definitely doing a good job. “Okay, I’ll meet you at Lucian at six.”
“I will look forward to seeing you and spending time with you, Courtney.”
She felt sensations flood her stomach. He’d made it sound like they would be doing something other than sharing a meal.
“I’m leaving the party now, so until tomorrow night.” He reached for her hand, brought it to his lips. She watched his long brown fingers grip hers, watched his mouth touch the back of her hand in a head-swooning kiss, felt the warmth from his lips when it happened. And that same warmth was spreading all through her, making her desire things she’d never desired before. On top of everything else, the man was a romantic.
“Yes, until tomorrow,” she forced the words from her lips.
He gave her one last lingering smile before walking away, and she watched as he became lost in the crowd.
12
Vickie swallowed, not sure she wanted to believe what Courtney was telling her. She had gotten a call from Courtney that morning, and since Dan had taken advantage of the membership he still had active at a local gym to go work out, she had suggested that she and Courtney meet for breakfast at their favorite café. Now she was glad they had.
“Come on, Courtney. Did he really look that good?”
Courtney didn’t hesitate shaking her head. “Yes, he looked that good. You’ve met Grey and you know how sexy he is, then consider a man just a year or two older but even sexier.”
An image flashed across Vickie’s mind, and the only word she could think to say was, “Wow!”
“Now you see what I mean.”
Vickie nodded as she chewed on her muffin. “And you’re having dinner with him tonight?”
“Not if I can get out of it.”
Vickie stared at Courtney like she’d lost her mind. “Why would you want to get out of it?”
“Because I don’t believe he’s true.”
Vickie frowned. “What do you mean?”
Courtney sighed. “Vickie, how many men do you k
now who would just walk up to a woman they’d just met and declare themselves? A man of the drop-dead gorgeous kind. A man already established in a career. A man who already has it going on. One who would be every woman’s dream man.”
“So you think he’s stringing you along?”
Courtney shrugged. “I don’t know what he’s doing or thinking that he’s doing. And I prefer not sticking around to find out and set myself up for another disappointment.”
Vickie didn’t say anything for a moment while she took a sip of her coffee, thinking about what Courtney said. “Considering the fact that he’s Grey’s brother, and Grey’s such a nice guy, don’t you want to put that in Lake Masters’s favor and believe he’s okay?”
Courtney sipped her orange juice before saying. “Grey might be Lake’s brother, but he’s not his brother’s keeper. I can’t assume that Lake’s a nice guy like Grey. Look at Charlie, Dan’s brother. That one night you talked me into seeing him was the date from hell.”
Vickie threw her head back and laughed, remembering. “He grew hands that night, didn’t he?”
“That’s not the only thing on him that grew. I don’t know how many times he told me he had a hard-on and needed my help to make it go soft. The man was as obnoxious as they come and is a perfect example that family members can be as different as day and night.”
“Okay. Okay, I admit Charlie was and still is an asshole,” Vickie said, grinning. “But what if Lake is what he claims to be? A man who knows what he wants. A man who’s made up in his mind that what he wants is you. And before you say bullshit to that very idea, just listen to me for a minute.”
“All right, I’m listening.”
“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Courtney, you’re beautiful and have a lot to offer a man. And it could be the reason you’re still single and unattached is just like Lake Masters said. Maybe he’s the one you’ve been waiting for.”
“I doubt it.”
“But are you sure?”
“No, but it stands to reason that he’s wrong.”
“But what if he’s right and you’re the one who’s wrong? What if you’re letting your past disappointments interfere with finding the one man any woman would want to have? What if this is the man for you? The man you deserve. The man created just for you.”
A part of Courtney thought Vickie was getting just a little carried away, but her best friend had her thinking. And then there were those weird emotions she just couldn’t shake. Memories of Lake Masters and just what a look from him could do to her flowed through her mind, made her insides quicken at the thought. But the image that wouldn’t go away was the one when she’d first seen him. At that moment her breath had actually caught and a tingle had taken over the lower part of her body.
“So what are you going to do, Courtney?”
She knew what she wanted to do. She would just keep her guard up and not let it down.
“Courtney?”
She glanced across the table at Vickie. She sighed deeply before saying, “I think I’m going to take a chance. But in no way am I going to be taken in by this guy. I will keep my guard up and not let it down.”
Vickie smiled. “I’m glad you’re going to dinner with him, and I know that you’ll be able to handle him,” she assured her.
Courtney took another sip of her orange juice; she felt confident that she had everything under control and, just like Vickie said, she would be able to handle Lake Masters.
“Willie Baker was quite taken with you, Peggy.”
Peggy glanced up from viewing all the photographs of Toni’s week-old grandchild. Being the proud first-time grandparents, Toni and her husband, John, had taken over a hundred pictures.
“Peggy?”
“I heard you, but I don’t know why you would think that. I’m glad his final decision went in our favor, but I merely did what you instructed me to do, which was to impress him enough to consider Orlando for the location of the amusement park.”
Toni smiled over at her friend. “No, I think you did more than that. I meant it when I said I believe he was quite taken with you. And the reason I think that is because he sang your praises a number of times. More times than were needed.”
Peggy took a sip of her coffee, deciding not to tell Toni that she’d been quite taken with Willie Baker, as well. He had been utterly charming in a way she wasn’t used to with a man. Even with all his money, he hadn’t come off as overbearing and arrogant.
“He’s coming back to Orlando next week.”
Peggy met Toni’s gaze. She knew that look. “Okay,” she said, setting her coffee cup down. “I don’t know what’s going through that mind of yours, but let it go.”
“I can’t. I know what Joe’s betrayal did to you, and I don’t want you to think that all men are like him.”
“I don’t think all men are like him, Toni. I admit that sometimes I feel I gave him some of the best years of my life, almost thirty of them, only to be kicked to the curb for a twit young enough to be his daughter, but I’m over that now. I’ve moved on.”
“But without a man.”
“I’m not looking for one.”
“But what if one is interested in you?”
Peggy’s stomach plummeted at the thought that Willie Baker could actually be interested in her. “Then I would tread into that territory with caution.”
“But you would tread?”
“Yes.”
Toni leaned back in her chair with a satisfied grin on her face. “That’s good to hear, because when he said he was coming back to Orlando, I decided to have a little dinner party, and you’re the person I paired him with.”
“You did what!”
“You heard me.” Then Toni quickly asked, “So what do you think of my precious grandchild?”
“So the reservations have been made?” Barbara asked Ron excitedly over breakfast.
He glanced over at her with a forced smile. “Yes, everything has been finalized. I’ve gotten someone to cover my classes for those two weeks, and we’ll fly out on Thursday.”
Barbara reached across the table and captured her husband’s hand in hers. “Thanks, Ron, a trip away from everything is exactly what we need.”
He swallowed, suddenly feeling like the asshole his sister-in-law once accused him of being. He didn’t want to consider what Peggy, or anyone else for that matter, would think of him if they were to find out that the woman he was involved with would be going to Hawaii, as well—compliments of him. Most men would consider it bold. To others, it would be a stupid move, totally disrespectful of the woman he was married to. But at the moment, the only thing he could think about was the blow jobs he wouldn’t have to miss getting. The freaky sex he would continue to indulge in. It was a damn risky move on his part, but worth it if he could pull it off.
A thought flashed through his mind: What if he didn’t pull it off? What if he got caught? He didn’t want to think what Barbara would do if she found out she’d been screwed over, made a fool of, yet again. His wife was usually mild-mannered and easygoing, but he’d seen her riled up over his women in the past, and she did say that if he ever cheated on him again, she would kill him. Of course, he didn’t believe she would go that far, since she wasn’t the violent kind.
“Ron, don’t you agree?”
It was then that he realized he hadn’t made a comment to her earlier statement. “Yes, I agree, which is the main reason I moved forward with it.”
“Thanks, Ron.”
“Don’t thank me, baby. I’m doing it for the both of us.”
He saw that look in her eye. Knew what she was about to suggest and decided he wasn’t in the mood. At least not with her. “I need to take my car to get serviced this morning. Since I didn’t make an appointment, it might take a while, but the Florida Mall is right next door. Would you like to go with me and while we’re waiting on the car you can help me look for new golf clubs to take to Hawaii with me?” The only reason he had suggested she come alo
ng was because he knew she’d already made plans to spend a part of the morning with her sister at some spa for a day of beauty.
“I’d loved to, honey, but I’m meeting Peggy in a little while. But if you really want me to be with you, then I’ll—”
“No, that’s fine. After I get the car back, I plan to stop and check in on Courtney. She’s been making herself scarce lately.”
“You’ve noticed.”
He met his wife’s worried gaze. “How can I not notice? I plan to have a talk with her. I think she needs to understand and accept that how we handle our personal affairs is really none of her business. She has her life to live, and we have ours. But then I also want her to know that we love her and will always be here for her.”
He got up from the table and pulled Barbara into his arms and hugged her tight and kissed her lips before saying, “And that you and I will always be here for each other.”
A few hours later, Ron was shrugging out of his clothes, which he proceeded to place over the back of the leather recliner in the bedroom. Ashira was already in bed, waiting on him.
“I was surprised when I got your call. It’s a Saturday morning,” she said, stretching her naked body atop the covers.
His gaze raked over her as a smile touched his lips. He knew what she meant. Usually his visits were in the afternoons, on his way home from work when Barbara assumed he’d gotten delayed at a staff meeting or something. But today he had been bold. Since Barbara figured that with his car in the shop being serviced he was stranded, he decided to use that time to his advantage. What she didn’t know was that he had made arrangements to use one of the dealership’s rentals.
Her Little Black Book Page 10