The Art of Love

by Celya Bowers

  Indigo Love Spectrum

  An imprint of Genesis Press, Inc.

  Publishing Company

  Genesis Press, Inc.

  P.O. Box 101

  Columbus, MS 39703

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, not known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without written permission of the publisher, Genesis Press, Inc. For information write Genesis Press, Inc., P.O. Box 101, Columbus, MS 39703.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all incidents are pure invention.

  Copyright© 2012 Celya Bowers

  ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-463-6

  ISBN-10: 1-58571-463-1

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  First Edition

  Visit us at www.genesis-press.com or call at 1-888-Indigo-1-4-0

  Dedication

  I dedicate Promises of Forever to the following people:

  Louise L. Brown and her daughter, Alexandria S. Brown.

  And anyone who is fighting the good fight. To my mother, Celia Bowers Shaw Kenney.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who have helped me along the way and have continued to support me in my quest of being a published author.

  My family: Darwyn Tilley, Jeri Murphy, William Earl Kenney, Sheila Kenney, Kim Kenney, Shannon Murphy, Yolanda Tilley, Celya Tilley, Rod Kenney, and Kennedy Tilley.

  My BF’s: Cherry Elder, Erica Black, Roslin Williams, Maria Persuitte, Sharon Hickman-Mahones, Tammy Hill, Eulanda Bailey, Melody Alvarado, Maria Persuitte, Beverly Cofer, Donna Lefear, Eulanda Bailey, Deandra Garrett, Angela Cavener, Diane Kelly, and Lewis Stewart.

  My friends: Judy Brown, Pam Washington, Paula Washington, Mattie Washington Johnson, Gail Surles, Lawrence Leonard, Paul Humphrey, Winston Williams, Shirley Washington, Sheila Allen, Melody Alvarado, Shaunette Smith, Darlene Ramzy, Clara Washington, Kerry Elder, Marnese Elder, Kerry Rand, and Vannetta Chapman.

  My new Facebook and Twitter friends: thank you for letting me into your lives.

  To my fellow scribes: Diane Kelly, Angela Cavener, Chanta Rand, Michella Chappell, and Darlene Ramzy, thank you for all the advice and suggestions. (You know like yes you must write everyday!)

  If I forgot anyone please charge it to my head, not my heart.

  Celya Bowers

  www.celyabowers.net

  celyabowers@gmail.com

  www.facebook.com/celyabowers

  www.twitter.com/celyabowers

  CHAPTER 1

  “I’m going to kill you!”

  Peri Reed stormed up to her friend, Kyla Stone, as she power-walked on the treadmill at Bodyworks Gym in Arlington, Texas. She had one agenda: read Kyla the riot act. Peri was still dressed in work clothes—her usual designer suit—but she was steaming mad at Kyla and wanted to set her straight before changing.

  Kyla returned her stare with clear green eyes and a wide smile. Her velvety brown skin was moist with sweat as a result of walking on the treadmill. “Oh, you mean about Paul.” She continued walking, trying to hide her smile and failing miserably.

  Peri counted to ten before she spoke. “Look, I’m going to change, then we’ll discuss that loser you hooked me up with!” She hoisted her gym bag on her shoulder and stomped off in the direction of the ladies’ dressing room.

  She hurriedly changed into her workout clothes and rejoined her friend. There was one vacant treadmill next to Kyla. “I can’t believe you set me up with that guy.” She took a deep breath and began reciting a litany of his faults. “He lives at home with his mother; between jobs; behind on his child support to multiple baby mamas; and apparently between wives!”

  Kyla laughed harder. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. He was bugging me about finding him a woman and you’re always playing this ‘poor me’ song, I wanted to show you what a loser looked like.”

  Peri set the controls on the treadmill and started walking. “So you set me up with this guy? Who, by the way, didn’t even have a car!”

  “Okay, I’m sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you, promise. I’ll buy coffee tonight.”

  “A four-dollar cup of coffee is not going to make up for that excuse of a man. He was just awful. I had to fake a headache to end the date. Do you know he had the nerve to still ask me for sex!” Peri wrestled with her shoulder-length hair, attempting to put it in a ponytail while maintaining her stride on the treadmill. Finally, she straddled the moving belt to maintain her balance.

  Kyla jumped off the treadmill, giggling unmercifully. “Okay, stop. You’re making that up!” She hopped back on the treadmill, holding her stomach in laughter.

  “I don’t have to make any of it this up. This actually happened, which is why we have the Kyla Stone rule in the first place. No more set-ups for Peri.”

  “Unless the guy is totally for you.”

  Peri shook her head. “Yeah, like that will happen in this lifetime.” She concentrated on walking, blocking out the rest of Kyla’s well-meaning drivel about the right guy being right under her nose.

  She tried to look straight ahead, but her gaze kept going to the tall man running on the treadmill next to her. His lean form seemed to be made for running. He had muscles in all the right places, she noticed. Not too bulky. Just right. Peri quickly turned straight ahead and started watching whatever was on TV. When she turned her attention back to him, he was watching her.

  “I thought I recognized you,” he said to Peri in an incredible Irish accent, reminding her of the movie star Liam Neeson.

  She said nothing.

  “I know you,” said the eyes.

  How did he know her? Could it be from work, or her marketing classes? No, she’d have remembered a body like that, white or not. He probably just knew her from the gym, she hoped. After all, she’d been coming here for over two years. She concentrated on the alternative music blaring from the speakers and tried not to fall in front of the treadmill runner.

  “You go to Shaker’s Hair Salon at the mall,” he said.

  “Y-yes, I do. How do you know that?” Peri said, wondering if he had been stalking her. Or worse, was he a friend of Robert’s? She thought of her ex-lover, whom she hadn’t seen in over two years. Thank goodness he’d been in jail.

  “Keisha does your hair.”

  Peri looked at the man, who had gotten off the treadmill and was now standing beside her. Heat radiated from his body, awaking Peri’s body in all the wrong places. It was something about a sweaty man, she thought. “Yes, she does. How do you know that?” She struggled to keep the sound of fear out of her voice.

  “My name is Brendan Donovan,” he said slowly. “My ex-wife works there.”

  Okay. Knowing his name and how he knew her made her feel a little better. Perhaps he was just stalking his ex. “Hi, I’m Peri Reed. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you,” she said.

  He smiled, reassuring her. “That’s okay, usually I would see you there when I picked up my daughter. Usually you were reading a magazine, and I realized that I recognized you from the gym,” he said. “Have a good workout,” he said and then turned and walked to the weight training area.

  After their workout and shower, the women prepared to exit the gym. “Who was that white guy talking to you on the treadmill?” Kyla asked Peri.

  Peri shrugged her shoulders. “Some guy who recognized me from Shakers.”
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  “I told you about getting your hair done at the mall, girl,” Kyla teased her friend. “You two seemed to be chatting pretty friendly.”

  “He caught me off guard.” Peri failed to mention that her heart started racing the minute their eyes met.

  “He’s cute. He has the rugged good looks every other man working out in this gym is trying to get. Curly brown hair, big blue eyes, and tanned skin. He would go perfectly with your mocha coloring. You would look like a vanilla chocolate ice cream twist in bed.”

  “Will you stop!” Peri closed her eyes against the erotic picture forming in her mind.

  “No.”

  “Didn’t you notice something different about him?”

  “Yes, I did. I also saw a man that maybe has a little interest in you. Peri, just because he’s different means nothing. I’m told they all have the same working equipment.”

  “Anyway, he was just saying hello. You promised me Starbucks.”

  “Starbucks sounds great. I will need the caffeine for tonight, anyway.”

  “Why?”

  “With my new promotion, I also get to bring home more work. So I will be up late tonight.”

  “Is Ryan in town?” Peri asked about Kyla’s husband of ten years.

  “Yes, but he’s working late. Even when he’s in town, he’s out of town.”

  Peri heard her name being called. Slowly she turned around, thinking it was one of the attendants from the gym, but to her horror it was Brendan! Apparently he had showered and was also preparing to leave. Reluctantly she introduced Kyla to Brendan, fearing the worst.

  “We were just going to Starbucks for some coffee. Why don’t you join us?” Kyla asked Brendan as she winked at Peri.

  She hadn’t had to wait long for Kyla to strike. Not even five minutes. Maybe he had plans, or a girlfriend, wife, something, but no such luck.

  “That would be wonderful. I’ll be just a minute. I have to get my wallet out of my SUV.”

  The women walked to the coffee shop while Brendan went to get his wallet. When Peri and Kyla entered Starbucks, which was a few doors down from the gym, it was unusually crowded. Luckily, they found a table after getting their order.

  “Why did you ask him to join us?” Peri planted her body in front of Kyla, staring directly in her eyes, demanding the truth.

  “Because it looked like he wanted to chat with you and I knew that you never would have otherwise.”

  “I might have,” Peri said defensively.

  “Peri, you’re one of my closest friends, but I know that you’re scared.”

  “Kyla, I’m not scared. Cautious, maybe. I just don’t want to relive what I went through with Robert.” Peri shivered, remembering the past and her mistakes with the man who left her for dead.

  “Scared,” Kyla observed.

  “Okay, maybe I’m little scared.” Peri wished Kyla could be wrong about her just once.

  “But?” Kyla prodded her friend. “Maybe if you talked about your experience with Robert, it would help you to overcome some of your insecurities.”

  But Peri didn’t want to talk about Robert, her ex-lover of two years. She wanted to talk about Brendan. “Why is he having coffee with us when he could be with any of those young blonde hard bodies in the gym?” Or in this coffee shop, she mused.

  “Maybe he saw something in you that I’ve always seen, but you manage to keep hidden away from everyone else.”

  “I could be shy, you know.” Peri valiantly tried to defend herself.

  “Yes, this is true, but you are not.”

  “How long is Ryan in town this time? You know, I can’t remember the last time I saw him.”

  Kyla twitched her nose at Peri’s sudden change of topic. “I know what you’re doing. But he’s in town for about two weeks, then he’s off to San Francisco. He has a trip to London coming up soon and wants me to join him, but I just got that promotion and can’t take off work for a whole month. He’s says I don’t love him, but it’s not that.”

  Peri gazed around the room, looking for Brendan; maybe he decided against having coffee with two black women, she hoped.

  “Peri, are you even listening to the saga of my marriage?” Kyla laughed. “I’ve never seen you like this over a guy. Not that I have much to compare it to, but still, it’s quite eye-opening. I saw how you were checking him out as he walked to his truck.”

  “You caught me. What is the problem with Ryan?”

  “I just got a big promotion, and, while my husband is supportive, he’s ready for me to start popping out babies. You know we’re both thirty-five.”

  “I know how old we are. But if you’re not ready for babies, tell him.”

  Kyla winked at Peri. “What about you? Are you ready?

  Although you never talk of your history with Robert, I know he must have hurt you badly,” Kyla said.

  “Yes, he did hurt me badly, and no, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Sorry I took so long.” Brendan interrupted the friends’ conversation. “My daughter called to tell me that she had lost her tooth,” Brendan said as he sat at the table. The aroma of Hugo Boss aftershave followed him into the room.

  “That’s okay,” they both chimed in unison.

  Then there was the awkward silence, the awkward silence of strangers. It seemed to last forever.

  Leave it to Kyla to break the ice. “Brendan, I detect an accent. Not your average Texas twang, mind you, but I definitely detect some accent. Can I assume that you are not from the Dallas/Fort Worth area?”

  “Yes, I’m originally from Ireland.”

  “What are you doing in Arlington, Texas?” Kyla watched her nervous, silent friend.

  “I’m the art director at Maza’s,” said Brendan, watching Peri.

  “That’s the huge gallery in the arts district in Dallas? Isn’t it rated fifth in the nation?” asked Peri, finally contributing to the conversation. One thing she was confident in besides work was art. “I’ve been dying to go there. I hear it’s an awesome gallery. I love art.” Peri shot a warning glance at Kyla as she realized the mistake she just made.

  * * *

  Brendan looked at Peri and smiled. He couldn’t believe his good luck. She was beautiful in an understated way. Her light brown skin was flawless, her shoulder-length hair hung freely about her shoulders, and she was nervous. She’d barely contributed ten words to the conversation until they had started talking about his job. Now they were on his playing field. “Yes, that’s the one. We’ve actually moved up to third in the nation this year. The ratings came out today. We’re having a showing of a new artist, Vicente Corazone, next Saturday night. Would you ladies like to come?”

  Kyla looked at Peri with a hint of a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Peri, that would be so great! You love art and you’re always trying to drag me to a museum or some art function. You even got me drinking Starbucks, for goodness sake!”

  Peri reluctantly agreed. She couldn’t make eye contact with Brendan, which was what he surely wanted; she kept her head down and took deep breaths. A panic attack. But what was she panicked about?

  “That’s great! I have the invitations in my SUV,” said Brendan. He smiled at the silent woman, who had now piqued his interest even more.

  “This is very nice of you, Brendan. Isn’t it, Peri?” asked Kyla, trying to drag her friend back into the conversation.

  Peri stammered a yes, but was otherwise quiet.

  They finished their coffees and prepared to leave. As they walked to Brendan’s Range Rover, he asked Peri what kind of art she was interested in.

  “I like contemporary art. I love black and white photography,” answered Peri in a quiet voice. “Maybe a little of the Renaissance period. I love Claude Monet. Sometimes, Thomas Kincaid. I really enjoy Impressionists. You know, like Monet, Renoir, Moreau, Cézanne, and Picasso.”

  Brendan was so amazed that she could name the Impressionists off the top of her head like that he felt his heartbeat speed up. Somewhere he had
lost control of the conversation and found himself just looking at this introverted, beautiful woman in wonder. “Well, Corazone is very modern. He is my latest discovery,” Brendan boasted proudly. “I discovered his work while I was in Spain last year.”

  “How long have you been an art director?” asked Kyla the inquisitor.

  “About fifteen years. Here and in New York.”

  “How did you get from Ireland to Arlington?” Peri asked quietly.

  “It is a twenty-year story. Maybe you can hear it another time,” said Brendan.

  He handed each woman an embossed invitation to the gallery. “The directions are on the back,” said Brendan. “If you have any trouble entering the event tell the host to call me.” He made a mental note to speak with his assistant on Monday.

  “Thank you very much, Brendan. It was very nice meeting you,” said Peri. She shook his hand, as did Kyla.

  “It was very nice meeting you, too, ladies.” His eyes were riveted on Peri as he said it.

  Brendan climbed into his truck after he watched the women leave the parking lot. He took a deep breath. After his heartbeat finally settled down, he opened his console and took out his cell phone. He took another breath as he dialed his former home. Smiling as he heard his former wife’s voice. “Okay, I did it. Now what? She and her friend are coming to the gallery showing.”

  “Brendan, calm down. You’re just making the first move. She always seems so skittish when she’s in the salon. You’ll need to be careful.”

  “What does that mean, Claire?”

  “That means you can come on pretty strong when you’re in that hunter mode. You’re like act first, and think later, damn the consequences. Keisha says Peri’s always quiet. She usually has to pull information out of Peri. That means someone hurt her pretty badly.”

  Brendan took a deep breath and released it slowly. “So that means I’m still paying for someone else’s misdeeds!” He tried not to dwell on the past, but the fact that he was talking to his ex-wife about how to approach a potential date still boggled his brain.

  “Brendan, don’t even start. Our marriage was a mistake from the beginning and we both know it. The only good thing that came out of it was Chelsey, our daughter.” Claire took a deep breath and relaxed. “Now let’s help you get this woman!”