The Proposal & Solid Soul

by Brenda Jackson

  Yes, she knew. “So when did his future change for the better?”

  “When he was about twenty. He dropped out of college after deciding he wanted to see the world. He was gone for a year without us knowing where he was most of the time. All we know is that when he returned he had a new outlook on life. He went back to college, graduated with honors and then came to work at the Steele Corporation, starting from the bottom. He was determined to learn everything he could. Now he’s a vital asset to the company. I depend on him to keep me in the know and to put out small fires.”

  “What about the other two?”

  “Morgan is Morgan. He has this thing about finding the perfect woman and until he does he won’t settle for less. Then there’s Donovan, who thinks he was born to have fun. He’s serious enough while at work but otherwise there’s really never a serious moment with him. My mother predicts he’ll probably be the one who lives the longest because he enjoys life too much to get stressed about anything.”

  “Does that also mean he’s having too much fun to settle down and get married?”

  “So he claims. He just hasn’t met the one woman to tame his game.”

  “Quite an interesting bunch.”

  “Yes, they didn’t refer to us as ‘Forged of Steele’ for nothing.”

  Kylie lifted a brow. “‘Forged of Steele’?”

  “Yes. We were known for our endurance. We thought we could outlast anything.”

  She decided not to ask their endurance in what. “The possibility that Marcus might be a chip off the old block now has me worried. Should I be?”

  Chance chuckled. “No, he’s a good kid.”

  “Yes, I noticed and I’m appreciative of that. I was prepared not to like him, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know, and it was likewise with me and Tiffany. But I like her. You did a good job raising her, Kylie.”

  “So did you with Marcus.”

  “Thanks.”

  Kylie stretched and then stood. “Well, I think I’m going to call it a night.”

  “Already?”

  “It’s probably close to two in the morning, Chance, and I still have to take a shower. That checker game you played with the kids lasted quite a while.”

  “Only because your daughter didn’t know how to play. I’ve never heard of such a thing. That’s un-American.”

  “Well, I hate to tell you but her mother doesn’t know how to play checkers, either.”

  “Then I guess I’ll add that to my list of all the other things I intend to teach you.”

  “Don’t do me any favors.”

  “Trust me. It will be for my benefit as well as for yours. The more you know and understand, the better off we’ll both be.”

  Kylie knew they weren’t talking about checkers but about the intricacies involving a male and female.

  But was she willing to learn?

  CHANCE LAY IN BED AND could only stare up at the ceiling as he heard the shower going, imagining Kylie, naked and standing beneath a full spray of water that flowed down her breasts, flat stomach, thighs…

  He tried tuning out the sound and turning his attention to his snoring son, who was sleeping on the opposite bunk. Damn, he sounded just like Donovan. Chance chuckled as he remembered that while growing up no one wanted to share a bedroom with Donovan because he snored.

  After a few moments he released a groan and decided listening to Kylie in the shower was a lot better than putting up with Marcus. He smiled, thinking he had really enjoyed their conversation on the porch tonight. She seemed interested in his family, which was just as well, since if he had his way the Steeles would be her family one day.

  God, he loved her.

  Heat sizzled along his nerve endings at the thought of just how much. A slow, sinful grin touched his lips when he thought about what he’d told her last night. There was a lot she didn’t understand about man-woman relationships and he intended to teach her. Things had definitely changed since her last date, especially in the bedroom. If he remembered correctly, that was the year the Hubble Telescope was launched into space, Nelson Mandela was finally freed from prison and George Bush Senior was president.

  Hell, she probably wasn’t aware that these days men and women who were in a serious relationship openly discussed such things as foreplay and orgasms, or that trying different positions in the bedroom was now the norm and not the exception. And she’d probably be startled to know that oral sex was pretty popular these days.

  A slow smile rolled around his lips. Yes, he would enjoy teaching her all the finer things in life with one goal in mind: to make her fall as deeply in love with him as he was with her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “WELL, LENA, HOW DO I look?”

  Lena stood with her hands on her hips and gave Kylie an assessing stare. The two of them had been shopping for gowns to wear to this weekend’s ball and it seemed as if Kylie had hit the jackpot.

  “Girl, that dress is gorgeous and it looks fabulous on you,” Lena said. “But of course you have the figure for it. You have more curves than the Daytona Speedway. You’d be nuts not to buy it.”

  With her courage bolstered, Kylie looked down at herself. Lena was right. The dress was a sexy black formfitting georgette mini with a halter crisscross bodice and a low-cut back. She had to admit it did look rather flattering on her, though it showed more skin than she would like.

  “You don’t think it’s too daring?” she asked Lena.

  “Heck, no. Like I said you have the body for it. Everyone can’t say that. I most certainly can’t.”

  Kylie frowned at her friend. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with your figure.”

  “That losing fifteen more pounds won’t hurt?”

  “Don’t complain. A lot of men like full-figured women. You have a small waist, nice size hips, a gorgeous pair of legs—”

  “Strong bones and a good set of teeth,” Lena tagged on. They laughed, remembering other times they had gone shopping together when they were much younger and were faced with the same dilemma. Kylie always thought she was too thin and Lena had made up in her mind years ago that at size sixteen she was too thick.

  “So, are you going to buy it?” Lena asked as she walked around Kylie, admiring how the dress fit.

  “Probably not,” Kylie said, still looking down at herself. She felt half-naked wearing it. “But it’s gorgeous, though.”

  “And it has your name on it.”

  Kylie glanced up at Lena. “You think so?”

  “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. Besides, since you’ve decided to be my date for the ball what I say counts, right?”

  “Right.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  Kylie grinned. “I’m going to take it.”

  AN HOUR OR SO LATER THEY were back in Lena’s car and exiting the mall. “You never told me how things went last weekend with the camping trip,” Lena said.

  Kylie glanced over at her. “Didn’t think I had to. I’m sure Tiffany told you everything you needed to know.”

  “Yeah, but she didn’t mention anything about you and Chance.”

  “Was she supposed to?”

  “I guess not, if the two of you are keeping your affair a secret.”

  Kylie gave her friend a direct stare, although Lena’s eyes were glued to the road and didn’t notice it. “Chance and I are not having an affair.”

  “Oh. The two of you just meet every so often to lock lips, right?”

  Kylie rolled her eyes heavenward. “So we kissed a few times, no big deal.”

  “I would think after fifteen years of abstinence that for you it was a big deal. And you even admitted he was a good kisser.”

  “Oh, my gosh, he’s the best,” Kylie breathed and then regretted that she’d admitted it.

  Lena laughed. “Bingo. So how did you manage to keep those overzealous hormones under control?”

  “It was hard but I managed.”

  “And the two of you didn’t kiss not eve
n once?”

  “No, not even once. Marcus and Tiffany kept us much too busy. They wanted to do everything and by the end of the day we were too tired to do anything but sleep.”

  “Oh, how sad.”

  Lena and Kylie looked at each other and burst out laughing again. A few moments later, Lena said, “You know he’s coming to the ball, don’t you?”

  Kylie tried to keep her attention on an object outside of the car’s window. “What Chance does is his business.”

  “And he’s bringing a date.”

  Kylie jerked her head around. “What!”

  Lena laughed out loud. “Gotcha!”

  Kylie frowned. “That’s not funny, Lena.”

  “It is, too. You should have seen the way your head snapped around. It’s a wonder you didn’t break your neck. For someone who claims what Chance Steele does is his business, you were definitely interested in that piece of news.”

  “Well, is it true? Is he bringing someone?”

  Lena shrugged. “Don’t know. Cassandra Tisdale mentioned at the committee meeting yesterday that her cousin was going to be in town that night from D.C. and she was going to ask Chance to be the woman’s date.”

  “Good for her.”

  “Umm, do I detect a little jealousy in your voice?”

  “Not on your life.”

  Lena smiled. “Okay, if you say so.”

  LENA WAS RIGHT, KYLIE thought as she got ready for bed that night. She was jealous. Of all the nerve!

  She had to admit that Chance had been on his best behavior last weekend, probably because she didn’t give him the chance to be otherwise. After that first night when he had invited her to sit out on the porch with him, she had gotten smart and made sure the opportunity never presented itself again. She went to bed when Tiffany went to bed and she stayed there.

  Still, she thought things had gone rather well that weekend and Marcus and Chance had been perfect hosts. They had seen to all of her and Tiffany’s needs, and with Tiffany and Marcus carrying on more like siblings instead of a couple the majority of the time, it was as if the four of them were a family.

  Chance had been wonderful with Tiffany when he showed her the proper way to use a rod and reel, after Marcus had thrown up his hands and given up. And then there was the time Chance taught Tiffany how to paddle the canoe, and how he was the only one who actually seemed interested in her obsession with bird-watching. Seeing them together actually made her wonder if perhaps Tiffany had lost out by not having a father figure in her life all these years. At least Tiffany would have the chance to spend time with her grandfather this weekend. Kylie’s parents had called a few days ago and asked if Tiffany could go with them to Disney World for the weekend.

  Since both Friday and the following Monday were teachers’ planning days, things worked out perfectly. Kylie would put her on the plane Friday morning and then pick her up from the airport on Monday evening. That meant she wouldn’t have to worry about her daughter while she attended this weekend’s ball.

  The phone rang and Kylie glanced over at the clock, knowing it was Chance. How could he talk to her every night and not mention he was taking someone to the ball? It didn’t matter to her one iota that she hadn’t taken Lena’s advice and invited him herself. It was the principle of the thing.

  She frowned when she picked up the phone. “Hello.”

  “How did things go at work today?”

  This was how they began their conversation each night. He would ask her how things went with her job and she would ask how things went with his. They would hold a pleasant conversation for a good forty-five minutes and then they would say good night. Sometimes she wondered about the real purpose of them talking, other than to hear the other’s voice each day.

  “Things at the shop went okay. Business has really picked up this week. I got a lot of pre-Thanksgiving orders.” Then she said, “I closed early. Lena and I went shopping for gowns for the ball this weekend.” She wondered if he would mention if he were going, or more specifically if he had a date.

  “Did you find something you liked?”

  “Yes.”

  “What color is it?”

  “Black.”

  “I bet it looks good on you.”

  “Lena thought so.”

  “Did she?”

  “Yes.”

  There was a pause and then he said, “Marcus is going away this weekend.”

  Kylie raised an eyebrow. This was news to her since Tiffany hadn’t mentioned it. “He is?”

  “Yes. Cyndi’s parents are coming through on their way to—”

  “Not Disney World?” she asked, immediately jumping to conclusions and hoping they were the wrong ones.

  “No, Busch Gardens in Virginia.”

  Thank goodness. “Oh.”

  “Why did you think they were going to Disney World?”

  “Because that’s where Tiffany is headed this weekend.”

  “Ahh. And you thought that perhaps they had manipulated their grandparents so the two of them could be in the same place and at the same time.”

  “It’s been known to happen.”

  “I’m sure it has but I doubt they would go that far.”

  “Hey, you never know,” Kylie said.

  There was another pause and then Chance said, “We’re going to have to start trusting them at some point, Kylie.”

  Tucking a braid behind her ear, she took a deep, frustrating breath. “I know, but for me it’s hard, Chance, because I remember all the tricks I used to pull to be with Sam.”

  “Yes, but is it fair to judge them by what you did?”

  “No.”

  “All right, then.”

  Kylie tilted her lips in a smile. Even if he were bringing a date to the ball, she still enjoyed her nightly talks with him. Although she had decided that they could never be lovers, it seemed that he had made up his mind that they would be friends. And deep down she didn’t have a problem with that.

  She’d always had Lena as another female to bounce her ideas and thoughts off of, but there had never been a guy she felt close enough with to do the same. Lately she had asked Chance’s opinions about a lot of things, including how she should handle situations that had arisen at work. Being the savvy businessman that he was, he had always given her good, sound advice.

  “So, how are things going at the Steele Corporation?” she asked.

  “There was a development today that I wished could have been avoided.”

  “Oh? What?”

  “We had to let a man go who’s been with us for over ten years.”

  She heard disappointment, as well as regret, in his voice. “Why?”

  “We found out he’d been stealing from the company. He was padding figures and having the products delivered elsewhere. Bas had suspected him for a while but we only got the proof we needed today to do anything about it.”

  They talked for the next thirty minutes or so and that night Kylie slept with an inner peace that she hadn’t known in a long time.

  “SO YOU THINK THEY WILL have their first date this weekend?” Marcus asked before biting into his sandwich.

  Tiffany smiled. “Yes. They’re going to that ball, although they aren’t going with each other. I can’t see how it won’t turn into a date with the both of us gone for the weekend. Didn’t you see how they were looking at each other last weekend when they thought no one was noticing? I think we did the right thing by contacting our grandparents.”

  Marcus nodded. “I hope you’re right.”

  Tiffany took another sip of her soda, smiled and said, “Just think, Marcus, if we actually pull this off, you’ll be the big brother I’ve always wanted.”

  Marcus grinned. “Yeah, and then I can give Rhonda Denton my full attention. I think she likes me.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  HE WANTED HER.

  That thought rammed through Chance’s mind the moment he saw Kylie enter the ballroom. His heart began hammering in his chest and he actuall
y felt his pulse rate spike drastically. And if that wasn’t bad enough, his body got hard as a rock.

  At that moment he was grateful he was standing behind a waist-high plant that could shield the physical evidence of just how much he desired her. That, coupled with the knowledge of how much he loved her, was setting his loins on fire.

  The minidress she was wearing was definitely a shocker he could sum up in three words—short, sassy and sexy. It fit her body to perfection, showing off all her curves and the luscious length of her long, shapely legs. And if the dress wasn’t jaw-droppingly seductive enough, then there was the way she had her hair piled atop her head with a few swirling braids crowning her face.

  “Who are they?” Morgan leaned over and whispered, while raising an impressive eyebrow. “I don’t know either of them,” he said as if it were his God-given right to be acquainted with every beautiful woman in Charlotte.

  Chance studied his brother’s face for a second and noted his gaze wasn’t as glued to Kylie as it was to Lena Spears. That was a good thing since it would have been of waste of Morgan’s time to show any interest in Kylie. When it came to her he could get downright territorial. “The one in the black dress is Kylie Hagan, and she’s mine,” he said, deciding to state his claim here and now. “The woman in the fuchsia dress is her best friend, Lena Spears.”

  “Spears? Where have I heard that name before?” Morgan asked.

  “I have no idea. She’s a part of the committee that put on tonight’s ball and owns a real estate office in town.”

  “A real estate office?”

  “Yes.”

  Morgan glanced over at Chance after taking a sip from his wineglass. “You know her, then?”

  “Yes.”

  Morgan’s dark eyes sparkled in the glow of the huge chandelier that hung over their heads. “Good. I want an introduction.” He then glanced back over at the two women. “So the one in black is Marcus’s girlfriend’s mother?”

  At Chance’s nod, he said, “Umm, definitely good-looking. But she doesn’t look old enough to have a fifteen-year-old daughter.”