She turned and looked out of the window. Couldn’t she just take his word about everything, tear up the divorce papers, and move on with her life?
Her mind flashed back to the doctor’s office, her diagnosis and how he stood by her. Was that something a cheater would do?
If you don’t trust him, what are you doing? Robin turned to Logan as he drove. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles ashened. What was he thinking? Was he feeling guilty?
“You okay over there?” he asked after a beat passed.
“I’m good. How are you? Holding that wheel kind of tight.”
“Feel like I’ve been driving for two days. The trip to Charleston never seemed that long when you were riding shotgun with me.” He shot a quick glance her way. “You and your NPR.”
“That was to stop you from singing.”
“Cold, so cold.”
“Boo, you can’t sing. You need to accept that.” Robin laughed and felt her defenses weaken.
“Do your sisters know where you are?”
Robin rolled her eyes. “I told them to mind their business, but Yolanda is really mad.”
“I saw that.” Logan slowed for a red light. “Robin, I know when we were on the beach earlier everything I said sounded like a million excuses. But you have to understand that you’re the most important thing to me in the world. I just worked so hard to become a doctor and now to be the . . . I don’t want to be a stereotype.”
“What do you mean?”
“The big black buck who can’t control his dick. I’ve been trying to be discreet about everything because I know how this turns out. The media and everyone will jump on the scandal but ignore the truth.”
“Logan.”
“I need you to know this,” he said as he turned into the parking lot of the hotel where he’d been staying. “I’m willing to do anything to save our marriage.”
“But how can I ask you to give up your career? I know how much being a doctor means to you.” What she didn’t say was she knew how many doctors got divorces because of having affairs with nurses. That was the stereotype he should’ve been worried about.
“I don’t think that I made it clear enough, but you are the most important thing to me and I don’t care what I have to do to prove it to you.”
She shivered. Everything he said made her want to believe in him and in their love. But in the back of her mind, she saw him kissing her. Holding her. Making love to her.
“Logan, I don’t know what to do.”
“Can you just trust me?”
“I want to. I really want to but this doesn’t make sense, Logan. It doesn’t make sense at all.”
He pulled the car into a spot in the parking lot, then shut the car off and turned to Robin. “I can’t put this together and I can’t make sense of it either. But the one thing you don’t ever have to question is how much I love you.”
“People make mistakes and still love the other person. If you did that, then just tell me. Maybe we can . . .”
“That’s not what happened and I don’t know what else I can do to prove to you that I didn’t sleep with that woman.”
Robin closed her eyes and sighed. “All right.”
Logan hopped out of the car and rounded the car and opened the door for Robin. He extended his hand to her and she grabbed it. That electricity, the excitement and passion that she’d always felt when he touched her, jolted her system. Her body hummed with need. Rising to her feet, she smiled at her husband.
“Robin, I need you. Tell me you feel the same.”
“I do,” she breathed.
Logan captured her quivering lips in a heated kiss. She pressed her body against his, feeling his arousal.
His tongue was sweeter than she remembered as the kiss deepened. Logan pulled back from her and ran his thumb across her full bottom lip. “We’d better take this inside.”
Robin nodded, unable to speak. He led her into the hotel room and closed the door. Robin looked around the room and tried not to judge, but it wasn’t anything like the rooms at her father’s place. Didn’t feel like home.
“Just stopped at the first place you saw, huh?” she quipped.
“It’s Christmas, there aren’t many vacancies, and I was pretty sure my regular spot wasn’t going to let me in when I arrived.”
“Did you drive all night to get here?”
He nodded. “Do you realize the hell my life has been without you for the last six months? Robin, I miss you more than you could ever know.”
She didn’t want to cry. The amount of tears she’d shed over the last six months probably accounted for 50 percent of the weight loss her sisters had noticed. So, she leaned in with a kiss. Hoping he knew she’d been in the same hell. It started off sweet, then Logan slipped his hand between her thighs and she was soaking wet.
“Robin, I want you so bad.”
“Take me.”
He lifted her into his arms and crossed over to the bed. Laying her against the pillows, Logan seemed to drink in her tantalizing image. Robin brought her fingers up to the buttons on her blouse. She unbuttoned the top three buttons before Logan took over and pushed the shirt from her shoulders.
“So beautiful,” he moaned.
“Love me,” Robin cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He brought his lips down on top of hers as he slipped his hand between her thighs. Robin was happy she’d worn a skirt when she felt his fingers touch her love-starved body.
Did he touch her like this? Robin opened her eyes and froze in place. Logan broke the kiss and looked down at her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I can’t do this,” she said as she pushed him off her. Robin sat up in the bed and exhaled. “Logan, I want to believe you but I keep seeing you with her. Thinking about the things that just don’t add up to me.”
“So, you’re not going to try? You’re going with the story that I cheated on you?”
“What would you do, Logan?”
He placed his hand on her bare shoulder. “Trust my wife.”
“It’s pretty clear that I won’t be bringing a baby home, Logan. But . . .”
“You think I did?”
She hopped off the bed and glared at him. “Until you prove that DNA test is false, what am I supposed to believe? Can you just take me back to my car? I can’t do this.”
“No—sure, because I don’t want you to be anywhere you don’t want to be.” He ran his hand across his face.
Robin wanted to explain what she was really feeling, but how many times did she have to explain her hurt? Her disbelief of this situation. That DNA test told her everything she didn’t want to believe.
Robin buttoned her shirt and headed for the door. “I wish it didn’t hurt to be with you. I can call an Uber.”
“No, I’m not going to let some stranger take you home. I’ll drop you off and leave.”
“Listen, I’m here for Nina and her wedding anyway. I need to focus on that. Let’s just figure this out when I get home.”
“Are you going to come home?” He closed the space between them and Robin struggled not to fall into his arms.
“Yes. I’ll come home and we can try to figure this out.”
Logan nodded. “Thank you.”
The ride back to the Charleston Harbor felt like a silent torture. Neither of them said a word. Logan didn’t even hum along to his favorite ballad on the radio. Robin stared out of the window, not wanting to look at Logan because she was afraid her eyes would reveal her tumult of emotions.
“Robin,” Logan said as he pulled into the café’s parking lot. “I’m sorry if I put a cloud over Nina’s wedding, but I wanted to . . . Know that I love you.”
Her emotions wedged in her throat and she nodded as she opened the door. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Logan’s eyes glistening with tears. Was he crying because he got caught or was he hurting as much as she was? Robin hopped out of the car and rushed over to her own.
*
* *
Robin sped back to the bed-and-breakfast, tears nearly blinding her as she drove. All she wanted was to wake up from this nightmare. She wanted to be able to make love to her husband and not think of another woman.
But she couldn’t. And that hurt.
Arriving at the bed-and-breakfast, Robin hoped that she’d be able to get to her room without running into her sisters and their questions. Her hopes were in vain. Robin ran into Alex before she could make it to her room.
“Slow down! Someone stopped by to see you.” The smile on Alex’s face was a bit unnerving.
“Not in the mood for company right now.”
“Oh, I think you’re going to want to see this person.” Alex linked arms with her sister and ignored Robin’s muted protest.
When they walked into the dining room, Robin’s knees went weak. “Terell Warren?” she exclaimed when she saw her old flame from high school. How many years had it been since she’d seen him? And it looked as if time had been kind to him. His coffee brown skin was just as smooth as it had ever been. He was bald now, but it looked as if it had been by choice. Then there were those piercing brown eyes.
“Robin Richardson. I knew you weren’t going to let your sister get married and you not be here.”
Robin shrugged as he crossed over to her and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re not a Richardson anymore. You broke my heart and got married.”
She pushed out of his embrace. “That wasn’t funny the last time I saw you and you said that. Still not funny.”
“No matter how many ex-wives I rack up, you will always be the one who got away.”
Robin shook her head and turned her back to him. This was a hot mess she didn’t need. “Home for the holidays?”
“Taking care of some business. My mother finally decided to leave Charleston and I’m going to make sure our house and other businesses are in order.”
“Still a math whiz, huh?” She nudged him and remembered Alex was in the room. “So, Alex, where did Yolanda and Nina go?”
“In the kitchen. Well, Yolanda is. Nina’s trying to figure out if it is bad luck to see Clinton before the wedding.”
“She has one day before the wedding, I don’t . . .” She stopped talking as if she knew Nina was trying to keep all the good luck she could after seeing what she and Logan were going through.
“Where’s your ball and chain, Robin?” Terell asked.
“Um, work.”
Alex coughed and Robin wanted to toss one of the mints from the table at her. Her sisters had better not be spreading her marital woes.
“I guess even at Christmas people are still going to get sick. He’s a doctor, right?”
“Yes.”
Yolanda walked into the room carrying a tray of eggnog. “Hey, hey. It wouldn’t be Christmas without my special take on eggnog.”
Robin dropped her head and laughed. “Why are you trying to get people drunk?”
Yolanda set the tray in the middle of the table and looked around the room. “Why are we all standing up? Sit down.”
“I guess that’s my sister’s way of saying we’re going to drink this stuff whether we like it or not,” Alex said as she sat down and took a mug from the tray. “Where’s your shadow?”
“Hopefully, he’s disappeared,” Yolanda mumbled as she grabbed her own mug and took a huge sip.
Terell laughed and sat down. “I see the only thing that has changed about you guys is that you’ve gotten prettier over the years. But y’all are still crazy.”
Alex rolled her eyes at him. “I’m going to let that slide for now because it’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”
He threw his hands up and laughed. “My bad, sis.” Terell grabbed his mug.
“You know,” Yolanda said as she drummed her fingers against the table, “I always thought you and Mr. T were going to end up together.”
“Here we go,” Alex said. “How many of these did you have before you came out here?”
Yolanda leaned back in her chair. “Leave me alone.”
“This is going to get ugly,” Robin said. “Want to go talk in the sitting room?”
Terell nodded and the two ducked out of the room as Alex and Yolanda began to argue.
“Those two are still oil and water, huh?” Terell said as he and Robin sat down with their drinks.
“Some things will never change.”
“Like you still being the prettiest girl in Charleston County.”
“I’m a grown woman, Rel. But thanks.”
He took a sip of his drink and nodded. “No offense, but sitting here feels like high school all over again. Do I need to look over my shoulder for your dad?”
“We’re not sneaking kisses, so I think you’re good, Mr. Wall Street.”
Terell laughed at the memory. “When he walked in that room and cleared his throat, I thought I was going to pee my pants.”
“Are you sure that you didn’t?”
He placed his hand on her knee and Robin recoiled. After all, she was a married woman and going down memory lane with her ex wasn’t right. But why did it feel so good?
“Sorry,” he said when he noticed her reaction. “You’re a married woman and I respect that. But I look at you and feel eighteen again.”
“Oh please. You wanted to get to New York so fast, you wouldn’t even consider Xavier University.”
“A big mistake on my part. That’s where you met him, right?”
Robin blinked, hoping that she wouldn’t burst into tears. “Yeah. Didn’t you meet one of your wives at NYU?”
Terell chuckled. “A dude from South Carolina wasn’t that popular in the big city. Until they learned I knew how to make money.”
“You make it sound like you were surrounded by gold diggers.”
“New York was different, but you learn how to adjust. And I did. Fell in love with the fast life and fast women.”
“Fast women? What is this, the nineteen fifties?”
“I’m a runner. Joined a group of Kenyans in the marathon my sophomore year. The best runners were the women.”
She gave him a deep side eye, then finished her drink. “I bet they were.”
Terell laughed. “You got me there. My first wife and I got married and realized that we loved running and stocks more than we loved each other. Good thing we found that out and finalized the divorce before I made my first million in the stock market.”
Robin pinched him on the arm. “You’re terrible.”
“Don’t worry, the second wife was able to get her fair share in the divorce.”
“How many times have you been married?” she asked.
“Twice. They say the third time is the charm, but I’m never taking that chance unless. . .”
“Never say never. You might luck up and find the right one before you can blink.”
Terell leaned into her. “She’s already taken.”
Before Robin could respond or back away, they heard Sheldon’s booming voice from the doorway.
“If it isn’t Terell Warren, still trying to steal kisses on my sofa.”
“No, sir, not at all,” Terell said as he rose to his feet to shake hands with Sheldon. Robin laughed and remembered why it had been so easy to get over Terell: The man was too afraid of her father. Respect was one thing, but this was ridiculous.
Robin was about to duck out of the room and grab some more eggnog when Terell touched her elbow. “It was good seeing you, Robin. I’m going to head out. Maybe I’ll see you around before the holidays are over.”
“It’s going to be pretty busy around here with Nina’s wedding and all. But we’ll see,” she said as she brushed past him and Sheldon.
Robin wasn’t surprised to see that Alex and Yolanda were still sitting in the dining room arguing about something. When they noticed her, Yolanda shot her a questioning look. “I thought you were flirting with Terell and on the verge of having a rebound affair?”
“This is one time I actually agr
ee with your foul-mouthed sister,” Alex quipped.
“Clearly hell has frozen over,” Robin said as she reached for another eggnog. “Have both of you forgotten that I’m married?”
Yolanda opened her mouth and Alex slapped her hand over it. “I don’t know what you were going to say, but don’t.”
Robin nodded her thanks as she sipped her drink.
“Now,” Alex continued. “You have filed for divorce, so there’s nothing wrong with lining up dates for when it’s final.”
“Please stop,” Robin said. “I don’t need either of you telling me how to live my life.”
“No one is trying to do that,” Yolanda said once Alex dropped her hand.
“What if I decide to fight for my marriage?”
Yolanda shook her head. “After what he did to you? What are you fighting for?”
Robin sighed and gave her sisters a thoughtful glance. “Logan said he didn’t sleep with her.”
“And you believe that?” Alex shook her head. “Robin, what do you expect him to say—to a lawyer?”
She slammed her mug on the table. “I swear, if Nina’s wedding wasn’t around the corner, I’d leave right now. I love Logan and I don’t expect either of you to understand. Just leave me the hell alone.”
Alex threw her hands up and walked out of the room. Yolanda started to follow Alex, but she felt a hand on her elbow. Turning around, she glared at her bodyguard, Charles Morris.
As much as Yolanda had been in her business, Robin noticed how her younger sisters were tight lipped about why Yolanda had a bodyguard. Robin hadn’t even been able to bribe Nina with cookies to get the tea. One thing she knew for sure, Yolanda didn’t like having him around. And that wasn’t a surprise to Robin. Here was a man who seemed immune to Yolanda’s charms. Maybe that’s why she was mad every time he walked in the same space she was in.
Sensing a brewing blowup, Robin took her mug and left the room. She’d made her decision about her marriage and her sisters would have to deal with it.
Heading to her room, Robin almost wanted to call Logan and invite him to Nina’s wedding, just to piss her sisters off. But that would only confuse everything. She and Logan needed to work things out without her sisters sticking their noses in her business. And she couldn’t just turn her heart off to Logan.
Won't Go Home Without You Page 5