“I think your dog is missing a few marbles,” Ariel noted, shaking her head.
“I don’t think—I know.” Leigh laughed. “But she’s funny—and she’s good company.”
Ariel cut a long look over at her friend.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Ariel said, shaking her head.
Leigh cocked her head. “So you just like staring a hole in my head for the hell of it?”
“I’m just…you know what? Never mind. It’s none of my business.”
“That’s never stopped you before—or are you turning over a new leaf eight months after New Year’s?”
“Nah. It’s just that I recognize that I’ve given you bad advice before…and I probably lack credibility on this issue.”
“Again—that’s never stopped you before.”
“Ha. Ha.” For a few seconds her gaze fell back to trying to figure out what the hell her dog was doing. Neither one of them had a clue. But eventually, Ariel went back to glancing over at Leigh out of the corner of her eye.
“Damn, girl. Will you just spit it out?”
“All right. But you have me on record saying that I know that sometimes my advice has been a little suspect.”
“Duly noted.” Leigh combed her fingers through her hair.
“All right. Here goes.” Ariel stopped walking and turned to her friend. “Are you crazy?”
“That is what has been bugging you?”
“I think it’s a question that deserves an answer, especially in the cold way that you turned that man down yesterday. Hell, I was struggling to keep it together. I don’t know what you did to that man or all that went down between you two that night, but, honey, it has definitely left a mark on that man.”
“You just like him because he’s rich and probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash if you ordered extra cheese for your taco.”
“Nooo…well, that is still an added plus. But it has more to do with how he looked at you.”
“You mean when the steam was rising out of his ears?”
“No, before that.”
Leigh dropped her eyes.
Ariel smirked and shook her head. “Yeah, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re just trying to play crazy.”
“No. It’s not that. It’s…”
“What?” Ariel pressed, but Leigh didn’t immediately answer. She started shaking her head. “You know, I’ve always talked to you about how hard it is to get a decent date or how hard it is to find a man to act even half-right. But before yesterday, I’d never seen a man look at a woman the way Jeremy looked at you when he came out of that office—and it had nothing to do with just a physical attraction. That man is feeling you on a deeper level, girl. And I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t jealous. I was—extremely jealous.”
Leigh’s gaze found its way back to her friend, but her eyes were trying to hold back as much water as the ocean they stood next to.
“At the end of the day, Leigh, I want you to get more than just your fair share of cheese on a taco. I want us both to find men who look at us—and truly see and love us in a way that Jeremy desperately wants to do with you.”
A tear escaped through her lashes and had even made it halfway down her face before Leigh swiped it away. “What if I’m just scared?”
“Of?”
“Of being hurt—of being cheated on—of giving my all and then getting nothing but lies in return. It’s all too much.”
“None of us likes to lose at love because, you’re right, it hurts like hell. But if you fall down and stay down, soon you’ll forget how to get up. I don’t want you to stay down. I’m not going to stay down—especially now that I know what love truly looks like.”
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Dolly continued arguing with the ocean.
Ariel cocked her head while she stared at her friend. “At least think about giving him a chance? Please?”
“Okay.” Leigh nodded. “I’ll think it over.”
Jeremy shielded his eyes as he stared down the beach. Two women caught his eyes, including the small dog, racing in and out of the water about a hundred yards out. One was pregnant but still rocked a black bikini under a sheer poncho. Is that…? He squinted harder but nearly fell off his deck.
He could always go check them out. But given Leigh’s behavior toward him, he hesitated. Maybe it was just time to give up—just concentrate on hammering out a custody agreement with their child and call it a day.
All of Roy’s suggestions that sounded like begging and pleading weren’t going to work for him. He lowered his hands and inhaled a deep breath. She wanted him to leave her alone.
So he was going to do just that.
Chapter 31
Leigh rose with the sun, but she was far from being cheerful. In fact, if she was being honest with herself she was downright depressed. Her memories of splashing around in the moonlight had been replaced with images of Jeremy’s angry face and hurt reaction two days before. She had promised Ariel that she’d think more about taking a chance with Jeremy.
Once upon a time, she thought she knew what she wanted and how to get it. But once she put her plan in motion, she discovered that there were several potholes in the road.
Dolly started barking the moment her foot hit the floor. “C’mon, girl. Let’s get you something to eat.”
Today she was going to sit out on the deck and actually get started writing again. After a four-month self-imposed hiatus she thought her brain would be teeming with ideas. However, after an hour, she still stared at a blank page on her laptop.
“Maybe we should just take a walk along the beach?” she said, glancing down at the dog. But Dolly had long ago stopped paying attention to her and had gotten down to the business of chasing her tail. It was an adorable sight and it put a smile on her face, as she absently rubbed her belly.
Boy or girl?
She really didn’t care. Her mother was right. As long as it had ten fingers and ten toes, she’d be happy. But before she knew it she found herself daydreaming about all the various traits her child might inherit. Would she have Jeremy’s intense dark eyes? How about his adorable dimples? Would she be tall like him? She wondered what rich complexion her child would inherit. Would it be his milk-chocolate skin color? Or her cinnamon brown? Or somewhere in between? By the time she had finished painting a picture in her mind, she was smiling so hard her face hurt.
“I can’t wait to meet you—and teach you so many things.” Jeremy’s image surfaced. “I also can’t wait for you to meet your father. I think you’re going to like him,” she said. “I know it’s odd for me to be making such predictions, but I have a feeling that your father is going to adore you. Spoil you. Don’t ask me how I know these things, I just do.”
He would do those things for you, as well, the voice in the back of her head insisted.
Her eyes swam in a vat of tears because just as she was sure of Jeremy King being an excellent father, she was sure that he could be so much more than that.
So why are you pushing him away?
“Because I’m scared,” she answered herself, and then opened her eyes as the morning breeze swept her tears away.
Jeremy decided that it would be best for him to get to know his new beachfront community. Sure, he knew the beach well, but Malibu also had a host of treasures tucked along the Pacific Coast Highway. One place he’d heard of many times was an Italian restaurant called Giovanni.
He doubted that the place would be as good as his brother’s place in Vegas, but he’d give it a shot. The moment he walked into the place, he knew that he’d found the restaurant where he’d be eating a lot of lunches and dinners. Today he chose to eat outside where he could look out onto the beautiful scenic view of the deep blue ocean and an even bluer sky.
Leigh had cravings.
And since she’d been staying at her girlfriend’s summer place this past week, she’d been craving Italian food nearly every day. Giovanni was such a short drive from the h
ouse that she usually didn’t bother grabbing Dolly when she made her way to the famous restaurant.
“Ah, Ms. Matthews,” the hostess greeted, smiling the moment she walked through the door.
A warm flush burned Leigh’s cheeks. She hoped that the staff wasn’t beginning to think of her as a little piggy. Four months pregnant was a little soon to be saying that she was eating for two.
“Would you like to be seated or will you be ordering take-out again?”
“It’ll be…” Leigh’s gaze swept over the room, and suddenly spied the large figure sitting and watching the waves on the back deck. Her pulse quickened and that flush had now blanketed her body.
“Ms. Matthews?”
“Actually, I, uh—see my party out on the deck,” she informed the hostess.
“Oh, okay.” The woman brightened. “Enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks.” Leigh swallowed hard and put one foot in front of the other. Despite her entire body doing the whole quivering-and-tingling thing, she was slowly transforming into that daring and determined woman she was on the first night she laid eyes on Jeremy King.
When she stepped out onto the deck and approached the bar, it was just sheer luck that the gentleman that was sitting next to Jeremy paid his tab and strolled off. For a few seconds, she lingered back and asked herself one last time if she truly wanted to do this.
Yes!
The answer came back so fast and forcefully that her lips curled up into a smile as she approached.
Please let him look at me the same way.
“Is anyone sitting here?”
Jeremy glanced to his side. “No.” And then over his shoulder, “It’s all yo…” He blinked.
“Thanks,” she said, ignoring his shock and making herself comfortable. “Bartender, I’ll just have some club soda. Thanks.”
Jeremy slowly pulled out of his shock. “What are you doing here?” His gaze raced up and down her body.
Leigh looked over at him and hoped that she wouldn’t be ensnared in his eyes. “Actually…” She leaned toward him and hoped that he would get what she was doing. “I’m here on a blind date.”
His brows leaped to his hairline. “Is that right?”
“I know. I know. They can turn into some real horror stories. But I have a good feeling about this one.”
Jeremy started to respond, paused and then turned his entire body toward her. Finally, that glowing warmth returned to his eyes and he looked at her the way a man does when he loves a woman. “You know, it’s kind of funny that you say you’re on a blind date.”
Leigh smiled. “Oh? Why?”
“I happen to be on a blind date myself.”
Her eyes lit up as she thrust out her hand. “You don’t say? Well, I’m Leigh Matthews, and you are…?”
Jeremy’s sexy lips exploded with a smile. “Well, Ms. Matthews, you happen to be looking at your date. The name is Jeremy King. I’m pleased to meet you…”
Then There Was One
Chapter 32
“So she got her new beginning?” Dr. Turner said, smiling.
Quentin nodded. “Yep. Jeremy said that they talked for hours at that restaurant until the employees had to tell him that it was time to lock the doors. Then they went for a long walk on the beach, where they talked until the sun came up. They both said that it all passed by in the blink of an eye. But I think that the best part was when he finally walked her back to her friend’s house and tried to put the moves on her, and she told him that she didn’t sleep with guys on the first date.”
Dr. Turner laughed.
“Oh, you like that joke. Well, believe it or not, Jeremy still managed to get her in front of the preacher before his son arrived. It seemed like as soon as Leigh gave herself permission to take the risk, she was like a daredevil. Hell, she’s knocked up again now.”
Dr. Turner smiled, and then shook her head. “I still find it fascinating that you possess such wisdom and keen insight when comes to other people’s love lives. But when it comes to your own, you’re willing to put blinders on. It’s all so fascinating.”
“Oh, I see my problems just fine. It’s just that I don’t know what the hell to do with them.”
“So you ignore them and hope that they go away?”
“Well, it worked for a while. I just didn’t know that eventually I’d crack up,” he joked.
Dr. Turner braided her fingers together.
“Oh, how fast the worm has turned,” Q said, shaking his head.
“So how do you feel now that your little boys’ club is no more?”
Quentin sucked in a deep breath before he gave her an honest answer. “Disappointed, but what are you going to do?”
“That was going to be my next question. What are you going to do? You’re the sole owner of three successful gentlemen’s clubs. That’s got to keep you pretty busy.”
“It does.” He nodded. “That’s the one good thing about it. I’m constantly flying around.”
“And how often do you get home?”
“Which home?”
“Your real home,” she said. “Where your mom and dad live, where your brothers live? Don’t you miss them at all?”
“Of course I do. But you’re not asking the right question.”
“Which is?”
“Do they miss me?” He met and held her gaze. “I have a phone just like they do. Planes fly to where I live just as they fly to where they are. Frankly, I think they’re all happy to be rid of me.”
“Oh, I doubt that.”
“Why?”
“Unless you’re about to tell me that you’re on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for some heinous crime, what would make them feel that way?”
“Well, I’m no angel. I can tell you that.”
“There are some things, Quentin, I don’t need to be told.”
“Sassy.” He grinned. “I like sassy women.”
“You like women period,” Dr. Turner amended.
“There is that.”
Dr. Turner grinned. “I have to tell you that I really like your cousins. Each of their stories was different and they certainly married different women. Do you think there’s a chance that there’s a woman out there for you?”
“Oh, there are plenty of women out there that I enjoy. Some—a few times a week.”
“How do you think you’re ever going to find or understand love if you’re too busy running away from it?”
“Maybe I like to play hard to get?”
“Or maybe you don’t have any idea how to have a real, intimate relationship? Maybe your fascination with not just your cousin, but your brothers as well, is that you envy their ability to take their masks off and be vulnerable.”
“A real intimate relationship? Where’d you get that? Out of a textbook?”
“How about you try to answer the question?”
“Of course I know how to have an intimate relationship. I have them all the time.”
“There you go again. How come all roads lead to sex with you?”
“I never had any complaints.”
“Do you stick around long enough to hear them?”
He rolled his head away in a huff. “I do believe my time is up.” He pushed himself up onto his feet.
Dr. Turner shook her head as she climbed to her feet. “You always leave just when things are getting interesting.”
“Is that your professional way of saying that you’ll miss me?”
A smile eased back across her lips. “Have a good day, Mr. Hinton.”
“Good day.”
They performed their usual ritual as she walked him to the door. “Next time, I expect us to talk about your relationships,” she told him. “All of them—girlfriends, crushes, hook-ups and even your short trip down the aisle.”
“Are you sure about that? I have stories that will…”
Julianne Turner pressed a silencing finger to his lips. “Don’t.”
Quentin smiled behind her finger. “Scaredy-cat.”
/> They shook hands as her next client stood up in the waiting room. Nice hands. “Tell Reggie I said to watch his back.” He winked and then watched a burst of color paint her cheeks.
Walking out of the Peachtree Towers, Q actually had an extra pep in his step. He smiled at all the ladies and snuck in a couple of double takes at their passing rear views. As he approached his black Mercedes, he slid on his favorite sunglasses. Once he was behind the wheel, he felt the urge to call Sterling. This time, he waited until the urge passed and started the car.
A few minutes later, he was whipping through the streets of Atlanta, rather enjoying having his car back all to himself. No ghosts, spirits or mirages of his sister-in-law. “I can’t believe it. She’s gone.” Shaking his head and laughing, he reached to turn on the radio. He couldn’t have pulled his gaze from the road more than two seconds, but when he glanced back up, he was speeding straight toward a woman, screaming in the middle of the road in what looked like…a wedding dress?
Quentin closed his eyes and slammed both of his feet on the brakes. He could feel the back of his car fishtail and even smell the burning rubber. Then all at once, everything stopped.
Since he could clearly hear his heart hammering in his chest, he felt safe to conclude that he wasn’t dead.
“ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!”
Quentin’s head whipped around just as the woman ripped off the billowing veil swirling around her face, and recognition slammed into them.
“YOU!”
KING’S PLEASURE
ISBN: 978-1-4592-8171-4
Copyright © 2011 by Adrianne Byrd
All rights reserved. The reproduction, transmission or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without written permission. For permission please contact Kimani Press, Editorial Office, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
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