Convince Me (Holton Series #1)

by B. L. Blair

  “She was so angry,” Andrew said with a laugh. “I thought Mitch was a goner. I am sure she will have thought of something incredible for this one.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Anna.

  “Victoria tends to do things in a big way.”

  “Unfortunately, her plans aren’t always completely thought out ahead of time,” Steven remarked with a smile. He loved his sister but she was a little crazy.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Nick said in his dry voice. “I have always thought she knows exactly what she is doing.”

  Steven found that remark a little odd. Nick really didn’t know Victoria all that well. When he and Julie married, Victoria had already been living in California for years but Nick often defended her and Steven never knew why.

  “She does,” Julie said confirming Nick’s remark, “that’s why everything is so much fun.”

  “She sounds wonderful,” Anna said quietly.

  Steven turned to smile at her. “She is wonderful. You will like her and I know she will like you.”

  He watched as her face flushed. He hadn’t meant to embarrass her but it had been a long time since he had made a woman blush. He enjoyed the feeling that his compliment could do that to her.

  Soon after that, Steven decided it was time to leave. Anna was looking tired. He could tell she hadn’t been sleeping well. There were dark circles under her eyes and some of her usual energy was missing. He wanted to know if the fear he had seen earlier had anything to do with her sleepless nights. It was time to find out.

  They drove silently through the deserted streets. Even on a Saturday, Holton shut down early. There would be some high school kids over by the one movie theater in town or at the all night diner near the highway but most of the other inhabitants were already safe at home.

  When they arrived at Anna’s apartment, she turned to thank him for the ride but Steven forestalled her. He quickly opened his door and rounded the car. She gave him a silent look but allowed him to escort her to the door.

  “Thanks for the ride, Steven, it was very nice of you,” she said politely, not opening her door.

  Steven struggled to control his grin. She was so obvious but he wasn’t letting her off the hook so easily. He hadn’t imagined the look she had given him at Julie’s. “Aren’t you going to invite me in for a cup of coffee?”

  “You had coffee at Julie’s,” she reminded him.

  “You promised me you would show me your apartment.”

  She gave him a slow measured look but to his relief she nodded once and then unlocked her door. Steven followed her in and looked around. It was a nice apartment but rather small. The living room contained a couch, one chair and a television stand. In one corner, Anna had a large plant stand that was full of an assortment of plants. From where he was standing, Steven could see the kitchen and a small dining table. There was another door to his right which he assumed lead to the bedroom.

  His body reacted to the thought of Anna lying in bed just a few feet from where he stood. He imagined her lying naked on top of the covers waiting for him. Her face flushed and eyes sparkling. Steven suddenly shifted and turned away from Anna so she wouldn’t see his obvious need for her. In an attempt to get his mind away from the bedroom, Steven continued looking around.

  Dominating the room were two large prints hanging over the couch. The first was a picture of a woman with a small child in her arms and another standing by her side. In the background, there was a rundown building and a withered field. They stared out from the canvas with sad, haunted eyes. The second print contained a group of women gathered around a kitchen talking and laughing. One woman was at the sink, another by the stove and the rest gathered around a table. There was laughter and joy in the picture. Steven was struck by the contrast between the two prints. He walked closer and saw that both were by the same artist.

  The artist was a little known but rising star. Steven had seen some of her work at a private exhibit in Dallas. Experts believed that it would not be long before her work would be known worldwide. The paintings of African American daily life were well done and starting to be in high demand.

  “I love Keshia Jackson,” Steven commented. “Her work is very moving.”

  “Yes, it is,” Anna replied. “My mother loved these two prints.”

  “Your mother was African American, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes.”

  “And your father?”

  There was a pause. Steven turned to see her watching him. She walked over to join him in front of the prints. She nodded at the pictures. “The two sides of a black woman’s life.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously. There was a stillness about Anna that disturbed him. She was trying to tell him something.

  “This one,” she said pointing to the first print. “It shows her sorrow. Her children aren’t privileged. They have a struggle before them and she knows they may not survive.”

  She walked around him to stand on the other side and pointed at the second print. “This shows her joy. The friendships she shares with other women and the love of her family life.”

  Steven knew he was missing some major point she was trying to make but he waited patiently. Anna continued. “My mother missed out on both.”

  “How?” he asked softly.

  “How do you feel about Nick?”

  Steven blinked at the sudden change in conversation and started to make a flippant remark but when he looked at her face he realized the conversation hadn’t changed at all. He still didn’t know what she was trying to say but he answered her honestly.

  “I love Nick. He is a good man. He treats Julie well and has been a good friend to me. Why?”

  “And the Moores? How do they feel about having a minority in the family?”

  All at once, everything fell into place. To give himself a moment to gather his thoughts, Steven walked over to the chair and sat down. He studied her a moment before answering.

  “They don’t think of him as a minority. To them, he is simply Nick.”

  She also sat down. She was seated as far away from him as possible. She wasn’t ready to trust him yet. Steven resisted the urge to go to her.

  “And the rest of the people in town? How do they feel about Julie being married to Nick?”

  “Anna, what is it?” he asked, tired of the game she was playing. “What is it you really want to know?”

  She looked away then and stared out the small window. Steven knew she wasn’t really looking at anything. It was too dark to see but it gave her something to focus on.

  “You asked about my father. No, he wasn’t African American. He was from a rich, white family and my mother a poor, black one. She was the help. You might say their marriage was doomed from the start.”

  Her eyes travelled around the room, looking everywhere except at him. Steven sat perfectly still knowing what she had to say was very important to their relationship. He hadn’t realized she had a problem with their race difference. He was angry with himself for not seeing it sooner.

  “My mother was beautiful,” she continued in a small voice. “And my father wanted her. Wanted her until she became pregnant, that is. Mayville is larger than Holton but word gets around. I’ve been told my grandfather was an honorable man. He forced his son to marry my mother. I believe he was trying to do the right thing but it would have been better if he had left things alone. I remember him vaguely. He died when I was five.”

  Anna paused and then rose from her chair to walk over to the window. Steven wanted to go to her, hold her close, and ease her pain but she had to do this on her own. If they had any future together, he needed to know what her fears were and why she had them.

  “That’s when the trouble started. My father inherited all my grandfather’s wealth without ever having to work for it. My mother didn’t fit in with his society friends and after my grandfather died, the rest of the family quit pretending to accept her. Things went from bad to worse. My mother’s family disowned her w
hen she married and she had no friends of her own. She was totally dependent on him and had no way of supporting herself and me. My father spent money quickly and without thought for the future. When he died, we had nothing. One small insurance policy, which barely covered the bills.”

  “Anna, what does this have to do with Nick?” Steven knew she had left out a great deal of the story but he needed to know what she was trying to tell him.

  She turned to look at him. “Holton is as WASP a town as I have ever seen. Even more than Mayville. Do you know other than Jake Carr I haven’t met another black person? And he doesn’t even live here.”

  “Nick seems to fit in so well and I have heard nothing but good things about him. Is Holton really so different?”

  “People are people, Anna. There are people in Holton that are prejudice. Just like there are people in Mayville that are prejudice. Or Dallas. Or New York. It doesn’t matter where you go. You just have to look beyond them. They don’t matter.”

  “Are you sure, Steve?”

  He rose from his chair and walked toward her. It was the first time she had called him Steve and not Steven. He saw it as a sign. He reached out to hold her arms. Looking into her eyes, he answered with utter conviction, “Very sure.”

  She sighed softly and rested her head on his chest. He gathered her close and held her to him. Stroking her hair, he asked, “Is this why you have been keeping me at arm’s length?”

  She jumped out of his arms and Steven shook his head. She still wasn’t ready. He had pushed too hard again.

  Her eyes blazing she said, “I haven’t been doing anything of the sort. I don’t know where you get these crazy ideas.”

  “Okay, if that is true then you should have no problem having dinner with me tomorrow night in Dallas.”

  She looked momentarily confused and Steven took advantage of the situation. He walked quickly over to her and kissed her lightly on the forehead before turning and walking to the door.

  “You should get some rest, Anna. I’ll pick you tomorrow around six. Don’t forget to lock the door behind me. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

  Steven closed the door behind him and ran lightly down the stairs. He felt better than he had all week. Anna had finally opened up to him she was beginning to trust him. He just had to be patient.

  Smiling, Steven drove home, planning a romantic evening in his mind. Flowers, candlelight, the works. Suddenly the smile turned into a grin. Victoria, he thought. She would know how to make the evening perfect. He would call her when he got home. It was still early enough with the time difference. Anna would have a night she would never forget.

  Overcoming her fears wouldn’t be easy but now that he knew what they were, Steven could plan his strategy. With any luck, in a few weeks, he and Victoria would be planning more than a romantic evening. They would be planning a wedding.

  Chapter 5

  The bright sunlight of late morning crept across the bedroom to shine on Anna’s face. She slowly opened her eyes before quickly raising a hand to cover them. Groaning she rolled over, burying her face in the pillows. The movement drew a protest from Sophie who was curled up at the foot of the bed. The cat stretched and then jumped to the floor. Anna looked at her, peering out from the bed covers with one eye. Disgusted, she flung back the covers and sat up.

  “I hate that you are so energetic first thing in the morning,” she said to the cat. “It’s simply not fair.”

  Once again, she had not slept well. The evening before had taken its toll and she had been up half the night worrying about Steven. She had revealed a great deal about her life and her feelings. Anna was a very private person and did not usually talk about her past. She wondered if she had left herself open to pain. Her views did not seem to bother Steven and he certainly had no issue with her race.

  Her biggest worry though was the discovery that she was in love with him. Once she was alone, Anna had tried to analyze her feelings. She still found it hard to believe. She barely knew the man and had spent most of her life avoiding love. She still wasn’t sure how it happened.

  Rising from the bed, Anna walked to the bathroom to wash her face. She looked in the mirror and saw a stranger looking back at her. Who was this woman with those sad, confused eyes? She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them she saw her mother looking back at her.

  “No!” Anna said sharply. “I won’t allow that to happen. I won’t fall into the same trap.”

  She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth before heading into the kitchen. After feeding Sophie, she made some coffee and sat at the table thinking about Steven.

  Could she really be in love with the man after just a handful of meetings? Anna recalled her mother telling her about the first time she met Anna’s father.

  “I knew in an instant,” her mother had said. “I knew that he was the only man for me.”

  “How can you say that, Mama?” Anna had demanded. “After the way he treated you?”

  Her mother had looked at her with sad, gentle eyes. “Love can’t be explained and doesn’t change just because it is not returned. Some day you will understand.”

  Well, she understood now but she also knew that she wouldn’t allow the same ending to happen to her. She knew Steven wasn’t her father. It was wrong to paint him with the same brush so she would go slowly. She would try to get to know him better and maybe they could build a relationship she could handle.

  The phone rang, shattering her thoughts. Anna rose from the table to answer it and a smile lit her face when she heard Steven’s voice. A feeling of warmth and pleasure invaded her and for the first time in months Anna felt truly happy.

  “I wanted to call and let you know where we would be eating tonight. I made reservations at the restaurant in Reunion Tower. Only we will need to leave a little earlier. Can you be ready at five-thirty?”

  Anna leaned against the wall. Reunion Tower was one of the most recognizable landmarks in Dallas. The restaurant in the sphere had been opened by celebrity chef and the building itself was one of the tallest in Dallas.

  “Reunion Tower? That place is pretty expensive, isn’t Steve?”

  There was a pause at the other end of the line. Anna wondered what he was thinking and waited somewhat impatiently for his answer.

  “Does it matter?” he asked.

  Anna wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Did it matter? She wasn’t sure.

  “Anna?” Steven prompted. “Look, tonight is on me. Don’t worry about the cost.”

  The anger came so quickly, Anna had to clamp her mouth shut. She had spent most of her adult life trying to achieve financial independence. She wasn’t about to let any man take that away from her. Her father had used money as a tool to keep her mother in line and Anna wasn’t ever going to be in that situation.

  “I can pay my own way, Steven,” she said in a controlled voice barely hiding her anger. “Don’t ever think otherwise.”

  The pause was longer this time. Anna took a deep breath and unclenched her fist. Just a few minutes before, she had decided not to compare Steven to her father but she did it again just now. She opened her mouth to apologize but he answered first.

  “Okay, I won’t. If you don’t want to eat at Reunion Tower, just say so.”

  “No, that’s fine,” Anna said sharply.

  “Fine,” Steven retorted. “Is five-thirty alright?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine,” he said again before abruptly ending the call.

  Anna rested her head against the wall and sighed. She had blown that one. Now, Steven was angry and Anna couldn’t really blame him. She had been acting childish but he reminded her so much of her father. Her father had not worried about money. He made decisions without consulting anyone and wanted to control every situation.

  Walking across the kitchen to rinse her cup at the sink, Anna realized she owed Steven an apology. His call had been designed to help her. By telling her where they were dining, Steven had been giving her the informatio
n she needed to plan her wardrobe. Anna shook her head as she walked back to the bedroom. She had to get her emotions under control.

  She spent the afternoon rearranging her apartment and organizing her closets. Although she had finally unpacked everything, she wasn’t happy with the location of the furniture. By the time she was finished, Anna had worked out all the tension. She was even looking forward to her evening with Steven.

  After a long, leisurely bath, Anna carefully fixed her hair and makeup. She wore one of her favorite dresses. It was navy blue and closely fitted her figure enhancing her tiny waist. The color flattered her complexion and after fastening her mother’s pearls, Anna stepped back from the mirror knowing she looked her best.

  Anna grabbed a light coat from the closet and wandered into the living room. Glancing at the clock, she realized she was ready twenty minutes early. She sat on the couch and tried to read a magazine. Unable to concentrate, she rose and began pacing the floor. When she noticed what she was doing, Anna began to laugh. She was nervous and it surprised her. It had been a long time since she had been nervous before a date.

  Walking over to the small window and looking out, Anna smiled. She hadn’t dated in a long time either but since moving to Holton she had two dates in less than two weeks. Her mother had been sick for a long time before she died and Anna hadn’t wanted to leave her alone. After she died, Anna had been so wrapped up in her grief and then her move to Holton that she hadn’t had time for men. Maybe Steven had done her a favor after all. He had snapped her out of her rut.

  The doorbell rang and startled her. She looked at the clock. It was five-thirty on the dot. Anna took a deep breath and wiped her hands on a towel before opening the door.

  Steven filled the doorway and silently gazed at her. In his arms was a bouquet of flowers and he was dressed in a dark suit and another flamboyant tie. His eyes traveled from her head down to her toes and back again. When his gaze returned to hers, he gave her his slow, gentle smile. Anna felt the response deep inside her and her body tingled. Her nervousness slipped away as she opened the door wider and he stepped in.