Love Me Forever

by Serenity King

  “Nothing really,” Langston said, taking a seat.

  “What’s in there?”

  Jarred watched as Langston looked down at the file in his hand as if he’d forgotten he was holding it. Jarred didn’t know how that could be. The file looked to be the size of a small baby. Baby. Jarred’s stomach clenched.

  “Oh.” Langston frowned down at his package. “These are some of the documents recovered from the computer. I was reading over them.”

  “Anything interesting? I mean, apart from the obvious?”

  “Not so far. I’m meeting with that SEC lady next week. I want to make sure I don’t give her something to hang us with,” Langston said in a nonchalant manner.

  “I thought Emerson was handling that?” Jarred inquired, lifting an eyebrow.

  “The only day she can meet is on a day that Emerson has a school trip with Jessica. So I agreed to go in his stead.” Langston shrugged.

  Jarred’s face lit up in a smile at the mention of Emerson’s ten-year-old daughter, who had taken to calling him and his brothers “uncle.” His smile widened at the thought of Jessica having a little cousin to fuss over.

  “What are you smiling about?” Langston asked, cutting into Jarred’s thoughts.

  “Little Jessica,” he responded, not offering up any other information on where his thoughts had gone. As usual, to Nevea.

  “Little Jessica is not so little anymore,” Langston said drily. “She had the nerve to tell me that her friends think I’m a ‘hottie,’ and then offered to fix me up with one of their mothers.”

  Jarred laughed heartily. “When was this?” he asked around peals of laughter.

  “I took her to dinner last week. We haven’t been seeing much of her lately.”

  “That was nice of you. I have to get over there to see her, too, after I get this thing with Nevea straightened out,” he murmured. Hopefully, it would be soon. He was tired of the lonely feeling in the pit of his gut. He wanted his woman back.

  Jarred hadn’t realized that he’d gone silent on Langston until he heard his brother asking, “Have you heard from her?”

  “Yes. I speak to her every day for about ten minutes at a time,” he responded with a heavy sigh. Saying it out loud caused him even more despair.

  “Once a day?” Langston inquired.

  “No, once in the morning and then at night. Sometimes,” he added. Annoyed, Jarred, rocked back in his chair and threw the pen he was holding down on his desk. “May as well be once a day. What the hell is ten minutes? I don’t understand why she’s being so unreasonable,” he muttered.

  “Have you done anything, other than whine, to make her want to talk to you more often?”

  “What do you mean?” He scowled.

  “Just what I said. Do you do anything to make her want to be with you?” Langston stressed.

  “Yes, I do. I call her. I text her three times a day to make sure she’s eating properly. What else am I supposed to do?” he asked, throwing up his hands in frustration.

  “Step up your game, bro.” Langston laughed quietly.

  Jarred glared at him. “I am so happy that my situation is amusing you.”

  “Not the situation. You. You’re amusing me. I mean, you’re running a multimillion-dollar corporation. You head department meetings, as well as board meetings, like a champ, and this business with Dad and Tempest. Even though it’s frustrating, you’re still handling it like a pro. And don’t think that Brice and I don’t know you come back to this office to work even after you’ve supposedly gone home. Yet you’re sitting here sulking like you don’t know how to get your woman back. A woman, I might add, who is pregnant with your child,” Langston said, leaning forward for emphasis. “Man, you’ve had to deal with corporate mergers that were ten times harder than this situation.”

  Jarred had no idea his brothers knew that he often came back to the office to get work done. Sometimes until two o’clock in the morning. What they didn’t know was that he’d started doing that to occupy his thoughts and time after Lainey had called off the wedding. But as time went on, it was just something he thought he had to do to keep things running smoothly with the company. Especially after they’d started acquiring more businesses. Just when he’d started to relax, go home at a decent hour and on occasion enjoy the company of a woman, his father had announced his retirement. As good as that was for his parents, with it came a new set of responsibilities for Jarred, as well as his brothers.

  “You and Brice have spent just as much time here,” he said quietly, in his own defense.

  “No, we haven’t. As for Brice, this is the longest he’s been around in a long time. We didn’t even know that he and Nev were friends, let alone that he has a stake in her business. Face it, our brother cannot stay in any one place for an extended length of time. He has too much of a wanderlust spirit.”

  “Where is Brice, anyway?” Jarred asked. “I haven’t seen his annoying self all week.”

  “He’s been visiting the other branches.”

  “Why? Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”

  “No. According to Brice, he just wants to stay on top of things. I’m not aware of any issues, and if Brice is, he hasn’t transmitted those concerns to me. Anyway, I’m out of here. I have a lot of paperwork to get through,” Langston said, holding up the file in his hand.

  “Keep me apprised of what’s going on with that,” Jarred said. “I would like to hear what this lady has to say about the information. I’m still thinking about just dumping Tempest.”

  “Your move. I’m with whatever you’re comfortable with. You’ll have to call a board meeting. Since dad is still the majority shareholder he has to be there, too.”

  “I know, Langston. Dad is the one who brought this mess to our door, anyway. I don’t think he’ll have a problem with it. I’ll make him aware of everything before the meeting just in case. Speaking of our father, have you spoken to Mom?”

  “I did. I called her on Mother’s Day and I spoke with her on Saturday. She’s still trying to figure out if Nev’s pregnant,” Langston said.

  “I know. I haven’t confirmed or denied the assumptions. I told Dad that Nevea could be pregnant and he ran with it. However, Nevea asked me not to say anything and I agreed, even though you all know, anyway. I spoke to Mom on Mother’s Day, too. She wanted to know if I would be getting my young lady a card.” Jarred snickered, and Langston burst out laughing.

  “What did you say?”

  “I told her if she wanted to be nosy she couldn’t do it from Texas.”

  “Oh, I know she let you have it with that smart comment.”

  “Yep, she informed me that sons who love their mother would come to visit said mother,” Jarred said drily.

  “Ouch.” Langston frowned.

  “Who told them to retire all the way to Texas?”

  “They aren’t even old. They’re only sixty-one and sixty,” Langston said with a shrug.

  “True. And most people retire to stop working. Dad retired to work harder.”

  “Now, that I still don’t understand,” Langston said with a shake of his head. He hefted the substantial file and made his way to the door. “I’ll talk to you later. And Jarred?” he called over his shoulder.

  Jarred lifted a questioning brow.

  “Go get your woman. Remember there are two sides to her. You’ve been catering to the analytical part, but don’t forget she owns Heavens and sings there. Speak to that side,” Langston said, and walked out the door.

  Jarred pondered that advice. His brother was dead right. Nevea had two distinct sides—the pragmatic, braniac techy and the creative, feminine, sensual side. Somehow Jarred needed to find a good balance between the two.

  He sat there, thinking. Some time later—he had no idea how long—he knew
just what he needed to do. Now the job was figuring out how to do it.

  A slow smile crept across his lips. “I have the perfect solution,” he said, and picked up his phone.

  Chapter 21

  Nevealise was sitting on the sunporch looking out on Cedric’s backyard. Her mother was there fussing over her. It was the Memorial Day weekend and the only sound that broke the silence was the drone of lawnmowers and leaf blowers from the local yards.

  She never could get used to the quiet in Cedric’s neighborhood. No kids. No teenagers. Just the sound of car doors opening and closing in the morning and evenings when neighbors were going to work and then coming home. But nothing else. Not even a dog barking. Now that was creepy.

  “You know, I’m glad Cedric’s moving.” Her mother’s voice interrupted her musings.

  Nevealise turned and smiled at her. “Why?”

  “It’s boring here,” her mother huffed.

  “You’ve only been here a few times, Mommy.”

  “You only have to go somewhere once to know if it’s boring. I’ve been here more than a few times, dear. Still, this place as beautiful as it is, gives me the heebie-jeebies. Where are the children, dogs, a milk truck, something?” She looked so disgusted that Nevealise didn’t have a choice but to laugh.

  “A milk truck, Mommy? Really?”

  “You know what I mean. This place reminds me of that movie—uh, you know, with those women... I think they were wives or something. Oh, why can’t I remember the name of that movie?” She tsked.

  “I don’t know, Mommy. I don’t watch much television. Sorry.”

  Her mother seemed to abandon her hunt for the movie title. Instead, she focused on her daughter, searching Nevealise’s face. “How are you feeling, dear?”

  “Better. I have the occasional bout of sickness. Nothing like it was before, though.” Nevealise shivered.

  “It gets better,” her mother said, patting her on the knee. Just then the shrill sound of the doorbell rang through the house.

  “You see? You see? That’s not normal,” her mother said, shaking her head in disgust, while at the same time getting up. “The loudest sound on the block should not be your doorbell. Strange.”

  Nevealise was laughing hard at her mother’s antics. It was good to see Clara Tempest animated again, looking for fun, ready to enjoy life. Her mother actually seemed happy of late. Nevealise didn’t know what was going on with her, but it was a welcome change. Not that her mother had ever been a bad person. Unhappy would be a better word. To see her joking around now was good.

  Funny how life was. Instead of her mother seeming to be miserable, now the shoe was on the other foot. Not quite for the same reason, however. Whereas Josiah Tempest had made her mother feel like a maid, Jarred had never done that to Nevealise. In fact, he went out of his way to make sure she was taken care of and fed.

  “Ooh, someone has an admirer,” her mother declared. Nevealise turned her head to see her standing on the porch holding a long white box with a red ribbon with a neatly knotted bow wrapped around it.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, dear. Your name is on the box,” she said, and set it on her lap.

  “For me? Who would send me a present?” she whispered, untying the bow.

  “Read the card first!” her mother cried.

  “Mommy, you’re more excited than I am,” Nevealise said, picking up the tiny envelope. Just Because the card read and scrawled at the bottom was Yours, J.

  “Well, who sent them?”

  “They’re from Jarred,” she whispered, lifting the lid off the box. It was filled to the brim with long-stemmed red roses. Nevealise took one out, put it to her nose and inhaled its fragrance.

  “Those are beautiful. And he sent a whole box of them, too.” Clara Tempest looked closer. “There must be a few dozen roses in there.”

  “Yes, there are,” she said softly.

  “Mmm-hmm...that young man is serious. Why are we upset with him again?”

  “Mommy, you know why,” Nevealise murmured.

  “Refresh my memory. You know I’m getting older, and if I’m going to be angry at this young man I have to remember why,” her mother said, and sat down in the lounge chair next to hers. “Tell me again.”

  “Well...because—because...” Nevealise huffed.

  “I thought so,” her mother remarked slyly. She stood up again. “I’ll make you some refreshments, and then I have to get going. I don’t like to leave your father for too long.”

  “You don’t have to fix anything, Mommy. I can order some takeout.”

  “I know. I’m just going to prepare a few finger foods. You can eat as much or as little as you want without feeling guilty.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Mommy.”

  “No problem.” She stepped away, then turned back around. “I tell you, if I got a bunch of pretty flowers like that from a man, I sure would call and thank him. Yes, indeed. I may get some more then. They sure are pretty,” her mother said, and started to leave the porch.

  “I guess that’s your way of telling me to call him,” Nevealise called after her.

  “No-o-o. You know I’m not one to meddle in my children’s affairs. Not at all. But if it were me... Never mind.” Her mother waved away what she was about to say, then stepped into the house.

  But Nevealise got the message. Loud and clear.

  She bit down on her bottom lip. Her mother was right. She did need to call Jarred to thank him for the beautiful roses. She’d missed his nightly calls. He had recently stopped phoning and started texting her instead. Text messages that contained funny and heart-shaped emojis.

  She looked at the clock. It was only two in the afternoon. Even though it was a holiday weekend, she knew Jarred would be in the office. Should she call him there? Or maybe she should wait until he got home.

  She wrestled with the decision for a full twenty minutes before picking up the phone and dialing.

  “Nevea, what’s wrong?” He sounded panicky.

  “No...nothing’s wrong. I called to thank you for the roses. They’re beautiful.”

  “You got them already?” She could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Yes, I did. My mother put them in a vase for me. We had to use two, there were so many.”

  “Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman.”

  His response sent tingles down her spine. She’d often fall asleep at night thinking of Jarred’s rich baritone voice, and of the song he’d sung to her at Heavens. Her mind often went back to that night—both his singing and his lovemaking. That decadent feeling of being sexed up against the door. And many nights she’d awaken aroused from dreams of the scene in her dressing room.

  “Nevea, are you okay?” he was saying through the phone.

  She chased away the thoughts and replied, “I’m fine. My bouts of sickness are subsiding. Certain smells and foods will still cause nausea, but most of the time, other than the tiredness I’m perfectly fine.”

  “Is the constant fatigue normal?”

  “I don’t know,” she said wearily, placing her hand protectively over her baby bump. She already was in love with the little life that was growing inside her.

  “What did the doctor say?”

  Nevealise didn’t respond right away. She didn’t want to tell him that she hadn’t seen an obstetrician yet. She’d looked up countless doctors, but hadn’t decided on one for fear of choosing the wrong doctor. One of her brother’s doctor friends from the hospital had given her an initial checkup, with instructions to follow up with an ob-gyn. She’d gotten a clean bill of health, except for a low iron level. So every day she took her prenatal vitamins, as well as iron pills.

  “Nevea, are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Yes,
yes, I’m fine. Just a little spacey,” she joked, and was rewarded with his husky chuckle. Oh, how she missed him. Everything about him.

  “You never said what the doctor said about your exhaustion?” he prompted.

  “That’s because I haven’t seen a doctor,” she said hurriedly.

  His silence scared her for a minute. He was sure to yell at her, she knew. She held her breath and waited for the chastisement.

  Instead he asked softly, “Can I ask why not?”

  Nevealise took the phone away from her ear and looked down at it, her brows furrowed. What, no scorn? No telling me how I’m endangering the baby? She waited. When he didn’t say anything else she responded.

  “I couldn’t decide which one to use. I mean, there are so many choices. I didn’t want to pick the wrong person,” she muttered.

  “Do you have a list?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said hesitantly. Her hand instinctively caressed her belly.

  “Do you want me to help you choose?”

  Nevealise’s heart filled with joy. Her hand motions against her stomach wavered. She hadn’t realized until just this second that she wanted him to go with her. To help her with the decisions.

  “If you wouldn’t mind?”

  “Nevea, of course I don’t mind. What would make you think that I would? This is my baby, too,” he said softly.

  “I’m sorry. I just assumed.”

  “Can you email the list to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “When will you send it?”

  “Just as soon as I get off of the phone with you.”

  “You said your mother helped you with the flowers?”

  “Yes, she comes by a few times a week to keep me company. The house is so quiet. Cedric’s hardly ever here,” she sighed.

  “Are you bored?”

  “Out of my mind,” she said quickly, and he started laughing.