“And by that smile on your face, I’d say the feelings are mutual.”
Jada lowered her head, remembering that Katherine Jenkins didn’t miss anything. Her grandmother stayed on top of her family by watching and gently asking questions. She had a gift for getting everyone to share their thoughts.
“I like him … a lot.” Jada giggled, unable to stop herself. “He makes me feel things I’ve never felt with any other man. Gramma, he makes me happy.”
Her grandmother pulled two glasses from the cupboard and sat at the breakfast bar with a pitcher of ice tea. “Sit with me.” She waved to the seat next to her.
Tossing her hair across her shoulder, Jada reluctantly sat down, knowing she wasn’t going to like this conversation. There were advantages of having a close-knit family, but now, sitting next to her grandmother, she remembered the disadvantages.
Katherine poured them both a glass of sweet tea. “Baby, I’m glad you’re happy. Zack seems like a fine young man, but I have to ask you. Are you sure your feelings for him don’t have anything to do with him being a professional football player?” Her grandmother had lowered her voice, knowing that someone could walk into the kitchen at any moment. “From the time you were a little girl, you had vowed that you were going to marry someone rich.”
Hearing the words that she’d spoken plenty of times, made her recognize how shallow she sounded. Not once had she vowed to fall in love with a wonderful man and live happily ever after. Her fantasies up until a few months ago only centered on money.
She fingered the diamond tennis bracelet, which was a part of the surprise wardrobe that Zack had given her. “I’ve changed, Gramma. I realize now how superficial my attitude used to be. Zack is so much more than a means to an end. He’s a wonderful man, who treats me like I’m a gift from God.”
“You are a gift from God,” her grandmother said simply, “and he should be treating you as such.”
“And he does.”
“Is that why you’re moving in with him?”
“I never said I was moving in with him. I told Mom that he asked me, but I never said I would.”
“But you’re thinking about it.”
Jada didn’t respond. Of course, she was thinking about moving in with him. Who wouldn’t? He was every woman’s dream. He made her feel things she had never felt before. It didn’t hurt that he could provide her with the type of life she had always imagined. Most importantly, he loved her.
“And have you thought about the challenges that come with dating someone outside of your race? Zack might be a nice man, but not everyone is ready to see a black woman with a white man.”
Jada wondered if her grandmother knew that interracial couples weren’t something new. “Zack and I have been dating for over three months. Sure some people stare, but for the most part, we haven’t had any trouble.”
Her grandmother patted her hand and smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Gramma, Zack means the world to me. I would love him no matter his ethnic background and even if he didn’t have money.” Butterflies bounced around in her stomach just thinking about how much she loved that man.
“Love?”
“Yes, ma’am, I love him with all of my heart. I know you don’t—”
“Baby,” her grandmother grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed, “I think it’s wonderful that you’re in love. I have to tell you, I never thought I’d hear those words coming from you.”
“I know. I guess I’m finally growing up.” Jada smiled at her grandmother who wrapped her arm around Jada’s shoulder and placed a kiss against her temple. “Though I’ve always wanted to get married and have a fairytale life, I never thought I’d fall in love with anyone.” Or anyone else. Her family knew Dion existed, but didn’t know the extent of their relationship or how he treated her toward the end. “Zack is … I can’t even find the words that would describe how breathless he leaves me.”
“Then why just move in with him? Why not marry him?”
Silence fell between them. Jada knew Zack was looking to get married and settle down one day, but he hadn’t said anything specifically about marrying her.
***
“Are you sure you don’t want to go home with me?” Zack asked Jada as he drove toward the house she shared with Christina.
“I would love to go home with you, but I have to get up pretty early for work tomorrow. It would be better if I went home tonight.”
They road in silence and normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but Zack had a feeling something else was going on. Whereas she was laughing and joking while at her grandparents’ house, she now seemed a little sad.
He reached for her hand, linking his fingers with hers. “Tell me what’s wrong.” When she opened her mouth as if to deny anything was wrong, he stopped her. “Don’t bother saying nothing, because I know you. There’s something on your mind so talk to me. Sweetheart, tell me what’s going on.”
After some persuading, she told him about her conversation with her mother weeks ago and then today with her grandmother. Jada never came across as a person who let others dictate what she did, but Zack could see how much their opinion mattered to her. He had to admit that if he had a daughter, he would be concerned about her moving in with some guy too.
“Zack, it’s not that I don’t love you because I do.” She squeezed his hand. “But I can’t move in with you.”
Zack brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it without taking his eyes off the road. “Are you basing your decision on your family’s opinion, or is this truly your decision?”
Zack pulled up to Christina’s house and cut off the engine. Disappointment churned inside his chest. When he was engaged to Leslie, he thought he was in love, but the feelings he had for Jada far exceeded anything he had ever felt for any woman.
Jada glanced down at their joined hands. “When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of getting married. I imagined walking down the aisle wearing a long flowing champagne color dress in a huge castle,” she said excitement painting every word. “Talking with my grandmother tonight, I was reminded of that fantasy.” Jada finally looked at him. “Zack you are an amazing man who I absolutely adore, but moving in with you is not enough for me. I want the fantasy.”
And he wanted her to have the fantasy. “Then marry me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jada slid the metal “s” slip onto the ductwork and connected the corner piece to the eight-foot joint already hanging from the ceiling. Wiping sweat from her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt, she gripped the top of the ladder and released an exhausted sigh.
“You okay Your Highness?” Nick asked, using the nickname she hadn’t heard in weeks. He worked at the other end of the duct run they were hanging. “You’ve been going at it pretty hard these last few days.”
Working helped keep her mind off Zack and his impromptu proposal five days earlier. She couldn’t believe he was serious about marrying her, offering her everything she had ever wanted. Yet she wasn’t ready to accept his proposal.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just ready to get this job done so that we can start the Sanford project next week.” She climbed down from the eight-foot ladder and moved it over in order to attach a hanger around the ductwork Nick had just hung.
“How’s it going with you and Zack? You haven’t mentioned him lately.”
She hadn’t seen Zack in days, not since the Sunday brunch. They talked every day, but his practice schedule had changed for the week and Jada used the excuse of exhaustion to keep from driving all the way out to his house. Prior to the brunch, she’d spend a few nights during the week at his place, as well as Sunday nights after his home games. When she spoke with him earlier, he had mentioned how much he missed her, telling her that if she didn’t come to him, then he would be at her place by the time she got off of work.
“Jada?”
“Huh?” Nick’s voice brought her back to the present. She hadn’t noticed him standing nearby
until she felt a slight bump to her ladder.
“Come on down.”
“I’m not finished attaching this hanger.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He held the ladder while she climbed down. “We don’t need you falling off the damn ladder while you’re off in la-la land. What’s going on with you? I asked how Zack was, and it’s like you zoned out, staring off into space.”
“I don’t know.” Jada put her hammer and screwdriver back into her tool belt that was sitting on the floor near the ladder. “I have a lot on my mind. Oh and Zack is fine. Actually he’s better than fine. He’s wonderful.” Her voice trailed off. She hadn’t told anyone about Zack’s suggestion that they get married. She planned to keep the proposal to herself until she worked out some things in her head.
“If he’s so wonderful, why do you look as if you’ve lost your best friend?”
She wasn’t totally sure. All she knew is that since he mentioned marriage, fear had settled into her soul. Yes, she wanted to get married, and she couldn’t imagine being with anyone other than Zack. Yet, she knew Zack had the ability to break her heart, and she didn’t know if she wanted to take the risk. Getting married to someone wealthy had always been her goal, but Zack had a power over her that made her uncomfortable. She was used to being in control when she dated. Somehow he had managed to knock down the barriers she had built to protect her heart.
“See this is why I will never get serious with a woman and settle down.” Nick said and folded the ladder, carrying it to the corner that held much of their equipment for the job. “People fall in love and then start walking around in a daze. Who has time for that crap?”
Jada laughed. “It’s not crap. It’s a beautiful feeling.” Or so she kept telling herself.
***
Later that evening, Jada pulled onto Zack’s magnificent property, glad to have made the trip in one piece. The city had finally gotten the snow that the forecasters warned them about for the past two days. Growing up in Ohio, she knew how to drive in snow, but tonight, tired and hungry, she only wanted to eat and go to bed. Her nerves and patience were on edge, and she was happy to be home.
Home.
Though she hadn’t agreed to move in with Zack, considering the amount of time she spent at his place, it was starting to feel a little like home.
She pulled through the gate surrounding his estate and followed the circular drive around to the main house, not stopping until she reached the outdoor water fountain, the focal point of the front yard. The traditional brick home made her and Christina’s place look like a gingerbread house. Despite having a luxury loft near the stadium, he spent most of his time at this location, appreciating the privacy.
Jada shut off her car, lifted the hood of her jacket over her head, and eased out of the vehicle, careful not to slip on the snow accumulating on the ground. It wasn’t until she activated the car locks that she noticed the small pick-up truck that she didn’t recognize, parked on the side of the house near the garage.
A shiver gripped her body when a blast of wind pushed her toward the front entrance. Brrr. Zack had once mentioned spending his winters in Los Angeles once he retired. Right now, the idea of leaving the harsh winters of Ohio was starting to appeal to her.
Jada entered through the front door with the key that Zack had given her a few days before his birthday. The moment she stepped across the threshold, she heard yelling.
What the heck is going on?
She stood planted in the wide foyer, debating on whether to walk farther into the house. Hearing the voices grow louder and fearing for Zack’s safety, she followed the yelling to the library.
“What do you mean I can’t move in here? You have more than enough space, and it’s only for three or four months.”
Jada folded her lower lip between her teeth as she stood in the hall outside the library. She could see Zack and his brother, Shane, facing off, mere inches between them. They were both around the same height, but Zack had about thirty pounds on his brother. Shane scowled. Jada knew the scene could get a lot worse before it got better.
“Shane, I’m not running some hotel where you can just get a room whenever you want. It’s time I make some changes as far as you and I are concerned. I’m not a bank that you can get money from whenever you decide to quit a job. You can’t stroll in and out of my home at your leisure, and if I ever let you use any of my vehicles in the future, I expect you to at least replace the gasoline.”
“Are you kidding me? You have all of this,” he lifted his arms out and turned in a circle, “and it’s not like you’re hurting for money. Yet you’re trippin’ because I need a little help every now and then.”
Jada listened on, unable to pull herself away from the door. Zack was the most generous person she’d ever met. He wouldn’t pull his support from his brother if he didn’t have a good reason.
“Hell, every now and then?” Zack glared at his brother. “Shane you have your hand out every other month. It’s not like you’re asking for twenty or thirty bucks when you come to me, it’s more like a hundred here, five hundred there. I’m sick of your mess. Just because I have a few bucks in my pocket don’t mean that I’m trying to give it all away. I work damn hard for everything I have, and if you held on to a job for more than a week, maybe you could get yourself together.”
“So it’s like that, huh? You gon’ just cut me off? We’re supposed to be family, and this is how you do me?” Shane pointed at himself. “I shouldn’t have to pay money back to you. You should be willing to just give it to—”
“You know what, Shane? You need to go. Jada will be here shortly, and I don’t want her coming home to your shit.”
“That’s what this is about isn’t it?” Shane yelled. “Ever since you hooked up with that—.”
“That what?” Zack spat the two words out with a lethal ease that Jada had never heard from him. “That what, Shane? Go ahead and say it so I can kick your ass right now.”
“You’ve changed.” Shane took a few steps back, and Jada released the breath she didn’t know she was holding. Zack looked like a bull ready to charge, and there was no telling what he would’ve done to Shane had they not put some space between them.
“You’re damn right I’ve changed. That woman who you seem to have a problem with is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Instead of you wishing me well and welcoming her to our family, you’ve been treating her like a second-class citizen.”
“She’s not good enough for you! Man, don’t you see that? You’re so concerned about me using you, what about her? I’m sure by now she’s asked you to pay her bills and buy her a new car.”
“Unlike you, she hasn’t asked me for a damn thing!”
“Oh, well I’m sure she will. But tell me something. How do you go from dating supermodel-type women to hooking up with a construction worker?” Shane shook his head. “I’m sure you can do better.”
“You of all people are going to look down on someone because of the type of work they do? You can’t even hold a job for more than a few months. How crazy do you sound right now?”
The heaviness in Jada’s heart felt like a two-ton boulder. Did the rest of his family feel the same way? Did they all think that she wasn’t good enough for Zack? According to her father, she came out of the womb self-confident as if she were the princess of power, the most powerful woman in the universe. But then Dion knocked her down a peg or two, telling her that she wouldn’t have been good enough for him even if he weren’t already married. Did Zack and his family feel the same way? The possibility wedged in her gut like a steel weight, anchored to one of her vital organs.
She staggered backwards until she bumped the wall, but couldn’t get her feet to keep moving. She should’ve been running out of that house, getting as far away from Zack as she could, yet, her heart wouldn’t let her leave.
“You are a multi-millionaire scraping the bottom of the barrel.” Shane continued, disgust in his tone. “Has it really come to th
is? Can’t you find someone in your tax bracket? You have to settle for—”
Zack grabbed his brother by the front of his jacket. “Get out!” he roared. “Get the hell out of my house, now! As a matter of fact, we’re done. Don’t call me. Don’t come by my house. Hell, act as if you don’t even know me.” Zack pushed him away, not seeming to care that Shane tripped over an ottoman though he righted himself immediately. “We’re done. Get out!”
A stab of guilt lodged in Jada’s chest. The last thing she wanted was to come between him and his brother. Family meant everything to her. There was no way she would be the reason for dissention in anyone’s family.
Willing herself to move, she took a step forward, but stopped when Zack’s gaze met hers.
“Jada,” he said, barely loud enough for her to hear him.
“Oh great! If it isn’t the gold-digging, walking Barbie doll.”
Before Jada could move or say anything, Zack charged at his brother like he was a defensive tackle, rushing the passer. He grabbed the front of his brother’s jacket and slammed him to the floor, then raised his fist sending a punch after punch to Shane’s face. His brother fought back, landing a few punches of his own.
Oh no.
“Stop!” Jada screamed, running toward them. “Please, Zack, don’t! Don’t do this! Please, baby, stop!”
“Get up!” Zack lifted his brother and dragged him out of the room, despite Shane fighting him.
Jada swiped at the tears that were beginning to fall, and her heart pounded in her chest.
Zack walked back into the room but stayed near the door staring at her. With the sleeve of his long sleeved T-shirt, he wiped the blood from his lip. Jada didn’t move from her position near the sofa. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. Part of her wanted to apologize for causing a rift between him and his brother, but the other part of her was glad he had defended her honor.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry you had to hear all of that.” He eased toward her, but the confidence he normally displayed was missing. Jada figured it was due to not knowing what she was thinking or how she would respond to him. “Shane is a very angry and selfish person. He has been that way since our father walked out years ago. Ignore anything you heard him say.”
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