by Naomi Chase
She swallowed. “Don’t do anything crazy, Lou.”
A muscle hardened in his jaw. “If that’s what it takes—”
“No.” She cupped his face between her hands, forcing him to meet her intent gaze. “Listen to me, papi. Are you listening?”
He hesitated, then gave a tight nod.
“Back in May, I came to you for help with Dominic. Remember that? I asked you to send a warning to him so he’d leave me alone. I was scared, desperate, and at the end of my rope. But I was wrong for requesting such a favor from you. Thank God Dominic was out of town at the time, and thank God you never made that phone call to—”
“Because I was gonna take care of that crazy motherfucker myself,” Lou said through clenched teeth.
“Thank God you didn’t! Don’t you see? If you had done something to Dominic, you’d be locked up right now, and I never would have forgiven myself. So I’m asking you not to go after Honey’s boyfriend. I’ll notify the front desk to alert security if he ever shows up here. And since Brandon already put the police on notice over Dominic, maybe we can ask him to make a phone call to Keyshawn’s supervisor—”
“Of course,” Lou drawled mockingly. “How could I forget about our powerful secret weapon who makes problems go away with the snap of his fingers?”
Tamia stared at Lou, taken aback by his sarcastic remark. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Instead of answering her question, he took the glass from her hand and downed the rest of his drink.
But Tamia wasn’t about to let him off the hook. “Aren’t you the one who’s always bragging about how great it is to have friends in high places? Aren’t you the one who nicknamed Brandon ‘the rainmaker’ after he got the feds off your back?”
“Yup.” Lou’s lips twisted into a bitterly sardonic smile. “It seems we all owe your boy a debt of gratitude. Honey told me that you’re working at the law firm as his assistant. So allow me to offer my congratulations. Didn’t I tell you everything would work out for you?”
“Yes. You were right.” Tamia paused. “Did you know Brandon was going to offer me a job?” Like you knew about the apartment, she added silently.
“Nope. I had no clue.” Lou set his empty glass on the table with a sharp clink that made Tamia wince. With mounting discomfort, she watched as his hazel eyes roamed down her bare legs and pedicured toenails. When she felt his dick harden against her backside, she knew their friendship had just veered off into dangerous, uncharted territory.
“I don’t know what he’s paying you, mamacita,” Lou said, “but I guarantee you would have made way more if you’d come to work for me.”
“Maybe,” she conceded, unnerved by the undercurrent of jealousy in his voice. “But I told you I didn’t want to work at the escort agency.”
“Right.” Lou smirked. “After all, we can’t have the wife of the future attorney general working as a madam.”
Tamia stared at him, searching his face for some sign of the man she’d always trusted and adored. “Where’s all this coming from, Lou?”
He returned her stare. “Where do you think?”
She swallowed hard.
Seconds passed.
When she moved to climb off his lap, his arm tightened around her waist, restraining her.
Their eyes locked.
Tension crackled between them.
“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” Tamia said quietly.
“Maybe.” A shadow of cynicism touched his mouth. “Or maybe that’s what you’d prefer to believe.”
Tamia shook her head slowly. “Don’t.”
Something like pain flashed in his eyes. “Don’t what, Tamia? Don’t tell you that I love—”
“Okay, folks,” Honey announced, returning to the living room. “Everything’s just about ready.”
“Great!” Tamia exclaimed, jumping off Lou’s lap with such haste that Honey’s eyes narrowed. “I’ma go, um, freshen up before we eat.”
“Okay,” Honey said slowly, dividing a speculative glance between Tamia and Lou. “I thought we could have dinner on the balcony. It’s such a beautiful night.”
“That’s fine. Whatever.” As Tamia headed quickly from the living room, her cell phone rang on the foyer table. She grabbed it, pressing the talk button without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me,” Brandon murmured.
“Hey, baby.” She glanced self-consciously at Lou. He met her gaze for a moment, then rose from the sofa and prowled to the windows, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dark jeans.
“I’m coming up,” Brandon said.
Tamia’s pulse thudded. “You’re here?”
“Yeah. Getting on the elevator right now.”
“Okay.” She gulped a shaky breath. “See you soon.”
When she snapped her phone shut, Honey asked excitedly, “Brandon’s coming over?”
“Um, yeah.”
“That’s great!” Honey enthused, heading back to the kitchen. “He can have dinner with us.”
“Sure,” Tamia said weakly, stealing another glance at Lou. After what had just transpired between them, she didn’t know whether having him and Brandon at the same table was such a good idea.
But she didn’t have time to worry about that.
Tamia went to the front door and opened it just as Brandon raised his hand to press the doorbell.
“Hey,” he murmured. “Perfect timing.”
Tamia smiled, then leaned up and hugged him. Her body tingled at the memory of having him inside her, bringing her to one mind-blowing orgasm after another.
As she pulled away, he brushed her hair off her face, his eyes probing hers. “You left the office without saying good-bye.”
“I know. I wasn’t sure how much time you and Cynthia would need, and I didn’t want to be there when ...” She trailed off awkwardly.
Brandon nodded slowly. “I understand.”
Tamia cautiously searched his face. “Is everything ... okay?”
He hesitated. “Can we talk inside?”
“Of course.” She stepped aside to let him enter, then closed the door behind him. As she led him down the long entryway, she explained, “I have company, so we can talk in my—”
“Hey, Brandon!” Honey called out as she emerged from the kitchen and walked over to greet Brandon, her eyes glinting with feminine appreciation as she looked him up and down. “You probably don’t remember me, but we met briefly at Tamia’s homecoming party. My name’s Halima, but everyone calls me Honey.”
Brandon smiled, shaking her hand. “Nice to see you again, Honey.”
“You, too,” she purred.
When she clung to his hand longer than necessary, Tamia shot her a dark glance.
Honey grinned, reluctantly letting him go. “You’re just in time for dinner, Brandon. I made—”
“Let me guess.” He inhaled deeply. “Mmm. Jambalaya and corn bread.”
Surprised, Honey laughed. “How’d you know?”
“My great-grandmother used to make that all the time.”
Honey beamed with pleasure. “Really? Is she from New Orleans?”
“She was. She passed away several years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. She was ninety-six, so she enjoyed a nice long life.”
Honey smiled, looking like she wanted to curl up on Brandon’s lap. “Is your brother single?” she blurted.
Tamia gasped. “Honey!”
Brandon laughed, amused by her boldness. “Beau is ... selectively single.”
Before Honey could ask him to elaborate, Lou emerged from the powder room located off the foyer. His eyes briefly met Tamia’s before they shifted to Brandon. “Wassup, Counselor.”
Brandon smiled. “Wassup, Saldaña.”
As the two men exchanged handshakes and friendly greetings, Tamia was relieved to see that Lou appeared to be back to his normal self. Outwardly, at least.
He flas
hed a half grin at Brandon. “You gonna grace us with your presence for dinner?”
“Yes,” Honey interjected before Brandon could open his mouth. “He has to taste my jambalaya and tell me if it’s as good as his great-grandmother’s. And I want to hear more about his ‘selectively single’ brother,” she added with a wink.
Brandon chuckled. “I guess I’m staying, then.”
“Yup.”
Tamia glanced at Honey and Lou. “Would you two excuse us for a few minutes?” she murmured before taking Brandon by the hand and escorting him to her bedroom.
She closed the door behind them, then led him over to her neatly made, queen-size bed. She wanted to kiss his soft, succulent lips and undo the remaining buttons on his shirt, then shove him back onto the mattress and straddle him. But she figured she’d better wait until she knew where things stood between him and Cynthia.
They sat on the edge of the bed.
Staring down at his hands clasped between his legs, Brandon said quietly, “I broke up with Cynthia.”
Tamia’s heart soared. If Brandon had been looking at her, he would have seen the look of sheer joy that crossed her face before she managed to control herself and ask gently, “Are you okay?”
He hesitated for so long that Tamia wondered whether he’d even heard her question.
She waited anxiously.
Finally he met her gaze. “It wasn’t easy. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Cynthia. We’ve always been good friends, and my feelings for her are real.”
“Meaning that ... you really love her?”
Again Brandon hesitated, then nodded slowly. “In my own way, I do. Despite the way she behaved today, I know she’s a good person, and I believe she really loves me.”
“She does,” Tamia agreed quietly. “I may not like or trust Cynthia, but one thing I can’t deny is that she genuinely loves you, Brandon. I saw it in her eyes when I confronted her at your father’s campaign launch party. She’s crazy about you, so I know she must be pretty devastated right now.”
Brandon said nothing.
Tamia sighed heavily. “Maybe you could have worked things out with her,” she surprised herself by saying.
“I don’t think so.” Brandon exhaled a deep, ragged breath. “Honestly, Tamia, I probably just need to be alone for a while to clear my head and figure out what I really want.”
Her heart sank. “I know what you want,” she told him. “You want me.”
“Baby—”
“Listen,” Tamia said urgently, sliding off the bed to kneel between his legs. “I know you’re feeling confused and guilty right now because of what happened between you and Cynthia, and God knows I don’t want to give you any more to worry about. But we made a powerful connection last night, Brandon. Not just sexually. Emotionally, too. You told me that you’ve never stopped loving me, and I know you were speaking from the heart.”
“I was,” he admitted, stroking the side of her hair. “I can’t get you out of my system, no matter how hard I try. But as I told you before, we’ve still got some issues to work through. Every time I think I’m over what you did, something happens to remind me that I’m not. Seeing Dominic at your apartment on Saturday night really fucked me up. I know you didn’t invite him over here,” he said when Tamia opened her mouth to protest, “but seeing him all over you in the hallway just took me back to that night in May when I found out that you’d been sleeping with him.”
“It didn’t mean anything,” Tamia insisted, capturing his hand and holding it to her heart. “What you and I have means way more to me than the cheap sex I had with Dominic.”
“Maybe,” Brandon conceded grimly, “but I’m a man, Tamia, and any man in my shoes would have a damn hard time getting over the thought of his woman fucking some other dude. Why do you think I haven’t been able to watch your Mystique videos? I know you were just acting, and I know you did those movies years before we ever met, but just the thought of seeing you like that ...” He trailed off, shaking his head at her. “I don’t even wanna think about it.”
“Then don’t,” Tamia urged him. “Put it out of your mind.”
His lips twisted sardonically. “I wish it were that simple.”
She eyed him beseechingly.“I can’t undo the past, baby. If I could, you know I would.”
“I know.” He held her gaze for a long moment, then slowly pulled his hand away and blew out a deep breath. “Anyway, I just wanted to see if you were all right, and talk to you face-to-face about what happened.”
Tamia nodded. “You’re still staying for dinner, right?”
“Yeah.” He smiled wryly. “Even though Lou probably doesn’t want me to.”
Tamia went still, staring at him. “What’re you talking about?”
“You think I don’t know that Lou has feelings for you? It’s so obvious.”
“Not to me! We’ve never been more than just friends.”
Brandon chuckled, shaking his head at her. “No offense, Tamia, but you’re not the kind of woman that guys only want to befriend. You’re beautiful, and sexy as hell. And Lou has seen what you can do ... in the bedroom. So he’d have to be crazy not to want you.”
Frowning, Tamia rose from the floor and reclaimed her spot on the bed. “I’m not interested in Lou, or any other man. You’re the only one I want, Brandon, and nothing’s going to change that. So whenever you decide you’re ready for a relationship, I’ll be here.”
Brandon gently caressed her cheek, his eyes probing hers.
Several seconds went by.
“Do you have a passport?” he asked suddenly.
Tamia blinked. “A passport?”
“Yeah.” He paused. “I want to take you on a trip.”
She stared at him. “A ... trip?”
Brandon made an exaggerated show of glancing around the bedroom. “Damn, is there an echo in here? Why do you keep repeating everything I say?”
Tamia laughed. “Because I want to make sure my ears aren’t deceiving me! Are you asking me to go on a trip with you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking you. I want to make up for the trip we never took this year. We’d leave on Friday and come back next Friday. So we’d be gone for Thanksgiving.”
“But what about work? I just started on Monday. Isn’t it too soon for me to take a vacation?”
“Don’t worry about that. You’re only part-time until Noemi goes on leave, and the office will be mostly deserted next week anyway. So what do you say? Yes or no to the trip?”
“Are you kidding? One thousand percent YES!” Tamia squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him.
Brandon laughed. “Don’t you at least want to know where we’re going first?”
“I don’t care! As long as we’re together, baby, it doesn’t matter where we go!”
“Good,” Brandon said, smiling into her eyes as they drew apart, “because I wasn’t going to tell you anyway. It’ll be a surprise.”
Tamia beamed. “I can’t wait.”
A knock sounded at the door. “I hate to interrupt whatever you lovebirds may be doing,” Honey called in an amused voice, “but dinner’s on the table, and Lou and I are ready to throw down. So come on, you two!”
Tamia and Brandon grinned at each other.
As they rose from the bed and walked to the door, Tamia basked in the knowledge that she’d have her boo all to herself for an entire week. She intended to make the most of their time together. And if all went well, she’d be back in the running to become Mrs. Brandon Chambers by the time they returned home.
Chapter 35
Tamia
Two nights later, Tamia and Honey went on an excursion to the downtown facility that housed Pinnacle Sports Group, the agency founded by Beau Chambers.
As they entered the lobby, Tamia glanced toward the barber shop to ensure that there was no sign of Fiona. Before heading over, she’d anonymously called the shop to see whether her sister was working that night, because she
had no desire to see or speak to Fiona. Thankfully, she’d been told that Fiona had class tonight.
Looking through the shop’s glass windows, Tamia was relieved to see that her sister’s workstation was indeed empty. The other barbers were tending to customers, which included Houston Texans running back Arian Foster and Kevin Martin of the Houston Rockets. The place was abuzz with loud music and raucous laughter as the men bantered about whatever it was that men discussed in barber shops.
“Oh, my God!” Honey squealed, pointing excitedly toward the shop. “Girl, look at all those ballers in there!”
Tamia chuckled. “I see them,” she drawled, steering Honey toward the wellness center across the lobby. “But that’s not why we’re here, remember? We’re supposed to be waiting for Beau to come downstairs any minute so that you can ‘accidentally’ run into him.”
“Right,” Honey agreed, throwing one last glance at the barber shop. “But I still don’t understand why we couldn’t just ask Brandon to introduce me to his brother. Wouldn’t that have been easier?”
“Maybe,” Tamia agreed. “But Brandon told me that Beau absolutely hates matchmaking schemes. Their mother is always introducing him to the daughters and nieces of her bougie society friends, so Beau adamantly refuses to date any woman that he suspects he’s being set up with. Even if his brother is doing the matchmaking.”
“Well,” Honey drawled, licking her glossy red lips, “I’m definitely no debutante.”
Tamia laughed, surveying Honey’s weaved mane, cleavage-baring blouse, skintight leather pants, and stiletto boots. “You can say that again.”
As they strolled into the general nutrition store that fronted the wellness center, Tamia wondered whether Dre was working tonight. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than he emerged from the back.
When he saw Tamia, he nearly dropped the box he was carrying.
As they stared at each other, Tamia had an unpleasant flashback to the last time she’d seen Dre at Brandon’s father’s campaign launch party in May. She’d made the mistake of donning a black mask that had jolted Dre into recognizing her as Mystique, whose porn videos he’d apparently been watching—and jerking off to—for years. After he outed Tamia to Brandon, everything had gone downhill for her.