He was watching her intently, his full mouth turned up in a half smile and his translucent brown eyes taking in every contour of her face.
She blushed. It wasn’t every day a handsome man observed her with such unconcealed interest. She wasn’t imagining that warmth emanating from his body to hers, was she? It was cold outside, and the temperature inside wasn’t too warm, either. So it had to be her body reacting to his. Which was surprising. It had been a long time since she’d felt attuned to someone right off the bat.
So, to be cautious, she naturally drew away from him.
He reacted by looking puzzled. “So I was right. You feel that way, too.”
She gently smiled at him. From now on she’d pay closer attention to her body language. “No, no,” she assured him. “That hadn’t even crossed my mind. I believe a person ought to follow his heart. And if you think Duke will be a better fit for you, I wish you the best.”
She laughed shortly, “In fact, my godmother is the head of the English department at Duke, and because I have a master’s degree in English, she’s always trying to get me to join the faculty. But history is my first love.”
“Dr. Langdon is your godmother?” Leo asked. “Small world. She’s the person who recruited me.”
“I’m not surprised,” Meghan told him. “Marjorie Langdon’s goal is to make her department the best that Duke has ever seen. She might be only five-two and a hundred and ten pounds, but there’s a lot of strength and resolve in that woman.”
Leo chuckled softly. “I did get the feeling that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer when I spoke with her. Then, when I met her, I had the distinct feeling I was being hypnotized. I couldn’t have refused her if I’d wanted to.”
“She does have that effect on you,” Meghan said. “She and my mother, Virginia, have been best friends since they were five years old, and I swear, both of them are the kind of women who get their way, no matter who they have to cajole or charm, and I know one of them is going to get me for saying this. You must be good at what you do for her to go out of her way to get you.”
* * *
“I’m both pleased by that comment and strangely frightened.” Leo couldn’t help smiling. He was enjoying himself, talking to this delightful woman. Delightful because he’d only known her for a few minutes and he already felt at ease in her presence. Delightful, too, because she was wonderful to look at: mounds of naturally curly black hair that fell down her back, smooth brown skin that fairly glowed with good health and features that would make any cover girl green with envy, like high cheekbones, a well-shaped nose (not too big, not too small), a luscious, full mouth. Did she have on any makeup? If she did, she’d applied it so expertly, he couldn’t tell.
But what he liked most about her so far was how self-effacing she was. She didn’t appear to care that she was beautiful. Many beautiful women he’d met in the past were haughty and seemed to put great importance on being admired for their beauty. This girl was so down-to-earth, it was as if she didn’t give looks a second thought. Also, she had her doctorate degree. He knew how hard it was to earn a doctorate because he’d earned one himself. It took a lot of work and discipline. He admired that in anyone.
* * *
After they’d ordered, Meghan told him, “I thought we’d have lunch together first, then I’d give you the grand tour. I’ll drive, and afterward I’ll bring you back here to pick up your car. Is that all right with you?”
“I’m yours to command,” Leo said lightly.
Meghan couldn’t help thinking of a few naughty things she could command him to do to her. Then she reined in those inappropriate thoughts and smiled prettily. “It’s a beautiful day to see the area. Have you already purchased or rented a home, or are you still staying in a hotel?”
“Oh, I moved fast on that. I started shopping around when I was still living in Atlanta. I found a sweet Southern-style cottage in an older neighborhood in Durham. The owners had completely renovated it. And it even had enough land for a garden.”
Meghan looked at him with newfound admiration. A modern black man talking about gardening. He was as rare as the unicorn, in her opinion. “I love gardening, too,” she said wistfully.
* * *
Leo had never met a woman quite like her. On the one hand, they had so much in common, which should make him excited because he hadn’t recently been lucky in love. On the other hand, her youth, her vibrancy, even the fact that she, indeed, seemed like a good love match for him, told him he should not encourage such thoughts or get his hopes up. There was no future for them.
He would enjoy their day together, and that was all.
While he was thinking these thoughts, Meghan, in her youthful exuberance, was telling him how well her winter garden was doing, especially her collard greens.
“You’ve got to come over and pick some,” she offered.
Leo was thinking he’d love to see her garden, among other things, when the server showed up with their meals. She was short and stout and had a cherubic face. She was smiling widely at the moment.
“Meghan!” she cried happily. “I heard you were out here. How are you, girlfriend?”
She placed the plates in front of them and straightened up.
Meghan stood up, and up (Leo hadn’t realized she was so tall—around five-nine, he’d guess) and hugged the woman.
“Annie, it’s good to see you, girl,” she said warmly. “I brought you a new customer. This is Leo, Jake’s brother.”
“Jake, who’s marrying our Mina?” Annie asked as she openly admired Leo. She looked around thirty, had flawless dark brown skin and wore her dark brown hair in a short Afro that beautifully framed her heart-shaped face.
She brushed her right hand across the apron she was wearing and offered it to Leo. “Pleased to meet you, Leo. Welcome to my humble establishment.”
Leo smiled warmly. “The pleasure’s all mine, Annie. From the mouthwatering aromas, I’m sure I’m in for a treat.”
“Annie and I went to high school together,” Meghan explained. “This girl could always throw down in the kitchen, even when we were teenagers. I knew she’d end up a famous chef.”
“I don’t know about famous,” Annie said modestly. “But I’m doing okay.” Then she started talking about what was on their plates. “This is the best time of year for crabs. Those just came in this morning, and I made crab cakes and also a nice bisque to warm your insides on this chilly day. I know you didn’t order the bisque, but you’ve got to try it. It’s on the house.”
With that, she hastily kissed Meghan on the cheek and said, “Enjoy!” after which she returned to the kitchen.
* * *
Leo and Meghan dug into their meals, eating the delicious food with pleasure. Meghan knew she’d chosen the right place for their first meeting when Leo polished off the bisque, moaned softly and said, “You’re right, Annie definitely knows her way around a kitchen.”
Meghan was busy devouring a crab cake that was delicately spiced, the crabmeat still firm and the vegetables crisp while the outer coating was crunchy. She swallowed. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
They looked into each other’s eyes, neither of them seeming to want to look away first. Then Leo lowered his eyes to his plate momentarily, raised his gaze back to hers and said, “Forgive me if I’m being rude, but I believe we should address the elephant in the room before we go any further—namely, my brother and your sister are trying to fix us up. What do you think about that?”
Meghan laughed, “I had my suspicions from the get-go, but I was willing to ignore it. I’m glad you brought it up, though, because now we can proceed without any uncomfortable feelings between us. I’m not actively looking for anyone special right now.”
“Neither am I,” Leo said quietly. “And even if I were looking, I think ten years is too big an age gap.”
“If you
say so,” Meghan said.
If he doesn’t like me, he doesn’t like me, she thought, but to come up with some asinine excuse like he’s too old for me?
That’s just pitiful!
* * *
“I don’t think I’m going to fit,” Leo said as they approached Meghan’s cherry-condition, baby blue 1965 Mustang convertible in the parking lot. Since it was a cold day, the top was up.
Meghan unlocked his door, then went around and got behind the wheel of the muscle car. “Give it a try,” she encouraged him. “This car used to belong to my dad until I won it off him in a card game. He’s about your height.”
Leo fitted just fine, with plenty of legroom. She turned and gave him a smile. “See?” Then she added, “Buckle up.”
Leo did as he was told, admiring the white leather seats, soft as a baby’s bottom, and light blue interior. Everything looked clean and well cared for, and the air smelled faintly of lemon oil. “You really love this car,” he said.
“I do,” Meghan said with pride. “She’s my baby. I took auto shop in high school just so I could help Dad whenever he was working on her in the garage on Saturday afternoons. That was his stipulation, but I didn’t care as long as I got to spend time with her.”
Once again, Leo had to tamp down his growing admiration for this woman. He fiercely told himself to stop romanticizing everything she said that made his heart do somersaults. So what if she had a thing for muscle cars, just as he did? That didn’t make her The One. The one woman who could accept him as he was, unconditionally, and not wish he were perfect.
“...all that stuff you probably already know anyway,” Meghan was saying as she backed out of the parking space and began heading toward the adjacent highway.
Leo had missed what she said while he’d been daydreaming. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Meghan laughed softly, “I forgot you old people are sometimes hard of hearing. I was saying you already know Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina, is in Wake County and is part of the Research Triangle, comprised of Raleigh, Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, which produces many of the tech and medical jobs in the region.”
“Look, I know I put my foot in it when I said I was too old for you, and I apologize, so could you stop mentioning it?” Leo ground out good-naturedly.
“I’ll try,” Meghan said. “But you know us young folks—we’re impetuous and hardheaded and rarely take advice from old folks.” She pulled onto the highway, driving in the direction of downtown Raleigh. “All joking aside, Leo, I apologize, too. It’s just that I hate it when people tell me I’m too young for anything. I realize this was a setup by our siblings, and the fact is, you don’t need anyone to show you around. You’re a big boy who no doubt has been managing to do things for yourself for quite some time. So, if you like, I’ll turn around and take you back to your car. But if you’re game, and would just like to have some fun on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, then stick with me.”
She looked sideways at him, a mischievous smile crinkling the corners of her beautiful mouth.
Leo didn’t hesitate. “I’ll take the fun Saturday afternoon.”
Meghan laughed softly, “Way to go, old dude.”
“Meghan,” Leo warned through clenched teeth.
“Last time,” she promised with a saucy smile.
Chapter 2
“I’m going to show you the soul of Raleigh and Durham,” Meghan said as she pointed the Mustang toward downtown Raleigh and East South Street. “Or the history. Just by living here, you’ll find out about the great restaurants in Raleigh and that it has the most live music anywhere in the state. You can find a live band playing somewhere here 24/7. And if you like museums, you can’t go wrong with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences or, my favorite, the North Carolina Museum of History.”
“Stands to reason that would be your favorite,” Leo said as he took in the views of a busy Saturday afternoon in Raleigh. The day was sunny and bright, and there were a lot of folks out and about enjoying themselves. Traffic was pretty heavy, but you could expect that in a city of almost half a million people.
Meghan drove competently. She seemed to be having a good time, if the fact that the smile hadn’t left her face since they’d begun the tour was any indication. In the close confines of the Mustang, with the heater on low because it was in the forties outside, she smelled wonderful. Like the air in springtime, fresh and with a hint of jasmine.
“Yes, and I apologize if I get too historical on you, but that’s my drug,” she joked.
She turned to smile at him before returning her attention to the road. The sunlight was in her eyes, and he noticed her eye color was like melted caramel. What is wrong with me? he inwardly chided himself. I don’t usually wax poetic over a woman’s eye color.
“...look fit,” Meghan was saying. “What do you do to stay in shape?”
While he’d been daydreaming, he’d missed what she’d said again. He thought he could save himself some embarrassment by answering her last question. “I run, hike and enjoy weightlifting.”
“Oh, there are some good trails in William B. Umstead State Park. My sisters and I go there pretty often. Raleigh has some great spots for runners, too. North Wake Landfill Park has some steep hills, if that’s what you like. Great views, too. I like Lake Lynn Park. You can run laps around the lake. It’s in North Raleigh. Pretty spot where you can catch glimpses of wildlife sometimes, and in fall, it’s gorgeous.”
A few minutes later, they were on the campus of Shaw University. Meghan parked the car in a visitor’s lot and they got out. The campus grounds were immaculately kept, some of the redbrick buildings quite old, like Estey Hall.
“Welcome to Shaw University,” Meghan said brightly. “It sits on around sixty-five acres, and it’s been here since 1865. The same year slavery was abolished in America.”
She gestured for him to follow her toward a four-story Italian-style building. “Shaw had a rather funny beginning,” Meghan said as they walked. “At least, it is to me. The founder was a white Baptist minister from Massachusetts, Henry Martin Tupper. After the Civil War, he decided he was going to stay in the South and teach newly freed slaves how to read and write. So he bought some land from a white landowner, not mentioning why he wanted it. When the landowner found out he was building a school for freedmen, he saw red and said if he’d known the land was for blacks, he’d never have sold it to that Yankee! Of course, you know he didn’t use the word black when he said that.” Meghan ended with a laugh.
Leo was laughing, too. “No, he probably used stronger language than that. Interesting story. It also proves that our ancestors did have some white benefactors.”
“True,” Meghan said. “There have been quite a few throughout African American history.”
She pointed at the four-story building. “That’s Estey Hall. It was built in 1873. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places. When Shaw first opened, women weren’t allowed to attend. But after a few years they were, and Estey Hall was built for them. It served the school until 1970, when it was closed and they started talking about tearing it down. But then the Estey Hall Foundation was born and the building was restored to its original glory. Today, the school’s president has her office there, along with other administrative staff.”
Leo had to admit, looking up at that handsome edifice, which was painted salmon red and trimmed in a creamy off-white that made it look slightly like a wedding cake, Meghan made history come alive. No wonder she was a history instructor. He was torn between admiring Estey Hall and admiring her with her glowing face.
Meghan must have caught him looking at her with his admiration showing because she looked down suddenly, blushing.
“Anyway,” she said as she continued walking and he fell into step beside her on the sidewalk, “black colleges and universities helped create the black middle class. Whole neighb
orhoods sprang up around these kinds of institutions. For example, around Saint Augustine’s College, another nearby HBCU, it was the neighborhoods of Idlewild and College Park. You may have heard of Idlewild. There was a movie a few years ago of the same name starring André 3000 and Big Boi.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember that movie,” Leo said. “Paula Patton was in it, too.”
Meghan laughed shortly. “That’s the one. The movie was filmed here in North Carolina. There are so many things I could tell you about Raleigh that I love,” she said. “But if you make this area your home long enough, you’ll come to love it, too.”
It was a workout keeping up with her as she showed him around the campus, weaving their way through students who were going from building to building or just relaxing in the sunshine. It was chilly out and the students were dressed in hoodies and sweatshirts with the school’s mascot, the Shaw Bear, on them. The school colors must have been a deep red and white, the most frequently occurring colors he saw.
“Shaw’s colors are red and white, huh?” he asked.
“Garnet and white,” Meghan said.
They were suddenly interrupted by two students, a male and a female, hurrying up to them across the lawn, one of them calling, “Hey, Dr. Gaines. You just can’t stay away from here, can you?”
Meghan stopped in her tracks, laughing. “Hailey, it’s good to see you, too. I’m showing Dr. Wolfe here around the campus. How is that paper coming along?”
“Good to meet you, Dr. Wolfe,” Hailey, a tall, athletically built young woman with long blond-tinted dreadlocks, said with a grin.
“Hello, Hailey,” Leo said, smiling at the girl.
She beamed at him, then said to Meghan, “And, you know, the paper’s coming slowly, but it’s definitely coming!” She was one of Meghan’s favorite students. Playful, but very serious when it came to academics.
Love in San Francisco ; Unconditionally Page 18