She ran her thumb across his bottom lip. “Just so you know, no one calls Atlanta the big peach.”
Richmond leaned in to her mouth and kissed her slow. Deep. Hard. Their tongues tangoed as if there was a symphony playing for their passion. Pulling her closer, Richmond felt their hearts beating in sync and he wanted to slip her out of that gold dress and make love to her right then and there.
Be responsible. This is not the time. He broke the kiss and focused on her kiss-swollen lips. “Yeah, we’d better stop before . . .”
“Things get out of hand,” she finished. Alicia pushed out of his embrace, thinking about how good his hardness felt against her thighs and how one more kiss would’ve melted her dress from her body. “West Egg.”
“What?”
“That’s where we’re going to have brunch. You’re going to like it better than slaw on hot dogs.”
“You’d better be right,” he said with a wink, then headed for the stairs. “If not, I’m not going to share my ’86 Malbec, from France.”
“Trust me, you’re going to want to share,” she said with a wink.
Chapter 5
It was after two when Alicia made it back to the hotel, and if she thought she was going to avoid questions from her friends, it was clear that she was wrong when she walked into her suite and they were sitting there.
“Why aren’t you people sleeping?” she asked as she kicked her shoes off. “And how did y’all get in here?”
“Where have you been all night?” Jade asked as she glanced at her watch.
“More importantly, who were you with all night?” Serena asked.
“And why did Richmond go all Apollo Creed at the gala?” Kandace asked as she walked over to the coffeemaker and poured herself a cup of coffee.
“It’s late and I’d like to go to bed,” Alicia said with a sigh. “So, you all can return to your corners and leave me alone. I have a meeting in the morning.”
“A meeting?” Serena asked. “With?”
Alicia leaned against the dresser and tilted her head at her friends. “When did I get three mamas? I know y’all mean well, but the last time I checked, I’m grown.”
“Let me say this and then I’m done,” Kandace said. “Richmond is freshly divorced, so tread lightly. He’s going to spread his wings and see what’s out there and—”
“Hold up,” Alicia said. “Why are you assuming that Richmond and I have anything more than business going on between us?”
Jade laughed. “Because we all have eyes. Alicia, you lit up when that man walked in the room, and you’d been in a foul mood all night.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to be there—like I’d told you all in Charlotte.”
“But this was our night to thumb our noses at those assholes who underestimated us and thought we were just a bunch of silly girls,” Serena said with a smile. “I got quite a thrill when Marvin Roland walked in looking like he ate his former self and the girl he’d cheated on me with.”
“I’m not petty like that. I couldn’t care less what these people think about me. Didn’t give a damn in college and I have lost all the—”
“Then what was that all about with Felix?” Jade asked as she folded her legs underneath her.
“Don’t you all have your own rooms to sleep in?” Alicia faked a yawn. “Again, I’m tired.”
“Oh no, this is probably one of the last times that we’re going to be together and carefree, so slumber party. And that was the fakest yawn ever.”
Kandace laughed. “Just like that time she tried to kick us out of her room because Bobby Venton was coming to her room to study.”
Alicia chuckled at the memory as well. “He was supposed to be the one,” she said as she crossed over to the coffeemaker and poured herself a cup. “We were going to get it in that night, and he saw Serena. I think you took his erection away.”
“I don’t know why that grown little man was scared of me.”
All of the women focused their stare on her. “Really?” Alicia asked. “You made his brother jump out of a window because you chased him with an ice pick.”
“He was in my room kissing that girl from Jade’s study group. He’s lucky the ice pick was the only thing I could get my hands on.”
“Why did you have an ice pick in your room anyway?” Alicia asked.
Serena shrugged. “There was a movie that I saw where the lead actress used it to crush ice. It was cute.”
Jade shook her head. “And if you ask me, that was the night the Ice Queen was born.”
“You ever tell Antonio about that?” Alicia asked, then took a sip of her coffee.
“I didn’t, and if anyone in this room tells my husband about my misdeeds as a youth, I will do more than chase you with an ice pick.”
“Man, had I threatened you with that a long time ago, I probably could’ve enlisted your help in stopping Jade’s matchmaking,” Alicia said.
Jade shook her head. “It was networking!”
“Please,” Serena said. “You were really bad at it because your dinner parties were a joke. Even Antonio knew you were trying to hook Alicia up when we’d get an invite.”
“I missed so much while I was in New York,” Kandace quipped.
“Every week,” Alicia said as she started another pot of coffee. “Every damn week.”
Jade rolled her eyes. “So, I’m wrong because I wanted to introduce Alicia to a nice guy? Oh, and I know what happened with punk-ass Tyson Jordan.”
Serena nodded. “Yeah, that was a punk move on his part. I can’t believe he was married and tried to play you.”
“How long have y’all known about that?” Alicia asked. She’d been too embarrassed to tell her best friends about Tyson. But Charlotte wasn’t a place where secrets stayed buried for long.
Kandace raised her hand as if she was sitting in a lecture hall. “Who is Tyson Jordan?”
“No one important,” Alicia replied with an eye roll. “As a matter of fact, he’s all the proof you need that I’m not some vapid broad looking to jump into a relationship with anyone. And that includes Richmond Crawford.”
“I hope you’re right,” Kandace said.
“But what’s so wrong with Richmond?” Alicia asked, trying to be nonchalant.
Kandace raised her eyebrow at her friend. “Nothing is really wrong with him, but you would be opening yourself up to so much drama. I really don’t think Vivian is going to quietly fade away when she realizes that her name is mud in New York. You know Solomon has put the word out that Vivian isn’t a part of the family anymore.”
Alicia laughed. “You make it sound as if the Crawfords are some medieval royal family that runs New York.”
“No, but they’re rich, and that name opens a lot of doors. Trust me, Kandace Crawford gets a lot more in New York than Kandace Davis. Sometimes to avoid the hoopla, I will make reservations under my maiden name. And with the whole thing following Elliot’s death and the scandal in Los Angeles, it’s too much.”
“Is that why Richmond came to Atlanta? And what happened in LA?”
Kandace nodded. “And I believe he’s just hiding out until things die down. Once things blow over, what do you think he’s going to do? Head back to New York and get back on his throne. That’s why I’m not for you getting involved with him. But, you know Elliot had another family on the West Coast. Adrian, his son, hated everything Crawford. Let’s see, he set Richmond up with a hooker.”
“What?” Jade exclaimed. “That’s what those charges were?”
Kandace nodded. “Then he tried to start some kind of drama with Solomon and his ex, Heather-I-can’t-act-my-way-out-of-a-paper bag.”
Serena hissed at Kandace. “That’s the girl I know and love.”
Shooting her friend a cold look, Kandace turned her attention back to Alicia. “I know Richmond is a good guy, but this project has a lot to do with his bruised ego and it’s not going to be long before he leaves Atlanta to go back to New York.”
“I can handle it,” she said. “If I was interested in more than a friendship with Richmond, then all of this would be important. However, he’s the biggest client in my portfolio right now. I’m doing my job.”
Kandace, Jade, and Serena exchanged knowing looks. “Sounds like someone may be trying to fool herself,” Jade muttered.
“Whatever,” Alicia said as she folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not trying to be with Richmond Crawford. But he is giving me some prime office space until I get my own.”
“And what are you giving him in return?” Serena asked, then wiggled her eyebrows.
“You’re such a jerk,” Alicia said. “Richmond and I are going to be working together and I’m going to introduce him around the city. Besides, having him as a client with this huge project coming down the pipe is going to raise my profile as well.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to pretend you’re not getting in deep,” Jade said as she raised her arms above her head.
“Since we’re going to be up all night, we might as well go to the Waffle House,” Kandace said. “I’m hungry and the food at the gala was not good.”
“Who’s sober enough to drive?” Alicia asked. All eyes turned to Jade.
“Y’all make me sick. Let’s go.”
Feeling as if they were coeds again, the four women headed out to Jade’s car and drove to the restaurant.
* * *
Richmond reached for her, wanted to kiss her good morning after the amazing night they’d had together. But he grabbed an armful of pillows and realized that he’d dreamed of making love to Alicia. Glancing at his alarm clock, he realized that he was going to be late for brunch if he kept lying in bed, dreaming about Alicia. He climbed out of bed and hopped in the shower.
After dressing in a pair of dark jeans and T-shirt, Richmond headed to his car and typed in the address for West Egg, the café that Alicia swore he was going to love. Even if the food didn’t live up to the hype, he’d enjoy spending the morning with Alicia.
What was it about that woman that made him so excited, and how had he missed this beauty all of these years? Even when things had gone bad with him and Vivian, he tried to honor his vows even though there were rumors that Vivian had lovers all over New York.
Part of him didn’t mind, he’d just wanted to keep his life as normal as possible after Elliot’s sins came to the surface. If that meant indulging Vivian’s affairs, he’d been willing to do that. For a while at least.
But seeing the real love that his brothers had with their wives, Richmond knew he deserved more than the loveless marriage he’d settled for. Vivian made it clear that she wasn’t in their marriage for love, and when the news of Richmond’s paternity broke, she made it clearer that she wasn’t sticking around. There was something about Alicia that made Richmond realize that he could and should take his chance at love. Settling would no longer be a part of his life. And maybe nothing would happen between them, but Richmond was going to have fun exploring the possibilities.
The business side of his brain knew that he needed to focus on getting the construction and marketing for the hotel off the ground. He had to make this venture successful, and Alicia was key to that. He couldn’t allow his hormones to mess things up before they’d even gotten started.
When he arrived at the restaurant, Richmond had to drive around for fifteen minutes to find a parking spot. Then when he headed for the entrance of the restaurant, the line was out the door.
“This place must be good,” he muttered as he glanced around the sea of humanity, looking for Alicia. When he spotted her sitting on a bench reading the local paper, he smiled and crossed over to her. “I guess it’s a good thing that I didn’t bet you about how good this place is.”
Her head snapped up and she greeted Richmond with a dazzling smile. “Glad you made it.” She rose to her feet and gave him a tight hug. He inhaled her sweet scent and didn’t want to let her go.
“Parking around here is crazy,” he said.
“Sorry, I should’ve warned you. I put our names on the waiting list for a table.” She glanced down at her watch. “We have another twenty minutes to wait.”
“Want to take a walk? This area looks really interesting,” he said. “I’m all about exploring today.”
Alicia nodded. “The neighborhood has changed a lot since I was here. Atlanta should change its slogan to ‘the city that keeps growing.’”
“I hope the growth doesn’t come to a standstill anytime soon,” he said as he reached for her hand. Richmond didn’t know why he had this possessive yearning for Alicia all of a sudden. When her hand locked with his, ripples of want teased his senses. What was really going on right now?
“This farmers market is new,” Alicia said, breaking into his wanton thoughts.
“Let’s check it out. I’ve always wanted to check out a real Southern farmers market.”
Alicia raised her eyebrow at him. “Are there even farms in New York?”
“Funny. When’s the last time you’ve actually been to New York?”
She shrugged. “When Kiana turned one, I think. I’ve never been a big-city girl. And since I can’t get tickets to the one Broadway show that I want to see, I’m boycotting.”
“If you’re talking about a musical about a certain founding father . . .”
“Don’t tell me that you’ve seen it!” Alicia exclaimed.
Richmond nodded. “Three times, actually.”
Alicia dropped his hand. “And I thought we could be friends,” she quipped.
“See, I was going to say that I could get tickets for an upcoming show, but . . .”
“If you did that, you’d be at the top of my most-awesome-person-in-the-world list.”
He smiled and eased closer to her. “I can make that list without the tickets.”
* * *
Alicia took a deep breath and tried to act as if Richmond wasn’t making her body throb with desire. The heat of his breath against her ear, the memory of their kisses last night, and the way he held her hand made her painfully aware of how long it had been since she’d been this close to a man, or even wanted to be this close to one.
“Maybe you can.” She glanced at a display of muscadine grapes. “Yes! We have to get some of these.”
“What are those things?” Richmond gave the strange-looking fruit a side-eye that made Alicia laugh.
“I keep forgetting that I’m with a sheltered Yankee. These are the most delicious grapes that God could’ve ever graced us with.” She ushered him over to the display. Richmond picked up a container of the large grapes.
“They look like eyeballs that you would see in a haunted house on Halloween.”
“Whatever. Wait until you taste them. It’s like a little piece of heaven in your mouth.”
“Is that so?” He opened the package and waved for the attendant.
“Yes, sir?” the petite woman said.
“I was just told that these big old grapes are the closest thing to heaven that I will put in my mouth today. I’ve never had one, so I was wondering if I could sample it before I tell this lady that she’s right or wrong.”
“Oh, I can tell you right now, she’s right. I’ll rinse these off for you,” she said as she took the package from his hand.
Richmond winked at Alicia. “I’m going to go on record and say you did say coleslaw on a hot dog was good, and it was not.”
“That’s because your taste buds are all jacked up. Trust me, if you don’t like this, I will find you a year’s supply of bagels and lox.”
Richmond leaned back and grinned. “What do you know about that?”
She shrugged. “I read about it somewhere. And what is lox anyway?”
He stroked her shoulder and shook his head. “Smoked salmon that makes sesame seed bagels taste delicious.”
She frowned and made a gagging sound. “Now, that sounds disgusting. A salmon sandwich on boiled bread? I’ll stick with grits and salmon.”
“I thought
it was all about shrimp and grits down here?”
Alicia sighed. “Oh, you have so much to learn. You’re lucky I’m willing to teach you.”
“And just what other lessons am I going to learn from you? I’m your dedicated student.”
Something about the way he said that made her quiver. There were so many things she could teach him, and if he was willing to learn, they’d both be happy. Glancing at his hands and lips, she wondered what lessons he needed to learn and how much he could teach her.
“Here you go,” the woman said as she handed Richmond the grapes. Alicia reached over and took one from the package. He watched her bite into the grape and then followed suit and bit into the succulent fruit.
Alicia was right. The grapes were delicious, but they didn’t compare to the taste of her lips.
“Am I right? Isn’t this the most delicious thing you’ve tasted?” she asked as she swiped another grape.
“It is good, but . . .” He looked up at the attendant and smiled. “It’s really good.” Richmond paid for the fruit.
“You should try the wine made with these grapes. It’s amazing and sweet.”
“Is it as sweet as you are?” His lips brushed across her ear as he eased closer to her.
The tingles were back and Alicia turned away from him. “I guess you’re going to have to sample it to see.”
“I plan to get more than a sample,” he replied with a wink.
“Let’s get back before we lose our place in line.” Alicia turned to the attendant. “Thanks for your help.”
“Y’all have a good day. Next weekend, we’re going to have some jelly and biscuits.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Alicia said.
“Sounds like we have another date next weekend,” he said.
She smiled, thinking that she was going to enjoy spending time with Richmond. He was funny, and introducing him to the Southern side of life was going to be interesting.
“Think there’s a table open for us now?” Richmond asked as he popped a grape into his mouth.
“I hope so or we’re going to have these for breakfast,” she said as she grabbed a grape of her own.
Strategic Seduction Page 5
