Jasmine grinned. “One day,” she exclaimed. “One day I’m gonna have something for you and your granny both. Keep messing with me!”
Harper reached out and gave her best friend a hug. “I really missed you!”
The sun was shining brightly when Harper opened her eyes. For a brief moment she thought she had to be dreaming, not remembering how she’d come to be sleeping in her bed in her childhood room. She stretched her body against the mattress, kicking the blankets that had tangled at her feet. Reaching for her cell phone, she realized it had finally died and she didn’t have a power cord to recharge the battery. She blew a deep sigh just imagining how many times Quentin had probably tried to call her.
It had been well after three in the morning when she and Jasmine had finally gone to bed. The two had talked for hours, feeling like they’d never missed a moment. Harper was excited to catch up on business, to know that her staff was still dedicated to doing their jobs and doing them well. Jasmine was doing an outstanding job in her absence and she was grateful.
But as much as she missed Baton Rouge and her life here, she was missing Quentin more. And she was missing Just Desserts and the life that had become hers in Memphis. She missed it all and it surprised her that she was ready to get back to it. Dwayne’s surprise trip had proven to be of benefit to her after all.
Harper took a deep breath. The aroma of coffee suddenly filled her nostrils. Coffee and bacon and something baking in her grandmother’s kitchen. Throwing her legs off the side of the bed, she moved into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She pulled her fingers through her hair and moved back into the bedroom. Snatching a clean T-shirt and a pair of shorts from a dresser drawer, she threw on her clothes and headed out of the room.
From the floor below laughter rang through the house. Her grandmother’s muffled voice was answered by a deeper baritone, laughter following yet again. There was no missing Jasmine’s deep cackle. She shook her head and skipped down the stairwell to the main level. Moving into the kitchen she was stunned to find Quentin standing at the stove, her grandmother’s apron wrapped around his waist.
Mama Pearl greeted her warmly. “Good morning, sleepyhead. Didn’t think you were ever going to get up.”
Harper grinned. “Good morning! Quentin? What are you doing here?”
He turned, a spatula in his hand. “Baking my famous berry muffins for Mama Pearl,” he said nonchalantly, a wide grin blessing his face.
Harper grinned back as she moved into the room, striding easily to his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he leaned to kiss her lips. “Good morning,” she whispered softly.
Quentin winked an eye at her. “Good morning, beautiful!”
She gestured to a rising bruise beneath his eye. “What happened?”
He shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he said as he kissed her a second time.
“Harper, let that boy alone. I’m warning you both if he burns dem muffins I’m gonna talk bad about him!” Mama Pearl chimed.
Jasmine laughed. “Me, too!”
“My man does not burn his muffins,” she responded.
Quentin shook his head. “No, ma’am. There will be nothing burning on my watch.” He poured her a cup of coffee and set it down on the table. As Harper took a seat he leaned in and kissed the top of her head. Mama Pearl cut an eye at Jasmine and both women smiled. Harper rolled her eyes skyward.
“Quentin and I done had us a good talk this morning,” Mama Pearl said.
Harper looked from one to the other. “Did you now?”
“Yes, we did. I had some issues with him letting you come all the way home with some other man but he squared that away for me.”
Harper turned her gaze toward Quentin.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I was telling your grandmother that I had planned to bring you home this weekend. Dwayne found out from Rachel and beat me to it.”
Her eyes widened. “I am so sorry,” she exclaimed.
Quentin shook his head. “Nothing for you to apologize for. Dwayne may have gotten you here, but you can trust I’ll be the one to take you back.”
She shook her head. “How much longer do those muffins have?” she asked.
“These muffins are done,” Quentin answered as he turned and pulled the tray from the oven. He tossed the confections onto a cooling rack. “You hungry?”
“I just want to talk to you for a minute. In private. You two don’t mind, do you?” Harper questioned, looking from her grandmother to Jasmine and back.
Mama Pearl shook her head. “You know I don’t allow no boys in your room but if it’s going to be a quick conversation you can take it upstairs,” she said. “Just keep the door open!” She winked an eye at Jasmine, who burst out laughing, the two women consumed with mirth.
Harper shook her head.
Quentin laughed with them. “We’ll just step into the living room, Mama Pearl,” he said.
Mama Pearl nodded. “I like this one, Harper. He reminds me of your daddy.”
Harper laughed, a tear rising to her eye.
“I like him, too,” Jasmine interjected. “He cooks,” she said as she reached for a muffin and took a bite. “He cooks good!” she exclaimed.
“Jasmine, you ain’t blessed that food!” Mama Pearl admonished. “Girl, I know you know better!”
Rising from her seat Harper grabbed Quentin’s hand and led him into the living room. Turning in his arms she lifted her mouth to his and kissed him. Hard. Quentin wrapped his arms around her and it felt good to feel her body pressed tight to his.
“I missed you so much,” she whispered when they finally broke the connection, their foreheads touching. “I am so glad you came.”
Quentin nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. I was worried that you might not want me here.”
“Why would you say that? This isn’t about Dwayne, is it?”
He shrugged. “No, not Dwayne. You. We happened so fast that I was afraid if you came home, you might start having doubts. I had a lot of time to think on the plane ride and it hit me, Harper, that for all the times I’ve told you I loved you, I haven’t heard you say it back. Not once.”
He stared into her eyes and Harper stared back. She nodded ever so slightly. Quentin was right. She hadn’t said the words out loud and she owed him an explanation. “I haven’t said it because I’ve been scared. I didn’t want to say it and then have us not work out. I didn’t want to be vulnerable and then discover that you had buyer’s remorse. I didn’t want to be your rebound relationship.”
Quentin hugged her tightly. “I might not be sure about a lot of things, Harper, but I am certain about what I’m feeling for you. I love you with everything in me. You aren’t my rebound anything. You, girl, are my future, no matter where that takes me.”
Harper smiled and reached to kiss him a second time. When she pulled away she squeezed him tightly. “I love you, too, Quentin Elliott. I love you more than you will ever know. I can’t wait for us to go back home, back to our life together.”
“Is Memphis going to be our home, Harper?”
She nodded. “I really think that’s what I want. Jasmine and I were talking last night and she is doing a wonderful job with the business. So much so I think it’s time I expanded. I’ve been doing some research and I want to open Harper’s Memphis Soirée in the space next door to the bakery. I’ve already inquired about buying the building and with the money Pop left me it’s doable. I was also thinking that we could renovate it to make it a usable event space with a small-scale catering kitchen as well as have it be someplace you and the band can maybe perform.”
Quentin nodded. “Wow! I like that!”
“We still have a lot to work out because I want to make sure it’s a cohesive part of the bakery but I think it’ll be an exciting project for us to tackle together.”
“Maybe expand Just Desserts to that home-style restaurant dining experience I was talking about?”
She grinned. “Exactly!”
“What about your grandmother?”
Harper took a deep breath, briefly pondering his question before she answered. “Mama Pearl won’t consider moving. Not now at least. But Jasmine’s moved in here to keep an eye on her and we’re all comfortable with that. Plus, I can always come back every few weeks and she can visit us. I figure once she visits Memphis a few times we might be able to talk her into staying. Especially when we start having babies.”
He grinned. “Babies?”
“We will have babies, Quentin. At least two. Maybe three.”
“I like three,” he said with a nod of his head.
Harper smiled. “Of course, you’ll have to marry me first,” she said. “My grandmother doesn’t do babies before marriage. She would beat me, you, and the baby!”
“I can do that.” Quentin laughed. “You’ll have to wait a few more months though.”
Her expression curious, Harper questioned why.
“I promised my girl I wouldn’t make any serious decisions for at least six months.”
Harper laughed. “Smart woman, your girl!”
“I think so,” he said with a nod of his head. “And she’s exceptionally beautiful.”
“You think?”
“I do!”
“You’re a lucky man.”
“You just don’t know.”
Harper kissed his lips again. “Take me home, Quentin Elliott. Take me home to Memphis!”
“I’d like to pitstop in New Orleans before we do. A little mini-vacation. You game?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah!”
Grabbing her hand Quentin kissed the back of her fingers. “You look hungry,” he said, his gaze teasing.
Harper laughed. “You look like you want to feed me!”
He laughed with her as he pulled her back toward the kitchen. As they stepped through the entrance Harper tugged on his apron.
“Don’t forget to thank Dwayne.”
“Thank Dwayne for what?”
“For helping me see that I can have my cake and eat it too. It’s just the sweetest thing!”
As Harper moved back into the kitchen with her family Quentin paused, thinking about Dwayne. Shortly after landing, Dwayne had been his first stop before finding his way to her grandmother’s home. Neither man had been prepared for the wealth of emotion that had passed between them in the early hours of the morning.
Dwayne had just stepped out of the shower when he heard the knock on the room door. He’d been trying to call Harper for over an hour with no success. When he heard the tapping on the wood structure he had hoped that it was her there to greet him with the first rays of the early morning sun. He’d convinced himself that her seeking him out might mean something. Stepping into his pants he moved back into the living space and opened the door.
“Good morn . . .” he started, the words stalling as Quentin stood on the other side.
Quentin hadn’t anticipated the rage that erupted from his core when Dwayne had pulled the door open. Dwayne had called Harper’s name and as the door swung inward Quentin had thrown the first punch, his right hook nailing Dwayne squarely on the chin. The impact had snapped his head back. The second punch sent him sprawling to the carpeted floor as Quentin had kicked him in the abdomen.
Quentin hadn’t been prepared either when Dwayne rushed him, barreling into his midsection like an offensive lineman on the attack. It was suddenly a wrestling match with the duo rolling back and forth across the floor, exchanging punch for punch.
Minutes later the two were both breathing heavily, exhausted from the altercation. Both were bruised and battered having gotten as good as the other had given.
Dwayne gasped for oxygen, panting as he leaned his back against the dresser. “What the hell!” he exclaimed, meeting Quentin’s cold stare.
“Yeah, what the hell! What the hell are you doing putting your hands on Harper?”
“I’m didn’t do anything to Harper!”
“You got that right. You didn’t because Harper put you in your place. Now you have to deal with me and I’m not going to let you ruin her the way you ruined Rachel. She deserves better than you. They both do!”
Dwayne cussed. “Fuck you!”
“That’s right. I said it. Better!”
“Why don’t you get it all off your chest? You’ve had all this bottled up for years now, let it out!” Dwayne barked as he brushed a hand over his face, swiping at the perspiration that clouded his eyes.
Quentin dropped his head into his hands. He shook the appendage from side to side. “You were my best friend. My brother. I trusted you.”
“I trusted you, too. I had your back. Nothing should have come between us. Nothing!”
Exasperated, Quentin tossed his hands into the air. “How do you have my back and sleep with my girl? How do you do that? You knew I loved her.”
Dwayne’s rage was suddenly consuming. He stumbled back to his feet, his hands clenched in tight fists at his chest. “I loved her first!” he shouted back. “And she let you come between us! She betrayed me! And you . . .” His voice suddenly stalled, a sob spilling past his lips. He spun around, his back to Quentin as he stared at the wall.
Confusion flushed Quentin’s face and he gasped as he also stood up, moving back to his feet. Neither man said a word. The television was playing in the background, sounds of the morning news filling the air. Both men struggled to regain their composure. Dwayne shook his head, still gasping for air. He turned back to face Quentin, his gaze locking with the other man’s.
“I loved Rachel first,” he said, his voice a loud whisper. “We were good together and then the next thing I knew she was dating you. She was loving you. She betrayed me for you. But I wanted her happy and if you made her happy I could deal with that. You were my boy and for me, if the two people I loved most were happy with each other then that’s the way it was supposed to be. But she came back to me. I didn’t take her from you. I didn’t lure her into my bed. Rachel came back to me on her own. She always does. But you didn’t want to hear that back then. All you wanted was to tell me what I’d done wrong.”
Quentin shook his head, confusion painting his expression. “I didn’t know. Neither of you ever said anything. How would I have known? You always made it seem like Rachel didn’t matter to you. You called her annoying and most times you were either bullying her or treating her like crap.”
Dwayne shook his head. He didn’t bother to respond.
Quentin persisted. “If I didn’t know you cared about Rachel, how was she supposed to know? Did you ever think she might have dated me because she didn’t think you cared about her?”
He moved to the bed and dropped down against it, lowering his head into both of his hands. Dwayne sat down beside him. Minutes passed, neither speaking as each tried to sort the mess out in his mind.
Dwayne spoke first. “Pop always wore his emotion on his sleeve and it spilled out in his music. My father said that was a weakness. He said that I would be a better man if I never let anyone know what I was feeling. I believed him. I wanted my father to be right just one time. Your father was right all the other times. I didn’t think I had to tell Rachel for her to know. She should have known.”
Quentin suddenly laughed. He shook his head as he shot Dwayne a look. “I said those same words about Harper just the other day. She should have known. And the reality is she didn’t. She didn’t know what I wanted because I didn’t tell her. Rachel didn’t know either because you never told her.”
“For two intelligent men we surely screwed this up, didn’t we?”
“You screwed it up,” Quentin responded.
“Yeah, I guess I did. And I’ve spent all this time trying to make you pay for my mistakes.”
“So chasing Harper was just your way of getting back at me?”
“Buying the bakery was my way of getting back at you. I like Harper,” Dwayne answered matter-of-factly. “She’s an incredible woman. I like her a lot.”
“She likes yo
u, too. But she loves me. She loves me more than she likes you.”
Dwayne nodded. “She made that clear but you can’t blame a guy for trying, right?”
“No, I can blame you.”
Dwayne smiled ever so slightly. He shifted his lower jaw from side to side, the bone and muscle still stinging from the hit Quentin had landed. He tossed his friend a look as Quentin moved back onto his feet. “So what now?” he asked.
Quentin shrugged. “I’ve got to go get my girl. You get to go home.”
Dwayne blew a deep sigh, nodding his head ever so slightly.
Quentin moved to the door. He stood with his hand on the knob, hesitating only briefly. “Let’s talk soon. Maybe figure out how we can make things different between us.”
Dwayne nodded. “Why would you want to?”
Quentin opened the door. Rachel stood on the other side. Her gaze moved from him to Dwayne.
“It’s what family does,” he said as he moved past her and out of sight.
Harper calling Quentin’s name pulled him back to the moment. He had left Rachel there with Dwayne, hoping that the two would be able to figure things out between them. He had a lot he needed to share with Harper. He smiled, just imagining the conversations they would have when they headed to New Orleans for the weekend.
20
“Good morning,” Rachel said.
“What are you doing here?” Dwayne questioned, his full lips turning into a deeper frown.
Rachel moved past him into the room. She turned to face him as he moved to close the door, taking one last look after Quentin. “The better question is what are you doing here?”
Dwayne shrugged. “You know what I was doing here.”
She shook her head. “Harper isn’t going to sell you the business. She has plans that don’t include you, Dwayne.”
“And how would you know what Harper’s plans are?”
“Attorney-client privilege. But trust me when I tell you Harper’s plans are all about Harper and Quentin. Not Harper and Dwayne.”
The two stood staring at each other. Rachel turned and moved toward the bed, taking a seat against the edge.
He shook his head. “I need to handle some business. I trust you can find your way back to Memphis the same way you got here?”
The Sweetest Thing Page 21
