Celina chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip, out of nervous habit. He stared into her eyes as he held the ring out to her.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Darius, I love you so much. I never felt this way about a man before. You’ve brought something into my life that I never wanted to give myself—a chance to fall in love. Then I came home and found you.”
Darius slid the three-carat diamond ring on her finger, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her long, hard, and passionately. Neither of them heard the footsteps creeping up behind them.
“Well, isn’t this a postcard,” Tiffany said, causing the couple to break off their kiss.
Celina shot a contemptuous glance her way. “Why don’t you go stalk someone else?”
Tiffany laughed. “I’m not stalking anyone. You and your boyfriend think too highly of yourselves. You’re on a public street; anyone could have passed by and seen such a nasty public display. What would your poor dead father think of making a spectacle of yourself like this? Then again, from what I’ve heard, Thomas Hart wasn’t much better.”
Darius held Celina back as she lunged for Tiffany. “Why don’t you just leave us alone,” Darius said as he struggled to hold his fiancée. She wiggled in his arms like a minx, itching to rip Tiffany apart.
“That’s your specialty, leaving people alone. Remember all of the promises that you made to me about us being together?” Tiffany snapped. “Don’t get too comfortable with Darius. As soon as you step out of his box, he’s gone.”
“That’s the difference between me and you, Tiffany,” Celina flashed her hand in her face. “Darius is committed to me. He never made a commitment to you.”
Tiffany shuddered as she looked at the ring. “You’re marrying her?”
“Yes, Darius made a commitment to me and there’s nothing you can do to change it, because he doesn’t want you,” Celina snapped.
Tiffany narrowed her eyes into tiny slits. “You will not make it down the aisle, mark my words,” she threatened.
Celina reached out and grabbed Tiffany by the collar. “You’re not a threat to me, but I have a warning for you. Stay away from us, or you’re going to regret the day you met me.”
Darius whispered for Celina to calm down. She released Tiffany and gave her a little push. Tiffany’s nostrils flared as she turned to walk away.
Celina turned to Darius. “Do you believe her? She follows me to New York and then she comes here with these lies. She’s lucky that I didn’t deck her for that crack about my father.”
“Remind me not to get on your bad side, Ms. New York,” Darius joked. “And to think I wondered how you made it in the city.”
Celina gave Darius a playful shove and laughed. “You know what, I’m not going to let her steal my joy.”
Darius wrapped his arms around her. “So, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?” His breath tickled her neck.
Looking into his eyes, she never realized that love could feel this good, this right, and this special. She kissed him gently on the lips, then boldly grabbed his hands and slipped them inside her shorts.
“I want you,” she whispered against his ear. Darius reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys.
“Let’s go inside,” he moaned as he stroked her upper thigh with his thumb. “We don’t want to give the town a show.”
Celina stepped back, allowing Darius to open the door. “How did you get the keys?” she asked.
Darius smiled, then pushed the door open. “I’m full of surprises.” Celina walked in and smiled at the scene. The place was decorated with white and yellow roses, and a pink and blue blanket was spread in the middle of the floor with a bucket of ice holding a bottle of champagne, a plate of strawberries beside the bucket. Celina didn’t care about the blank walls or the hard slate floor. All she saw was the beauty in what Darius had done for her to make this day special. “Darius,” she murmured. He turned around and handed her the keys.
“It’s all yours,” he said.
“What?”
“This is yours, for you and our future,” he said as he waved his hand.
“Darius, I can’t accept this. It’s too much.” He shook his head as he reached down and picked up a succulent strawberry and placed it between her lips.
“It isn’t,” he said as she bit into the berry. “There’s nothing I won’t do for you and our future. You’re the most important thing to me.”
Celina unbuttoned her blouse and slid it from her shoulders. In the back of her mind, she wondered how long it would be before she started showing the world she was carrying Darius’ child. Grabbing her hands, he took over undressing her. Darius pulled her shorts down, slipping the denim garment over her long legs, then he scooped her up in his arms and laid her down on the blanket. She looked up at him as he slowly took off his golf shirt. Every time Celina saw his body, she felt inspired to paint. Darius was definitely her muse. She wondered if their child would look like her or Darius. Maybe the child would look like his or her grandparents. Darius leaned down on top of Celina, gently kissing her collarbone, nibbling on her as if she were a tasty treat. Celina’s body was wrought with desire, hot with yearning, and she clutched his back, pulling him down on top of her to let him know she was ready.
“Slow down, baby,” Darius said. “We have all day, all night, and all our lives.” She relaxed and let him take control of her body. Unsnapping the front clasp of her satin bra, he took her full breasts into his mouth, moving from left to right. His tongue teased her nipples, making them hard as rocks. Celina moaned in delight as he slowly slid down her body, blazing a trail to her hot center. She arched her back, pressing her supple body against his mouth. Darius ran his hand down the valley of her breasts as he kissed the tender skin between her legs. Celina was on fire and near explosion as his tongue darted in and out of her, lashing against her tender bud.
She closed her eyes as he dove deeper, lapping up her womanly juice. “Oh,” she moaned as she reached back, grabbing the blanket as Darius led her to the edge of ecstasy. Pulling back, he reached for the bottle of champagne, then made quick work of opening it. Next, he poured it down her stomach and drank from her body, making her nerves stand on end. Celina closed her eyes, lost in the sensations Darius’s tongue elicited as it touched her most sensitive spot. She stroked the back of his neck as the waves of an orgasm attacked her senses.
Darius looked up at her. “How do you feel?” he asked as he spread her legs and eased between them.
“Good, really good,” she replied breathlessly. His manhood throbbed against her thighs and she took his burgeoning erection in her hand, stroking him back and forth. Darius threw his head back as she moved her hand faster and faster. Darius reached into his discarded pants and pulled a condom from his pocket. She took the red packet from his hand, opened it, then slid the latex sheet on Darius before guiding him to the hot folds of flesh between her thighs. Pressing her body closer to him, Celina felt every inch of him inside her and she tightened herself around him. She tried to lose herself inside him. Their bodies were intertwined like ribbon. Celina clasped her lips against Darius’s neck, muffling moans of passion, as he played her body like a skilled musician, finding every erogenous zone and pleasure point that she had.
When Darius rolled over on his back, it was Celina’s turn to play conductor. With her legs locked around him, Celina threw her body backwards, grinding against him as sweat beaded on their bodies. She held his face in her hands as she began to shiver and Darius ran his hands up and down her spine, as if he knew she was near climax. Falling against his chest, she gave in to the eruption between her legs. Darius held her tightly as the same feeling washed over him. Clinging to each other, they settled on the blanket in a spoon shape as the aftershocks of their lovemaking rippled through their senses.
“Let’s make a toast,” he said as he released her from his arms and grabbed two glasses and what was left of the champagne.
Taking the glass, Celina thought tha
t it was best if she didn’t drink because she wasn’t sure if she was pregnant or not.
Darius turned to Celina. “To love. Finding it, keeping it, and making it grow.”
Celina clanked her glass against his. She watched him as he sipped his champagne. “What’s wrong?” he asked when he noticed Celina wasn’t drinking.
“I—I don’t think I should drink this.”
Darius furrowed his brows. “Why not? We are still celebrating, aren’t we?”
Should I tell him? she thought, looking into his eyes with a plastic smile plastered on her face. What if I’m not pregnant?
“Celina,” Darius said. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I think I might be pregnant,” she blurted out, then quickly stood and walked over to one of the boarded-up windows. Darius followed her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
“Are you telling me that I’m going to be a father?” he asked. His voice was peppered with excitement.
Celina covered her bare breasts with her arm. “I’m not really sure. Earlier, when you came by, I was in the bathroom about to take a pregnancy test.”
Darius planted a sloppy wet kiss on her forehead. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her eyes met his and she said, “Because I’m not sure that I am pregnant and I wanted to be sure before I said anything. I’m not even sure I’m ready to be a mother.”
“What do you mean?”
Celina ran her hand up and down her throat. “Darius, I don’t even know if I’m pregnant, so please, let’s not turn this into an argument.”
He looked away from her as she walked over to the blanket and picked up her clothes. “You know,” Darius began, “I’m not trying to argue with you, but Celina, this child, if there is one, is mine, too, and any decision that you make . . .”
She pulled on her shorts and put on her bra. “I know that, Darius, but it is still my body. Besides, we’re not even sure if there is a baby.”
“I don’t want to hear that BS. If we created a child, then we need to make a decision together about what happens next.”
Celina bristled at Darius’s harsh tone. “Did you think I was saying I wanted to have an abortion? Darius, I would never do that. You know what, just take me home.”
Darius walked over to her as she buttoned her blouse. “Baby, I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just . . . I’ve been here before, but it isn’t fair for me to take this out on you.”
“You’re right it isn’t, especially when I don’t even know if I’m pregnant or not. And what do you mean, you’ve been here before?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just go,” he said as he pulled up his shorts. Celina grabbed his arm.
“You listen to me, now it’s my turn,” she said. “We’re not leaving until you talk to me.”
Darius sighed and looked at Celina. “All right, when I was in DC, you know I was involved with someone. Renita and I were going to get married. Not only did she cheat on me, she robbed me of my child.”
Celina gasped and placed her hand on his shoulder as if she was urging him to continue with the story.
Darius sighed and grabbed her hand. “The day I decided to come back to Elmore was when she and I had this confrontation. After nine-eleven, I wanted to put my life in order. I knew Renita was with another man that day, but I had to know why. So, I went to her to see if we could salvage our relationship. That’s when she told me,” Darius said. His voice trailed off. Celina held on to him. She had never seen Darius like this before, so quiet and introspective. “She had an abortion because she said a child would get in the way of her career.”
“Darius,” Celina murmured.
“I can’t go through that twice,” he said. “Celina, if you are pregnant, you have to know that I want you and our child. You won’t be doing this alone. Family means everything to me. Even when I was working eighty hours a week, I still wanted a family, children, and a wife.”
“I know that, and if I am pregnant, I want this child. I would never do something that drastic, not with all that’s happened,” she said referring to her father’s death.
Darius seemed to brighten. “So, let’s go take the test,” he said.
Celina exhaled and took his hand. “All right,” she said as they headed out the door.
CHAPTER 24
Darius paced back and forth waiting for the bathroom door to open. When they arrived at the house, Celina had dashed into the bathroom and told him to wait outside. As he waited, he questioned if he was actually ready for fatherhood.
Is anyone ever ready for fatherhood? It happens and you deal with it. I love her and I will love this child, he thought.
The door to the bathroom opened and Darius held his breath as she came over to him with the white plastic test in her hand.
“I guess I was wrong. I’m not pregnant,” she said. Darius looked at the test; only one stripe had turned pink.
“Well,” he said. “Maybe this is for the best. We’re going to have the rest of our lives to have a family.” Darius pulled Celina into his arms and hugged her tightly.
“Are you disappointed?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “You know what, it’s okay. Now we should really talk about children and our future.”
Celina kissed Darius gently and led him into the living room to the sofa. “You’re right. I do want children and all of that, but I will not be a stay-at-home mother.”
Darius nodded and kissed Celina’s dainty hand. “I never thought you would be. My son will eat meat, though.”
Celina pinched the meaty part of his arm. “I don’t think so, carnivore. And don’t try to sneak chopped steak into our daughter’s applesauce.”
Laughing, he pulled Celina down on his lap. “Let’s talk about the gallery. Maybe we should have a big opening around the same time as the azalea festival. There will be a lot of people in town and you could do some paintings of these famed bushes.”
“Well, I need to call Millicent and get her to ship H2Love here. I have some other paintings in New York I want to go in the gallery and I need to do something as a tribute to my father.”
Darius nodded. “That would be good,” he said. “Listen, I need to go and check on the store. Dinner, tonight?” he said.
“Sure, I’ll cook.”
“Why don’t we just go to Rudy’s? Remember, I’m a carnivore.” Darius said, then kissed Celina on the forehead. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
As Darius walked out of the house, he tried not to think about the fact that Celina wasn’t pregnant. He didn’t know why he was so upset that she wasn’t going to have a child. They had years to start a family and it wasn’t as if she had deceived him about the pregnancy; she just simply wasn’t pregnant. Darius got into his car and headed downtown. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time for the store to close. Richard had been there all day and the least Darius could do was close up for him. Darius pulled up to the front of the store and parked his car. He walked into the empty store. “Richard,” he called out.
“In the back,” the man called out. Darius walked to the storage room where Richard was stacking boxes of fertilizer. He leaned against the wall and looked at the man who was more like a second father than an employee.
“Why don’t you clear out of here?” he said, as he began to stack the other boxes.
Richard furrowed his brows. “She turned you down?” he asked as he stopped stacking the boxes.
Darius smiled. “No, she didn’t. We’re going to Rudy’s for dinner tonight.”
Richard looked at him shook his head. “So what’s with the sour face? I know that I’m old, but when most people get engaged, the last thing they normally do is come to work and load manure.”
“I found out something today and I just need a little time to clear my head,” Darius said as he moved a few boxes. “Celina thought she was pregnant, but it turned out to be a false alarm.”
“Well, Darius, you should be thankfu
l. I know your generation thinks it’s okay to have kids and not be married, but maybe it is just best that you two tie the knot first, then start a family.”
“I know that and that’s what I’m trying to tell myself, but I wanted her to be pregnant. I’m just not so sure she wanted to be. She said all the right things about wanting a family, but when that test was negative, I could see the relief on her face.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t rush into having a family. You and Celina have time to start a family. What’s the rush? Marriage is hard enough without starting off with kids in tow.”
Darius shrugged his shoulders. “I was robbed of the chance to be a father before and I just didn’t want history to repeat itself. I thought that, I don’t know, that she was trying to hide it from me.”
“Do you really think Celina is the kind of woman who would do that to you?” Richard asked as he patted Darius on the shoulder. “When it’s time to have a family, you both will know it. I think I’m going to take you up on that offer to go home early.”
Darius smiled. “All right, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Once Darius was alone in the store, Richard’s words began to sink in. He and Celina did have time to start a family and she would include him in any decision that would deal with their child.
What am I worried about? he thought as he closed the door to the storage room. Darius was about to lock up the store when the door chime went off, signaling that someone had walked into the store. He looked up and saw Celina standing there.
“I didn’t like the way we left things at the house,” she said as she closed the door behind her and flipped the lock.
“Celina, I’m sorry. This wasn’t even about you. I know what kind of woman you are and you would never do what Renita did.”
Celina reached out to Darius. “You’re right. I wouldn’t do that. And when I said that I wasn’t ready to be a mother, it didn’t mean I would go out and have an abortion. I’m not that cold. To be honest, I don’t think anyone is ready to become a mother until the doctor places her baby in her arms.”
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