Let Me Love You (McClain Brothers Book 1)

by Alexandria House

  My mouth dropped open. “The cover?! Wait until I tell Bridgette. I gotta call her now!”

  Courtney held her hand up, her iPad still balanced on her lap. “Hold up, Jo. I’ve also been getting all kinds of requests for you to contact different companies that are wanting to do business with you.”

  “Seriously?”

  She nodded. “There are designers wanting to dress you for future awards shows. S.H.E. Athletics is talking a sneaker line. Pink Vodka wants you to be their spokeswoman. Glam On It Cosmetics wants to collaborate with you on a lip gloss line. They say your lips are perfect for one.”

  “What?! But…why?”

  “You’re hot right now, baby,” Everett said. “They know you were with Bugz, now you’re with me, and plus, I kicked his ass over you. They’re fascinated by you. And besides all that, you’ve got this…thing, the same thing that drew me to you and has damn near driven Bugz’s ass crazy. You’re special.”

  I shook my head. “No, they’re just tryna figure out why y’all want my funny-looking ass.”

  “You know how I feel about you saying shit like that, Jo. You’re beautiful, inside and out.”

  “In your eyes, yes, and I appreciate that, but I’m not model pretty. I’m just a regular chick with lots of flaws.”

  “And that’s who these companies sell their products to. Regular chicks, and right now, you’re ‘hashtag goals’ for all of them,” Courtney stated.

  I’ll be damned if she wasn’t right.

  Everett rested a huge hand on my thigh “Jo, it bothers you that you don’t have a career, right? That’s why you took that shit off Park? Well, here’s your chance to be an entrepreneur if you want it. But again, it’s your choice.”

  He was right, too. These opportunities were just dropping in my lap. Maybe this was all meant to be. But— “Isn’t this kind of like me riding off your success, though?” I asked, as the thought hit me. “I’ll really look like a gold digger if I take these folks up on their offers.”

  Everett shrugged. “They calling you one anyway, ain’t they? Shit, may as well make you some paper, baby. I mean, I got you. You know that, but I know you women like to make your own money, and I’m good with that, too.”

  I nodded and realized some women prayed for opportunities like these, and none of this even seemed like work. It seemed…fun. I needed fun. “I think I wanna do it.”

  “You sure?” Everett asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, I can at least see what the companies are talking about.”

  Courtney smiled. “Great! I’ll give them your email address. And if it’s okay, I’ll give it to anyone who contacts me regarding you in the future, too.”

  “But before you agree to meet with anyone, I’ll need to get you a meeting with my lawyer unless you have one in mind who can negotiate contracts and stuff like that,” Everett offered.

  “No, your lawyer will be fine.”

  Everett walked his play cousin-slash-assistant to the front door and I remained in my spot, glued to the loveseat. I felt scared, terrified about all of this, but also excited, more excited than I ever felt about a job before.

  Just as I picked my phone up to call Bridgette and give her the news, it began to buzz. I stared at it for a moment as Sidney’s name flashed on the screen, not because I didn’t want to talk to him, but because I just felt dazed about the impending changes in my life. So I missed the call, but he quickly called back.

  This time, I answered. “Hello?”

  “Where you at?”

  “Home. Why?”

  “Why you ain’t answering the door, then?”

  Damn. I hadn’t told him I moved. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to tell him. “Oh, we moved. Meant to tell you that.”

  “Moved? Where? Your car is still here. I’m standing here looking at it.”

  “Uh, we moved to Calabasas, and I got a new car, too.”

  “You moved with South?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How the fuck I’m supposed to see my daughter, Jo? You got her in the motherfucker’s house?”

  “It’s my house, too, and I think we should work out a real visitation schedule. No more pop-ups. Nat deserves stability.”

  “Stability like moving her to some nigga’s house?!”

  “Everett is not just some nigga, Sid. Nat knows him. Come on, if we’re both mature about this, we can work it out, but you can’t keep trying to start stuff with my fiancé. He’s more than willing to forget the whole hip hop awards mess if you agree to stop doing stuff like that.”

  “Fian—you know what? Fuck this shit!” He shouted the words into the phone and then hung up on me.

  A second later, a text from him came through: I’m sorry, Jo. I’m tryna deal with this shit but I can’t get with u marrying that nigga. I still love u.

  If this negro wasn’t a total and complete lunatic.

  I shook my head as I finally got up and headed to Nat’s room, where she was napping. As I stood there deciding whether or not to go ahead and wake her up and get her ready for dinner since we had plans to go out to eat, I felt him behind me.

  Wrapping his long arms around me, he leaned in and nuzzled my neck before whispering directly in my ear, “You wanna do a little something before she wakes up?”

  I grinned. “Naw.”

  He lifted me from my feet, making me giggle. “Oh, you don’t?”

  “Ev, stop! You’re gonna make me wake her up and you damn sure won’t get none then.”

  As he carried me from her room to ours, he said, “But I’m the loud one?” He laid me on my back and settled over me.

  “You are! And you better be quiet, or she’ll be at the door knocking before you can finish.”

  “You know what you gotta do, then.”

  “Man, your fans would never believe your freaky ass likes panty gags.”

  He grinned down at me before covering my mouth with his.

  Call me.

  Why are you ignoring me?

  We need to talk!

  How could you get engaged without discussing it with me?!

  I thought you weren’t ever going to get married again.

  You’re a liar!

  Why are you acting like this?

  Call me.

  Call me.

  Call me.

  Everett, call me!

  As I scrolled through the messages from Esther, I sighed. Her ass was really losing it. Since when did I need to consult her before I made a decision? And did she forget the whole me not getting married again thing was said right after I caught her ass having a damn orgy in my house? She was upset, maybe even hurt, because I guess she was comfortable as long as I was alone and miserable, fucking chicks just to have something close to a connection with someone, but she was going to have to stay mad, because I was not letting Jo go. Not if I could help it. I didn’t give a shit how Esther or Bugz or the world at large felt about it. Being with her made me happy, complete, and that was all that mattered to me.

  This was my favorite time of day, bedtime, when everything was quiet. I turned my head and watched her sleep for a minute, eyes closed, mouth slightly open, freckles in full effect, hair everywhere, and I smiled. Then I deleted all of Esther’s stupid-ass messages and took a picture of Jo, uploading it to Instagram with the caption: My sleeping beauty. The picture already had like a thousand likes a few seconds later when I kissed her nose and pulled her to me.

  She frowned, eyes still shut as she mumbled, “Unh-uh. I can’t take anymore. You—my coochie is tired, baby. Go to sleep. I’ll give you some in the morning. You can have all of it in the morning. I promise.”

  I smiled, kissed her forehead, and was soon fast asleep myself.

  30

  Everett, Nat, and I arrived in Houston the Monday of Thanksgiving week. Bridgette came with us since she had no family to spend the holiday with. Tommy was our only security and he was only with us for a day as Everett usually paid a couple of his cousins to be his bodyguards when he was in his
hometown. As soon as the chartered plane landed, we hit the ground running, heading straight to a huge food giveaway Everett sponsored every year. He had told me to dress comfortably because he knew that would be our first stop and I had relayed this information to Bridgette, but she was determined to look cute. She helped us out and didn’t complain, but I knew her feet had to be killing her in the heels she wore.

  After we finished assisting the volunteers with giving out turkeys, bags of stuffing mix, cans of vegetables, frozen pies, and department store gift cards, we made our way to Everett’s house, which was actually located in a small town a few miles west of Houston on a plot of land that also included a cottage he had built for his mother that was now his aunt’s home.

  Everett’s Houston home was beautiful, a red brick house with five bedrooms and six full baths, structurally much smaller than our LA home but with more privacy since Everett owned several acres of land surrounding it.

  Once inside and exhausted from the flight and the work we’d engaged in, we all headed upstairs where I fell into bed with Nat for a nap. I was too tired to wonder what Bridgette and Everett planned to do. When I woke up a couple of hours later to an empty bed, I smiled. A wonderful aroma had wafted all the way from the kitchen straight into my nose. Everett had told me his Aunt Everlina, whom he was named after, would be staying with us and cooking for us all week, including the bulk of Thanksgiving dinner. Since she was, as he put it, more like a mother to him than an aunt, I couldn’t wait to meet her or taste what smelled like greens and porkchops. It was Aunt Everlina who raised Leland and Kathryn after their mother’s death, since they were eleven and sixteen at the time. Everett, Nolan, and Neil were all young adults back then.

  I was looking forward to meeting all of his aunts and uncles and cousins and getting acquainted with them like I had his siblings since we’d moved into the new house. The only person I wasn’t looking forward to seeing was Ella, who was flying in on Wednesday night. I know that sounds bad, but it’s the truth. As hard as I tried to be kind and cordial to her when she’d visit Everett, all I got was rolled eyes and sucked teeth in response. She had enough sense to act like she was trying to get along with me in her father’s presence, but as soon as his back was turned or he left the room for even a second, Miss Attitude returned. I knew the root of it was jealousy. Her dad was building a family, and as hard as he tried to include her in it, she saw herself being phased out. I dealt with it, with her, didn’t bother telling him, because I didn’t want to make him feel like he had to choose between us. Hell, I wasn’t dumb. I knew that would be a losing battle for me, and I didn’t want to lose Everett. Not ever. So I made sure to take Nat to Ms. Sherry’s whenever I knew Ella was coming over, because I didn’t want her little feelings hurt by the teenager, and then I took Ella’s meanness and tried to return it with kindness. I just hoped and prayed there never came a time when something would necessitate her living with us, because that shit was never going to work.

  After a quick stop in the bathroom, I made my way through the second floor, down the stairs, and to the kitchen where I found a hefty older woman stirring something in a huge bowl—a closer look told me it was potato salad—and Nat sitting at the kitchen table eating applesauce. I kissed her little forehead and then moved toward the woman.

  “Hi,” I said softly. “Aunt Everlina?”

  She looked up, the smooth brown skin of her face that matched Everett’s spreading into a bright smile. “Jo?”

  I returned her smile, moved closer, and proffered my hand to her. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She shook her head and opened her arms. “Girl, you about to marry my favorite nephew and you think you can get away with just shaking my hand? I’ma need a hug!”

  With a gigantic grin on my face, I walked into her open arms and was soon enveloped in the warmth of this woman who was nearly a foot taller than me.

  When she backed out of the hug, she took my face in her hands and smiled. “Mm-hmm, I see it.”

  My brow furrowed a bit. “See what?”

  “What he sees, what had him fighting over you on TV. It’s in your spirit. It’s not dark like that heifer he married before. I knew she wasn’t nothing but trouble. So did his mama. We tried to tell him, but he always been hard-headed. But you? He got it right this time.”

  I heard his voice before I felt him lay his hand on my shoulder. “So she passes your test?” he asked.

  “Ebbwitt!” Nat squealed. “I got applesauce!”

  “Did Auntie Everlina give that to you?” he asked.

  She showed him all of her short teeth as she nodded.

  “Did you say thank you?” I asked.

  She nodded again.

  “She sure did. This sweet baby got good manners. Someone been raising her right.” Aunt Everlina went back to her bowl, and then said, “You did good, Tick. Picked you a good woman this time.”

  Tick?

  “Come on, Auntie. Don’t nobody call me that no more,” Everett groaned.

  “Everybody here in Millstone does.” She looked up from the bowl with raised brows. “Oh, you didn’t tell her about your nickname, did you?”

  I glanced over my shoulder at his towering frame. “No, ma’am. He didn’t.”

  “Shit. Here we go,” Everett muttered.

  “Well, for the longest time, this boy would eat anybody out of house and home. His daddy—God rest Randy’s soul—used to always say if this boy didn’t stop eating so much, he was gonna swell up and pop like a tick!” Aunt Everlina grabbed her jiggly stomach and laughed. “That Randy was sho’ nuff a mess! Anyway, he said it so much, everybody started calling Everett Tick.”

  Everett sighed. “Auntie, come on!”

  “What? Didn’t nobody tell you to come in here anyway. Go on in there and watch TV while I get to know Jo.”

  “Naw, I ain’t gonna let you keep telling her stuff to run her away.”

  I shook my head as I turned to face him. “Is Bridgette down here somewhere?”

  “She’s out back sitting on the patio talking to Tommy,” Everett replied.

  “She is?” I knew she had been on a penis-finding mission for a while that had gone into overdrive after I got with Everett, but Tommy? He wasn’t bad-looking, but he was so…huge and well, a bodyguard. I’d always known Bridgette to date metrosexual, manicured fingernail-type men. Maybe they were just having a friendly chat.

  Nah, I knew her better than that. She was scoping out some dick.

  “Yeah…” Everett said, and then slipped his chiming phone from his pocket, accepting a call. The conversation lasted less than a full minute, and as he hung up, he turned to me, and said, “That was Courtney reminding me about my interview tomorrow with Latisha Grandy from KCHT. She’s good people. We go way back. She’ll be here at five in the morning. My interview will be part of their morning show. You wanna sit in on it? She requested that you be a part of it if you were available.”

  I frowned a little. Poor Everett was always working in some form, shape, or fashion, even when he was supposed to be not working. “But I didn’t bring Sage to do my makeup.”

  “I’m sure Latisha can bring a makeup artist, baby.”

  “Ev, I can’t use just any makeup on my skin.”

  “Maybe Bridgette can help you out. You got something to wear? If not, we can go get something.”

  “Uh…” I was about to panic, feeling like he’d sprung this on me when I was sure he’d mentioned it before. There was just always so much going on in his world. Would I ever get used to his lifestyle?

  “Latisha Grandy? Didn’t that used to be your girlfriend?” Aunt Everlina asked.

  Girlfriend?

  “Way back in high school, yeah,” Everett replied.

  “She still like you, don’t she?” Everlina returned.

  Everett shrugged. “I don’t know about all that, Auntie.”

  Giving me a pointed look, she said, “That’s what I heard. That girl still wants you.”

  “Uh, I have some
thing to wear and Bridgette can help me with hair and makeup. She can keep Nat occupied for us, too. I’ll be ready in the morning,” I said.

  He leaned in and softly kissed my lips. “Good. I think you’ll like Tish.”

  Tish, huh? “I’m sure I will.”

  I knew shit was going too well.

  Monday night after we put Nat down in the bedroom that connected to the master, I managed to convince Jo to give me some, despite her being weirded out about doing it with my aunt sleeping down the hall. So I was in a great mood for the interview the next morning, which, by the way, went really well. Tish had always been cool, and while she did still want me, she showed nothing but respect to Jo, who rocked the interview even though she was nervous as hell before we started. Jo always managed to pull it together for stuff like that, a fact that told me she’d be good at working with those companies that were courting her. Jo was intelligent and extremely well-spoken, made for the public eye whether she realized it or not. She just needed someone to put her where she belonged. She fit into my world more than she knew.

  That evening, I took her to the Calming Waters Rest Home where my Uncle Tisdale, my dad’s only living sibling, resided. He was confused as hell, but always recognized me. We sat with him for a few minutes before having lunch in the city at one of my favorite little hole-in-the-wall chicken joints with my twin cousins Tadd and Toot—yeah, twins run mean in our family—serving as our security since Tommy was supposed to head back to LA to spend the holidays with his family. His ass was so wrapped up in Jo’s girl, Bridgette, that he decided to stay, but I kept him off the clock to give my cousins a chance to make some money. After that, we returned to my house and to Nat. That was one of the things I loved most about Jo: she didn’t like being away from her baby girl for long, even though Nat was crazy about Bridgette and didn’t mind hanging with her.

  Later that Tuesday night, Aunt Ever, as I called her, solicited Jo’s and Bridgette’s help in the kitchen. It had slipped over breakfast that morning that neither of them could cook, and I thought my auntie was going to have a damn stroke at the revelation. I tried to tell her it didn’t matter to me. It wasn’t like I couldn’t afford to hire someone to cook for us, but for a woman who loved food and loved cooking like Aunt Ever, a woman who couldn’t cook wasn’t really a woman at all. She just didn’t get it.