He cleared his throat. “Uh, I think he’s down the hall.”
Without another word, Berlin moved in that direction, the heels of her boots clicking as she glanced inside one room after another, impressed with all of the work that had been done. When she reached the last door that was slightly open, she pushed it wider and what she saw caused her to scream.
Reggie was kissing a woman.
At the sound of her high-pitched cry, his head whipped around and he stared in horror. This can’t be happening. Her mouth dropped. Reggie had been kissing the same woman she had seen him with on the street in Clayton.
“Babe, it’s—”
“Save it!” Berlin cried dismissively. “This is the same bitch I saw you with at the Mexican restaurant.” Quickly, Berlin spun on her heels and hurried down the hall despite Reggie calling after her.
Dereon appeared at the top of the grand staircase and Trey was standing at the end of the hall. “What happened?” Dereon asked.
“Move!” she cried as she pushed passed Trey and headed for the door.
“Berlin, wait!” Reggie called and he reached Berlin just before she could escape out into the cold. He grabbed her arm and she immediately shrugged it off.
“Let go of me!” she yelled.
“Berlin, babe, let me explain.” There was an edge of desperation to his voice.
She glared at him in outraged disbelief. “Explain, what? Why you were kissing another woman?” she accused. “Sure, I can’t wait to hear that one,” she added sarcastically and planted a fist at her waist.
“Kissing?” Trey repeated skeptically then laughed abruptly. “Yo dude, you were kissing my future wife?”
“Shut the hell up!” Reggie barked then turned to his wife. “It’s not what you think,” he assured her.
“What do I think?” she asked impatiently.
“She kissed me,” he said urgently.
Berlin rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Don’t try to insult my intelligence! It didn’t at all look like you were resisting.”
“Boo, I’m serious.”
She scowled darkly. “Reggie. Leave me the hell alone!” She then gave him a hard shove and practically ran out the room.
He hurried after her. “Berlin, you need to listen to me! I’m not lying.”
Without breaking stride, she glanced over a shoulder. “I don’t know what to believe. All I know is I gotta get away from here!” Her fingers were shaking a bit as she fumbled with the lock and doorknob. A few moments later she stepped outside into the cold.
“Wait!” Reggie jammed a shoulder in the closing gap and burst outside. “Berlin, you don’t need to be getting yourself all upset.”
Berlin squeezed her eyes tight, allowing the tears to roll down her cheeks. “Then please, just…” her voice cracked while she reached inside her coat pocket for her keys. “…just leave me alone.”
Reggie stepped back and watched as his wife pulled out the driveway.
Damn, now how the hell did that happen? He dragged a frustrated hand down his face. He could be so stupid sometimes. For the past two weeks, he noticed the way Lyric had flirted with him and the way her arm would brush against him whenever the opportunity arose, but he just thought it was no big deal. But when she had leaped into his arms and kissed him, he had been so caught off guard, he had no idea what had hit him until he spotted Berlin standing there watching him.
Damn.
Reggie dragged a frustrated hand down his face. He should have just been honest with his wife in the first place about the money and the house. If so, none of this would have happened. Shivering, he realized he was standing out in the cold without a jacket and stormed back inside.
“What the hell just happened?” Dereon asked as he was coming down the stairs.
Reggie walked over to the closet, grabbed his jacket and keys. “I’m getting ready to go find my wife.” He looked up to see Lyric sauntering around the corner, looking guilt-stricken. He glared at her, a muscle throbbing at his jaw.
“I’m so s-sorry,” she stumbled. “I just thought…”
“Save it. You’re fired! Trey, do me a favor and make sure she gets the hell outta my house!” With that Reggie hurried out to his truck. He needed to find a way to get Berlin to listen. A task that wasn’t going to be easy.
* * *
Arianna came around and took a seat beside her on the bed.
“He’s asking about you.”
Berlin rolled over onto her side too angry to look at her. “Too bad.”
After she had stormed out of the Arbor Meadows house, Berlin had checked into a hotel, the last place Reggie was going to look for her, or so she had thought. She needed time to think and the last thing she wanted was to hear his lies. She knew what she saw. The image was embedded in her brain, and nothing was going to change that except for time.
He’d been keeping something from you.
She had felt it in her bones and every time she asked him how his day was, Reggie’s eyes had always seemed to shift to the floor like he didn’t dare look her way.
“He said it was a big misunderstanding,” she heard Arianna say. “She was some interior designer he’d hired to get the house ready.”
“Well, at least that explains the beautiful décor,” Berlin replied with a rude snort. “But what the hell does that have to do with them kissing?”
“Reggie claims she kissed him. He had no idea.”
“Yeah, right,” she said flatly. Tell me another lie. Reggie had been behaving suspicious for weeks. Sneaking around, and claiming to have been working on the house at all hours of the night. Now she knew why. Her husband had been having an affair. Berlin sat up on the bed, rubbing a hand across her pregnant belly. “I don’t want to hear anything he has to say!”
Her best friend looked skeptical. “Sweetie, think about that baby. You can’t be getting all upset.”
“I’m not, which is why I moved into this hotel. If I’m around him there’s no telling what I might do to him.”
She was quiet and Berlin was sure Arianna wasn’t a hundred percent sure she agreed with her decision but as her best friend she was going to support it regardless.
“You can’t hide here forever.”
“Maybe,” Berlin mumbled although she knew she was being ridiculous.
“There’s no maybe. You’re having a baby! Reggie’s baby.”
“Don’t remind me.” She squeezed her eyes shut trying to block out the scene that still played before her eyes.
Frustrated, Berlin rose and headed into the bathroom when she heard a heavy knock at the door.
* * *
Reggie double parked his Escalade then climbed out and hurried inside the hotel. He moved passed the front desk with determined steps. There was no point in stopping. He already knew where he was going. He was a man on a mission—to bring his wife home.
Reggie rounded the corner and rushed up the stairs. According to Arianna, Berlin was only two floors up.
As he moved down the hall, he tried to think about what he was going to say. He didn’t have a clue what, except the truth. He just hoped it was good enough.
He dragged a hand down his face. Ignoring the signs and allowing Lyric to get that close to him had been a costly mistake. He should have known. He knew what flirting was and yet he had been so determined to get the house ready he had ignored the warning signs. And as a result, Lyric had caught him off guard. Unfortunately, before he had a chance to reject her advances, his wife had walked in and caught Lyric kissing him. As Reggie moved down the hallway, he could still see the shock and hurt on Berlin’s face. He would do anything to take that pain away.
He reached room 308, glanced down at the text Arianna had sent him to confirm the room number, knocked, and immediately knocked again. In a matter of seconds, the door swung open and there she was, looking breathtakingly beautiful as ever.
Berlin’s eyes widened and her pouty lips parted. “Reggie… how did you find me?” Shock had her voice ris
ing.
Reggie tried to mask his disappointment. After two days, he hoped his wife had missed him. That would have made the situation a lot easier to resolve, then he could have dragged her into his arms and put the hotel room to good use until morning.
“It doesn’t matter how I found you,” he said and grinned. “What matters is I came to take my wife home.”
She stared at him a moment, then blinked and shook her head stubbornly. “I’m not going home.”
His smile dimmed a bit. “Why the hell not?” he barked.
“You know why,” she countered.
Noticing the way her chest was heaving, he softened his voice. He hadn’t come over to upset her. “Boo… listen. It’s not what you think.”
Her brow rose. “I know what I saw,” she cried accusingly.
Reggie shook his head. “No, you saw a misunderstanding. Lyric’s an interior designer I had hired to help me get the house ready. She was showing me an idea she had for the office when she threw herself at me.”
His reply was met by ridiculous laughter. “Threw herself! How can that woman throw herself at you?”
“Easily,” he replied with a sheepish grin. “That chick’s stronger than she looks.” He hoped humor would soften the mood but instead her face hardened again.
“I know what I saw.” Her nostrils flared.
“Berlin, babe. Can I come in so we can talk?” Reggie glanced briefly over his shoulder as a large man moved down the hall followed by two hyperactive kids. “Boo?” he asked.
Berlin drew a deep calming breath before she opened the door wide and stepped aside.
Reggie entered and spotted Arianna sitting at the table. As soon as their eyes met, she sprung from the chair. “I better go pick my son up from daycare before they call social services on me.” She gave a soft laugh and reached for her purse on the table before continuing. “I’ll call you later.” She squeezed Berlin’s shoulder then turned toward the door and gave Reggie a stern look before departing.
He shut the door behind her then turned and faced Berlin who had taken a seat on the couch. “Boo, you need to be at home. Not hiding out in some hotel.”
Her eyes snapped to his. “Hiding? Who’s hiding? I just don’t want to be around you right now.”
He blew out a long breath. “Baby, I understand you’re upset with me and you have every reason to be, but you have to believe me when I say there’s nothing going on between me and Lyric.”
As she stared at him, he saw her eyes soften. She wanted to believe him. So what was stopping her?
“I saw the two of you together at El Patron.”
Damn. He should have known. When she mentioned being at the baby store up the street he should have suspected she had seen him or rather she had seen the two of them climbing out of his vehicle. Lyric had asked him to take her to drop her car off at the shop for an oil change while they had lunch and discussed business. Stupid. Stupid. He should have just been honest with Berlin in the first place.
His dark eyes bored intently into hers. “We were discussing the interior design for the house.”
Berlin tensed. “You told me you were meeting a client about a sunroom.”
Double damn. He hesitated then replied, “My bad. I wanted to keep it a surprise.”
“Why would you want to keep it a surprise? That’s not my house,” she croaked.
He gazed at her, opting for complete honesty, but his pride wouldn’t let him. He wanted her to trust him and his word even if he wasn’t able to justify his actions just yet. “Yo, I promised you I was gonna get that house ready and I was tryna not to let you down.” He shuffled his feet. “That’s all.”
Berlin cut her eyes at him and mumbled, “Whatever.”
Taking a step closer, he ventured carefully. “Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“No… I’m not saying that.” She paused and her eyes shifted to the door. “I-I don’t know what to believe.”
Watching the play of emotion across her face, Reggie shook his head. “I’m not losing my wife.”
Her head whipped around and he saw the tears well in her eyes. “Then you should have thought about that before you decided to kiss someone else!” she cried, eyes flashing with outrage as she rose from the couch.
“The only woman I want to kiss is you.”
Reggie immediately closed the distance and dragged Berlin into his arms and kissed her with all his bent up frustration as his tongue stroked and teased her mouth, hoping to coax her into submission. Instead, she dragged her lips from his and stepped away, drawing a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves. “Reggie, please go. I need time to think.”
“Think at home. You’re leaving.”
“I—”
He cut her off, “You’re pregnant. I’m taking you home.” Berlin was preparing to protest when Reggie added, “I’ll stay here for a few days, but trust me. When I get back from Columbia, I’m coming home to my wife and our bed.”
CHAPTER 8
On Tuesday, Berlin drove to the clinic. Reggie was still in Columbia, Missouri looking at a mansion renovation for an athletic director, which meant she had at least another day before his return home. Lord knows she needed it. She also needed the time to finish up a few year-end reports before the clinic closed the following afternoon for the holiday.
Using her key, Berlin stepped inside the building. The reception desk was empty but the florist had been by and several poinsettias were on the counters. They would use them to decorate the banquet tables for their holiday party later today.
Berlin moved down the long hall past a large Christmas tree covered with bulbs, lights, candy canes, and homemade angels made by some of the children. As she moved toward her office, she reached up, slipped the scarf from around her neck then tugged the leather gloves from her hands, and stuffed them inside the wool coat pocket. She reached her office door that had been beautifully decorated with Christmas cards. Usually the sight caused her to smile but not this time. She sighed. The holiday just wasn’t going to be the same.
Once in her office, Berlin shrugged out of her coat, and spent the entire morning trying to keep as busy as she could. The more she worked, the less she thought about her cheating husband.
Arianna had already started her Christmas vacation and Berlin was grateful she wasn’t going to be in the office, asking questions. She just wasn’t up to listening to her best friend telling her what she needed to do to save her marriage. Although as much as it pained her to admit it, the possibility of her marriage being over scared her. However, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to trust Reggie again. She had loved him with everything she had, and truly believed nothing or no one could have ever come between them. But she had been so wrong. It had all been a lie. Just the thought of Reggie with another woman caused her stomach to churn with despair.
Hearing voices in the hallway, Berlin pushed her marital problems aside and focused on the yearly expense spreadsheet. Two hours later, she still hadn’t managed to get the damn thing to balance. Numbers were her specialty. If anyone could find a problem with the budget, it was her. With determination, she spent the next several hours refiguring the columns, and it was almost lunch time by the time she had identified the problem.
There was an extra hundred grand still in their expense account.
Money had been set aside for equipment the director had later decided not to purchase. Berlin gasped in excitement. She had found a way to stop the clinic from laying off the two nurses.
“Some good has come out of the day,” she murmured with her first real smile. Reaching for her phone, Berlin dialed an extension and left a message for Dr. Clarke to contact her when he arrived at the clinic.
She was getting ready to break for lunch when the front desk buzzed her desk. “Berlin, someone is here to see you.”
“Sure, send them back,” she said and knew it wasn’t her husband because Penny, who had a slight crush on Reggie, wouldn’t have been able to stop giggling.
She was saving the spreadsheet when she heard a soft knock at her door. As soon as Berlin looked up and spotted the chocolate beauty, her mouth tightened.
“What the hell do you want?”
Lyric cleared her throat. “Please, hear me out.”
Their eyes met and held.
With forced composure, Berlin leaned back in the chair, folded her arms across her wool blend sweater and replied, “You got five minutes.”
Lyric stepped further into the room while Berlin’s eyes perused the red sweater dress that accented every perfect curve on her shapely body. As much as she hated to admit it, Lyric was beautiful with dark mocha skin, large brown eyes, a small nose, and high cheekbones.
Tensely, Berlin waited for the woman to speak.
After what felt like an eternity, Lyric stepped forward, allowing the leather handbag to slip off her shoulder and said meekly, “I’m sorry for the other day.”
“Sorry for what happened or sorry you got caught?” she countered cynically.
A guilty expression crossed her face. “Actually both. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have kissed Reginald.”
Her heart soared. Lyric kissed him, not the other way around. “You’re right. You shouldn’t have.” Berlin swiveled around on her chair and then pointed to her left hand. “This ring on my finger means he belongs to me.”
Lyric’s gaze flickered to the diamond wedding ring. “You’re right and I-I… I guess I was jealous.” She paused for a moment. “Reginald is handsome and so nice. I just got out of a bad break-up with a married man, and I really thought Reggie might have been feeling the same vibe. Instead, he was just being nice,” she said quietly keeping her wounded gaze trained on the floor.
“That’s because my husband tries to make everyone feel comfortable.” Berlin spat out the words.
“And I mistook that as something else.” Lyric released another shaky breath. “I’m sorry. Really I am.” She looked confused and troubled, and Berlin almost felt sorry for her. Instead, she gazed up at her not sure what to say.
Naughty Before Christmas (Decadent Delight Series #3) Page 8
