Maybe I should start before that. To the time when another city girl had come to my small town and I fell for her. I thought we would have a future together. She seemed enamored with me, as I was with her. But she had unfinished business in her life. A career in New York, a former lover there. Long story short, she made promises to me, told me she wanted to spend her life with me. But before long, she left me abruptly. Went back to the city and to her ex.
I guess that made me jaded. Made me unprepared to deal with a similar situation when it happened a few years later.
I’m not like most men. I can admit, at least now, that I was scared. No one wants to get hurt. And when I fell for this woman who rear-ended my car, it was significantly more intense than the love I’d had for the woman before. I had no reason to believe that anything would come between us. Until I learned that her circumstances were much like my ex’s. She had a man from the past, one who wanted her back. And yeah, that terrified me. So I said some things and pushed her away. Not because I wanted her to go. Because I couldn’t stand it if she stayed and then broke my heart.
“Oh, my God.” Rita couldn’t read anymore. Her eyes were welling with tears. This was clearly not a random story from a random man. This was from Keith.
She left the story on the desk, and got up, and opened her office door. She was about to go in search of Madeline, but stopped short when she nearly ran into the wall of his chest.
Keith...
Here. In the flesh.
She looked up at him, and he down at her. With the pad of his thumb, he wiped at the tear that had escaped the corner of her eye.
“Hi,” he said softly.
“Keith... I... You’re here...”
“I’ve been coming to the office every day for the past three days. When I got here, I found out that you weren’t away, but working from home. I figured at some point you had to make an appearance, so I was going to keep coming by until you did.”
Rita’s lips fell open. “Are you serious?”
“About day nine of me calling and getting the she’s-on-a-cruise line, I started to doubt you were actually away. In fact, I was pretty sure you were avoiding me. That’s when I knew I had to come here to see you.”
Rita looked beyond Keith, saw her coworkers staring, smiling. They had been in on this. They had to have been. “So you’re saying that you have been coming to the office, and no one told me? But my staff must have been in on this. They gave me the story...”
“Let’s just say, Madeline and I are BFFs now,” Keith said, a smile touching his lips. “I told her what I wanted to do, and she’s been excited to put the plan into motion the moment you came back.”
He wasn’t joking. Rita pulled him into the office and closed the door.
“I read your story—”
“I should never have pushed you away—”
They spoke at the same time.
The faintest of smiles tugged at Keith’s lips, one filled with regret. “I’m sorry. I was a fool.”
“Is it true what you wrote? That someone left you before?”
Keith nodded. “It was pretty much the identical situation, except for the wedding and her ex showing up.”
“Oh, Keith.” That explained a lot.
“Look, I know I shouldn’t have judged you based on her actions, but the thought of you staying with me, then leaving... Rita, I couldn’t take that. Not with you.”
“So all that nonsense about me working things out with Rashad—”
“I thought it best for you to resolve your feelings for him one way or another. You know, the whole if you love something, set it free. No?”
“Except I told you that I didn’t want Rashad. I wanted you, you doofus.”
“Doofus, fool, moron. Wait a minute—wanted?”
Rita’s expression softened as she looked up at him. “Have you really been coming by the office for the past few days?”
“I’d come for a hundred more, if that’s what it took to make you see me. I needed time, Rita. Time to get over my fear and to let you figure out what you really wanted.”
“You, Keith. You’re the one I want. Rashad is my past. You need to believe that.”
“I do.” He inhaled deeply, then smoothed a hand over her hair. “I’m sorry I hurt you. But I promise that if you give me the chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I love you, Rita. And I hope to God you love me, too.”
Her lips trembled. Was this really happening?
She looped her arms around his neck. “I love you, too, Keith. My heart is yours. Please believe that.”
A smile spread across his lips. Then he drew her close, lowered his head and kissed her.
He kissed her until she was breathless. Rita pulled away first. With a serious expression, she looked up at him and said, “I do have some bad news for you.”
Keith frowned. “Oh?”
“I’m not going to publish your story.”
They both laughed.
“Because I want it for me, only me,” she went on as their laughter subsided.
Keith stroked her cheek. “That’s okay, baby. As long as you’ll be my girl. Then one day my wife. My everything.”
“Oh, Keith. Yes. Always.”
How had she been so lucky to meet him? To meet the man of her dreams when she’d least expected it?
“But that brings me to my good news,” she told him.
He raised an eyebrow. “Better than you loving me?”
“I’ll live in Sheridan Falls with you.” She grinned up at him, nodding when he gave her a look of disbelief. “After all, I can work anywhere. I can come to St. Louis when necessary. It’s a quick flight.”
The emotion that flashed in his eyes was a mix of happiness, love and awe. “I love you, baby,” he said, his voice raspy. “So much.”
“I love you, too.”
And then she tipped up on her toes, and he edged his mouth down to meet hers. And this time when they kissed, it was slow, deep, tender. A promise.
A promise of the kind of love that would last forever.
* * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Spark of Desire by Sheryl Lister.
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Spark of Desire
by Sheryl Lister
Chapter 1
“Look at all of DeAnna and Nolan’s grandbabies. All five of their children have
married.”
Cedric Hunter added more ice and drinks to the three coolers and tried to drown out the sound of his mother’s voice. His aunt, uncle and most of the Gray family lived in Los Angeles but had come to Sacramento to celebrate their paternal grandmother’s eightieth birthday. The weekend turned out to be a good one with the late March temperatures running slightly warmer than normal in the low seventies.
“And Lorenzo is smitten with Desiree. Even Alisha has remarried,” she added in reference to his cousins, the adult children of his father’s twin brother. She placed her hands on her hips. “If everybody else can find someone and settle down, why can’t you and Jeremy?”
He groaned and closed the lid. He used to love family gatherings. “Mom, I’m not looking to settle down. With Dad and Uncle Russell retiring last year, I’ve been spending more time on the business. It doesn’t leave much time for socializing.” His father and uncle had come into the office one morning almost a year ago and announced to Cedric and Lorenzo that they were retiring that very day, leaving Cedric and Lorenzo to run their family-owned construction company. It was true that he’d been spending lots of hours at the office, although he still made time to play. However, marriage wasn’t on his radar. “Maybe you should be having this conversation with Jeremy. He’s the romantic.”
“You’re the oldest, Cedric, and you’re not getting any younger.”
Cedric winced. “Wow, Mom. You act like I’m two years from being sent to a retirement home. I’m only thirty-six.”
“Closer to thirty-seven,” she muttered.
“Hey, Ced. Can you come help me move these tables?”
He glanced over at his brother. “Yeah. Be right there.” Cedric kissed his mother’s cheek. “If it’s meant to happen it will.” He said the words to placate her, but he had no intention of settling down. He didn’t have a problem with the idea of commitment or marriage. He just didn’t see those things for himself. He preferred a little variety in his life. Cedric crossed the yard to where his brother stood waiting.
“You looked like you needed a rescue,” Jeremy said with a laugh, grabbing one of the tables.
Cedric shook his head. “Mom has been on me nonstop since Alisha got married last month.” His younger cousin had been married previously, until her first husband left her, eight months pregnant with a two-year-old in tow. But her new husband treated her like a queen. Cedric picked up another table and they carried it a short distance, setting it near another one that held wrapped gifts at one end and an elegantly decorated cake at the other.
“Well, you’d better get moving. Do you need any help finding a potential wife?”
He shot his brother a glare. “You know what you can do with that—”
Jeremy leaned toward Cedric. “You might want to watch your mouth. Mom is standing not too far behind you and you know she hears everything.”
Cedric clamped his jaws shut, glanced over his shoulder and caught his mother’s gaze. Growing up, he’d never understood how she could hear everything they said, whether she was in the room or not. “Lucky for you.” Before he could say anything else, his cousin Lorenzo joined them.
“Need help?”
“Yeah.” Cedric nodded toward the remaining table.
Lorenzo picked it up and brought it over. “Why are you moving these?”
“I think they’re getting ready to do the cake and Mom wants all the tables close together,” Jeremy answered. “Did Ced tell you Mom’s on his case again about settling down?”
Lorenzo grinned and clapped Cedric on the shoulder. “Forty is right around the corner, so you might want to get busy.”
Cedric shrugged off the hand. “Shut up. You’re right there with me.” He and Lorenzo had been born two months apart.
Jeremy burst out laughing. “That’s what I said. It would be a shame for him to be flashing an AARP card while taking his kid to day care.”
Lorenzo joined in the laughter.
Cedric didn’t. “I’ve already stated my position, so there’s no need for me to repeat it.”
“Yeah, I know. There isn’t a woman alive that can make you change your bachelor status.” Lorenzo gestured around the yard. “Take a look at all our cousins. They all said the same thing and were adamant about remaining single. Hell, I even said it.” Lorenzo had been put off relationships for a long time after his ex-girlfriend had stolen money from him and hidden drugs in his home. “And look at me now—I wouldn’t trade what I have with Desiree for anything.”
“That’s all well and good, but I simply like being single.”
Jeremy smiled. “So do I, until I meet Mrs. Right, but I guarantee there’s going to be a woman who’ll make you change your mind.” He pulled out his wallet. “A hundred dollars says you’ll be ready to take that walk down the aisle by the end of the year. That’s roughly nine months. Care to take the bet, big brother?”
Cedric snorted. “If you want to waste your money, fine.”
“Two hundred says he’ll be a goner by summer,” Lorenzo said.
“Whatever.” Cedric pivoted on his heel and stalked off.
“Everybody, it’s time for cake,” his mother called out.
The family gathered around the tables. Cedric’s grandmother sat as regally as a queen at a table that had been decorated in her favorite colors, pink and green, to represent her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. After Cedric’s mother gave the count, the family sang happy birthday, then boisterously broke into the Stevie Wonder version, complete with dancing. Cedric watched in amusement as his grandfather helped his wife to her feet and the two joined in. “Go, Grandma!” She didn’t look a day over sixty and could still get her groove on. Once the noise died down, his mother and two aunts coordinated cutting and serving the cake and ice cream.
Cedric took his cake and sat at the table across from his cousin Morgan. She and her pro-football-player twin brother, Malcolm, were the youngest of their generation in the Gray clan. “How’s the sports agenting world?”
Morgan adjusted her toddler son on her lap. “It’s good. This one right here keeps me so busy, I’m not adding any more clients right now.” She’d left her job as an attorney for their family’s home safety company to pursue her dream.
“How many clients do you have now?” Cedric ate a bite of cake.
“Seven.” She fed Omar Jr. a piece of cake and he grabbed the fork.
Cedric chuckled. “I guess you’re not moving fast enough.” Before he could say anything else, his cell buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket and frowned, not recognizing the number. “Let me answer this, Morgan.” He connected. “Hello.”
“Hello, is this Cedric Hunter?”
“May I ask who’s calling?” Before the man on the line could answer, Cedric’s phone chimed, alerting him that an alarm had gone off at the strip mall site.
“This is Detective Brian Warner from the Sacramento Police Department, and I’m calling to let you know there’s been a fire at one of your construction sites.”
Cedric’s heart almost stopped. “Excuse me? What?” He jumped to his feet and scanned the yard for Lorenzo. He spotted him on the far side and waved him over, still listening to the detective. “Thank you. I’ll be right there.” I don’t need this right now.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s a fire at the strip mall site.”
Lorenzo’s eyes widened and he muttered a curse. “Let’s go.”
Cedric quickly explained to his father and his uncle what had happened.
Uncle Russell rose to his feet.
“We got it, Dad,” Lorenzo said. “Let everybody know and we’ll be back as soon as we can.”
Cedric and Lorenzo got into Cedric’s car and sped off. “We haven’t even started the wiring,” Cedric said. “Only the foundation and frame have been completed, so I can’t understand how a fire got started.” This would pu
t them behind schedule, and there’d be the added cost of replacing materials, not to mention the hassle of dealing with the insurance company. They would also need to contact their client, but Cedric wanted to wait until he saw how much damage the building had sustained. He gripped the steering wheel tighter. The closer he got to the site, the more his gut began to churn. His cousin’s tight jaw let Cedric know Lorenzo was feeling the same turmoil.
When they arrived at the construction site, Cedric could only stare. They had seen the smoke several blocks away and all he could think about was the amount of time and money they’d spent going down the drain. Police cars and fire engines surrounded the area and he had to park halfway down the block. The flames looked to be under control but almost a third of the building lay charred. It wasn’t until he felt the tightness in his chest that he realized he’d been holding his breath.
“I can’t believe this,” Lorenzo muttered. “Who could’ve done this, and why?”
Cedric had no idea, but he knew it hadn’t been an accident. “I wonder if some punk-ass kids were out here playing stupid games.” Along with the acrid smell of smoke, he detected the unmistakable scent of gasoline. He and Lorenzo started toward the site but were stopped by a police officer.
“I’m going to need you to stay back.”
“My name is Cedric Hunter and this is my cousin Lorenzo Hunter. This is our site. A Detective Warner called me.”
The man nodded. “Wait right here and I’ll get him.”
Cedric scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t even want to think about what Preston is going to say.” Preston Davies was a millionaire real estate developer who owned several commercial buildings.
Lorenzo nodded in agreement. “He’s not going to be happy. I just hope it doesn’t take them too long to release the site. The quicker we can get this cleaned up, the better off we’ll be.”
Cedric glanced over at the half-burned building again and sighed. How had they gotten in? A metal fence surrounded the property.
The CEO's Dilemma ; Undeniable Passion Page 37
