Even though Ronan had been staying out late the past couple of nights, for the sake of our children, I’d been smiling and pretending that everything was normal. When he stayed out late, he didn’t even attempt to touch me. He just stumbled in nearly drunk, crawled to his side of the bed, and went to sleep.
Lord only knew how much I cried as I witnessed my husband want something from me that I couldn’t give him. I wanted to be with Ronan. Hell, I needed him too, but I had to give myself time to heal. Three weeks had passed and I had three weeks to go before my checkup.
When we walked up to the Turner’s door, a woman wearing a nametag with the word Lynetta answered the door saying, “You must be the Michaels. Welcome to the Turner household. Please follow me out onto the back lawn.”
I looked up at Ronan who had a brooding look on his handsome face. His ice cold eyes glared at me, no longer holding their usual warmth. My heart sank with a sadness that had been plaguing me for far too long.
“Mom, I want to go over where Aunt Shauntay and Uncle Mark are at,” Benedict said as we stepped out onto the back porch. His sweet, little voice broke me away from Ronan’s chilled glare. He was bouncing in excitement.
“Me too,” Yasmine said, echoing her brother.
“And I’m going over to speak with Jacob and the Knight brothers,” Ronan said in a curt voice, as if he couldn’t wait to leave my side. He walked off in the direction of the group of men, leaving me standing alone.
“Come on, guys,” I said, choking back tears as I looked down into the faces of my two beautiful children. I followed them over to sit at a table with a big umbrella to ward off the blazing Miami sun.
“Hey, you two,” I said before taking a seat in one of the cushioned seats.
“Hey, Ruby,” Shauntay and Mark said in unison.
Shauntay Andrews was my best friend, who I knew from my childhood. We lost contact and went years without talking, until she, too, got an internship at Turner Enterprises. She ended up dating Mark Andrews, VP of Development and just a few years ago they tied the knot. Since she didn’t have kids of her own at the time, she practically adopted mine as her own. My kids called her Auntie and Mark, Uncle.
Being two down to earth women from shoddy beginnings who married into wealth solidified our tight bond. Over the years, we counseled each other on dealing with overzealous women jockeying for position, fish net and red heel wearing secretaries, job demands, mommy duties, wife duties and anything else in between. We had become as close as sisters could get and even teased each other about being a part of an elite club called the Billionaire Wives Club.
She was the only person I confided in about my cancer diagnosis. And though she admonished me to tell Ronan, she didn’t make me feel bad about my decision. She was there when my father walked out on my mother. She saw what the devastation of his departure left behind.
“Come over here and give Aunt Shauntay a hug!” she said to Yasmine and Benedict who were peering into the carrier admiring little Contessa while she slept.
“Hey, squirts,” Mark said to my kids.
“Hello, Uncle Mark and Aunt Shauntay,” they replied and quickly gave the baby their full attention again.
“Contessa gets more precious every day,” I said to my friends while looking at their adorable baby girl. It brought back thoughts of my children when they were babies.
“Thank you, Ruby. She makes us so happy,” said Shauntay with a gleam in her eyes.
Benedict turned away from Contessa to give me a pleading look. “I want a baby brother,” he said.
“Look what you’ve started, Shauntay,” I said and pretended to give her a mean look.
“On that note, I think I’ll be going to join the men.” Mark stood up and placed a kiss on top of Shauntay’s head before he walked off.
Shauntay laughed aloud. “These late nights and early mornings with the baby are whipping Mark into shape.”
I grinned. “I can imagine.”
“Are we getting a baby brother, mom?” Benedict asked again.
I felt like my son was going to be like a dog with a bone since the seed of having a little brother had been planted in his head. I sighed aloud, trying to come up with something to say to get Benedict’s mind off me having another baby. Destiny’s two children, Montie Jr. and Montana, took that moment to run up to the table and pull Yasmine and Benedict away. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey, ladies,” Serenity and Destiny both extended their greeting, as they walked up to the table and took a seat.
Destiny pushed her baby’s bassinette and parked it alongside Shauntay’s stroller.
“Hi, Destiny and Serenity,” I replied with a smile, even though, as quiet as it’s kept, there was always something about Serenity that grated my last nerve. I hoped this day, of all days, when I was already dealing with so much, she didn’t come with any mess. Mr. Turner’s wife, Destiny, on the other hand, I was looking forward to getting to know better.
“What took you two so long in the house?” Shauntay asked Serenity.
“You are too damn nosy for your own good, Shaun. If you must know, I needed to ask Destiny about a small personal matter,” Serenity said with a sly look towards Destiny. “Plus, I wanted to get a chance to get to know her one on one. I got a feeling we’re going to make the best of friends,” she said with a smirk.
“Serenity, I think you’re right about that,” Destiny said with a friendly smile on her beautiful face. “In fact, I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you,” she added.
“It’ll be a pleasure getting to know you as well,” I said to Destiny and sent her a friendly smile.
“I agree,” chimed in Shauntay. “But I still want to know, why you two were missing in action for so long,” Shauntay asked, knowing her friend was up to something.
Serenity was always up to something that kept Shauntay’s inquisitive mind at work. Shauntay was forever calling me to tell me about a new adventure Serenity was taking. Quite the spontaneous person, I was sure that was why the best-selling author in Shauntay was so intrigued by having Serenity as a friend. I, on the other hand, felt like she needed to grow up and act more mature.
“Don’t look at me like that, Shauntay. My lips are sealed,” Destiny said, snapping me out of my thoughts. The mischievous expression on her face solidified that Serenity was up to something and, after one quick glance around the room, I was sure it had something to do with the Knight twins.
“That’s what you get with your nosy ass,” Serenity said to Shauntay and laughed aloud. She was cussing like a sailor and I was glad the children were out of earshot.
“Y’all are still crazy,” I said rejoining the conversation.
“You already know it,” said Shauntay.
My eyes wandered around the room until I found Ronan, who was standing with the guys. Holding a beer in his hand, he let out a hearty laugh and appeared to be genuinely having a good time. It made me smile to see him enjoying himself. He must’ve felt me watching him, because his silver gaze collided with mine and his bright smile instantly faded.
Tears rushed from deep within and bubbled over. I stood up from the table before anyone could see the tears clouding my eyes. “May I use your bathroom, Destiny?” I asked.
“Of course, you remember where to find it?” she barely got out before I rushed off.
“Ruby!” I heard Shauntay call out to me, but I didn’t want anyone to see my tears or ask any questions that I wasn’t ready to answer, so I dared not turn and answer her. I kept walking into the Turner’s stylish home, until I reached the main guest bathroom.
I ran cold water into the porcelain sink and bent down to wash my face. I hoped the cold water would be enough to settle my emotions. I looked up into the mirror and noticed the pinched look on my face. The additional makeup I had applied was barely hiding the dark circles underneath my eyes. My cheeks were as not as full as normal and my lips were tender from the cracking skin I’d been treating with extra moisturizers.
I shut off the water and reached for one of the many hand towels to dry my face and rid myself of any lingering tears. I took a deep, fortifying breath before forcing a smile and exiting the bathroom.
“So what was that about?” Shauntay asked as I exited the bathroom. She leaned up against the wall with a few worry lines wrinkling her forehead.
I should’ve known she would follow me.
“There is nothing wrong, Shauntay.”
“You can’t fool me, Ruby. I know better,” she said peering into my eyes with concern. “Are you feeling ill?”
“No, I’m actually feeling great physically. It’s Ronan,” I started to spill my feelings and then stopped.
“What about Ronan? You already know you can talk to me about anything,” she said.
“Ronan is acting strange. He’s still a great father to the kids, but he and I are growing apart,” I said, wiping away stray tears.
“Ruby, the man doesn’t know what to think about the changes in you lately. You really need to tell him what’s going on with your health. I’m saying this because I’m your friend and it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want the decision of you keeping valuable information from your husband to come back and haunt you later,” she said in a serious tone.
“You may be right, but I’ve made my decision, Shauntay. It’s a little late to backtrack, because he’ll still be upset if I tell him now. You just make sure you’re holding up your end of the bargain. You can’t tell Ronan, Mark, or anybody else for that matter.” Shauntay suddenly bit her bottom lip and looked away nervously. “What’s that guilty look about? Please tell me that you didn’t tell Mark. Because if you did, it’s good as told to Ronan.” I looked at her with fright in my eyes.
“No! I didn’t tell Mark, but I might have slipped up and confided in a friend.”
“Which friend?” I asked. I could feel myself getting angry at the thought of Serenity knowing my secret.
“Please don’t be mad. I did confide in Serenity, but she isn’t going to tell anyone, I promise. I was so worried about you, and she wanted to know why your kids were over to my house so much lately and why I couldn’t do the things with her that we normally do together. It just kind of slipped out,” she confessed.
I felt a relief that she hadn’t told Mark about my condition. But I wasn’t comfortable with Serenity knowing. The only reason I dealt with Serenity was because of my love for Shauntay. My energy shifted from sorrow to anger.
“Just slipped out? Well, all I can say is she better keep her big mouth shut or there will be hell to pay.” There weren’t many things that made me come out of character, but my condition staying a secret from Ronan was one of them.
“Don’t stress over it, Ruby. Your secret is safe with Serenity. If you would give Serenity a chance, you two could be good friends. I’ve never understood why you don’t like her. She is a very likable person,” Shauntay said.
“I don’t know why she rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it’s her wild and free spirit,” I said.
“That’s just it. Serenity talks a good game, but she’s not doing half of it. Like I told you before, she’s celibate and has been for the past year.”
“The way she acts, a person would never guess it.”
“Well, it’s true. And when we go back out there, please try to get along with her. I saw you giving her the side eye when she walked out with Destiny earlier.”
I couldn’t do anything but to laugh. Shauntay had caught me red handed. I couldn’t even think of anything to say to defend myself. I knew how deeply Shauntay loved her friends. I silently resolved to do better to appease my friend, or at least try.
“Let’s go,” said Shauntay pulling me out of my musing. She hooked her arm into mine as we walked back outside to the barbecue.
“Ooh! Tell me more about those twins,” I heard Serenity ask Destiny as her hungry eyes glazed over Jonathan and Jason Knight.
Shauntay and I retook the seats we had vacated earlier. Shauntay’s eyes followed Serenity as did mine and Destiny’s.
“Who Jason and Jonathan? They’re the Knights,” Destiny said. “They own a chain of profitable gyms here in Miami and they just went regional. They’re looking to expand into every city in the US,” she added.
“Which one is Jonathan?” Serenity asked.
“Jonathan is the one without the dreads. If it weren’t for Jason’s dreads, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. They are identical twins,” Destiny said.
“Damn, they both are fine as hell! And Jason is rocking those dreads something serious, for a white guy,” Serenity said fanning herself.
I looked over at Shauntay and shook my head from side to side. Being cordial to her loud mouthed friend was going to take some patience. The way Serenity was eating up the Knight twins with her eyes, she looked far from celibate to me. I could feel my promise to Shauntay deserting me.
“They’re actually biracial,” I said. “Their father is African American and their mother is White Irish with Venezuelan descent.”
“It seems like you know a lot about them,” Serenity said, looking at me with an arch to her brow.
“I do. Ronan has been friends with them for a long time. He also trains with them in their gym. They’re trainers, as well. I even worked out with them when I was trying to lose belly fat after having Benedict.”
“I bet you did,” she said. “Well, I need to get in their gym ASAP and sign up a year’s membership. I want to lose these forty pounds from the sweet tooth I’ve accumulated during my year of being celibate,” said Serenity.
“I could stand to lose a few pounds myself.” Shauntay chimed in.
“They both can give me a good workout!” said Serenity, causing Shauntay and Destiny to burst into laughter like they found her outlandish suggestion funny. I cringed inwardly at her crassness. Women like her made others look bad. I found myself rolling my eyes once again. She caught my look and frowned at me.
“Why are you rolling your eyes at me, Ruby?” Serenity asked.
“If you must know, the implication of your words sounds downright nasty. And you look thirsty the way you keep eyeing the Knight twins as if they are pieces of meat.”
As I watched Serenity’s mood change from laughing and enjoying herself to irritated, I knew deep down she wasn’t the problem. My problem was with Ronan and how he made me feel that day. It just so happened that Serenity was getting the backlash of my horrible mood.
“Ruby, you need to get the stick out of your ass that seems to be wedged in deep. If you don’t like the way I talk, then that’s just too damn bad. Shauntay is more like me. I don’t see how she can be friends with your boring ass anyway.”
“Serenity, that’s enough! Back to your neutral corners you two,” Shauntay said.
“I’m sorry, Destiny. I don’t usually act like this,” I promptly apologized to our host.
“I must say this is a much different type of interaction than I imagined,” said Destiny as she looked between Serenity and me. “So, let me get this right,” she continued. “You and Shauntay are good friends as well as Shauntay and Serenity, but you and Serenity can’t stand each other?” she asked with a question in her eyes.
“Correct,” Serenity and I said in unison.
“Finally! You both have agreed on something. I never thought I would see the day that would happen,” teased Shauntay.
“Whatever, Shauntay, but getting back to the gym idea,” Serenity said discarding the entire argument. “Who wants to join with me? I know everyone already has home gyms, but I need an accountability partner to work out with me, because I am definitely joining their gym.”
“You know I got your back girl, consider me signed up already,” Shauntay said. “I need to lose this extra baby weight anyway.”
“I’m in. I will join you ladies. I think we would make an interesting bunch, and you know I have to keep it sexy and sizzling for Jacob,” said Destiny as she looked in her husband’s direction. At the same time,
he turned and returned her stare with an ‘I’m going to eat you up tonight’ look that was meant only for her to understand. I knew the look well. Ronan used to look at me like that.
“What about you, Ruby? Or are you too bougie to sweat?” Serenity asked, jarring me out of my thoughts.
“No, I’m not too bougie to work up a sweat,” I said, on the verge of telling her that she was the only one at the table who needed to lose weight. I didn’t want her to get offended enough to tell my secret, but I was so far out of my element that I almost didn’t care if she said something. Almost.
I took another look at Ronan and he was deep in conversation with Jason. I took in his chestnut hair and the wide expanse of his shoulders. His profile was strong and prominent, so handsome. All I wanted was to be wrapped up in his arms, away from this petty conversation, and to be healthy…and whole.
I wanted to get back to what we had before my illness arose. I could hear Serenity reply to my earlier comment, but I tuned her out and became lost in memories from happier times with my husband.
Chapter 13
Ronan
“Man, how are you and Ruby doing since the last time I saw you?” Jason asked in a low voice but not low enough apparently.
“What’s going on between you and your wife?” his twin Jonathan asked, giving me his full attention.
“Trouble in paradise?” asked Jacob.
I took a long drink from the bottle of beer I was holding before speaking.
“I don’t want this day to be about me and my problems. Today is supposed to be about de-stressing, having fun, and forgetting about all things that bog down the mind,” I said trying to get out of talking about me and the strain my marriage had placed on me lately.
Even as I convinced my friends to seize the moment, I was well aware that something had to give, and soon. I brushed my hand through my hair in frustration and finished off the beer in my hand.
To The Woman He Loves Page 7
