Love After War

by Cheris Hodges

  “You know, I allowed someone else’s fears to cause me to give up my motorcycle before. I’m not going to let it happen again.”

  “That jab was not mine.” Imani raised her eyebrow. “This is about Mr. Slick, huh? If he caused you to give up such a dangerous hobby, then he might be all right. Maybe.”

  Part of Dana actually wanted to defend him. Wanted to tell Imani that Adrian was . . . what? Amazing ? The love of her life? Instead, she shrugged. “It’s my life, Mani. I’m going to live it my way. You don’t have to like it, because it’s my choice.”

  “He really did a number on you, huh?”

  Dana sighed and stroked the helmet in the crook of her arm. “He did and sadly, he still is. And you need to avoid his clubs and tell your friends to do the same for a while.”

  Imani snorted and furrowed her brow. “How about forever?”

  “You can’t say that. Adrian has been known to cater to A-listers, and he’s having some issues that no one wants to be involved with right now. We know what the media does when it comes to scandals.”

  “Scandals? What aren’t you telling me . . . Wait, are you seeing him? Because I haven’t read anything about his club other than that guy getting caught with the hooker.”

  “We spent last night together,” Dana admitted.

  “You did what? But you went out with Ian. When? How? Are you insane?”

  “I was, but I’m good now.”

  Imani shook her head. “That’s what you say. I know he’s cute, but he broke your heart and you hopped into bed with him after spending the night hugged up on a bike with Ian.”

  “Well, Mrs. Matchmaker, you should be happy to know that I’m going to the premiere tonight with Ian.”

  “Hope y’all are leaving the bikes behind and rolling in a limo like normal stars do,” Imani said as she and Dana headed for the hotel’s spa.

  “You forget I’m not a star,” Dana replied with a laugh.

  Adrian picked up his cell phone and dialed Dana’s number. He needed to apologize and he needed to see her, to be reminded of softness, love, and light. All he wanted was to have her in his arms and inhale the sweet smell of her hair.

  Voice mail.

  Adrian slammed out of his office and locked up the club. He couldn’t expect Dana to be his savior. He couldn’t expect her to make him forget that his father was an asshole who thought DNA meant nothing and throwing money at a problem was supposed to make it disappear.

  Well, he had news for his father and those selfish-ass brothers of his. They wanted to portray this nice little family image, but Adrian was going to bring it down piece by piece. He’d smack the smugness off Solomon’s face. It was time for round two.

  Adrian dialed Heather Williams. He wondered if he might be taking things too far. Heather’s highly publicized breakup with Solomon was big news a few years ago. Did he want to hurt a total stranger just to humiliate his father? Before he could change his mind, he heard, “Heather Williams’s phone.”

  “Is this Ms. Williams?”

  “No, this is her assistant, Nichelle Marsh. Who’s calling?”

  “Adrian Bryant. I’m calling to invite Ms. Williams to an event at Allure tonight following the screening of Black and Blue.”

  “Let me check her calendar. I don’t think she’s attending tonight’s premiere.”

  Adrian smirked. Heather Williams let everyone with a microphone or a video camera know about her simmering feud with Imani Thomas and the fact that she didn’t get the lead in the movie and was forced to play a smaller role.

  “I assume she wasn’t happy with her supporting role,” he said, buttering up the assistant. “I saw the preview and she stole every scene she was in. That’s why I want her to be the guest of honor tonight.”

  “So, Imani Thomas won’t be there?”

  “Nope. She isn’t on the guest list.”

  “I see an opening on Ms. Williams’s calendar. She’ll be there at eleven.”

  “Great. I’ll text you the details. Thank you, Nichelle.” Adrian ended the call and sighed. Was he taking this thing too far? Was he prepared to cross the line and ruin Solomon’s family just because Elliot had abandoned him and his mother?

  He closed his eyes, remembering the happiness of his childhood. Pamela loved him fiercely. They Rollerbladed together, hung out on the beach, discovered tofu and found out that it wasn’t for them. His childhood friends thought he had the coolest mother ever, but they didn’t see how lonely she was. When they’d get that weekly package from New York, Pamela would cry, all the while trying to hide her sadness and tears from Adrian. But he’d seen them and never knew why.

  To hell with changing his mind; he wanted someone else to feel that pain.

  Dana and Imani walked out of the spa feeling and looking spectacular. With her locks curled and retwisted, Dana was tempted not to ride her motorcycle to the movie premiere. Tempted, but not totally swayed. She loved that bike after just a few hours of owning it.

  “I have to get fitted for my dress,” Imani said, then turned to Dana. “Promise me two things.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “No riding until after the premiere, and please, no more late-night visits with Adrian.”

  “Trust me, I’m done with him. And I’ll think about the riding part. Where’s Raymond?”

  Imani smiled. “My wonderful husband is getting fitted for a tuxedo and hating every minute of it. He wanted to know why he couldn’t just wear jeans and his favorite Hendrix T-shirt. Although he’d look very sexy in it, I told him this is the first time he’s hitting the red carpet with me as the headliner in a movie.”

  “Still not used to the life of a movie star’s husband ?”

  Imani nodded. “But he’s always a good sport about it and that’s why when we get back to New York, I’m going to talk to Broadway Cares about doing a fund-raiser for the clinic. I’ll even do Alexander Roman’s show and give my salary to Raymond and Keith. They work so hard with so little.”

  “Let me know. Hopefully I’ll be done with this book and I can shoot the event for you guys.”

  Imani reached out and hugged her friend tightly. “You’re wonderful and you deserve to be happy. I hope Ian is the man to make you happy.”

  “I’m not sad, Mani. I’ve gotten my head together and I know what I need. It’s not Adrian.”

  “Hallelujah!”

  Dana headed up to her room to pick out her outfit for the premiere. As she walked toward the elevator, she felt her phone vibrate, indicating that she missed a call. She pulled the phone from her pocket and saw the number. Even without having his name saved in her cell, she knew it was Adrian. Pressing the UP button on the elevator, she deleted the missed call. She wasn’t going to call him—ever. If Adrian wanted to deal with his mess alone, she’d let him. He’d done it before and he could do it again. As the elevator reached her floor, she found herself wondering if she should return his call, though. What if he needed her and this was a call for help?

  “No,” she whispered as she unlocked her room door. “Adrian wants you because he thinks you want Ian. He is playing a game that I don’t want to be a participant in.”

  Perching on the edge of her bed, Dana ran her hand across the bedspread and memories of her night with Adrian flooded back. God, how she craved that man. Needed him as she needed the oxygen in her lungs. But he didn’t trust her enough to let her into whatever was clouding his . . . Why do I care? she thought as she pounded the bed. Dana rose to her feet and crossed over to the closet to retrieve her outfit.

  Dana had originally planned to wear a blue pantsuit with a pink tunic and silver strappy heels. Sucking her teeth, she glanced at the jumpsuit she’d packed on a whim. The black bandeau suit was a skin-hugging throwback to Foxy Brown, and Dana had always been too afraid to wear it while shooting pictures. The last thing she needed was a Janet Jacksonesque wardrobe malfunction.

  But she wasn’t taking pictures tonight.

  Dana grabbed the outfi
t and laid it across the bed. She was going to have a good time tonight and leave all thoughts of Adrian behind.

  And at that moment, her cell phone rang. It was Adrian. As much as she wanted to ignore the call, she answered.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  “You.”

  “Adrian, I’m not doing this dance with you anymore. What do you want me for? Is it because you—”

  “I told you last night that I love you. Dana, I just want to see you. Can we at least meet for coffee?”

  She looked at the clock. There was plenty of time for a cup of coffee, but what did she and Adrian have to say to each other? Maybe he wanted to talk about the troubles at his club. As much as she wanted to pretend she didn’t give a damn, she did. Sighing, she finally agreed to the coffee. “I’ll meet you at our Starbucks in twenty minutes.”

  “Thanks, Dana.”

  She ended the call and shook her head. Weak sauce, she thought as she disrobed and slipped into the jumpsuit. Dana crossed the room and stuffed her heels into her motorcycle bag and stepped into her boots. She laughed as she headed out the door. She’d broken both of the promises she’d made to her best friend and the lies she’d told herself. The trip to Starbucks wasn’t going to take more than twenty minutes, depending on the traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard. She wasn’t going to do more than talk to Adrian. She wasn’t even going to give him a hug. Keep it simple and quick, Dana told herself as she climbed onto her Harley and headed down the street.

  As Adrian walked into Starbucks, he wondered what he should say to Dana about why he had to see her. He couldn’t stomach lying to her, but he also couldn’t tell her that he was out to ruin the man who abandoned him as a child and broke his mother’s heart. One of the reasons he loved Dana was because she reminded him of Pamela. Her spirit was as giving and loving as his mother had been. His mother had taken an instant liking to Dana when they’d met, telling her son that Dana was the kind of woman you held on to.

  Adrian wished he’d listened. Maybe Dana’s love was more important than revenge. But how was he going to convince her to give him another chance when he’d done such a great job of presenting himself as an asshole?

  The roar of a motorcycle shook him out of his emotions. “I know she didn’t,” he muttered as he watched the cycle circle the parking lot. He didn’t have to see her face to know that Dana was the rider. He knew those hips.

  Turning toward the door, he headed outside to meet her. As he watched Dana pull her helmet off and shake her locks, he was transfixed by her curve-hugging outfit. His groin twitched and threatened to burst through his fly as she walked toward him. Adrian tried to calm his hormones, but he was standing there with his mouth slightly agape watching a goddess approach him. He’d nearly forgotten that he’d come outside to voice his umbrage at her choice of transportation. “Wow. You look amazing,” he was able to say as his eyes roamed her body.

  “Surely you don’t want to talk about how I look.”

  “Dana, about this morning, I don’t want you to think that spending the night with you had anything to do with that guy. I have a lot to make up for because I hurt you,” he said.

  “Adrian, we’re not the same people we were two years ago. I’m not here to wiggle my way back into your life. I was hoping to never see you again. You’ve made it clear that you don’t trust me enough to have a significant role in your life. You wouldn’t even let me be there for you when your mother died and I know how her passing hurt you.”

  Adrian stepped closer to her, his lips inches from her face. She smelled like roses and jasmine. He stroked her cheek and felt her tremble slightly. “When my mother died, I found out some things that I needed to process alone. I was wrong to push you away, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

  She shrugged away from him. “There you go with that ‘I needed to be alone’ crap again. If you need all of this solitude, then why pretend that you want to make up for what you did to me? You keep parts of yourself wrapped up and hidden away and I can’t—won’t—deal with that.”

  Adrian drew her into his arms and she didn’t resist his embrace. That was a good sign, he surmised. “It’s complicated and I don’t want you to be a part of . . .”

  “Of what? If you can’t be open with me, then stop calling me. Stop playing with my heart when you know I—”

  “Dana, I’ve never stopped loving you and if you’d give me another chance—”

  “To hurt me again? I don’t think so.” She slapped his arms away. “All or nothing. That’s how it has to be.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. Would she want to stay if she knew it all? Would she want to have anything to do with him if she knew he’d spent the last two years planning the demise of the people she worked for? “I want to give you ever ything,” he said. “But—”

  “No buts,” she snapped as she pushed him in his chest. “Why am I such a fool when it comes to you?”

  “You’re nobody’s fool. Dana, my life changed when my mother died. She told me the man who I thought was my father wasn’t. The man who donated his sperm ignored me all my life, ignored my mother, but when she took her last breath, he was on her mind.”

  “Adrian.”

  “My head hasn’t been right since then.” He dropped his head and Dana cupped his cheek. Her tender touch offered him the soft comfort that he’d missed since she’d been gone. The kind of gentleness he needed to keep his heart from turning into a block of ice.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I. It doesn’t make up for how I treated you and what you saw that night. I knew I had to find this man and I know it isn’t going to be pretty when I do. That’s what I wanted to keep you away from.” The half-truth burned his tongue. He didn’t want to put her in the middle of this family war. That’s why he’d been so over the top in their breakup. Too bad he’d done such a good job of making her hate him.

  “Adrian, I wish I could—”

  He brushed his lips against hers. “I need you. Need you to be that light in my life, something good.”

  “Adrian.”

  “Please. The biggest mistake I ever made was allowing you to walk out of my penthouse that night thinking I was some cold bastard. I thought I could do this and not look back, but seeing you here again and being with you, I know I can’t live without you.”

  Dana leaned in and kissed him slow, deep, and long as if she was answering him with her hot tongue. If he was right, her answer was yes. Pulling her closer, he relished the feel of her body against his, though in the back of his mind, Adrian wondered if the truth would destroy not only the Crawford family, but also his tentative reunion with Dana.

  Chapter 8

  Dana stood there looking into Adrian’s eyes, not knowing what she was seeing, but she knew there was still a struggle going on inside him.

  He stroked her cheek gently and smiled. His eyes didn’t match his lips, though, and Dana saw that. And when she started to call him on it, Adrian took her hand in his and kissed it. “You look worried.”

  “I am,” she whispered. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  There was a lot Adrian wasn’t telling her and he wished that he could tell her everything. But not until she finished her work with those people. He kissed the back of her hand. “No.” Leaning in, Adrian gave her earlobe a quick nibble. “Do you have to go to that premiere?”

  Dana looked at her watch and cursed under her breath. “I have to go,” she said.

  “Let me drive you because—”

  “I got here on my own, didn’t I? We’re not starting that ‘your bike is too dangerous’ stuff again.”

  Adrian threw his hands up. “But let me just say this. It’s an unnecessary risk when you had—”

  “Somebody stole it.”

  “Not hard to do when someone left the keys in the car.”

  Dana stopped in her tracks. “You found the car?”

  “I was looking for you. There was GPS on the car and I called the compan
y. When I got the location, I thought something was wrong.”

  Dana snorted. “Oh, something was wrong.”

  “Besides that,” he said. “I thought you were in danger, had been carjacked or something worse.”

  “I had a broken heart at the time. A carjacker wouldn’t have stood a chance that night.”

  Adrian heard the pain behind her attempt at humor and wished that he could take that night back and tell her about the hell he’d been going through and the pain he’d been feeling at that moment . . . but he’d chosen revenge instead. Would his desire to ruin his father cost him the love of his life?

  Adrian knew at that moment he should’ve told her everything. But how would she react to the underhanded things he had planned? Knowing Dana, she’d try to talk him out of it.

  “That car is still yours, babe,” he finally said.

  She rolled her eyes, knowing where this conversation was going. “Adrian.”

  “I’m done. Ride your motorcycle. Just be safe. I don’t want to lose you.”

  She smoothed her hand across his cheek. “If you play your cards right, maybe you’ll have me again.”

  He drew her into his arms. “You’re mine. As the song goes, once mine, always my—”

  Dana placed her hand over his mouth. “And when’s the last time anyone heard from Sam Salter? Remember that.”

  Adrian kissed her hand as her cell phone began to chime. “That’s Imani. I have to get this.” Dana clicked the ANSWER key and before she could say hello, she was bombarded with questions.

  “Dana, where are you? I mean seriously, do you know what time it is? Ian is waiting for you. And thank God he’s going to ride in the limo and not on that motorcycle that you love so much.”

  “Imani, I’m on my way.”

  “From where?”

  “The longer I talk to you, the later I’m going to be.”

  “Okay. Just get here, safely.”

  Dana clicked the phone off and turned to Adrian. “I have to go.”