by Tina Martin
“Then it’s settled.”
“Yes, it’s settled. Once again you’ve come to my rescue,” she said gazing into Ramsey’s eyes.
“Ramsey St. Claire, at your service, baby,” he said before lowering his mouth to hers taking a long kiss until the sweet taste of her soaked into his taste buds. When it hit him, he absorbed it. Savored it. Enjoyed the feel of her tongue in his mouth. He moaned as he broke the kiss, not wanting to do it, but he knew she had to get back to work, and so did he. “I’ll be at the office for the rest of the day if you need me.”
“Okay.”
“And don’t forget Geraldine’s coming over for dinner this evening.”
“How could I possibly forget that?”
Ramsey chuckled. “If the woman starts acting crazy, I’m kicking her out.”
“As you should,” Gianna said. “But I have a feeling that this time will be different.”
“Let’s hope so for her sake.”
Chapter 15
Dinner started off tense. For one, Geraldine showed up thirty minutes late and Gianna and Gemma had grown increasingly doubtful with the passing of every minute she was late, thinking that, once again, Geraldine had lied to them. So, when she finally showed up at a few minutes before eight, they hid frustration behind fake smiles and small talk not knowing exactly how to begin the conversation they desperately needed to have.
That’s when Royal had heard enough. Small talk didn’t count for much to him. They needed big talk that would answer some tough questions so he decided to end the shenanigans by asking, “Geraldine, what made you want to do this now after you’ve wasted so many years?”
Geraldine frowned slightly when she glanced up at Royal, but he didn’t back down. Wasn’t in his nature to. He held her gaze – eyes dared her to act out of pocket, but she stayed quiet. She was either irritated or thinking of a clever way to answer his question.
Ramsey smirked, watching this silent battle of see-who-blinks-first. It definitely wouldn’t be Royal. And here he was thinking it was him who’d crank up the heat on Geraldine...
Royal beat him to the punch.
“Well, I won’t sit here and run down excuses as to why I did this or that.”
Royal’s face went slack. “You don’t think your daughters need to know?”
“They already know,” she answered. “I was selfish. I wasn’t ready for children—I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to have children.”
“But you did,” Royal said, “And while I appreciate your effort in coming here to sit down and talk with us, it’s going to take more than a couple of hours over a dinner, which you arrived thirty minutes late, to fix the extensive damage you’ve caused over the years.”
Geraldine nodded, feeling defeated. She’d gotten the third degree from Ramsey. Now, she was getting it from Royal. She felt like her efforts were in vain but she knew if she wanted a relationship with her daughters again, she couldn’t give up now.
All eyes were locked in on her as everyone waited to see how she would respond. Would she go off on a tangent, flailing her gold ring-draped fingers in everyone’s face while telling them how they should respect her because she was their mother and she gave birth to them? Would she cross her legs and just sit there pouting?
They got their answer when she responded, “You’re absolutely right. I can’t argue against that. All I know is, I messed up and I have to start somewhere to begin repairing the damage I’ve caused. My behavior in the past—the hospital incident, the lunch we had, Gemma—even down to me not telling you girls about your fathers. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you two when you were growing up. I’m sorry our relationship isn’t what it should be but I promise if you give me a chance, it’ll be different this time.”
Royal leaned back in his chair. He was not a believer. She sounded like a broken record – like an abusive man who put his wife in the hospital for the third time, then came toting her a bouquet of flowers and promising that it would never happen again when everyone else knew it would except for the battered wife. So, no, he didn’t believe her. Didn’t trust her and he wasn’t sure he would ever get to that point.
“I’m holding you to that, Geraldine,” Ramsey said. “I’m sure you can tell that we—Royal and myself—are very much in love with your daughters. Gianna is my heart and I don’t want anything to happen to her. It hurts me to see her sad—it’s my job to protect her, her heart, our baby and anyone Gianna loves, which includes Gemma. So I’m going to allow this to happen, but the minute I get the slightest hint that something’s awry, I’m pulling the plug. Understood?
“Yes, I understand.”
“Good.” Ramsey stood up. “Royal take a walk with me so we can give the women some privacy.”
Royal grimaced, still not trusting Geraldine enough to leave Gemma alone with her. He didn’t care that Gianna was present for extra backup. Something just didn’t feel right.
“Royal,” Ramsey said to get his attention, already reading his thoughts.
“Will you be okay if I step out for a minute, Gemma?” Royal asked her.
“Yes. I’ll be fine.” Gemma grabbed his shirt, drew him to her and kissed his lips, then whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” for added reassurance.
“Okay,” he said, finally leaving the room, following Ramsey outside onto the patio.
Royal inhaled deep breaths of the night air then asked, “Do you think she’s serious?”
“I want to believe so, but at this point, she has to show us she’s serious. I will say she’s different from the Geraldine I met at the hospital.”
Royal nodded. He could see that as well, but all he could focus on was Gemma. Her feelings on the matter are all he really cared about. He couldn’t have this lady in and out of her life, messing things up for her. Toying with her emotions.
“It’s crazy being in love and actually being able to feel what your spouse is feeling. I’ve never experienced anything like it until now. When Gemma’s happy, I’m happy. When she’s hurting, I’m hurting.”
Ramsey cracked a smile. “That’s how it’s supposed to be. That’s how you know you’re truly in love.” He sat down kicked up his feet on another patio chair and said, “We’ll let it play out. I hope it works out for the best for our wives’ sake.”
“Yep,” Royal said.
“How is Gemma doing otherwise?”
“She’s good. She’s making progress on the foundation, taking an online class and working part-time. I’m proud of her.”
“What about the medication? Does the doctor think she needs more chemo?”
“No. The surgery pretty much eliminated the need for chemo. And as for the pills, some days they make her queasy. Those are usually the days she’s more exhausted. Other days, she can handle them better and she’s more energetic.” Royal smiled. “She’s a fighter, that’s for sure. She gives me motivation to get off my butt and make things happen.”
“So, that’s why you’ve been coming to work on time lately,” Ramsey quipped. “I’ll have to thank Gemma before she leaves tonight.”
Royal laughed.
“That’s good, though. It’s a win-win when your better half makes you better. Gianna certainly makes me better.”
“Yeah. The chatter around the office is, you’re easier to get along with. I don’t see employees speed-walking down the hallway chanting, ‘Ramsey’s on a rampage… Ramsey’s on a rampage’!” Royal laughed.
“I will be on a rampage if this grass situation at the new University City site isn’t fixed soon. Has Ralph said anything to you about it yet?”
“This is the first I’m hearing about it. What’s up?” Royal asked while looking through the window to see the women still talking. All was well, so he took a seat.
“I met Ralph at the site last Thursday—he wanted me to check out the landscaping. As soon as I pulled up, I see brown grass.”
Royal knew how meticulous his brother was about the business – about everything, really – so
he didn’t question him as to why brown grass was a big deal. If Ramsey didn’t like it, somebody had better get it fixed. “I’ll get with Ralph and take care of it.”
“Don’t do anything yet. Ralph’s a project manager. He should be able to handle this. I told him to let you know if he ran into a roadblock. Since you haven’t heard anything, I take it he’s handling it. At least, I hope he’s handling it.”
“If he runs into a problem, do you want me to take care of it, or—?”
“No. I think I’ll handle this one. Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but if it does, CitySites will feel my wrath.”
Royal chuckled. He stretched out his legs, extended his arms in the air. “How’s Gianna doing?”
“Good. The pregnancy hasn’t been that rough on her. Baby’s growing fine. Oh, and we think we have found a new assistant for the bakery—a woman Gianna used to work with.”
“That’s good, Ram.”
“Yeah, Gianna was excited about it, although, I can tell she doesn’t want to stop working.”
“Dang. You married your twin,” Royal joked.
Ramsey chuckled. “I got a hunch that when the baby comes, she’ll forget all about work.”
“Are you planning on taking some time off?”
“At least the first six months. I’ll be available part-time from home but I won’t let work get in the way of bonding with my daughter.”
Royal nodded.
“It’s funny…sometimes I go stand out on the balcony and daydream about them—Gianna and the baby—thinking about when our daughter is old enough to recognize us. Then when she’s a toddler, she’ll be running around the bakery and the house, tearing things up, being bossy like me and sweet like her mother.”
“Yeah. That’s cool, man. Gemma’s already agreed that we’ll watch her anytime you and Gianna need a date night. I know you ain’t adding babysitting to Carson’s agenda.”
“No. Carson has enough on his plate, although the old man hinted he’d be ‘grandpa Carson’ to her.” Ramsey lowered his feet from the chair to the deck.
“Ay, dinner’s coming up this Sunday at mom and dad’s,” Royal said.
“I know. Mother called me at the office and nearly threatened my life if I didn’t show up, like I wouldn’t show up. I always show up.”
“Nah, there was that one time you missed.”
“One time.”
Royal laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, mom called me, too—no threats, though.”
“You’re lucky.”
Royal glanced through the window again, saw Gemma, Gianna and Geraldine laughing. Looked like the conversation was going well. “It’ll be good for everybody to get together. It seems like we’ve been going our own separate ways lately. Outside of the office, I have no clue what Romulus and Regal are up to these days.”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Ramsey said. “Regal ain’t up to nothing and Romulus—” Ramsey shook his head thinking about how much Romulus loved Siderra but seemed blind to that fact. “Let’s just say he’s in for the ride of his life and doesn’t even know it.”
“Everybody sees that coming,” Royal said.
“Yeah, everybody except him, apparently.”
“Siderra ain’t going to wait around forever,” Royal said. “He’ll find out soon enough.”
“Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Royal stood up. Stretched. “Okay…gotta check on my sweetheart. I think we’re going to get going…gotta make sure she’s good and relaxed before she goes to sleep.”
“In other words, you trying to slip out early so you can put her to bed.”
“You know it. She ‘bout to get a dose of melatonin and I ain’t talking about the pill.”
Ramsey laughed, stood up and slapped hands with his brother. “You’re a fool, man.”
“Ay, she already knows what’s up, with her pretty, lil’ self.” Royal nibbled on his lip.
“All right, man, well you go handle that.”
“Oh, I intend to.”
Ramsey followed Royal inside.
“How’s everything in here?” Ramsey asked once they reached the dining room.
“It’s okay,” Gianna said. “I think we were just wrapping up.”
“Good,” Royal said. “Because we’re going to get going. Gemma’s got a long night ahead of her.”
Gemma looked at Royal, surprised. “I do?” she questioned.
“Yeah, you do,” Royal said firmly, then slowly licked his lips.
“Oh, yes. I do,” Gemma said, giddy, quickly getting up from her seat. “Bye, y’all. We’ll talk again soon, Geraldine.”
Gianna laughed at her sister.
“Bye, Gemma,” Geraldine said, standing. “I guess I better be heading out, too.” She left right behind Royal and Gemma.
Ramsey and Gianna stood on the steps watching cars pull out of the driveway. “How did it go?”
“It went okay. Geraldine did a lot of talking…explained a lot to Gemma, most of which she’d already told me. I think it helped Gemma a lot. I’m glad we did this. Thank you, Ramsey.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Now, come on. I know you’re tired.”
“I am. I’m so ready for bed.”
“Then let’s get ready for bed,” Ramsey said, taking her hand in his, leading her back inside of the house.
Chapter 16
“I brought your blueberry lemon cupcakes, Royal,” Gianna said after she greeted everyone. She and Ramsey were the last to arrive for Sunday dinner.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Royal said.
“Yes you did, Gianna,” Gemma chimed in. “Royal is addicted. Do you hear me? A-ddic-ted. No lie.”
Royal chuckled along with Gianna, then he whispered in Gemma’s ear, “Stop telling my secrets.”
She snuck a quick kiss from his lips since he was so close.
“Hopefully this will be enough to tide you over for a while,” Gianna told him.
“It will. I appreciate it,” he replied.
“No problem.”
“I feel some kind of way about my woman baking another man his own personal cupcakes,” Ramsey said.
“Stop that mess, Ramsey,” Bernadette said tickled.
“I’m serious.” Ramsey pulled out a chair for Gianna at the dinner table.
“He’s not serious,” Gianna said, sitting down, getting comfortable. “Ramsey knows I’ll bake all kinds of cupcakes for him.”
“You need to bake a big one with yourself inside of it—that’s what he really wants,” Regal said. “A Gianna cake.”
“Oh, you better believe I already have one of those,” Ramsey said, then leaned forward to kiss her.
“Oh, that’s too much information,” Romulus said.
“I was thinking the same thing, Romulus,” Bernadette told him.
Gianna sat there with blushed cheeks.
“I wanna know what Royal did to deserve a dozen cupcakes?” Regal asked Gianna. “You ain’t never baked no cupcakes for me.”
“You’ve had some of my cupcakes before, Regal.”
“Yeah, but not my own personal batch. I’m all alone in that big house with no one to do anything for me.”
“That’s not true,” Bernadette said. “You have Primrose.”
“Primrose doesn’t cook. She just keeps the house clean and tidy. I need a woman that can get up in the kitchen and straight get it stanky.”
Mason chuckled. “I heard that.”
“See, Dad knows where I’m coming from.”
“Of course. Your mother has been stanking up our kitchen for years.”
The family chuckled.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Regal said. “When you sprinkle love on food, it tastes so much better. I need somebody at my crib to sprinkle some love.”
“Oh, hush that mess, Regal.” Bernadette chuckled. “You don’t want love.” She placed a basket of Hawaiian rolls on the table.
“Of course I want love. Everyone wa
nts love.”
“Then why have you never been serious with a woman?” she asked. “Your mama ain’t blind. You’ve had prospects.”
The brothers stayed silent during the conversation, but all eyes focused on Regal to see how he would respond.
He shrugged casually. “I haven’t found the right one yet. That’s all, Mama.”
“Whatever you say, Regal.” Bernadette moved on with tasks as she glanced up at Romulus. “How are you this evening, Romulus?”
Romulus looked up from his phone. He’d just sent Siderra a text, trying to figure out where she was. He’d called her on the drive but didn’t get an answer. “I’m good, Ma.”
“Ay, Rom, where’s your BFF?” Regal asked Romulus. By ‘BFF’, everyone knew he was referring to Siderra. She frequented their family dinners like she was a part of the family. She and Romulus had been best friends for so long, she was like family.
Romulus opened his mouth to answer when Bernadette spoke up and said, “Oh, Siderra isn’t going to make it tonight.”
Romulus appeared confused when he asked, “How do you know that? She called you?”
“She did.”
“Did she say why she couldn’t come?” he asked.
“Yes, something about a date.”
Romulus frowned. “A date?”
“That’s what she said.”
The frown remained on his forehead when he asked further, “With who?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t pry, son. I just told her to have a good time.”
Ramsey looked at Romulus seeing the distress on his face. Royal and Regal saw it, too.
“I’m surprised she didn’t tell you, Romulus,” Regal said, “Being that y’all are usually joined at the hip.”
“Well, looks like she’s going to be attached to someone else’s hip tonight,” Mason said.
Regal erupted in laughter. “Good one, Dad.”
Bernadette nudged her husband for being so crude.
Romulus’ frown ditched deeper. He stood up with his cell phone in his hand and said, “I’ll be right back.”
Bernadette shook her head wordlessly. Siderra was on a date. What would make him think she would answer the phone right now?
