While she was thinking over the possibility of her and Stanley, Derrick popped up at the dining room door.
“Hey, babe. Me and the guys are going to toss the ball around before I throw the steaks on the grill.”
“Is the game over with already?” Nikki asked.
“Yeah. Hylan and I are ten dollars closer to the poor-house, but we have a chance to make it back right now in a quick game of touch football.”
“Alright. I’ll put the steaks on the grill,” Isabella said.
“No. I can do it in about twenty minutes,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I don’t mind,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “You go on outside and play with your friends.”
Derrick’s face exploded with another smile. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
“Not for at least ten minutes.” She kissed him again. “Now go!” She smacked him on his butt and he rushed off.
Anna watched the saccharine-sweet scene and then sighed longingly. One day.
“Come on, girls,” Isabella said. “Let’s move this party out to the deck.”
“I think I’m going to go ahead and go,” Anna said, standing up.
Immediately the women’s faces collapsed in surprise and disappointment. “What? Noo,” Gisella moaned. “Stay. We’re all having such a good time.”
“I know, but I have so much work to get done back at the house,” she said with her usual excuse. In reality there was a pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream in her freezer at home that was calling her name.
Gisella was having none of it. “Not today. You work too much. Today you’re going to hang out with us and your little nephew.” She eased the baby into Anna’s arms.
“But—”
“But nothing. I don’t want to hear it. The matter is settled.” Gisella flashed a quick smile and then turned toward Isabella and Nikki. “Now let’s take this little party out onto the deck.”
The girls laughed at the sisters little scene and then climbed out of their chairs.
“Oh, Gisella, don’t forget to give me the number of your obstetrician,” Nikki said, patting her small belly as she trailed behind her.
Anna sucked in a deep breath as if it would miraculously give her strength to get through another round of exuberant baby talk. But then she looked down at her sleeping nephew and a smile instantly eased onto her lips. And a fresh wave of longing washed over her heart. He was so…perfect.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have one of my own?
Little Charlie cooed softly in his sleep and then adjusted his head upon her chest, which caused her to fall deeper in love.
“You look like a natural.”
Anna’s head jerked up to see Taariq standing in the doorway. He’d finally caught her alone again. She tensed and then the baby stirred in her arms. Relax, she coaxed herself. It was almost impossible, especially with Taariq casually leaning against the doorway and staring at her as if he was mentally stripping her clothes off. “What do you want?” she growled.
Taariq’s expression didn’t change, only a single brow lifted a fraction of an inch higher than the other one. “What makes you think that I want something?”
Put on the spot, Anna shifted her weight side-to-side while her entire body flushed with irritation. Unfortunately, Little Charlie picked up her changing mood and started squirming and fussing in her arms.
Taariq stepped forward. “Aww. You’re upsetting little man.”
Anna stepped back but bumped into the dining room table. “I’m not upsetting him. You are. Now just go away.”
He ignored the request and instead reached down to run one of his fingers against the side of the baby’s right cheek. “Shh, little man. Everything is going to be all right,” he whispered softly.
The moment his finger made contact, the baby settled down with a soft sigh.
“What are you, the baby whisperer or something?”
“Or something.”
When Taariq smiled, Anna’s heart felt like it was skipping every other beat. He was standing too close, stealing her oxygen while she was pinned between him and the table. The baby luxuriated in his deep slumber, completely unaware that his aunt was fighting like hell not to start hyperventilating.
Anna tried to keep her focus on the baby and not look up. If she did, she feared being trapped in Taariq’s dark gaze.
“So when are you going to tell me why you hate me so much?” Taariq asked, his voice staying soft as a lullaby. But he’d asked the wrong question and Anna’s gaze jumped up with a new fire. “You know why,” she spat in a low voice.
Taariq’s forehead creased with confusion just as Stanley bolted into the room.
“Hey, T…” He stopped while his gaze took in the idyllic scene between Anna, Taariq and the baby and his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Yeah, man. What’s up?” Taariq asked, removing his hand and stepping away from Anna and the baby.
“Me and the boys are ready to toss the ball around outside. You coming?”
“You’re playing?” Taariq asked, surprised.
Stanley pumped up his chest. “Yeah, man. You know that I like roughing it up with the fellahs.” He cast a nervous smile over to Anna. “Are you coming outside, too?”
“Looks that way,” she said, taking full advantage of the opportunity to escape around the human wall that was Taariq. Even as she forced her legs to carry her out of the dining room, she could still feel Taariq’s heavy gaze follow her to the backyard deck.
“What are you doing, man?” Stanley asked.
Taariq tore his eyes away from Anna’s back and shifted them over to an annoyed Stanley. “What?”
Stanley shook his head as he stared at his friend. But he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he calmly turned around and marched off.
Taariq drew in a deep breath and then hustled out to join the others.
The men gathered out in the yard for a light game of touch football. They were all more than a little surprised that Stanley wanted to jump into the mix. Regardless of his recent twenty-pound muscle gain, the last time anyone checked, Stanley hardly knew how to even throw a football, let alone had the coordination to run or catch. But after seeing him constantly looking up toward the deck where the women sat and watched, it was clear that Stanley was hoping to impress Anna.
Taariq’s irritation flared again. And when he threw the first pass, maybe he threw it just a little too hard. Stanley’s arms came up too late and the ball nailed him in the head.
Stanley emitted a high-pitched yelp and then went down for the count.
“Awww, daaaammmn!” The men winced at how hard Stanley hit the ground.
“I’m okay. I’m okay.” Stanley sat on the ground for a moment and tried to shake it off.
Taariq jogged over. “You all right, man?” He offered his Kappa brother his hand, but Stanley grabbed Charlie’s and Derrick’s to help pull him up. “I’m good.”
“You’re going to have to get your arms up faster than that if you’re going to play with the big boys,” Taariq warned.
Stanley nailed him with a hard look. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“All right.” Hylan laughed. “Shake it off.” They all rushed back to the game.
Stanley took a moment to wave up to Anna to let her know that he was all right.
Taariq rolled his eyes and went back to getting his hustle on. The next time Stanley got the ball, it was Charlie doing a soft pass off before instructing him to “Run!”
For a half second, Stanley had a deer-in-headlights look before finally getting his feet to move, but by then Taariq was bearing down on him so hard that he literally looked like a locomotive about to run down a baby fawn.
Stanley glanced over his shoulder and saw his fate about a second before it hit him. Again, there was another high-pitched scream shortly before he had a mouth full of grass.
“Oooooh!” The other brothers covered their mouths and shook their heads.
“That hurt me
just looking at it,” Hylan said, jogging over to check out the damage. “You all right, man?”
“I’m…I’m…”
Taariq trotted back and hovered above Stanley as he rolled over onto his back. “Good hustle, man,” Taariq praised with a thin smile.
Stanley couldn’t respond. He was too busy trying to suck in enough air to breathe.
“Damn, T. Does the brother owe you money or something?” Derrick and Charlie reached down, but Stanley lacked the upper body strength to pull himself up so they had to stoop down and pick him up.
Charlie frowned once Derrick and Hylan lifted Stanley by holding one arm and leg apiece. “You don’t look so good.”
Stanley winced. “I think something is broken.”
“C’mon, man. You’re all right.” Taariq reached up and ruffled his silver hair. “Just shake it off.”
“Ahh.” Stanley winced again when the guys attempted to help him stand up.
Charlie shook his head. “Maybe we should get him to the doctor?”
“Is he all right?” Isabella yelled from the deck.
Taariq looked up and saw all the women on the edge of the deck, trying to assess what was going on. Now he truly felt like an ass. He tried to laugh it off. “C’mon, a doctor? I barely touched him.”
The guys laughed at that.
“C’mon,” Derrick said. “Let’s get you to the emergency room.”
Taariq still had a hard time believing that he caused his brother that much damage. “He’s fine,” he repeated, following the guys back toward the deck.
Stanley elected to milk the situation by moaning like he was seconds away from seeing the Grim Reaper. Once they reached the back deck, Anna rushed over to take a long look herself.
“Stanley, are you all right?”
He moaned relentlessly. “I don’t know. There might be some internal bleeding.”
“Oh, please.” Taariq rolled his eyes. “He’s faking it.”
All the women’s gazes shot over to Taariq and he squirmed under their silent accusation. “What?”
Derrick and Hylan carried Stanley into the house.
Anna seized the moment. “You could’ve seriously hurt him! What were you trying to prove? That you’re bigger and stronger than he is? Is that how you get your rocks off? You run over people to get what you want and then never call him again? Huh? Is that it?” She stabbed him in the middle of his chest with an acrylic nail and he held up his hands to signal his surrender. “You know what you are? Just a big, callous, insensitive bully and I hate the day I met you!” She spun on her heels and marched off. “I have to go.”
Everyone’s mouth dropped open as she stormed back into the house. Once she was gone everyone’s eyes zoned in on Taariq.
He was left looking as stunned as the rest of them. “No offense, Gisella, but I think your sister is missing a few screws.” He marched into the house. It was definitely time to leave.
Charlie glanced over at his wife. “What was all that about?”
To his surprise, Gisella smiled. “If I didn’t know any better…I’d think that those two like each other.”
Chapter 14
“I want to set my sister up with Taariq,” Gisella announced, easing into the bed next to her husband.
“Come again?” Charlie snapped the mystery novel that he was reading closed.
“Well, I think she needs someone and…”
“You think Taariq’s the guy for her, even after the way she blew up at him today?” He laughed as he reached out and turned off the lamp. “I don’t know, honey. I think that you’re barking up the wrong tree on that one.” He turned so that he could spoon her.
“Why? Taariq is nice, plus he’s handsome and successful. He’d be perfect.”
Charlie frowned. “He’s also a die-hard bachelor. It’s not going to be easy to pry the player card out of his hands.”
“I got your card.”
“That was different.”
“Why? Because you thought that you were dying?”
“Low blow, baby.” He kissed the back of her head. “So what you’re saying is that we have to convince Taariq that he’s dying so that he can take stock of his life and decide to settle down?”
“No.” She tapped him on the arm. “All it takes for a man to want to settle down is to meet the right woman, right?”
Charlie didn’t answer.
“Right, baby?” she insisted.
“Sure. Right. Whatever you say, baby.” He pressed another kiss against her head.
“It may not be easy, but it’s not impossible either,” she said. “Again, look at you.”
“I’m not a good example. You drugged me with chocolate.”
“What?” She popped him on the arm. “You take that back.”
Charlie laughed and snuggled a kiss in the crook of his wife’s neck until she started giggling.
“Baby, stop. You’re going to make me wake up the baby.”
“Oh. We don’t want that.” He slid his arm up and cupped her breasts. “I plan on working on getting him a little brother or sister tonight.”
Gisella giggled some more, but then refused to give up on her brilliant idea. “C’mon, sweetie. What do you really think about setting them up? I’m just worried about my sister. I don’t like the idea of it being just her and her cat Sasha for the rest of her life. She deserves to find someone. I want her to be happy.”
Charlie moaned at having his best moves being shut down. “I want her to be happy, too, if it makes you happy—but Taariq, baby? I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Besides, Stanley likes her. He’d been trying to get a date with her all summer and now that he fractured his leg, he’s bummed about having to cancel their date this weekend.”
Gisella mulled his answer over while he went back to work nuzzling her neck. “Don’t get me wrong. I like Stanley, but I don’t think he’s the guy for Anna. She needs…an alpha male. Someone who’s strong and aggressive but still knows how to be kind, funny and sweet.”
Charlie’s kisses dried up. “Kind, funny and sweet? Since when have you started checking out Taariq?”
“Oh, calm down. I told you that I’m looking for someone for Anna, and Taariq is perfect. Is he going on the ski trip?”
“I don’t know. I just asked Derrick and Hylan. I thought you just wanted it to be a couples thing.” He shrugged.
“I do. Taariq and Anna will make the fourth couple.”
Charlie shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m not too comfortable with this whole matchmaking thing. Plus, Anna didn’t look all that crazy about Taariq to me. I’m afraid if we leave those two alone that yellow crime tape might be needed by the end of the night.”
“If anything goes wrong you can just blame me and say that you told me so.”
Charlie’s head popped up at that. “Do you really mean it?” Quickly, he rolled back over to his nightstand, clicked on the light and grabbed a pen and paper. “Do you mind putting this in writing?”
Gisella laughed and then rolled back over to her side of the bed.
Charlie tried to thrust the pen and paper at her. “Baby?”
“Good night, Charlie.”
“Wait. I’m just saying that this moment needs to be documented in time.”
“I said good night, Charlie.” She hid a smile in her pillow as her husband finally gave up and turned out the light.
Anna couldn’t sleep.
Sitting out on her balcony and sipping on warm milk while Sasha purred and bathed herself on her lap, she reviewed everything that had happened that day. Now that her temper had finally settled, she reflected on how she had stormed out of Derrick and Isabella’s place like a fire-breathing dragon. Surely they all thought that she was off her rocker by now. Yet at the same time, Taariq just got under her skin like nobody’s business. And the fact that he kept acting like he hadn’t done anything wrong was completely mind-boggling.
Why can’t he just say that he’s sorry? If he’s sorry. Why act like sh
e was the crazy one in this? But the look on his face while she was screaming and yelling was really something else. She couldn’t imagine too many women putting that big, muscle-head oaf in his place—or that he stuck around long enough to hear it. There was a definite satisfaction in telling him off, even if she didn’t get the answer to a question that had been floating in her head for a long time.
“Why do you care? It was so long ago,” she whispered under her breath. Hell, she had gone years not thinking about Taariq and that night. Then again, maybe it was because he was out of sight and out of mind. Now with Charlie married to Gisella, the arrogant jerk was orbiting her life and popping up when she least expected it.
Just tell Gisella that you no longer want to be around him. That suggestion sounded simple enough, but it no doubt would require her having to tell her sister why she didn’t want to be around one of her husband’s best friends. And what would she say? The truth was a bit humiliating, which is why she had never told anyone about that night. She could try to lie, but she had never been a good liar.
Anna sucked in a long deep breath and let her mind roam while she stroked Sasha’s soft coat. And of course her treacherous mind zoomed right back to Taariq and her standing in Isabella’s dining room with li’l Charlie nestled in her arms. He really did have a way with babies. I wonder if he has children of his own? Of course that would mean that he had some baby mommas floating around Atlanta.
She rolled her eyes at that. Wouldn’t that be typical? Anna shifted in her seat, not liking the idea of him having children already. She shook the image out of her head, but it was quickly replaced with another one—Taariq running across the backyard looking like a sleek, black panther with long, strong strides that quite literally took her breath away.
Her mind looped that image for at least a good hour. By that time she realized that she’d better take her butt to bed. If she was lucky she would get at least three hours of sleep. However, once she’d curled up against her pillow and Sasha took her place at the foot of the bed, any hope she had of escaping dreams of Taariq went out the window. He was right there waiting for her the moment she closed her eyes. It had been a long time, but she tried to remember every moment of their one night together. Amazingly, she still remembered what he tasted like. How remarkable was that? And the way his hand had roamed up her leg when they were on the dance floor at the frat party, she was certain that she hadn’t experienced anything even remotely that hot in all her years of dating.
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