Lillian looked from Freddie to Cleveland. “So what’s that all about?” she asked.
Shrugging, Freddie pretended that she didn’t know what Lillian meant. “Who knows? Do you know all he’s been talking about is the Atlanta Falcons? Why would he agree to stand in for his brother if he was only going to complain ?”
“That’s just who he is . . .” Lillian stopped talking as she saw the florist walk into the reception hall. “What is this? These are not the silk flowers that I ordered. I wanted pink, this is mauve.” Her voice rose several octaves as she stalked over to the florist. The few people who were left in the reception hall started making their way to the door, as if they could feel the storm brewing. Lillian didn’t handle stress well, she just screamed at whoever was around, whether they deserved it or not.
Freddie stuck her finger in her right ear as the shrill from her friend’s voice seemed to split her eardrum. Ah, there it was, the maid of honor migraine. She knew it wasn’t going to be long before it flared up. Why did I agree to do this? I should’ve stayed in New Orleans and sent a gift. These big weddings are a waste of time anyway. She ran her hand down her face and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Cleveland was standing inches away from her.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I couldn’t help but notice you staring at me, which I found kind of odd, because moments ago, you were chewing me out,” he said, with a smile plastered on his face.
Freddie didn’t like the way his silky voice made heat rush to her cheeks and her groin catch fire. And she couldn’t stand the fact that her heart was doing flip-flops at the sight of his smile. “First of all,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t waver or crack, “you flatter yourself, I wasn’t looking at you.”
Stepping closer to her, Cleveland laughed, his breath tickling the tip of her nose. “I know you were staring. But that’s okay, because I was doing the same thing.”
“Don’t you have a gentleman’s club to go to?”
“Nope.”
“Well, excuse me, but I need to go check on Lillian. At least I’m doing my duties with a smile,” Freddie said, needing to escape Cleveland. When she inhaled, his masculine scent filled her nostrils and if she didn’t turn away now, she’d fantasize about what it would feel like to be held in those strong arms and have his lips pressed against hers.
Watching Freddie walk away made all types of thoughts dance through his head and most of them had her walking straight into his bedroom. It had been a long time since he’d had to chase a woman. The thrill of the chase was much better than just having everything handed to him on a platter. Freddie definitely wasn’t trying to hand him anything and that made him want everything she had to offer. Louis walked up to his friend, forcing him to tear his eyes away from Freddie’s shapely backside. “You’re never going to get any of that, so don’t even try it.”
“I can get whatever I want,” Cleveland said confidently.
“That’s a hot-blooded Louisiana babe. She and Lillian grew up together and went to Xavier. When Lil and I were dating in college, Freddie was always around. She was pretty cool, and I thought she’d make a brother a great girlfriend and give us some space. Then I made the mistake of trying to hook her up with my cousin who was at Dillard. Well, he said something that she didn’t like and she ripped him a new one. I think she made him cry. Ever seen Deliver Us From Eva? She’s the Eva prototype.”
Shrugging him off, Cleveland said, “She can’t be that bad. If anyone can break her, you’re looking at him.”
Louis shook his head as he laughed hysterically. “She’s not a stallion. Oh, my bad, this is your MO.”
“What are you talking about?” Cleveland asked.
“You go after that unattainable woman so you don’t have to commit, but can say ‘I tried.’ Aren’t you tired of serial dating? Countless encounters that lead to nothing?”
Cleveland placed his hand underneath his chin and pretended to be deep in thought. “No. Don’t think that because you’re getting married that it’s your job to marry everyone else off. Darren is doing a good job of trying, but it’s not going to work. Marriage and misery seem to go hand in hand. So, while I’m still young and fly, I’m going to enjoy myself. There are too many single women in Atlanta to be tied down to just one.”
“Who did a number on your heart?” Louis asked.
Looking away from his friend, Cleveland didn’t answer him. He didn’t have a snappy comeback because he’d never been brave enough to fall in love. He’d had relationships, entanglements and the like, but he’d never met a woman he felt he could trust with his heart. Unlike Darren, his older brother, Cleveland didn’t love easily—hastily rushing into marriage and relationships. When things got too deep, Cleveland would walk away because he didn’t want to care too much and end up hurt. He’d seen Darren’s devastation after his first marriage ended because of the lies his first wife told. He’d seen how even women with good intentions had caused hurt. His second wife, Jill, nearly destroyed Darren when she’d lied about her identity and that newspaper blasted her, making it seem as if she was a man-eating CEO who was only using him.
Cleveland knew he’d never be able to handle anything like that, so if he was a serial dater, then so be it. Women, he reasoned, say they want one thing and turn around and go for the exact opposite. Deep inside, he wanted a love like his parents or even like his brother’s marriage to Jill. But he didn’t think he’d find that with a woman in Atlanta since they all seemed to want men with huge bank accounts and prestige. As a firefighter, he was far from rich, but he was comfortable and could take care of himself and a family, if he ever had one.
Cleveland turned to Louis. “Listen, I bet you Freddie and I will be leaving your reception together.”
“You don’t stand a chance. But hey, it’s going to be fun to watch. I’m out of here. Roland is salivating to see some naked women. You sure you don’t want to come?”
Nodding as his cell phone rang, Cleveland waved good-bye to his friend and answered the call.
“Yeah.”
“How’s it going?” Darren asked.
“How do you think? Overbearing bridesmaids, the bride is tripping, Roland is taking the groomsmen to some strip club, and I have a room at some hotel that I think Norman Bates built. Your wife had better have given birth by the time I get back.”
“Well, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Jill’s lying in bed mad,” he said.
“What happened to the contractions and ‘I think my baby is coming early’?” Cleveland asked.
“Well, thankfully, she’s not leaking any fluids as the doctor thought, but her blood pressure is higher than the doctor would like so he put her on bed rest. I had to hide that damned laptop from her.”
Cleveland laughed at his sister-in-law’s unnatural attachment to that machine. She’d been the talk of the fire station when Darren pulled her from her burning high rise apartment and she wouldn’t let go of it. At that time, no one knew she was one of the richest women in Atlanta and the future Mrs. Darren Alexander.
“So, how is she coping without it?” Cleveland asked.
“I had to distract her with the NFL Network’s coverage of the Falcons’ pep rally. You know Jill loves football more than the average man and the Falcons are her favorite team.”
Cleveland chuckled. “Yeah, she has some prime seats in the Georgia Dome. I hope someone took those tickets off her hands.”
“Well,” Darren said, “you know she was holding those tickets for you. There was even going to be a meet and greet with the new quarterback.”
“Shut up! I should’ve been there.”
“Come on, with all the single women in that wedding party, you should be thanking us for having a baby.”
Cleveland’s eyes sought out Freddie again and found her standing at the door trying to hold Lillian back from the florist. If things worked out with the fiery Miss Barker, then maybe he would be thanking his brother. “We’ll see about that,”
he said. “It looks as if some of these ladies are losing their minds in here, so let me go and offer my assistance.” After hanging up with Darren, Cleveland walked over to the bickering women. “Ladies, is there a problem?”
Freddie rolled her eyes. “No.”
Lillian waved her hands frantically. “There is a problem and I’m not going to have these ugly mauve roses at my ceremony.”
“Ma’am,” said the flustered florist. “These roses are pink. This is what you ordered, we went over your order three times. I showed you these very same roses two days ago.”
Stomping her foot, Lillian shrieked, “I know what I ordered, this isn’t it. The live ones better look like what I ordered.”
Cleveland stepped between Lillian and the florist, calmly placed his hand on Lillian’s shoulder and smiled. “Calm down, beautiful. Now, these roses are very pretty, but the lighting in here isn’t. I’m sure that when the candles are lit and the sun is beaming in through the windows, you’re going to see how beautiful these roses really are. Then again, when people see you in your wedding dress, they aren’t going to care what these roses look like.”
Casting her eyes upward, Lillian seemed to calm down. “You really think so?”
“Yes,” Cleveland said. “Right Miss Barker?”
Freddie nodded. “It really is the lighting, Lil.” She shot an apologetic glance at the frazzled florist.
“So, may I unload the rest of these flowers?” the florist asked, refusing to look at Lillian.
“Yes,” Freddie said, “unload them and set everything up. Lillian, go home, run a bath and relax.”
Running her hand over her face, Lillian nodded. “Fine, I think I need to relax, but you two had better stay here and supervise.”
“I don’t think so,” Freddie said. “I have a million . . .”
Cleveland cut her off, “Come on, Miss Barker, you’re not trying to get out of your duties are you? I mean, your little speech earlier inspired me and if we have to stay here all night, to make this wedding perfect, then that’s what we have to do.”
She folded her arms underneath her breasts and glared at him. “If you think I’m staying anywhere with you . . .”
“Freddie,” Lillian interrupted, “you’re doing this for me, not him, and you did tell me to go home. If you want me to stay and do these floral arrangements, then I will.”
Sighing, Freddie placed her hand on Lillian’s shoulder. “No, you go home, Mr. Alexander, and I will handle your flowers,” she said.
Lillian hugged her friend tightly then turned to Cleveland. “Please, be nice,” she warned. “I know if you had it your way, you wouldn’t be here.”
“We all know that,” Freddie mumbled with a smile on her face. “Lil, let me walk you out.”
“No,” Lillian said. “Stay here and please make sure this woman doesn’t ruin my arrangements because she’s too busy staring at Cleveland.”
He waved at the women, letting them know that he was listening to their conversation. Freddie rolled her eyes, alerting him to her annoyance. Cleveland returned her gesture with a bright smile. Once Lillian was out the door, Cleveland turned to Freddie, watching her every move. He didn’t realize he was smiling until she walked over to him with a deep frown on her face.
“Is there a reason why you’re standing here with your mouth agape looking at me when you told Lil that we would get her flowers ready for tomorrow?”
Cleveland took Freddie’s hand in his. “Why are you trying to be so hard?”
Snatching her hand away from his, she focused an intense glare on him. “Excuse me? So, since I’m not throwing myself at you, I’m being hard?”
“That’s not what I’m saying, but you could lighten up a bit, since you’re going to have the pleasure of spending the night with me.”
Scoffing at his suggestion, Freddie folded her arms underneath her breasts. “As if that’s some sort of prize. I don’t want to spend all night here.”
“I have a nice room at the Best Western.”
Freddie raised her hand to slap him, but Cleveland was quick enough to block her blow. When he enclosed her hand in his, he whirled her around as if they were dancing then pulled her against his chest. In one quick movement, he brought his lips down on top of hers. Surprisingly, she didn’t resist him and she tasted even better than she looked.
Freddie didn’t realize what was happening until she parted her lips to allow his tongue entry into her awaiting mouth. Damn, he felt so good, so strong and warm. Why had her treacherous body responded to his soft lips and warm tongue? Why had she melted against the rigidness of his body? Before she’d gotten too heady from the passion of Cleveland’s kiss, she regained her senses and pushed him away. This time her smack made the connection with his jaw.
“You cocky son of a . . .”
“Excuse me,” the florist said timidly. “I have a question about the archway for the church.”
Freddie plastered a smile on her face and followed the woman into the kitchen where she had the roses laid out. Much to her chagrin, Cleveland followed them. Ignore him, she told herself as she tried to focus on what the florist was saying to her. But Cleveland’s masculine scent filled her nostrils, making him impossible to disregard. Plus, she couldn’t get the taste of his lips out of her mind. As much as she wanted to just get through this evening, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was going to want more of Cleveland. No, this man probably has a stable of willing women to do whatever he wants them to do and there’s no reason for you to join in. Turning to the florist, Freddie tried to direct her as to how she was to form the archway.
“I have a suggestion,” Cleveland said, his voice sending a shiver down her spine. “If you’re building this grand archway, shouldn’t you do it at the entrance of the church, that way when you move it, you won’t lose so many petals?”
The florist nodded. “Yes, but this is too heavy for me to move on my own.”
Cleveland lifted the arch as if it weighed less than a pound and headed for the front of the church. Freddie, for the first time since his lips left hers, took a deep breath as he walked away. There was no way she’d allow him to place her under his spell.
Chapter 3
It had taken half the night to get the flowers arranged at the church as Lillian had instructed. By the time Cleveland, Freddie and the florist were finished, the place looked like a spring garden. Freddie was surprised that Cleveland worked as hard as he had and he was kind to the florist, who had more than once gotten frustrated by Lillian’s constant phone calls and demands for photos to be sent to her cell phone.
But just as she was about to count Cleveland as an okay guy, he’d say something smug that reinforced her initial thoughts of him. As the florist was packing up to leave, Cleveland turned to Freddie and said in a low voice, “Was it everything you dreamed it would be?”
“What?” she asked, furrowing her brows.
“Spending the night with me.”
“You’re so crass and we’re in a church for God’s sake.”
“You need to lighten up. Smiling every now and then would do wonders for you.”
Clicking her tongue against her teeth, she said, “If I had something or someone to smile at then I would. What, did you think I would jump into bed with you because you stuck a few flowers in the right places and you finally stopped complaining every five minutes about being here?”
“No,” he said as he rocked back on his heels. “I thought you’d hop into bed with me because you find me incredibly sexy and you want to have the time of your life.”
“Not if you were the last man on the face of the earth.”
Closing the space between them, he stroked her cheek gently. “If that’s the case, then why did you kiss me? There was a spark and I know you felt it just as much as I did.”
Rolling her eyes, she was about to deny everything he said, but Cleveland quickly brought his lips down on hers again. She was expecting another passionate and fiery kiss, instead he pec
ked her gently and pulled back. Despite herself, she moaned and Cleveland smiled knowingly.
“Stop fighting it, Freddie,” he growled. “You want me and you know it.”
“I want no such thing,” she said weakly.
“Save a dance for me tomorrow,” he said as he headed for the door. “Are you coming, or are you going to stay here and pray that you won’t dream about me when your head hits the pillow?”
Straightening her back, Freddie marched out the door, then turned to face Cleveland. “You flatter yourself, you know. You’re not a prize and I’m not some empty-headed bridesmaid who believes in the magic of weddings. If I did sleep with you, you’d be the one who couldn’t handle it and would be begging me to be with you every night. So, dream of that as you go to sleep hot and bothered. And one more thing, touch me again and I’ll make certain that you’ll regret it.”
“Or will you regret it if I don’t kiss you again and make you quiver all over. When’s the last time you had . . .”
Freddie pushed away from him. “That’s all it’s about to you, isn’t it? Sex.”
“I never said anything about sex, you keep going there. If that’s what you want, it can be arranged and trust me—you’d love it.”
She fought the urge to flip him off, instead she walked to her car and ignored him. But she couldn’t help wondering if Cleveland was right about how good it would be to lie in his strong arms and feel the heat of his breath against her neck as they wrapped themselves around each other and got lost in a wave of passion and ecstasy. “Stop it,” she whispered to herself. “That man is just like all the rest, he’s just a little smoother.”
More Than He Can Handle Page 2
