by Candace Shaw
“Cool. The party was awesome. I need Chef Crenshaw’s recipes for the seared lamb and roasted brussels sprouts. Oh, and the shrimp quiche.” She hadn’t tasted the last dish, but Preston had raved about it, so she figured she’d make it for him one day.
“I’ll have him email them to you. And how are you? All set with the Winter Wonderland project?”
“Oh, yeah. Everything is ready. Five more days! The committee is prepared and excited.”
“I have a ton of cupcakes to bake, too.” Tiffani glanced up as her assistant Kendall walked into the shop from the kitchen. “Kendall, can you watch the front for a few minutes? I need to go back to my office with Blythe.”
“Sure, Boss,” Kendall answered, as she settled in behind the counter.
Blythe grabbed her brownies and wondered why Tiffani wanted to talk in private. She hoped everything was okay with her best friend. Once they were settled on the couch, Tiffani turned to her with a wide smile that she was trying to suppress.
“What, girl? You have some great news to tell me?” Blythe asked as Tiffani could hardly contain herself. She was giddy and jumpy, which meant it was either good news or some gossip about one of the other store owners in the shopping center. Or perhaps she was pregnant. Tiffani had mentioned recently she wanted to start trying again soon.
Tiffani shook her head. “Nooo, I think you have some great news to share with me.”
Blythe pondered for a moment. “Mmm...no... I don’t think so.” She shook her head as innocently as possible, but she had a feeling that Tiffani knew her secret. But how? She and Preston had agreed they’d tell Tiffani together when the time was right.
Tiffani smacked her lips and cut her eyes playfully at Blythe. “Now, girl, we’ve been best friends for almost two years, and I know when something is up with you. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was until I was perusing the camera monitors last night, searching for the party footage. One of my guests lost an emerald earring, and I was trying to find her with it on and to see when it fell off. Well, I did, and I was able to return it to her this morning.”
Blythe’s heart sank, and a wave of panic washed over her body. A trickle of nervous sweat formed at the nape of her neck. She prayed with all her might that Tiffani wasn’t about to say that she saw Preston and her in the laundry room doing the wild thang on the folding table.
Tiffani cleared her throat before continuing, wearing a wicked smirk. “But I also saw you and my brother in the main laundry room, arguing about what, I don’t know, because there’s no sound, thank goodness. The next scene I saw, you two were getting busy on the wall. I stopped watching because—well, he is my brother, but I saved the DVD just in case you want it for your personal library. It’s locked in my desk drawer.”
“Um...see...what had happened was...” she started sarcastically. “Prez and I are...well...”
“Uh-huh...go ahead and explain it to me, please.” Tiffani bounced up on the couch and tucked her legs underneath.
Blythe tried to suppress the embarrassment that was forming. “How much of the wall action did you see?” Perhaps there was a way to not divulge everything just yet.
“I stopped it when you took your panties off and tossed them to him, even though before that, I was watching through my fingers.”
“Oh...” she said in complete mortification.
“Now I know why I couldn’t find either of you for thirty minutes, but I never thought about you two being somewhere together. However, that would explain the bite on your neck that you said must’ve come from an insect when you’d stepped outside to take a phone call. But now I know it was a human bite, not a bug bite. And honestly, I thought Prez was somewhere in my house doing the nasty with Marissa, but she left rather early that evening. I am going to assume that he’s the reason you’ve been glowing lately, and that you’re the special lady he said I would adore...which I do, by the way.”
“I’d better be... I mean, yes I am,” Blythe answered.
Tiffani put her hand up to her face as tears welled up in her eyes. “Ah...so now we’re going to be best friends and sisters? I’m so excited.” She grabbed Blythe’s hands. “This is so surreal. Now all the Chases are in love. I told you miracles happen around Christmas.”
“Slow down, Tiff. We just started seeing each other,” she reminded her. “We’re still in the beginning stages.”
“But you’ve known him for a year, and you told me that the next man you had sex with would be the one you married. I’m assuming you’ve had sex, considering you tossed your panties at him.”
“Yes, Tiffani, we have, and I hope that we are together forever, but we’re still taking it one day at a time. We haven’t even told anyone we’re seeing each other, even though I think the committee suspects it. Now that you know, I guess we can start telling people we’re a couple.”
“But why didn’t you tell me? I’m your best friend. I’ve secretly wanted you two together since you first met. My brother was smitten with you. I was there. I know him and I know you. I figured one day both of you would wake up and smell the coffee. You’re perfect for each other, and maybe getting together when you first met would’ve been disastrous because Preston wasn’t ready for a real relationship. Now he’s glowing and happy and it’s all because of you, and I can’t stop smiling. I wanted to call you last night, but Broderick suggested I calm down my excitement first. I was way too giddy to talk.”
“I agree, when we met would not have been the right time, but it is now. I didn’t want to tell you or anybody just in case things didn’t work out. I have to admit, I’ve been attracted to him since last year, but not enough to act on it. But after spending time with him working on the project and getting to know the kind of man Preston truly is and not the party playboy, I decided to take a chance, and I’m glad I did. Preston is a great guy.”
“Ah...how sweet. I’m so elated for you both.”
“Me, too. I have no regrets.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to go. I have to prepare for a paint party.”
The ladies stood and headed toward the door, but Blythe stopped as she remembered something and turned to Tiffani.
“Tiff, um...so you really have the DVD in your drawer?”
“Oh, yeah,” Tiffani answered, jetting to her desk and unlocking it. She pulled out a DVD case and handed it over to Blythe. “You know I got you covered, girl!”
* * *
Blythe lay on her favorite chaise lounge in front of a roaring fire at Preston’s loft. She played a video game he wanted feedback for on his cell phone while he took Hope for a walk. She was comfortable, happy and content with her life. Tiffani was right, because miracles did happen at Christmas. Never in her wildest imagination did she think this time last year that she’d be chilling in Preston Chase’s loft, sipping hot chocolate, playing video games and waiting for him to return so they could cuddle and relax by the fireplace. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen for him in such a short period of time, but in her heart she knew she’d always cared for him. The fear of being hurt again had been the culprit holding her back, because in some ways he reminded her of her ex, who was a player. Now that everyone in his immediate family knew they were a couple and were elated for them, she was even happier about her decision to date him.
The past few days had been hectic, preparing for the Winter Wonderland, and last-minute changes on Preston’s part had swamped his time. She’d spent the day with Sasha, Megan and other volunteers wrapping tons of presents for the children and placing them around the Christmas trees. She was due back tomorrow to finish up, and the following day would be the big event. Blythe could hardly believe it was happening and couldn’t wait to see Preston’s vision for the children come to life.
A beep and a flash of words on the cell phone screen interrupted the game. Frowning because she was just about to advance to the next level after five tries
, she read a text message from Marissa Stewart. Nausea arose in her throat as she read the short message in her head.
Thank you for last night, Prez. :-)
Last night? What did Marissa mean, last night? And why was there a smiley face? Blythe’s heart began to race at one hundred miles per hour as the cell phone burned in her hands. Her breathing became unhinged as she racked her brain trying to remember everything Preston said he did last night, and somehow Marissa’s name never came out of his mouth.
Last night he did a final walk-through at the Winter Wonderland venue with Devin and Jonathan. She’d wanted to be there, but she had two paint parties back to back, and the last one didn’t end until after midnight because it was a bachelorette party. He was supposed to come over to her house but didn’t because he was hanging out with Braxton at his jazz club. Their cousins Sean and Cannon Arrington were in town from Memphis with their families for Christmas.
Was that one big lie? Had Prez actually gone over to Marissa’s after all? Blythe looked at the phone again. No more text messages had come through, but the same one stared at her in big, bold letters along with that dang smiley face. It felt like a slap across her face as tears began to sting her cheeks. Tossing the phone to his chaise lounge, she stood as the elevator doors opened and Hope ran straight to her mat by the fire. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited impatiently for him to come around the corner.
“Babe, you want to watch our hot, steamy video again?” Preston yelled out, placing the dog leash back on the hook. “Your facial expressions when I had you bent over and couldn’t see you were erotic as hell.” He strolled toward her wearing a devilish smile that quickly faded away. “Baby girl, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Somebody died?” He reached for her, but she backed up as confusion filled his face.
“Yes...we did. Our relationship is dead.”
His forehead scrunched and he stepped toward her. “Wait...what are you talking about? I was only walking the dog for, like, twenty minutes. What the hell happened while I was gone?”
“Check your cell phone,” she demanded, pointing to it. “You have a text message.”
The puzzlement was erased from his face and was replaced with concern while he exhaled as if there was nothing truly wrong. Stepping toward her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and said calmly, “Blythe, the women I’ve dated may call me sometimes for whatever reason, and they don’t know I’m in a relationship. If someone is asking to go out or something, it’s no big deal. I promise. Would you like me to call all of them? It may take a while, but I’ll do it.”
Moving back, she placed her hands on her hips. “Marissa knows you’re in a relationship, and if I remember correctly, you said you blocked her number at the party after she sent you the inappropriate pictures.”
Walking away from her, he swiped the cell phone from the chaise and mumbled under his breath as he read the message.
“Okay, so this could look bad, but it’s really not.” He waved his hands in front of him. “I’ve done nothing wrong. You know I haven’t.”
“Oh, really?” She wiped her tears away. Why the hell am I crying in front of him? He deserves no tears from me. She had to stay strong right now. She could cry later at home.
“Please explain this one to me, but before you do, remember I dated a player just like you. There were so many red flags being thrown at me, you’d think I was a batter on a baseball team. But I was young, immature and naive, thinking that I was the only one and that he loved me when he didn’t. I was caught up because he was handsome not realizing until it was too late that I was just a part of a freaking harem. Now I know exactly what to look for before it’s too late. But go ahead and throw your best lie out there. I’m dying to hear all about last night.”
He chuckled, which annoyed her to the fullest. Her ex used to the do the same crap when he was caught in a lie. It was the similar nervous laugh that her ex used to give himself time to figure out how to weasel his way out of whatever he’d done to get caught.
“Last night, I met my cousins at the jazz club, which you are fully aware of because I called you before we went in. Marissa was there and tipsy as hell. She tried to persuade me to go home with her to have sex, but I told her no. I reminded her that I was in a relationship, and there was nothing she could do to convince me. She became irate and made a scene in the middle of the lobby area in front of the people waiting in line to get in. Braxton called security, and she attempted to leave but was stumbling and fell at one point.
“I snatched her keys from her because she was in no condition to drive. I drove her home in her car with Sean following us in my car. We made sure she got in safely, she fell asleep on the couch and we left. That’s it. That’s why she’s thanking me. I unblocked her number this morning to call and check on her. She was really wasted. She didn’t answer, but I left a voice mail, so I guess she’s sending a text message now. I haven’t heard from her all day.”
Blythe shook her head back and forth. “I don’t believe any of the story you just told me except that you took her home.”
“What?” he yelled loudly, waking Hope, who jetted over and lay next to his feet. “You’re kidding me, right? I just told you the truth.”
“If you say so.” She shrugged. “I’ve never seen anyone get wasted at Braxton’s club. His bartenders know when to cut people off. It’s not that kind of establishment.”
“Blythe, I don’t know what else you want me to do or say. I’m not lying to you. I have no reason to lie to you.”
“Okay, so, if nothing happened, why didn’t you tell me this sooner? Like, when I asked.”
“I didn’t see the need to,” he answered calmly as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Am I supposed to tell you every single little thing that goes on in my life?”
“I asked you about last night earlier today. You said you had a blast catching up with your cousins, but at no time did you mention leaving the club to take Marissa home.”
“Again, I didn’t see the point. She doesn’t live far from the club. We were back in thirty minutes, and we continued our evening. It wasn’t a big deal, even though you’re making it one.”
“You were supposed to come over last night.”
“It was late by the time we left. Hell, the club was closed when we finally left. We sat around, smoked cigars, drank bourbon and listened to Braxton play the piano until four in the morning, which I told you about,” he retorted through gritted teeth. “I haven’t lied to you.”
“Sooo...you didn’t see the need to tell me you took home one of your exes in the middle of your alleged grand time with your cousins?”
“She’s not an ex. We had a one-night stand. That’s it, but I’ve done nothing wrong to you, Blythe. I was just being polite. The woman was drunk and I wanted her out of my cousin’s establishment. That’s it.”
She stared at him in disbelief. She wanted to believe him, and in a way, she did, but at the same time she didn’t understand why he couldn’t be honest in the first place. Why had he kept it from her?
“You could’ve told me,” she said quietly.
“It was no big deal.”
“Mmm-hmm...okay, if you say so.”
Leaving the sitting area, she headed down the hall to the master bedroom and grabbed her rolling overnight suitcase along with her coat and purse. When she returned, she found him seated on the chaise with Hope at his feet. He looked up when she approached, and a scowl reached his face as he glanced at her belongings.
“Where are you going?” he asked, striding to her and blocking her path.
“Home.” She moved around him, but he sidestepped and stood in front of her once more. Groaning, she tried to push through. The tears needed to fall again, but they weren’t going to fall in front of him. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
He held his hands up. “Wait...wh
y?” he asked with frustration. “It’s late.”
Looking past him, she inhaled and spoke as calmly as possible. “I want to be alone right now.”
“I understand you’re upset with me. And that’s fine. You’re entitled to be mad if you choose to be, but you don’t have to leave, baby girl. There are plenty of rooms. I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
“No, I mean at my own home. Away from you.”
Looking taken aback, he stepped away from her. “You can’t seriously be mad at me,” he stated in a defensive tone. “I was trying to protect your feelings, that’s all, and to avoid this type of confrontation, because again, it’s no big deal. Nothing happened and you know nothing happened. I wouldn’t do that to you, Blythe.”
“I’m not mad at you. I’m upset with me for getting involved with you, knowing you have a promiscuous past. I promised myself never to get involved with another pretty boy playboy, and what did I do?” she asked sarcastically. “I can’t do this again. I have to be able to trust you.”
“I’m not him.”
“You’re just alike. For whatever reason, I tend to attract your kind.”
“Blythe, what is your problem? I didn’t tell you for the simple fact that I wanted to avoid this conversation. I know you weren’t thrilled with hearing her tell your group at the party about the naked pictures and the invite I declined. You saw the text message I sent her.”
“You should’ve been honest with me and told me. It’s like you hid it because you felt guilty about it. It’s almost like you cheated on me.”
He wiped his hands down his face and breathed out. He was silent for a minute before he began to speak in a calm but firm manner.
“I’m not going to argue with you over something trivial. I didn’t cheat on you, and I did nothing inappropriate. If you think withholding information to protect your heart is wrong, then fine. I was wrong. If I wanted to hide something from you, do you think I would let you use my cell phone to play a game? I gave you the freaking pass code to it.” His voice rose and continued to do so. “Did any other female call or text while you were playing? I’ll answer that for you. No. You wanna know why? Because they can’t. Because I went through and blocked all their numbers. They can’t call or text me unless it’s from a number that I don’t have. You want to know why I blocked them? Because I’m with you. I don’t want them. Never did.”
