He smiled with pride, but raised an eyebrow. “Did you expect anything less?”
Both Jeremy and Luke sent her appreciative looks, and Luke said, “You do look beautiful. But then again, you could make anything look beautiful,” he said, his eyes smiling.
Jonathan gave him back off look.
“What?” he asked innocently. “I’m just sayin’.”
“Where’s Janie?” Ayanna asked just as innocently.
Luke seemed a little taken back by the question. “Home, I would imagine. We talked at the hospital and I think she thought it best to stay home and rest tonight.”
Ayanna tried not to snort. “Oh, really? She thought it best, or everyone else thought it best?”
“Well, she didn’t necessarily agree, per se, but she was still coughing a little, so…”
“Actually, I think she was feeling pretty good,” Ayanna said, watching for Luke’s reaction with the next words she was about to speak. “Tonight was the night she was supposed to bring Detective Fernandez with her. It was supposed to be their big hot date.”
Luke schooled his expression. “Well, it looks like the detective is going to be disappointed,” he shrugged. “Poor sucker.” Luke didn’t look like he felt sorry for the detective at all.
It looked like Luke wouldn’t have to feel sorry for anyone, because over by the entrance she saw Janie walk in wearing a short sexy emerald green mini dress, making her boobs look spectacular as always. The color made her strawberry blonde hair shine in its swept up messy topknot. Quite simply, she sparkled.
And on her arm was Detective Fernandez. Her mile high heels brought the top of her head to a couple of inches below her escort’s chin.
Ayanna couldn’t wait to see the drama unfold. “Oh! Speak of the devil. There they are right now.”
Luke turned to look. His jaw looked like it was made of steel, given how clenched it was.
He turned back to the group and gave them all a poised smile. “Excuse me for a moment. I’m going to go say hi.”
Ayanna smirked then cleared her throat. Oh to be a fly on the wall...
“The poor guy is sunk,” Ryann said, shaking her head.
Ayanna hadn’t yet told anyone of her theory, but it looked like she and Ryann were on the same page again. They gave each other knowing smiles.
“Huh?” This confused response came from Jeremy.
“Are we the only two who realize that Luke has feelings for Janie?” Ayanna asked.
“What?!” Jeremy sputtered. “Luke and Janie?!” He looked over to them just as Luke reached them and shook the detective’s hand. Janie had a fake smile plastered on her face, however Luke looked calm and cool as he stroked his hand down Janie’s back and spoke to her. The detective cocked an eyebrow and Janie’s eyes took on an angry glint. She said something back to Luke then touched his arm as if to calm him while she was speaking.
“Luke and Janie?” Jeremy was still having a hard time grasping the concept. “No way. Trust me, he thinks of her like a sister.”
Ayanna chuckled and Ryann rolled her eyes.
“Have you ever asked him?” Ryann asked.
“Well, no, but it’s Janie,” he said, as if that explained everything.
“Yup, it’s Janie alright. Svelte, voluptuous, all grown up Janie. I can’t imagine what he would see in her,” Ayanna said dryly.
Jonathan chuckled and put his arm around her, playing with her hair.
“Luke and Janie?” Jeremy asked again, and then looked back in the direction where Janie had been standing.
At this point, Luke, Janie, and Fernandez were walking over to the group. Luke was pulling a very disgruntled looking Janie by the hand leading her through the crowd, with the detective following behind like an annoyed puppy dog.
“Look who I found,” Luke said to the group when he arrived. “It looks like Janie felt well enough to join us after all.”
Janie hugged Ayanna and Ryann, and while the guys made small talk, Janie gave them both a look like What the hell am I supposed to do?
“How ya doin’?” Ayanna asked with a smile.
“He totally just came over and just,” she was searching for words, “took over!” she whispered. “Like hello? I’m on a date here. First he tells me I’m not well enough to be here which I quickly corrected him on, then he says he wants to keep an eye on me tonight to make sure I’m feeling okay, then he just grabs my hand and drags me away from Danny. I mean, what the hell? If he wants to turn all big brother one me, then he can just get the hell over it and stay out of my way.” She was still whispering, but her voice was getting a little louder, causing the guys to walk over.
“So Danny here was just telling me he’s on call tonight, and I told him if he had to leave I would take care of getting you home,” Luke said to Janie.
Janie bristled, but plastered on another smile and apparently decided to put Luke in his place. “No worries, Lucasito. You don’t need to pull big brother duty. We have it all worked it out if he gets a call tonight.”
Luke looked determined. “Oh? Okay. Just as long as that doesn’t mean you’re taking a cab or the subway.”
“Actually, we took a car service tonight,” Danny interjected. “We’re covered, so you don’t need to worry about it.” He turned to Janie with a smirk and a slightly exasperated look. “Let’s go check out the art. Isn’t that why we’re here?”
“Absolutely,” she beamed and reached out to take Danny’s hand. “We’ll see you guys a little later, ‘kay?” Janie gave a saucy wave and she and the detective were off.
Jeremy was staring at Luke, who in turn was staring at the very enticing and retreating form of Janie.
“Really, dude? I mean seriously?” Jeremy was asking him.
“Really, what?” Luke asked, his eyes warning Jeremy not to push him.
Jeremy just shook his head. It was truly comical watching him process the possibilities.
“When was the last time you took a woman out?” he asked Luke.
“Excuse me?”
Jeremy spoke as if speaking to a child. “When was the last time you,” Jeremy was searching for the right word, “released any pent up energy?”
Ryann let her forehead drop into her hand and shook her head. “Jeremy,” she muttered in exasperation.
Luke shot an eyebrow up. “Since when are you concerned about my bedroom activities, Jem?”
“Since you’ve been all over Janie.”
“What do you mean, ‘all over Janie’? I wanted to make sure she had a ride home tonight, Jem.” Luke looked like he was going to punch him in the face, but was holding it together. He lowered his voice. “And is everyone forgetting that two nights ago she almost died, for godssake?” Luke went to run his fingers through his hair, but stopped the action trying to compose himself. “I don’t think she should be gallivanting around when she might have a coughing fit or something.”
The group got quiet and just looked at Luke.
“Holy shit,” Jeremy said softly, the dawning of realization on his face. Then he got a poignant tender look in his eye and put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “You’re right, man. I wasn’t thinking. Stay on her tonight, would ya? We all want to make sure she’s feeling okay.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” he murmured, while cracking his neck from side to side. Luke’s gaze was already searching the direction in which they had gone. “And for your information, Jem, you don’t need to worry if my gear is still functioning. I assure you, everything’s in working order,” he said drolly. He had a predatory glint in his eye and began to look around the room, his gaze finally latching onto an attractive redhead in a slinky dress. “In fact, I think I’m going to take a spin around the room,” he said, giving the group a forced smile. He turned and walked away.
Jonathan cleared his throat, while both Ryann and Ayanna looked at Jeremy with a look that said, See?
He didn’t say anything but just shook his head in wonder. Ayanna noted, however, that he didn’t
look discomfited by the knowledge of a Luke and Janie pairing. He actually looked pretty calm, happy almost. She wondered how Michael would feel if anything ever happened between his sister and best friend.
Ayanna turned to Jonathan and took his hand. “Let’s look around.”
“You got it, babe.”
“Do you have any suggestions where to start?” Ayanna asked Ryann.
“Nope. It’s all great. Just enjoy,” Ryann beamed.
“Okie dokie. We’ll catch you later.” They said goodbye to Ryann and Jeremy, and started to meander through the gallery-like lobby.
Ryann was right. All of the pieces were wonderful. They held hands as they strolled through the room, and were looking at the sculptures when Emily came up behind them and surprised them.
“Hey!” Ayanna exclaimed and hugged her. She looked beautiful with her hair down wearing a fuchsia colored cocktail dress fitted to her compact body. Her brown bedroom eyes were left uncovered from her normal eyewear, making their almond shape stand out even more.
Emily held on tight while they hugged.
“How are you? I was wondering how you would be feeling today. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay to see you at the hospital. I know I said that on the phone, but -”
“Please, Em. Don’t worry about it. Everything is good. I’m fine.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Yan. When Jon called, I couldn’t believe it.” Em was still holding her, her arms loosely around her.
Ayanna saw a lanky man with glasses standing behind her.
“Guys, this is Ollie. Ollie, this is Ayanna. And this is my cousin, Jonathan.”
They made their introductions.
“Ollie is the one who I called when we were trying to see who sent you the email,” Em said to Ayanna.
She knew she recognized the name, and she then thanked him profusely for his help, as did Jonathan.
“So it looks like you got paid for that work after all, huh, Ollie? She actually agreed to a date!” Ayanna laughed.
He blushed, but then shrugged.
Emily chuckled and shook her head. “Trust me, don’t let Ollie’s look deceive you. He’s tenacious. Wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Emily looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Right, Ol?”
He shrugged again. “What can I say?”
“Anywho, we’re gonna walk around. Did you find anything you like yet?”
“Yeah, lots of great stuff! We’ve seen most of the paintings, so now we’re looking at the sculptures.”
“Awesome. Can we join you?”
“Of course,” Jon said.
“Did you see Drew, by the way?”
“No. Is he here?” Ayanna asked. She wondered if Tiffany was there yet.
“Yeah, I saw him talking to Ryann and Jeremy a minute ago.”
“Is Tiffany here yet?”
“Not sure. I haven’t seen her,” Em said giving Ayanna a knowing look as they started to walk through the exhibit. About two minutes into their tour they were interrupted.
“Well, looky here!”
They all turned to see Detective Michael Callahan stroll up, dressed to kill in a black pinstripe suit, with a buxom blonde in a sexy red dress on his arm.
Ayanna noticed Emily tense then relax a moment later while she gave the couple standing before her a smirk.
“Yan, honey. How ya doin’? You look great! Beautiful sari.” True to Michael’s personality, he came over and wrapped his arms around Ayanna giving her an enormous hug then spinning her around so he could check her out.
Ayanna chuckled. This man was definitely a toucher.
“Good, good. How are you?”
“Great,” he smiled. Ayanna doubted there was ever a time the detective wasn’t great. Positivity and fun seemed to roll off of him. He reached out and slapped Jonathan on the back then turned to Ollie and Emily.
“Hey, I’m Mike,” he said to Ollie, shaking his hand.
Without missing a beat he turned to Emily last.
“Counselor,” he purred, then took his time pressing his body fully to hers before she had a chance to balk or move away. With his arms still loosely around her, he looked huge next to her given their height difference.
“I almost didn’t recognize you all prettied up without your glasses,” Michael said to Emily then ran his finger down her nose, tweaking it. “I’m sorry we missed each other at the hospital the other night. You left before I got a chance to see you. I was hoping we were going to be able to set a date for our rematch.”
“Yeah, so sorry I missed you.” Anyone listening to her could hear the sarcasm. She made no secret that she didn’t care for him holding her so closely. She started to extricate herself from his arms. The blonde stepped forward to speed the process along.
The bombshell cleared her throat. “Are you going to introduce us, Mike?”
“Of course, babe. I’m sorry.” He disentangled himself from Emily and reached back for the woman. “Everyone, this is Candy Lane.”
They all blinked and Ayanna could’ve sworn she heard Emily inwardly groan.
He made the rest of the introductions and all Ayanna could think was there was no way that was her real name. Mike was smiling in a way that said he knew what everyone was thinking and that he found it very amusing.
She could hear Jonathan chuckling and then he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “We were just walking around and I see a piece over there that I want to show Yan. Can we catch up with you guys later?”
“Yeah, we’ll see you around,” Mike said with sexy smile. “I have to exchange calendars and numbers with the counselor anyway.”
Ayanna could hear Emily begin to protest as Jon pulled her away and began walking toward the back of the lobby.
“What’s wrong?”
“I want you to myself, that’s all. And that was a shit storm waiting to happen,” he smirked. “Emily’s gonna kill me leaving her like that,” he muttered.
“He reminds me a little of your brother.”
“Michael?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded as they continued walking. “Yup. I can see that,” he smiled.
Ayanna laughed, then said, “Was there really a piece you wanted me to see?”
“Actually, yeah. Come here.”
He led her to the back, and as they wound their way there, she began to see a sculpture emerge through the people that immediately drew her in. And she knew in that moment she was going to buy it. It didn’t have a title, just the student artist’s name next to it. However, anyone who observed it would feel what it was expressing.
The piece at first glance looked like a tree trunk, twisted two or three times at the base in a gnarly and angry construction. However at the top of the piece, the torso of a body burst forth from the trunk, the head directed up to the heavens in a moment of escape, finally reaching freedom.
Redemption, Ayanna thought.
As she continued to study the piece, she noted that the knotted and deformed base was made up of scrap metal and wood, giving it an unsettled feel, like it was in pain. The torso coming out of the top, however, was still constructed in metal and wood, but was smoothed over with an assortment of beautiful jewels and buttons, flowers and coins. It was a gorgeous piece. A mixture of hard and soft, rustic and refined, primitive and sophisticated. Pain and beauty.
They’d been looking at the piece for only a minute, but Ayanna knew it spoke to her on many levels. She turned to Jonathan.
“I want this,” Ayanna breathed.
“You need to get this,” he nodded, his eyes sparkling. “As soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect.”
“I love it,” she murmured, studying the piece more in depth. “It’s so cool looking. I love all of the different objects that make up the whole thing. The sharp and jagged wood and metal at the base of the tree trunk, but the more ‘pretty’ objects at the top.” What a perfect representation of her life, she thought. “I love it,” she said again.
He took her h
and. “Let’s go make it happen.”
She nodded, still looking at the piece.
“And then,” he began, pulling her close, “let’s start saying our goodbyes.”
She looked up at him and smiled knowingly.
“I wanna get you home,” he said, his voice husky.
She agreed one hundred and fifty percent. She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips. “You got it, champ.”
Epilogue
Slowly, Jonathan took the piece of organza in his hand and unwrapped the sari from around her waist and shoulders. The feel of the silk, and the softness of his fingers as he unzipped and peeled the ensemble away from her caused goose bumps to rise on her arms.
The magnitude of what she was feeling at the moment was nearly overwhelming. Ayanna reached her hands out to hold onto his arms, steadying herself. Since the fire, she had wanted him with an intensity that shook her, and although her mind had been willing over the last 48 hours, she knew neither of them had been ready for the physical culmination of their realizations and feelings after the tragedy of the last few days.
Until tonight.
They had spent the first few minutes after getting to his place dressing the bed in silk sheets. And now, he looked down at her with heat and love, lust and concern, tenderness and hope. Unwinding the rest of the sari from her body, she was finally left standing before him, stripped of everything and waiting for his next move.
She couldn’t wait for it. She needed him and reached out to wrap her arms around his waist and pull herself into him. She could feel the sigh rumble through his chest as he tightly embraced her.
They were both quiet, clinging to each other as if they were afraid the other would be taken away if they didn’t.
Ayanna tried to lighten the mood. “You still have your clothes on, big boy,” she muttered into his shirt. Her hands began to wander and pull the dress shirt from his slacks.
“Mm. I may need some help,” he smiled flirtily down at her.
“I can definitely help with that.”
She took her time unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off his shoulders. Once he took off his undershirt, she allowed herself some time to appreciate his pecs. “You are a fine specimen of a man, Johnny Be Good,” she whispered, her breath tickling at the hair on his chest. Her fingers skittered over his torso, massaging his muscles there.
Redemption (Iris Series) Page 38
