Diamond Revelation

by Sheila Copeland

  “Daddy…” Niki ran to greet him and Kyle swooped her up in his arms, trying to squeeze the love out of her that his soul so desperately needed.

  “How’s my princess?”

  “I’m fine, Daddy. How are you?”

  “I’m a little tired, but I feel much better since I got that hug from you.”

  “Here, Daddy, have another one then.” Niki hugged Kyle again, and Nina smiled as she watched them interacting. Kyle was a good man and he was a great father.

  Why haven’t I gotten pregnant?

  She really didn’t know why. Kyle had mentioned that he wanted them to have a baby, but he had never pressed the issue. Niki was such a joy and she didn’t have to go through nine months of pregnancy or the burden of labor to have her. She had been Nina’s from the moment she entered the world.

  Nina still remembered Jade’s pregnancy with Kobe. She had put on a lot of weight and her labor had been long and painful, yet babies seemed to just pop out of Topaz effortlessly. But didn’t things always come too easily for Topaz?

  I’m almost thirty. Maybe it is time for me to give a baby some serious consideration.

  Nina went upstairs to their bedroom to change her clothes. In the bathroom, she studied the container of birth control pills, then tossed them back into the drawer. She heard a sound in the bedroom and found Kyle hanging up his clothes. Nina just stood there silently watching him. The next thing they were in each other’s arms.

  “I’m sorry, baby, you’re right. I should have gotten a paternity test,” Nina managed to say in between kisses.

  “I messed up. I should have suggested the paternity test. I was so excited that you were going to marry me, I wasn’t thinking either,” Kyle replied.

  “Ah, that’s sweet.”

  They brushed lips briefly.

  “Baby, I’m so scared.” Nina was crying again.

  “I know.” Kyle held her like he had never held her before. “I only agreed to the test so we can know the truth. No one’s taking our little girl away from us.”

  Nina had never felt so safe or protected as Kyle gently kissed away her tears. “Baby, I didn’t mean any of those things I said.”

  “I know.” Kyle picked her up and carried her across the room to their bed. “And you are perfect.”

  “No.”

  “You’re perfect for me.”

  “Kyle, I want to have your baby more than anything.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  The best thing about fighting was it was so much fun making up. They kissed for what seemed like forever. A trail of clothing marked a path to the bed. After they had spent what seemed like seconds pleasuring themselves, the doorbell rang.

  “Did you hear the doorbell ring?” Nina whispered.

  “Who would be ringing our doorbell at midnight?”

  “It’s only nine o’clock, baby.”

  Kyle sat up and looked at the digital clock when the doorbell rang again.

  “Who the hell is that?” Nina looked at her husband.

  “I have no idea,” Kyle replied as he went into the bathroom.

  Nina followed him. “Do you think we should answer it?”

  Meanwhile, the doorbell continued to ring repeatedly.

  “Who would just show up without calling?” Kyle watched the security monitor waiting for it to give them a view of the front door.

  “It’s Topaz and Keisha.”

  “Why would they drive all the way out here now?” Kyle wondered out loud.

  “I don’t want to find out. Don’t answer it. They’ll think we’re not home and leave.”

  “As you wish.”

  But they didn’t go away. Topaz took out her cell phone and soon the house phone began to ring.

  “I’m not going to be a prisoner in my own house.” Kyle sprinted down the stairs, dashed into the living room, and opened the front door.

  “Hey, you guys,” Keisha smiled. For some reason she was extremely nervous. “I’m sorry we just showed up…”

  “I told you they were here,” Topaz cut in as she pushed her way into the house. She handed Nina a sheet of paper. “These are the results of the paternity test. It proves that Niki is Germain’s daughter, and I’ve come to take her home.”

  Kyle yanked the paperwork out of Nina’s hand and quickly read it over.

  “Niki is Germain’s daughter?” Nina could barely get the words out.

  “According to this piece of paper she is.” Kyle folded the paper and handed it back to Topaz.

  Nina stood frozen, obviously in shock.

  “Where’s Niki?” Topaz demanded.

  “In her bed, sleeping, where she’s supposed to be,” Kyle replied.

  “Go and get her so we can go home. It’s getting late,” Topaz commanded.

  “T, honey.” Keisha began searching for her words. “You agreed we were going to discuss this.”

  “There’s nothing to discuss except Niki is my daughter and I came to take her home.”

  “Niki is not your daughter.” Nina finally joined the conversation. “She belongs to me and Kyle. You didn’t want her, remember?”

  “That was before I knew Germain was her father. There’s no way I’m going to let you raise our little girl.”

  “She’s not your daughter,” Nina screamed.

  Topaz looked at Keisha. “I told you she was going to trip.”

  “What did you expect, Topaz? Niki’s not a pair of shoes or a dress that you’ve come to pick up. It’s going to take time to work this out. You’ve got to think about Niki, because Nina is her mother. You’re just Aunty.”

  “I still want to see my daughter,” Topaz demanded.

  “And I want you to get the hell out of my house before I call the police.” Kyle opened the front door.

  “Call them because I’m not going anywhere.” Topaz folded her arms.

  “Come on, Topaz. We should go now.” Keisha kissed Kyle and Nina. “I’m sorry, you guys. I thought she would be a little more reasonable.”

  “Topaz reasonable? Huh! It’s always her way or the highway.” Nina rolled her eyes.

  “You should listen to your girlfriend and go home now, Topaz.” Kyle was trying to be patient.

  Nina stepped in front of Topaz. “I thought you had changed, but Jade was right. You never think of anyone or anything but yourself. You get the results of your damn paternity test and run out here and tell me I’m supposed to give you my daughter because Germain is her biological father? You must be crazy.”

  “I’m not crazy, you are if you think you’re going to keep my daughter,” Topaz yelled.

  They stood there face to face. Neither of them moved an inch.

  “You’d better get out of my face, Nina, and go get my daughter.”

  “You’d better get out of my face before I kick your ass. I’m not afraid of you, Topaz.”

  Keisha closed her eyes and sighed.

  “Would you two stop yelling before you wake Niki.” Kyle glared at them both, but they weren’t listening.

  “I want her to wake up so I can tell her I’m her mother and we can go home.”

  “Are you stuck on stupid? You’d better get this straight because I’m tired of repeating myself. I’m Niki’s mother and Kyle is her father and you and Germain are just going to have to deal with it. If we hadn’t adopted her, she’d be in Europe only God knows where and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

  Kyle took out his cell phone and dialed 911. “I didn’t press Send yet.”

  “Topaz…let’s go.” Keisha was outside shivering.

  “Fine.” Topaz stepped out of the house, and Nina slammed the door as hard as she could behind her.

  “This isn’t over!” Topaz yelled through the window. “I’ll see you two in court.”

  Chapter 28

  Beverly Hills was always beautifully decorated for the holidays from the storefronts of Barneys and Neiman Marcus featuring glamorous holiday wear to the numerous designe
r boutiques and shops on Rodeo Drive. Christmas lights twinkled and ornaments sparkled, casting a luminous glow around the famous hotels and stores on Wilshire Boulevard.

  Sabre’s beloved Pink Palace was no exception. Snow-flocked Christmas trees greeted her as she practically skipped into the hotel lobby. Tables sprinkled with ornate boxes wrapped in shades of gold reminded Sabre exactly why the Beverly Hills Hotel was one of her favorite places.

  “Deck the halls with boughs of holly,” Sabre sang happily as she made her way through the paths to the bungalow, swinging a shiny pink Victoria’s Secret shopping bag in her hand. “’Tis the season to be jolly.” She laughed as she pulled a red satin baby doll lingerie set with a red and black thong out of her Louis Vuitton bag and carefully laid them out on the bed. “I know somebody’s about to get decked all up in here.”

  Victor had made a CD of old-school slow jams, and Sabre put that on to set the mood. She went into the bathroom and turned on the water in the marble tub. There won’t be any of that nasty-ass rose shit from Neiman’s in this bath, but my favorite almond cookie oil sold by a sista in Brooklyn. It filled the room with a warm, sweet, nutty aroma as it burned in the dozens of candles she had placed all over the suite.

  “Where is my alcohol?” Sabre asked out loud. Moments later, there was a knock at the door, and she quickly unlocked it before she scooted into the bathroom. She was so caught up in her preparations she had almost forgotten the need for discretion.

  She heard the bellboy bring in her usual cheeseburger luncheon and several bottles of Cristal and Coke and depart quickly. Sabre poured a glass of champagne and took a few bites of the burger, but she was much too nervous and too excited to eat now. Instead, she took the bottle of Cristal and a jar of sea salt scrub back into the bathroom where she covered her body with the sweet concoction that smelled good enough to eat before she stepped into the water for a long soak.

  I can’t wait to see him. Sabre took a quick shower in icy cold water to keep her skin firm and tight, patted herself dry with a huge fluffy towel, then covered her body with almond cookie soufflé. She stood in the mirror admiring her nude body and the sensation of her fingers as she ran them across her soft supple skin. In the bedroom, she slipped on a pair of Manolo Blahniks and paraded around the room in the buff.

  “I should meet him at the door like this.” Sabre laughed out loud as she stood in front of a full-length mirror drinking a glass of champagne, still admiring her body. Her cell phone rang, interrupting her narcissism. She checked the caller ID and smiled as she slipped on the thong and red satin nightie. In a matter of seconds, there was a brief knock at the door, and Sabre pulled it open.

  “I’m so glad you could make it.” She smiled at Germain and purposely stood in the center of the doorway, causing her body to brush against his as he came inside the bungalow. She sucked in her breath, aroused, the moment they touched.

  “Hey.” Germain very casually looked Sabre over. She was a beautiful young woman.

  Sabre, overcome with joy, had never wanted a man the way she wanted Germain, and she was giddy. “Want some champagne?” She held up a bottle of Cristal.

  Germain looked and saw it was Cristal—Topaz’s favorite drink. He had been the first one to expose her to it when she was eighteen. “No.” He shook his head. “I want a real drink.”

  “I can order whatever you want.” Sabre picked up the phone.

  “Tanqueray on the rocks.”

  Sabre dialed room service and hung up. What am I thinking? This is Sherwin’s bungalow, and if he found out I was here with Germain, he’d kill me. Germain ain’t offering to pay my rent, but he will be after today.

  Sabre hung up the phone. “I don’t think I should call room service. I don’t want anyone to know you’re here.”

  “Good looking out, darlin’. So how did you get the champagne?”

  “It’s a standing order for the room,” Sabre explained and dug in her bag. “I have a couple of twenties. I could have a bottle delivered from the liquor store.”

  “That sounds like a good idea, darlin’.”

  Sabre smiled as she made the order and placed some cash in an envelope outside the entrance to the bungalow. She found a blunt that Victor had rolled and looked at Germain, who was sitting on the bed still dressed in his suit and tie. When he phoned he had said he wanted to talk. For privacy, Sabre had suggested they meet at the hotel.

  “Here.” Sabre pulled him to his feet. “Let me help you out of that jacket, Dr. G.”

  He allowed her to take his jacket and watched her as she hung it in the closet. She was a sexy little thing and she smelled wonderful.

  “And this tie…”

  When Sabre loosened his tie, it took every ounce of strength he had to keep off of her. He wanted some…real bad.

  “And these shoes…” Sabre made sure she rubbed her bare ass all over him as she slipped the Gucci loafers from his feet and stashed them under the bed, wondering if Topaz had picked them out. I will not think about that bitch today. She smiled sexily at Germain. “There, that’s better, huh?”

  Sabre thought she heard a knock at the door. She opened it and found the liquor in a brown paper bag, dropped cubes of ice in a glass, and poured in the Tanqueray. “Here you go.”

  Germain drank it in a series of gulps, and she refilled the glass. “Thanks, darlin’.”

  Sabre sat down on the side of the bed and crossed her legs and looked into Germain’s eyes. “So what did you want to talk about?”

  Germain closed his eyes and leaned back on the bed pillows. The candles, music, and alcohol were intoxicating and very relaxing. He was all talked out on the subject of Topaz and Niki. There’s nothing more to say. What’s done is done. Topaz divorced me, married Gunther, slept with Sean and only God knows who else before she married me again. And me? I’ve never been with another woman since I laid eyes on her because no other woman ever measured up. He looked at Sabre and wondered why he was really there.

  “I don’t want to talk,” Germain answered without opening his eyes.

  “You didn’t really come here to talk, did you, Dr. G?”

  Germain was beginning to feel stupid. He knew Sabre had the hots for him.

  “We don’t have to talk.”

  I can’t believe he’s going to come up in here with me looking as good as I do and not give me some. Oh hell, naw. Dr. G just needs a little push. Now where are my jumper cables?

  Sabre was used to running the show with the men in her life. She tried not to laugh as she pulled the blunt and a lighter out of her bag. I’m gonna rock his world. She slid over on the bed next to Germain, swung her legs over his so she was facing him, sat in his lap, and took a hit off the blunt. “Do you smoke?”

  “Not since college.” Germain had forgotten how he used to get high and study or take an exam, and he graduated summa cum laude.

  He took the blunt and inhaled several times before he gave it back to Sabre. A feeling of euphoria took over his mind and body as all the pain and heartbreak Topaz had caused slowly began to dissipate.

  Sabre took the blunt and blew smoke out of it into his mouth. When their lips touched, both of them exploded like dynamite. She ripped the remaining clothing from his body with animal-like passion, and Germain threw her down in the center of the bed. She ran her fingers over the smooth taut muscles of his chest and sculpted abs. She had never wanted any man the way she wanted him, and there were tears in her eyes as her lips found his.

  To Germain, she was wickedly delicious, like forbidden fruit. He was mindless as he kissed her everywhere…from her eyelids to the arches of her feet. Her skin was soft and smooth as he kissed his way down her thighs and he lingered over her until she screamed his name over and over. She held onto him as waves of pleasure flooded her body and realized she had never known love like this before.

  The room was practically dark when Sabre awakened except for a few flickering candles. She panicked as she sat up in bed, wondering if Germain had left, but sh
e was unable to contain the smile taking over her face when she realized he was still there, lying in bed next to her. She never intended to fall asleep, but he put a sista out.

  I am so in love. She wanted to dance and shout, but she lay right next to him. He reached for her and gently caressed her arm in his sleep. She sighed happily as she watched Germain sleeping.

  So this is what it’s like to be in love. She kissed him softly on the lips and he opened his eyes, surprised because he thought he was at home in bed with Topaz until he looked into Sabre’s black piercing eyes. Waves of guilt immediately flooded his mind and heart.

  I was dreaming, Germain realized.

  “Want something to eat, sweetness?” Sabre ran a finger down the bridge of his nose. He was almost too pretty for a man.

  “Okay.”

  I am going to have so much fun being his wife. She rolled back on the bed and sighed contentedly. So this is what it will feel like being Mrs. Germain Gradney.

  “What would you like?” Sabre asked sweetly

  “You.” Germain forgot his guilt as carnal desire took over. He and Topaz always had a lot of sex, and right now his tank was still a little low. He hadn’t made love to his wife since he read that stupid journal. He rolled on top of Sabre and began kissing her again.

  “You make me feel so good, I feel like crying,” Sabre whispered in Germain’s ear as he rocked her ever so gently.

  When they finished there were tears in Sabre’s eyes. “I love you, Germain.” She spoke softly, right into his ear. She had never told a man she loved him and had never really felt it, until Germain. Deep down in her heart, she knew she loved this man with every fiber of her being. She didn’t care who knew when she phoned room service and ordered a late dinner. She was surprised when Germain went into the bathroom when the food arrived.

  Sabre felt like a queen when she handed the hotel attendant several crisp hundred-dollar bills. Germain had given her the money for the tab. It wasn’t her usual cheeseburger, so she inspected the order to ensure that everything was included.

  Germain had a healthy appetite that evening. He hadn’t been able to eat for days, and after only a few hours with Sabre, he was ravenous when he tore into the steak and lobster.