by Dara Girard
He squeezed her close and kissed her forehead. “But you like us anyway. Especially me.”
She playfully hit him in the chest. “I’m not sure about that. How did you know I could play the tambourine?”
“I didn’t. I just wanted to see what you would do. You’re a woman of hidden talents, and I plan to discover them all.” He bent his head and pressed his mouth against hers.
Far from being like the kiss of before, this one was warm, wet and searching. His lips traveled from her mouth and then slowly slid down her neck and landed on her shoulder.
“We can’t do this here.” Hannah groaned when she felt the teasing tip of his tongue on her skin.
“No one is watching,” he said in a deep, sly voice.
“If you keep this up, they’ll start to.”
“But I’ve been waiting days to do this.” His gaze lowered to her blouse. “Minutes to do this.” He removed the top button on her blouse. “Seconds to do this.” He let his finger trail a sensuous path from the base of her throat to her chest.
She grabbed his hand before he could go farther. “We have to stop this.”
“No, we don’t.” He glanced up and then gestured to something in the distance. “There are some bushes.”
“I’m not doing ‘it’ in the bushes.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“It’s not there, that’s for sure.”
“It could be fun.” A slow smile spread on his face. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“No.” She pushed him away, suddenly angry. “I’m not ready for that yet, and if that’s all you want from me then let’s stop right now.”
He frowned, confused. “No, that’s not all I want. Why would you think that?”
“Because that’s what you do. You seduce women. That’s what you’re known for. I mean, within minutes you had two women dancing on you like honeybees.”
“That’s a strange analogy.”
“You know what I’m trying to say.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Not really.”
“I know you’re a great lover, but—”
“How do you know?”
“There are rumors.”
Amal rested a hand on his chest. “I’m flattered but wouldn’t you prefer to know from experience rather than gossip?”
“And be added to a long list?”
He threw up his hands, annoyed. “Oh, so that’s what this is all about? You think I’m the ‘love them and leave them’ type.”
“You can’t deny your reputation.”
“Do you know how long I was with Jade?”
“Two and a half years. A record for you. There were even rumors that you’d actually get married, but we know that will never happen.”
“I was true to her, truer than many husbands I’ve met.”
“She’s the only one who had that benefit.”
“I’ve never cheated on anyone. I admit at times I’ve dated casually...”
“Sometimes two or three at a time.”
“It was never a secret. If I’m with a woman exclusively, she knows she’s the only one.”
“Until you get bored. I’m not going to be one of your rebound ladies. I thought we could simply go out as friends and...”
“As friends?” His voice cracked. “Do you usually kiss your friends like that?”
“Amal, I—”
“Or let them hold you that close. You feel what I feel.” He clenched his teeth and his eyes darkened. “You can try to pretend it’s not there, but it won’t go away. And I’m not on the rebound. I told you those rumors about me are exaggerated, but if you want to believe them, that’s fine. I don’t need this. I’ll talk to you about the strategy on Monday.” He turned and pulled out his phone.
“Where are you going?” Hannah asked.
“To get a taxi.”
Hannah watched him go, wishing she could feel some sort of victory. But she felt sadness instead. She had gotten him to stop his carefree, playboy ways and see her as an individual. She’d had a great time with him, and she didn’t want it to end like this. She didn’t want her time with him to end at all. He was right. She did feel what he felt, and it felt marvelous. She ran after him. “I’m scared, all right?”
He stopped but didn’t turn. “Scared of what?”
“How you make me feel. You make me do things I’d never do on my own. I’d never pick up a tambourine and play it in front of a bunch of strangers. I’d never impulsively go paddleboating. With you I’m impulsive and a little reckless, and it scares me. It scares me how much I enjoy being with you when I’m not really sure why you’re with me.” She held up her hand before he could reply. “Yes, I know you want sex, but after that what else?”
“Wow.” He slowly turned to her, amazed. “You’re able to compliment and insult a man at the same time.” He sighed and shook his head in pity. “You’re a strange one, Hannah. Do you really think I only want to sleep with you? Wait, don’t answer that, because you’ll make me angry, and I don’t want to be angry.”
“Look, I know what you’re like and—”
He pressed his finger against her mouth. “No, you don’t. You think you do, but you’re wrong, and I’m going to prove it to you.” He took her hand and led her to her car.
“How?”
“What are you planning on doing tomorrow?”
“Well, I have some errands and—”
“Okay, I’ll help you do your errands and then take you out for lunch, and I won’t mention sex once. I won’t hint at it or anything.”
“Okay,” Hannah said, curious if he could meet the challenge. She smiled, feeling suddenly buoyant. She looked forward to spending another day with him.
* * *
“Are you sure?” Martha asked with eagerness when Peter told her what he’d witnessed that afternoon.
“Yes, she won’t represent him.”
“How did he take it?”
“Not well. He looked dejected. I’ve never seen him like that. He didn’t even argue.”
Martha rubbed her hands in triumph, feeling almost giddy. “We have him just where we want him. I knew that girl had sense. Now there’s nowhere else for Amal to turn. He’ll have to come crawling to us, and we’ll set the terms and watch his business completely topple.” She walked over to the large painting of Jade on her living room wall. Her secret was safe. Amal would never learn of it, and everything would stay as it was meant to.
“I’m in the mood for some champagne,” she said.
“What are you celebrating?” her husband, Granville Thompson, asked as he entered the room. He was her fourth. He was a distinguished man in his seventies who treated her with the reverence she wanted. He didn’t mind being in the shadow of her family name and at times being referred to as Mr. Walker. Her name represented power, and he knew she wouldn’t change it for anyone less powerful.
“The Amal situation is coming to a close.”
“You’re still working on that? Just give the poor boy what he wants and put an end to it. You’re making more of a mess than necessary.”
“I don’t make messes. I clean them up.”
He took a seat. “I told you in the beginning you were getting into trouble.”
“I’m not in trouble,” Martha bristled, annoyed by his criticism. “I just told you. The situation is coming to a close.”
“I don’t think he’ll give up as easy as you think.”
“Are you on my side or his?”
“I just think that you’re going about this all wrong.”
“Everything that was Jade’s belongs to me. Us. This family. The inventory. I won’t allow him any part of it.”
“Even if it’s a part of him?”
She knew very well what her husband was talking about, but she refused to acknowledge it. The thought scared her. She couldn’t have Amal close. She knew that he could take away something else that she treasured, and she wouldn’t let him do that. Losing Jade had nearly destroyed her. Losing what she was protecting would make life not worth living. She knew her husband, as a man, couldn’t understand this protection that she had for her secret. But she would defend it no matter what. For Jade and herself she would win this battle.
Her husband came up to her and lightly touched her shoulder. She found his touch reassuring, but she still felt a shiver of fear inside that what he said was true. That Amal may not stop. But she chose to believe what Peter had told her. She’d gotten to Hannah, and she would get to anyone else he tried to use against them. She was used to winning and she refused to lose.
She gazed at the beautiful oil portrait of her daughter and made a silent vow that although she’d failed her in life, she would not fail her in death.
She touched her husband’s hand and then looked at Peter. “Get that champagne. It’s time to celebrate.”
* * *
Hannah half expected Amal not to show up the next day, but he surprised her and was ready to go. First they went grocery shopping at one of her favorite stores, which carried a selection of exports from the West Indies and Africa. Then she took him to the post office, where they stood in a long line, but he waited patiently. He didn’t seem to mind that nothing exciting was happening, and soon she just enjoyed his company. For lunch, he took her to a nice little restaurant in a trendy part of town, where they chatted, not about business but about things that interested them. She learned that he enjoyed going to the gym, that he once bicycled across three states and that he once owned a pet rabbit. Hannah shared stories about her debating days in college, how hard it had been after her father’s accident and why she wanted to become a lawyer and how disappointed her family had been.
Quickly, she regretted the conditions of her time with him. There was no intimacy, not even a faint hint. She wanted him to reach across the table and touch her hand and then maybe play footsie with him under the table. She wanted to feel the sensation of his fingers skating across her arm. She wanted to face her fears and conquer them. She wanted to see him as he truly was, and not what she needed him to be or what others said he was. She didn’t want to see him through the filter of Martha’s words or what the tabloids said. She wanted to be with him.
She wanted to brush away her own biases. From the start she had been unfair to him by just seeing him as a playboy when he really was different from any other man she’d ever known. He was the first to just listen to her and hear what she had to say. She stared at him from across the table, and at that moment he was the stranger she remembered from that day in the park. The one she’d dreamed about night after night, the one who had given her the buttercup she kept in her diary. The one who made her feel as though she could do anything. She got a tiny thrill knowing that he did want her, because she wanted him, too, and she wouldn’t let that scare her. Most of her life she felt she had to just focus on work so that she wouldn’t be distracted, but for the first time it was nice to have someone in her corner, to know that she wasn’t alone. She realized that with him that’s how it could be.
She started to reach for his hand, ready to tell him how her feelings had changed, when a voice cut through the air.
Chapter 9
“Amal? Who is she?”
Hannah glanced up to see an attractive young woman glaring at her, trembling like an agitated wasp.
“Evie, not now,” Amal said in a neutral tone. Not angry or frustrated, just eerily neutral. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“No, we’ll talk about this now. Who is she?”
“She is none of your business.”
Evie turned her venomous glance to Hannah. “Do you know that we were going to get married? Do you know the promises he made to me? The hopes and dreams this man gave me and then took away?”
“This is just a business meeting,” Hannah said in a cool tone, ignoring Amal’s sharp stare. “I’m sorry if there has been any misunderstanding. I have no interest in him as a man, so if you want him you can have him.”
Her face brightened. “Really? This is just a business meeting?”
“No,” Amal said.
“Yes,” Hannah said.
Evie furrowed her eyebrows. “Which is it, yes or no?”
Amal stood and said, “Excuse us,” and then he took Evie’s arm and led her outside. Hannah watched their body language through the restaurant window. Surprisingly, Amal kept his gestures controlled, but she could still sense the anger. Then Evie’s face crumbled and he hugged her. Hannah began to grin. It was clear Amal was good with distressed women, but her grin turned to a look of horror when she saw Jacob walk past and then stop and look at her. She tried to cover her face with her hand, but he’d already spotted her. He waved and then walked inside the restaurant.
“What a surprise to see you here,” he said with a bright smile.
“This is not a good time,” Hannah said, sending a glance toward Amal, who was still consoling Evie. She needed to get rid of Jacob before he returned. “I can’t talk right now. Call me later.”
He sat. “I just want to congratulate you about the good news regarding your parents’ house. Your mother told me the roofing has been fixed and the plumbing, too, and now they’re working on the electrical. Amazing how fast things are getting done.”
Hannah stared at him, amazed. She didn’t know that. How could the work on the house have already started when she’d talked to Amal only yesterday about working with him?
“Are you, sure?”
“Yes,” he frowned, confused. “You didn’t know?”
Abigail hadn’t told her anything. “Oh, I’ve just been so busy I’ve lost track of time,” Hannah said in a light voice so that Jacob wouldn’t suspect anything. “I am so glad the house is being taken care of.” She glanced up and saw Amal coming toward the table. “And I really must stop this discussion because I have a lot to do today.”
Jacob leaned forward, concerned. “You seem tense. What’s wrong?”
Amal approached the table, his tone terse but polite. “You’re in my chair.”
Jacob jumped up and held out his hand. “I’m Jacob Omole.”
“Amal Harper,” Amal said, shaking his hand and then claiming his seat and turning his back on him.
“So how do you know Hannah?” Jacob asked.
“Jacob, not now,” Hannah said in a pleading voice.
Amal turned to him. “How do you know her?”
“We used to date.”
Amal nodded. “I have a couple of exes myself.”
“More than a couple from what I’ve heard,” Jacob said.
Hannah stood, took Jacob’s arm and whispered, “This is a business meeting—a very important one. If you ruin this for me, I’ll never talk to you again.”
“It’s only a business meeting?”
“No,” Amal said.
“Yes,” Hannah countered. “Now go.”
He shot Amal a look and then looked back at Hannah again. She made a shooing motion with her hand. He shook his head and grabbed another seat, placing it at the table. “You’re not going to care, but I have to say this. Hannah’s a wonderful woman and has plenty of people who care about her. If you hurt her in any way, I know people who will make your life miserable.” He took Hannah’s hand and kissed it. “You’ll always be in my heart.”
“Jacob, it’s not like that.”
He flashed one of his special grins as he got up. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother.” He held her hand a moment and then turned and left, and she knew it was for good.
Hannah fell back into her chair, trying to regain her compo
sure.
“Why do you keep telling people this is a business meeting?” Amal asked.
“Because it makes things easier.”
“For whom?”
“Evie won’t be threatened by me and Jacob won’t be threatened by you.”
“Why shouldn’t they be? I told Evie it’s over, and I’m sure you told Jake—”
“Jacob.”
“Whatever,” Amal said with little interest. “He already saw through your story. I don’t think lying to them helps matters.”
“I didn’t want him telling my parents about—” She stopped and finished her salad.
“About me?” he pressed.
“Don’t take it personally. It’s complicated.”
“I’d like to meet your parents.”
“You will. Just not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s too soon.”
“You met my mother.”
“That’s different. She doesn’t think we’re serious.”
“We’re not?” he asked, surprised. “I thought we were. I just spent time doing boring tasks with you because I like you. If that’s not serious, I don’t know what is.”
“Not marriage serious.”
He sat back as if she’d struck him. “It’s a little soon to talk about marriage.”
She laughed at his unease. “Relax. I know you’re not ready for marriage and neither am I, but my family thinks I should be and everyone is looking for Jacob’s replacement. I don’t want you to have that kind of pressure.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take pressure, and most people like me. I’m good with parents.”
“Yes, that’s another thing.” Hannah set her fork down and folded her arms. “Jacob just told me that work is already being done on my parents’ house, but I didn’t agree to help you until yesterday.”
Amal glanced at his plate. “Hmm.”
She kicked him.
“Ow!” He rubbed his shin and glared at her. “What was that for?”
“What are you not telling me?”
“Nothing.”
She kicked him again.
