“I couldn’t,” she said. “Not even if I tried.”
“Neither could I, sweetness,” he promised, bending to claim her lips. “Neither could I.”
Epilogue
New Year’s Eve
Two years from the night Quentin and Lexi shared their very first kiss, they attended another New Year’s Eve ball hosted by Asha Dubois. Instead of a masquerade ball, the theme of tonight’s black-and-white gala required guests to wear white gowns and black tuxedos. And this time around, the venue was a posh luxury hotel in downtown Atlanta instead of Asha’s château in Burgundy.
Any party hosted by the legendary fashion mogul became the hottest ticket in town, and tonight’s ball was no exception. But Asha, desiring more of an intimate affair this year, had limited the guest list to close family, friends and associates—which still resulted in a fairly large gathering.
After the lavish dinner had been enjoyed, many guests—including Quentin and Lexi and their friends—took to the dance floor as the live orchestra performed a series of waltzes. After an hour of laughing and twirling beneath the sparkling chandeliers, the women collectively retreated to the restroom to powder their noses while their husbands plucked champagne glasses off the tray of the first passing waiter.
Quentin sipped his drink as he stood around laughing and talking with Michael, Manning, Marcus, Colby, Warrick Mayne and Truman Chastain. Throughout the evening, the married men had hung together while their single friends roamed around, mixing and mingling with all the single ladies. Every time Quentin glanced in their direction, the fellas—namely Jagger, Percy, Magnum and Mason—had a pretty woman on each arm. But Percy seemed more interested in glaring at Summer and her date than flirting with his leggy companions.
Looking around the grand ballroom, Quentin saw his great aunt Flora, Grandpa Frank, Grandma Penny and Mama Wolf seated around a table, chatting and laughing companionably as they lingered over their dessert. The sight of them warmed Quentin’s heart and made him smile.
He knew the moment his wife returned to the ballroom. Over the years, he’d grown so attuned to her that he could sense her presence even from a distance.
Turning his head, he saw her wafting through the doorway with Samara, Ava, Reese and her sister, Raina, and Taylor and her sister-in-law, Simona. The women started across the ballroom, pausing along the way to converse with Reese’s parents, Taylor’s mother and stepfather, and Carlene Austin and her date. Lexi had been ecstatic when her mother told her she was bringing someone to the ball. She’d met him through Winnie Kirkland, and although she was still jaded about men, she’d promised to give this one a chance.
Quentin sipped his champagne as he watched Lexi, drinking in her beauty. Her hair was swept into an elegant updo that made him want to press his mouth to the slender column of her throat. She looked absolutely breathtaking in a backless white gown that accentuated every curve of her luscious body. The halter bodice featured a teardrop opening that exposed enough of her plump cleavage to leave him salivating. He didn’t know whether to drag her off somewhere and debauch her, or march across the room and cover her with his jacket like he’d done when they were in college. She was incredibly beautiful and alluring, and she’d drawn more than her share of admiring male glances that evening.
As he watched, she grinned and leaned close to whisper something to Simona Chastain. The Bajan beauty worked as a top aide to Senator Elyse Vaughn, Tru and Taylor’s mother. Lexi and Simona had hit it off from the moment they met at Taylor’s bridal shower several years ago. By the time they served as bridesmaids in the wedding, they had become good friends. When Tru and Simona’s relationship hit a seriously rocky patch, both Lexi and Taylor were her sounding boards, dispensing sympathy and advice that helped strengthen Simona’s resolve to fight for what she and Tru had.
The couple’s wedding in Barbados had been unforgettably romantic, made even more memorable by the beautifully choreographed island dance that Simona and her bridesmaids had performed. No red-blooded male who’d been present at the reception would soon forget that hauntingly sensual dance. If Quentin and Lexi had been dating at the time, he would have worn her out that night after seeing her hips in motion like that.
As if sensing his gaze, Lexi suddenly glanced up and found him across the room. When their eyes met, she bit her lip and lowered her lashes in that way that drove him crazy.
When she smiled bewitchingly and blew him a kiss, his heart swelled to near bursting.
God, I love this woman!
As he stood there grinning at her, he couldn’t help thinking of the child growing in her womb and the one they’d left that evening with a sitter. He felt like the luckiest man in the world. Sure, there were others who could legitimately claim that title. All the men standing with him probably considered themselves pretty damn lucky, and they were.
But on that night, the eve of a new year, no one could tell Quentin Reddick that he wasn’t the luckiest man on the whole damn planet.
He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn’t hear Michael talking to him until he felt a hard nudge on his shoulder.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, turning toward his best friend. “What were you saying?”
Michael gave him a knowing grin. “Do you realize you’ve been staring at Lexi practically the entire night?”
Warrick grinned. “Not just staring. Ogling.”
“Right?” Marcus chuckled. “The way he’s been looking at her, is it any surprise they’re already expecting baby number two?”
“Well,” Manning drawled wickedly, “he obviously did a helluva lot more than just look at her.”
“Watch it now,” Colby warned. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
Quentin grinned as a rumble of laughter swept over the group.
Lifting his champagne flute to his mouth, Tru nodded toward the dance floor and smiled. “Look at the old folks showing off their moves.”
Everyone followed the direction of his gaze to watch as Sterling and Asha, Stan and Prissy, and Theo and Winnie twirled their way around the dance floor. Sterling led Asha through the gliding steps of the waltz with a debonair grace that made all the onlookers smile. He’d been taking ballroom dancing lessons, and they had definitely paid off. While he was no Fred Astaire, he’d come a long way from the stumbling waltzer he’d been just two years ago. He was clearly enjoying himself, and judging by Asha’s radiant smile, so was she.
Quentin watched as his mother and her date, Henry Duncan, joined the dazzling swirl of dancers. He’d been surprised to learn that his mom was dating her friendly neighbor from down the street. Apparently she and Lexi had kept him in the dark so he wouldn’t interrogate Mr. Duncan the way he’d done to every other man who showed any interest in his mother. Quentin had always been overprotective of her, and that wasn’t likely to change anytime soon. But the last thing he wanted was for her to be sad and lonely the rest of her life. Although she would always love his father and cherish his memory, she deserved to find someone who could make her happy, and Henry Duncan seemed up to the task.
At that moment, the dapper old man glanced across the crowded ballroom. Meeting Quentin’s gaze, he offered a hesitant smile. Quentin lifted his glass in acknowledgment and gave him a tiny nod of approval.
Henry’s smile widened with tangible relief before he took Georgina into his arms and gracefully twirled her around the floor.
Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.
Everyone but Celeste and Grant Rutherford, who stood at the edge of the dance floor watching the other couples. Their stiff postures and strained smiles suggested that they’d recently had an argument and were trying to put on the best public face.
Quentin almost felt sorry for them. Heading into a new year on bad terms couldn’t be a good thing.
He turned back to his friends just as Manning hummed appreciatively and declared, “I gotta say, fellas. We have some damn good-looking wives, don’t we?”
A chorus
of hearty amens and “hell, yeses” went up from the group.
Grinning broadly, Manning raised his glass in a toast. “To our beautiful queens.”
“Hear, hear!”
Manning winked. “And to us, for having the good sense to put a ring on it.”
“Hear, hear!” The men raised their glasses and toasted one another before breaking into warm laughter.
After downing their champagne, they put their empty flutes on the tray of a passing waiter and then set off together to claim their spouses, their broad shoulders easily carving a path through the sea of revelers.
Their wives welcomed them with radiant smiles and loving hugs. All around them, an electric buzz of excitement could be felt as midnight approached.
With Sterling by her side, Asha took to the stage to greet her guests and make a celebratory toast before directing everyone’s attention to the big ornamental clock behind her.
As the crowd eagerly began the countdown, Quentin and Lexi grinned broadly at each other. Her dark eyes were glittering with anticipation, and her brown skin glowed as if lit from within.
“Ten…nine…eight…”
Unable to wait a second longer, Quentin caught his wife’s face between his hands, turned it up and crushed his mouth to hers. He felt her lips curve into a smile as she slid her arms around his neck, holding him close and kissing him back as knowing laughter broke out around them.
When the clock struck midnight, the revelers burst into cheers and applause as showers of confetti fluttered down from the ceiling and the orchestra launched into a rousing rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.”
When Quentin finally lifted his head, he and Lexi beamed at each other and chorused, “Happy New Year!”
Grinning, Quentin took her hand and led her through the celebrating crowd toward the terrace. He’d generously tipped a hotel employee to keep the terrace empty after eleven-thirty so that he and Lexi could have it all to themselves.
The dutiful employee stood guard by the tall French doors that led out to the balcony. As they approached, he grinned and wished them “Happy New Year,” then closed the doors after them to give them privacy.
Quentin guided Lexi across the terrace as fireworks lit up the dark sky. The night air was cool, not unpleasantly cold.
“So beautiful,” Lexi breathed, leaning on the wrought-iron balustrade. “I love fireworks.”
“Me too.” Quentin took off his tuxedo jacket and draped it over her bare shoulders, then possessively wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind.
Gazing up at the sky, she let out a dreamy sigh. “I know I’m not the only one who’s having déjà vu right now.”
Quentin smiled, his cheek resting against hers. “You’re definitely not.”
As husband and wife stood watching the spectacular display of fireworks, both were transported back to Burgundy, to that enchanted balcony where he’d impulsively pulled her into his arms and kissed her for the first time. The scenic view of the rolling French countryside had been replaced by Atlanta’s glittering downtown skyline. While not quite as romantic, it was still perfect. Because they were together, and nothing else mattered.
Quentin splayed his fingers over Lexi’s belly, smiling when she placed her hand over his.
To their everlasting delight, Asha’s trusty necklace ritual had revealed that they were having a girl. Quentin couldn’t wait to meet his daughter. He couldn’t wait to spoil her and receive her precious butterfly kisses, couldn’t wait to watch her clamber up onto a stool to help Lexi stir a bowl of cake batter. And if baby girl turned out to be a tomboy like her mama, then he’d just have to let her tag along with him and Junior to his father’s old boxing gym.
At that moment, Lexi let out another one of those blissful sighs that made Quentin’s chest swell. “This is going to be an amazing year.”
“I think so too,” he murmured, nuzzling her ear.
“I’m really looking forward to joining your family on Martha’s Vineyard this summer.”
“Not as much as I’m looking forward to returning to France.”
“Oh, yes,” she breathed, linking their fingers together over her stomach. “I definitely can’t wait for that.”
They planned to spend a week on the Vineyard, then leave Junior with the Harringtons while they headed off to Asha’s château in Burgundy to celebrate their two-year anniversary.
Lexi chuckled. “I’m gonna be so fat by then.”
“All the more of you to lick,” Quentin murmured, brushing his lips over the scented nape of her neck. He smiled when he felt her shiver.
As she turned slowly in his arms, he cradled her face between his hands and tilted her head up so he could gaze into her luminous eyes.
She smiled. “Do you think the fireworks will wake up Junior?”
“Nah. That boy can sleep through anything.”
She laughed. “True.”
Most of the partygoers were staying overnight at the hotel so they could drink and dance the night away without having to worry about driving home. Quentin and Lexi had booked two adjoining suites, one for them and the other for Junior and their sitter.
The sound of upbeat dance music coming from the ballroom signaled that the after party had begun. On the street below, New Year’s revelers honked car horns, blew on noisemakers, sang drunkenly and shouted well wishes to one another.
As another burst of fireworks exploded across the sky, Lexi grinned up at Quentin.
Shifting closer to her, he slid his hand around her nape and slowly rubbed his thumb over her lush bottom lip. As her eyes darkened with arousal, he felt his own body hardening in response.
“What do you say we get out of here and head up to our room?” he suggested huskily.
Her eyes glinted. “You don’t want to stay and party some more?”
A slow, wicked smile curled his lips. “I can think of a few other ways I’d rather ring in the new year.”
Her tongue flicked out, licking his thumb. “Only a few?”
His pulse spiked. “As many as you can handle.”
“Mmm,” she purred. “That sounds promising.”
As Quentin curved his arm around her waist and lowered his head toward hers, she smiled into his eyes and whispered sweetly, “Love me always?”
“Always, darlin’. This I promise you….”
*****
Dear Cherished Reader,
I hope you enjoyed catching up with Quentin and Lexi, as well as their family and friends. After the release of Seducing of Wolf, I heard from many people who wanted to know why the novel took place before Quentin and Lexi became a couple. They wanted to know how Mr. and Mrs. Reddick were doing and whether they had started a family.
The fan-inspired This I Promise You started out as a short update on Quentin and Lexi, but as I delved into their lives, I realized that I wanted to spend more time with them. So the short story turned into a full-blown sequel to Tempt Me at Midnight.
I consider This I Promise You a “bridge novel” that connects to future stories involving the Morehouse Nine, Wolf Pack, and other characters that were featured in this book. And speaking of the Morehouse Nine, the series will officially kick off with Percy and Summer’s sizzling story. But I’ve learned my lesson about promising release dates, so please stay tuned for updates on their book.
I have already decided that Quentin’s mother must have her own book. I think Georgina Reddick is an endearing, compelling character who has experienced so much heartache and loss. As you just witnessed, she has many unresolved issues with her family that need to be explored so that she can finally receive the healing and closure she deserves.
As for her niece Georgina Harrington, you will definitely be hearing more from her. Now I just have to decide which man can capture her heart. Should it be Trajan Reddick? Or one of the Morehouse Nine? Decisions, decisions!
As you learned in this book, Tru and Simona from Seducing the Wolf found their happily ever after. But it wasn’t an eas
y journey, and you’ll find out why when their story is eventually released.
As a history enthusiast, I’ve always been fascinated by the origins and culture of the black upper class. My research for this novel was greatly aided by the books Our Kind of People by Lawrence Otis Graham and Black Bourgeoisie by E. Franklin Frazier.
I want to thank you for your continued loyalty and support. I truly love and appreciate all of my fans, and I never take a single one of you for granted.
As always, I love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts with me at [email protected].
Until next time, happy reading!
Blessings galore,
Maureen Smith
MEET THE DIVINELY FINE MEN OF THE MOREHOUSE NINE
Name: Michael Wolf
Fraternity: Omega Psi Phi
Occupation: Chef/Restaurateur
Nickname: “Wolfman”
Relationship Status: Married
Book Title: Recipe for Temptation
Name: Quentin Reddick
Fraternity: Omega Psi Phi
Occupation: Attorney/Managing Partner
Nickname: “Q”
Relationship Status: Married
Book Title: Tempt Me at Midnight, This I Promise You
Name: Percy Sheldon
Fraternity: Kappa Alpha Psi
Occupation: Entrepreneur/Venture Capitalist
Nickname: “Hound Dog”
Relationship Status: Single
Name: Jackson Gallagher
Fraternity: Kappa Alpha Psi
Occupation: CEO/President
Nickname: “Jagger”
Relationship Status: Single
Name: Shokare Bello (pronounced Sho-kar-ee)
Fraternity: Omega Psi Phi
This I Promise You Page 27
