Quentin sighed. “Falling in love shouldn’t be hard work. It should be effortless.”
Chloe clutched the single strand of pearls around her neck. “What are you trying to say to me, Quentin?”
“I talked to God about us. Asked Him for guidance.”
“Really? What did He say?”
“He didn’t say anything. But my questions . . . well, they confirmed what I’ve been feeling for a long time now.”
“Quentin . . .”
“I can’t see a future with you, Chloe. I’m sorry. Now you’re free to find someone who can make you happy.”
Chloe jumped up from her seat, reached across the table, and slapped Quentin in the face with all her might. Quentin smarted from the pain and clenched his jaw in anger.
“That’s it? I’m sorry? That’s all you have to say?” Chloe yelled. “I spent the last five years of my life being nice to those little brats of yours and kissing your mother’s bougie behind, and all you can say is ‘sorry’?”
Quentin stood to his feet so that he was staring down at Chloe. “This doesn’t have to get ugly. Let’s end it on a high note.”
“You will be screaming all kinds of high notes when I get through with you.”
“Are you threatening me, Chloe?”
“I’m promising you that this is not over. You owe me, Quentin.”
He laughed. “What? Do you want a check? You want me to give you a condo like that dead white man you sent to an early grave?”
Chloe scoffed. “I thought you didn’t want this to get ugly.”
“Don’t make a scene, Chloe. I’ve arranged for a car service to come and take you home. Good-bye, Chloe.”
“See you soon.”
Chloe’s farewell was a promise and a threat. She watched Quentin stride out of their favorite restaurant. A restaurant she couldn’t afford to dine in without Quentin paying the bill. She kicked herself for having been so complacent for so long.
Chloe swore that it wasn’t over with Quentin. She’d be back in her rightful place as soon as she did what she should’ve done from the first time she laid eyes on Montana. Get that scheming man stealer out of her man’s house.
CHAPTER 27
All five of the Chambers children sat in the family room looking at each other. They’d gotten a text from their father to gather there, but none of them knew why.
“What’s this about?” Reese asked Deirdre.
She shrugged. “Who knows? Daddy has been acting really weird lately.”
Madison said. “I thought I was the only one who noticed that. Daddy just hugged me for no reason yesterday. I thought he was about to cry or something.”
“Right. And he came outside while I was shooting hoops, giving me all this advice and stuff. It was crazy,” Reese said.
Danielle said, “Well, I like Daddy like this. I think he should stay like this.”
“As long as he doesn’t start trying to hang with us all the time,” Morgan said.
Quentin walked into the family room. “As long as who doesn’t try to hang out with you?”
All of the kids looked at each other, but no one replied.
“Today is family day,” Quentin said.
“All day?” Deirdre asked.
“Yes, all day. What do y’all want to do?” Quentin asked.
“Can we play?” Danielle asked. “Outside, I mean.”
Both the twins and Deirdre moaned. “No one wants to play tag with you, Danielle.”
Danielle puffed her cheeks with air and blew it out in an angry huff. “No one ever wants to do what I want to do.”
Quentin clapped his hands. “You know what, Danielle? We are playing tag. And we’re having a water-gun fight.”
“Uh, I just got my hair done,” Deirdre said.
Quentin shrugged, “Since you’re on punishment, you won’t be needing to look cute for anyone, right?”
Deirdre frowned while her siblings laughed at her. Quentin laughed too. He was glad the kids were finally warming up. He’d felt like a stranger for a moment.
“Everybody go change and meet me out back in ten minutes. Get your super-soakers ready, so we can go to war!”
Danielle seemed the most excited as all of the children took off running. Quentin was as stoked as they were. It had been a while since they’d spent time together. Maybe it was time for a family vacation.
Quentin had thought of inviting Montana to join them for their day of fun, but then he changed his mind. First of all, he’d just broken up with Chloe, so it was probably too soon. Second, he wanted to follow what Montana had told him. He wanted to face his grief head on before pursuing her. Not only did it make sense, but he wanted her to know that he was serious about getting his life back.
On Quentin’s way back downstairs to meet with the children, he did run into Montana in the hallway. She looked at his camouflage wear and chuckled.
“What are you about to do?” Montana asked.
“Destroy these kids with my water gun.”
Montana burst into laughter. “I hope they know what they’re in for.”
“If they don’t, they’re going to find out.”
“So I’m off for the rest of the afternoon, then?” Montana asked.
Quentin nodded. “Yes. You can go and do whatever women do on the weekend. You need money? You want a pedicure? Want to go shopping?”
“As much as I would love to say yes to all of that, I don’t really feel right taking your money. Not right now. Not while Chloe thinks you’re still her fiancée.”
“She doesn’t think that anymore. We broke up this morning.”
“You did?” Montana asked, her voice full of excitement. “You did.”
She repeated the phrase, making it sound more solemn, but Quentin knew that her excited response showed her true feelings.
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay?”
Quentin nodded. “I’m better than okay.”
“Well, good.”
Montana sashayed past Quentin on the stairs in a snug, knee-length jean skirt. Having the object of his affection under his roof was probably going to be a problem that Quentin hadn’t considered.
“Oh, Quentin,” Montana turned around on the stairs. “I forgot to ask you if you wanted to come to church tomorrow. I have a solo.”
“I’d love to,” Quentin replied.
“All right, have fun with the kids. I’ll see you later,” Montana said.
“Okay. See you later.”
Quentin felt the butterflies again when Montana waved at him with one finger. She was wearing shiny lip gloss, but there was no other makeup on her face. She didn’t need it.
Quentin stared after Montana for a few moments after she left. Until he felt something wet on the back of his head.
“You coming or what?” Reese asked from downstairs.
Reese had shot him with his water gun, while Deirdre watched. They were snickering as he walked down the stairs.
“Daddy, do you want Montana to be your girlfriend?” Deirdre asked.
“What? No,” Quentin said.
“Good, because I really like Chloe mentoring me,” Deirdre said.
Quentin raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t thought about this. Chloe had only recently taken an interest in Deirdre, and he doubted that she’d keep it up now that they’d broken up.
“Deirdre, Chloe and I broke up. I don’t think it’ll be a good idea for you to keep spending time with her.”
Deirdre burst into tears. “Daddy, this isn’t fair! She’s the only one who even tries to understand me!”
Quentin was at a loss. He hadn’t seen Deirdre attached to any woman since Chandra died. He guessed it would be okay to let them continue a friendship, as long as Chloe knew that it didn’t mean they were getting back together.
“You can continue seeing Chloe. It just has to be away from here.”
Deirdre ran up the stairs and hugged Quentin tightly. “Thank you, Daddy! We were supposed to go shopping
this afternoon. Can I still go?”
“Are you sure she still wants to go?”
“Why wouldn’t she? She broke up with you and not me.”
Quentin almost corrected Deirdre. Chloe hadn’t broken up with him. It was the other way around, but at the end of the day it equaled the same thing. They weren’t together. And since they weren’t an item anymore, there was one more thing Quentin needed to do. Call his accountant and cancel Chloe’s credit cards.
CHAPTER 28
Montana sank her feet into the bubbly water in the tub beneath the massage chair at the nail salon. She and Emoni were getting pedicures for church the next day since Montana had the afternoon off. The water felt great on Montana’s feet. She’d been running with Quentin every other day, and her dogs could use some tender loving care.
“So what is so important that you dragged me away from my man on a Saturday afternoon?” Emoni asked.
Montana laughed. “I definitely don’t want to drag you away from Darrin. I hope you’re gonna marry him sometime this century, so please don’t let me be in the way of that.”
“We set a date.”
“What? You did? Oh, congratulations. When?”
“Next summer. June twentieth. You want to be my maid of honor?”
Montana clapped her hands and blew Emoni air kisses. They couldn’t turn and hug since both had their feet submerged.
“Of course I do. I can’t wait. You’re going to be beautiful.”
“Enough about that. What’s going on with you and Quentin?” Montana’s face broke into a wistful smile when she thought about Quentin. “He broke up with Chloe.”
“Shut up!” Emoni said. “When?”
“He said this morning. I don’t know what happens next, though. It’s not like he’s gonna break up with her one day and be my man the next day.”
“Oh, and I guarantee Chloe isn’t going down without a fight. She’s been in his face since Chandra died. You know Quentin is her retirement plan.”
“But if Quentin wants to break up with her, what can she do? She has no choice in the matter. It’s not like she can force him to be with her.”
Emoni shrugged. “How are you gonna keep living there if you start dating Quentin?”
“There is a guest house in back. I’m gonna ask if I can move in there, because we definitely won’t be able to coexist under the same roof.”
“See . . . you’re gonna have your black prince.”
“I’m not sure. I have some conditions before that can even take place.”
“Conditions?”
“He needs to be healed, Emoni. I don’t want him broken, and he is definitely broken. He’s not over his wife.”
Emoni nodded. “I will pray for him. I’m serious. Quentin has to give this over to God.”
“I know. I invited him to church tomorrow. I hope Bishop preaches something good that speaks right to Quentin’s heart.”
Emoni whipped out her phone. She started texting.
“Who are you texting?” Montana asked.
“My dad. He loves Quentin and wants him back at church. He’ll preach something especially for him.”
“Do you want the deluxe pedicure?” asked the young pretty girl who was about to work on Montana’s feet.
“No, just the regular today.”
“Splurge a little!” Emoni said. “Get the deluxe!”
“Girl, I can’t afford the deluxe. Everybody ain’t balling like you.”
Emoni laughed. “Give her the deluxe. I’ll make up the difference.”
“You know, Quentin actually offered to pay for my pedicure today. He wanted to give me money.”
“And you didn’t take it? What’s wrong with you?”
“It didn’t feel right. I think Quentin doesn’t know how to woo a woman without money. He started right out spending money on me.”
Emoni laughed. “That’s what rich men do. They spend money on women.”
“Yeah, well, he’s gonna have to do more than buy me. He did something so sweet the other day, and I don’t even think he realized it.”
“What?”
“We were about to go running, and he noticed that my shoes were tied too tightly. He got down and retied my shoes for me.”
Emoni laughed. “Awww. . . how sweet.”
“Oh, shut up! I’m serious. It made me think that he would take care of me, and not just financially. He pays attention. Like he noticed my feet were hurting and bought the shoes in the first place.”
“So he is a great guy. We knew that already.”
“I just want to know how he ended up with Chloe.”
Emoni laughed. “You don’t know this story. She showed up at the funeral with her boobs hanging all out and drenched in perfume. She’s been stalking him ever since. She used to be with this old billionaire before Quentin.”
“Old? How old?”
“Old enough that he died on her?”
“Literally on her?”
Emoni howled with laughter. “No, not on her like that! He had an aneurysm or something. He was in his seventies.”
“His seventies? Ewwww. . . Could you imagine?”
“No ma’am, I could not imagine. That is disgusting. But she came up with a house, car, and cash, so maybe it was worth it.”
“His seventies, though? Ain’t that much money in the world.”
“Old men need love too,” Emoni said. “And she was just the one to give it.”
Montana leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes while the pretty girl rubbed all of the pain and tension out of her feet, but it did nothing to ease the apprehension in her spirit. If Chloe was desperate enough to sleep with an elderly man for a buck, what twisted things would she do to hold on to Quentin?
CHAPTER 29
Chloe picked Deirdre up at their designated time for their “mentoring” session. Quentin must’ve been out, because Deirdre absolutely looked like she was going to meet a boy with that tiny jean skirt and face full of makeup.
Chloe shook her head as Deirdre got into the front seat of her car. “Did you put on enough perfume? The poor boy’s gonna die from the fumes.”
“You sound like a hater right now. Just because my daddy decided to break up with you doesn’t mean you have to hate on me and my boo.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “The breakup between me and your father is temporary.”
“That’s what you say, but I just saw my daddy breaking his neck to watch Montana walk down the stairs. You need to work fast, because I think the warden is trying to be my stepmama.”
“That may be what that broke nanny wants, but it’s not going to happen.”
Deidre smacked her lips and applied another layer of lip gloss to her already too-shiny lips. “Anyway. I needed to get an Oscar for the performance I did for my father. I cried and everything, all because I didn’t want to be separated from my mentor.”
“As if those tears had anything to do with me. You just want to keep hanging out with your hood boyfriend. How long are you and the thug going to be in the movie theater?”
“The movie is two and a half hours long with the previews, and we probably want to get something to eat afterward.”
“I’ll be back in three and a half hours. And then, tomorrow night, I may need you to do something for me.”
“What?”
“I’ll give you further instructions.”
Deirdre laughed. “Who do you think you are, Don Corleone or somebody? You can’t just tell me to wait for instructions. Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
“You don’t tell me what you have time for. I don’t have time to be your taxi service, but I’m getting you to this boyfriend of yours.”
“I can find another way to be with Moe. You’re just making it convenient.”
“Keep it up and you’re going to have to exercise your options.”
Chloe pulled in front of the movie theater, and Deirdre opened the door. “Chloe, you need me more than I need you. It just so happens t
hat I don’t want my dad with Montana either. She’s too goody-goody, and I’m not trying to be singing in the youth choir at church.”
“I’ll let you know what I need later on.”
Deirdre stepped out of the car. “No, Chloe. I’ll let you know what I need.”
Chloe rolled her eyes as Deirdre slammed her car door way too hard. The girl was taking advantage of the situation, but Chloe did need her. With her and Quentin broken up, she wouldn’t have access to their home anymore, and all the things she needed were inside the Chambers mansion.
After dropping Deirdre off at the movie theater, Chloe stopped at her favorite boutique. After all she’d been through today, she deserved a new dress.
As soon as Chloe stepped through the boutique’s doors, she knew she’d made a mistake. Lichelle was there, and she was the last person Chloe wanted to see. Chloe didn’t want to gossip about everyone in their circle. Chloe wasn’t even sure she’d still be in the circle after breaking up with Quentin.
Lichelle waved at Chloe as she walked inside. “Get my homegirl a glass of champagne,” she said.
“I sure need it,” Chloe replied.
Chloe sat down next to Lichelle, and they hugged. “What’s wrong with you?” Lichelle asked.
“Everything,” Chloe said.
Chloe refused to break down in tears to give the boutique salesgirl something to talk about to her other clients.
Lichelle whispered, “Quentin?”
“Yes,” Chloe whispered back. “We broke up this morning, but I think it’s only temporary.”
“That low-down . . .”
Chloe held a finger to her lips. “Shhh. I’ve got a plan. Well, it’s a piece of a plan so far, but it’s coming together pretty quickly.”
Since the salesgirl was staring at Chloe and Lichelle and probably trying to read their lips, Chloe motioned for her to come over.
The salesgirl handed Chloe a glass of champagne. “How can I help you?”
“Can you wrap this handbag up for me? You already have card information on file for me.”
“Yes, Ms. Chloe.”
Chloe sipped her champagne and sighed. The shock of Quentin’s breaking up with her was just starting to fade, and reality was setting in. She hoped she could get rid of Montana quickly. She didn’t want to spend months trying to get Quentin back.
The Replacement Wife Page 15
