A Beautiful Kind of Hope (A Beautiful Kind of Series Book 1)

by Cathy Johns

  “Go, this night is all yours” Nick says before handing me his business card. “You can call me anytime.” I look at the card then at him. Anytime? As if he can read my mind he says. “That’s my direct contact, Taylor. Call me in the case of anything. I would like so much to know more about this venture.” With that, he walks away to say hello to some of the CEO’s from other companies.

  Yeah, I once said it’s good to have money. It takes you to places but these places never came as close as me meeting Nicholas Garcia, CEO of Derby Development Co.

  The rest of the night goes by quickly with people mingling with others, acquainting themselves with business men and women who are here tonight, while others make their way to a table that Cecilia had organized for those who want to pledge their donation and for those who have their checks ready.

  The children are going to be pleased as well the people who’ll be working on the farm. I know we won’t waste much time starting on both projects and that means less time with Hope as I let her concentrate on transforming the children’s home.

  I want to laugh at my thoughts because who am I kidding… I would move heaven and earth to be near her. She has become the air I breathe, the reason for my existence.

  After saying hello to countless people, I find my way towards my woman only to bump on my past. Leah. I take my time to look at her, not saying a word since my eyes are blank and I swear to God I want to beat the shit out of whatever must have crawled up my mind when I started dating her.

  Her eyes are empty, no emotions there but now I can understand why she insisted on having the lights off every time we had sex and the power of makeup does miracles to hide the shell of the woman I once knew. We couldn’t have made it this far. Nothing would have made us stick together because she’s as evil as they come. A heartless, conniving and selfish woman.

  “Hi Taylor.” She says forcing a smile but I can see the hurt in her eyes since she wasn’t expecting me to have met someone who is better than her. ‘You’ll never find someone who’s as good as me’ those were her words when I called it quits. I couldn’t pretend anymore.

  “Leah” I say lifting my eyes so I can look at my woman who’s busy listening to whatever Mark and Leo are saying before laughing at whatever they just said and I wish I was there listening to that voice that does crazy things to my heart. As if sensing me from across the room, her eyes land on mine and I smile.

  I must be one lucky bastard to deserve a woman like her.

  “I can see you’ve moved on” Leah says making me turn my gaze back to her. I don’t have time to play her stupid games. I don’t even know why I’m even wasting my time talking to her.

  “It’s more than moving on.” I sarcastically say.

  “Are you sure she’s the one?” she even has the guts to ask me that. I swear this woman never knew me at all. I lift my gaze back to my woman across the room and everything in my heart screams she’s the one. I love her already. I guess I might have loved her from the moment I laid my eyes on her. When I look at her I see my future. I don’t mean it’s going to be smooth but I would prefer fighting with her then make-up because I know with her, I’m in safe hands.

  I look back at Leah and I lift a brow. “At least I know she won’t walk all over my heart and leave me feeling like shit.” I want to hit her where it hurts most. I gave her my heart, my world and she walked all over it without a care in the world. I wasn’t good enough for her, I was just another toy in her toy box and that makes me wonder where the man she chose over me is. Bad timing Leah if you think you’ll plant doubting seeds on my head.

  Hell no, that shit can’t happen. I don’t even want her near Hope.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I believe my future wife is waiting for me.” I walk past her careful not to touch her as I find my way smiling towards my woman. Her smile is enough to light up my heart and at this moment I want to take her home and do things, and I mean things that will have her screaming my name.

  “You look happy” she says the minute I wrap her in my arms.

  “You make me this way,” I whisper. “Every time you smile, you make everything dark and ugly fade away and I want to be the reason you’ll always have that smile on your face” I say before pulling from her arms and cupping her face with my hands.

  She makes me want things I never thought were possible.

  “And I want to be the reason you have that happy look on your face all the time” she grins and I can’t help it but to lean in and kiss her passionately. I hear people around us clearing their throats as Mark says something about getting a room. I want to flip him a finger but I can’t since my mother is here and she would smack me so hard in front of these people.

  “I don’t need a room to show my woman how badly I want to kiss her” I growl at Mark who just shakes his head laughing. “And where is your date for the night?” I’ve noticed Mark and Tanya have been inseparable these past few months.

  “She’s working.” He says sounding annoyed.

  I always say Mark and Leo are bad news when it comes to women but I can’t say the same when it comes to Leo for the last few months or year since he came back home from London. He’s always in my office even when he has no business there but now I can understand he’s never in my office to see me but Cecilia. I look at their joined hands and then back at Leo who is busy talking to our mother but his eyes are on me.

  I wink at him and he growls. I know we’ll have to talk but tonight, that can be put aside. My mother comes to hug me, kissing my cheek.

  “I’m so proud of you, son.” I know she is. She’s the best mother I have after my late mother and I know dad is happy watching over us.

  “Thank you, Mom.” I kiss her forehead, something I’ve been doing since she took me under her arms.

  “Now, if you boys don’t mind, I’m going to need these beautiful women to accompany me so we can have a girl talk.” She says tugging on Hope and Cecilia’s hands. Rita pulls me in a tight hug before saying how proud she is to call me her big brother. I wrap her in my arms tightly before letting her go so she can join our mother.

  “Your woman?” Mark asks, slapping lightly on my shoulder. “I’m happy for you, brother but…” he lets his words trail off and I give him a warning look with my eyes when he turns to look at Hope. I know what he wanted to say and I don’t play their wicked game on women, and I swear on my life if he was to make a move on her I would kill him.

  She’s. All. Mine.

  Period.

  The boys and I fall into a conversation where Sam looks at me and I know he wants to ask a question. We know each other’s lives so well and whatever he wants to ask he doesn’t have to pull me to the side to ask.

  “Shoot” I say, looking at him, the others paying attention to my word.

  “Leah.” He mentions her name.

  “What about her?” I ask feeling irritated on where this topic is going.

  “I didn’t know she was invited.” He says.

  “Neither did I, but we all know who her father is.” I let it sink in on the boys before continuing. “Plus, how could I have known when I have the perfect woman in my life?” I ask.

  I hear all of them take a breath, they all know the things Leah put me through and God knows how fucked up my life was and for five years, there was no one else, even for casual sex and my hand can bear witness to that.

  “It’s been five fucking years’ guys. I’ve moved on and right now if you ask me, I want to know the crap I was high on when I agreed to a relationship with that heartless woman.” I lift my gaze towards the table where my woman is sitting only to find her gazing back at me with a smile on her face. And just like that, the storm calms down. “What I have right now…” I look at my brothers then back at Hope so I can drive my point home. “I can’t compare it to what I used to call good, I know this may sound too soon and you’ll all think I’m rushing into things but I can tell you for sure that Hope is my future and I plan on making her my wife someday.”
/>   “Someone is head over heels in love” Leo says.

  “I can say that.” I don’t deny it because it’s true.

  I’m fucking in love with Hope Jabari.

  Hope

  “You couldn’t wait to get us home?” I ask not sure I even want to know the answer because the whole night Taylor has had answers to everything both funny, teasing, cocky and serious, making sure I got the message on how badly he wanted me.

  “It was either that or having my way with you in one of the women’s bathrooms” he says once he pulls the SUV in parking outside his house and turns off the engine.

  A picture of us in the women’s bathroom comes to mind with him banging me on the wall, my legs wrapped around his hips, my dress lifted up as he pushes my thong to the side thrusting in me, hard and fast. I press my legs together as my pussy throbs and I’m sure the wetness is leaking on my panties. Damn it! How can he affect me in such a way?

  “I should have asked you to take me home instead” I say, tugging on my evening dress as if it wasn’t long enough to cover my discomfort that is causing havoc between my legs.

  “How about you take me home first.” I’m about to ask which home since we’re practically outside his house but the look on his face makes me want to slap the grin off his face. Oh my god, how did I end up with him? I swat his arm making him laugh.

  “What’s with you and my pussy?” I ask, unbuckling my seatbelt and then turn to look at him.

  “Baby, the minute y…” I don’t even let him finish because I cover his mouth with my palm to shut him up.

  “I know” I say. His obsession with my pussy since the first day makes me chuckle.

  He nips on my palm before sucking in one of my digits in his mouth as he moans in that sexual way that makes the heat spread all over my body.

  “You know…” I start to say gazing at the man who has made the last month of my life feel like I’ve known him for years and tonight, he fought everything, every feeling, and every emotion even when I don’t know what his past is all about. I want to ask him but at the same time I don’t want to push him and then the lady who couldn’t tear her eyes from the way Taylor carried himself when he was dancing with me through the night, had my jealousness creeping up somewhere and glad at the same time that he only has eyes for me.

  She’s in the past and I could see regret in her eyes but Taylor being Taylor, he went another level and out did himself by kissing me senseless every chance he got. He left me breathless when he walked up the podium to give his speech, and when we were dancing, I took it upon myself to show the woman what she didn’t deserve.

  How do I catch up to him?

  He even called me his girlfriend.

  “This thing between us is something I wasn’t prepared for. I’ve never been in any sort of relationship. Well, apart from the people I’ve worked with, my family and Molly who happens to be my best friend.” I say

  “And?” he asks. I see fear in his eyes. Why? I can’t tell since a few minutes ago, he wanted to eat me raw.

  “I want us to go slow but I can already tell slow is something you don’t do.” I watch him unbuckle his seatbelt and lean towards me, his lips almost touching mine and I want to kiss him, maybe dart my tongue out and swipe it across his wet lips that he just licked with his tongue.

  “Damn right, baby.” He grins.

  Oh, my God.

  "Will you let me finish" I smack on his arm playfully as he nods smiling at me. I'm not going to fall for that smile of his that makes every logic thing fly out the window. He links his fingers with mine and the warmth that spreads all over my body cannot be explained.

  I sure do need this connection for what I'm about to say.

  "You of all people know my situation, my mother's health condition and a son who means the world to me."

  "And a son I would so love to meet" I swear this man...

  I just wonder how this would work if Michael was to meet him but the questions that boy has will be the end of me.

  "That can be arranged.” I do want Michael to meet him. He's not a secret and never will be and if Taylor needs me in his life, well he'll have to take me as I am.

  "Good." He plants a kiss on my hand where they're linked together.

  "Now, can you allow me to finish what I want to say?"

  "Yes."

  "I can't be with you all the time no matter how badly I want to get to know you but I can guarantee you that I want to see how far this thing between us will go. I want to get to know you, know the pain you carry inside your heart but I can't push you to tell me. I can't do that to you." I reach out with my free hand and rub my thumb on his two-day old stubble as it tickles my skin then lift up my gaze so I'm looking in his eyes. "I want you to tell me what you meant when you were up on the podium and said you know how it feels. What happened to you baby?"

  I watch him close his eyes, his lips twitching on one corner, his breath coming out strong. I see the sadness in his eyes the minute he opens them and looks at me. I want to take away his pain and make it mine but at the same time I want to know all of it because no matter how broken he is, he's all mine. I'll still love him for who he is.

  "I can't talk about it here." I completely forgot we were still in the car. He opens his door and rounds off to my side and helps me out.

  Once inside the house, he walks to his mini bar fridge and gets himself a beer while he pours me a glass of orange juice, something he knows I like before heading to bed. I know this is not easy for him, nothing is easy when it comes to stripping your past when you know you've kept it in your past for a reason.

  I'm not the type to judge and I'll never judge him no matter what he tells me.

  He walks towards where I'm seated in one of the black leather seats placing my glass of juice in front of me on the glass table before settling himself next to me. I reach out to cup his face and turn it so we're face to face. "Whatever it is, just know you can trust me and I'll never judge you. I'll be here because you matter to me and it won't change a thing between us because you're one man worth fighting for." I murmur.

  "You think so?" He asks his voice low and unsure.

  "I know so because I can feel it here," I say pressing my hand above my heart where it beats in a rhythm that only he can understand. He's worth more to me than he'll never know. For this short time I've known him, he has become my driving force, he has become the reason I want to hope for a better tomorrow and not to mention how deeply I've fallen for him.

  He takes a deep breath and takes my hands in his warm ones, rubbing his thumbs on my skin. I look at our skin color, the way it contrasts and my head wonders to this place it's not supposed to at this moment. He's different. He's kind and loving and caring, he's a giver. He takes other people's needs and makes them his. He's my hero. And after the evening we've just had, I'm glad I'm sailing this boat with him. I'm glad he took me out on that street cleaning the first time. Such a great way to win a woman's heart by getting her hands dirty and tears running down her face.

  I guess I fell harder than I was ever meant to.

  He was their equal, nothing could tell he was the billionaire when he laughed and shared and even rubbed shoulders with these people. To them he was Taylor. The selfless man I've come to love.

  "Hope," he rumbles my name forcing me to snap out of my reverie. I give him the attention he's seeking as his eyes search deep into mine. "What I'm about to tell you only a few people know about and those people happen to be the ones I care about. My family, Mark, and Sam." He says.

  "What about, Cecilia? She's your PA." Cecilia has been so good to me and tonight she took me under her wings and made me feel comfortable at the event. I've never been to such occasions. I've never even been in a room full of people who own half the country. This was such an honor when Cecilia took it upon herself to introduce me to some of the women who were more than willing to help me with the children home. She’s been good to Taylor and the rest of the boys... she's like the sister they a
ll look up to well, apart from Leo who was all twisted when it comes to her.

  "She doesn't know what I'm about to let you in on. Some part of the story is mine to tell." I nod my head in understanding. Yes. Some stories are ours to tell. "You mean so much to me Hope, and I'm about to let you all in, into that part if my life I keep guarded, that part of my life that the media doesn't know because if they knew they would want to tear me apart." Whatever he wants to say must mean everything to him and now he wants me to know about it.

  "You know you don't have to do this" I say squeezing his hands in mine.

  "I know," he says forcing a smile. "But I want you to know me and I don't want anything especially the past coming between us." He releases one of my hands and cups my cheek, his thumb caressing my skin. "You're important to me, Hope. What we have is important to me, it means the world to me and I would give anything to always have you in my life because when I'm with you I know I'm a complete man and furthermore, you trusted me enough to share your life with me. So, this is me now, trusting you enough to get to know who Taylor Smith is."

  I try to fight the tears clouding my eyes as I gaze at the man who means the world to me as he struggles with his words at the same time declaring what I mean to him. I'm important to him.

  "You're important to me too, Taylor Smith," I say leaning in so I can kiss him. "You make me whole and at the same time you make me wild."

  "I need to get this out before I can show you how much I want to make you whole and wild." He nips on my lower lip before putting on this serious face that says he wants to let it all out. I nod my head and lean my back on the sofa but I don't let go of his hands.

  "When I was four years old, my father walked out on us. I was too young to understand what was going on but my mother told me all about it later when I was old enough to understand why my life had changed so drastically. He... my father sold our house, the place I once called home with my mother. A woman he was supposed to protect and a son he was supposed to love and protect from this cruel world but I can see all that never mattered to him because he did all that without my mother's knowledge. He packed his bags and left.