Griffin settled smoothly into the role as stepfather, and after he married Belinda had become husband and father. Now, he and Belinda were expecting their first child. Tests confirmed it was a boy.
Denise led Rhett around to the rear of the house. She smiled when she saw Preston Tucker removing folding chairs from a rack and setting them up under two long rectangular tables.
She hugged and kissed the brilliant, award-winning playwright. “Hey, P.J. I’m glad something pulled you away from your computer.”
Easing back, she met a pair of sensual, slanting heavy-lidded eyes that were mesmerizing. There was more gray in his cropped hair than had been when she saw him at Christmas. There was no doubt Preston would be completely gray before his fortieth birthday. She’d been maid of honor at Preston and Chandra’s Thanksgiving Isle of Palms wedding.
Preston Tucker chuckled softly. “Chandra would’ve had a hissy fit if I didn’t come.”
Denise held out her hand to Rhett, he taking it and threading their fingers together. “Preston, this is my very good friend, Garrett Fennell. Rhett, this is my cousin Preston Tucker.”
Rhett, who’d set Denise’s tote on a chair, extended his free hand. “My pleasure, Preston. Denise didn’t tell me she was related to P.J. Tucker.”
“I married her cousin last fall.”
“Congratulations. Are you working on something new?” he asked the playwright.
“I just finished editing a new play in which I’d collaborated with my very talented wife.” As if on cue, Chandra walked out the house carrying a box. Preston raced over and took it from her. “I told you not to carry anything.”
Chandra sucked her teeth loudly, a habit that annoyed her mother. “It’s filled with paper, Preston.”
“I don’t care if it’s filled with air. I don’t want to see you carrying anything.”
Denise whistled sharply through her teeth. It’d taken her more than a week of coaching from her brother before she was able to make the piercing sound. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on here?”
Preston glared at Chandra. “She’s pregnant, and the doctor cautioned her about heavy lifting.”
Denise did the happy dance, spinning around like a whirling dervish. “You didn’t tell me you were going to have a baby,” she shrieked, hugging her cousin around her neck.
Chandra Eaton-Tucker pushed her back. “Please don’t get too close. Every time I smell perfume or cologne I hurl.”
“How far along are you?” Denise asked, taking a backward step.
“Just six weeks.”
She turned to Rhett. “I don’t think I have to introduce you two.”
Rhett smiled at the woman who looked enough like Denise to be her sister. They had the same almond-shaped eyes, high cheekbones, pert nose and lush mouth. The first cousins both had curly hair, but Chandra had always affected a wild flyaway style that suited her free-spirited personality, while Denise’s shorter style was more conservative. Mrs. Tucker had tamed her curls by pulling them into a single braid.
Chandra blew Rhett an air kiss. “I would hug you, but I know you’re wearing cologne. You have no idea how good it is to see you again, Rhett.”
“That goes double for me, Chandra. Congratulations on your marriage and the baby.”
Chandra moved closer to Preston, looping her arm through his. “Thank you. I hope you don’t let my cousin run away again now that you’re aware that she’s a flight risk.”
Denise made a cutting motion over her throat. “Chandra!”
“Denise!” Chandra mimicked. “Well, it’s true.”
Preston dropped a kiss on his wife’s hair. “Get out of their business, baby,” he said softly. “Please, baby,” he added when she opened her mouth to come back at him.
Rhett gave Preston a surreptitious nod, discernible only to the two men. “What do you want Denise and me to help you with?”
“You can finish setting up the chairs while I fill the pool.”
Denise mouthed a thank-you to Rhett as she took the box filled with party favors and streamers from Preston. “Chandra, I want you to sit while I decorate.”
“I’m pregnant, not an invalid,” Chandra mumbled.
“Go sit down and don’t talk back,” Denise said firmly.
“Like damn, cousin. You don’t have to get so hosstile.”
Denise waved her hand in dismissal. “Preston, please handle your wife. Rhett and I will do what needs to be done.”
Chandra pulled away from Preston, sitting down in a huff, while crossing her arms under her breasts. Preston brought over a footstool and placed her feet on the cushion, then removed her sandals. Leaning down, he kissed her mouth. “Relax, baby.”
It took less than an hour for them to set up the chairs, cover the tables with kiwi-green and chocolate tablecloths and fill the inground pool. It took several tries before Preston was able to get the chlorine to a safe level. Rhett checked the tanks of propane and then hooked them to the gas grills. The men set up the tent, attaching streamers of brown and green to the poles. Deliveries of balloons, bouquets of flowers and potted flowering plants added a festive touch to the outdoor space.
Myles, his wife, Zabrina, and their son, Adam, were the first to arrive. The day before they’d driven from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, checking into a downtown hotel for the night.
If Myles seemed surprised to see Rhett, he didn’t show it when he pulled him close in a rough hug. “Don’t be like me, brother. I had to wait ten years before I got my woman back.”
Denise hugged Adam. “If you don’t stop growing you’re going to be taller than me in a couple of years,” she teased, kissing his cheek.
Curly-haired, golden-eyed Adam Eaton gave her a shy smile. “The doctor said I’m going to be taller than my dad.”
Denise smiled at the eleven-year-old. He’d inherited his mother’s hair and eyes, but his lanky frame was his father’s. “That’s the way it usually goes. Each generation is usually taller than the one before it.”
“Even girls?”
She nodded. “Even girls.”
“So, if Mom has a girl she’ll be taller than her?”
Peering over Adam’s shoulder, Denise saw what hadn’t been obvious from first glance. Zabrina’s face was fuller, and her breasts under a loose-fitting top also appeared larger.
She smiled. The Eatons were about to have a population explosion. First Belinda, Chandra and probably Zabrina. Dr. Dwight and Roberta Eaton would have back-to-back-to-back grandchildren.
“Yes, Adam. Chances are she would be taller than your mother.”
She didn’t want to ask him if his mother was pregnant, and if she was, then Zabrina and Myles would probably make the announcement after the shower was over, or perhaps even at another time.
Eatons were arriving by the carloads, all bearing gaily-wrapped gifts. It’d been a while since Denise had seen her uncles and their wives. Her great-grandfather came to Philadelphia as a young boy during the Great Migration. Daniel Eaton had worked two jobs all his life to give his children what had eluded him: a college education. Her grandfather, Daniel Eaton Jr., earned a law degree from Howard University and three of his five sons followed in his footsteps, while the other two became physicians. The five brothers married schoolteachers, establishing the criteria for future generations to select careers in law, medicine or education.
Denise waved to her parents as they joined the others on the patio where the noise level had increased exponentially as relatives greeted one another with laughter and excited shrieks. Xavier followed Boaz and Paulette, carrying boxes she knew were filled with her mother’s incredible cake creations.
Weaving her way through the crowd, she looped her arms around her mother’s waist. Paulette Eaton had put on a little weight since she’d retired. “Hi, Mom.”
Paulette kissed her daughter’s cheek. “I heard you and Rhett were back together,” she said quietly.
Denise smiled at her mother who’d been a Temple Univers
ity homecoming queen and was still stunning at fifty-six. Her flawless sable-brown skin, large dark eyes and fashionably cut black hair still turned heads. “We just started seeing each other again. We decided to hang out together for the summer, then see where it goes.”
Paulette narrowed her eyes. “You let him get away once. Don’t be no fool, Denise Amaris Eaton,” she drawled. “Not many women are blessed enough to get a second chance with the man they love. And I still don’t believe your excuse that you’d fallen out of love with Garrett. Remember, I’m your mother and I know you better than you think I do. You’re still in love with him and he’s still in love with you. So, stop the foolishness, marry the man and give me a grandchild. I can’t stand Roberta now that Belinda’s about to give her another grandbaby. She’s struttin’ around with her nose so far up in the air that if it rained she’d drown.”
Denise gasped, complete shock freezing her features. For a reason she couldn’t fathom, her mother had always competed with Chandra’s mother. Roberta and Dwight had had four children to Paulette’s two and all of Roberta’s children were married and either had, or would give her grandchildren, while Paulette was waiting for her first.
“Mama, what has Aunt Bertie ever done to you where you have to bad-mouth her?”
“She couldn’t wait to call me and gloat when Belinda told her she was having a baby. It was the same when Donna had the twins. Then when she found out that Myles had a son that took the rag off the bush.” Paulette’s eyes filled with tears. “She knows how much I want a grandchild.”
“What if you never have grandchildren? What then? And I shouldn’t have to remind you that you do have a son.”
“Harrumph!” Paulette snorted. “I’d probably be old as Methuselah by the time Xavier decides to settle down with a woman long enough to marry and start a family.” She snorted again, squared her shoulders and walked across the patio, heading straight for Rhett.
Denise smothered a curse. Whenever her mother embarked on a campaign it was always advisable to stay out of her way.
“I’ve been reading some good things about you, son,” Boaz Eaton said to Rhett, while pumping his hand vigorously. “Congratulations.”
Rhett smiled. “Thank you, Judge.”
Boaz wagged a finger. “None of that judge business, Rhett. I’m not sitting on the bench, or wearing a black robe. I don’t know why you and my daughter broke up, and I don’t want to know why. But I must say it is nice to see you together again. I never much cared for that other fellow she dated a couple of years ago, but I’m not one to get into my children’s personal business, so when she finally gave him his walking papers I was as happy as a pig in slop.”
Rhett realized Denise’s father had revealed something that hadn’t been in Eli Oakes’s report. She had been involved with another man, and he knew for certain the man wasn’t Trey Chambers. But for some unknown and perverted sense of jealousy it bothered him that she had been with a man when he was hard-pressed to remember all of the women he’d had after they’d separated.
Rhett wanted to tell the older man that he and Denise were together not because they had fallen in love again, but because of his need for revenge. His love for Denise Eaton had defied description, yet she’d fallen prey to lies fabricated by Trey Chambers. It wouldn’t have mattered if she’d believed the lies, but sleeping with Trey had been the ultimate betrayal.
He smiled at the man who should’ve become his father-in-law. Boaz Eaton reminded Rhett of the elegant-looking black men in the photographs taken by James Van Der Zee. He was tall, slender and the rimless glasses added to his overall patrician appearance.
“Denise and I are giving ourselves the summer to see if we can make it work this time,” Rhett said instead.
Boaz leaned in closer. “My daughter is a great deal like her mother. She tends to be a little difficult at times. But don’t let up on her, son. If she’s worth having, then she’s worth fighting for.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
At one time Denise had been worth fighting for, but Rhett hadn’t had the wherewithal to fight the fight. He had been a month from graduating, he had a position waiting for him at a major real estate company with perks that included tuition reimbursement for graduate studies. Instead of fighting for Denise, he’d walked away.
“Welcome back, stranger.”
Rhett turned when he heard the familiar voice belonging to Xavier Eaton. The two men exchanged handshakes. “Thanks. What’s up?”
Xavier’s dark eyes took in everything about the man who’d at one time been the love of his sister’s life. “Not much. Did Denise tell you I left the military on a medical discharge?”
“Yes, she did happen to mention it.”
“I was in a funk and wallowing in pity parties until my sister forced me to see that my life wasn’t over, that I could remain involved with the military if I taught. I applied to several military schools and colleges and come September I’ll begin teaching a few courses on military history at a school in South Carolina. I—”
“Xavier, could you please help your father bring in the gifts from the car, while I talk to Garrett?”
“Good luck,” Xavier whispered under his breath as he walked away.
Rhett stepped forward, lowered his head and kissed Paulette Eaton’s cheek. “How are you?”
Reaching up, Paulette patted his clean-shaven jaw. “I’m just fine, Garrett. My, my, my, you look wonderful.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Eaton.”
Paulette’s dark eyes sparkled like polished jet. “How is your mother doing?”
“She married a wonderful man last year, and they’re now living in Virginia.”
“She was always such a lovely woman. When you talk to her, please let her know I asked about her.”
Rhett smiled. “I will.”
“Now that you and my daughter are together again, can I look forward to planning a wedding?”
“No, you can’t, Mom.”
Denise had come up behind her mother just in time to hear her ask Rhett a question that made her want to scream at Paulette for the first time in her life.
Paulette gave Denise a too-sweet smile. “If Garrett is able to negotiate multimillion-dollar deals, then I believe he’s capable of answering for himself.”
Rhett wanted to tell Paulette he’d just negotiated a deal with her daughter based on revenge, but she’d flipped the script when she invited him to come with her to a family gathering where everyone expected them to pick up as if six years hadn’t happened. As if their beautiful, talented Denise hadn’t slept with his best friend while professing her love for him.
“I’d say planning a wedding is a little premature at this time. Denise and I have just begun dating again, so we’ve decided to keep our options open about the future.”
“What options are you talking about?” Paulette asked.
“Mom, please,” Denise pleaded.
“Don’t…” A loud roar filled the air, stopping what would become a rant from Paulette.
A very pregnant Belinda Rice, supported by her husband, had covered her face when she saw the decorations and the small crowd that had gathered on the patio of her home.
Her hand came down as she cradled her belly with both hands. “It would serve y’all right if I drop this baby right now.” She glared at Griffin Rice. “You had to be in on this. Riding my behind up and down the road when you know I have to have bathroom breaks every twenty minutes.”
Denise reached for Rhett’s hand, lacing their fingers together. It was as if they’d turned back the clock and holding hands was as natural to them as breathing.
“For a woman who is expected to deliver any day, Belinda looks so incredibly beautiful,” she whispered to Rhett. Belinda had cut her hair and the scooped-neck white tunic over a pair of black cropped pants artfully concealed her swollen belly.
“She does,” he confirmed.
Belinda was more attractive than Rhett had remembered, but so was Denise. He’d
barely touched her, except to hold hands, had kissed her once and not with the passion racing headlong throughout his body whenever they shared the same space, and yet he wanted her with a ferocity that overshadowed everything that had happened between them.
Denise was right when she’d reminded him of his revelation that he’d felt more connected to her than he had with any other woman. The monies he’d paid to the nameless, faceless women—his mother’s hard-earned money—for sex had been nothing more than a receptacle for his lust. The women he’d slept with after he and Denise split up he paid in other ways: dinners, gifts and exotic vacations. Despite the moans, groans and unorthodox positions, none of them had touched the part of him he’d withheld from every woman except Denise Eaton.
Initially Rhett had believed he’d stayed with her out of guilt because he’d taken her virginity. But when he finally recognized that what he’d felt for Denise was an unconditional love that would stand the test of time, he knew he’d made the right decision to continue to see her.
Rhett closed his eyes for several seconds. He’d lured Denise into a trap to assuage a vendetta—something he should have dealt with six years ago. Her family believed they’d reconciled when what they had was a business arrangement. She’d gone along with his scheme to save and expand her business, while he’d sought to take advantage of her vulnerability.
If his mother were to uncover what he’d done, Rhett knew she would disown him. Once he’d told Geraldine that he was going to set up his own company she’d warned him about storing up material wealth at the risk of losing his soul. “Please don’t end up like your father.” When he’d asked her what she meant, Geraldine ordered him to leave her alone. It had been the first and last time his mother had spoken of his father.
He had made a lot of money buying out failing companies, stabilizing and then flipping them, but not at the risk of losing his soul—until now. Manipulating and blackmailing Denise made him no better than the man who’d fathered him. A man his mother was loathe to speak of. A man whose name she’d never uttered in his presence.
Twice the Temptation Page 7
