Love Takes Time

by Adrianne Byrd

  “It doesn’t matter. Stay away from her.”

  Q glanced at his brother, surprised at his level of anger. “Oh c’mon, Sterling. In case you haven’t noticed, Alice is a grown woman now.”

  “Alyssa.”

  “And she is quite capable of making decisions for herself. We both are. We don’t need you or anybody else to play chaperone.”

  “We? What’s this we stuff? And what about Alfred? How do you think he would feel about you pursuing his daughter?”

  Quentin paused, his confident smile dimmed. “Alfred and I have always gotten along.”

  “That’s not what I asked you,” Sterling said. “Alfred, like anyone else in this house, knows your reputation. And he, like the rest of us, knows about Alyssa’s crush on you. Do you really think he’ll be happy if you pursued her?”

  Quentin finished making his drink and took a deep gulp. “There’s no need to make me feel like a child molester.”

  “Then stop behaving like one.”

  The brothers fell silent for a long moment, while Q looked as if he was truly thinking the situation over. The problem was that he’d already kissed Alyssa, and he was having a hard time trying to erase the taste of her lips from his mouth. The alcohol sure in hell wasn’t doing the job. Hell, he could still smell the sweet scent of her perfume.

  And those curves…

  Heaven help him.

  “Quentin,” Sterling said with an unmistakable, commanding tone. “For once in your life, do the right thing.”

  Q took another long gulp from his drink before he finally settled on a response. “I’ll think about it.”

  Chapter 6

  The last thing Sterling wanted or had time to do was play babysitter to his younger brother. But given this latest development, or rather the way Alyssa Jansen had developed, he had no choice but to do just that. That raw unadulterated lust he just witnessed in his brother’s eyes meant one thing: trouble.

  Quentin had never been a man who listened to reason, especially when a beautiful woman was involved. Sterling drew in several deep breaths, trying to calm his anger and anxiety, but the exercise was futile at best. Entering the kitchen, Sterling hoped to grab something light to eat since it was still hours away from dinner.

  “Oh, Alfred, there you are,” he said, noticing the large man hunched over the counter and poring over some paperwork. “I was looking for you earlier.”

  Alfred glanced up with a casual smile. “You know, I’m never too far from the kitchen.” He chuckled.

  Sterling grabbed an apple from a crystal bowl in the center of one of the marble countertops. “Not for much longer, though, right?”

  Alfred chuckled. “Right.”

  “It’ll be strange around here once you’re gone. I’m surprised my father hasn’t offered to double your salary to get you to stay.”

  “Oh, he has.”

  “And you turned him down?”

  “Yep. And then he tripled it.”

  Sterling whistled. “When Dad wants something, he doesn’t usually take no for an answer.”

  “There’s a first time for everything,” Alfred said. “Just like there’s a time for a man to move on—to start living out some of his own dreams.”

  Sterling’s eyebrows climbed at the melancholy tenor of Alfred’s voice. He had known the large, lovable lion for a long time. He took great honor in calling him a friend. Frankly speaking, the man was hands down one of the best chefs he’d ever known. “Care to share some of those dreams you have in mind?”

  Alfred’s gaze found his, as if weighing whether Sterling was truly interested or not. “Well,” he began. “I figured I’d strike out and make a name for myself as a celebrity chef. I’m waiting to hear back about a possible television show. Estelle even thinks I could put a proposal together for my own cookbook.”

  Impressed, Sterling beamed at him. “Then I’ll know two famous Jansens.”

  Alfred’s chest puffed up. “You heard about Alyssa then?”

  “Beatrice may have mentioned it a time or two. I’m sure you’re proud.”

  “Only because she’s happy. That’s all a parent really wants.” Alfred drew a deep breath. His gaze shifted onto nothing in particular. “I think Melissa would have been proud.”

  The silence that trailed his proclamation made Sterling uneasy. Alfred had rarely talked about his deceased wife. Sterling couldn’t remember if he had ever known the story about how Alfred became a widower. Jeez. How was it that he knew so little about a man he considered a good friend? Hadn’t he just told Q that Alfred and his daughter were practically family?

  “Anyway,” Alfred said, coming out of his daydream. “Alyssa is my pride and joy, and I would’ve been happy no matter what she decided to do. Now it’s my turn. I just hope she and Estelle hit it off.”

  “They haven’t met?”

  “Yes and no.” He sucked in a deep breath. “They’ll meet tonight for the first time in a while. I’ll be honest. I’m a little nervous.”

  Sterling smiled. “It’s going to be all right. I’m sure Alyssa also wants you to be happy.”

  “Yeah,” Alfred said thoughtfully. “I just don’t want her to think I’m trying to replace her mother. No one could ever do that…but sometimes a man gets tired of being lonely.” Their eyes locked. Alfred looked as if he was surprised he’d said the words out loud.

  Sterling was a bit surprised himself, but his words also made an unmistakable connection.

  “I don’t know,” Alfred said, as he immediately backtracked. “Ever since Alyssa left and started traveling the world, it’s just been me and my work here—not that I’m complaining,” he added. “But…it’s just time. You know?”

  Sterling nodded his head and turned his gaze away from his friend. He, unlike his brothers, was more married to his work than not. The few relationships he’d drifted into never lasted long because he was always willing to work the long hours and fly from one job site to another at the drop of a dime. He’d unintentionally stood up more women than he cared to count. But one day…

  “Well, you found someone to share the next phase of your life with,” Sterling said. “That’s a step in the right direction.” As if he would know, but it at least sounded good.

  Alfred nodded. “Right.” He stood, but almost immediately doubled over.

  Sterling dropped his apple and raced around the corner to grab Alfred by the shoulders. “Hey, hey. Are you all right?”

  Alfred caught and steadied himself against the counter. “Yeah. I guess I just got a little woozy there for a second.” He laughed awkwardly.

  Sterling frowned, not sure what to make of what he had just witnessed. “Are you sure? Maybe you should sit back down.” He turned and reached for the stool that had clacked to the floor.

  “No. No. I’m all right.” Alfred adjusted his tall frame.

  Sterling dropped his arms and stepped back. It was clear he didn’t want his help.

  “I’ve been running around so much I hadn’t bothered to check my blood sugar,” Alfred said with a chuckle. “I better grab a piece of fruit myself before Estelle gets on me.”

  Sterling nodded along. The explanation sounded stilted and forced. Alfred moved toward the fruit bowl. “No need to upset her,” he added.

  Sterling caught the hint. “Mum’s the word.”

  Alfred nodded and took a healthy bite out of the apple. In the next second, he made a hasty retreat from the kitchen, leaving Sterling to mull over what had just happened.

  Sterling picked his apple up from the floor and tossed it into the garbage. “It’s none of my business,” he mumbled under his breath. Just how many people did he want to add to his babysitting duties anyway?

  He returned to the fruit bowl; this time, he grabbed a banana and then strolled out of the kitchen. By the time he hit the first step on the staircase, the front door opened and he turned to see his older brother, Jonas, and his wife, Toni, enter the house.

  “Uncle Sterling!” Little Kerry shot
past her parents and launched toward him.

  Before he had time to react, Kerry’s small arms wrapped around his legs and threatened to tip him over all the stairs. “Whoa. Well, look who I have here,” Sterling boasted, leaning over to give his niece a hug. “Let me take a good look at you.”

  Kerry released her death grip and stood back so she could perform a perfect pirouette to show off her beautiful orange dress. “Do you like it?” she asked eagerly. “Mommy helped me pick it out.”

  “Is that right?” Sterling glanced up at a beaming Toni and then back down at his niece. “I think you look beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” she said, curtsying and lacing her fingers into his. “Do you know where Uncle Quentin is? Daddy said he was going to be here.”

  “He’s around here someplace. He’s probably upstairs in his room.”

  “Yea!” Kerry released Sterling’s hand and then shot up the stairs.

  “Ouch. That hurts.” Sterling laughed.

  “Don’t take it personal, bro,” Jonas said, lugging in more bags. “Q always had a way with the ladies—of all ages.”

  Sterling moved toward the door to offer a helping hand, but was briefly delayed with a brotherly hug, followed by an awkward embrace with his sister-in-law, who still held his sleeping nephew. “Looks like he is knocked out.”

  She laughed. “I wish he would’ve slept during the flight, too. Instead he raised so much hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the airline banned us for life.”

  “You could’ve taken the jet,” Sterling reminded them.

  Toni rolled her eyes. “Wasteful spending,” she muttered. “I swear the money you boys waste on your frivolous toys.” She shook her head as she strolled toward the staircase.

  “Why do you always go there with her?” Jonas asked, laughing. “You should have heard her when Antonio picked us up at the airport in the limo. Mark my words, she’ll have Dad investing in hybrids by the time we leave here.”

  Sterling laughed and grabbed a few bags.

  “Then she’ll definitely have her work cut out for her,” he said, climbing up the stairs behind his older brother.

  “Don’t underestimate her. She’s on this whole environmental kick now. Our entire house is under major construction to be more eco-friendly. Solar panels, wind turbines—consider yourself warned,” Jonas said, entering their usual guest room.

  “Consider himself warned about what?” Toni asked. She placed little Denzel in bed.

  “Nothing,” Jonas lied, but he looked as though he had just got caught with his hand inside the cookie jar.

  Toni’s eyes narrowed, but a smile curved the corners of her lips. “How many times have I told you you’re a horrible liar?”

  “Too many times to count.” Jonas rolled his eyes as he slipped a loving arm around Toni’s waist.

  “Uh-huh.” She peppered his cheek with kisses. “So what were you two talking about?”

  “Nothing much. We were just talking about Sterling’s…love life,” Jonas tried lying again.

  This time Toni took the bait. “Really?”

  Sterling frowned, wondering why his brother was so determined to hang him out to dry.

  “Are you seeing someone?” Toni asked. Her eyes shone.

  Sterling didn’t like being put on the spot. “No—not exactly,” he said. “You know me—work, work, work.”

  Disappointment pinched Toni’s face. “We’re going to have to do something about that. You’re a great guy and…”

  “I’m sure you will make some lucky woman a great husband,” said Sterling and Jonas, finishing her sentence for her.

  “That really is a horrible thing to say to someone, honey,” Jonas said.

  Toni crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze between the two brothers. “Fine. Just forget I said anything.”

  Sterling was happy to do just that when she pointed a finger at him. “But you’re not getting any younger, and all the money in the world can’t replace the love of a good woman. It’s not the end of the world to settle down and start a family. Isn’t that right, honey?” Toni slid into Jonas’s arms.

  “Right, baby.”

  The smile that spread across Jonas’s face stirred Sterling’s jealousy. “I’m getting out of here. You two are nauseating.”

  “Oh, Sterling, come back,” Toni called after him, but he was determined to make his escape while he still had the chance.

  “Baby, let him go. He’s a big boy. He’ll know when it’s time for him to settle down.” Jonas laughed. “It’ll be right about the time he goes insane.”

  Chapter 7

  Alyssa couldn’t believe how nervous she was to actually be meeting her father’s girlfriend. Not girlfriend but fiancée and future stepmother. The title was a hard one to get used to. Throughout her life, she couldn’t remember a single time when her father showed any interest in a woman. If he’d ever dated after her mother’s death, he certainly kept it from her. But what if she didn’t like this woman? What if she was some evil, wicked stepmother with two horrible daughters like in “Cinderella”?

  Alyssa perked up.

  Did Estelle have children of her own? She had no clue and it hadn’t occurred to her to ask her father. She suddenly felt uneasy with the idea of sharing her father’s affection—not just with another woman but possibly with a whole other family. Even as the thought drifted across her mind, she realized that she was being selfish. Still, there was a part of her that couldn’t help it. She had become so accustomed to being Daddy’s little girl that she didn’t know how to be any other way.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” Tangela asked, glancing up from her Essence magazine.

  “Nothing.” Alyssa shrugged, but she was unable to remove the frown from her face.

  “It doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

  Alyssa sighed. What was the point of lying to her best friend? The beauty of having known someone for so long was the ability to share everything with them without fear of being judged. “I’m just trying to get used to the idea of having a stepmom.” Alyssa finished hanging her clothes in the closet. “I don’t know what to expect.”

  Tangela shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Trust me. It’s no big deal. My father is on his fourth marriage and my mom is on her third. After a while you just get used to a revolving door of new faces.” With a shrug, Tangela turned her attention back to her magazine.

  Alyssa frowned at Tangela’s cynical point of view. Once upon a time, Tangie had stressed over her parents’ latest marriages or new children. It was probably why Tangie rarely went home anymore. It was sad to see the close bond she once shared with her parents erode over time.

  Was that what was in store for her and her father? What if her father and Estelle started having children of their own? That was still possible, right?

  “I think I’m going to be sick.”

  A knock rattled her door.

  “Come in,” Alyssa called out.

  The door opened and her father poked his head inside of the room. When his gaze found Alyssa near the closet, his lips stretched across his face. “I have someone here I want you to meet…again.”

  Alyssa shot a look at her best friend. This was it: The moment of truth.

  Tangela stood up from the bed while Alyssa tried to match her father’s exuberance with a bright smile of her own.

  “Great. Bring her in,” she said.

  Her father widened the door and stepped into the small bedroom with a smiling, elegant woman hanging on to his arm. It had been years since Alyssa had been in Estelle’s elementary class but the moment their gazes locked, Alyssa felt seven years old and consumed with the desire to please.

  “Estelle, this is my baby girl, Alyssa. Alyssa, this is Estelle.”

  “Hello,” the women chimed in unison.

  Estelle sputtered, “I’m so glad that you were able to make it to the wedding this weekend. I mean with it being such short notice and all,” she laughed.

  “Well, it d
id sound like a shotgun sort of thing,” Alyssa laughed, taking advantage of the opening.

  To her amazement, her father’s face darkened. Her antennae sprang up. “You’re not…you two aren’t…”

  Estelle glanced nervously at her father.

  “Actually, I was going to talk to you about that.” He looked over at Tangela.

  “You know what,” Tangie said, picking up on the hint. “I’m just going to run out to the…um…someplace.” She rushed over to Alyssa, squeezed her hand for moral support and then darted around Alfred and Estelle and then out the door.

  Now that it was just the three of them, it seemed as though the oxygen was trying to escape the room.

  “Maybe I should sit down.” Light-headed, Alyssa walked over to the bed and perched herself on the edge. “A baby,” she mumbled. The word and the concept seemed foreign.

  “Now, Ally. I know that this is a big surprise to you,” her father said, sitting down next to her.

  “You think?”

  Alfred took her hand into his and laced their fingers together. “I’d hoped that you’d be happy for us.”

  Guilt crashed against Alyssa’s heart, causing her to be ashamed of her selfishness. She drew a deep breath and glanced up. “Of course I’m happy for you,” she said, her gaze fluttering to Estelle. “For both of you. I just—I just need to get used to the fact that—I’m going to be an older sister,” she boasted, though a lump still swelled in her throat, choking her.

  Her father beamed as he released her hand and then crushed her against his chest. “Oh, baby girl. I knew that you’d be happy for us.”

  Tears burned at the back of her eyes as she soaked in her father’s affection. “Yes, Dad. I’m really happy for you.”

  Roger and Kitty Hinton surprised Alfred and Estelle and their small wedding party by treating them to the exclusive five-star Magnolia’s restaurant. The entire Hinton staff and their spouses were in attendance, and quite frankly it was a shock to Alyssa to see Beatrice down a whole bottle of Dom Pérignon by herself. On the opposite end, the more Antonio drank the more Italian he spoke.