“Doctors can be off,” Carter said, despite his knowing otherwise.
“Not a whole month,” Janet said. “Oh, baby, I know how you feel. I was hoping . . .”
“You don’t know how I feel.” Carter pulled away from her, isolating himself from the rest of his family as they all stared at him. “Don’t feel sorry for me either. I’m gonna be fine.”
“All your mother is saying,” Steven said, “is that we were all excited about a chance to add another person to our family, but it wasn’t meant to be. You know it’s for the best, don’t you?”
Carter laughed bitterly. “Do I know it’s for the best that Avery is having another man’s child?”
“Get over that girl now.” Steven held his hand out to Janet. “She’s married, she’s pregnant, and she has other family problems to deal with. It’s over.”
Carter didn’t respond as his parents walked past him, not even to his mother as she brushed his arm briefly with her hand. “Say happy birthday to your sister before you leave,” she whispered before leaving.
Michael shot up from the French Victorian leather chaise and clapped his hands together. “That does it, man. You and me are gonna go out and get drunk.”
“No.” Carter reached out and grabbed the folder again. “There’s something—”
“Stop it.” Michael was just as fed up as Steven now. He was patient with Carter because he understood how much he loved Avery, but this was enough. “Once you get your hands on the prettiest girl at the club, you’ll forget all about her.”
“You didn’t see her,” Carter said. “I know Avery and I saw her eyes, the way her lip trembles a little when she’s trying to lie.”
“You can’t trust anything,” Michael said. “She’s under too much stress. All you can rely on are the facts. The facts say that it’s ole boy’s kid she’s carrying. Besides, why would he have married her if she was pregnant with another man’s baby?”
“Because she’s Avery,” Carter said. “Because she’s incredible, beautiful, smart, sexy, strong, and vulnerable. Because her heart is so open no man could help but fall into it.”
“You’re scaring me, man.” Michael didn’t know if Carter had been reading romance novels or watching the Lifetime Network, but he didn’t like the sound of this.
“It doesn’t matter. This isn’t what I wanted to hear, but I’m not going to let something like another man’s child get in the way of being with her.”
Michael was clueless to Carter’s obsession with Avery. Yes, she was pretty and had curves in all the right places, but she was too girl-next-door, boring and holier than thou. Carter always went for a more natural look than Michael’s desire for glamour and exceptional beauty, but he could have any woman he wanted. That he still pined for this woman, even after she deserted him and came back pregnant and married, made him wonder even more.
Michael raised his hands in the air. “I don’t know what to tell you, bro. So she might have possessed him with the magic that is Avery if she had to, but she didn’t. It’s right in front of you. The baby might not be his, but it isn’t yours.”
“Avery doesn’t sleep around,” Carter said.
“That’s what they all say.” Michael watched as Carter’s expression darkened. They rarely came to blows, but the last two times they had, it had been because of Avery. “Don’t blame me for this. You’re the one that can’t accept it’s over.”
“It’s not.” Carter straightened up and took a deep breath. “If Taylor hadn’t interrupted at that hotel, something would have happened.”
“She’s vulnerable right now,” Michael said. “Her hormones are all messed up and her daddy’s half dead in the hospital. You want to take advantage of that? What did that get you the last time?”
“It got me her,” Carter answered.
Michael couldn’t believe what he was saying. “You really need a drink.”
“What I need,” Carter said, “is my woman back and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“She’s married,” Michael yelled.
“So are you,” Carter said. “That doesn’t keep you from—”
“Whoa!” Michael held up his hands. “This isn’t about me. Besides, Avery is not me. She wouldn’t cheat and she sure as hell wouldn’t leave.”
“She obviously married him because she was pregnant,” Carter said. “She was trying to do the right thing. That can be undone.”
“Except for the baby,” Michael said. “You can’t undo that she’s carrying his baby.”
“Oh, really?” Carter feigned a dumfounded expression. “That’s right, I forgot. Thanks for reminding me.”
“Go ahead and be a smart-ass,” Michael said.
Carter ripped the folder in two before tossing it in the garbage. “This doesn’t mean anything. Like I said, no real man would let a baby get in the way of a woman like Avery. Why would I?”
7
On her way to the dressing room in the back of Fred Segal’s in West Hollywood, Kimberly was stopped in her tracks when David suddenly appeared in her way. He laughed as she gasped, half the clothes in her arms falling to the floor in front of her. She hated that she so obviously showed the effect he had on her, but Kimberly knew there was no way to avoid this. In the past week, her every waking and very few sleeping moments had been consumed with her life in Detroit, a life dominated by David Harris.
“How you doing, Paige?” He leaned against the wall. He was trying to blend in with his country club polo and khaki pants outfit, but it wasn’t working. “You’re looking good as usual.”
When she could gather herself together, Kimberly knelt down and picked up the stray clothing. The last thing she needed was more attention. She was well known in this store. If anyone saw her with David and he showed up dead . . .
“I asked you a question.” He seemed amused as he watched her stumble with the clothes.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I’m just amazed at how well you got it, girl. A ho from Detroit living among royalty.” He looked around the store. “You saw your cash cow and went after it.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Kimberly said, disgusted that she found the need to explain this to him.
“It’s a compliment,” he answered. “You didn’t go after any brother, ’cause most of them don’t give a damn about a bitch having their baby. You went after the one who was so high up, he didn’t have the social option of having a baby mama.”
Kimberly couldn’t stand this. “This has to end, David.”
“It ends when I say it ends,” he said angrily before returning his expression to normal. “Did you blackmail him? What did the prenup say? I know there was one. You’re pretty but you’re dumb as a rock, so you couldn’t have outsmarted him there. You get nothing if he dumps you, right?”
“Michael will never . . .”
David pointed his finger at her. “Don’t lie to me. You can’t lie to your daddy, Paige.”
Kimberly was frozen as he walked to within inches of her. Everything about him was the same, even his cheap cologne. Even though she towered over him by four inches, she could feel herself getting smaller with every second.
“All I have to do is make one phone call to a variety of media outlets and then what?”
Kimberly didn’t, couldn’t respond.
“ ’Cause I know you think your man loves you, but this family is not like any other rich family with skeletons in their closets.” David reached out and touched a strand of her hair, flipping it with his fingers. “They are like fucking Kennedys or something. A ho in the family won’t go over well. He’ll have no choice but to act like he didn’t know. You lied and betrayed him and you won’t just be cut off. You’ll have to pay.”
Kimberly swallowed hard. “You think that because you don’t know what it means to be a real man. You don’t know what real love is.”
David laughed. “Is that what you think you have? Bitch, please. I’ve been watching you for weeks, baby. Your man is ne
ver home. You know where he is? Where he goes? I do, Paige. He runs the streets with his brother and acts like he’s a single playa playa.”
“Shut up!” Kimberly bit her lower lip just to keep the tears at bay.
“Did you know he liked redheads?” David asked.
“Shut up!” Kimberly surprised herself with the anger in her voice. Yes, she did know he liked redheads. He always had.
“It’s okay, baby.” David placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “It happens to the best of them. How does the saying go? Show me a beautiful woman and I’ll show you a man that tired of sleeping with her.”
Kimberly pushed away from him, wishing she could shoot him right there. “What do you want from me?”
“You had no right to leave me,” he said.
“I had every right,” she countered. “And I didn’t leave. I escaped.”
“There is no escape,” David said. “You see, even now, look at you. Trembling like that luscious little child you were when I found you. You’re still mine. You’ll always be mine and even a rich motherfucker like Michael Chase can’t take that away.”
“Can I help you, Mrs. Chase?” Simone, the perky blonde who always tended to Kimberly, approached looking cautiously at David.
Kimberly turned away from her, not wanting her to see the state she was in. “I’m fine, Simone. Thanks.”
David leaned in with a whisper and said, “One million. That’s the price, Paige.”
Kimberly rushed into the dressing room the second David walked away. She tossed the clothes on the floor and fell to the floor with them. She had to cover her mouth to stifle the sounds of her crying.
One million dollars. There was no way she could get that amount without Michael finding out. What in the hell was she going to do?
Leigh was skeptical and Lyndon apparently deciphered that from her expression.
“I swear,” he said, hands in the air. “I did this.”
Leigh placed her hands on her hips, her expression remaining. “I won’t care that you didn’t. I think it’s all beautiful.”
Lyndon bit his lower lip, seeming to contemplate a confession. “I did most of it. Let’s say, eighty percent.”
“And yet I’m a hundred percent impressed,” Leigh said
She was impressed with Lyndon’s house in Hollywood Hills. Far from giant, it was a mansion, but still modest by the standards of this neighborhood.
Leigh hadn’t expected to see such detailed design inside the house. She had an image in her mind of what a young, good-time, bachelor pad would look like. Lots of red or black, leather everything, and plenty of large-screen televisions. Lyndon’s place had much more class and style, but still looked like a home; a place where people actually lived.
After a tour, he slid the glass doors open and led her to the stone patio and the S-shaped swimming pool. It looked like every Ralph Lauren ad Leigh had ever seen.
“I picked out all the furniture you see here.” He guided her to the fully stocked bar and began pouring drinks.
“This definitely looks like you,” Leigh said.
“Meaning?” He put the bottle down and turned to her.
“It’s adventurous,” she said. “A little less . . . predictable.”
“I’m taking that as a compliment.” He reached out and wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her to him.
Leigh didn’t wait for him to kiss her, making the move first herself. When their lips touched, she felt a tingling sensation chased down with full-flared heat. Was she really kissing Lyndon Prior? Was that why she liked it so much? She wasn’t sure, but she did like it and she wanted more. She hadn’t suffered through a Brazilian bikini wax for nothing.
When he whispered her name and pulled her even closer, Leigh knew this wasn’t about his being famous. His lips lowered to her chin before focusing their hunger on her neck. She let out a quiet sigh just from the relief of feeling good. It had been so long and she missed it.
Her arms wrapped around him and her hands squeezed at the back of his shoulders. She wondered for a second if it was too soon, too easy, but she really wanted him and with the Brazilian and all, she was feeling . . .
“Getting busy!”
Leigh jumped as she opened her eyes and saw three men standing only a few feet away. They all stood there with immature smirks on their faces. She recognized one as Jack.
Lyndon turned around. “Dude, not cool. Where did you come from?”
“Lock the door for once, jackass.” Jack approached, socking Lyndon in the belly before stumbling to the bar.
Already angry that the mood had been destroyed, Leigh wasn’t happy to see that Jack was either high or drunk to add to it.
“You remember Jack.” Lyndon wrapped his arm around Leigh’s waist possessively.
“Hey, babe!” Jack said without turning around.
Leigh smiled politely, turning to the other two men, who were sizing her up and making her feel uncomfortable.
“This is Jeff Sloan and Nick Gagan.” Lyndon pointed to each guy as he introduced them. “Guys, this is Leigh Chase.”
Jeff, a textbook California surfer dude, pink-painted shell necklace and all, waved a polite hello before joining Jack at the bar. But Nick stepped to within inches of Leigh, making her want to back away.
“Aren’t you pretty?” he said as he leaned into her. “Lyndon always gets the pretty ones.”
“Back up.” Lyndon pushed Nick back a few steps, but Nick frowned as if he didn’t appreciate the interference.
He held his hand out to Leigh. “Ms. Chase, right?”
Leigh could tell right away he was high. His eyes were bloodshot red and his pupils were dilated. His hand was unsteady. “Actually it’s Dr. Chase and you don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
He frowned again, not seeming to like anything anyone had to say to him. “I’m always okay, baby.”
Lyndon cleared his throat.
“Sorry.” Nick offered a lazy smile. “Dr. Chase.”
“You can call me Leigh,” she said, even though she really didn’t want him to. Leigh tried not to be a judgmental person. She couldn’t be a good doctor if she was. But something told her she was never going to like this guy.
“You can call me anything you want.” Nick winked at her as he ran his hands through his thick black hair.
“Watch it!” Jack yelled as he and Jeff bumped into each other and a glass hit the floor, shattering into pieces.
Lyndon quickly moved Leigh away from the glass before going to clean it all up. He was cursing Jack, pushing him away while Jeff reached down to try to help him clean up. Leigh watched as Jack stumbled back, laughing as if this was the funniest thing he’d seen in years. She thought to go after him, before he fell into the pool, but a shiver down the back of her spine made her turn back to Nick.
With a tilted head, he was staring at her chest either so preoccupied he didn’t realize she was noticing or too much of a jerk to care. Leigh suddenly felt naked even though she was well covered up.
She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. Taking his own sweet time, he finally looked up at her face. There was no hint of shame or embarrassment. In fact, Leigh noticed a slight grin before he walked over to Jack and pushed him into the pool before jumping in after him.
“Lyndon.”
Lyndon turned around quickly, seeming to sense the level of irritation in Leigh’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said. “I just think I need to get going. I have to be at the clinic in two hours.”
Lyndon looked down at his watch. “I thought I was going to drive and we’d both—”
“I need to stop at home and take care of a few things.” Leigh was already walking away.
Lyndon traced behind her, ignoring the guys calling his name. When they were inside the house, he reached out, turning her around to him. “What’s wrong, Leigh? Is it Jack? He’s just a—”
“He’s drunk or high and it’s barely
noon,” Leigh said. “And what about Nick? He’s high too, isn’t he?”
“This is not the way I wanted you to meet my friends.”
“I’m sorry if you think I’m being judgmental, but I’m trained to notice these things and—”
“It’s the weekend,” Lyndon said. “So he smokes a joint or two. He’s an okay guy.”
Leigh wondered if Lyndon was being naive or lying. “His behavior isn’t indicative of marijuana.”
“Great. Now you think we’re all drug-addicted degenerates. Leigh, this is not who I am.”
“I wasn’t judging you,” Leigh said.
“I know Nick has a problem. I’m trying to help him, but it’s not easy. He’s my boy, you know. We’ve been running since before I was anyone. So now I’m supposed to drop him because he could be embarrassing to me?”
Leigh got the feeling Lyndon had been warned about Nick more than a few times before. “Of course not. But you’ve got to get him help before embarrassing you is the nicest thing he could do.”
She watched as he nodded, seeming reluctant to make eye contact with her. She was touched by his humility. “I think I can help you.”
“How?”
“I have connections and I can get a list of facilities that are really good and very anonymous. If you’re willing to pay a lot of money.”
“Anything,” Lyndon said.
He finally looked up and the honesty in his eyes warmed her. She smiled and in the next second, they were kissing like mad.
“I knew I could make you laugh,” said Nina Calloway.
For ten years, Nina was the receptionist/clerk/ bookkeeper and anything else one could think of for her to do at Hue, Nikki Jackson’s art gallery in Baldwin Hills.
Avery and Taylor had been helping out at the shop while Nikki spent most of her time at the hospital and Nina was doing everything she could to cheer them up. After several failed attempts, showing Avery the newest piece by a sculptor featuring rabbits on a life raft did the trick. It was titled Self-control.
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