Craving Temptation

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  “Father will come around,” Rasheeda said softly as she pressed a warm palm against the back of Amina’s hand. “It will be hard in the beginning but he does love us.”

  Amina nodded. She really hoped that was true.

  Laughter could be heard outside the front door. The crowd inside was consumed with laughter when Troy and his family found their way to the home of Rebecca Brewer. The wealth of it was contagious as Harper broke out into giggles and Troy and Quentin both found themselves smiling.

  When Amina swung the door open, her own excitement spilled out the entrance as she threw herself into Troy’s arms, kissing him eagerly.

  “Hi!” she finally exclaimed as she looked from Quentin to Harper and back to Troy.

  Greetings rang in perfect sync as they traded hugs and kisses. From somewhere in the back of the ranch-style house, Amina’s mother called out to her, using her family nickname.

  “Mimi! Let that young man come up for air so we can meet him, please!”

  Troy laughed. “Mimi?”

  “Only my mother calls me that. If you call me Mimi, I will hurt you!” she said as she laughed with him. She took his hand and pulled him inside, gesturing for her new family to follow.

  Amina led them down the hall into the open family space. The laughter subsided abruptly as everyone turned to stare. Troy suddenly felt shy with all eyes on him. He tossed Quentin and Harper a dazed look and Harper giggled warmly.

  “Hello!” Troy chimed, his hand waving slightly.

  Amina’s mother jumped from her seat and rushed to his side. Standing on tiptoe she wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him warmly. Pulling back, her hands gripping his shoulders, she studied him intently. Troy’s eyes widened, words stuck somewhere deep in his throat.

  “You are as handsome as my girls said you were!” Rebecca exclaimed.

  Troy blushed profusely. “Thank you!”

  Amina shook her head. “Troy Elliott, this is my mother, Rebecca Brewer. Mom, this is Troy. And this is his brother, Quentin, and Quentin’s wife, Harper.”

  “Welcome to my home!” she said. “I’m so excited to have you all here. Come sit! Make yourselves comfortable!”

  As the family pointed them to empty seats, Amina continued the introductions. “These are my uncles, Manuel Brewer and Nico Brewer and my aunt, Rochelle Hines. The three gossips in the corner there with Rasheeda are my cousins Alisa, Alaina, and Abigail. And somewhere in the other room watching the game are more cousins; David, Prentiss, Alonzo, and Brighton.”

  “And Mamie!” Uncle Nico added. “My wife loves a good ball game.”

  The young woman named Abigail called out loudly, “Please, please, please tell me that you two have more brothers. At least one. Please!”

  The women all laughed.

  “Sorry,” Troy said. “It’s just us two.”

  “Damn!” Alisa exclaimed as she snapped her fingers.

  “And you’re really happily married?” Abigail asked, her gaze falling on Quentin as she licked her lips.

  Harper laughed as she eased her arm through her husband’s. “He’s very happily married!” she said. “And take your eyes off my man!”

  The room burst out laughing again.

  Amina shook her head. “Please excuse my cousins. They’re all desperate!”

  “I would not define us as desperate, thank you very much!” Alaina said.

  “We’re desperate,” Abigail interjected.

  “Speak for yourself,” Alisa chimed.

  “We’re all so excited to meet you and your family, Troy. Every time my Mimi says your name her eyes light up. I have never seen her so happy.”

  Troy smiled. “I feel the same way. Your daughter has made me the happiest man in the world.”

  Quentin nodded. “Would anyone mind if I made myself happy watching that game in there?”

  “Really, Quentin?” Harper chimed.

  Quentin leaned to kiss her lips. “Really!”

  Rebecca gestured him on. “Just make yourself at home. If you want to watch the game, baby, you go watch the game,” she said.

  An elderly woman poked her head into the room and looked around. “I heard voices,” she said as her gaze rested on Troy.

  “Oh, Grandmother!” Amina exclaimed. “I forgot you were in the kitchen.

  “Me and Bettina was finishing up the fried chicken,” the matriarch said as she moved into the room, coming to stand in front of Troy. She eyed him intently. “So, dis be him?”

  Amina nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Troy, this is my grandmother, Ann Brewer. Grandmother, this is my fiancé, Troy Elliott.”

  Troy rose from his seat, leaning to wrap the older woman in a warm hug. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Brewer.”

  She patted him warmly against the back as she hugged him in return. “Everyone calls me Grandmother.” She leaned back to stare up at him. “Ain’t you just the prettiest thing! Amina, he is just the prettiest thing!”

  The room laughed again. The banter continued from room to room as the two families all got to know one another. The mood was easy and comfortable and the Elliott family was made to feel completely at home. After an hour or so Amina’s uncles came to their feet and gestured for Troy to follow.

  “Let’s give the women some space,” Uncle Nico said. “Give us men some time to get to know each other better,” he said.

  Troy tossed Amina a wink of his eye and leaned to plant a light kiss against her lips. She smiled brightly as he disappeared with her uncles through the sliding glass doors to the backyard. When all the men were out of earshot, the women converged. Talking over each other they tossed questions at Amina faster than she could answer them. Both Rasheeda and Harper sat back like two flies on the wall, Harper amused and Rasheeda completely overwhelmed.

  Rebecca eased over to their side and gave them both a warm smile. She wrapped her arms around her younger daughter’s shoulders. “You’re not used to all this feminine energy, are you, baby?”

  Rasheeda shook her head. “No, ma’am.”

  “Baby doll, don’t ma’am me! Ma’am makes me feel so old!”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Harper and Rebecca both laughed. Rebecca shook her head as she kissed her daughter’s cheek. “You don’t know how happy I am to have you here.”

  Rasheeda smiled, a hint of red coloring her cheeks. Rebecca winked as she headed toward the kitchen. “Let me check on that food. I know everyone has to be hungry.”

  Harper shifted her gaze to Amina’s sister. “You look a little overwhelmed. Are you doing okay?”

  Rasheeda nodded. “I really am. This is just so different from my life in Memphis. I’ve never seen people laugh so much!”

  Harper giggled. “You and Amina are very lucky. You have a wonderful family!”

  “I wish I’d had this growing up,” Rasheeda said with a deep sigh.

  Harper nodded. “You have it now. That’s all that matters.”

  The two women talked for a few minutes more before they were interrupted by Rebecca’s calling the family to dinner. Amina gestured for them to head to the kitchen and dining room as she moved outside to reclaim her man.

  Troy and Quentin both were standing in deep conversation with her uncles and her cousin Brighton, the group debating politics. Her uncle Manuel, a staunch Republican, was making a point about taxation that the others weren’t receiving well. It was a passionate exchange and Amina hesitated for a brief moment as Troy made his point, her uncle giving him his due.

  “You right, you right, you right!” the elder man was saying, his head bobbing excitedly.

  Amina chuckled warmly. “Grandmother says you all need to come eat.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” Uncle Nico said. He extended his hand toward Troy. “Congratulations, young man. She’s a good girl, my niece. I trust that she’ll be in good hands.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Troy responded.

  “Amina, this one’s a keeper,” he extolled as he wrapped her in a de
ep bear hug. “Don’t mess it up!”

  Amina laughed. “I won’t, Uncle Nico.”

  As the men headed back inside, Troy and Amina took a quick minute to themselves. Troy wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her close. He kissed her easily, his lips dancing like silk across hers. Amina purred ever so softly, savoring the taste of him.

  “So, do you women have all of our wedding plans under control?”

  Amina nodded. “We do. My mother has been calling in favors and pulling strings since I got here. You’d think she was the one getting married.”

  “As long as you’re happy with everything.”

  “I really am and thank you for faxing your documents over to the courthouse. I picked up our license and you’ll just have to sign it in front of Judge Colter tomorrow before the ceremony.”

  “I’m excited to meet Judge Colter. I’ve heard good things about him.”

  “He was my mentor in law school. And in some respects, a substitute father figure. He taught me everything I know.”

  “Then I’m even more excited about meeting him,” Troy said.

  Amina’s grin was a mile wide. “My family thinks you’re great! Everyone loves you. In fact, if she were a few years younger I think my grandmother might try to give me a run for my money.”

  Troy laughed. “I wasn’t going to say anything but I think your granny tried to goose my bottom.”

  She laughed with him. “I’m sure my grandmother tried to goose your bottom!”

  There was just a sliver of a moon in the late-night sky when Troy stepped outside to take in the view. Inside, the Brewer family was still going strong, a game of bid whist being played at the kitchen table and an old Tyler Perry movie playing on the DVD player in the family room. He had just sent a prayer of thanksgiving skyward when Amina’s mother joined him out on the patio.

  “What a beautiful night!” Rebecca exclaimed.

  Troy smiled warmly. “It is. You couldn’t ask for better weather.”

  “It’ll be perfect for the wedding tomorrow!”

  “I really want to thank you for everything you’ve done. Amina couldn’t be happier.”

  “My daughter is happy because of you, Troy. I’m sure that if you were to take her down to town hall for the ceremony and then to lunch at McDonald’s she would be just as excited.”

  “I love Amina very much. I hope you know that there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. I want the very best for her and I promise you I will make every effort to be the best husband that I can be.”

  Rebecca crossed her arms over her torso, hugging herself tightly. Her eyes misted with tears. Her head bobbed up and down against her shoulders. She shifted her gaze, staring up at that sliver of moon as she paused in reflection. “I didn’t want Amina to go to Memphis. But if she hadn’t she wouldn’t have met you.”

  Curiosity crossed his face. “Why didn’t you want her to go?”

  “I was afraid that being there with her father wouldn’t be a good thing for her. Nasser loves his faith more than he has ever loved his family.”

  Troy turned to stare at the woman as she continued to speak. The dim light cast a shadow across her face but Troy could still see the concern that blanketed her expression.

  “Please don’t think I’m bashing my ex-husband because I try not to. And I do know how much he loves our children. I just think he loves Islam more.”

  “Is that why you left?” Troy asked.

  Rebecca hesitated, seeming to choose her words carefully. “I left because I couldn’t be myself with Nasser. He had an image of how a good wife and mother should be and how a woman was supposed to conduct herself. I wasn’t comfortable in that mold.”

  “But you left Rasheeda and Basil with him?”

  “Yes, I did. Nasser was in a position to be the better parent. He was stable. I was not. I did what I thought was in my children’s best interest. I left Amina too but she is very much her mother’s daughter. She refused to settle herself into that mold. For Nasser it was easier to send her to me and let the chips fall where they did than to deal with how spirited she was.”

  “Amina wants her father’s approval. It’s very important to her.”

  Rebecca blew a sad sigh. “Pleasing Nasser is almost impossible and the only way to get his approval is to do what he wants and not what you want.”

  “Well, I hope that he wants Amina happy and that he’ll eventually accept the two of us being together.”

  “Amina tells me that you were willing to consider converting?”

  “I was but I don’t think it’s for me. Amina understands that I have to follow my heart and do what I think is best. But I’m willing to support her choice and what she wants for herself. Ours would not be the first interfaith relationship.”

  Rebecca nodded her head. “I’m happy that you love Amina as much as you do because she’s going to need to trust that when her father turns on her. And trust me when I tell you, Nasser will turn his back on her for marrying a man he didn’t approve first. It’ll be more about his need for control than anything else.”

  Troy had only a quick minute to ponder the woman’s words when she suddenly tossed up her hands.

  “Look how late it is!” she exclaimed excitedly. “It’s almost midnight! Go kiss my daughter good night, then get out. It’s your wedding day and you’re not supposed to see the bride before the ceremony!”

  14

  That next day, at one o’clock in the afternoon, Amina Salman and Troy Elliott vowed to honor and cherish each other as husband and wife. As their two families looked on in support, the couple professed their love, promising each other fidelity and respect for as long as they lived.

  Amina’s mother had secured space at Frogtown Cellars winery. The event facility was located an hour from Atlanta, at the foot of the north Georgia mountains. The main building was a timber-frame structure with cathedral ceilings, hand-carved Tennessee flagstone walls, and Brazilian cherry floors. Its natural setting, quiet ambience, and breathtaking views of the mountains and vineyards had been perfect for their impromptu ceremony.

  Troy had been awestruck when Amina stepped outside onto the large deck. Her gown was a sleeveless design with a deep V-neck made in vintage lace. The simple A-line silhouette was stunning on her petite frame. She was beautiful and she glowed. Joy misted her gaze and Troy’s only regret was that he had not followed his intuition and married her even sooner.

  They were a beautiful wedding party; he and Quentin in black suits, white dress shirts, and matching black-and-yellow print neckties. Rasheeda had stood by her sister’s side in a simple yellow dress and headscarf. Family friend and district court judge Patrick Colter officiated. Everything about the ceremony and the afternoon meal at the reception had been ideal. The two families celebrated into the early evening and when it was all done Amina and Troy both knew that they wouldn’t have changed one thing.

  Troy had made reservations at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta’s midtown district. As he checked them into the Presidential Suite Amina could feel the butterflies in her stomach begin to quiver. She pressed a hand to her stomach, hoping to stall the tremors that suddenly had her trembling unabashedly. As the desk clerk ran Troy’s credit card and processed their key cards to the room, Troy pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her torso. He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering as his warm breath brushed her skin. She pressed a palm to his chest as her body eased into his side.

  “Would you send a bottle of champagne to the room, please?”

  “Do you have a preference, Mr. Elliott?” the clerk asked.

  “A bottle of Moët, please, and if you could please have the spa send up a foot tub for me as well, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Yes, sir.” She gestured for the concierge first, passing on the order as Amina eyed Troy curiously.

  Amina’s knees were weak as Troy guided her to the elevator and up to the nineteenth floor. When they were settled inside their suite he nuzzled his face into her neck
, inhaling the scent of her. The light fragrance she wore was perfect for her, delicate and intoxicating and it made his desire for her increase tenfold. He took an abrupt step back, clenching his hands together tightly against his sides.

  “What’s wrong?” Amina asked, a stunned look on her face. “Did I do something?”

  “I suddenly want to rip that dress off of you, that’s what’s wrong.”

  Amina threw her head back and let out a peal of laughter. “I could just take it off,” she said, her tone coy and teasing.

  Troy felt every muscle in his body harden, his erection lengthening hungrily. Before he could respond there was a knock on the door, room service delivering his champagne and foot tub.

  He met her curious stare. “You’re wondering what all this is, aren’t you?”

  She nodded. “So are you going to share?”

  Troy guided her to a cushioned seat. He pulled the ottoman over beside her and sat down. “I had a dream about you last night,” he said as he lifted her feet into his lap. Her legs were bare, her toes perfectly manicured and polished a brilliant shade of pink.

  Amina gasped as his hands gently caressed her calves, snaking beneath the hem of her gown. His touch was electric as he eased one high heel and then the other off her feet. She took a swift inhalation as she remembered to breathe. She blew it out slowly before she spoke. “Really? What did you dream?” she purred softly.

  He lifted his gaze to hers for a quick minute as he continued to massage her soles. “We were old and our grandchildren were playing in the yard.”

  “Grandchildren?”

  “Two little girls and they were the spitting image of you.”

  Amina smiled then gasped as Troy struck a nerve, his hands caressing the back of each calf, tickling the creases behind her knees. “What . . . what else?” she said as her breathing became shallow.

  “It was all perfect. I was gray and had a potbelly and you were still as beautiful as you are now. There was just so much love between us and we had the happiest home. And our grandchildren were laughing in our front yard.”