“It’s just that…all this is happening pretty fast.”
Xavier shook his head, but his smile remained in place. “I’m not letting you get rid of me this time,” he said. “Not without you giving me a fair shot or a legitimate reason why you want to bail.”
Oh. I have a legitimate reason, all right.
“C’mon.” He cocked his head and leveled his best puppy-dog stare at her. “Is the idea of being my girlfriend that repulsive?”
She hesitated only so that she could tease him.
“Oh.” He slapped both hands over his heart as if he’d been shot through it. “You wound me with your callous silence.”
“I think that someone may have missed their calling as an actor.”
“And you, ma’am, either missed your calling in the military or as a police interrogator because you surely know how to torture a man.”
She blinked as the humor drained from her face.
Xavier was immediately concerned. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“No. Um.” She tried to laugh off his comment. “Just got sidetracked. That’s all.”
He nodded. “So. Do you want me to go out there and talk to your sister or do you want me to escape out the window before you get grounded?”
“Very funny, but that’s not necessary. This is both our places. It’s just that…we don’t bring a lot of guys around. We try to be really selective about who we introduce Thaddeus to. You know.”
“Don’t want to have him calling every boyfriend Uncle So-and-So?” he offered.
“See. You do understand.”
He nodded. “I guess so.”
“So you won’t mind going out the window?”
He jerked, his smile disappearing.
“Just joking.” Cheryl winked. “I’ll be right back.”
“Very funny,” he said, grabbing a pillow and tossing it to her.
She just barely dodged the pillow, but giggled like a schoolgirl all the way to the door. However, once she bolted out of the room and closed the door, Larissa was on her like white on rice.
“Who on earth is that?”
Cheryl drew a deep breath and settled her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “Look. I know that you’re probably upset—”
“Upset?” Larissa’s voice rose.
“Shh.” Cheryl slapped a hand over her sister’s mouth. “Keep it down. He might hear you.”
Larissa reached up and pulled her sister’s hand down. “Upset? Are you kidding me? I’m jealous as hell. Where did you find him and does he have any brothers?”
Cheryl’s eyes bulged with shock. “What?”
“I mean, damn. I just saw his chest and arms and…grrrr.” Larissa curled her arms and struck a Mr. Universe pose.
“Okay. Now you’re just being silly.”
Larissa struck another pose. “Grrrr.”
Clearly not wanting to be left out, Thaddeus rushed down the hall and started striking poses next to his mother.
Laughing, Cheryl rolled her eyes. “All right, you two. Cut it out.”
Larissa joined her sister in laughing, mainly because Cheryl’s face was darkening with embarrassment. A second later, she covered Thaddeus’s ears and sung in a near whisper, “Cheryl has a boyfriend. Cheryl has a boyfriend.”
“What are we, in junior high?”
“I’m just saying.” Larissa giggled.
“Damn. You’d think that he was your boyfriend.”
“Aha!” Larissa pointed at her. “He is your boyfriend. Oh, my God. How long has it been since you had one of those?” She knocked the top of her head as if she was trying to process the information in her head. “Date, yes.” Larissa covered her son’s ears again. “An occasional one-night stand, yes. But I would have to go all the way back to college since you called someone your boyfriend.”
“That’s only because relationships are messy and complicated and I’m a very busy woman.”
“Yeah,” Thaddeus agreed, and held up his hands like he was ready to karate chop someone. “She fights crime and kicks major butt.”
“Oooh. About that…” Cheryl smiled awkwardly. “Thaddeus, I’m going to need you and your mother to do me a big favor….”
Xavier had never felt more uncomfortable in all his life. Until that moment, he thought that he could handle almost anything in almost any situation. Nope. Turned out an overprotective six-year-old was not unlike being interrogated as a suspected terrorist. There was a lot of squirming and sweating going on.
“So how come you don’t wear clothes during your sleepovers?” Thaddeus asked before shoving a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.
Xavier, Cheryl and Larissa all spit out their coffee at the same time.
Thaddeus’s eyes grew wide before he erupted into a fit of giggles. “My turn.” He went for his orange juice, but his mother quickly moved it out of reach.
“No, Thaddeus,” she said sternly, and then glanced at Cheryl and Xavier. “That was just an accident. We didn’t mean to do that.”
Cheryl hopped up from the table to grab a roll of paper towels and proceeded to pass sheets around so that they could all clean themselves up.
The little boy looked disappointed, but then turned his curiosity back to Xavier. “I went to a sleepover one time. My friend Scotty lives up the street and sometimes I stay over there when Mama and Aunt Cheryl have to work late—but we have to wear pajamas, and we sleep in different beds. Is it a lot more fun when you share the same bed?”
All the adults’ gazes shifted around the table.
“No,” Cheryl answered, and then cleared her throat when Xavier’s head whipped in her direction. “It’s really hot and uncomfortable. It’s probably better how you and Scotty do it—in separate beds.”
“Oh. It was hot? That’s why you took your clothes off?”
Larissa set her elbow on the table and then hid her head in the palm of her hand.
“It was something like that,” Cheryl said. “Now eat your breakfast.”
Thaddeus nodded and then shoved another small bite of pancakes into his mouth.
Xavier started cramming food into his mouth, as well.
The sooner he finished, the sooner he could escape the boy with a million questions. But so far that appeared to be just wishful thinking on his part.
“Xa-Xavier, do you, um, live around here?” Thaddeus asked, locking his big brown eyes on him.
“No. I actually live in Buckhead.” When his answer didn’t compute, he added. “Have you ever heard of Phipps Plaza?”
“You mean like the mall?”
Xavier nodded. “Yeah, I live over there in this really tall building.”
“Mama, you go to that mall sometimes, right?”
Larissa smiled awkwardly. “Yes, baby. Sometimes we go to the mall over there.”
“Can we go and visit Xa-Xavier’s house next time we go? He’s my new friend.” He glanced sheepishly at Xavier as if it was a statement and a question at the same time.
“Um, I’m sure that Xavier is a very busy man—” Larissa started.
“No. I would love to have you come over,” Xavier interrupted.
It was Cheryl’s turn to whip her head around toward Xavier. Under the table, she placed her hand on his thigh as extra reassurance. “Xavier, you don’t have to—”
“Don’t be silly. I think it’s a great idea for you guys to come over. Who knows, maybe it could be a weekend when my brothers are in town.”
“You have brothers?”
Larissa’s brows sprung up, as well. “There are more like you?”
Xavier’s smile doubled in size. “I have two brothers. One just recently got married.”
Larissa quickly did the math. “That still leaves one available.”
Cheryl sent her foot flying against her sister’s shin.
“Ow!” Larissa jumped up in her seat like a toasted Pop-Tart.
Xavier snickered. “Yes. That still leaves one. Though I have to tell you that of all the King
brothers, Jeremy is the least likely one to settle down.”
Larissa shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the romantic in me, but I think that all men have the capacity to settle down. It just takes finding the right woman.” She turned her head toward Cheryl. “Don’t you think so, Cheryl?”
Cheryl’s eyes narrowed on her sister. “I don’t have an opinion on the matter.”
Xavier looked over at her. “Really?”
She shrugged, unable to see what was wrong with her answer. “Really.”
“You’ll have to forgive my sister,” Larissa said. “She’s not much of a romantic.”
“I do get the sense that she’s a hard cookie to crack,” Xavier said. “Maybe that’s what fascinates me.”
“Oh. So you like a challenge?”
“Who doesn’t?”
Cheryl shook her head. “Typical.”
Larissa frowned while Xavier continued to look intrigued, “And what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that men always want something that they can’t have. Because God forbid the minute they have what they think they want, then they no longer want it.”
Xavier’s frown matched Larissa’s. “How come that sounds like something you got out of one of those glossy women’s magazines? Self-psychoanalyze for $5.99.” Larissa snickered.
“That’s not true,” Cheryl defended.
“No? That wasn’t your stack of Essence and O magazines I saw in your room? You’re not trying to learn the ‘10 Ways to Keep Your Man Satisfied’? Or ‘Learn the Signs of When Your Man Is Creeping’?”
“There are some good articles in those magazines.”
“Puh-lease.” Xavier rolled his eyes. “You want to know the number-one problem women have?”
“From you? No,” Cheryl snapped defensively.
“I do,” Larissa butted in, and received a sharp look from her sister. “What? I could use all the tips I can get.”
“All right.” Xavier set his fork down. “The number-one problem that the majority of your fair sex has is…listening to other women.”
“Oooh,” Larissa said, bobbing her head as if Xavier had just come down from Mount Sinai with that ridiculous statement chiseled on a stone tablet.
“Give me a break,” Cheryl said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s true,” Xavier insisted, smiling. “It’s not men criticizing whether you’re wearing last year’s fashions or unstylish shoes. They don’t tell you how to look, dress, and give you tips about what to do to us in…” He glanced at Thaddeus. “Forget that last part. But yes, men like a challenge. Last time I checked, so do women. But more than that, men are attracted to confidence. I’ve met and dated women of all colors, sizes and incomes—and so have my brothers—so I know what I’m talking about.” His gaze centered on Cheryl. “I’ll admit that the moment I met you I was attracted to you. But you may have noticed that I work with a lot of attractive women. It was the way you carried yourself—your swagger. It’s in everything you do. The way you work the bar, the way you walk and even how you always look like you’re two seconds from cussing me out—like you do right now.”
Cheryl tried to fight it, but a smile curled the corners of her lips.
Larissa broke her own table rules and planted both elbows on the hard top and cradled her chin in the palms of her hands. “And what did you say was the name of your single brother?”
Xavier’s laughter exploded just as the front doorbell rang.
Larissa sighed. “I’ll get it.” She stood and patted the back of Thaddeus’s head. “Hurry up and finish your breakfast.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After Larissa walked past the table, Xavier leaned over toward Cheryl. “I think your sister likes me. If I get her stamp of approval, will you finally go out with me on an official date?”
Cheryl’s brows dipped together.
“I’m talking the whole nine. Dancing, dinner—” His gaze skittered across the table toward a smiling Thaddeus so he leaned closer to her and whispered, “Perhaps another sleepover at my place?”
“Xavier!” She slapped him on his muscular arm.
“What?” He chuckled.
Larissa’s voice floated back toward the kitchen table after she opened the door. “Oh, hello, Johnnie. What are you doing here?”
Cheryl jumped up, sending her chair screeching backward.
“Whoa.” Xavier stood, as well. “What’s up?”
“Yes. She’s here. She’s in the kitchen,” Larissa said, and then closed the door.
Cheryl panicked. “Excuse me. I need to—”
“Cheryl,” Johnnie barked, once seeing her in the kitchen. “Why haven’t you answered your cell? I got that information that you…” Xavier stepped into Johnnie’s view and she froze, leaving her mouth wide open.
“Hello,” Xavier greeted with a smile, and then his eyes floated down to the weapon on Johnnie’s hip. “Oh, I didn’t know that you were a cop.”
Chapter 18
“Mr. King,” Johnnie said, flustered before shifting her gaze to her partner.
Cheryl quickly moved from the table. “Johnnie, you’re here. I totally forgot that, um, we were going to do that…thing we had planned.” She tried her best to telepathically communicate to her partner to just roll with her on this one. She hoped that Johnnie wouldn’t suddenly start drooling like the last time she met Xavier.
“Huh?”
Or plan B—close her eyes and mentally scream.
“Oh, right.” Johnnie finally jumped on board. “That thing. Yeah. We better get going ’cause I really don’t have a lot of time. I need to get back to the station.”
Cheryl turned toward Xavier with her best apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Do you mind if we cut breakfast short? We really need to take care of this.”
“Oh, no problem,” Xavier said, looking uncomfortable. “I really don’t want to be the one to keep you away from your…thing.” His gaze swung between the two women. “But I’ll catch up with you later?”
“At the very least you’ll see me tonight at work,” she countered, careful not to commit to anything.
“All right…I guess.” Xavier glanced over at Thaddeus. “It was nice to meet you, li’l man. Remember, that invitation is always open.”
Thaddeus beamed up at Xavier like he was his favorite new superhero. “Did you hear that, Mom? We can go visit Xa-Xavier at his place.”
Larissa moved from beside Johnnie to rejoin her son at the kitchen table. “Yes. I heard him. Now sit down and finish your breakfast.”
“But I want to walk Xa-Xavier to the door,” he whined.
“That’s all right, li’l man. You do what your mama says. We’ll catch up another time.” He winked, turned and planted a kiss on the side of Cheryl’s temple.
Johnnie stood still, though her eyes continued to widen in size.
“See you tonight,” he mumbled, and then strolled out of the kitchen.
“Cheryl,” Larissa hissed. “Go walk him to the door.”
Cheryl frowned, but her sister rushed over and shoved her behind him. “Xavier, wait up. I’ll walk you to the door.”
“I swear. No home training,” Larissa mumbled behind Cheryl’s back.
When Xavier reached Johnnie, he gave her a departing smile and a quick wink. “Nice to see you again, Officer.”
Following behind him, Cheryl gave Johnnie an I-know-that-you’re-going-to-kill-me grimace before saying, “I’ll be right back.”
Johnnie folded her arms. “I’ll be waiting on pins and needles.”
Once outside, Xavier turned toward Cheryl with a pensive expression. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Cheryl blinked and then pulled the front door closed behind her. “What do you mean?”
“Just that.” His gaze intensified. “You were acting pretty strange in there.”
“No. It’s just that—”
“Look. I don’t make it a habit of trying to force myself on someo
ne. I have to tell you, you’re making me feel like that dude. You know, the kind that just doesn’t take the hint?”
This is your opportunity. Just tell him that it’s not going to work. “No. It’s not that. It’s just…complicated.”
“It shouldn’t be this complicated.”
He trapped her gaze for a brief moment. But because there was a growing lump in the center of her throat, she didn’t try to speak.
“Right.” He nodded and then looked around for a brief second. “So why don’t I just uncomplicate things for us and we can just take this back to an employer-employee relationship?”
The question hit her like a wrecking ball. This is what she should want…so why was there fresh tears burning the backs of her eyes?
“Nothing?” he asked with his gaze narrowing. “You don’t have anything to say to that?”
“I—I…don’t want to hurt you.”
Xavier nodded as he tried to process the information. “It might be a little too late for that.” He started walking backward. “But don’t worry about me. I’m going to be all right.” He turned and walked to his SUV.
Cheryl remained rooted in the front doorway while she watched him climb behind the wheel. The debate raged in her head whether leaving things this way was for the best while her heart felt like she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. When her heart started gaining ground, those damn tears broke through the barrier and streamed down her face. Xavier shifted the car in Reverse and when his vehicle began to back up, she finally got her legs to move. “Wait!” She rushed toward the SUV, wiping away her tears.
Xavier hit the brakes and rolled his window down halfway. “Yes?”
“I don’t…want us going back to how it was… I want to see you.”
“You do?” Xavier said, hiking up his brows. “You kind of have a funny way of showing it.”
King's Promise Page 16
