She giggled. “You’re silly,” she said.
“I may be silly, but it worked.” He reached out and touched her face. “I love seeing you happy. You didn’t look happy last night.”
Alisha felt something different in Jeff’s touch this morning and saw something different in his eyes. “Well, I have you to thank.”
He dropped his hand from her face, and the look she thought she saw in his face was gone. “You’re more than welcome,” he said.
She leaned her head to the side. “Does that include me staying here another night?”
“You can stay here forever,” he said, that look returning to his eyes again.
She gave an uneasy laugh. “Another night should do it. I don’t want to run out my welcome.”
“My door is always open to you,” he said. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need. I’m here for you, Alisha. I’ve always been here for you.”
Something about Jeff’s words touched Alisha’s core, and she knew he meant them. “I know,” she said.
“Do you really?”
She met his eyes, saw for the first time what she suspected was love in them. Overwhelmed at the knowledge, she murmured, “I know.”
He studied her for a moment, and then he leaned across the tray toward her. His eyes were open as were hers. She saw the question in his, which she answered by closing her eyes and parting her lips. His kiss was soft, sweet, and welcoming. But it wasn’t enough. She leaned toward him, wanting to get closer, but the tray table was in the way. Jeff grunted as he pulled away from her slightly and deftly moved the tray to the floor beside the bed. When he came back to her, she welcomed him with open arms.
What had begun as a kiss quickly became much more. This was what she needed, she thought. She needed someone who cared only about her, and she knew Jeff was that person. She could admit to herself now that she’d always known he had feelings for her that went beyond friendship. There was safety in knowing that he was always there for her, would always be there, and would never hurt her.
She deepened the kiss and sank back in the bed, pulling him down with her. She knew what was about to happen, and she knew she wanted it to happen. She needed this. “Please,” she said.
“I know,” he said, deepening the kiss.
She relaxed as he rested himself against her. “Please,” she said again.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I love you,” he said.
She saw the truth of his words in his eyes, a truth so bright that she was forced to close her eyes against it.
“I love you,” he repeated.
She opened her eyes. “I know,” she said simply. “I’ve always known.”
He nodded. “Is that the real reason you came to me last night?”
Though she hadn’t realized it at the time, she knew he was right. But it wasn’t something she wanted to discuss now. She’d done too much thinking lately. Now she only wanted to feel. “Do we have to talk about this now?”
He pulled away from her. “Yes.”
“No,” she said, reaching to pull him back to her.
Holding himself apart from her, he said, “I want you more than you know, but not like this.”
“Like this?”
“Not when you’re stinging from the pain of your mother’s revelation. When, and if, we come together, I’m selfish enough to want it to be all about us.” He pulled away and sat up fully. “I’ve waited this long for you,” he said. “I can wait a little longer.”
“You don’t have to wait,” she implored. “I don’t want you to wait.”
“I know you don’t,” he said. “Right now, you need somebody, and I’m here. I don’t want to be your guy of the moment. I want to be your guy for all time. I can’t settle for less.”
His words touched her heart. “You’re turning me down?” she said.
He shook his head. “I’m just not allowing you to use me and what I feel for you to escape from the pain of your current situation. I want more from you than that. I’m not willing to risk the future for this moment.”
“What if this moment is the beginning of our future? I care about you too, Jeff. You have to know that.”
“I know you care about me, but I love you. There’s a difference.”
She couldn’t respond, because she knew he was right.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“I guess I should get dressed and eat my breakfast since you’ve turned me down.”
He reached for the tray on the floor and placed it back on the bed in the space between them. “I’m not talking about that. What are you going to do about your mother and your biological father? You can’t continue to avoid them.”
She snorted. “Just watch me.” She sat up next to him and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “Last chance.”
He rested his hand on her cheek. “No, it’s not,” he said. “I won’t let it be.”
She sat back and reached for a piece of bacon. “You seem pretty sure of yourself.”
He grinned at her. “I have every reason to be. I have you in my bed, in my T-shirt, eating my food, and offering yourself to me.”
She punched him in the shoulder. “You’d better take your chance while you have it, buddy.”
He folded her hand in his. “I want to be what you want, Alisha, not a substitute.”
“You’re not a substitute,” she said. “I’m not that shallow.”
“You’re not shallow, you’re in pain. You’re a little lost now, and I’m very familiar. But that’s not enough reason for us to fall into bed together. Nothing good and lasting can come of it.”
“I don’t know if I agree with you,” she said.
“Look at what happened between your mother and your biological father.”
She shot her eyes up at him. “It’s not the same.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Maybe not, but it’s close. Your mother turned to Morgan when she was missing your father, who was her foundation. You’re turning to me when you’re missing your foundation.”
She couldn’t deny the truth in his words, but she didn’t appreciate the comparison. “If you’re right, you’re not playing the part of Morgan very well. Apparently, he took my mom up on her offer.”
“I know how he felt,” Jeff said. “It’s not easy for me to turn you down, when you’re the only thing, the only woman, I’ve wanted since I first met you. We would probably be making love right now had we not had the conversation we had last night. We can’t start something by making the same mistakes that led you to come to me in the first place.”
“You’re overthinking this,” she said.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I’m thinking long-term. You’re trying to avoid the present.”
“Ouch,” she said.
He pressed his hand against her cheek. “I’m not trying to hurt you.”
She gave a slight smile. “I know.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked again.
She shrugged. “I guess staying here with you all day is not an option?”
He smiled. “My door will be open for you after you take care of what’s in front of you.”
“Promise?”
“Always.”
Chapter 49
Dexter slammed his cell phone shut at the sound of Veronica’s voice mail. He refused to leave another message. His wife was behaving like a spoiled brat. A spoiled, undisciplined brat. She needed to be here, in Atlanta, working with her coaches instead of back home in Birmingham trying to mend her family ties.
Why wasn’t he enough family for her? he wondered. She was more than enough for him; she was exactly what he wanted and needed in a family. Why did she need more?
When the doorbell sounded, he didn’t have to guess who it was. He went to it and pulled it open. “Good morning, Tia,” he said, before she could speak.
She brushed past him and into the townhouse. “I don’t see what’s so good about it.” When he closed the door and turn
ed to her, she asked, “Where’s your wayward wife? She missed her appointment this morning. Please don’t tell me she went to Birmingham.”
Dexter dropped down on the leather couch. “Then I won’t tell you.”
“No, she didn’t,” Tia said.
“Yes, she did.”
She began pacing in front of him. “And you didn’t stop her?”
“She’s a grown woman. I can’t stop her from doing what she wants to do.”
She stopped in front of him. “Then why are you even here? Why do we even need you if you can’t do something as simple as keep your wife in line? I don’t think either of you understand what’s at stake here. I thought you wanted the life and the lifestyle that Legends could offer?”
“We do,” Dexter said. “Of course, we do.”
Tia started pacing again. “You’re not acting like it,” she said. “Neither of you.”
“I’m doing what I can.”
“It’s not enough. Did she really have to go back to Birmingham?”
“She went, didn’t she?”
She stopped in front of him again. “The crap is going to hit the fan when Charles finds out.”
Dexter thought Tia was blowing the situation way out of proportion. “She’ll be back in a day or two. Can’t you hold off on telling him until then?”
Tia lifted a brow. “Are you sure she’ll be back?”
“I’m positive,” Dexter said, hoping he was right. He wasn’t sure what his wife would do. There was a lot going on with her, much of which he didn’t understand.
“I don’t know if I believe you,” she said. “You weren’t able to keep her from going in the first place.”
“She needed some space,” he said. “You crowded her, pushed too hard. We both did. I didn’t realize how much the separation from her family would affect her. That was a major miscalculation on my part.”
Tia snorted. “That’s an understatement. What happened? Did she find out that you’d been deleting her messages?”
“That’s beside the point.”
Tia shook her head. “No, that is the point. Maybe you’re right. Keeping her from her mother and sisters was the wrong way to go. Maybe we should have worked on getting them to support her.”
“Mr. Washington didn’t seem interested in placating Veronica’s family. In fact, he seemed to want her to distance herself from them and the group.”
Tia rolled her eyes. “That’s Charles, but he’s been wrong before.”
“Can you get him to see that?”
Tia sat down on the couch next to him. “I can’t go to Charles without a plan. The first thing I need to do is reschedule Veronica’s appointments for this week. It’s better to reschedule than for her to just not show up.”
“You can do that?”
She nodded. “I can, but it’s not the best route. We can make it work, though.”
“Why didn’t you just reschedule when Veronica told you she needed to go home?”
Tia lifted a brow. “Why didn’t you ask me to reschedule?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “You don’t have to answer. I know why you didn’t ask. For the same reason I didn’t offer. We’re both trying to make a good impression on Mr. Washington. I want him to see that I can take care of Veronica, and you want him to see that you can be an asset to her. Well, her up and leaving the way she did doesn’t make either of us look good. We have to work together, Dexter, if we’re going to get what we want. I’ve asked you this before and I’ll ask again. Are you on board with me? Can we work together to get Veronica Y launched?”
Dexter knew enough about Tia to be suspicious of her motives. “Why should I work with you and against my wife?”
Tia shook her head. “You really are thick-headed. Nobody is working against Veronica. We’re trying to make her into a star. What’s so awful about that?”
“Nothing,” Dexter said. “Nothing at all. It’s just your tactics. They’re too heavy-handed for her. She’s not used to being dictated to.”
“She’s being paid too handsomely to use the dictatorship analogy. Her actions are best characterized as diva-ish.”
Dexter knew his wife better than to think she was acting the diva. No, she was simply missing her family. “The only way this is going to work is to get Veronica’s mother and sisters on board. Are you willing to work with me to make that happen?”
“Duh. I’ve already said I was. I can handle Mr. Washington and the appointments here. You have to be the one to get Veronica back to Atlanta. You have two days. I can’t hold it down here any longer than that. You get her back here, and we’ll deal with her family. Hell, they can all move in here with you and Veronica for all I care. I just need them on board with Veronica Y. Is that a task you can accomplish?”
Dexter wasn’t sure, but he would definitely give it a try. “I’m heading to Birmingham as soon as you leave. I’ll have Veronica back here in two days. Count on it.”
Chapter 50
Delilah sat in a suite in the Westin Hotel in downtown Birmingham with Morgan, a man who represented a past she wanted to forget, and Tommy, the man who represented the future she wanted to experience, all the while thinking about Rocky, the man who had held her heart for almost all of her adult life. Even now she missed him.
“Well, Alisha’s contacted Veronica,” Tommy said, “so that’s a good sign. I’m sure she’s fine.”
Delilah knew that Tommy was trying to reassure her, and she didn’t have the heart to tell him it wasn’t working. “I wish I could talk to her. Maybe I could do a better job of explaining how things happened.”
Tommy pressed his hand against hers. “I’m not sure there’s anything you can say to her, Delilah. She has to make sense of this on her own and in her own way.”
“He’s right,” Morgan said. “We have to give her the time and space she needs to come to grips with what we’ve told her. We’ve basically turned her life upside down. Maybe it was wrong of me to want her to know.”
Delilah didn’t think this was the time for recriminations. “Even though I didn’t want to go through this, don’t want to go through it even now, it’s the right thing to do. We probably should have told her before Rocky died, so he could have shared his perspective with her. But it’s too late for that now.”
“I still can’t help but feel my selfishness has led us here,” Morgan said. “Alisha’s life. The lives of my other two kids. My wife. I’ve been a one-man wrecking crew, wrecking lives left and right.”
“I’m with Delilah on this, Morgan. Alisha deserved to know, and so did your family. Rocky and Delilah raised Alisha well. She’ll get past this and be a better woman because of it. I really believe that.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” Delilah said. “You’ve already been through this once with your wife and kids, Morgan. How did they take the news?”
Morgan closed his eyes. “It was tough on them. I told my wife, Margaret, first. I owed her that much. The cancer that is killing me actually saved my hide with her. It hurt her to learn of the adultery and the child, made her question the foundation of our relationship.”
“But she got past it?” Delilah said.
“Thanks to the cancer,” he said, with a sad laugh. “She’s angry with me, but I’m dying and she loves me, so she doesn’t want our last days together to be tarnished with harsh feelings. My condition forced her to speed up the forgiveness process, which thankfully, she did.”
“She sounds like a wonderful woman,” Delilah said. “We both lucked out in the spouse department.”
Morgan nodded. “More like we were blessed beyond what we deserved.”
“Amen to that,” Delilah said. “What about your kids?”
“Margaret and I told them together,” he said. “I think having her there and having them know she supported me helped them to accept the news. Paige, the oldest, took it hardest. It was hard for her to hear that I shared my heart and my love with another daughter. Again, the cancer helped her get quickly to the f
orgiveness part of the process. It’s not fair really. The disease that is killing me is making my last days much easier.”
“That’s another blessing,” Tommy said. “Don’t overlook it.”
“I’m not,” Morgan said. Then he chuckled. “My boy, Morgan Jr., was disappointed in me for keeping Alisha a secret for so long. He’s the person who brought the Sing for America contest and Delilah’s Daughters to my attention. He can’t wait to meet her and her sisters. I’m so proud of the man he’s grown to be.”
“Sounds like you and Margaret raised a couple of good kids,” Delilah said.
“Thanks,” he said. “You didn’t do too bad yourself.”
Delilah looked at Tommy. “I’m not so sure. My family is falling apart all around me, and I don’t seem to be able to do anything to stop it. It seems that I’m the cause of it all. Veronica ran off to Atlanta because I didn’t agree with the Legends deal, Alisha has run off to who knows where because of the lie I told, and poor Roxanne is following much too closely in my footsteps. She’s probably paying the biggest price. All three of them are looking at me very differently these days. If I was ever on a pedestal in their eyes, those days are long gone.”
“They’ll come around,” Tommy reassured her. “They know you love them, and that whatever you did, you did out of that love. They’ll see that.”
“If my tribe did, so will yours,” Morgan said. “Yours just may take a while since you’re not dying from cancer.”
“Stop saying that, Morgan,” Delilah said. “You’re not dying, you’re living the life you have to the fullest. Nobody knows when their last day will be. Me or, God forbid, Tommy could go before you. We never know.”
“She’s right, Morgan.”
“I hear you,” he said. When his cell phone rang, he reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He looked at it, and then he said, “It’s Alisha.”
“Alisha,” Delilah said, “let me speak to her.”
Tommy reached for Delilah’s hand to keep her from taking the phone away from Morgan. “No,” he said. “She’s calling Morgan. Let her talk to him. She has to do this her way, Delilah.”
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