Imperfections Come To Light (The Imperfection Series Book 2)

by Shaniel Watson

  I put my other earring in and follow him out the door, putting on the diamond bracelet he gave me for Christmas. “Let’s think outside the box, neutral colors like pastel green, grays, and turquoise blue, our new favorite color.”

  “You want to do it yourself?”

  “On this one I want a decorator. I want the room like a picture in Better Homes and Gardens.” I hold on to his hand and he pushes the button in the elevator. “When I was small my mother had lots of those magazines and we would look through them together.”

  “If that’s what you want. I thought you would want to decorate with Ava?”

  “No, Ava is way too excited. She would turn it into her own project, she has named herself glam god-mommy. She’s fully embraced me being pregnant.”

  He looks down at me from the side. “Did she have a choice?”

  I smile and brush my hair back off my face bracing myself for the oppressive mid-July heat. “I guess not.”

  An hour into the banquet at an upscale hotel in Manhattan I’m standing next to Ava wishing I’d listened to Nick and wore my flats. Ah, the price of vanity, and I knew Paige was going to be here tonight. She’s been unsuccessfully covertly watching Nick and ignoring my presence since we walked through the door. I have something for her later.

  “Ava, I’m going to have to sit down soon.” I take a drink of my sparkling water and run a hand over my stomach. “I can’t wait to have a real drink.” I hold my glass up and notice she’s not paying me any attention, her focus fully on the other side of the room. I look around her and I see why. Trouble is headed our way and his name is Chris.

  “Cat?”

  “Yes, Ava.”

  “Who is that?”

  “Chris, my brother.”

  She looks down at me from her five-inch stilettos with a sinister smile on her artfully painted face, tight black dress with a slit way up her thigh. Her hair pulled back off her face swept to the side in loose curls, she’s one of the most stunning women in the room.

  “I mean the mature madam he has his arms wrapped around.”

  “Well, as you so respectfully put it, I hope that keeps up throughout the night. It looks like she’s his date for the night.”

  “I didn’t bring a date because I thought he wasn’t bringing one. I’m going to kill Nick! I turned down a great guy my aunt wanted to set me up with tonight.”

  “No one told you to do that. Good dates are hard to come by.” I pat her arm as she frowns at me, rolling her eyes. Well it’s the truth. Chris walks up to us looking handsome in his suit and introduces his date to us.

  “Cat, Ava, this is my lovely date, Sage. Sage, this is my sister Catherine and her friend Ava Alexander.”

  She’s pretty and tall. She shakes my hand and I tell her to call me Cat.

  “Cat, it’s nice to meet you, Chris has told me about you. Congratulations, when are you due?”

  “September.”

  “Good month, and I’m not just saying it because my birthday is also in September.”

  She smiles warmly and turns to Ava to shake her hand. Oh God, I hope she behaves herself. Her mouth has a mind of its own, this could be a disaster. Ava shakes her hand and smiles back with her winning beauty queen smile meant to dazzle an audience.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Sage. You’ve heard a lot about Cat but we haven’t heard about you.”

  “I’m hoping that will change.” She links her arm with Chris and smiles at him. He smiles back and pats her hand. I swear I can hear Ava’s heart beating out of her chest. “We work together from time to time and this is our second date.”

  Ava looks at them and bats her long lashes. “How sweet,” she mumbles under her breath.

  “I’m sorry but will you excuse me,” Sage says to us. “I see a client of mine I need to speak to.”

  “Go ahead,” Chris says.

  “Which stable did you trot her out from?”

  Chris turns to Ava and shakes his head. “Do you have to go there, Ava?”

  “You know what, am I being a little harsh? I’m sorry. She’s a very strapping young lady.”

  I press my lips in not to laugh. She opens her mouth and makes a chomping sound with her perfect white teeth.

  “I bet her choppers are real sturdy.”

  I giggle and take a drink of my water. Chris is not happy.

  “That’s not funny.” He comes face to face with Ava, vein bulging in his forehead. “Classy, very classy.”

  He walks off to his date and Ava’s nostrils flare watching him. “Old crotches. That thing’s so old and ashy you go down between those legs you come up looking like you had powdered donuts.”

  “Ava!” My head turns to her my eyes popping out.

  “All he has to do is puff his lips out and blow and he’ll see smoke rings from the fallen ashes.”

  “The things that come out of your mouth. I’m glad you didn’t say that while he was here, he would have hit the roof.”

  “I’m going to get a drink. Something hard, very hard…since I won’t be getting anything hard from him tonight.”

  I watch her get a drink visibly upset. She’ll be fine once she calms down. I sit down at our table and watch Nick work the room. Making small talk to his associates and potential clients. He commands the room with the way he walks and the proud way he holds his head up high like he knows he’s in charge. He scans the room smiling when his eyes lands on me. I hold my head up and smile back. Yeah, he’s mine. He says something to the group he’s talking with and walks over, sitting down next to me.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m watching my man do his thing.”

  “You like what you see?”

  “I love what I see. I’m impressed.”

  He brushes a finger up my bare arm. “That was my plan. Maybe I could impress you some more later. When we’re alone.”

  I bite down on my lip and look at the mischievous look on his face. “Are you propositioning me in the middle of a crowded room?”

  “No other way to do it.”

  Leaning in trying not to smile, I whisper with as much intensity as a telenovela soap opera with a thick accent, “Escandaloso! Mr. Alexander.”

  He laughs out loud drawing attention to our table. I’m a little embarrassed, they’re looking at him like they haven’t seen him before tonight. I lean my head down and smile. Another gentleman comes over to the table and introduces himself.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Alexander, my name is Mr. Watkins.”

  “Ah yes, Mr. Watkins. I’ve been meaning to talk to you, you’re a hard man to get a hold of.”

  Nick stands and shakes his hand. I stand with him and Mr. Watkins shakes my hand too.

  “Mr. Watkins, this beautiful woman is the love of my life, and the mother-to-be of my child, Catherine Reed.”

  I feel my cheeks heat up and I smile at the older gentleman. He could have just said I’m his girlfriend.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Reed.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Watkins.”

  “I’ll be back. I’m going to talk to Mr. Watkins. Do you need anything?”

  “No, go ahead, I’m fine.”

  Mr. Watkins’s timing is perfect. I see the person I need to settle a few things with go into the hallway leading to the ladies room. I slip out quietly behind her.

  “What do you want?” Paige sneers in a nasty tone in front of the ladies room door.

  “I came to use the ladies room. Since we’re out here I have one or two things to say.”

  “What do you have to say that I would consider listening to? Other than Nick has come to his senses and dumped you.”

  I get close to her and laugh without humor. “You’re a real bitch. You caught me off-guard at a weak and vulnerable time. That won’t happen again. I’m going to make this clear, my man doesn’t want you. You were the go-to girl when I wasn’t around but I’m not going anywhere, I’m here to stay permanently.”

  “We’ll see,” she says, h
er hands on her hips, nasty smirk on her face.

  “If it isn’t business then you have no reason to find an excuse to hold a conversation with him. Keep your distance like you’ve been doing tonight. By the way, you’re doing a terrible job pretending you’re not strung out on my man. So let me repeat it again, he doesn’t want you.”

  She tries to talk but I hold my hand up and cut her off. “You said all you needed to say, it’s my turn. I don’t like you, by nature I’m not a violent person…the way you came at me and ambushed me the other day…if I wasn’t pregnant, I would backhand you across this room and knock your fucking teeth out.”

  Someone walks by and looks at us curiously. I stop talking and put a smile on my face, raising my voice to put on a good show like we are having a simple chat. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, Paige.” She does the same with a warm smile of her own but her eyes and voice are cold as ice like her.

  “Same to you, Catherine.”

  Living with Ava and Nick has rubbed off on me a bit. That was badass Ava style, she would be proud of me. I have to admit, it felt good.

  I sit down at the table where Nick and Ava are staring daggers at Chris and his date. I lean over the table next to her and whisper, “Tom, you have to keep calm to get your Jerry.” She gives me the finger under the table and I laugh.

  Nick puts his hand around my shoulder and asks me, “What’s so funny?”

  “Inside joke between girls.” I rub my hand on the inside of his thigh. “Why did you introduce me the way you did to Mr. Watkins? You could have said I’m your girlfriend.”

  “Girlfriend doesn’t describe what you are to me, you’re more than that. The mother of my child, the love of my life, and the woman by my side describes you perfectly.”

  I squeeze his thigh, smiling ear to ear, and take a drink of my water. He surprises me by taking my hand, helping me up, and leading me out to the middle of the dance floor. Holding me almost inappropriately too close with his hands around my waist. His hands are on the small of my back, fingers skimming the top of my butt. My head tilts back to look at him and he bends his head down to my lips. His eyes, always his eyes, mesmerizing clear silver blue orbs washing over me.

  “People are looking.”

  “So?”

  “So what are they going to say?”

  “They are going to see how in love I am with the pregnant girl who won’t marry me.”

  He kisses me with everyone watching, all eyes on us, including Paige, and I don’t care. I’m deliriously happy in this moment. Eat your heart out, Paige!

  “Last night was awful. I had to spend the whole night looking at you and Nick all over each other being sickeningly in love. Then across the table I was forced to see the old nag and the young stallion.”

  “I came over here to cheer you up, talking about Chris and his date isn’t going to do that. We haven’t talked about them once today, let’s continue to do that.”

  “That’s because we were doing one of my favorite things. Why wouldn’t I be happy shopping and eating? What the hell was he doing with that old ass skank anyways?”

  “She’s not that much older than us, Ava.”

  “In dog years.”

  “I can’t believe what you said about blowing rings out of her you know what.” A fit of laughter bubbles up in me seeing it in my head. “Ewww.”

  “Cilantro, what kind of name is that?” Ava rambles on.

  “Her name is Sage.”

  “Who the hell names their kid after a spice?” Bending over she gets up close, finger in my face, eyes wide open looking deranged. “It’s not even one of the good spices.”

  I burst into another fit of laughter. “It’s a herb, not a spice.”

  “Go ahead, keep laughing at my deteriorating love life. Cat!” She whines in a high-pitched wail.

  “I can’t help it, it must be the hormones. I’m sorry.”

  “I know he had sex with her last night. He was probably knee deep in her. He probably fell in the deep end.”

  I keep on laughing and shake my head. “Knee deep. How am I supposed to stop laughing if you keep saying things like that? You need to stop before I go into preterm labor.” I wipe the corner of my eye with the back of my hand. “Your cousin is going to kill you if I do.”

  She flops down in the couch arms folded. “I never thought I would say this. Why can’t I find a guy like Nick?”

  I throw my head back in another fit of laughter. I’m laughing so hard I almost fall off the chair I’m sitting on. “Whoa! Whoa!”

  Ava grabs my arms, her eyebrows going up over her hairline she’s so scared. “Cat, are you all right?”

  My close call sobers me up enough to answer with less humor. “I’m fine.” I rub one hand on my stomach and rub the other one against my aching back.

  “You scared the shit out of me. Nick is really going to kick my country ass if anything happens to you. It’s time for you to go home.”

  “Yes, take me home to my man.”

  Ava finally takes her three series out for a spin and it’s all coming back to me. This is the reason she shouldn’t drive, she’s a mad woman on the road. She’s already worked up about Chris and all spice, I mean Sage. She cut the guy off in front of us two blocks back and he made his way back in front of us driving slowly, I’m sure on purpose for cutting him off. Ava and her trigger-happy lead foot are about to erupt on his ass if he doesn’t move.

  She’s been known to do some crazy shit like get out the car. That is a driving 101 no no. I’m not getting out of my car to argue with anyone. I like my ass in one piece a whole not a hole through it. Which is what might happen to her if she gets out of the car.

  “What the fuck?”

  “Ava, calm down and go around.”

  “No, I did that already and his ass came back in front of me again.”

  The look on her face. She slams her hand down on the horn repeatedly and flashes her high beams. Oh Lord, here we go. Rolling her window down, she sticks her head out the car yelling, “Move your ass and get the hell out the way, dipshit!”

  I slump down mortified, my hand over my face. People are looking at us, how embarrassing. I should have called Nick to get me like he told me to. I look up and the guy in front of us sticks his big hairy hand out the window flipping Ava off with the finger just as the light turns red.

  “This asshole. He’s in the wrong and he’s flipping me off.”

  “Ava, let it go.”

  She looks at me then back at the guy with his finger still in the air he yells, “Shut up!”

  She goes from angry to pissed. “This motherfucker.”

  “Ava, you better not get out of this car!” She’s going to get us killed in the middle of the street.

  “You need to get out of the way,” she says to the guy in front of us. The guy gets out of his car looking mean and ticked off. He does not look like the gentleman type, he looks like I’m going to beat your ass man.

  “What’s your problem, lady?”

  “This is the fast lane not the slow ass lane, grandma.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You’re doing fifteen in front of me. Move out the way if you’re not going to drive the fucking car.”

  “Whatever, lady!” he says, muscles bulging with veins-in his too tight shirt.

  The light changes and people are honking their horns for us to get out of the way. “I swear to God, Ava, don’t say another word. I don’t want to die in the middle of the street because of your extreme case of road rage. I want to live to see another day.”

  “Because you’re pregnant and I need to get you home safely I’m not going to mess with this fool.” She sticks her head out the window and says to the guy, “You know what, I’m sorry. I’m overreacting. you have the right of way, go ahead.”

  The guy in the Camaro looks at her like she’s crazy and gets back into his car muttering, “Crazy ass chicks.” He pulls off at the light but the light changes before we can go
.

  My heart palpitations stop, and Ava’s fixing her hair acting as though it’s all good, as if she almost didn’t get us killed.

  “Don’t tell Nick about this.”

  As if I would. “Hell no, I’m not telling him. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Sorry. I lost it there for a minute,” she says, smiling at me like an angel.

  “You need anger management. Between you and your cousin, I don’t know.”

  “Like I said, it all comes from a good place. You’re going to know if something jumps off, we’re the ones you want backing you. We’re passionate people especially when we know we’re in the right.”

  She puts her hand on the wheel and I fasten my seatbelt. “Ava, put the car back in the garage. Stay off the street and hire a driver. We’re all safer that way.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “I know I’m right.”

  Nick will not hear this story. I’m going to pretend it never happened, we’re all safer that way. Me for not calling him to drive me home, and Ava for being Ava. “It’s always an adventure with you, Ava.”

  “Yeah it is.” She looks at me grinning.

  Both of us laugh as she drives off once again to take me home and I jokingly say, “Slow down, mad woman! Baby on board.”

  She gets me home in one piece, making sure I get in the house safely before she gets back in her car and leaves. I walk into the bedroom and see Nick fully dressed, sleeping on his stomach on the bed. He looks too cute, I don’t get to see him like this a lot. I’m usually the one sleeping and he’s watching me. I run my fingers through his thick black hair playing with it gently and kiss him awake. He rolls on his back, opening his eyes with a sexy half-asleep look and an even sexier raspy voice to match.

  “Hey, you.”

  “Hey,” I mimic his voice and continue playing with his hair. “You were waiting up for me?”

  “Yeah. I told you to call me so I could come get you.”

  “Ava drove me home.”

  “Was she driving like she was in the thunder dome?”

  The corners of my lips twitch, lifting in a half smile. “She kept to the speed limit. No thunder dome antics.” I bite down on my lips to cover my little white lie. My man’s at peace tonight, I want to keep it this way. My excitement quota is filled for a month thanks to Ava.