I pulled my hair back into its trademark ponytail, brushing in the edges. I was due for a trim and was seriously contemplating a big chop and going back to my naturally thick curls. But I would cross that bridge when I got there. Right now, I was late, and I could not stand the thought of Regina nagging me for my tardiness. But it was not my fault that my last meeting had run over time. I twirled in the mirror once to check my reflection. Today’s choice was an a-line summer dress with sunflowers all over. There was a halter neckline showing off my shoulders. Big hoop earrings and light make-up coupled with a bright yellow macrame tote and wedge-heeled slippers completed my look. I grabbed the gift I had delivered to my house a few days ago. There was only so much I could think of getting for a four-year-old boy. A girl would have been so much easier.

  I jumped into my car and was soon on the highway heading out of the city. Regina and her husband, Mark, had recently moved to Hellshire, a gated community just outside of Henderson. Mark was an investment broker while Regina was a real estate agent. We had all met in college as business majors. From the beginning, Mark had set his sights on Regina, and I had enjoyed playing go-between until they had made their match. Shortly after graduation, he popped the question. Then a few years after that, my godson, Mark junior, had come along. It was a little over forty-five minutes before I turned off the highway. A few minutes later I pulled up to the security post of the complex.

  “Mark and Regina Wedderburn at lot six one nine, please. The name is Rasheeda Blake.” I rattled off and waited as he scanned the approved visitors’ list. The barrier lifted and I drove into the complex. Even if I had forgotten where the house was after my one visit for the housewarming, there was no mistaking the blue streamers and the squeals of children on a bounce-about in the front yard. I parked a few houses away and walked up the sidewalk, gift in hand.

  “Rasheeda! You made it!” Reggie exclaimed.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Reggie.” I kissed her on the cheek as she hugged me. I looked at her in surprise as I stepped back.

  “What?”

  “Girl. Is there something you’re not telling me? You’re feeling a little firm down there.”

  Her mouth fell open. “How did you know that?”

  “Know what?”

  “Rasheeda! I was about to send out the search party.” I turned and allowed Mark to hug me while Regina hugged her stomach. Mark turned to his wife.

  “What’s the matter, honey?”

  Regina looked around and whispered to him. “She knows.”

  It was Mark’s turn to be surprised as he looked at me. “How? You did it with Mark junior and now you’re doing it again. How do you always know?”

  I looked from one to the other. Then the penny dropped, and it was my turn to be shocked.

  “You’re pregnant?”

  “Shhh!” Regina looked around before nodding excitedly. “We haven’t told anyone yet. Not even our families. But we’re so excited! Can you believe it!?”

  “Oh! I’m so happy for you guys!”

  “But mum’s the word,” Mark placed his finger on his lips and winked.

  I pulled a zipper across my lips, twisted an imaginary lock, and tossed away the key. “Serve me up a drink of whatever it is that one drinks at a party for a four-year-old.”

  “Coming right up!”

  I walked behind them as we entered the yard. Mark had his arm around Regina, resting it lightly on her hip while she hugged his waist.

  “Aunty ‘sheeda!”

  “Hello, my little moon face Mark.” I accepted the tight hug of the little boy who scooted himself into my lap.

  “How does it feel to be all of four years old?” I smiled brightly at him as he bounced uncontrollably.

  “I’m a big boy now!”

  “Yes, you are! You’ll soon be too big for my lap!”

  “I’ll never be too big for your lap, aunty!” He planted a wet kiss on my cheek before sliding out of my lap and running off. I watched him go with love flooding my heart. I walked around to the side of the house and greeted a few familiar faces before heading inside for a breather. The afternoon had grown quite warm and I took refuge in a cool alcove in the dining room for a few minutes. I watched the children as they ran around the yard, smiling as Mark’s red cape flew behind him. The adults sat on the outskirts engaged in conversation. I was about to go back outside when I heard soft giggling. I peeked around the corner and saw Mark and Regina in the kitchen in a tight embrace. As they kissed, I felt a funny feeling in my chest. And I did not like it. I watched as he rubbed her tiny mound of a stomach, and she rubbed his chest. I swallowed hard as I watched their tender moment. Then suddenly they pulled apart. I soon saw why as Mark junior barged into the kitchen. His father swung him up into his arms while Regina beamed at them both. She kissed first her son and then her husband. The love radiating from the little family was in stark juxtaposition to my single, childless state. At twenty-eight, I still considered myself young. But in a few years, I would be in my thirties. And then what?

  I watched as they left the kitchen, giving them a few minutes before heading back to the yard myself. I pasted on the biggest smile ever, masking the emptiness within. I spent some time chatting with other adults and watching the kids have fun. When the party began to wind up, I bid my goodbyes and headed home. My three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse apartment in the city which had always seemed so cozy, now felt empty and foreign. I poured a drink and flung myself into the couch. My eyes were drawn to the picture I had purchased at the auction a few weeks ago. Without meaning to, my thoughts went to Sheldon and the truce we had formed that night. When he called me just as I had slipped out of my dress, I had been shocked. I had been half-tempted to engage him more casually, but that would have given away the naughty thoughts I had been thinking about him while I had been dancing with him. Feeling his body even slightly pressed against me had sent my mind to places that it should not have gone. I had to put on the act of my life as I strove to be professional. By the time I had gotten home, my thongs had been quite sticky and he had called just as I was sliding them down my legs. Unbidden images of his warm hands sliding the flimsy fabric aside as he stroked my center made me gasp softly. I had been hard-pressed to concentrate on the conversation. I hated to admit it, but he made my pussy wet. He was a sexy man.

  The way the suit had hugged him perfectly had made me wonder what it would have been like to peel it off him. Who knew? If things had been different, he might have been at my apartment that night or vice-versa. Though one-night stands were not my practice, I would have made an exception for him.

  I sighed as I sipped my drink, feeling the burn of the alcohol as it slid down my throat. Seeing Regina with her family had unearthed a side of me I had not known existed. I wanted what she had. A husband, a child. A family of my own. I felt as though I would have exchanged all my money for even a fraction of that right now.

  Unbidden, Sheldon’s face came before me. I switched Regina for me and Mark for him, wondering what our blend would produce in a child. I shook the image out of my head.

  “That’s dangerous territory, woman,” I said to myself. I turned on the television and was soon lost in a comedy, forcing all thoughts of what had transpired today out of my head.

  By Monday, I was back to my usual businesslike mode. I told myself that with my life being as busy as it was, there was no space for a relationship. I held on to that placebo.

  “Miss Blake?”

  I looked up at Daphne standing in the doorway.

  “Yes?”

  “Collins is on line one for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  I took a deep breath as I picked up the receiver.

  “Hello?” I held my breath.

  “Miss Blake, this is Rhonda Adams calling from Collins Construction. Mr. Collins has asked me to invite you for a walkthrough tomorrow morning at eleven.”

  “Tomorrow at eleven?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Did it occur to Mr. Collins that I might be busy?”

  “I don’t know, ma’am. But he did say that if you can’t make it tomorrow, I should schedule it for the first of September.”

  “The first of September!? That’s a month away.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Kindly tell Mr. Collins that I will not be available tomorrow, nor do I wish to do a walkthrough as far as September. I will be there on Thursday at three.”

  “I’m afraid that’s impossible ma’am.”

  “It’s my hotel. I can walkthrough any time I damn well please.”

  With a slam, I hung up. The nerve of him! Who the hell gave him the right to dictate my schedule? I was still fuming when my cell phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Why are you so caustic?”

  “Now you look here-”

  “No. You look. Tomorrow at eleven or September. Pick one.”

  “I have meetings tomorrow-”

  “Move them. You are Rasheeda Blake, CEO.”

  The sound of silence told me he had disconnected the call. I called back and it rang without an answer. I felt as though my back was against a wall and my pride was at stake. I wanted to see the progress. But I also did not want to be dictated to as to when I could see it. Was I going to hold out and be stubborn about it?

  With a sigh, I called Daphne into my office. A few calls later, my schedule was clear for the next morning. I dressed carefully that morning ignoring the little voice whispering in the back of my head that Sheldon would love my bootcut jeans and the way they hugged my hips. I paired the jeans with a polo shirt and denim jacket. I wrapped my hair into a bun at the nape of my neck to make it easier to put on my helmet. My oversized sunglasses were perched carefully on my nose as my team and I walked into the complex. I forced myself not to look around to find Sheldon. Then, almost out of nowhere, I saw him.

  My throat went dry as I watched his long legs cross the space. His jeans showed patches of dirt and hung low on his hips. His stride was powerful and authoritative. There was no doubting that this was a man in charge. I thanked the heavens my glasses shielded any expression on my face. The light breeze tossed a mane of his hair across his forehead as he took off his hard hat briefly, and I had the perverse thought that I had been sucked into an alter universe and that I was staring at the cover model of a romance novel come to life.

  “Miss Blake. Pleased to see you again under more favourable circumstances. So happy that you found time to squeeze me into your busy schedule. Right this way.”

  I gave in to the light pressure of his hand on my elbow as he led me through the site. It had been less than two months and, true to his word, there was significant progress. Based on the state it was in the last time, I had expected just the footprint and foundation to be done. But, in addition to that, I was looking at a completely framed basement along with markers laid for fixtures. It was amazing to see what the fifteen-acre property had become in a short space of time.

  “What are those?” I pointed to a group of wooden structures at the far end draped with tarpaulin.

  “A suggestion which we can discuss later. If you have the time, I’d like to go over the drawings with you when we’re done.”

  “Okay.”

  We completed the tour and returned to where we had started.

  “Well?” he folded his arms and stared at me.

  “I’m happy with what I see, especially given our last walkthrough. I’m pleased.”

  “That’s good to know. Could we look at those drawings perhaps?”

  “Wouldn’t you prefer to speak with my architect?”

  “Not yet. I have to sell it to you first then they will make the changes where necessary. Right this way.”

  “How long is this going to take? We do have to get back to the office.”

  “They have to get back to the office, but you are the CEO and your own boss. Let them go back and you stay.”

  I felt my heart race at the prospect of being alone with Sheldon. I had to grudgingly admit that when he was not getting under my skin, he was a pleasant conversationalist.

  “Give me five.”

  “I’ll be in the trailer.”

  I walked with my team outside and collected my throw across purse from the company van. As they drove away, I glanced at my watch. My stomach rumbled as though to confirm that it was indeed lunch time. I headed back inside and walked up to the trailer. I knocked once.

  “Come in!”

  I pushed the door and was surprised by a blast in the face with air conditioning. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I looked around at the light, bright space. It too was a far cry from the chaos I had seen the last time. Suddenly I felt my face flush as I remembered what had happened the last time I was in here.

  “You can come closer and have a seat, Rasheeda. I’m not going to bite.”

  “Now look here-”

  “Take those glasses off.”

  “I don’t think-”

  “No, you don’t. I need you to see these plans properly without those shades.”

  “You could have just said that.”

  “That would have taken the fun out of watching you bristle.” He grinned.

  Without another word, I slipped the glasses off and hooked them to the neck of my shirt.

  “Coffee? Water? Juice?”

  “No thanks. I’m actually more hungry than thirsty.”

  “I can send out for a sandwich if you want.”

  “I’ll live. How long will this take? I need to know what time to tell my driver to pick me up.”

  “I can take you back to the office. Let’s take a look at these plans, shall we?”

  He spread the drawings on the desk.

  “The changes I want to make are not very big. It’s really about the layout of the suites.”

  “What about them?”

  “I think we need to rearrange the footprint. See, you have it opening into the kitchenette and moving into the bedroom areas with the living area being at the far end.”

  “It has to be so that the French doors can be opened to the balcony.”

  “Agreed. But how about having the kitchenette closer to the entertainment area so that way there would be no need to walk through the bedroom area when entertaining? If you’re not amenable to that, I want to suggest putting some sort of partition to screen off the bedrooms completely.”

  “But then the space would be very small.”

  “Not necessarily. Have you ever been in a quad unit?”

  “A quad unit? What’s that?”

  “How about I show you rather than just tell you? There’s a new hotel just outside the city I’d like you to see.”

  I shook my head. “Save yourself the trouble. The suites stay as they are. That’s how the Blake hotels have been over the years. What you’re suggesting does not fit in with my model.”

  “Models can be adjusted.”

  “Not mine.” I stared him down as our eyes met. In the silence, I felt then heard my stomach rumble. I detected a faint smirk on his face. He leaned forward.

  “How about this? I get us lunch, we go look at this new development and you get a feel for it, and then you can decide if you want to make the change or stay in the past.”

  “No.”

  “No to which part?”

  “You don’t need to waste your time on trying to get me to change the drawings.”

  “Well, we still have to eat. What do you say? I know this little place about a block from here that serves the best mac and cheese you’ll ever taste in your life. They serve it in the same single-serving cast iron pot that they cook it in, so you get that good crisp on the edges and the bottoms. It’s just the right kind of golden brown. And the cheese is all bubbly and melted-”

  Without meaning to, I licked my lips even as my stomach rumbled again. Sheldon laughed softly.

  “Let me feed you before that monster comes roaring out. Maybe that’s why you were so testy that last time.”

  “You were insufferable.”

  “You didn’t win any congeniality prizes yourself. You walked in here with your little nose stuck in the air and both guns blazing.”

  “You would too if you saw your hundreds of thousands of dollars going down the drain.”

  “What I’d like to see is that mac and cheese going into your stomach. Let’s go.”

  “I didn’t accept.”

  “You have no choice but to accept. Unless you want me to call animal control when you transform into a monster.”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  “But you are hungry. You said so yourself. Now if you put up one more refusal, I’ll just have to kiss you until you change your mind.”

  I jumped out of my seat and whirled on my heel.

  “Where are you parked?”

  He leaned back and laughed outright.

  “That’s what I thought you would say, though I do wish you’d give me the chance to shut you up. It’s the black Tundra. Give me a minute to let the guys know I’ll be off-site.”

  “Okay.”

  I walked out of the trailer and out to the parking area. I found the truck easily and stood waiting. I turned as he exited the work site and for a split second, I felt everything fade away. It felt as though we were the only two people in the world. Our eyes met and held as he approached. He stopped a foot away from me and I was forced to look up at him.

  “Ready?”

  I felt my mouth go dry at the single word. Ready. For what exactly?

  I nodded and he smiled.

  He reached behind me to open the passenger door and I felt the heat of his body press against me briefly. Wordlessly, I took his hand as he handed me into the truck. He closed the door and walked around to his side. I watched the play of muscles in his legs as he climbed up. I gasped as he leaned across to my side. His breath was warm against my temple as he whispered.

  “Need to buckle up. Wouldn’t want to brake suddenly and have you go flying through the windscreen.”

  I swallowed hard as the belt clicked into place and he leaned back. He smiled before starting the engine and turning his attention to the road. As we pulled out into the midday traffic, I could not help but feel as though my seatbelt was useless. I had gone flying anyway – straight into Sheldon’s web. And the kicker was, I did not want to be untangled.

 

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