Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
The crowd went into an uproar when his name was announced. Whistles were in the air, and the spotlight flickered to Deke as he made his way toward the crowd, with a bashful smile, like he was a young boy who didn’t know how to receive all that glory.
When he was onstage, I handed him the mic but didn’t miss the way his long fingers slipped over mine or how his eyes demanded that I look at them. His cologne wrapped around me, and I cleared my throat as he took center stage.
“Wow. Thank you for the warm welcome. I think that might’ve been better than it is at my games,” he said, and a cacophony of laughter erupted in the room. “I’m not that good at the whole speech thing, so don’t expect me to be up here too long. I mean, Davina told me I should prepare one, but I don’t have much to say. All I can do is express my gratitude. I appreciate GOC for choosing me to be the face of their brand for the next couple of months and only wish the best for it.” Deke extended an arm, gesturing to me. “I admire this woman right here. She’s a boss to a lot of you, but she works hard, and I respect that. So thank you, Davina, because none of this would be happening if you didn’t have a vision and a plan.”
Heat crept to my cheeks, and the silliest smile took me over. I waved and blew a few air-kisses at the applauding crowd, and as Deke finished up his speech, I took a deeper look at all our guests.
Funny. I’d dreamed of this moment—signing a big name for my brand, branching out, and getting wider distribution—but all those dreams included my husband.
There were so many faces in that crowd—a sea of people I knew and some I didn’t . . . and none of them satisfied me. I stepped back just as Deke handed the mic to Tish. He walked in my direction and gave me a wistful smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to return it this time.
Instead, I left the stage as subtly as I could, wove my way through the ballroom while everyone was distracted, and left the building.
NINETEEN
DAVINA
I wasn’t sure what it was about that night, but I wanted so badly to talk to my daddy.
Aaron Klein had died from a hit-and-run when I was nine years old. I was fortunate enough to have nine years with him. He’d been the warmest person, with the kindest smile, and his presence was always comforting.
They say no one is perfect, but to nine-year-old Davina, my dad was the definition of perfection. He cooked for me and Octavia every morning before school and ate dinner with us every night.
He made sure we had clothes, shoes, and even the snacks we loved. He’d take us fishing with him or hiking in the fall. He’d brush the kinks out of mine and Octavia’s hair and rub shea butter on dry patches of our skin.
He’d even taken care of Mama, though she’d made that difficult for him to do.
I wished Octavia was around for the party, but she had to return to nannying and couldn’t make it.
I blew a breath, resting my chin on my knees as I focused on the body of water ahead of me. I was sitting in front of a man-made lake with a fountain sprouting from the center. The fountain cycled through colors, going from green to pink, then red to blue. It was the balm I needed for my emotional wounds.
A rustling noise sounded behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder, expecting Tish to be there, but it wasn’t her.
It was Deke walking through the grass.
“You were hard to find,” he announced, looking down at me with soft eyes.
Deke had a lot of the same traits my father did. He had the kind of personality that made you want to smile for no damn reason. I resisted, though, and faced the water again.
“Actually, I take that back. You were pretty easy to find,” he said. “If it were me, I’d have walked this way too. View is nice.”
“Why are you here, Deke?” I mumbled.
“For the party. You invited me, remember?”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Not the time for jokes.” His lips popped. “Got it.”
I looked ahead again, while he took a step closer. I saw him shifting from foot to foot, and when I glanced up at him, he was staring at the ground with mild disgust.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m debating if I want to sit down with you right now. This is a two-thousand-dollar suit. Armani shouldn’t be anywhere near dirty grounds.”
I huffed a laugh. Rich men and their materialistic problems. “You don’t have to sit. In fact, you don’t have to be here at all.” I gave him a smug grin.