Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Someone said he has like four ex-wives.” She snickered as she reached for her glass of wine from the coffee table.
“Five ex-wives. He’s currently remarried again, last I heard, but that was a year ago. He was completely anti-marriage, but did it over and over. Said he wasn’t going for it again, but of course, that obviously was a lie. He also said that his last ex-wife gave him the only food that reduces sex drive.”
“And what food was that?”
“Wedding cake.”
She tossed a couch pillow at him. It bounced off the side of his head and they both erupted in laughter. He snatched the pillow from the floor, tucked it under his arm and stared at her. Across from him, she sat with her leg tucked beneath her and her second glass of wine half gone. Every time his gaze met hers, her heart flipped in reaction.
“My aunt used to say, ‘I spent a lotta time child proofin’ my house, but y’all bastards keep managing to get back in.”
He burst out laughing. “That was a pretty random thing to say.” He slipped his arm behind his head and leaned back against the couch, a lazy sexiness in his gaze.
“It was I guess… Oh, I know what made me think of my Aunt Dee Dee!” She snapped her fingers. “The bit about the weddin’ cake. She made weddin’ cakes for folks. She was good at it, too. They were so pretty. Just like her.” Images of her Aunt Dee Dee entered her mind. Oh, how she missed her. And her delicious cakes, too. “She was my mama’s sister. The youngest.” They drew quiet.
“Nadia.” He leaned forward and clasped his hands. She noted his set face and fixed eyes. “I want to tell you that, uh, I’ve been through some things, too. It ain’t been just you.”
“Of course you have. You’re human. I never thought that you hadn’t.” She debated on calling off work for the whole night as she got more and more comfortable sitting there with this beautiful man in her living room.
“You don’t know the real deal, though. I kept it from you. Didn’t want to talk about it back then. I want to talk to you about it now though, ’cause I need you to understand that one day, you’re going to my life partner. My wife. Because of that, I need to come clean. Be an open book. That’s not in my nature, but I’m steppin’ out on faith that what I’m feeling and thinking is right.” He spoke without a hint of immodesty. It sounded as if he were merely stating a fact, in the humblest way possible. His gaze swept over her.
“Your wife? Lennox, stop it. I see that whole wedding cake thing and talking about Jacob had messed with your mind. We haven’t even—”
“You’re scared.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are. You’re scared of commitment, not because you don’t want to be tied down, but because being tied down leads to vulnerability, and people get hurt when they’re close and exclusive.” He spoke like some therapist, and she was on his couch. He cocked his head to the side, then linked his fingers together. “That’s why dancing is so easy for you.”
“Dancing is easy for me because I’m good at it, and I get paid well for it.”
“That’s just what you tell yourself. You get to have the attention you want from men, with no strings attached. They can’t kiss you, hug you, or fuck you. When they see a woman like you, most men want to do all three. You’re beautiful, and out of many men’s leagues based on looks alone. Out of most men’s leagues if you include how damn smart you are. Naw, the average Joe can’t have you… They just have to sit there and watch. Horny. Dicks hard. Pockets empty. You win. You’re in control. Just how you like it.”
“You think you know everything. You don’t.” She covered the words with a big smile, perhaps wanting to soften the blow. She was met with an even bigger smile as he looked straight through her.
“Let me tell you something about me, then I’ll get back to the topic. You see these hands?” He held up his fingers, then made double fists. “My hands are deadly, baby. I can knock a motherfucker out cold with just one hit. I caught a case. My father and grandfather managed to get it buried. Money talks. I was young back then. My father got involved. My grandfather knew some people. Pulled some strings. I should’ve been doin’ a bid.”
“You beat someone up. So what?” She took another sip of her wine.
“…I killed a motherfucker.”
She crossed her legs and set her glass down, then crossed her arms, too. The room turned suddenly colder. “Why’d you do that?”
“Because I was paid to do it. It was a job. I had been approached and asked to do it, and I, at the time, was angry enough to accept the challenge. I had been itchin’ to hurt someone anyway, Nadia, so it was the right place and time. I had no self-control back then. I did some other shit, too… but that’s the incident that landed me in big trouble.”