The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed (30 page)

Sherita sighed heavily.
Pushing the empty drawer closed, she said testily, “Desmond, I’m
not going to do this back and forth thing with you, so—”

“
Do you actually think
that’s what I want, Sherita?” he asked, forcing a frown away from
his face. “We need to talk like mature adults. No arguing. No
fighting. We just need to talk.”

Sherita dropped the bag.
“Then let’s talk.”

“
Upstairs,” Desmond said.
“Meet me in the living room.” Desmond turned around to walk away,
heading up the stairs.

Sherita reluctantly
followed. How had he known she would be here? Did he have some
remote camera set up at his place? If only she’d moved a little
faster...

If she did, she’d be gone
by now and all of this would’ve been avoided. Now she had to meet
Desmond. In the living room.

It was torture to love
someone so much, yet hate them at the same time. She loved Desmond.
His mere presence was enough to rattle her. Make her feel things.
Still, she was frustrated with the circumstances she found herself
in with him. She would have to find the willpower to resist the
incredible hold he had on her – easier said than done, especially
with his babies growing inside of her stomach.

In the living room now,
five minutes later, she watched Desmond sit on the sofa, so she
followed suit, sitting on the opposite end of it, leaving much
needed space between them. He stared at her for a few seconds, not
to make her uncomfortable but to get his thoughts in
line.

Sherita pulled in a breath,
interlocked her fingers, then stared down towards the
floor.

“
Can we have some eye
contact, please? I need you to look at me, Sherita.”

“
Why?”

“
Because I need to see
your eyes when I ask you this question.”

Sherita looked up at him,
locking eyes with him, instantly feeling her heart thump harder in
her chest. She wondered if her babies would have his enchanting,
golden eyes. His darling dimple. His so-so demeanor. “If you have a
question, can you please ask it so I can—”

“
Are you
pregnant?”

She froze and, for a
moment, she lost her breath. He knew.

“
Well? Are you?” he asked
impatiently.

“
Why are you
asking?”

“
Why am I—?” Desmond
began, irritation claiming the tone of his voice. “We did sleep
together, Sherita, so it’s not like this question is coming out of
left field.”

“
It
is
coming out of left field,”
Sherita said. “You never bothered to ask me before.”

“
Well, I’m asking
now.”

“
Why?”

“
Because I want to know if
my baby is growing inside of you, Sherita.”

Sherita dropped her face in
her hands, exasperated before looking at him again and saying,
“What does it matter anyway, Desmond? It’s not like you want
children, and I’m not—” she trailed off into tears. “I’m not
getting rid of my babies just because you don’t want
children.”

Babies?
Desmond scooted closer to her and lowered his
tone to a caring, nurturing one when he asked, “Why do you think so
little of me, Sherita? Do you think I would ask you to do
that?”

Sherita looked away from
him, staring back down towards the floor, batting tears away from
her eyes.

Desmond lowered himself to
his knees in front of her, then reached to tilt her chin up with a
touch of his index finger. “Do you?”

“
You said you didn’t want
children, Desmond.”

“
I know what I
said.”

“
Then why are you so
curious as to whether or not I’m pregnant?”

“
Look at me,” Desmond told
her.

When she looked at him, she
studied his face, feeling her heart yearn for him. If only he could
love her the way she loved him. They could be a happy family, but
she knew Desmond wasn’t a family man.

“
Are you pregnant?” he
asked again.

Sherita nodded.

“
Is that a yes?” Desmond
asked.

“
Yes, Desmond. I’m
pregnant.”

Desmond swallowed hard. He
glanced at her stomach and for the moment, he was at a loss for
words, feeling joy settle in his heart. “Do you know the
gender?”

“
Yes. I just found out
this morning, actually. It’s a girl.”

Desmond smiled. “A
girl.”

“
Yes. And a
boy.”

“
A girl and a boy?” he
asked, seeking clarification.

“
Yes.”

“
We’re having
twins?”

Sherita nodded silently,
watching his eyes roll down to her stomach.

When his eyes connected
with hers again, he asked, “May I touch?”

She nodded again. When she
felt Desmond lift her blouse, she nearly fainted. The sensation of
his warm hand against her stomach had all of the nerves in her body
in chaos. Her stomach quivered. So did her legs. And then she
gasped. She hadn’t felt his touch in a long time, and she missed
it. Missed him.

“
There are two babies
here?” he asked. When he did so, he thought about what Dante had
told him, how that picture of himself, Sherita, Grace and Ezra had
foreshadowed his life. Now he knew exactly what he
meant.

“
Yes.”

“
But your stomach is so
flat,” he said, still touching her there.

“
It won’t be in another
month or so.”

A smile touched his
lips.

“
And since you seem to
want to be a part of their lives, I guess we need to discuss how
we’re going to co-parent.”

He frowned.
“Co-parent?”

“
Yes. I’m moving to South
Carolina and—”

“
No, Sherita,” Desmond
said, sitting on the sofa again. “I want to watch my children grow
up.”

“
And you’ll be able to do
so. I won’t keep them away from you.”

“
I mean starting right
now, Sherita. Not after they’re born, but now. I want to watch your
stomach grow. I have that right, don’t I? I want to be at the
appointments. I want my children to know me…to know my voice.
Packing your bags and leaving right now is not the best thing for
our family.”

“
Then—”

“
I want you here. With
me,” Desmond said. “You and my children belong with me.”

Sherita shook her head.
She knew he was right. She couldn’t argue that point. After all,
they were
his
babies, too. But since she also knew he had been
anti-children since they met, she didn’t think he would care that
she wanted to leave. And who told him she was pregnant?

“
Sherita.”

Sherita came out of a blank
stare and looked at him. “Yes?”

“
Have you heard anything
I’ve said?”

“
Yes, but—”

“
Then you know you can’t
take my family away from me, don’t you?”

“
Yes, Desmond,” she
responded. It was the way he had wanted her to respond, so she did.
It didn’t matter how she felt anymore. Now, there were children to
consider and whether he was using them as another way to have power
over her wasn’t for her to say.

“
So you’ll stay?” he
asked.

“
I guess I have no choice.
But I’m only doing this for the babies, Desmond. There is no more
us.”

“
I know that, Sherita.
You’ve made that perfectly clear when you told my entire family you
didn’t love me. I’m not doing this for us. I’m doing this for my
children.” It was a lie. He was doing this for his children, but
also for her. He had every intent on winning her heart again. It
would take a lot of convincing on his part but when he was done
with her, she’d be his forever.

“
If I’m staying here, I’m
changing the locks on the apartment door.”

Shaking his head, Desmond
said, “No.”

“
Des—”

“
You don’t need the locks
changed because that’s not where you’re going to be
sleeping.”

“
It
is
where—”

“
No.”

“
Will you stop
interrupting me? I would like to finish a sentence for once,”
Sherita said.

He stared at her then the
said, “Sorry. You have the floor.”

“
What I was trying to say
is, I’m not sharing a bed with you. You and I are done. Now, I
would like the locks changed.”

He silently stared at her
for a few moments then asked, “Can I speak now?”

Sherita blew a
breath.

Desmond continued, “What I
was trying to say was, there’s no need to have the locks changed
because you will not be sleeping there. You’ll be in the bedroom
down the hallway from mine. That way, I can assist you when it
becomes necessary, and you’ll have full access to the
house.”

“
Oh,
now
I’m good enough to have full
access…”

“
You had it before,
Sherita.”

“
Yeah, well…”

Exhaling sharply, he said,
“I’m going to move your things from there to your new bedroom. And
if you have ultrasound pictures, I want to see them.”

Sherita stood up. “I have
to get some things from my car. If you can tell me where you would
like me, I can move my stuff.”

“
I’ll show you the room,
and don’t worry about getting the things from your car. I’ll take
care of it.”

CHAPTER 39

Desmond drove back to the
office after moving all of her things from her car and the basement
to her new bedroom upstairs. The time was after six, but he knew
Dante would still be there. Tapping on his opened office door to
get his attention, he stepped in and said, “Now I know what you
meant by that picture.”

Dante dropped an ink pen
and gave his brother his full attention. “She told you.”

“
She did.”

“
So, now what?”

Desmond sighed. “Well, I’ve
convinced her to stay with me for now but—” Desmond rubbed his hand
across his head.

“
What is it, man?” Dante
asked.

“
I don’t want her to stay
because she feels obligated…because she thinks I will try to take
the kids away from her.”

“
Is that how she
feels?”

“
I don’t know. That’s what
I’m guessing. I can read her so well. Most times I know what she’s
thinking before she opens her mouth.”

“
So what is she thinking,
Des?”

“
That I don’t love her,
and the only reason I want her around is because she’s
pregnant.”

“
Is that the only reason
you want her around?”

Desmond stuffed his hands
inside of his pockets. “No. I love her. I told you
that.”

Dante smirked.

“
I’m glad you find this
humorous,” Desmond said angrily.

“
I don’t find it funny,
Des. I just never thought I’d see the day when my little brother
fell so hard for someone. And you have two children on the way,
man. Two.”

Desmond smiled at the
thought of two children running around the house.

“
Handling Sherita is easy.
All you have to do is show her that you love her like you say you
do. Don’t tell her. Show her. I know this is new territory for you
but just look at it this way – the woman you love is having your
children. She’s using her body as a vessel to increase the size of
the Champion family. Show her you appreciate that. It was hard
enough for Emily to carry
one
baby. Your wife has two growing inside of
her.”

Your wife…

Desmond thought
quietly.

“
Yes, she’s going to be
moody and irascible at times,” Dante continued. “She’s pregnant,
and on top of that she has to deal with you.”

Dante grinned. When his
cell phone buzzed, he looked at the display and said, “It’s Emily…I
have to take this.”

“
Yep…I’m going to be in my
office for a few.”

CHAPTER 40

“
Hey, just got off of the
phone with Dante,” Emily said, holding her cell phone to her ear
with her left shoulder while changing Ezra’s diaper. “He’ll be here
in an hour. I’ll come pick you up, okay?”

“
Okay,” Sherita said.
“Just call me when you’re outside.”

“
Will do. Hey, is Desmond
there, by the way?”

“
No. He left about an hour
ago. Why?”

“
Just curious. Anyway,
I’ll call you when I pull up.”

“
I’ll be
waiting.

* * *

“
So that’s why I decided
to stay,” Sherita said.

She was sitting across from
Emily at a restaurant, had just finished a salad and was filling
Emily in on the events of the day.