One Love (16 page)

“
You’re one fantastic lady.
Most ex-wives would have the claws out.” Lanessa
laughed.

“
Life is too short,”
Shauntelle said with good humor. “And now I’ve got a great man in
my life, he--”

“
Here they are.” Alex came
in with the girls. He’d made them giggle until they forgot to be
irritable about going home.

“
Goodnight all. Maybe we’ll
visit the islands again sometime.” Shauntelle grinned. She winked
at Lanessa and gave her a thumbs-up when the girls followed Alex in
a dance to Shauntelle’s car.

After stacking the dishes in the
dishwasher, Alex and Lanessa sat listening to soothing jazz. The
lights were dim. They reclined against the pillows on the floor.
Lanessa lay with her back against his chest. He rocked her gently
to the pulse of a sexy tune.

“
Tonight was just about
perfect,” Alex said softly. “You were wonderful with the
girls.”

“
Stop. While you were in the
kitchen, I was dying out here. Didn’t you get the hint when I asked
if you needed help?” Lanessa looked at him.

“
Yeah, but I knew you needed
to be alone with them. It had to happen sometime.” Alex rubbed her
arms with his large hands.

“
I see. Teach me how to swim
by throwing me in the ocean.” Thanks so much.”

“
Come on now. It wasn’t that
bad.” Alex laughed. “All kids are tough when it comes to new people
in their lives. But you are a natural.” He kissed her
neck.

Lanessa felt a flush of joy at his
words. She’d never allowed herself to think of motherhood.
Convinced that her flaws made it fortunate she’d never gotten
pregnant, Lanessa now had to admit she could share love with
children. It was such a complete, soothing feeling being with the
twins and Alex. She knew it would not always be fun and games. Yet
knowing Alex would be by her side made it less daunting.

“
Being a parent is the best
thing that’s ever happened to me.” Alex held her tighter. “Children
are such a gift.”

“
Shauntelle is a great
mother.” Lanessa tried to picture herself as together and sensible
under stress “Not everyone should be a parent. Some just have what
it takes.”

“
Well, the basic ingredients
are a loving heart and a willingness to do what’s best for them.”
Alex shook her playfully. “Not to mention nerves of
steel.”

“
You got that right,”
Lanessa quipped.

“
All of which you have,” he
whispered. His lips brushed her earlobe.

Lanessa shivered as he traced feathery
kisses down her neck. She moaned deep in her throat when his hands
caressed her breasts. With grace, Alex turned her around to lie
beneath him on the soft carpet. She lay back to enjoy the feel of
his fingers on her flesh. He took off her blouse and spent long
minutes caressing her back. He played a delicious game of tease
before unhooking her bra in front. The beige lace
parted.

“
You are so gorgeous.” Alex
pressed his face to her flesh.

“
I want you.
Now.”

Lanessa did not want to go slow. She
felt a need take hold, pushing her to guide his hands and mouth all
over her body. With frantic movements she undressed herself then
pulled at his clothes impatiently. She panted at the excitement of
being the aggressor.

Lanessa gripped his shoulders hard as
their tongues touched. With a hunger that seemed to drive her mad,
Lanessa reversed positions. Alex now reclined against the plush
pillows. He groaned and clutched her hips when she straddled him.
Their lovemaking was furious. Lanessa rocked him hard wanting to
drive him over the edge as no one ever had before. She wanted to
possess him, make him remember this night forever. A kind of
lustful madness drove her on and on. Alex arched toward her as he
came. His groans were low and guttural. Lanessa did not let up the
pace. She was completely lost in the searing need to feel him
harder, faster. Alex came first shuddering and calling out her
name. Lanessa was pushed over the edge. The orgasm was a blinding
force that made everything else disappear; there was only the feel
of her body crashing against his. It was the only thing that
mattered it seemed for a lifetime. They stopped moving with one
last gasping moan. Lanessa draped herself over him without getting
off his lap. She held his forearms still. Alex finally rolled them
both onto their sides on the floor facing each other. He used one
of the wide beach towels as a blanket of sorts.

“
Promise me something,” he
gasped between taking deep breaths.

“
Anything,” Lanessa said
instantly. Her head was still spinning.

“
Remind me that talking
about being a parent makes you hot,” Alex said. He had a lecherous
glint in his eyes.

Lanessa gave him a playful swat. “Very
funny.”

“
Making love to you sends me
right out of my mind. You could touch every nerve ending in my
body.”

“
I feel the same way,”
Lanessa said. Emotion made her voice husky. “I was such a fool to
let you go.” She wrapped her arms around him as though she would
never turn him loose.

“
We both made mistakes. But
now were together. And even though it won’t always be easy, I know
we’ll make it.”

“
You think so?” Lanessa
said, her faced buried in the curly hair of his chest. She breathed
in the salty, spice of him. More than anything she wanted to hear
they would have a happy ending.

“
Yes, baby. I
do.”

“
Thanks for believing in us
again.” Lanessa looked up at him. “And I promise something
else.”

“
What?”

“
I’m going to spend time
with Tia and Nia alone. And I’ll survive,” Lanessa said with a
grin.

“
That’s the spirit. Be
strong. They can smell fear and it makes ‘em move in for the kill.”
Alex chuckled at the expression she wore.

“
Maybe I’ll spend time with
Shauntelle first.” Lanessa laughed with him. “You know, you could
do a lot worse than her for a wife.”

“
Shauntelle is a special
person. But we both knew pretty early we’d gotten married for the
wrong reasons.”

“
Such as?” Lanessa knew she
should not ask but curiosity got the better of her.

“
We’d both been hurt by love
and were looking for a warm set of arms to help us heal. Not that
we didn’t really care for each other.”

“
Yes, I could tell,” Lanessa
said.

“
In fact, we sorta have
similar personalities.”

“
Now that you mention it,
you do. Shauntelle seems sensible and organized.” Lanessa
remembered the way she’d left phone numbers where she would be and
gave Alex a brief summary of what was going on with the
girls.

“
But wanting to make it work
wasn’t enough after awhile. Companionship starts to feel less like
a blanket and more like a noose.”

“
So you divorced with no
anger?”

“
There were rough times,
accusations and finger pointing.” Alex grew somber. “Thankfully we
realized how stupid it all was.”

“
See what I mean? Two
sensible people.” Lanessa sighed. “My second divorce was even more
dramatic than the first. Sure you wanna take a chance on me
again?”

“
You bet. It’s my version of
skydiving. I’m willing to take the risk for the thrill.”

“
Ha-ha. This is a side of
you I’ve never seen. Mr. Smart-mouth.”

“
Straight up, seems we’re
all going to be happy. Shauntelle has a new love in her life.” Alex
yawned.

“
She started to tell me
about him. I’m really glad she found someone.”

“
Yeah, Charles sounds like
the original Prince Charming the way Shauntelle talks,” Alex
mumbled in a sleepy voice. “Let’s get in the bed,
honey.”

“
Okay. Come one.”

Lanessa disengaged from him and they
stumbled down the hall to the bedroom. Alex yanked back the
comforter. He waited until Lanessa was between the sheets before
crawling in beside her.

“
Love is in the air for
everybody.” Lanessa’s body hummed with contentment as she settled
in.

“
Sure. And Metoyer is as
rich as he is charming.” Alex was well on his way to a sound
sleep.

Lanessa heard the name from a distance
then her eyes flew open wide. “Oh-oh.”

“
Did you say something,
babe?”

“
No. Go to sleep.” Lanessa
took a deep breath.
Life is always so
complicated!

Chapter 8

“
Let me see if I’ve got
this,” Jackie paced back and forth in Lanessa’s office. “Your
ex-boyfriend’s ex-wife is dating Charles Metoyer. The same man that
Yasmin has declared is the love of her life.”

“
Right.” Lanessa tapped out
a nervous cadence with her fingertips on the top of her
desk.

“
When are you going to tell
her?”

“
S’cuse me?” Lanessa looked
up at her sharply.

“
You know how to approach
tough subjects with grace and--”

“
You’re a big coward,”
Lanessa broke in with a scowl.

“
You got it,” Jackie
declared without hesitation. “We can’t just let her get kicked in
the stomach.”

“
I can’t even imagine saying
the words.” Lanessa closed her eyes.

“
She’s got to be told. Now
pick up that phone and tell her to meet you for dinner.” Jackie
shook Lanessa’s arm until she opened her eyes again.

“
You call.”

“
We agreed you’d be better
at it.” Jackie put both hands on her hips.

“
I didn’t agree.” Lanessa
shook her head.

“
Don’t be childish. You have
to help our friend.”

“
Listen to Miss maturity
pushing the dirty work off on someone else because she’s scared.”
Lanessa made a rude noise.

Jackie plopped down into a chair.
“What do you suggest?”

“
Let’s not jump to
conclusions. Maybe they’ve agreed to see other people.” She winced
at the look Jackie gave her.” Well, it’s possible”

“
Yeah. I’ll bet you still
wait up for Santa, too.” Jackie shook her head. “You heard the way
she talked about the man.”

“
Okay, okay.” Lanessa sat
silent for several moments. “Look, all we have is a mumbled sleepy
comment from an exhausted man.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. “Wonder why was
the brother was so knocked out.”

“
Ahem, no need to go into
that.” Lanessa brushed back a tendril of hair.

“
Go now. You can’t lose with
the stuff you use!” Jackie cackled.

Lanessa grinned. “Cut it out. Anyway,
we don’t have enough facts. I’d feel better if we knew
more.”

Jackie squinted. “Good point. My pals
in the Black Chamber of Commerce might be able to help. They’ve got
all the grapevine news you won’t read in the Business
Report.”

“
And I can talk to my
friends around town. If he’s living up to his reputation as a dog,
we’ll
both
tell
her. Agreed?”

“
Agreed,” Jackie said with
reluctance

“
Just when you think life is
smoothing out. I’m busy as can be with folks just figuring out that
extensions on filing taxes don’t last forever. From the looks of
your desk, you’re up to your neck in work.” Jackie glanced
around.

“
And then some. But thank
the Lord I’m making good money.”

“
Amen,” Jackie put in. “I’m
proud of you, girl. This business has taken off.”

“
Getting that contract with
Paxton-Waite was a turning point. And I have Orin Blanchard to
thank for it.” Lanessa sighed and sat back in her chair. “Holding
his hand paid off big time.”

“
My boss had lunch with
Caine Dawson a few times.” Jackie’s brow wrinkled. “Mr. Brumfield
is very discreet, but I get the feeling he doesn’t like
him.”

“
Noah Brumfield moves in
exalted circles. Could he know something I don’t?” Lanessa drummed
her fingers again. One more thing to worry about.

“
Hey, don’t get paranoid.
Mr. Brumfield doesn’t like his own relatives. Heck, he doesn’t like
most people.” Jackie laughed. “We only hit it off because he likes
bucking the old order. You should have seen their faces when he
introduced me at the Century Club.”

“
Brumfield likes your sharp
wit. Which would get you fired anywhere else,” Lanessa quipped.
“And there’s the small matter of how you aced three big accounts
for the firm.”

“
Money makes the world go
round.” Jackie patted her stomach. “Problem solving makes me
hungry. Let’s have lunch.”

“
Don’t you have to get
back?” Lanessa picked up her purse.

“
I worked until midnight
three nights in a row. With those kind of hours, Mr. Brumfield
doesn’t care about watching the clock. Let’s go.”