Betting On Love (14 page)

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Authors: Cheris Hodges

BOOK: Betting On Love
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James chewed his bottom lip and tried not to let what Maurice had said perplex him. But was he right? Did Jade have an ulterior motive as to why she wanted to be with him?
I'm not going to let Maurice get to me,
he thought as he began to pick up the papers he and Jade had brushed aside.
 
 
Jade sat in the parking lot, wondering what she was going to do until she and James linked up again. She realized that she had no idea where he lived, and even if she had his address, she wasn't that familiar with Charlotte. The look on Maurice's face had told her that he knew what had happened in the office. Jade's cheeks burned as she thought about what Maurice was thinking when she walked out of the office as if her skirt was on fire.
Just as she was about to start her car, there was a knock on her window. Frazzled, she looked up and was surprised to see Maurice standing there. Jade rolled her window down and offered him a shy smile.
“What's going on?” she asked.
“That's a good question. Got an answer?”
“I don't understand.” Jade furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders.
“What's going on with you and my brother? The real deal?” he asked.
“That's between me and James,” Jade said. “And if you have any questions, maybe you should ask him.”
“But I'm asking you. Here's the thing. I love my brother, and I don't want to see him hurt by some gold digger who realizes that the last name Goings will open a lot of doors for her in Charlotte and Atlanta.”
“Hold up,” Jade said. “You don't know me. You don't know a thing about me.”
“I know the type. I hope you are aboveboard, because if you hurt my brother, let's just say I'll go out of my way to make your life hell.”
Jade opened the car door and got out. She stood in Maurice's face, even though she was several inches shorter than he was. “So you're making assumptions about me and threatening me? Just who in the hell do you think you are?”
Maurice shook his head, his face contorted with a deep scowl. “This isn't even about me—”
“You're right. It's about me and James. He may be your brother, but last time I checked, he was a grown-ass man who didn't need you playing his savior.”
“Women like you are common,” he said. “You know that James can do a lot for you in Charlotte and Atlanta. I believe you're using him.”
Jade dropped her head and laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, I am using him. I started by giving him a million dollars for some property that my investment group bought here. And I'm using him for some of the best sex of my life. Yes, Maurice, you've figured me out.”
He stepped back from her, still scowling. “Whatever you're doing, you'd better make sure that you—”
“Maurice,” James called out. “What the hell is going on?”
Jade and Maurice turned around and watched James stalk in their direction.
“One of y'all need to answer me,” James snapped. “What's this all about?”
Jade looked at Maurice. “I think you and your brother need to talk.”
James glared at his brother. “If this is what I think it is, my brother needs to leave.”
“Fine,” Maurice said. “If I'm overstepping, then whatever. I'm out.”
James turned to Jade. “I'm sorry about that,” he said.
“I guess I shouldn't be upset, since my friends did the same thing to you. But your brother seems to think I'm some kind of gold digger.”
“That's because he has issues,” James said. “Come on. Let's get out of here.”
As Jade got in her car to follow James, she couldn't help but wonder if Maurice's words were going to have an effect on him.
CHAPTER 15
James led Jade to his ranch-style house in a new subdivision on the outskirts of town. His house sat at the rear of the cul-de-sac and gave him more privacy than he had a need for. But as he looked in his rearview mirror and saw Jade's car behind him, he suddenly thought about what he could use all that privacy for.
They pulled into his driveway and got out of their cars. “Hungry?” James asked.
“I'm still kind of full from lunch. Ruth's Chris was nice,” she said, with a smile.
“Well, I was going to show you my culinary skills,” he said.
“Umm, sounds intriguing. I guess I could eat something.”
Jade followed James to the front door. When she walked in, she was surprised by the decor in the house. It wasn't the typical bachelor pad; the place was cleaner than her Atlanta penthouse and was decorated in earth tones. Part of her had expected to see a leather sectional and a sixty-inch flat-screen TV. But she should've known better. James had class and his home reflected that.
“Nice place,” she said.
“Thanks,” he said, then nodded toward the oversize sofa. “You can have a seat if you like.”
Jade sat on the sofa and melted into the cushions. “This is heaven,” she whispered.
James eased beside her and took her into his arms. “My brother was out of line, and I hope you don't hold his ranting and raving against me.”
“Your brother was trying to look out for you. He just went about it in the wrong way.” Jade turned and faced James. Their lips brushed against each other, and Jade smiled. “Maurice isn't going to be a problem, is he?” she asked.
“Hell no. If my brother had better judgment when it came to women, he would be celebrating ten years of marriage and probably would have a couple of kids running around here.”
“You guys are big on family, huh?”
James shrugged. “We just want to make sure that our kids will have it better than we did. Our father wasn't a very good role model.”
Jade nodded. “I can understand that. Growing up on a gambling boat leaves little room for a normal childhood. My friends say that I'm always looking for a sure thing to make up for all the craziness that surrounded me when I was growing up.”
“Everybody wants to have something in their life they can depend on,” James said as he stroked her cheek. “I hope that when the time comes for me to have kids, I will be that father that they can always depend on.”
“You want children?”
“One day. It's not like I'm getting any younger. I'm thirty-five, you know. And here's a secret. Mo is about to be a father. Kenya's going to make a big announcement at his birthday party next weekend.”
“Really?” she said, not that interested in knowing about Maurice's happy news.
“I'm going to need a date for that party,” he said.
“Are you sure Maurice is going to allow me to attend his party?”
“You're going to be with me. There won't be a problem at the door. What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“Trying to get rid of me already?” she jokingly asked.
“No, because if I had my way, I wouldn't let you leave. But I wanted to call Kenya and see if we could get an appointment with her.”
“Oh,” Jade said as she cupped James's face in her hands. “I'm flexible.”
“Don't I know it.”
Jade gently squeezed his cheek. “Funny.”
James held her tighter. “You know you're very flexible,” he said, then kissed her on the forehead. “What do you want for dinner?”
“Umm, surprise me,” she said as she dropped her hands. “As a matter of fact, I just want to watch you cook. Please tell me you wear an apron.”
“How about no?” James rose to his feet and headed to the kitchen, with Jade in tow.
As they entered the kitchen, she marveled at the size and style of it. The stainless-steel appliances looked as if they had been taken from Rachael Ray's kitchen. A set of gourmet pots hung above the stove. When James opened the refrigerator, Jade wasn't surprised to find it fully stocked.
“Are you sure you live alone?” Jade asked. “This place is so not what I expected.”
“Don't you think I'm a little too old to live like a frat boy? You know you'd be talking a lot of junk about me with your girlfriends if you came in here and it looked like a tornado had been through here. Besides, I have a cleaning crew that comes in once a week.”
“And I was about to be impressed because I thought you cooked and cleaned,” she said as she took a seat on a stool near the marble kitchen island.
“It's hard to believe that I'm not perfect, I know,” he quipped. “But somehow you will have to carry on.”
Jade tossed a dish towel in his direction. “Whatever.”
James ducked out of the way of the towel, then turned back to the refrigerator. He pulled out the ingredients for a grilled chicken dinner.
She looked at the food and wrinkled her nose. “Chicken?” she asked.
“Yes, and your heart will thank me,” he replied.
Jade smiled. “You're looking out for my heart now?”
He winked at her before saying, “Among other things.”
About forty-five minutes later, they were sitting down to a dinner of teriyaki grilled chicken breasts, brown rice with pineapple, and steamed green beans. The flickering glow of two tapered candles lit the dining room. Jade glanced over her wineglass at James as he cut into his chicken. She couldn't remember the last time that a man took the time to cook for her and make her feel this special.
“Something wrong?” James asked when they locked eyes.
“No,” she said. “Nothing's wrong.”
A smile spread across James's lips. “You really wanted another steak, didn't you? You don't like the chicken, huh?”
She set her wineglass down. “I like the chicken, and everything is wonderful. The food, the company, everything.”
James scooted his chair closer to hers. “So what's with the long face?”
Jade placed her hand on his thigh. “You make me feel things that I never thought I'd feel. It's like you provide what I've been longing for, and I keep looking around the corner, waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“You're borrowing trouble,” he said. “I think you should stop that.”
She wanted to say that she would and that she would let things come as they may, but that was not the kind of woman Jade was. She did borrow trouble, even if being with James seemed like the most natural thing to do. But was it too good to be true?
Jade squeezed his thigh and returned to her meal. “You're right,” she said. “I should stop.”
Later that night Jade lay in James's arms, unable to sleep. Her mind just kept wondering if she was really going to find happiness with James Goings. She didn't tell him that this evening was one that she'd dreamed of. James made her feel safe. He gave her everything that she had missed growing up. Everything that she had missed in her relationship with Stephen. James made her feel as if she was a priority, and that was something that she'd never felt before. With Stephen, she had felt like an obligation that he didn't really want to deal with. Jade had known long before the story showed up in the paper that things with Stephen had been changing, but she hadn't wanted to be alone. Looking over at James, Jade wanted him to be her everything. But how were they going to make this relationship work when everyone seemed to be against them being together?
One thing is certain,
she thought as she turned and faced James.
At least he's not hiding a wife, girlfriend, or baby mama, like Serena alleged.
 
 
The next morning James woke up before Jade did. Her warmth in his arms made him not want to move. Were he given a choice, he'd lie with her like this all day. He brushed his lips against her forehead, then slipped his arms from around her and got out of the bed, hoping not to wake her up. James had noticed that Jade had tossed and turned for hours before she'd drifted off to sleep last night. If she was resting now, the last thing he wanted to do was disturb her. James headed into the kitchen and dialed Kenya's office. He knew his sister-in-law was in, despite the fact that it was just a little after seven.
“Kenya Goings,” said a female voice.
“Aren't you up bright and early this morning?”
“Well, had I stayed at home a minute longer, I would've killed your brother,” Kenya said in an exasperated voice.
“What's wrong?” James asked.
“Actually, he kept talking about how you're making a huge mistake with this woman from Vegas. I told him he needs to mind his business, but that fool wasn't hearing me. Then I had morning sickness, and Mo was standing outside the bathroom, trying to be helpful but getting on my nerves,” she said. “So, what's the deal with you and the Vegas showgirl?”
“Did he tell you she was a showgirl?” he asked incredulously. “That dude is tripping.”
Kenya sucked in a breath. “Honestly, I'm not even going to repeat some of the stuff Maurice said about your friend. Trust me, you don't want to know.”
James slapped his hand against his forehead in frustration. “Your husband has issues. Jade is a woman who runs her own business. She makes me happy, and I hope I make her happy, too. She is the reason why I'm calling.”
“Really? What's going on?”
“She needs some legal advice. Do you think you can fit us in today?”
“Umm,” she said. James heard her typing on her computer. “I have an opening around ten.”
“Cool. We'll see you then,” he said.
“James,” Kenya said, “you deserve to be happy, and don't let anyone—especially your brother—tell you otherwise.”
“Thanks,” he said. “That means a lot coming from you.”
“Well, I hate to cut this lovefest short, but I have some briefs to get ready and file with the clerk of the court before nine,” she said. “I'll see you guys at ten.”
When James hung up with Kenya, he had a smile on his lips. His sister-in-law was a good friend to him, despite the incident that had happened between them when she thought that Maurice had cheated on her. He turned to head back to the bedroom, but Jade met him in the hallway, with nothing but the bedsheet draped seductively over her naked body.
“You know, when I woke up and you weren't there, I thought last night was a wonderful dream,” she said.
James closed the space between them and pulled her against his body. “Is that so?”
She nodded and smiled. “But luckily, I was wrong. I did sleep in your arms all night.”
He brushed his lips against hers, then said, “You know, we can have breakfast in bed, because Kenya can't see us until ten.”
“What I want to do in bed right now has nothing to do with breakfast,” she said, then dropped the sheet.
In one quick motion, James scooped Jade up in his arms and dashed into the bedroom.
 
 
After spending half of the morning making love, Jade and James pulled themselves out of bed in order to make it to Kenya's office for their ten o'clock meeting.
When they arrived at her office, James spotted Maurice in the lobby. “Jade”—who was getting on the elevator—“you go ahead and go up. I need to talk with my brother,” he said as they approached the elevators. James grabbed Maurice by the elbow. “What's up?”
Maurice looked from James to Jade and shook his head. “You tell me,” Maurice said. “I came to surprise my wife and make sure she was all right, and lo and behold, my brother and his woman are here.” Sarcasm flowed through Maurice's words like a river.
“I spoke to your wife this morning. It seems like you can't stop talking about me and my woman,” James retorted.
“James, what do you really know about Jade Christian and her crew?”
James furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “We're not going through this again.”
“I hired a private detective,” Maurice said. “And in twenty-four hours, he found out that those women are known for bilking the rich and famous out of their money. Especially that Serena Jacobs, and you know what they say about birds of a feather. How did you and Jade meet? Do you think that you running into her was an accident?”
Running his hand over his face, James wanted to write his brother off, but the things he said made more sense than he wanted to admit.
“And Jade was involved with who before you two started sleeping together?” Maurice said pointedly.

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