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Authors: Naomi Chase

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“My great-grandmother used to make that all the time.”
Honey beamed with pleasure. “Really? Is she from New Orleans?”
“She was. She passed away several years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. She was ninety-six, so she enjoyed a nice long life.”
Honey smiled, looking like she wanted to curl up on Brandon’s lap. “Is your brother single?” she blurted.
Tamia gasped. “Honey!”
Brandon laughed, amused by her boldness. “Beau is ... selectively single.”
Before Honey could ask him to elaborate, Lou emerged from the powder room located off the foyer. His eyes briefly met Tamia’s before they shifted to Brandon. “Wassup, Counselor.”
Brandon smiled. “Wassup, Saldaña.”
As the two men exchanged handshakes and friendly greetings, Tamia was relieved to see that Lou appeared to be back to his normal self. Outwardly, at least.
He flashed a half grin at Brandon. “You gonna grace us with your presence for dinner?”
“Yes,” Honey interjected before Brandon could open his mouth. “He has to taste my jambalaya and tell me if it’s as good as his great-grandmother’s. And I want to hear more about his ‘selectively single’ brother,” she added with a wink.
Brandon chuckled. “I guess I’m staying, then.”
“Yup.”
Tamia glanced at Honey and Lou. “Would you two excuse us for a few minutes?” she murmured before taking Brandon by the hand and escorting him to her bedroom.
She closed the door behind them, then led him over to her neatly made, queen-size bed. She wanted to kiss his soft, succulent lips and undo the remaining buttons on his shirt, then shove him back onto the mattress and straddle him. But she figured she’d better wait until she knew where things stood between him and Cynthia.
They sat on the edge of the bed.
Staring down at his hands clasped between his legs, Brandon said quietly, “I broke up with Cynthia.”
Tamia’s heart soared. If Brandon had been looking at her, he would have seen the look of sheer joy that crossed her face before she managed to control herself and ask gently, “Are you okay?”
He hesitated for so long that Tamia wondered whether he’d even heard her question.
She waited anxiously.
Finally he met her gaze. “It wasn’t easy. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Cynthia. We’ve always been good friends, and my feelings for her are real.”
“Meaning that ... you really love her?”
Again Brandon hesitated, then nodded slowly. “In my own way, I do. Despite the way she behaved today, I know she’s a good person, and I believe she really loves me.”
“She does,” Tamia agreed quietly. “I may not like or trust Cynthia, but one thing I can’t deny is that she genuinely loves you, Brandon. I saw it in her eyes when I confronted her at your father’s campaign launch party. She’s crazy about you, so I know she must be pretty devastated right now.”
Brandon said nothing.
Tamia sighed heavily. “Maybe you could have worked things out with her,” she surprised herself by saying.
“I don’t think so.” Brandon exhaled a deep, ragged breath. “Honestly, Tamia, I probably just need to be alone for a while to clear my head and figure out what I really want.”
Her heart sank. “I know what you want,” she told him. “You want me.”
“Baby—”
“Listen,” Tamia said urgently, sliding off the bed to kneel between his legs. “I know you’re feeling confused and guilty right now because of what happened between you and Cynthia, and God knows I don’t want to give you any more to worry about. But we made a powerful connection last night, Brandon. Not just sexually.
Emotionally
, too. You told me that you’ve never stopped loving me, and I know you were speaking from the heart.”
“I was,” he admitted, stroking the side of her hair. “I can’t get you out of my system, no matter how hard I try. But as I told you before, we’ve still got some issues to work through. Every time I think I’m over what you did, something happens to remind me that I’m not. Seeing Dominic at your apartment on Saturday night really fucked me up. I know you didn’t invite him over here,” he said when Tamia opened her mouth to protest, “but seeing him all over you in the hallway just took me back to that night in May when I found out that you’d been sleeping with him.”
“It didn’t mean anything,” Tamia insisted, capturing his hand and holding it to her heart. “What you and I have means
way
more to me than the cheap sex I had with Dominic.”
“Maybe,” Brandon conceded grimly, “but I’m a man, Tamia, and any man in my shoes would have a damn hard time getting over the thought of his woman fucking some other dude. Why do you think I haven’t been able to watch your Mystique videos? I know you were just acting, and I know you did those movies
years
before we ever met, but just the thought of seeing you like that ...” He trailed off, shaking his head at her. “I don’t even wanna
think
about it.”
“Then don’t,” Tamia urged him. “Put it out of your mind.”
His lips twisted sardonically. “I wish it were that simple.”
She eyed him beseechingly.“I can’t undo the past, baby. If I could, you know I would.”
“I know.” He held her gaze for a long moment, then slowly pulled his hand away and blew out a deep breath. “Anyway, I just wanted to see if you were all right, and talk to you face-to-face about what happened.”
Tamia nodded. “You’re still staying for dinner, right?”
“Yeah.” He smiled wryly. “Even though Lou probably doesn’t want me to.”
Tamia went still, staring at him. “What’re you talking about?”
“You think I don’t know that Lou has feelings for you? It’s so obvious.”
“Not to me! We’ve never been more than just friends.”
Brandon chuckled, shaking his head at her. “No offense, Tamia, but you’re not the kind of woman that guys only want to befriend. You’re beautiful, and sexy as hell. And Lou has seen what you can do ... in the bedroom. So he’d have to be crazy
not
to want you.”
Frowning, Tamia rose from the floor and reclaimed her spot on the bed. “I’m not interested in Lou, or any other man. You’re the only one I want, Brandon, and nothing’s going to change that. So whenever you decide you’re ready for a relationship, I’ll be here.”
Brandon gently caressed her cheek, his eyes probing hers.
Several seconds went by.
“Do you have a passport?” he asked suddenly.
Tamia blinked. “A passport?”
“Yeah.” He paused. “I want to take you on a trip.”
She stared at him. “A ... trip?”
Brandon made an exaggerated show of glancing around the bedroom. “Damn, is there an echo in here? Why do you keep repeating everything I say?”
Tamia laughed. “Because I want to make sure my ears aren’t deceiving me! Are you asking me to go on a trip with you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking you. I want to make up for the trip we never took this year. We’d leave on Friday and come back next Friday. So we’d be gone for Thanksgiving.”
“But what about work? I just started on Monday. Isn’t it too soon for me to take a vacation?”
“Don’t worry about that. You’re only part-time until Noemi goes on leave, and the office will be mostly deserted next week anyway. So what do you say? Yes or no to the trip?”
“Are you kidding? One thousand percent
YES
!” Tamia squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him.
Brandon laughed. “Don’t you at least want to know where we’re going first?”
“I don’t care! As long as we’re together, baby, it doesn’t matter
where
we go!”
“Good,” Brandon said, smiling into her eyes as they drew apart, “because I wasn’t going to tell you anyway. It’ll be a surprise.”
Tamia beamed. “I can’t wait.”
A knock sounded at the door. “I hate to interrupt whatever you lovebirds may be doing,” Honey called in an amused voice, “but dinner’s on the table, and Lou and I are ready to throw down. So come on, you two!”
Tamia and Brandon grinned at each other.
As they rose from the bed and walked to the door, Tamia basked in the knowledge that she’d have her boo all to herself for an entire week. She intended to make the most of their time together. And if all went well, she’d be back in the running to become Mrs. Brandon Chambers by the time they returned home.
Chapter 35
Tamia
Two nights later, Tamia and Honey went on an excursion to the downtown facility that housed Pinnacle Sports Group, the agency founded by Beau Chambers.
As they entered the lobby, Tamia glanced toward the barber shop to ensure that there was no sign of Fiona. Before heading over, she’d anonymously called the shop to see whether her sister was working that night, because she had no desire to see or speak to Fiona. Thankfully, she’d been told that Fiona had class tonight.
Looking through the shop’s glass windows, Tamia was relieved to see that her sister’s workstation was indeed empty. The other barbers were tending to customers, which included Houston Texans running back Arian Foster and Kevin Martin of the Houston Rockets. The place was abuzz with loud music and raucous laughter as the men bantered about whatever it was that men discussed in barber shops.
“Oh, my God!” Honey squealed, pointing excitedly toward the shop. “Girl, look at all those ballers in there!”
Tamia chuckled. “I see them,” she drawled, steering Honey toward the wellness center across the lobby. “But that’s not why we’re here, remember? We’re supposed to be waiting for Beau to come downstairs any minute so that you can ‘accidentally’ run into him.”
“Right,” Honey agreed, throwing one last glance at the barber shop. “But I still don’t understand why we couldn’t just ask Brandon to introduce me to his brother. Wouldn’t that have been easier?”
“Maybe,” Tamia agreed. “But Brandon told me that Beau absolutely hates matchmaking schemes. Their mother is always introducing him to the daughters and nieces of her bougie society friends, so Beau adamantly refuses to date
any
woman that he suspects he’s being set up with. Even if his brother is doing the matchmaking.”
“Well,” Honey drawled, licking her glossy red lips, “I’m definitely no debutante.”
Tamia laughed, surveying Honey’s weaved mane, cleavage-baring blouse, skintight leather pants, and stiletto boots. “You can say that again.”
As they strolled into the general nutrition store that fronted the wellness center, Tamia wondered whether Dre was working tonight. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than he emerged from the back.
When he saw Tamia, he nearly dropped the box he was carrying.
As they stared at each other, Tamia had an unpleasant flashback to the last time she’d seen Dre at Brandon’s father’s campaign launch party in May. She’d made the mistake of donning a black mask that had jolted Dre into recognizing her as Mystique, whose porn videos he’d apparently been watching—and jerking off to—for years. After he outed Tamia to Brandon, everything had gone downhill for her.
And now as she faced Dre, Tamia realized that she hadn’t completely forgiven him for the way he’d treated her. Although he’d claimed that he was only looking out for Brandon, Tamia felt that he’d been judgmental toward her, as if
he’d
never made any mistakes in his life. She looked forward to the day that he’d do something that would jeopardize his relationship with Leah. After all, he was a man. So it wasn’t a matter of
if
he’d fuck up, but
when
.
Following the direction of Tamia’s gaze, Honey murmured, “Oooh, he’s sexy. Do you know him?”
Tamia nodded tightly. “That’s Brandon’s best friend.”
“Oh.” Suddenly remembering what she’d been told about the role Dre had played in Tamia’s downfall, Honey nodded understandingly. “
Oh
.”
Recovering his composure, Dre glanced away from Tamia and carried the box over to one of the store clerks who was stocking shelves.
“Wait a minute.” Honey eyed Tamia speculatively.“Did you know he’d be working tonight?”
“Nope. I didn’t even think about it.”
Honey snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Tamia ignored her.
As Dre turned and started toward them, Honey announced under her breath, “I’m gonna look for some vitamins. Please try not to make a scene while I’m gone. It might hurt my chances with Beau.”
Tamia chuckled dryly, watching as Honey sashayed away before she turned and began wandering down an aisle filled with various diet and nutritional supplements.
“Wassup, Tamia,” Dre greeted her.
Glancing around, she gave him a cool, narrow smile. “Hello, Deondre.”
His brow lifted at the formal address. “Damn. So it’s like that?”
“Like what?”
“I’m Deondre now?”
Tamia blinked innocently. “Isn’t that your name?”
Dre frowned. “Come on, Tamia. You know damn well that none of my friends call me Deondre.”
“Oh, are we friends?” Tamia countered coolly.“Did you ever visit me while I was in prison? Did you ever send a word of encouragement or a simple hello through Brandon? Did you show up for one single day of my trial? Did you even support Brandon’s decision to represent me?”
Dre was silent, guilt flickering in his eyes.
Tamia smirked at him. “Then we’re not friends.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
Dre followed her. “Look, if you expect me to apologize for looking out for my best friend—”
“I don’t expect anything from you, Deondre,” Tamia cut him off. “I know you may find this hard to believe, but I don’t give a damn what you think of me. The only one who has ever mattered to me is Brandon. Despite the terrible mistakes I made, he never stopped loving me and wanting the best for me. Despite the way you and his parents tried to poison his mind, he never gave up on me.” She paused. “We’re going away together, did you know that?”
Dre looked surprised. “Nah, he didn’t tell me that.”
Tamia couldn’t suppress a satisfied smile. “Well, it’s true. Brandon’s taking me on a trip. He already told his parents that he wouldn’t be home for Thanksgiving. I’m sure they didn’t take the news too well. But it doesn’t matter. Because if Brandon and I are meant to be together, there’s nothing his parents—or you—can do about it. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
This time when Tamia walked off, Dre let her go.
As he returned to the back with his tail tucked between his legs, Tamia went in search of Honey. Rounding the corner of the aisle, she caught sight of Beau stepping off the elevator across the lobby, briefcase swinging at his side. As he sauntered toward the glass-fronted entrance to the wellness center, Tamia couldn’t help staring at him. Clad in a pinstriped navy suit with no tie, the brotha looked good enough to lick like a melting chocolate bar.
As he reached the wellness center, his steps slowed and his eyes widened as he stared through the windows.
Following the direction of his riveted gaze, Tamia saw Honey leaning over to retrieve a bottle of vitamins from the bottom shelf of a display case. The sight of her round, thick ass sheathed in black leather had Beau practically drooling all over his expensive Italian threads.
Tamia smiled to herself.
Houston, we have take off.
But before Beau could enter the wellness center, he was intercepted by none other than Joseph Yarbrough.
Shit!
Tamia thought. She watched as the two men exchanged friendly handshakes before her gaze swung back to Honey. As the girl straightened from the vitamin display case, she glanced out the windows and froze at the sight of Beau talking to Bishop Yarbrough. Seconds later she whipped her head toward Tamia, her eyes wide with panic.
What the hell should I do?
she mouthed.
Hide!
Tamia mouthed back.
As Beau and the bishop stepped through the entrance, Honey ducked down an aisle.
Hoping to distract the two men long enough for Honey to make her escape, Tamia stepped forward with a bright smile. “Well, isn’t
this
a nice surprise?”
Beau and Bishop Yarbrough glanced around. When Beau saw Tamia standing there, his face broke into a broad smile. Yarbrough, on the other hand, frowned with displeasure.
“Hey, Tamia.” Beau came forward to greet her with a warm bear hug before he drew back and grinned. “Wassup, girl. What brings you here tonight?”
Tamia smiled at him. “Brandon told me that you guys have the best selection of vitamins.”
“He’s right,” Beau confirmed. “Since Dre works as an athletic trainer, he has a lot of contacts in the health and fitness industry. So we get many new products before they even hit the market. Have you had any trouble finding what you need?”
“Oh, I just got here, so I’m still browsing.” Tamia looked at Joseph Yarbrough. “Hello, bishop. Nice to see you again.”
“Miss Luke.” Joseph offered a thin, condescending smile. “We’ve missed you at church. Was it something that I said?”
“Not at all,” Tamia murmured. “I’m just used to a different type of worship experience. No offense.”
“None taken,” Joseph countered smoothly.“Not everyone is spiritually mature enough to receive God’s word the way I’m led to deliver it.”
Here he goes again with this sanctimonious bullshit!
Tamia thought darkly.
“When someone is living in sin,” the bishop continued piously, “their heart is hardened to the truth of the Gospel.”
Without missing a beat, Tamia volleyed back, “Well, as the Bible says, ‘Let he who is without scandal—I mean
sin
—cast the first stone.’”
Joseph’s haughty expression evaporated.
As his face reddened, he shot a nervous glance at Beau. But Beau had missed the entire exchange, too busy looking around the store for Honey.
As the bishop’s eyes narrowed suspiciously on Tamia’s face, she smirked at him.
When Honey emerged from another aisle and began heading for the rear exit that backed to the parking lot, Tamia blurted to Beau, “Your brother tells me that you’re close to signing Damarion Griggs. Congratulations.”
Beau smiled at her. “Thanks, Tamia. Of course it’s not a done deal yet since he hasn’t officially declared for the NFL draft. But everything’s falling nicely into place.”
“That’s wonderful, Beau. I’m so happy for you.” Over his shoulder, she could see Honey darting quickly out the back door. Tamia waited another moment, then glanced down at her watch and sighed. “Well, I’d better get what I came for so I can head home and finish packing.”
“Oh, yeah,” Beau said, his eyes glinting with mischief as he added, “You and Brandon are going on a trip, right?”
“Right,” Tamia confirmed, thoroughly enjoying the look of stunned outrage that swept across Joseph’s face. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning. Brandon won’t tell me where we’re going; he wants to surprise me.”
Beau grinned. “He swore me to secrecy, but I
can
tell you that you’re going to be very pleased.”
Tamia beamed. “I can’t wait,” she enthused as Bishop Yarbrough’s expression grew darker. She relished the thought of him breaking the news to Cynthia that Brandon was whisking Tamia off on a romantic getaway. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when
that
conversation went down.
Ten minutes later, after buying a bottle of vitamins that Beau recommended, Tamia left the wellness center and met Honey outside at the car. “Girl, that was a close call.”
“I know,” Honey agreed, climbing into the passenger seat and closing the door. “Bishop Yarbrough doesn’t know that we’re friends. If he’d seen me there with you, he probably would have freaked out. The last thing I need is his crazy, paranoid ass calling me every damn hour to find out if I’ve told you anything.”
Tamia shook her head as she reversed out of the parking space. “I don’t know how in the hell you put up with that self-righteous, hypocritical motherfucker.”
Honey laughed. “Trust and believe, he’s not quoting any scriptures when I’m giving him head and riding his little dick.”
Tamia sucked her teeth in disgust. “Okay, that was just too much information. Damn. Anyway, what the hell was he doing here?”
Honey grinned wryly. “Probably replenishing his supply of male enhancement pills so he’ll be ready for me the next time we—”
Tamia held up a hand. “I get the point.”
Again the girl laughed. Sobering after a few moments, she sighed deeply. “Damn, Beau’s even hotter in person.”
“I told you.” Tamia grinned slyly. “You had that brotha’s tongue hanging out of his mouth when you were bending over.”
“He saw me?”
“Hell, yeah. He was about to approach you when Bishop Yarbrough arrived.”
“Damn,” Honey lamented. “Talk about a cock-blocker.”
“I know.” Tamia gave the girl an encouraging smile. “But don’t worry. If you and Beau are meant to meet, you will when the time’s right.”
Honey brightened. “You really think so?”
Tamia nodded. “I do.”
And she meant it.

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