Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (8 page)

They talked about the sights they’d seen and shared photos that they’d taken in Jamaica before Marjorie, Robyn’s mom, pulled out the wedding album. Emerald winced at a couple of pictures that made her look a little weird but overall the photographer had taken gorgeous pictures.

Carol, the Phillips cook and maid, announced that dinner was ready to be served and they all made their way into the dining room and the large table that was there. Emerald found herself seated comfortably with Robyn on one side of her and Robyn’s niece, Whitney, on her other side. Grace sat across from her and she didn’t resist frowning or sticking out her tongue whenever Emerald looked at her.

The entire dinner was extremely loud and noisy so it seemed that everyone missed Grace’s antics. Emerald had her own turn sneering at her friend when she thought that no one was looking. The pinch was meant to convey how annoyed she was with Grace for getting everyone speculating about her relationship with Lincoln. From the way Grace kept glaring, Emerald knew that she’d gotten the message.

As Emerald ate she glanced down the table at Lincoln every couple of minutes. He was seated with Devin and they were deep in conversation. She wished that Lincoln was sitting next to her but since most people were only speculating about what was going on between them and didn’t actually
know,
it was better that they sat apart. She wasn’t ashamed of having a purely sexual relationship but in a family as pure and old fashioned as this one, it definitely wasn’t something to brag about.

“He keeps staring at you,” Robyn whispered when dessert was beginning. She now had Olivia, who’d woken from her nap, on her lap.

“So?” Emerald shrugged, feigning nonchalance when she was actually thrilled about it.

Robyn wasn’t fooled. She leaned close and whispered, “That must be some good nookie you’re giving him.”

“Oh, it is,” Emerald said seriously, trying not to laugh.

“A part of me still can’t believe it.”

“Now’s not the time for this conversation.”

“Okay,” Robyn replied simply, nuzzling her daughter’s neck. Olivia grinned a wide baby grin, looking adorable in a little red Santa dress.

Emerald looked at all the cake, pie and ice cream that was placed on the table and knew she’d never be able to eat any of it after all the steak and seafood she’d just consumed. She excused herself and went to the kitchen to ask Carol for a coffee.

Grace followed her to the kitchen.

“You hurt my arm, you bitch,” Grace complained, causing Carol, who had very pale skin, to turn bright red.

“That’s what you get for starting trouble,” Emerald said, sparing Grace a glance before turning to Carol and saying “Can I have a coffee please? Black one sugar.”

“Of course,” the older woman replied, apparently relieved that Grace and Emerald weren’t actually angry with each other. She walked towards the coffee maker, which was already brewing, and poured a cup.

“I wasn’t trying to start trouble,” Grace said, putting her hands on her hips. “I forgot that you tagged Devin and Robyn and that
everyone
would see what I wrote. But if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at Linc for writing what
he
wrote.”

“What he wrote was harmless.”

“He professed his love. Online. With hundreds of witnesses.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Emerald asked, accepting the mug of coffee from Carol. “He did not. He said something about two beautiful ladies and that’s it.”

“He wrote x’s and o’s,” Grace reminded loudly. “That means love.”

“Lots of people do that. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“He claimed you.”

“He also claimed Olivia,” Emerald said, shrugging. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“
Sure
,” Grace said, wagging her eyebrows.

“You’re being such a brat,” Emerald turned to leave the kitchen, seeing Carol giggling as she loaded dishes into the dishwasher. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“No, I’m not. You’re the brat, for fooling yourself into thinking-”

“Why are you so focused on us anyway?” Emerald demanded. “Won’t you worry about your own love life? Why won’t you give Ryan a chance?”

“Let’s not go there,” Grace warned as they entered the hallway.

“Oh, really. But it’s okay for you to interrogate me and harass me about
my
relationship.”

“Yes. No. Shit, I don’t know.” Grace stopped walking and leaned forward, putting her forehead on the wall.

“You obviously like Ryan. You slept with him. And you keep focusing on me and Lincoln. I think there’s a serious issue here.”

“You slept with Ryan?” Robyn whispered fiercely, causing both Emerald and Grace to jump about a foot in the air.

Emerald yelped when the hot coffee splashed all over her hands and dripped onto the floor.

“You two have been very busy while I’ve been gone, huh?” Robyn crossed her arms over her chest and squinted her eyes at them then ruined the scowl by laughing.

Unbelievably, Grace blushed and her exotic, gold skin became splotchy and red.

“Grace Jamison, I can’t believe it!” Robyn said.

Emerald giggled, honestly enjoying Grace’s discomfort after Grace had put her on the spot.

“Yes,” Emerald said in a bland tone, “While you were on your way to Jamaica, Grace and I both managed to bag some hot guys.”

Robyn laughed and threw an arm around Grace who gave in and started laughing. Emerald laughed too, the ridiculousness of the whole situation hitting her.

“What’s going on in here?” Peyton, Robyn’s older sister, asked, holding her daughter’s hand. Whitney was four and looked like a mini version of her mother and aunt.

“Nothing,” Grace said through her giggles.

Peyton stared at the other three women suspiciously. Whitney looked wide-eyed. Emerald wasn’t exactly sure why but their expressions set off another round of laughter and she laughed so hard that tears sprung to her eyes.

“Mom, I have to pee!” Whitney complained, prompting Peyton to wordlessly continue down the hall.

“Let’s get back to dinner,” Grace said, wiping her own eyes. “Someone else is bound to come out of the dining room and I don’t want to answer any more questions.”

“Okay,” Robyn agreed. “But we need a girls day soon because I need details!”

Everyone lingered over dessert and Emerald was the first one to say her goodbyes. Although she’d enjoyed herself and wouldn’t mind staying longer, she still felt weird about getting home too late. She didn’t think Marley would do anything else but there were no guarantees and there was a small niggle of doubt in her mind.

It took her several minutes to say her goodbyes to everyone, from Devin’s and Robyn’s parents to their siblings and in-laws. Lincoln surprised her, and caused her heart to race, when he walked her out to the car. She ignored the knowing looks that everyone gave them and walked out of the door.

She was parked in front of the four car garage, which was fully occupied. They quietly walked to her car and she unlocked it.

“Are you coming over tonight?” He asked. “Or should I come to your place?”

“Either one is fine with me.” She felt like they were being watched but when she looked at the windows of the house, all of the curtains were closed.

“I wanted to ask you something,” He said, taking her hand and kissing it. “I know it’s short notice but I wanted to know if you’d like to come to my office Christmas party with me. It’s on Tuesday.”

“Uh…” She pulled her hand away, suddenly feeling awkward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Hmm.” His face was expressionless.

“It’s nothing personal, Lincoln. I just don’t think-”

“No need to explain,” He cut her off briskly. “I get it.”

She tried to meet his eyes but he looked down at his watch.

“I’m sorry,” She felt forced to say. Just a minute ago he’d looked so warm and friendly and now his face had lost all it’s animation.

“Don’t worry about it,” He said, a half of a smile crossing his face. “I’ll be over your place in a little while.”

She nodded and stood still when he leaned down. She licked her lips, anticipating his kiss, but he only kissed her cheek. Disappointed, she got in her car and looked at the house again. The curtains were definitely moving. They had witnesses.

She waved and drove away, feeling like she’d made a serious mistake but not knowing how it could have gone any differently. They had an agreement. And there were rules to follow, even if they hadn’t spelt them out. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings but she didn’t want them to fool themselves into thinking that their association was something it wasn’t.

It took her awhile to find a parking spot. She ended up parked two blocks away and shivered against the biting cold as she walked down the street. Her feet were freezing as she entered her building and she wondered if she had time to have a hot shower before Lincoln arrived.

She stumbled when she reached her apartment. Scrawled across the door in red spray paint was the word
BITCH
written in uppercase letters. She was at once upset and angry, her heart doing a mean gallop within her chest. With trembling hands she took out her phone and took a picture of the nasty message.

Across the hall, she heard a door open. She turned to see Mrs. Jordan, who lived there with her small granddaughter, frowning. She had very dark, wrinkled skin and a headful of gray hair.

“Are you alright?” The older woman asked, looking back into her apartment before gently closing the door and walking over.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Emerald murmured, though her entire body felt tense enough to snap. “Did you hear anything earlier today? Or see somebody over here?”

“No,” Mrs. Jordan replied solemnly. “Janet is sick; girl got that flu. I was taking care of her all day and she just kept carrying on… She’s finally sleep.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Emerald murmured, distracted. “I hope she feels better soon.”

“Thank you, puddin’,” Mrs. Jordan said and touched Emerald’s arm. “This probably was those Jenkins boys. You know they been tagging up the whole building.”

Emerald nodded in agreement although she knew very well what was going on. Instead of making Marley back off, her visit had had the opposite effect and now he was trying to up his game.

“Emerald?”

She turned around to see Lincoln standing at the top of the stairwell. He rushed over. Mrs. Jordan eyed him blatantly, staring him up and down. If Emerald wasn’t so pissed off, she might have laughed.

“Who did this?” Lincoln demanded, staring at her door. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Emerald said, trying to remain calm. “This was like this when I got here.”

“Is this your boyfriend?” Mrs. Jordan grinned at him.

“We should call the police,” Lincoln said, pulling out his phone.

“No!” Both Emerald and Mrs. Jordan muttered simultaneously.

Lincoln looked at them both with a dark frown on his face.

“It was probably just these stupid kids,” Emerald said, making a serious attempt to keep her voice light. The last thing she needed were cops in her building. She’d end up being the most hated woman in the place. Besides, the cops hadn’t been any help so far.

“I think it’s those Jenkins boys,” Mrs. Jordan told Lincoln. “They been doing this mess all over the building.”

“Well somebody needs to talk to them,” Lincoln said, grinding his teeth.

“It’s harmless.” Emerald took out her keys to unlock the door.

“Harmless?” Lincoln exclaimed. “This is not harmless, Em. This is harassment.”

“Calm down.” She kept her voice low. He was usually so laid back. His fury was quite a sight.

“I’m calling the police.”

“Don’t do it, boy,” Mrs. Jordan warned before Emerald could reply. “We don’t want or need those pigs up in our business.”

Emerald knew that Mrs. Jordan had an intense dislike for the police, who’d arrested her daughter. Janet’s mother was now serving a couple of years in jail for selling drugs. Emerald vaguely knew the woman, who had been selling drugs out of her apartment in order to pay bills. Emerald knew that selling drugs wasn’t the answer but in the face of Mrs. Jordan’s sadness, couldn’t help but wish that the woman was free.

“Let’s go inside, Lincoln. You have a goodnight, Mrs. Jordan.”

Mrs. Jordan stared at Lincoln for a moment before going back to her own apartment. Emerald got her door unlocked and went in with Lincoln following closely behind her.

“I don’t like this, Emerald.” He made no move to take his coat off, standing stiffly by the door and looking very angry.

“I don’t either,” She agreed. “But it happens. I’ll clean it off and forget about it.”

“Why won’t you call the police?”

“This is the hood,” Emerald said, wanting to snap. But it wasn’t his fault he didn’t understand or that she was so on edge. “If I bring the police into the building it better be for a damn good reason.”

“You need to get out of this place.” He finally took his coat off.