Marrying the Millionaire (20 page)

“
Why are you here?” CJ was
such a precocious little kid.

Stunned by CJ’s frank question,
Richmond quickly replied, “I came to see if you and your mommy were
okay.” His honest admission reminded him that he really hadn’t
apologized to Kayla the way he should have. “I’ll see you tomorrow.
Now sleep tight.”

Kayla led him down the hallway.
Stopping at the front door, he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I’m sorry for the way I treated you earlier. You didn’t deserve
that. Thank you.”

“
For what?”

Still pissed at Salina, he fought to
say the words, “For getting Isabelle a picture of her mother to put
inside her room.” Just because he had issues with Salina didn’t
mean that Isabelle should be denied the right to love her deceased
mother. Yes. Even though she was dead, it was important that
Isabelle knew how much her mother had loved her.

“
You’re welcome. What time
is the party tomorrow?”

“
Three o’clock.” Richmond
kissed Kayla’s nose, grasped the doorknob, and exited through the
front door. Walking the length of the short driveway, he glanced
back over his shoulder to find Kayla standing in the doorway,
watching him leave. Pulling open the door to his SUV, he felt ten
years younger, and so much lighter.

SATURDAY MORNING ARRIVED
WITH THE sun shining brightly over Kayla’s home. Lying on her side
beneath the warm comforter, looking out the window at the trees in
her back yard, the red-bellied woodpecker flew across her backyard
and landed on the window pane. Listening to the bird peck its beak
against the window, a smile crept over her face.
Peck. Peck. Peck.

That Richmond had been something else
last night. He’d explored her body and had taken her to heights
she’d never known existed. Had pleasured her over and over. She’d
never had so many orgasms in one single night. Thinking about how
his tongue had licked her stretch marks, her heart squeezed. He’d
acted as if she were the finest woman in the world last night.
Well, let’s see how he behaved when she saw him at the party later
on today.

Joy bubbled inside her
heart.
I can’t wait to see
Richmond.
Ready to get her long day
started, she flung the covers off her and climbed out of bed. After
she freshened up, she headed for CJ’s room. On her way there,
walking barefoot down the hallway, she pulled the elastic band from
her wrist and tied her hair into a high bun on top of her
head.

Standing over CJ’s bed while he slept,
she decided she’d wake him after she made some breakfast. Tuning on
her heels, she treaded to the kitchen, placed a small frying pan on
the stove, and clicked the temperature to medium. In the mood for a
cheesy bacon omelet, she pulled open the refrigerator, grabbed a
carton of eggs, and placed them on the counter next to the
sink.

Desiring to get some fresh air, she
hefted the window above the sink, then footed into the living room
to open her front door. Peering out the screen door smiling, she
waved at her neighbor. “Good morning, Betsie Mae.”

“
Morning, Kayla.” Betsie
Mae walked over to the fence. “Saw you had company last
night.”

You don’t miss a thing
around here, do you?
“Yes. A friend of
mine came to visit me.”

“
That was a mighty fine
friend that came to see you last night. If you don’t mind me
asking, just exactly what kind of friend was he?”

Kayla laughed. “He’s a special friend.
He’s also my boss.”

“
That’s who you work for?
I’m in my late sixties, and I’ve never had a boss that fine. No
boss of mine has ever visited me that time of night either.”
Laughing, she waved her hand. “Well, chile, I done heard it all.
I’m gon’ come over there later so you can tell me all about him and
just how special he is to you.”

Kayla snickered. “Okay. I look forward
to seeing you later.”

Whipping the eggs inside a
white ceramic bowl with a fork, she stood over the sink, gazing out
the window.
Mmmph. Richmond’s penis is
so
huge.
Way
bigger than Carson’s
.

Speaking of Carson, that jerk was late
with her money for CJ again. All he had to pay was five hundred
dollars a month. Two hundred fifty dollars every other week.
Carson’s gross salary was one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
He earned plenty of money to help her take care of their son.
Apparently, he just loved for her to beg. Well, no more. From this
day forward, she wasn’t going to pick up the phone and ask him for
one brown penny.

Shaking her head, Kayla said, “Mercy.
Mercy. I need to put him on child support like yesterday.” Trying
to force Carson out of her mind, holding the bowl in her hands, she
walked over to the stove and poured the egg mixture in the hot,
oiled skillet. She added bacon crumbles, loaded it with sharp
cheddar cheese, then gripping the handle of the skillet, she
flipped the omelet.

“
Mmm. Something smells
delicious.” At the sound of the bass voice at her front door, Kayla
whirled. Dismayed, her lips crinkled. Jason stood on the other side
of her screen with a brown paper bag in his hand. “Good morning,
Kayla.”

A huge, phony smile spread
across Kayla’s face as she looked at Jason. “Good morning.” Wearing
a thin white tank top and a pair of Daisy Duke shorts, she
contemplated on whether or not to let him in. Pushing the screen
door open, she felt squeamish. “I’m surprised to see you this
morning.” Darn, she wished Jason would’ve called first.
You wouldn’t have had a problem if it’d been
Richmond showing up without calling first!
her conscious screamed. “Come in.”

Jason stepped over the threshold. “I
hope you don’t mind me showing up like this, but my godmother lives
right down the street there, so after I left her house, I thought
I’d pay you a visit. Come by here to see how you’re
doing.”

After the way your boss
made love to me last night, I’m doing absolutely wonderful.
“I’m doing quite well.”

Jason held the brown bag up in her
face. “Fresh bagels, with assorted cream cheeses.”

Trying to think positive about him,
she licked her lips. “Mmm. I can always eat a fresh
bagel.”

“
Mind if I join you for
breakfast?”

As a matter of fact, I
do.
Kayla gave Jason another fake smile.
“No. That’s fine.” Darn it. Why did she always have such a hard
time telling men how she felt for fear of hurting their feelings?
Sooner or later, she was going to have to learn how to put herself
first.

Several minutes later, wishing
Richmond was there instead of Jason, she lowered a platter with
three omelets to the center of the table. After she woke up CJ, the
three of them sat at the dining table and had breakfast together.
Lust flared in Jason’s blue eyes as he sat across from her, forking
the omelet in his mouth. “You make a damn good omelet,
Kayla.”

“
Thanks.” Feeling awkward,
Kayla lifted her glass to her mouth and sipped at the sweet orange
juice.
This is the first and last time I’m
having breakfast with him.
Sandella had
told her she’d overheard him talking about her at SugarKanes with
his friends. That known, the last thing she needed was for him to
misinterpret their relationship. She didn’t need Jason getting the
wrong impression about them or how she truly felt while in his
presence. Eerie. Strange. Uncomfortable. Hopefully she wasn’t being
judgmental, because that was the last thing she wanted to do to
anyone.

“
Driving up here, I noticed
your grass needs cutting. It’s quite high.”

“
I’ve been so busy working,
I haven’t had time to take care of it.”

“
Well, I don’t have any
plans today. I can cut it for you, if you’d like.”

Too broke to pay him, she shook her
head. “Thanks, but I don’t have any money to pay you for the
service.”

She thought she saw a gleam of
interest for her in his eyes. “Oh, I’m not asking you to pay me to
do it. It’d be on the house.”

“
No. I couldn’t ask you to
do it for free.”

“
You’re not asking. I’m
volunteering. How about this? Let’s just say I’ll do it in exchange
for the delicious omelet you made me?” Jason suggested.

Knowing she could use an extra helping
hand around the house, Kayla contemplated her answer. Trying to
think positive about Jason, she nodded. “I’m going to take you up
on your offer.”

“
Good. Where’s your
garage?” he asked, scooting his chair back.

Kayla stood, walked over to the side
door, and pulled it open. Hitting the button to lift the garage
door, she pointed to the dark corner. “The lawnmower is over
there.” Jason rounded her, then dismounted the steps of her garage.
“Let me know if you need anything.”

“
Other than a glass of cold
water, I won’t be needing anything.”

“
I’ll leave the water for
you on the counter. Thanks for your help.”

His eyes moved up and down
her body; they seemed to undress her.
Dear
Lord
. Hopefully, she was reading him
wrong. “Ah, cutting your grass is no problem at all, Kayla. None
whatsoever. Gosh, you’re so pretty.”

Folding her arms over her breasts, she
cringed. She’d never been the type of girl to take compliments
well. “Thanks.”

Standing behind her, CJ yanked on her
shorts. She turned to face him. “Mommy, how come everybody keeps
coming to see us?”

Smiling, Kayla shrugged. “I guess
because you’re so adorable. And they just love coming to see
you.”

Frowning, CJ’s lips folded under. “Not
everybody, Mommy. Not Daddy.”

Kayla’s heart crumbled. “Your daddy
loves you, CJ. He’s just so busy. As soon as he gets time off work,
I’m sure he’ll come visit you.”

CJ huffed. “Why can’t we go see him,
Mommy?”

Oh, geez. The kid had some great
questions that Kayla wasn’t prepared to answer. “I tell you what.
I’ll check with your daddy to see when his next day off is. If he
gets some free time, I’ll take you to Charlotte to see
him.”

CJ threw a fist in the air. “Yay!
Thank you, Mommy!”

“
You’re welcome. Now go
clean up your room and brush your teeth.” CJ took off running. “No
running in the house, CJ.” The last thing she needed was for his
rough behind to fall and break his arm again. Even worse, his
leg.

Churning sounds of the
lawnmower made its way inside the house. Kayla walked over to the
sink and gazed out the window at Jason as she washed the dishes.
Shirtless, Jason pushed the lawnmower across the high, slender
grass, cutting it. Appearing like he took pride in being a
handyman, the hot sun drenched his toned torso.
Maybe he’s not that bad after all. I need to get over myself.
Jason was just giving me a friendly compliment while at SugarKanes
and today. I’m sure he doesn’t want me. But then again, I’d thought
the same thing about Richmond. And boy am I glad I was dead
wrong.

Done washing the dishes, Kayla headed
to her room to make the bed and clean up her crowded closet. Inside
the closet, her hands floundered over the hangers over her shirts,
making the clothes sway. Perhaps she’d put her summer clothes in
the attic and keep her fall and winter clothes in here. Needing
more space, yeah, that’s what she’d do.

She grabbed handfuls of her summer
clothing, took them to the garage, and then returned to the closet
to do the same thing again. Clearing out all her summer clothing,
she decided to get rid of the wooden chipped shoe shelves that her
grandfather had had ever since she was a little girl. Maybe later
on today after the birthday party, she’d run to Walmart and get
some new ones.

Gripping the sides of the
wooden shoe shelf placed in the corner, she lifted it. Her eyes
drifted toward the floor.
What in the
world is that?
Staring at what looked like
a secret safe placed deep inside the wall, she lowered the shelf to
the ground by her side, then got down on her knees. Wondering what
was inside the small vault, she yanked on the handle, but it was
locked.

His keys. Maybe the key to
this lock is on his keychain.
Anxious to
see what was inside the secret safe, Kayla hopped to her feet, ran
inside her bedroom, and retrieved her grandfather’s old keys from
her nightstand. Thank goodness she’d held on to them.

Back on her knees inside
the closet, Kayla inserted the smallest key on the keychain into
the tiny lock, turned–and voila, it clicked open. A black medical
bag sat alone inside the safe.
This must
be Grandpa’s medical bag from college. Or the one he used while
practicing natural medicine around town.

Back in the day, her grandfather,
Leroy Van Buren, had gone to medical school to become a general
physician. However, unfortunately, while studying for the boards to
get his license, her grandmother, Priscilla, had taken ill with
lung cancer. After her grandmother died, Leroy never recovered from
her loss. He never tried to take the medical board exam and decided
to make doctor house visits around Hilton Head Island
instead.