No Ordinary Romance (21 page)

Connie didn't waste any time, she made short
work of her food. "I could get used to this Thomas. The yard looks
beautiful, I wasn't the only one working today. You planted flowers
and even got the lanterns in place."

Thomas sat down to eat his meal and watched
Constantina enjoy hers. "I want my home to be a place of refuge for
you. When you've had a hard day at work or a heartbreaking
situation at the foundation, I'll be here waiting for you. I want
you to know that my door and my arms will always be open."

"Thomas when you say things like that I kind
of melt inside. I ran from you at first because I knew you had the
power to destroy me. I couldn't take that risk, I'd been burnt to
many times before, but you just wouldn't go away."

"How could I give up when being with you was
so essential to me? I understood why you were running, but the
hunter in me gave way to the chase. I want more from you than a
quickie here and there. You may not want to hear this, but those
two weeks apart from you were unbearable. I don't want a temporary
lover. I want to build a life with you."

"Thomas, men like you don't do forever with
women like me."

"What a lot of horse shit! Women like you
make men like me stand up and take notice of what they have been
missing."

"Is that so?"

"Take my word for it, you and I were meant to
be together."

Thomas cleared the table and brought two more
beers from the kitchen. By the time he got back, Constantina had
removed her shoes and socks. The sight of her bare toes immediately
took his mind south of his waist. He put the beers on the table,
sat in the chair next to her, and pulled her feet into his lap. He
watched her face as he massaged her feet. "How do you feel now that
you're no longer the owner of a sex store?"

Connie leaned back in the chair, sipping beer
as he rubbed her feet. Damn this was the life. "It was the right
thing to do, but in some ways I felt as if I let Laura down."

The more Thomas massaged her feet, the more
she relaxed she became. "How in the hell do you possibly think you
let Laura down?"

"Laura was the first friend I ever had, she
became my friend when there was no profit in it. I was a bedraggled
college student working in the university library, and she was
someone who needed help. Our friendship started slow, but she
became an pivotal person in my life the closest person I’ve ever
had to a sister.”

"She must have made an impression, you not
quick call anyone friend, or to claim a lover."

The breeze picked up, and the fireflies flit
all over the backyard making it appear like some garden of
paradise. "Something awful happened when she was a teenager, she
started the Cabbage Patch Foundation as therapy, and she purchased
The Purple Feather to upset her wealthy family. When I signed the
papers to sell the store, I felt as if I were giving in to her
family's wishes. It was like losing her again."

Thomas gave Constantina's other foot the same
love and care. He wanted to be that person Constantina came to when
she was in need. She didn’t trust easily, but when she loved, it
was forever. He wanted to be a part of her forever. “I’m sorry for
your loss I know what it’s like to lose an prominent person in your
life. That one person you think you can’t live without.”

“You’re talking about your step-father?”

“Yes, did my mother ever tell you the
nightmare she lived through with my real father?”

“No.”

“My real father Thomas Terrell, was a gifted
craftsman, he could make beautiful furniture with wood. When he
chose to work, he had furniture orders from around the state;
however, his main problem was alcohol. My mother and I lived in
squalor because my gifted father who could charge anything for his
creations was too busy whoring and getting drunk to worry about
whether or not we were eating. My mother made money with her baked
goods. My father would beat her until she gave him her money. My
mother withstood those beatings because she was under the misguided
notion that women needed to stand by their men regardless if he was
a piece of shit or not.”

Connie lowered her feet, got out of her chair
and sat in his lap. “Thomas you don’t have to tell me about this if
you’d rather not.”

Thomas traced his thumb over Connie’s bottom
lip. “I want you to know where I come from Constantina, you’re
going to be a part of my life, and you need to know what I’m about
to tell you. For a while things began to get better, my father
began drinking less and working a little more. My mother was able
to purchase some niceties for the shack. A new bed for me and a few
new clothes, something I never had before. My father took exception
to this, what about him, when was my mother going to start taking
care of his needs.

One night as I lay huddled in my bed I heard
my mother crying, my father had been on a drinking binge and was
making her life hell again. This time he didn’t take out his
frustration out on her, he decided that it was my turn to enjoy his
punishments. The door to my bedroom flew open and crashed against
the wall. I was scared of my father, and I knew he really wanted to
hurt me.”

Connie ran her fingers through his hair. “My
God Thomas, how old were you?”

“I was maybe five or six years old and small
for my age. Before my father could lay a hand on me, my mother
flattened him with the skillet she fried chicken in for dinner.
After making sure, that she had not killed him, she packed up our
things, and that was the last time I saw him.”

Connie put her head on his shoulder cuddling
close as he wrapped his arms around her. “You were blessed that you
had your mother. My mother put my brother and me in jeopardy. I was
seven years old, and my brother was four, on the day of the fire,
the day that changed my world forever. You see my mother was a drug
addict, and she would do anything for a fix, no matter what I did
it never was enough. I don’t know the identity of my father. I
don’t know if my brother David and I even had the same father.
David was the saving grace in my life a beautiful little boy with
green eyes and dimples.”

“No wonder you found me so irresistible, my
dimples would have made you putty in my hands. I've got another
surprise for you. The hot tub is set up and ready for
occupation."

Connie got of his lap and let Thomas lead the
way to the corner of the deck where the hot tub was set up. She
could feel the heat rising from the water. "I've never been in a
hot tub before, do you want me to go put on a bathing suit?"

"Hell no! The privacy fence blocks all prying
eyes. I want you to strip and ease you cute little fanny into the
water, and I will do the same." Thomas made short work of stripping
out of his clothes he stood there naked and impatient as
Constantina took her time."

"You don't have to wait for me Thomas." She
deliberately drew out her strip tease act. Thomas got into the hot
tub, she could see the blatant desire in his eyes.

Thomas couldn't take his eyes off her as she
eased into the tub totally submerging herself under the water. When
she rose out of the water, her violet eyes seem to glitter. He
never felt so much like prey in his life. "Ooh you want me bad,
don't you baby. Come over here and climb on my lap and claim your
man."

Connie positioned herself over his erection,
sitting down on his lap. The heated water and riding Thomas thick
length filled her body with new sensations. "I think we'll be
spending a lot of time in the hot tub from this day forward. I may
have to have one built onto my deck. Are you going to let me do all
of the work."

"I m perfectly content to let you take me
baby." He grabbed her hips helping her bring them both off to
completion. "I got a feeling neither of us will last long, it's
been a long day."

Connie wrapped her arms around his shoulder,
holding him tight as they came together in the heated tub. They sat
that way for a long time until she felt as if she were cooking in
the water. "Are you ready for bed?"

"Not just yet, I'm content just to hold you
and enjoy nature. When she didn't say anything, he felt the need to
express what was in his heart. I love you Constantina, and I know
that you love me too. I won't pressure you to marry me until you're
ready."

"Marriage is a big step, what if I'm never
ready?"

"Then will be the oldest couple living in
sin.

***

It was a beautiful spring morning, but Connie
didn't have time to dawdle. She went to sign paperwork at her
lawyer's office. Since she was already late, she picked up three
breakfast sandwiches from Jimmy's Egg. If she ate the whole
sandwich, she wouldn't be hungry for the rest of the day. Thomas
was working late tonight so she would eat a salad for dinner. The
other sandwiches were for Beth and Chad. Chad had been working in
her office since he came back from funeral leave. Beth and Chad
must have reached an understanding because they were getting along
better than ever.

Connie realized it would take Chad a long
time to deal with his grandfather's death. He was so quiet it was
as if she worked in the office by herself sometimes. Every so
often, he would come into her office and shoot the breeze. There
was something about Chad's stance at times that made her think that
he wanted to talk about something. She didn't want to be over
protective, so she never questioned him. He would tell her what was
on his mind in his own time.

Tax season was over, so she didn't expect too
much walk in traffic. Quarterly reports were sent out the second
week of April, which made last week exhausting. She was ready to
wind down focusing more on her individual clients and the
foundation.

Connie was lost in thought as she walked into
her office. The last think she expected to find was Chad making
small talk with an expensive looking red head. As she got a better
look at the woman, she immediately recognized Thomas's ex-wife. Her
body language and fragrance exuded sex and danger; Chad wasn't old
enough to be entangled with this trollop. Connie's protective
instincts kicked in as she strove to break up there little trifling
conversation.

"Hey Chad I brought you a breakfast sandwich,
why don't you go back to your office and close the door. Where's
Beth?"

"Beth had an errand to run before work, she
said she might be a little late." Chad wasn't a fool; he grabbed
that sack from Jimmy's Egg and headed back to his office. Connie
had her battle face on, and he didn't want to get between a warrior
tigress and her prey. "It was nice meeting you Elise."

"The pleasure was all mine's Chad. Maybe we
could do lunch sometime." Elise kept her smile in place until Chad
was out of sight. Then she turned her glare onto Constantina. "Do
you recognize me?"

"Of course I recognize you, who wouldn't? A
few years back your face was plastered everywhere. I'll never
forget that grand tantrum you put on as the bailiff led you out of
the courtroom after your conviction. I mean you gave a stellar
Oscar winning performance. It was all over the news, for weeks
thereafter." Connie smiled as Elise eyebrows arched in
annoyance.

"You think you're pretty smart! I know about
your ties to The Purple Feather. When I make it common knowledge
your precious foundation will lose backers who can't be associated
with a tainted charity."

Connie couldn't contain her laughter, she
clapped her hands in appreciation for another fine performance.
"You're a little late on the scene; my association with The Purple
Feather is common knowledge. If you try to mess with my foundation,
I'll make you feel like that little stint you did in prison was a
cake walk." Connie could see the wheels turning in Elise's empty
little head.

"Talk about someone being in the public eye.
I can't go any place these days without seeing you and Thomas
together. Tell me something how did you manage to catch his
attention. You're so... how do I say this. Plain!"

Connie couldn't contain her mirth. "Is this
where I'm supposed to cry and run out into traffic. Better yet, I
could break up with Thomas because his ex-wife is so beautiful that
I could never compare. I guess you've been reading too many cheap
romance novels in prison."

Elise was livid as Constantina laughed at
her, wiping tears from her eyes. "There's nothing funny about this
situation, you'll ruin Thomas!"

"That's a good one, I'll have to call Thomas
and tell him that you're worried that I will ruin him. Did you have
that much concern for him when you were defrauding his
clients?"

"You don't want to mess with me. I know
powerful people who'd take pleasure in destroying you."

Now Connie was beginning to get angry, it
must have shown on her face. She came and stood face to face with
this viper. "When you say powerful people I assume you mean your
daddy. I thought I read in the Daily Examiner that he was being
brought up on ethics charges. I don't think that daddy can help you
with your petty revenge schemes. If he's smart, he'll be too
worried about covering his own ass. I've entertained you as long as
I intend to, now get out of my office and don't come back."

"You won't be able to hold on to Thomas,
you're not woman enough."

"Well I'm sure going to have fun trying.
You're a fool, you had a good man, and you pissed on him to make a
couple of bucks. That didn't fare to well for you. I may be many
things, but a convicted felon isn't one of them. I don't mind
taking out the trash, but it's much better when it has legs and can
let itself out." Connie ignored her and went to get coffee to go
along with her breakfast sandwich. When she came back, Elise was
gone. "Good riddance." Beth walked in just as Elise walked out the
door.

"Wow! Who was that? A new client?"