Sweet Heat (11 page)

She could practically hear her mother adding that to the information she had on Antoine and figuring it into the equation of her feelings towards him. Monique Headley had a mind like one of those mega-computers they had at places like NASA.

“Well.” Her mother’s mouth was pursed. Suzanne could picture the exact expression. She almost laughed.

“And he doesn’t like music.” She might not be able to articulate her frightening feelings for Brandon yet, but she couldn’t definitely convey how she felt about Antoine to her mother.

“Pardon? Did you say he doesn’t like
music
?”

Suzanne nodded emphatically, as if her mother could see her. “He said it was just basically noise.”

In the background, she heard the sound of her mother’s office door closing. “Who doesn’t like music?”

She did snort at that, and slapped her palm on the edge of her desk. “That’s what I said!”

Monique sighed. “Regardless, Suzanne. He’s still more the type for you than your buff friend. Trust me, darling. I’m right about this.”

The intercom light on her desk phone blinked. Suzanne shoved away the words that had sprung to her lips. “I have to go, Mother. I’ll talk to you later.”

“I love you, darling.”

“I love you, too.” Suzanne hung up, but she couldn’t shake off the conversation, even as she dealt with the issues of her job.

Her mother’s casual dismissal of Brandon as anything other than an attractive diversion made her stomach curl into a ball. He was so much more than that!

She might have only known him for a little while, but she already knew that he was kind, funny, good-hearted, and sweet. He might only have an Associates Degree from a local community college, instead of a four-year degree from an Ivy, but he wasn’t stupid. She felt more comfortable with him than she’d felt with any other guy, including ones she’d grown up with and known most of her life.

And she may have messed it all up already.

Suzanne shook her head, refusing to believe that. He’d said he didn’t want her to give up. Well, she wasn’t going to.

Determination turned her spine to steel. She’d given him a few days. It was time for them to talk.

Her heart felt like it was caught in her throat as she walked down the street toward Brandon’s apartment building. Her pulse leapt and skittered, choking her. She couldn’t believe she was really doing this.

After making up her mind that she was going to talk to Brandon, she’d reached for her phone and opened up her contacts list to his number. But something had made her pause. She didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone. She wanted him to be able to look into her eyes and see how sincere she was when she apologized.

So, she’d done something she never would have imagined herself doing. She’d abused her position. It made her feel kind of sleazy, but she swore to herself that she would only ever use the information she’d obtained this once and then never again.

Christine, of course, had been totally fine with snooping in Brandon’s account to get his address. Her friend had practically cackled with glee at the idea of aiding their ‘epic romance’ as she called it.

Heat stung Suzanne’s cheeks as she made her way up to the third floor. There was no lock on the street level door, which wasn’t all that surprising. Brandon had told her that the building he lived in was a bit rundown. She’d been worried because his neighborhood wasn’t the best.

It wasn’t the worst, either, but the area of a few blocks was a bit rough.

That feeling was only worse now that she was actually seeing it. Suzanne knew crime could happen anywhere, even in good neighborhoods, but that didn’t make her worry lessen. In fact, it only amped it up. Brandon had far fewer levels of protection between him and any potentially bad thing.

Maybe she was just focusing on the dangerousness of his neighborhood because she felt like she was going to throw up at the prospect of Brandon turning her away as soon as he saw her.

Her fingers trembled as she lifted her hand. She curled them into a fist and rapped determinedly on the door. She was sure her lungs would explode as she held her breath, waiting for him to answer.

Nothing.

She didn’t hear anyone moving around his apartment either. Her previously rigid spine slumped. He wasn’t even home.

Blowing out a breath, she sagged against his apartment door. The wood was cool against her hot forehead. She wanted to wait, despite not knowing where he was or when he’d be home, but it was getting dark out and she really didn’t know how safe the neighborhood was.

“Are you okay, dear?” The concerned voice came from near her left elbow.

Suzanne glanced down at the small woman beside her. She looked as fragile a bird, though she was wearing a blue and white checked flannel shirt tucked into blue jeans and sturdy boots. Her silver-white hair was pulled back into a soft bun. Her slender face was delicately boned and her skin was pale and fine as parchment. She was the most adorable little old lady Suzanne had ever seen.

“Oh, yes. Thank you. I’m just…” She flushed as she realized how it must look, her practically a puddle on the floor at Brandon’s door like some crazy stalker. “Waiting for a friend. It’s been a bit of a bad day, you know?”

Maybe that would make her seem less like an insane person. The elderly woman reached up and took her hand, beaming a wide smile that wreathed her face in wrinkles. “Don’t worry, sweetie. They always pass and there’ll be another one tomorrow.”

“Thanks. That’s actually comforting.” She chuckled, turning to lean her back against the door. “Will it bother you if I hang around out here and wait for my friend?” Somehow, knowing someone else in the building, even if it was a moment’s acquaintance, made her feel less wary.

“He’ll be back from the store shortly. But you don’t have to wait out here in the hall. Why don’t you come on over until he gets back? I promise, you won’t miss him.” She swept one small hand at the apartment next door.

Suzanne scraped her teeth over her bottom lip, hesitating for only a second before she followed the little old lady to her apartment door. “You know Brandon?”

“Yes, of course. Such a sweet boy.” She smiled up at Suzanne. “I’m Sarah, by the way. What’s your name, dear?”

“Oh, I’m sorry to be rude. Suzanne Headley.” She extended her hand and shook Sarah’s gently. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

“Nonsense.” Sarah waved Suzanne off, pushing open the apartment door and ushering her inside.

The apartment was small and well-lived in, but obviously cared for as well. The combined kitchen/dining area was to her immediate right, opening into a decently sized living room for such a small place. A short hallway off to the left no doubt contained the bathroom and any bedrooms.

The wallpaper was a bit faded, but the faint scrollwork was very pretty. There were tons of pictures on the walls, ranging from black and white to obvious printouts of digital photos.

“Would you like some tea, Suzanne? The water’s just boiled.”

“That would be great, thanks.” She drifted further into the apartment, drawn by the black and white photos along the living room wall. “Have you lived here long, Sarah?”

From the corner of her eye, she caught the older woman’s nod. “I’ve lived in the city for fifty-two years, and we’ve been in this apartment for the last… oh, I guess it’ll be seventeen in a few months.”

Suzanne gave a low whistle. She stopped before a picture that was clearly a much younger Sarah. Her hair was dark in the photo, but the first glimpses of silver showed here and there. She was standing against the rail of the ferry, the city in the background, laughing. Her eyes, a pale blue-grey, were fixed on the camera — or more likely, whoever was behind it — full of such love and joy that it made Suzanne’s heart clench.

“What about you?” Sarah poured out two mugs of tea, lifting her gaze to Suzanne’s.

“Oh, I’m from Connecticut, originally. But my parents bought a place here when I was in high school. They split their time between Greenwich and their place here now, but the city is home to me.”

Sarah nodded. “This place claims people sometimes. I’m from Michigan, myself. I came here on a trip when I was younger than you and just… never left.” She chuckled. “My husband and I traveled a bit when our kids were little, but I never could see the point in going very far. There’s so much of the world to experience right here within the burroughs.”

Suzanne opened her mouth to reply when another one of the photos caught her attention.

It was one of the older ones, black and white, framed in a pretty silver frame. In it, Sarah appeared to be around Suzanne’s age, early to mid-twenties. She was standing on the steps of the New York County courthouse, wearing one of those early 60’s era dresses with the high neckline and poofy skirt, white gloves, and a hat and looked straight up Jackie O. She was beaming, her face tipped up, one hand on top of her hat and her leg kicked up behind her.

Beside her was a tall, handsome man in a suit with his arm around her waist. He was staring down into her face as if she was the center of his entire universe, a tender smile just curling the edges of his thick lips.

The obvious love between them was very touching, but what had drawn Suzanne’s eye was that the man was black. His skin was very dark, especially in contrast to Sarah’s milky paleness.

“Is this your husband?”

Sarah handed her the steaming mug of fragrant tea, a secret, pleased smile playing around her mouth. “That’s my Reggie alright. Doesn’t he look handsome?” She reached up, her fingers slightly crabbed as she brushed the photo. “Been married fifty years, and still getting better.” A faint pink flush stained her cheeks.

Suzanne chuckled. “Wow. When I get married, I hope I’m saying the same thing fifty years in. What’s your secret?”

The elderly woman sipped her tea, her blue-grey eyes sparkling. “Good old fashioned hard work. It’s like a three-legged race. If you’re not working together toward the same goals, and communicating, it’s not gonna go well. But… well, there’s a bit of magic to it, too, to be honest.”

She ambled over to the worn, floral print sofa and plopped down, indicating that Suzanne should join her. She did, angling her body toward the older woman’s. She sipped her tea, humming softly at the pleasant herbal taste. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s not like science, where everything has defined properties and when you combine them they react in predictable ways. People are complex. You can get all the right components together and it just doesn’t gel. And other times, things seem like they shouldn’t work at all, but they do. Reggie was engaged to a real pretty young gal from his neighborhood when we met, and I had a beau back home in Michigan, but it didn’t matter. We just clicked and that was it.”

Suzanne had almost forgotten why she was there, charmed as she was by the old woman’s story. She smiled as Sarah nodded at the picture. “I’m not ashamed to say I stole him away. Not that he was hard to steal, mind.” She winked at Suzanne before continuing. “Haven’t regretted it yet.”

They shared a laugh before being interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs. Sarah stood, her eyes brightening. “That’ll be the boys back now.”

A second later the door swung open and Reggie, now much older with stooped shoulders and iron grey hair, stepped through. Though his face was heavily lined, he still gave his wife that same look he was giving her in the photo… as if he couldn’t see anything but her.

“Hey there, pretty lady. You miss me?” He was carrying a cloth grocery sack, which he set on the kitchen counter before bending down to kiss Sarah’s cheek.

“Of course I did,” Sarah replied, grinning up at him and patting his chest with a small hand. “Thankfully, Suzanne was here to keep me company for a bit.”

Reggie raised his head, finally noticing her where she sat on the couch. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown, very warm, as he offered her a smile. Before he could speak however, he was interrupted by the sound of Brandon’s voice.

“I swear, that cat of Mrs. Jenkin’s always acts like it’s starving.”

He laughed, and the sound of it made Suzanne’s heart leap back into her mouth. While chatting with Sarah and drinking tea, she’d managed to forget her anxiety and what lay ahead of her. Now, seeing him come in the door to Sarah and Reggie’s apartment loaded down with several shopping sacks, it crashed back down on her.

She sucked in a breath.

It had been days since she’d seen him, and the sight of him hit her like a blow to the belly. His blond hair was messy and falling over his forehead and his cheeks were slightly flushed with exertion. He wore a long sleeved dark red t-shirt with FDNY in yellow on the front, and a pair of black jeans. His biceps bulged with the effort of carrying all the sacks.

Sarah had said Brandon was at the store, but clearly, it was Reggie who had gone shopping. Had Brandon gone with him just to help carry the heavy bags? She bit her lip as tenderness welled up in her at the thought.

It seemed like something he would do. And he was setting all the sacks down in Sarah’s small but impeccable kitchen. Then he realized where Reggie’s attention was focused and turned.

Suzanne felt the instant his eyes touched her like an electrical shock. His mouth dropped open and then snapped shut, his full lips pressing together into a hard line.

She stood slowly, setting aside the still mostly full mug of tea. “Brandon…” She smiled, her lips quivering.

Reggie glanced back and forth between them. Sudden understanding lightened his eyes. “Ahh, this will be Suzanne then, will it?”

She jerked a little when he spoke her name. How did Reggie know it? Then she saw the flush on Brandon’s cheeks darken. He’d talked about her to the older man. The thought made the small flicker of hope flare brighter.

Brandon finished setting down the groceries and straightened. “I thought you agreed to give me a few days?”

“If you’d just…” She clenched her hands into fists. “I wanted to explain. And apologize.”

He was silent, though she thought she could see the struggle in his bright blue gaze. She thought he wanted to hear what she had to say, but he was wary too. She could understand that.

As the moment stretched out between them, Reggie released Sarah and shuffled over to Brandon’s side. The elderly black man was nearly as tall as he was, but rangy compared to the fireman’s muscled bulk. He set one wizened hand on Brandon’s shoulder, the gold of his wedding band glinting in the overhead light.

“Takes work, son,” he said, unconsciously echoing his wife’s earlier words. “Back when we first met, there was a lot of people who thought we shouldn’t be together. Took a lot of fighting and trying and heartache and tears.” Reggie glanced over at Sarah, his face shining with love. “But when it’s the right woman, it’s all worth it.”

Suzanne tensed, but Sarah put a finger to her lips. Brandon’s eyes were on her face, but he was listening to the old man. Reggie continued.

“If I’d have listened to all the people saying we shouldn’t be together, if I’d given up at the first obstacle, we wouldn’t have had the last fifty years of happiness. We wouldn’t have raised three beautiful girls, or have eleven grandbabies. If something’s worth having, it’s worth fighting for.”

Her heart hammered in her chest as she listened to Reggie’s words. Her eyes were locked on Brandon’s face. She couldn’t look away.

Reggie gave Brandon’s shoulder a shove. “Give it a chance, son.”