The Look of Love (28 page)

Eboni approached her cousin on the couch and slapped his face. “You’re fucking selfish, you know that?”

Craig rubbed his cheek. “And you’re a fucking whore and a liar.”

“Get out. I want you out of this apartment. If you don’t leave, that’ll be fine. My lease is up at the end of this month. I’ll move, and I’ll take your mother with me.”

“Bitch! By the time I sell the story, I’ll have enough to buy a fucking mansion!”

Tired of Craig’s venomous words, Eboni bolted from her home. Although she didn’t want to reveal to Gunnar today of all days about her losing his baby shortly after he left to train, it looked like her lazy cousin had forced her hand. She hoped he could forgive her for withholding the information for all these years.

* * * *

“No, move the couch more that way.” Queen Elizabeth pointed to where the couch had been before.

Gunnar tried hard not to roll his eyes, but it happened…and his mother caught him.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me. I want the room set up properly. There has to be a feng shui element to it.” She scanned the space and put her finger to her chin in a thoughtful manner.

“Your feng shui is killing my back.” Gunnar stood up straight and stretched.

“Oh, stop it. You’re young. I’m sure you’ve lifted heavier things in the ring.” His mother plopped down on the couch, which relieved Gunnar.

He saw it as a sign that she liked the placement. His back loved the gesture.

“Come sit with me, darling. We can talk before anyone shows up.” She patted an area on the couch next to her.

“Ma, I have to still move the cars out of the way.” Gunnar jutted his thumb over his shoulder.

“Humor an old lady.” She smiled.

Gunnar sat down next to her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“The doctor’s office called me. My surgery is set for Tuesday.” She maintained her smile.

“This Tuesday? Not a lot of time.” He ran his hand over his head, still covered under a do-rag.

“No, but then again, for what they want to do, do you really think they should wait?” She laughed a little but Gunnar could sense her fear.

“Have you told Gid and Thane yet?”

“I’ll tell Gideon after his game. I don’t want him distracted. I talked to Thane.”

Gunnar nodded. At least he knew Thane would answer the phone for his mother. As though she’d cued it, the phone rang.

“How much you want to bet it’s Gideon.” Gunnar stood and answered the cordless phone. “Hey, bro. Everything good?”

“Hey, yeah. Getting my mind right. I know you know what I mean,” Gideon said.

“For sure. Good luck today. You won’t need it though. You’re the best quarterback in the league.”

“That’s what I keep telling my bosses whenever they think about cutting me.” Gideon laughed. “Hey, put Mom on.”

“You got it. Love ya, man.” When Gideon expressed the same sentiment, Gunnar handed the phone to his mother.

A knock sounded on the front door. Gunnar answered it and found Tillman on the other side.

“Hey, man.” Gunnar shook his hand as he pulled him into the house. “You’re really early but that’s cool. We’re getting set up.”

“I wanted to see if you had been online recently.” Tillman removed his coat and hung it on the coat rack in the corner.

Gunnar shook his head. “No. I’ve been helping set up for the party. Did I miss something?”

“Not yet. Some gossip site has hinted about having some info.”

“Info about what?” Gunnar headed to the kitchen.

“About you, man.”

Gunnar turned to Tillman, who looked ultraserious.

“My life is an open book. Folks know I’m adopted and who my mother is. They know all the problems I had as a teen and that I was in and out of juvy. I don’t know what they could reveal.”

“I don’t know either. But with your brother’s big game, I’m sure it’ll be something that’ll take away his thunder. If there’s something you know, you had better try to nip that in the bud. Don’t you have a manager or someone to take care of those things for you?”

Gunnar did, but since he’d sent Chuck hightailing it back to Vegas, he doubted the man would do anything to help him.

“I’m not going to worry about anything until there’s something to worry about.” Gunnar put his hand on Tillman’s shoulder. “Don’t sweat it.”

“Gunnar. Can you move this couch back about two feet?” his mother requested from the other room.

“Great timing. Now you can help me.” Gunnar put his arm around his friend and led him back to the living room.

During the trek, he wondered what this news could be. He also wondered why Eboni hadn’t arrived yet. Why hadn’t she wanted to come over for dinner? Why hadn’t she answered his calls? She would have a lot to explain. Once she did, he had a surprise for her.

When Gunnar bent over to move the couch, the ring box he had his front pocket dug into his thigh. Enough with the games. He had to tell her how he felt. In the short time he’d come back, she’d captured his heart again. Gunnar had fallen in love with Eboni again. He had to come clean.

* * * *

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Eboni sat in her car about a block away from Queen Elizabeth’s house. She’d been checking all gossip sites on her phone for the last hour to see if anything had popped up on Gunnar. She hoped that because of him being an MMA fighter that he wouldn’t be considered newsworthy.

She chewed on her lower lip and flicked her thumb over the wide screen. Nothing so far, but a teaser about something coming out about him flashed across one site’s page.

If her news came out and Gunnar heard it from someone else besides her, he would be so upset.

Damn Craig and his big mouth. No, more like damn her and her Aunt Bettie and their mouths. She should have known that Craig wasn’t asleep on the couch when her aunt had blurted the news about her and Gunnar.

No time like the present. Eboni drove to Queen’s house and parked out front. She wouldn’t dare park in the driveway and take the chance of getting trapped if someone parked behind her and Gunnar asked her to leave once he heard the news.

By the time she got to the house, cars filled the entire driveway. Since Gunnar had parked the Hummer in the street, Eboni assumed he wanted to allow people more room to park in the driveway.

After a couple of deep breaths, Eboni went up to the house. She could hear the cheers and chatter inside. She knocked on the door, feeling silly doing so considering she had keys to the place. When no one answered, she walked inside.

Monica and her husband sat next to each other on the couch along with Elizabeth facing the large-screen wall-mounted TV. Tillman and Tisha made their place on a loveseat that lined the opposite wall. Shay stood by the kitchen talking to Gunnar. When Shay saw Eboni, she raised her hands in surrender.

Eboni noticed Gunnar looking confused until he turned and saw Eboni.

“I was just talking to your man, nothing else.” Shay moved away from him.

“I know, Shay.” Eboni hugged her. “How are you doing?”

Shay nodded. “Better. Happy to be here for a bit until I can get my stuff together.” She gave Gunnar a playful punch on his arm. “He’s been like a great older brother.” She strolled by Eboni and leaned down next to her ear. “I can see why you like him.”

Eboni felt her cheeks getting warm. She imagined she must be blushing so brightly by now. Gunnar wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.

“Glad you’re here.” He kissed her. “I missed you last night. I got used to you being here.”

Eboni tried to smile. “Hey, I need to tell you something, but I was trying to wait until after the game.”

Gunnar’s eyebrows drew together. “What is it?”

“Is there somewhere more private where we can--”

Gunnar flinched and reached into his pants pocket. “Excuse me.” He grumbled and sounded like he cursed under his breath. “They got an alarm at the salon.”

“And we’re all set for the kickoff, folks. This is going to be an exciting game between the Virginia Beach Wolves and the Maui Sharks. With this being breakout quarterback Gideon Wells’s first big game, I’m sure the former all-star will be pulling out all the stops,” the announcer said.

“I have to go. We can talk when I get back.” Gunnar kissed her forehead. He walked in front of the screen, which got the crowd to groan their displeasure.

“Son, where are you going? We have enough food and drinks.” Queen tried summoning Gunnar back.

“I got an alert that the alarm is going off at the salon. I’ll be two seconds. I know you’re recording it so I won’t miss a thing.” Gunnar started to open the door.

“Come give me a kiss before you go.” She raised her arms in the air.

Like a good son, he kissed his mother’s cheek. Eboni knew he would have made a great father.

“I’ll be back. No betting while I’m gone unless you’re betting my brother comes out on top.” Gunnar walked out of the house.

At least this break would give Eboni time to think and come up with a way to tell Gunnar about the pregnancy.

Shay sauntered back over to Eboni. In a low voice, she said, “I know what’s going on.”

Eboni wanted to ignore Shay but with the lithe woman blocking her view of the game, she had to give Shay her full attention. “What are you talking about?”

Shay pulled Eboni into the kitchen. “News going around that Gunnar had a lovechild.”

Eboni tried not to gasp but it came out anyway.

“Did you know about the child?” Shay asked. When Eboni didn’t answer, Shay filled in her own blanks. “You’re pregnant.”

Eboni didn’t confirm or deny Shay’s assessment.

“You
were
,” Shay continued.

Eboni’s gaze dropped.

“Shit, girl, you need to go after your man. He’s going to the salon. You two will be alone. Tell him there.”

Eboni grabbed her purse and coat. As Shay had suggested, Eboni would go after her man. She hoped he would understand her side.

* * * *

Gunnar expected to see police in the parking lot when he got to the salon. Instead, he found nothing. He went into the back door and disabled the alarm to the main salon so that he could walk around. He kept the alarm on for the front door until the police arrived. As he was about to walk into the main area, the sight of a gun muzzle through the curtain stopped him.

Gunnar raised his hands in the air. The curtain pulled back to reveal the person holding the gun.

“Don’t do this,” Gunnar said just as a flash erupted from the gun’s barrel.

Gunnar fell back on the floor. Searing heat and pain ripped through his side. He heard footfalls stomping out of the front door and the store alarm sounding.

He struggled to his feet and stumbled to the office. He managed to get to the security camera. Like he’d done when he and Eboni had had their connection by the washing machine, Gunnar managed to erase the last hour recorded on the security camera.

“Gunnar?”

He heard Eboni’s voice at the same time he heard sirens.

“Don’t come in,” he said weakly.

By the time he saw her, he fell to the floor. Eboni’s scream rang through his head before he blacked out.

Eboni sat in the hospital room with Gunnar’s still body lying on the bed next to her. She wouldn’t let his hand go until he woke up.

Doctors had said the shot went into his side. It had punctured his small intestines and gone through his body. She’d been told that Gunnar must have had a horseshoe and rabbit’s foot in his pocket for his incredible luck. Eboni had almost laughed. Getting shot didn’t seem like a lucky happenstance.

Who the hell would do that to him? Shay’s ex-boyfriend came to mind first. If that fucking bastard had hurt Gunnar, there wouldn’t be a place in this world where Eboni wouldn’t go to find him to exact some revenge.

Eboni kissed the back of Gunnar’s hand. “I know you’re sleeping, but I need to talk to you.” She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. “I didn’t want you here when you first arrived to fill in for Queen. I thought you would be a distraction.” She laughed through tears coming down her cheeks. “You were a great distraction. You made me remember our time together. You made me get in touch with my feelings for you. You made me remember that I loved you.” She squeezed his hand. “I still love you. I love you, Gunnar Wells.”

Eboni put her forehead on the mattress and sobbed.

“You’re not going to let me sleep, are you?”

She brought her gaze up and saw Gunnar smiling down at her. His eyelids hung halfway down over his eyes.

Eboni leapt from her chair and embraced him so hard she thought she would hurt him, but she didn’t care. “I didn’t think you would…I thought you were going to--”

“Stop. I’m alive. I’m here. Does Mom know?”

The hospital-room door opened. Elizabeth sauntered inside with a scowl that would scare the dead. When she got close enough to Gunnar, she picked up a pillow from a cart next to him and swatted him with it.

“Come on, Ma.” Gunnar put his hand over his stomach.

“You scared me to death. Why did you go into the salon without the police? You’re not Superman.”

Eboni backed away from Gunnar long enough for Queen to embrace her son and kiss his cheek.

“I thought the alarm was a fluke.” Gunnar squeezed Eboni’s hand and then took his mother’s in his other.

“The police asked us who we thought would do this.” Elizabeth patted Gunnar’s arm. “Shay is giving them every detail of her creepy ex-boyfriend.”

Gunnar shook his head. “It wasn’t him.”

Eboni furrowed her eyebrows. “You know who did it? You have to tell the police. They’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

“I can’t help them.” Gunnar shook his head. “I know it wasn’t that guy.” As he smiled at his mother, he proclaimed, “You’re closing that salon.”

Queen’s eyebrows furrowed. “No, I’m not.”

“I wasn’t asking. You need to close it. It’s attracting a dangerous element there. It’s not safe for you to keep it open.”

“That’s not for you to decide. It’s my business. I’m keeping it open. People in that community need me, need my services. I can’t turn my back on them.”

“Gunnar, we can beef up security. And you’re--” Eboni had almost said that he would be there, but with his look, she knew he still planned on leaving.