Twisted Vows of Seduction (8 page)

Nadine rattled off her digits.

“Nadine Collins?”

“Yes.”

The girl left to retrieve her items. When she returned, she handed Nadine the clothing. Nadine didn't even bother looking over the outfits as she would have normally. Instead, she quickly paid the lady and extended her apologies as she left.

When she returned to her car, there was a tall, dark and handsome man standing in front of it. He was on his cell phone and the dirty look on his face was enough to suggest his unhappiness.

“Is this your vehicle?” the man asked Nadine the second she walked toward the car.

Realizing for the first time that she had blocked him in, she responded, “I'm so sorry, I'll move right out of your way.” She quickly dumped everything that was in her hands in the passenger seat.

“Thanks, Lucy, I appreciate it. Tell her I deeply apologize and I'll be there as soon as I can.” Nadine overheard him talking and hoped that she hadn't been the reason he was being delayed. She reversed her way out of the parking lot. When she finally raised her head to look in the rearview mirror, she noticed he had not gotten in his car yet. He was too busy watching her drive away.

By the time Nadine pulled into her parking space, she was extremely exhausted. She had practically run herself ragged from all the errands and shopping trips. Good thing she'd left Canvas with her neighbor's daughter instead of dropping him off at daycare, which happened to be way on the other side of town. She gathered all her bags from the shopping she had done as well as the clothes she had picked up from the cleaners. She couldn't wait to see how the skirt and slacks fit after having the alterations done. With her new gym membership, she hoped weight gain would be the last reason she would ever have to alter her clothing again.

She inserted her key in the door and surprisingly, it didn't turn. She did it again and again until it finally dawned on her that her handyman, Ricardo, had changed the locks as she had requested. She rang the doorbell. She could hear footsteps on the other side until finally, Casey, Canvas's babysitter, opened the door.

Casey held an index finger to her lip. “He's asleep,” she whispered.

Nadine nodded her head and walked inside as quietly as possible. Casey grabbed most of the bags out of Nadine's arms and placed them in the bedroom, while Nadine walked over to her snoring son who was lying there on the couch. She leaned over and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. She spotted one of her throw blankets
beside him and as usual, Casey had been buried with her e-reader before Nadine walked in.

“How did he do today?” Nadine asked, walking back over toward the kitchen area.

“He did great. And guess what?”

“What?”

“I taught him how to say my name!” Casey exclaimed, seemingly flashing all thirty-two teeth.

“Wow.” Nadine smiled. “That's awesome.”

“Very. I tell you that little booger is so smart. He catches on so quickly.”

“Tell me about it,” Nadine smiled, sliding out of her shoes.

“He ate about an hour ago and he's already had his bath.”

“Ooooh, that was nice of you to do that!” Nadine said relieved. That was one less thing she had to do.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. His father called to check on him.”

“Oh, did he?” Nadine gasped. That caused her to pause. Her thoughts began to cycle back to last night. Had she said the first thing that came to mind, Casey would have probably thought she was losing her
mad
mind.

“He said he would be stopping by sometime later to pick him up.”

Nadine picked up toys as she walked through the dining room area. She wasn't going to hold her breath waiting for Jeff to come over. He had already gone a week without calling, what difference was one extra day going to make. She was so tired of shoveling his shit around. Tired of the back and forth, come and go. How he chose to act with her was one thing, but to take it out on their son was unacceptable. Nadine had made up her mind that if this was the type of father he was going to be, she would let it be his regret because she knew her son would see it all for himself later on in
life. He would see the difference Jeff made between his sister and him and no matter how many times Nadine had to refrain from confronting Jeff about it, it bothered her to the core that she sat back and watched him do this to their son.

“When did Ricardo come by?”

Casey held up her hands as if a light bulb had gone off in her head. “He came right after you left this morning.” She walked over to the coffee table and picked up the two gold keys. “He wanted me to give these to you.” She handed the keys to Nadine.

“Thank you,” Nadine said, placing them on the bar. She then grabbed her purse and pulled out her checkbook. She began making a check out to Casey.

“Thanks, Ms. Collins,” Casey said, accepting the $40 check.

“No, thank
you
for being available at the last minute.”

“Anytime.” Casey beamed. “Besides, Canvas is like the little brother I always wanted.”

Nadine gave her a warm smile and watched her gather her things. “Hey Casey, just in case his father doesn't pick him up tonight, do you think you can sit for just a few hours tomorrow? I perfectly understand if you have prior engagements.”

Casey waved the e-reader. “Are you kidding me? I would love to. The only prior engagement I have is this. My life isn't even remotely exciting as the juicy novels I read.” She laughed. “Pretty darn pathetic.”

Nadine added to her laughter. “Well, honey, I wish I could say the same. My life feels like a book.”

“Fantasy or adventure?”

“Try drama with a capital D.” Before Casey could say another word, Nadine heard keys jangling on the other side of the door. She concealed her smile. She knew exactly who that was trying to get in.

“You want me to get that?” Casey asked in almost a whisper.

Nadine shook her head, her eyes smiling. The keys jangled against the door for a moment longer before the doorbell rang. Nadine slowly walked over to answer it. “Who is it?” she asked, a smile on her face.

“Me.”

“Who?”

“Nadine, it's me! Jeff.”

Nadine took her precious time unlocking the door. When she eased it open, Jeff and Deandra walked inside.

Casey took that as her cue to get going. Nadine was sure the sudden change in her tone, her body language, and her facial expression, said more than words alone.

“Just call me if you need me, Ms. Collins,” Casey said as she hugged Nadine. She spoke to Jeff and Deandra and excused herself as she walked past them, out the door, and down the hall.

“Why the hell my key tripping?” Jeff complained.

“Well,
hello
to you too!” Nadine said. But what she really wanted to say was,
“Your black ass don't live here anymore. You and your uncommitting dick have both been evicted
!”

J
eff chuckled a little after realizing how rude he'd been. His eyes followed Nadine as she walked ahead of him. She didn't even embrace him in a hug or kiss as she would have normally. The vibe she was giving off was so strong that it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something was wrong. All he could wonder was what the hell did he walk himself into now.

“You good?” Jeff asked with caution.

Nadine only stared at him at first. With narrowed cat eyes she shot him a cold and menacing side-glance. The tension in the air was suffocating, but he wasn't going to give into the funk. His day was going good and he intended to keep it that way. He bypassed her, looking around for nothing in particular. On any other day, Nadine's place felt like home. Today, Jeff felt like an unwanted visitor.

He walked farther into the large living area. It was spotless, as always. He found his son asleep on the couch. He walked over to him.

“And how are you little Ms. Lady?” Nadine asked walking over to Deandra. She outstretched her arms and they obliged in a hug, but from where Jeff was standing, it looked more like a simple brush in passing.

“I'm fine,” Deandra answered dryly.

Jeff was grateful to see his daughter finally coming around, but
he could tell there was still a ways to go. He no longer expected her to accept Nadine as his woman, being how they weren't walking that path anymore, however, he did need her to accept and respect her as the mother of her baby brother. Bottom line. He had drowned out the idea of making Nadine his wife a long time ago. As far as he was concerned, it became a dead issue each day he discovered she had betrayed him. He could never marry a deceitful woman as her. Never! Not even in a million dreams. He refused to allow her the privilege of calling herself his wife, and the closest she would ever come to the title was her role as his baby mama.

Jeff wasn't looking for monogamy, commitment, marriage, or anything that spelled dick-on-lockdown. He was smarter than that. He was going to take his newfound freedom and run like hell without looking back.

Scooping Canvas in his arms like a newborn baby, Jeff leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. “Looks like he's gotten bigger since the last time I saw him,” he said, looking over his shoulders. She cut her eyes at him and probably thought he didn't see it. With his son in his arms, Jeff took a seat on the sofa while Deandra parked herself right in front of the television.

Jeff's attention delivered itself back to Nadine. She tried her hardest to act like she was so occupied cleaning up, but he knew that was her way of avoiding him. Either that or her OCD was more serious than he thought.

“You all right over there?” Jeff asked. “You're awfully quiet,” he added, trying to spark a conversation. After all, he hadn't seen her and Canvas in a week. Surely there was something new to talk about. Normally she couldn't wait to tell him about a new word Canvas had learned or something new he'd done. That reminded him of the woman he had seen earlier today.

He wanted to tell Nadine how he had spotted that cocky son-of-a-bitch,
Greg Adams, leaving Denise's gravesite. He wanted to share with her how he had played cat and mouse with his ass for fun, then painfully watched him have lunch with a woman that looked damn near identical to Denise. He wanted to know what Nadine would have thought of it all as he was still psyched out about it. But what puzzled him most was that the woman had said his name. Or was that a coincidence too?

“So you just gone give me the silent treatment and act like I ain't even here?”

That comment got Nadine's full attention. She walked into the living room and instead of sitting next to Jeff, she took a seat on one of the ottomans. She switched her eyes from the television screen to Jeff. Their eyes locked on each other's and everything that went unsaid could surely be felt. It was a negative vibe that made his stomach churn, yet his face held no emotion. That might have been what pissed her off the most. Where was that man that used to give a damn about the tears hiding behind her swollen brown eyes, the confusion lurking in her clouded mind and the stress strangling her heart? Jeff wondered. It didn't take long before the answer was revealed to him. Shit, he knew exactly where that naïve motherfucker was. Dead and gone!

He still loved and cared for his baby mama; after all she was the mother of his first-born, but Jeff wasn't in love with her anymore. It took him a year to realize that he was probably never completely in love with her to begin with. Their past relationship had been driven by lust, fantasy, and toe-curling sex on top of more sex! That's what had fondled his interest. That's what had kept his dick rocked. But as truths surfaced and ultimatums came crashing down on his party, Jeff had run for the nearest exit he could find. That wasn't what he'd signed up for.

The smug look Nadine held in place was award-winning. He
had never seen her in this foul of a mood. “Something on your mind?”

Nadine let out a gasp. “No complaints here,” she simpered.

Jeff could tell it was all a front. He studied her face carefully. Her mouth said one thing, but her body language and attitude said the opposite. “You sure about that?” That fake smile she wore in an attempt to camouflage her true feelings eventually faded. “Because you look like you mad as hell right now.”

“What exactly do you want me to say to you, Jeff?” She grimaced. Her butterscotch skin flushed a soft hue of red.

“I'm feeling a little steam coming off that ottoman and evidently it's directed toward me because you ain't even acting like yourself right now. You haven't said five words to me since I've been here. Your lips are pushed out, your makeup's sweating, and you're sitting way over there. Hell, I know
something's
wrong. I'm just trying to figure out what.”

“Humph!” Nadine stood and scooped Canvas from Jeff's arms. “Why don't you tell me what's wrong,” she said flippantly with piercing eyes. “Since you know me soooo damn well.”