Page 33 of Caught off Guard

“Yes. I used to think I wouldn’t get married again, but I have renewed hope. I believe my future wife will show up on my doorstep and will know in her heart that I’m her person. I’ll be the one she has been waiting for her entire life—the man she prayed for and who knocked on the door of her heart so loudly she had no choice but to open it wide for me.”

Zora gasped and stared into my eyes as if searching for something in them.

“That’s beautiful.” She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes with her hand over her heart.

She remained silent for so long that I realized she wouldn’t add more to her response. She did that often. When she opened her eyes, I smiled before nodding and unlocking my Kindle to resume reading.

Zora stood and selected a book from my bookshelf and then read with me for another thirty minutes. I stole glances at her as she smiled and frowned while she read.

“It’s time for me to get ready for the game. Luther will be at your disposal until we meet afterward.”

I placed my Kindle on the table and rose, stretching my long arms upward and twisting my torso to stretch my spine. As I stretched, Zora placed her bag at her feet. When I dropped my arms by my side, she stood and hugged me.

“Have a great game,” she said in a kind voice that made me feel appreciated.

“Thank you, Zora.” I embraced her and kissed the top of her head.

I exited the room and walked to my bedroom with Zora’s sweetness on my mind for the rest of the afternoon. For the next few hours, I prayed, cleaned my body, snacked, and packed until Luther texted that Wayne was ready to take me to the basketball arena.

PUBLIC FIGURE

I processedCairo’s beautiful words about instalove as I watched his magnificent body run up and down the basketball court that night. Although I was ninety-nine percent sure he was talking about us when he spoke about falling in love so quickly, I didn’t want to embarrass myself by assuming. For all I knew, he was a compulsive flirt who couldn’t turn his behavior on and off. Either way, how he moved was too much like a romance novel. But this was the real world.

Lena, who wore a too-short silver sequined dress that was much too formal for a basketball game, plopped her behind into the plush black leather chair beside me at Saturday night’s Torchgame. She set her Torch-monogrammed plate full of finger foods down on a table and fanned me with the other hand as I frowned.

“Girl, you are smoking like these buffalo hot wings.” She leaned over and lowered her voice. “Stop biting your lip like you want to eat that man alive.”

I diverted my eyes from Cairo, who huddled in a circle with his teammates as the Torch’s animated coach waved his hands on the sidelines below us. I looked around to make sure no one was listening to our conversation.

“Will you please shut the hell up?” I whisper-shouted with a scowl. “This is not the time or place to share my business. There’s no telling who’s in here. Remember, I am a public figure.” I scanned the room again, pleased that everyone was watching the game or engaged in conversations other than mine.

Lena picked up a fat wing flat and bit into it, covering her mouth with her hand as she spoke and chewed.

“Zo, no one is paying attention to your paranoid tail. I hope you’re not that uptight in his house. That might be why he sent you to bed early. Keep acting like that, and you won’t get any this weekend.” She spoke casually as if she were talking about the warmer than normal weather outside.

I shook my head and gulped a quarter of the contents of the water in my bottle before replacing the lid and setting it on the table next to Lena’s plate. I picked up a piece of cheese and munched.

“I can’t take you anywhere.”

“Yes, you can.”

She propped her elbow on the armrest of my chair so I could hear her as she chatted more discreetly.

“I’m your sidekick, big sis—the one who pushes you in the direction you need to go. That’s why you look hot as fire. What did he say when he saw you?”

I extended my legs and crossed my feet at the ankles. Since Cairo complimented my feet so openly, I wore four-inch black Jimmy Choo peekaboo heels I borrowed from Lena. They hurt like hell fire, so as soon as we walked from the ramp where Wayne dropped us to the suite, I remained seated as much as possible.

The cute shoes complemented the skintight black leggings that hugged my curves to a tee. To represent the Torch’s colors, I wore an almost transparent fire engine red crew neck tank with a matching red bralette underneath. Even my faux black leather, fitted motorcycle jacket hugged my curves just right, with small silver grommets strategically placed at the jacket’s hem.

“He was gone by the time I dressed, so I texted him a picture I took in the full-length mirror in my room. He FaceTimed me immediately from the back of his car and whistled as soon as I picked up the phone. He said if he wasn’t on the way to the game, he would have seduced me right back out of my clothes. I ignored him.”

“Why, girl, why? You’re teasing him just because you can. That’s cruel.”

“In my defense, I didn’t shut him all the way down. I promised to revisit the conversation later. Then he blew me a kiss before getting off the phone.” I placed my index finger near the corner of my mouth and rubbed it, remembering the heat Cairo’s mouth generated on my skin every time he was near.

“What does he smell like up close?”

I rolled my eyes as I recalled the heavy, fresh fragrance that rested on Cairo like a second skin.

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