Page 28 of Love Me Carefully
“So what? He’s making honest money now,” she said.
“Is he?” Terrell let the question hang in the air, watching as her mind began to click.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that even though the local authorities dropped their charges against him, the Feds seem to still be pretty interested in him. I can’t help wondering why.”
Shaking her head, Leah stood. “I don’t care. I don’t want to hear anymore. This is none of my business. I’m just the…”
“You’re just the wedding planner. I know.” Terrell stood too. “But I’m her son. And I owe it to her to protect her. If my information is true, my mother could be getting involved in something very dangerous.”
“Ms. Rosie knows all about the suspected drug activity. Hell, everybody in the shop knew. But like I said, Mr. Donald was cleared of all that. It’s in the past.” She took a deep breath. He wasn’t smiling, yet the look he gave her made her weak. Raw determination chiseled his features, giving him an air of danger, a hint of the unknown. “It still doesn’t have anything to do with me. It’s your mother. It’s your job to protect her, not mine. Why are you coming to me?” She was standing too close to him. She could smell his cologne, the strong musk fragrance serenading her. She tried to back away but his hands grasped her shoulders and held her still.
“Because I don’t have anybody else to go to.” His admission, he realized, was the truth. “My mother speaks very highly of you. I suspect you two have a special bond, one that goes beyond stylist and client. I thought you’d want to protect her as well.” Somebody needed to protect him from the bewitching eyes that searched his face right now. She was trying to figure him out, to understand the man behind the glasses. He knew the look and only hoped that she’d see the right things.
In that moment she felt his strength, his impatience, his concern, and they all beckoned to her. Her first instinct was to calm him down, to assure him that all was well, to comfort him. “I do care about your mother, Terrell, more than you could possibly know. But she loves Donald very much. Maybe you should just leave it alone. Maybe these criminal dealings are in his past,” she told him. “And if not, maybe, just maybe…,” she continued when he would’ve interrupted her, “…your mother already knows about it.”
He hadn’t considered that. Not since the moment he’d heard the disturbing news had it occurred to him that the man could’ve told all of this to his mother and she had still agreed to marry him. Gut instinct told him that his mother would never marry a man she knew was breaking the law. Which meant she, like Leah, believed that all this was in Donald’s past. Terrell turned his back to her and walked across the room.
She felt a pulling in her stomach and couldn’t keep her feet from going after him. “I understand that you’re worried about her and it’s natural for you to want to protect her, but I honestly don’t see this as a way to do it. I mean, what are you going to do, waltz over there and say, ‘Hey mom, I’ve investigated your fiancé and he’s not what you think he is’? I don’t think she’d take that too kindly. And if it’s in his past it may not even matter to her now.” Folding her arms across her chest, Leah waited for him to turn around. He looked deflated. His shoulders slumped.
He was vulnerable, something she’d never anticipated where he was concerned. She wanted to touch him, to reach out and take him in her arms, to offer him some sort of security, but she didn’t know how.
Turning to face her, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “What if it’s not just drug dealing?”
The question hung in the air for a moment. Leah watched him, noting his seriousness, noting his dedication to his mother and more importantly, noting his fear.
“What else is there?” She knew she shouldn’t have asked, knew she shouldn’t get involved, but he looked so lost and so completely miserable she didn’t know what else to do. If he needed someone to talk to, then it wouldn’t hurt anything to talk to him, she hoped.
“Murder.”
Now that was a game changer. That simple word and the seriousness with which he’d said it, had her gasping.
“Terrell, I really think this is just…” Shaking her head again, she couldn’t even finish her sentence. “I mean, what can you do? How do you even know this?” Her mind was swarming with thoughts and she couldn’t get them all out at once.
At that moment, Terrell could swear he’d never seen a woman as attractive as she was. Her hair was straight today, hanging past her shoulders. She was tall and curvy. Even her legs were well shaped; he could see clear up to her thigh through the split in her skirt. Her breasts weren’t huge, but full and beckoning to be touched. She was worked up now, he could tell. She was rattling on and on, walking back and forth, her long arms moving dramatically as she talked, her eyes dancing busily. Maybe getting her involved wasn’t such a good idea, he thought as he found himself concentrating more and more on her instead of the situation at hand.
“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Well, dammit, you’ve upset me now! How am I supposed to work with them knowing that there’s something strange going on?” Still pacing, she thought about the meeting she had scheduled with Donald and Rosie in two weeks.
“I’m sorry, just forget everything I said. I mean, I don’t have any proof.” All he had was the word of a very good private investigator and a written report with leads to check out. In fact, he planned to check those leads out just as soon as he left her.
“No proof,” she whispered, stopping suddenly, turning to find herself right smack in his face.
She grabbed his arm to keep from falling backward. He grabbed her by the waist to hold her steady. The contact caused an instant reaction. Speechless, they stood gaping at each other.
He lowered his head. Oh God, he was going to kiss her! Leah panicked. Did she want him to kiss her? Of course she didn’t, that was stupid. But why wasn’t she moving? Why wasn’t she trying to stop him? Why was she standing there waiting, no, anticipating, the touch of his lips on hers?
Her lips looked so soft. He’d just touch them, just this once. It would be quick, nobody would mind. She wanted him to kiss her even though he knew she was seeing someone else. Her body responded to his, her curves molding perfectly to his body and his blood quickened. His hands at her hips he pulled her closer until her breasts pressed enticingly against his chest.
In a moment he’d have his first taste of her. This was the moment he’d dreamed about all week.
Her palms burned at the warmth coming from where she was now splaying them on his chest.So this is what it’s like towantto be kissed.Licking her lips, she readied herself for the experience, thinking she could already hear bells ringing somewhere in the room. They were so close, she could feel his breath against her face.
The phone rang and they sprang apart like two guilty teenagers.
“I should get that,” Leah said quickly, not sure if she were thankful or irritated.
