Page 31 of Mr. On Your Knees
“I love you so much,” he’d whispered in her ear when they could both breathe and speak again. But she hadn’t said it back.
Not one time in the past three weeks that she’d spent either at his hotel working on this event, or the many nights she’d spent at his house, had she said those words back to him. She’d felt them, certainly. Whenever she rolled over at night and stared at him while he slept, when he called himself creeping into the shower with her in the morning but she knew he just wanted to get a little more before they left for work, and on those nights that she’d been at her office late catching up on other events that he’d sent dinner to her and called to make sure she ate it. All of those times and even more when she was alone and simply thinking of him, she’d felt that familiar love blossoming in her heart and soul once more. But something had held her back from saying the words.
“You putting that good pussy on that man again, I see,” Lauren said coming up behind her. “Got him up there practically gushing about you.”
Desi glanced over her shoulder. “Girl, hush. He’s thanking everybody and their mama tonight. This event is such a success that Jason Carrington asked him to make it an annual affair, even after Jared’s term as Mr. Black expires.”
“Oh, really? Do I smell a big bonus check coming for your man? If so, you should definitely get him to take you to Milan. I’m sick of your ass dreaming about going and if any of us can afford to get you there now, it’s him.”
Desi rolled her eyes at her friend. Lauren had been making her way around the room sipping on as many free top shelf drinks as she could and chatting with as many guests who allowed it. She was a people person and loved networking, especially when there were so many rich people in the room that she could hit up for donations to the autism research charity auction she was organizing in Em’s honor. Jared had already pledged his support and had told her she could advertise it on the hotel’s website. That gesture had melted Desi’s heart a billion times over.
“I can take myself to Milan when I get good and ready,” she replied. “Go get yourself another drink I’ve gotta check on a few things.”
She left Lauren and moved through the crowd of guests dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos and magnificent masks in either black, red, green or yellow. That had been Mari’s idea, their nod to the traditional Juneteenth colors. The art exhibit was in a ballroom on the other side of the hotel because that’s where they had space that would allow it to run for the entire weekend. Per Jared’s request late one night when they’d been discussing the event in their underwear as they ate ice cream straight from the carton, Desi had reached out to Black churches in the area and community groups offering to arrange for bus transportation to bring them to see the exhibit. A few of the pastors and community leaders were here tonight.
She stopped when she saw Mari doing a quick check-in to see if everything was going okay and had received a thumbs up from her.
“You are practically glowing,” Mari had said to her. “Just like Jared was standing up there preening with pride. The two of you are so cute.”
That had been the first time Mari had mentioned anything about her and Jared even though Mari had known they were sleeping together for the past few weeks. Jared had told her she’d pulled him up about it and he hadn’t wanted to lie to her.
But really, there was no reason to lie. No reason to hide their relationship from anyone. Especially not now that they weren’t working on a project together. But come next year when her company would once again help plan this event, it still wouldn’t be a problem because they were adults who knew how to separate their work and private life when need be.
So the smile she was giving Mari spread wider as she asked, “Speaking of which, did you see which way he went when he finished with his remarks?”
Mari nodded. “I did. Congressman Reese wants to announce his re-election bid with a big fundraiser, so he wanted to talk to Jared about having it here at the hotel. I think they went out on the patio where it’s a little quieter.”
That would be true, the DJ who’d taken over for the band that had played for the first two and a half hours of the event had started the party portion of tonight off with back-to-back line dance songs that had guests jumping onto the dance floor to show their moves, or lack thereof.
“Oh, okay. Thanks. I’ll head that way and hopefully they’ll be finished talking by the time I get there.” She told Mari she’d see her later and continued her trek across the large space.
It was at least twenty minutes later by the time she made it to the open wall of patio doors. She’d been stopped a few times by guests Mari had told that she was the designer who Jared had referred to in his remarks. The night was clear, a light breeze blowing off the water as she stepped outside. She didn’t see Jared immediately but once again acknowledged how great every one of their guests had looked in their elegant attire. Ever since she was a little girl, Desi had loved to dress up so searching for and sliding into this gorgeous black mermaid cut gown tonight had been heavenly.
She was just about to give up her search and turn around to head back into the ballroom when she caught sight of him near the wall of white flowers. Her next breath caught in her throat and she blinked just to make sure her vision wasn’t deceiving her.
Jared was wrapped in a very cozy looking embrace with a woman dressed in a golden yellow gown and feathered black mask.
Jared
“It’s so good to see you again,” Jared was saying as he looked up to see Desi stalking toward him.
She’d stolen his breath the moment she’d walked down the stairs to meet him in the foyer of what was now beginning to feel like their house. Her dress fit every delectable curve of her body, the jeweled mask she wore adding an edge of mystique to her very sexy appearance. She’d been spending more and more time at the house and had even brought another scented plug-in because she said the fresh linen scent he liked was bothering her sinuses. That and the electric toothbrush she’d purchased to leave in his bathroom, along with some of her hair products so she didn’t have to worry about forgetting to pack them when she stayed over. They were the little things that continued to encourage him. And he needed that encouragement because even though he could feel all her emotions when they were together and knew that in her mind she was starting to get used to this new relationship they were building, she still hadn’t told him she loved him. He hadn’t known how much he needed the words until he hadn’t heard them for years.
“Hey, beautiful—” he started to say after breaking the hug, but Desi wasn’t looking at him now.
“Hello,” she said her lips spreading into a tight smile. “I’m Desirae.” She extended a hand and waited for it to be accepted.
“Oh, yes, the designer. Jared’s been bragging about you for the past ten minutes. I’m Karena Desdune.”
Jared watched the quick widening of Desi’s eyes and the moment she fixed her smile to take Karena’s hand.
“Well, I’ll just have to reward him later for speaking so highly of me,” Desi said before finally shifting her gaze to his.
“Karena is my cousin Sam’s wife. Her family owns the Lakefield Galleries. She and her sister Monica have been scouting sites for their next gallery and stopped here after leaving Kentucky because Sam told them about this event,” he said. Desi’s smile didn’t waver after she and Karena had released hands, but her demeanor was noticeably calmer. At least to him.
“Oh, really. That was nice. Did you get a chance to see the exhibit? I mean, I’m sure if you own a gallery you see wonderful art all the time, but there are some truly amazing pieces in this collection,” Desi said.
“I know,” Karena replied. “Monica and I had a chance to see it earlier today. We’re trying to get Jared to join us for a meeting with his friend, Manny, to discuss us borrowing the exhibit for a tour throughout all of our galleries.”
