She gave up. This was a waste of time on every level. So she just left. But not before glancing at that strange man with those kind eyes once again.
And after meeting Natasha’s boyfriend, Edmund continued to search for that odd young lady that actually made him feel good inside. Because he liked that feeling. And also because he liked her legs.
But she was nowhere to be found. And then he felt foolish for even looking for her.
He said his goodbyes to his sister and walked outside. His plan was to get in his car with Wyatt, his driver, and Donnell, his bodyguard, and then make his way back to his private jet and then back to Baltimore within hours of his arrival in Georgia.
That was his plan. Until he saw that same young lady getting into a Camry at the bottom of the circular driveway. He looked at Donnell, who was standing at the back passenger door of Edmund’s car with the door open, and he held up a finger. “Give me a sec,” he said as he made his way down the driveway toward that Camry.
Donnell closed the door back, but not before glancing at Wyatt. “What’s that about?” he asked.
“I don’t know. But it’s always about a woman with Doc.”
Donnell smiled and nodded. “True that,” he said. Then they both watched as their boss made his way to the Camry.
When Edmund saw Maude sitting behind the wheel with her head leaned back as if she distressed, he knocked on the window.
At first startled, Maude looked quickly. When she saw that man with those kind eyes, she hesitated at first. She was bothered by the way she reacted to him. And in front of her new boss no less! But then she pressed down her window. “Yes?”
When she looked those big browns up at him again, and he saw her anguish, Edmund was actually concerned about her. “You okay?”
Was it written on her forehead? “Yes, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look it.”
Maude gave him a side-eyed look. “Excuse you?”
“You look upset is what I meant.”
“Oh.” She realized everything was getting on her nerves that night. “No, I was just hoping to get a text from a source. I’m a journalist. I was hoping to get some information, but I haven’t gotten any.”
“I see.” Although Edmund didn’t buy it for a second. When she glanced away from him as a couple from the party walked by heading for their own car, he glanced down the length of her. And he immediately went hard.
By the time she looked back at him, his eyes, though he could hardly suppress his arousal, were back on hers. “Listen,” he said, “the night is still young. How about we go for a ride? Or a drink if you prefer?”
Here we go, she thought. Another joker trying to get into somebody’s panties. And there she was thinking he might be different, only to be wrong about him just as she was wrong about every man she’d ever known. “No, I’m going to call it a night. But thanks anyway,” she said in a way that was so not a thank you, and then she put on her seatbelt and drove away.
Edmund stood there stupefied. It was the first time any lady turned him down, and she did so with such an abruptness. As if no way would she consider doing anything with him. It should have angered him. Who did she think she was?
But it didn’t. She was a lady with limits, that’s who she was. And it was good to know that there were some still out there. He didn’t care to know any of them, including her now that he knew her legs were closed to him. Although a part of himstill felt some kind of odd way about her, and that feeling had nothing to do with her legs.
But by the time he got into his car, got on his plane, and was back to his hectic life in Baltimore, that young lady, that very odd young lady, left his mind as quickly as she had fallen into his lap.
CHAPTER THREE
FOUR YEARS LATER
Johnny Parks smiled at the skinny white waitress who gave him that look he knew so well. Those white girls loved his black ass. But he wasn’t about to cross that line. All those sisters out here with their slamming bodies and their gorgeous faces was what he was after. And since they were after him with equal vigor, he wasn’t interested in substitutes. But over the course of their relationship, Maude’s trifling ass sometimes made him want to reconsider his decision. Sometimes he thought seriously about giving those other girls a chance.
He looked at his watch when he saw her hurrying into the restaurant. She was late. Again. By nearly half an hour this time. And as usual she looked rushed and harassed and not at all like the polished sister he liked his women to be. The only reason he fooled with her for those past ten months was because she had what those other ladies never bothered to have. But Maude had morals, and values, and ethics. She had unimpeachable character. She was somebody he knew he could trust with his life. With his money. With hissecrets.
But now, as he watched her hurry to his booth with that big-ass shoulder bag she seemed to keep the world inside of, even those grandiose attributes had worn thin on him. And he didn’t regret what he’d done.
He knew her tardiness was going to be all about that job of hers. She was relentless in her pursuit to be the best reporterin Georgia. She was nowhere near it in all the ten months he’d known her, but she was always hustling. She was always certain her next story would be the biggest one of her career. She was a pain in the rear when it came to that job if you asked Johnny. But that was Maude.
She was a creature of habit too. That was why he’d already ordered her drink: a gin and tonic. That was why he knew the line she was going to lay on him when she made it to his booth.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said at the very same time he said it.
