She shook her head with a pathetic look on her face and rolled her eyes. “I’ll be downstairs.” She turned on her heel and traipsed down the stairs.
Kendrick waited for her to reach the landing below before closing the door again.
“I’m sorry about that, baby,” he apologized. “She acts like she can control this part of my life, but don’t worry, I won’t let her.”
“Kendrick, this is so embarrassing,” Kaycee said from under the blankets.
He lifted the covers. “Kaycee, it’s out now. You and I are in love and everybody around us is just going to have to accept it.”
His strong words of conviction pierced her heart. He was right. They couldn’t deny their love. With a kiss on his mouth, she got out of bed. Kendrick went downstairs to talk to Bianca while she showered and dressed. When she felt presentable enough, Kaycee exited the bedroom to join them.
Bianca’s back was to her when she entered the family room. Kendrick saw her approaching and stood up to met her. As a show of support, he put his arm around her waist.
When she saw her father jump up from his seat, Bianca must have known it was showtime. Clearing her throat, she stood up and turned around. When she saw Kaycee enter the room her mouth fell open.
“Bianca, I want you to meet Kaycee Jordan. Kaycee, this is my daughter, Bianca Mills.”
Kaycee held out her hand. “Hi, Bianca. It’s good to meet you finally. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Bianca returned a weak handshake. “I’m sorry I can’t say the same. I guess my father’s been keeping you under wraps.”
Kaycee gave Kendrick a curious glance, but said nothing.
“Bianca,” he said in a warning kind of way. Taking Kaycee’s hand in his, Kendrick led her over to the sofa.
“So Bianca, how are Tim and Sebastian?” he asked, referring to his son-in-law and grandson as if this meeting was a small thing.
“Daddy, they are fine, but they are not the issue right now. I don’t mean to be rude, Kaycee, but, Daddy, don’t you think I deserve some kind of explanation?”
“Bianca, last I checked I was the parent,” he said sternly.
Kaycee tapped his hand before he could go on. “Kendrick, she’s right. Like you said, you and I are in love and we owe it to the people who love us to let them know.”
Kendrick grumbled in protest, but conceded in honor of Kaycee’s wishes.
“Bianca, like Kaycee said, we are seeing each other.”
“Since when?”
“Officially since last night but we’ve known each other for some time now.”
Bianca pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. “Kaycee, exactly how old are you anyway?”
“Age doesn’t make a difference,” Kendrick quickly cut in.
“Is it a problem for me to know?” Bianca asked.
“No it’s not,” Kaycee replied. “I’m twenty-nine, Bianca.”
She watched as the younger woman’s lips twisted in disapproval. “Okay, now do you realize that I am twenty-five?”
Kaycee nodded indifferently. “I’m aware of your age.”
Bianca stood from her perch on the edge of the sofa and walked across the room. “You’re also aware that my father is almost fifty?”
“I am.”
“Bianca Shalon, I will not have you interrogating Kaycee like she’s on the witness stand!” Kendrick barked.
“Daddy, what is going on in your head?” Bianca shouted, pointing at Kaycee as if she were an ornament in the room. “She is young enough to be my sister. What are you going to do with a girl?”
“She’s not a girl, she’s a woman!” he corrected her.
“She is nineteen years younger than you!”
“So what!” Kendrick boomed. “If you would give her a chance you would see that she is very intelligent, she’s kind, unselfish and we are compatible in so many ways.”
Kaycee could feel the heat stirring in her abdomen from his complimentary words. It was moments like this that made her know her feelings for him were so right.
“So what are you going to do if she wants to get married and have babies?” Bianca shot back.
Their eyes immediately connected because it was a topic that neither of them had bothered to discuss. Bianca could sense their trepidation and decided to play it in her favor.
“Are you ready to be changing diapers at fifty?” she queried. Then she turned to Kaycee. “What about when his bum knee really goes out and he can’t move around as much? Would it cramp your style to have a cripple for a husband?”
“Bianca, I’m going to have to ask you to leave!” Kendrick broke in. He jumped up from his seat, stomped to the door and opened it. “I’m sorry, baby, but you will have to understand that this is the woman I love and I intend to be with her.”
Bianca looked from one to the other and sighed in defeat. With a lowered head, she gathered her purse and walked to the door. Before she crossed the threshold she turned back to Kendrick.
“I pray that you will open your eyes and see the mistake you’re making.”
Kendrick quietly closed the door behind her and turned around to find a stunned Kaycee. He wanted to take away the whole incident with his stubborn daughter. Kaycee was a strong-willed person, but he believed that Bianca had her beat.
“Come here, baby,” he said, opening his arms for her.
Kaycee ran into them and pressed her face against his chest.
“That didn’t go over so well,” she said with a sigh.
“Don’t worry about Bianca,” he said as he intimately stroked the nape of her neck with his palm. “Her bark is far worse than her bite.”
“Kendrick, do you think we’re making a mistake?” she asked looking up into his eyes, searching for the answer to calm her fears.
“No, I don’t,” he answered and kissed her nose. “We belong together.”
Kaycee hugged him tightly, trying to get the assurance that she desperately wanted and needed. She loved Kendrick Thompson to the point that she knew it would hurt not to have him in her life.
Chapter 22
Since their first night together, Kendrick and Kaycee had been inseparable. In both of their eyes it was only natural to want to be with each other 24/7. Therefore, their days started wrapped in each other’s arms and their nights the same.
It wasn’t a sex thing, either. Although their physical attraction to each other was high, their desire included companionship, friendship and shared interests.
If they were not holding each other as they slept, they were sitting on the edge of the bed watching Thursday—and Sunday—night football. Other nights were spent reading to each other. Kaycee, who claimed she never had time to read, looked forward to listening to Kendrick’s deep voice as he read from his latest novel of choice. It was like a book on tape but in real time.
Neither could believe that happiness on such a level existed. To find “the one” who was your match totally and completely was the greatest blessing of all.
Following breakfast, they gathered their things to leave for work. They thought it was best to continue to drive in separate cars so that the staff would not get suspicious about their relationship. It wasn’t that they were hiding it, but they wanted to tell them at the right time.
Like a gentleman, Kendrick pulled Kaycee’s Toyota out of the garage and had it warmed and ready for her when she exited the house through the open garage door.
He opened the driver’s door for her and held her hand as she stepped up in her heels to get inside.
“Thanks, baby,” she said, giving him a kiss.
“No, thank you,” he replied.
She looked at him curiously, “For what?”
“For wearing that skirt,” he said, smoothing his hand up the smooth plane of her calf and thigh. “I’ve been watching you all morning. If I didn’t have a ten o’clock meeting, I would march you back in that house and let you have it.”
She giggled at the thought of being made to go in the house
and undress. She wouldn’t mind it, either. The thought actually made her heart race.
“Don’t make promises that you can’t keep,” she warned. “You’re not going to do anything but be on fire all day. It would be embarrassing for you to walk around in front of your colleagues in that condition.”
He grunted. “I have more control than that.”
“Do you now?” she challenged, sliding her arms around his neck. She met his lips with her own. Her kiss was deep, passionate and as needy as if they had all the time in the world.
It was amazing how something as simple as her kiss made him weak. Kissing Kaycee was more than just a show of emotion. It was a prelude to something more than just sex. It was communication on a whole different level, an understanding and a branding of some sort all rolled in one. Kendrick was claiming her and she was a marked woman.
Finally, after a few minutes, he pulled back. Kaycee sat there looking as if she was spinning but trying to regain control by fanning herself.
Kendrick chuckled as he reached up to finger one of the curls on her head. “Are you okay?”
With her eyes still closed she nodded without a word.
“Are you sure?”
Kaycee’s eyes slowly opened. “We need to stop.”
“You started something now,” he said, playfully trying to reach for her again.
“And you have a very important meeting. We will continue this later,” she said with a tug on his shirt.
Kendrick reached inside the vehicle and attached her seat belt.
“Thank you.”
He kissed her on the cheek. “I just want to make sure my woman is safe.”
They kissed once more and departed in separate vehicles.
As she backed out of the driveway, Kaycee thought about how much her life had changed in the last few months. She thought about how their paths had crossed and she hadn’t been able to look away since. She couldn’t imagine her life before Kendrick had come into her world. He was so much the perfect fit that it sometimes scared her.
The ringing of the telephone disrupted her thoughts. She reached for it and immediately recognized her parents’ home number.
“Hello,” she sang into the phone.
“Hey, baby girl.” It was her mother.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Are you busy?”
“Just on my way to work.”
“I was just calling to let you know that your dad and I will be in town next week.”
“You will?” she exclaimed. “When are you coming?” She hoped it didn’t clash with an affair that Kendrick had invited her to attend. It would be their first time out as a couple and she was looking forward to meeting his colleagues.
“On the twenty-third, but most of our time will be spent at a hotel.”
Kaycee gasped in disappointment. “Why?”
“It’s sort of like a class reunion. A bunch of us from our old high school are getting together for a dinner cruise on Lake Lanier. We got a weekend package deal at a resort there, too.”
“Will I see you guys?”
“Of course,” her mother exclaimed. “We’re going to extend our trip to hang out with you for a few extra days.”
“Good, I would hate for you to come all this way and then not see you.”
“I’ll call you when we get to Atlanta, okay?”
“Okay,” she replied. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they hung up.
Kaycee was excited about her parents coming, but she was also nervous. She didn’t know how they would react to Kendrick. He was only a few years younger than they were.
For the most part, they were fair and even-tempered, which was why she admired and respected them so much. She was sure that after they got past the age difference with Kendrick, they would zero in on the one thing that all parents wished and hoped for for their child and that was that he loved her unconditionally and made her happy. She’d found that in Kendrick Thompson, and she was sure they would see that, also.
After the lunch crowd had tapered off, Kaycee took the time to go out into the dining area to place table tents announcing a book signing for a local author.
Along the way she greeted the customers and even stopped to chat with some. She had just finished the last table and gone back to the counter when Sidra entered the café.
“Sid, hey,” she greeted her friend with a hug.
“Hey, girl, you got a minute?”
“Sure,” Kaycee assured her. “Would you like something to eat?”
Sidra peered into the dessert case. “That red velvet cake with some sweet tea sounds good.”
Kaycee’s brow raised. “It will be good after you eat your salad.”
Sidra was such a junk-food junkie, and Kaycee wanted her to change her habits now that she was eating for two. It had been three weeks since she’d told Kaycee of her condition.
Since then, however, Kaycee had been so wrapped up in being with Kendrick that she hadn’t had a chance to talk to her friend to find out if she’d told Hampton that he was going to be a daddy.
She put in an order for two Asian sesame chicken salads and a small basket of whole-grain baguettes before joining Sidra in the dining area.
“So what’s been happening with you, girlfriend?” Kaycee asked sitting across from her friend. “Are you feeling good? Because you are sure looking good.”
Sidra, attractive before, was now outright glowing as a result of the pregnancy. Her hair appeared to be shinier and her eyes brighter.
Sidra blushed. “I’m doing well, considering.”
“So, have you told Hampton about the baby yet?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“And? What did he say?”
Sidra smiled half-heartedly. “He said he wasn’t trying to be a daddy, especially to the child of some ho that he had a one-night stand with.”
Kaycee’s face fell and she seized her friend’s hand in an effort to comfort her. “I’m sorry.”
A lone tear rolled down Sidra’s cheek, and she quickly wiped it away as she fought to keep from crying. “It’s okay. It let me know what kind of person I was dealing with. Hampton Barnes is a jerk!”
“Sid, I’m sorry. I really am.”
“It’s my own fault. I am a sucker for fine men with money.” She laughed.
“Don’t worry, we will get through this together. You have my support all the way.”
Sidra smiled. “Thanks, girlfriend, I’m going to need all the help I can get.” She patted her flat stomach. “I know that I’m still in my first trimester, but this baby is already kicking my butt. I get so tired.”
Kaycee laughed as she heard Sidra’s tales of her pregnancy. By then, their food arrived and they dug in.
“So, how are things going between you and your man?” Sidra asked out the blue.
Kaycee’s fork stopped en route to her mouth. She hadn’t had the chance to talk to Sidra about how things had developed between her and Kendrick.
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Sidra said. “I know you’re seeing him.”
“And if I was?”
Sidra shrugged. “I guess it would be your business.”
Kaycee proceeded to fill Sidra in on the details of their relationship up until the present time.
“I knew you were going to be with him when you went on that fishing trip with him.”
“How so?”
“Because you were focused on nothing else but being there with him. I envied that. When you turned down Grant I knew that you were already in love.”
“I am,” Kaycee confessed.
“That’s cool,” Sidra said. “My motto now is do what makes you happy. Since Kendrick’s been in the picture I don’t think I’ve seen you happier. I’m excited for you, Kaycee.”
“Thanks, girl.”
“Are you two talking marriage yet?”
“Not yet, but I have a feeling that it’s going to happen.”
She remembered Kendrick’
s question about her relationship with Paul ruining her belief in relationships.
“Does he want any children?”
Kaycee shrugged. “Actually, we haven’t discussed that yet.”
“Have you done it yet?”
“Sidra!”
“What?” Sidra groaned. “You know me. Sex is always on my brain.”
“That’s your problem.”
“I know, literally, right?”
Kaycee reached for Sidra’s hand. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Sidra waved off Kaycee’s comment with an airy gesture. “It’s okay, it’s the truth. But anyway, you were talking about the sex.”
“No, you were,” Kaycee shot back.
Sidra’s brow raised. “You’re not telling, are you?”
Kaycee sank back against the comfortable booth and looked to the ceiling. “All I can say is—whew!” She began fanning herself. While Sidra might have thought it was an action for the moment in their conversation, Kaycee really had to fan the flames.
“Better than Paul?”
All Kaycee did was roll her eyes in response. She and Paul had not been the most compatible in the bedroom. Where she was adventurous, Paul was conventional. Kaycee had resolved to conform to his style if they got married and the thought had unnerved her.
“Sounds like you got the whole package. Just make sure that he accepts you all the way. You don’t want to be where I am. If I could turn back the hand, I would.”
Sidra’s words reverberated in Kaycee’s mind long after she left. She needed somehow to get Kendrick’s perspective on their life together.
Chapter 23
Telling the staff at Jireh came sooner than they had planned. Kendrick had totally forgotten about their hope to play it low-key when he arrived at work following his meeting.
Kaycee was helping Jaylen to bus tables while she talked to a guest and hadn’t noticed him enter the building. Upon seeing her, he forgot everything.
As she made her way to the front, she spotted him and a warm smile lit up her face. All he could see was the love glowing on her face.
Without thinking, he sauntered right over and hugged her up tight and kissed her. It was like something out of an old Western movie.