“Or maybe, you didn’t think you could handle the change?

  Her expression became thoughtful. Then she nodded. “That, too. But at the end of the day, I think I’ve done a pretty good job at raising Lyric. I’ve always made sure to be there for her and to do everything that a good mother should, in spite of some challenges.

  He could very well imagine. Like him, Candace seemed like a hands-on parent and she must have felt the need to cancel salon appointments just to have more time with her daughter. He couldn’t imagine Shawna doing the same – and he wasn’t thinking ill of the dead or anything. It was just a fact. The simple admission made him respect the beautiful lady standing next to him a lot more.

  “You are a good mom, Candace Parker,” he told her.

  “Thank you, kind sir.” She smiled.

  He realized how much he missed that smile and found himself moving a step closer just to bask in it.

  “I missed you,” he told her.

  His fingers left her hair and moved to trace a finger along her jaw line. “You have always had the most beautiful skin,” he mused almost to himself. He heard her sharp intake of breath as his thumb skimmed over her lower lip. “And the sexiest lips. I had many wet dreams because of them.”

  He saw the doubt in her eyes. Under the light above them, she searched his eyes again. She still couldn’t believe that all those years, he had lusted after her even while they called each other best friends.

  “It is true,” he said right before he leaned in and claimed her lips with his. Actions after all, always spoke louder than words.

  His hand cupped her jaw and he tilted her head in the exact position he wanted them. From the first touch of their lips, he knew he wanted—no, needed—more. His lips sizzled and he felt it all the way to his toes. She gave a small sigh into his mouth that told him she felt the sizzle too. He leaned in for more.

  He meant it to be a gentle kiss but it turned hot soon enough. Candace always gave as good as she got and this time was no different. Her hands found his arms and her fingernails dug into his sleeves. The action almost caused him to lose control as he found himself devouring her lips like a starved man. He plastered her body to his and delighted in the softness of her breasts against his hard chest. It felt heavenly.

  He wanted her.

  Badly.

  If he didn’t stop now, he would end up taking her right there at her door.

  With all the willpower he could muster, he gently pulled his mouth from hers.

  “Whoa,” he said, looking into her smoldering eyes.

  “Wow!” she echoed. She was licking her lips and he couldn’t resist one last nip of those pouty lips.

  “You can make a man die simply from kissing,” he whispered into her mouth.

  “Same goes for you, Aric Simmons.” She laughed.

  He leaned away to look into her eyes again. She didn’t seem to mind the kiss at all; in fact, she looked like she wanted to drag him back into the house. He felt like pumping his fist into the air. For the next minute, he stood in front of her door watching her watch him.

  “I’d better leave,” he said, at last, even though he didn’t move an inch.

  “Yeah, totally, it’s late already,” she said even though she wasn’t letting go of his arms.

  Under the soft glow of the light over their heads, she looked like an angel; all soft and feminine. He wanted to kiss her again.

  “Good night, Candy,” he said softly even as his index finger rose on its own to caress the bare skin of her arms.

  “Good night, Aric,” she said, finally letting go of his sleeves.

  With the last sliver of strength, lest he changed his mind and followed her back in, he dropped a kiss on her forehead and took the steps down her front porch.

  When he got into his car, she waved him good night and then turned to go back in.

  Giddy with longing, he was still staring into his rearview mirror long after he drove away and she had gone back inside. It’d been quite some since he’d felt this way about anybody.

  He was marveling at how he could still want her so much after all these years when his phone rang. Seeing his brother’s number on the caller ID come up, he almost decided not to pick up the call but changed his mind at the last minute. If he knew Geoff at all, he would only keep calling until Aric’s battery ran out. It was better he dealt with him now – and he had a good idea why he was calling anyway.

  He hit the answer button. “What is it, Geoff?” he asked without preamble.

  “That’s no way to greet your brother.”

  His words were slurred. Aric could bet his Jag that he was high on something. He wouldn’t be surprised.

  “The only way you deserve a better way of greeting is when you clean up like I keep telling you to. “

  “See, I didn’t call you up for a sermon, so you can spare me the preaching,” Geoff said. “I need some cash to fix something real quick—”

  Aric cut him off. Geoff never disappointed him. “Like hell I’m going to give you any more money. I sent you five grand two months ago and I know you blew it on drugs and women.”

  “What’s your business what I do with my money?” Geoff hissed.

  Aric’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “My money, you mean?”

  “Whatever man,” Geoff said. “Just send it the usual way. I’ll be waiting.”

  “Seems like you aren’t listening to me, bro. I am not sending you another dime. If you need to fix something, fix it your damn self.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line. Aric knew what was coming next.

  As usual, Geoff didn’t surprise him. “You seem to forget about our little secret…”

  Aric had had enough. He ended the call abruptly and immediately blocked his brother’s number.

  He couldn’t believe the nerve of the guy. Every time he called him, it was to ask for money for some emergency which always ended up to be drugs or women. Aric had tried to help him get his act together, but he had no interest in acknowledging his addictions and taking the responsibility of seeking the professional help he obviously needed. His brother was hell-bent on smoking his life away. Before, Aric had always yielded to his call for money, mainly because the bastard had something big over him and wasn’t he just quick to deliver the threats any time?

  But tonight, Aric couldn’t just stomach the threat. He wouldn’t, not anymore.

  It must be because of Candace and her daughter. He smiled a little even though Geoff had successfully put a damper on his mood. Finding Candace again after all these years and discovering that they had a child together was already liberating him from the shackles of the many mistakes he’d made in the past.

  Chapter Four

  “Stop it right now, Aric!”

  “Not until you tell me what’s got you in a bad mood today.”

  Aric continued to tickle her until tears sprung into her eyes. She grabbed a pillow and hit him on the head even as she tried to escape, but a hand flew out and held her tightly against his chest. Hitting his chest with her back, she felt something settle in her stomach and she told herself that it was the menstrual cramps she’d had to deal with all morning.

  “Come on, Candy, you’ve got to tell me or else I’m not going anywhere,” he said into her hair as he held her impossibly closer. “And you know I mean it.”

  A few minutes ago, she had been on her bed feeling miserable and all alone before Aric burst in through the door looking larger than life in a pair of jeans and white T-shirt. He had taken one look at her huddled up in bed and dropped his camp bag to hop unto the bed with her.

  “You have to leave now,” she’d said seriously. “The bus is going to go without you.”

  He dragged her closer still, his chin in her hair. “What’s summer camp if you’re not going?” he asked. “Come on, tell me why you suddenly decided not to go.”

  Candace sighed. She knew Aric; she was usually the stubborn one but he could get as single-minded as a dog with a bone when he wanted. Besides, this was Aric, there was nothing she couldn’t tell him though she was feeling a bit embarrassed.

  “I’m on my period,” she muttered into the blanket wrapped around her.

  Her announcement met with a deadly silence. She felt him go rigid behind her. Damn, she shouldn’t have told him. Suddenly, she was grateful for her dark skin, else she would be as red as a tomato right now.

  She tried to ease out of his hold.

  “Does it hurt real bad?” he asked quietly.

  She stilled. “Not so much,” she whispered. “Just feels weird to have so much blood dripping out of me. Mom says it’s normal, that I am a late bloomer is all…and it’s trying to make up for all the time.”

  “Eww,” Aric said, but he did not release her.

  “Yeah, I think so, too.”

  “I’ll stay with you.”

  She turned to face him. “No, you won’t. I am not dying, you idiot.”

  He shrugged and settled into the bed. “You are the only one who gives a fuck about me, I’m not going to the stupid camp without you,” he said.

  She opened her mouth to talk, but a cramp seized her stomach and she winced instead.

  “You said it doesn’t hurt!” he accused.

  “I said not so much,” she countered.

  His bulging eyes, reflecting his fear, was, in a way, terribly funny. He looked like he thought she was going to die.

  “What can I do?” he asked miserably.”How can I help you to feel better?”

  “Nothing—unless you buy me a large bowl of chocolate.”

  His eyes grew sober and she immediately regretted her unthinking words. Aric was always sensitive about the fact that he wasn’t as well-to-do as other kids.

  “I wish I was rich,” he said quietly. “I would buy you a thousand bowls of chocolate.”

  Candace smiled at the memories of that day. They were both fourteen. True to his words, he hadn’t stepped out of her sight the whole day. He treated her like a delicate rose and ran around the house getting her all she needed. That night, her parents all but chased him out of her room, albeit with a touch of humor, so he could go home. Her parents trusted him and knew their daughter was safe.

  It was funny how she remembered every single thing now. She thought she had all those memories locked up safely forever. All it took to open the gates had been to have him over for dinner at her place. The memories had been flooding her senses since that night they’d kissed.

  Candace still couldn’t believe it. The one time they had kissed before then, she had been drunk. But she hadn’t even had a drink on Friday night and she wanted him. Oh, she wanted him all right! A touch of his lips against hers and her insides had fluttered as if a kaleidoscope of butterflies had decided to play in it. She didn’t know what she would have done if he hadn’t stopped when he did. Probably jumped his bones, that’s what.

  “Candace Parker! You have a look about you!”

  She startled at the voice. She hadn’t expected anybody to come into the shop since she had the ‘On Break’ sign out. She certainly hadn’t noticed her friend, Kyra walk in. Kyra was standing about three feet away close to the door with her hands on her curvy hips staring at her with wide, suspicious eyes. Candace groaned inwardly; she was happy to see her friend but she was also sure she’d had a really goofy look on her face and that was too bad because Kyra would not let her hear the last of it.

  Kyra was her best friend – her very first customer when she opened up her shop. At that time, Kyra had been dating the gubernatorial candidate and, as a result, there were many occasions when she needed to hire the services of a caterer. Because she’d highly recommended her, lots of business came Candace’s, way long after the poor guy lost the race and she dropped him like a hot potato. They’d become amazing friends over the years. Many times, Candace wondered how she would have coped in a new town with a baby in tow and starting a business if she hadn’t met Kyra.

  But then there were times when she wished her friend would just leave her to host her own pity party, instead of prodding her for details when the last thing she wanted to do was to spill the beans. She knew her friend well enough to know that she would want all the details about whatever was happening between her and Aric. Maybe, she needed a new best friend for occasions like these.

  Ughhh.

  “Yes?” Kyra prodded. “Tell me what the heck is wrong with you. Why do you look as if you want to be anywhere else, but here?”

  This is exactly what I wanted to avoid: Kyra poking her nose in my business.

  Didn’t prevent her from taking a crack at stopping her in her tracks. She was going to deny everything.

  “What look? I was trying to do up some bills. And welcome back. How was Nice, and Dick? You stopped sending pictures suddenly.” Everything came out on a rush of breath.

  Kyra changed boyfriends every few months and her latest one had taken her off to Nice on a jet since last week. She’d been ecstatic and splashed their pictures all over social media but then, the pictures had stopped coming since a day or two ago.

  Kyra looked bored. “Dick is a dick and Nice could have been nicer without him,” Kyra waved Candace’s curiosity away as she sauntered up to her to peep around the counter. “Don’t see any bills around, girlfriend,” she said with a sassy twist of her lips. “I’d say you were daydreaming about a man, but I know you wouldn’t even talk to one if he wasn’t buying cake or pastries from you.”

  Candace tried to smile and only ended up wincing. Kyra’s eyes narrowed and Candace groaned uneasily.

  “No!” Kyra was looking as excited as a kid with a new toy. “You really were thinking about a man! What have you been up to without me?” Her eyes darted about her friend’s face as if looking for some clue there. “I was only gone for a few days! Come on, spill it. Did you get a man? Of course, you did! Who is he? Is he someone I know?”

  “I am not seeing anyone, Ky,” Candace murmured as she came around the desk to join her friend. “Tell me, what happened with Dick? I am glad you’re back.”

  Kyra’s eyes turned into slits. “The fact that you’re avoiding the subject says a lot about how far things have gone. You have to tell me now or I’ll dig it out of you one way or the other.”

  Candace sighed. There was no use. She knew she was going to be hounded the entire day if she didn’t say anything. The only thing was she didn’t know if there was anything to say. It had only been a kiss and when Aric came to pick up Kenny on Sunday, they’d merely smiled at each other and had some small talk. There’d been some undercurrents between them, but the girls were there and he had to take Kenny home to prepare her for the week ahead.

  Thankfully, before she could open her mouth, her phone rang. A glance at the ID revealed who the caller was—Aric. She couldn’t help the smile that she knew transformed her face from melancholy to excitement. And her friend was astute enough to discern the shift in her expression. She hit the answer button, even while she could hear Kyra drag in an excited breath.

  “Hi, Aric, what’s up?” she said into the phone.

  There was a pause on the other end. “I forget just how much I missed your voice,” he said.

  What could she say to that? She opted to say nothing.

  Kyra seemed to barely restrain her excitement, but calmed herself down a tad bit so she could press her ear against the phone to listen. Candace paced away from her. “How’s work going?” she asked him. “You have to tell me all about your businesses, Mr. CEO,” she teased.

  After he left with his daughter on Sunday, Candace had unashamedly plagued her daughter for information on the Simmons family. Lyric had been all too willing to tell her everything she learned from Kenny – and Kenny had told her a lot. She’d learned that Aric owned his own chain of sports stores. She was impressed…and extremely proud. He’d gone from being a foster kid to make a name for himself – not that she ever doubted that great things were in store for him. He always had it in him.

  “As you do, too,” he said. “Heard you own the best catering shop in the city.”

  Hmm, someone has also been asking his daughter about me.

  Candace was sure he got the details from his daughter. Lyric must have volunteered the information – she should have known that it went both ways.

  “Sometime soon,” she promised.

  “We can do it over dinner,” he said.

  “Dinner?”

  Kyra gasped and began to struggle in earnest to get close to the phone.

  “Yeah, unless you’ve got plans,” he added quickly.

  “No, she doesn’t,” Kyra said just as Candace got the phone away.

  “Who’s that?”

  “Someone I’d like to strangle right now,” Candace glared at her friend. “Don’t pay her any attention.”

  Kyra stuck out her tongue.

  “I’d like to meet her,” Aric said. It was obvious, judging from the tone of his voice, that he was smiling.

  Uh-oh, bad.

  She didn’t think it was a good idea for Aric to meet Kyra – and it wasn’t because Kyra was hot and beautiful. It was because Kyra was hot and beautiful and would even be willing to give up the love of her life – that was, if she could stay still long enough to fall in love – if only Candace showed the tiniest interest in him. Candace was sure that she would embarrass her with uninvited stories of Candace’s loveless life the instant she met Aric.

  No, thank you.

  “I’m free for dinner tonight,” she said to Aric, trying to distract him.

  It worked. “Good then,” he sounded genuinely pleased. “Listen, I wanted to ask for a favor.”

  “Shoot,” she told him.

  He told her he had a series of important meetings coming up soon and would like her to pick up Kenny from school when she went for Lyric. Of course, she had no issues with it. The girls would be happy to spend some more time together.

  “I had planned to take Lyric shopping this evening; we ladies could all go together. I’ll just get Kenny into one of Lyric’s clothes. We would have a good time.”