Kitabı oku: «An Elite Event»

Prologue

“Say one more word to me and you’ll be walking around this wedding reception decorated with this delicious glass of expensive white wine.” As Mya Winters gracefully walked away from the current subject of her irritation, she hoped the intensity in her eyes had provided extra warning.

Her four-inch turquoise heels clicked against the smooth cranberry-wood surface of the massive deck adorned in a variety of exotic floral arrangements. Before she could reach the other side that overlooked the Caribbean Sea, a strong hand grabbed her arm.

She turned abruptly, her eyes traveling from the hand on her arm to the face of a man who clearly didn’t understand the meaning of leaving her alone.

When the annoying pick-up lines that he’d been using on her all night continued to spurt from his mouth, she couldn’t help the jolt of her hand as the remnants in her glass of wine made contact with his face.

“I can’t believe you just did that you b—”

“Keep talking and one of my heels will get friendly with a part of your body that I’m sure you’ll need in the future,” Mya said, cutting off whatever he had been about to say. She crossed her arms over her chest before she continued. “Although it doesn’t really matter since it’s evident that the lack of style in your walk is directly proportionate to the way you handle business in the bedroom...quick and sloppy.”

The man frantically looked around the crowded wedding reception to see who had overheard Mya’s comment. Noticing that they had garnered more than enough attention, he placed his hands on his drenched face and muttered expletives as he finally walked away from her.

“Did you really have to throw your wine at him?” asked Lex Turner, Mya’s business partner and friend, as she approached.

“Well, he wouldn’t shut up,” Mya said as quietly as she could. “Besides, I gave him several warnings to leave me the hell alone.”

“Mya,” Lex said leading her farther away from the crowd. “This is Cyd and Shawn’s dream wedding. It isn’t like you to show out at important events. What’s going on?”

Mya casted her eyes to the floor, refusing to look Lex in the eye in fear she would see through the lie she was about to tell. “Nothing’s wrong. I guess I’m just a little tired from all the events I had to plan before the wedding.”

Mya Winters and her partners Lexus Turner, Imani Rayne-Barker and Cydney Rayne—who was now officially Cydney Rayne-Miles—were the owners of Elite Events Incorporated in Chicago, Illinois. What had once started as a dream was now an established event-planning company, and business was thriving in ways the foursome had never imagined.

“I don’t believe you,” Lex stated. “But I’m sure you’ll tell me when you’re ready. In the meantime, can you try to refrain from dousing wine on every man that approaches you tonight?”

“I will make no such promise.”

“Mya!” Lex exclaimed.

“Okay, okay,” Mya replied as she waved her hands in the air. “For the rest of the night, my wine will stay in my glass.” Unless another sorry excuse for a man decides that tonight is the night he wants to challenge me.

Lex shot her another look of disbelief before she walked off to join her fiancé, Micah Madden. Mya watched Lex softly kiss her soon-to-be-husband, before witnessing a similar exchange between Imani and her husband, Daman, and newlyweds, Cyd and Shawn.

“All this cuteness is making me nauseous,” she said to herself before grabbing a glass of wine from a nearby waiter and taking a large gulp of the smooth liquid.

“Try not to throw this one,” the male waiter said with a laugh as he walked away.

“That was cute,” Mya said with slight disregard. She shot the waiter a strained smile before setting her wistful gaze back on her friends. It wasn’t that she was jealous of her friends’ relationships. She was actually really happy for them and glad they had each found the man of their dreams.

But she couldn’t help but be a bit jealous of the happiness reflected in their eyes. A happiness she hadn’t felt in a really long time.

Ever since I got that phone call,’she thought. There weren’t many things in life that surprised Mya, but getting a discreet phone call from someone who seemed to know something about her past was definitely unexpected and she had been in a foul mood for the past week because of it.

Growing up in foster care and witnessing things that no child ever deserved to see, had dismissed any fantasies she had about having a life that resembled one plucked from a classic fairy tale. Real life wasn’t filled with happily-ever-afters and knights in shiny armor. Maybe for some it was, but never for her. Despite Mya’s love for her foster mother, Ms. Bee, who’d been her savior after a slew of terrible foster homes, there wasn’t any part of her childhood that could be remotely viewed as perfect.

Taking another sip of her wine, Mya sighed deeply. Now wasn’t the time for a pity party. Just as she was about to continue her journey to the somewhat empty side of the deck, a loan figure caused her to avert her eyes in another direction. He stopped to talk to a few other people as he made his way back to the group, but it was his walk that had caught her attention. Confident. Powerful. Purposeful. She knew him, of course. This wasn’t the first time she’d noticed his walk and with all the love in the air, her hormones were surely acting wacky.

She tried to will herself to look away from Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome. But as usual, she never seemed to tear her gaze away fast enough. She let her eyes roam over his athletic build that was encased in light gray beachwear attire identical to the other groomsmen. By the time her gaze made it to his face, she wasn’t surprised to find his eyes locked on hers.

Why on earth did he always have to look so sexy? Since the first day she’d met private investigator Malik Madden, the Ivy League graduate had been getting under her skin in the best way possible. Today he was sporting a pair of stylish black glasses that made him look even sexier than usual. Mya wasn’t usually even attracted to men who wore glasses, but she found that she missed them whenever Malik chose not to wear them.

As if it weren’t bad enough, they had been paired together for the current wedding and were paired again later this year for another wedding. They also both held major parts in each. It had become difficult for their friends not to pair them together during rehearsals and prewedding events.

The slight breeze that caught her hair was a friendly reminder that she should continue her journey to the other side of the deck and stop playing eye tag with Malik. Giving him one more thorough glance, she downed the rest of her wine before walking off.

* * *

“Damn, bro,” Micah said, slapping Malik’s shoulder. “If you ever decide to actually tell Mya how much you’re interested in her, maybe you should skip talking to her in front of large groups of people or any other public displays of affection.”

Malik shook his head at his younger brother, never taking his eyes off Mya’s legs. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said raising an eyebrow at Micah. “She’s really not all that bad.”

Micah almost spit his drink out across the floor. “Dude, did you just see her berate Shawn’s friend who tried to talk to her?”

“Yeah, I saw it,” Malik said with a shrug as he took a swig of his Corona.

“She basically castrated him with those words,” Micah exclaimed. “No female at this wedding will go two feet near him now.”

“He’s always been a jerk anyway,” Malik replied, finally willing his gaze to move beyond her legs. When he did, he was satisfied to find her checking him out just as thoroughly. She always looked great every time he saw her, but tonight, seeing her in a short turquoise strapless dress was pushing his desire to another limit.

“Jerk or not, Mya’s tongue is lethal and ever since I got with Lex, I’ve watched her dismiss plenty of guys who have tried to get close to her but failed.”

Malik turned slightly to the side to regard his brother. “Are you saying you don’t think I could handle a woman like Mya?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, bro,” Micah said with a laugh. “Mya’s really cool to hang out with and she’s beautiful. I even like that she can watch sports with Shawn and I just like one of the guys. But to date her? I think you’d have your hands full.”

Malik shook off his brother’s warning, knowing it was already too late for him. He’d made up his mind years ago, the first time he saw her at Daman and Imani’s wedding, that he would make her his one day. He’d attended that wedding with his ex, Alicia, and even then, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Mya.

“Besides,” Micah said. “Mya is feisty as hell. And no offense, bro, but you never did do well with spontaneous women like her since you’re...um...you just overthink things too much.”

Malik looked away from Micah. He already knew what he was about to say. While Micah had been playing with the neighborhood kids back when they lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, Malik had been inside studying for advanced placement classes. Although they were close, Malik and Micah were like night and day. But Malik didn’t like being labeled as the boring brother who always followed the rules. Following the rules had certainly helped with his career, but hadn’t worked so well when it came to women and relationships.

“Oh ye of little faith,” Malik said gripping Micah’s shoulder and brushing off his words. “When will you learn not to underestimate your big brother?”

Micah shook his head in disbelief. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Malik barely heard Micah’s words as he continued to observe Mya’s blatant appraisal of him. He didn’t understand why their chemistry was so intense, but as it usually went with them, he locked his eyes to her face and waited for her to make direct contact. When she cast her coffee-colored eyes on his deep mahogany ones, he felt the intensity of their connection throughout his entire body.

He could have stood there and stared at her all night, but she broke the moment, gave him a slight smile, and walked away. Only when she left did Malik let his breath rush from his lips, and then he took a final swig of his beer.

“But on the other hand,” Micah said. “I never see her look at anyone the way she looks at you. So maybe she’s just waiting for you to make a move.”

Malik didn’t know if Micah had told him that in hopes that he’d make a fool of himself and prove him right, or if he actually believed what he was saying. Regardless, it didn’t matter because there was no doubt in his mind that he could handle all that Mya was willing to offer and more. Making up his mind, he passed Micah his empty beer bottle and followed after Mya.

* * *

The Anguilla beach on a hot March night was truly a beautiful sight. But even the warm wind looping through Mya’s brown curls and the festive reggae music couldn’t ease her mind. Taking off her heels, she stepped off the deck. She then placed her pedicured toes in the white sand and began walking toward the ocean.

Even in the nighttime, she could see shadows of couples on the beach wrapped up in their own love cocoon. As she stood there, gazing out at the ocean, she welcomed the darkness that hid the sadness written across her face. I’ll just stand like this for a few minutes and then I’ll rejoin the party and put on my best smile, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes. She was determined not to waste any more time on her friend’s special day thinking about the call she wished she hadn’t received. Besides, she was leaving for the airport the next morning to meet with some members of the Chicago community about the current status of two after-school programs that were in danger of closing. She had to make sure that her brain was clear for her meeting.

“I love the sound of the ocean at night,” she whispered. Her eyes remained closed, but she was well aware that someone else had joined her on the beach and was standing close by. The light scent of Giorgio Armani cologne proved that it was the one person she wished hadn’t followed her to the beach. Not because she was prepared to subject him to the same verbal warning that she had given to the guy who had hit on her earlier, but because she knew he was the one man who made her feel so unlike herself.

“It really is a beautiful sound.”

Mya slowly lifted her head and peered over to the man who owned the deep, penetrating voice that caused shivers to run throughout her body.

“Are you enjoying the wedding?” Malik asked, staring back at her.

“Of course,” she said with a smile. “It’s everything that Cyd and Shawn wanted.”

“Think you’ll ever get married one day?” The question he asked would’ve been simple if it had come from any other man, but coming from Malik, it made her pause before responding.

“Probably not,” she finally replied. “What about you?”

“Not in the cards for me, either, although my mom is trying to convince me to go out with her friend’s daughter. Micah getting engaged before me is really complicating my life,” he said with a laugh.

“That’s understandable,” Mya said, joining in his laughter as she remembered the way Cynthia Madden had inquired about her love life when she realized Mya was still single on the day Micah proposed to Lex.

They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Malik began to speak again. “Listen,” he said stepping a little closer to her. “I have some business to take care of in Chicago next week so after I leave here I won’t be going right back to Detroit.”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Mya replied as she tried to stall the question she knew Malik would ask and averted her eyes back to the ocean.

“So I was wondering,” Malik continued, staring directly at her and ignoring her attempt to sidetrack him. Even in the darkness, she could feel the intensity in his eyes. “Would you like to go out with me sometime next week?”

Ugh! Why did he have to ask me out? “Listen,” Mya said as she tried to think about the best way to decline and not come off as rude. “I appreciate the offer, but I have to pass. I can’t go out with you.”

“Okay,” he said, turning back to the ocean. “May I ask why?”

I wish you wouldn’t. “I just have a lot going on and I don’t have time to date.”

She could feel the tension in the air and knew he still had more questions.

“I understand,” he said, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. “But one date couldn’t hurt.”

I really don’t have time for this. Mya actually did like Malik, but she didn’t want to date him or any other man right now. She had way too much going on in her personal life and dating Malik, a man who knew all her friends, meant that he was too close to her life. If things didn’t work out, where would that leave them? Mya knew the deal. One date would turn into two dates, and then three dates. Next thing they knew, everyone would be celebrating their wedding and proclaiming what a cute couple they were. It had happened to Imani, Cyd and recently engaged Lex.

She laughed aloud at the direction of her thoughts. The man had asked her on one date and she was already predicting how badly it could end. Nonetheless, she knew her decision was a solid no.

“How about we just stick to seeing each other at friendly gatherings,” Mya finally replied.

Malik gave her a sly smile. “For now,” he added before he began walking back to the deck. Mya turned around to watch him walk away until he faded into the darkness.

Malik was sweet, nice and definitely not equipped to understand her complicated life. He would never be able to handle me,’she thought, turning back to the ocean.