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  She frowned. “And your point? Is it written somewhere that the moment we became engaged we were supposed to share a bed? And what if I said that I wanted to wait until our wedding night, Sean? What then?”

  She and Sean shared a special friendship, but the one thing they couldn’t agree on was sex. Why did the issue of them sleeping together have to muddle things?

  “Asia, let’s talk later. I can tell you’re not in a good mood tonight, and I didn’t mean to call and upset you.”

  She felt a thick lump form in her throat. He was right. She wasn’t in a good mood, and she suspected she was half-crazy, as well. Here she had one of the nicest men she knew, who wanted to marry her, take care of her, and love her, yet she had been awakened from a dream of another man. A man who had been making love to her, making her moan. Just thinking about it made heat settle in all parts of her body. She knew it had to be guilt more than anything that was screwing up her mind.

  “I’ll call you later in the week. Tell your sister I said hello.”

  “All right.”

  “Good night, Asia.”

  “Good night, Sean.”

  Asia hung up the phone. She had heard the love in Sean’s voice and knew that things couldn’t go on this way between them. If she was going to marry him, then that meant she needed to share everything with him, especially herself. She hoped that by the time he returned to the States, she would be ready for their relationship to move to that level.

  3

  Lance

  The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our

  dispositions and not our circumstances.

  —Martha Washington

  “Hey, man, I’m glad you could make it.” Sam grinned as he ushered Lance into his apartment.

  “I wouldn’t miss the chance to meet your lady,” Lance said, handing Sam his leather coat. When Sam had issued the invitation, Lance assumed it would be a dinner party with a few people, but from what he could tell, a full-fledged throw-down was going on.

  Sam chuckled. “Yeah man, I know. By the time Falon and I finished with the invitation list, things had changed,” he said over the loud music. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, I don’t mind. I’ve been cooped up at my place long enough anyway. It’s time for me to get out into the world.”

  “Hey, that’s the right attitude. Come on and let me introduce you to everyone.”

  Lance glanced around while he and Sam wandered around the room as Sam made introductions. He had visited Sam a couple of times since he’d moved into this apartment complex, but certain telltale signs spoke of a woman’s touch. There were framed pictures of flowers on the wall and silk flower arrangements sat on a couple of tables.

  “Lance, I want you to meet my lady. This is Falon Taylor. And Falon, this is my best friend, Lance Montgomery.”

  Lance blinked twice at the woman who had walked across the room and into Sam’s arms. Damn, she was a Beyonce look- alike, a definite beauty. He held out his hand. “I’m happy to meet you, Falon.”

  Falon accepted Lance’s hand in a warm handshake. “I’m happy to meet you, as well, Lance. I’ve heard a lot of nice things about you.” She chuckled and added, “But I might as well come clean and say that before I knew you were Sam’s good friend, I really didn’t like you at all.”

  Lance wasn’t surprised. “My books?”

  “Yes. They aren’t very women-friendly and that’s not a good thing,Dr. Montgomery.”

  Feeling oddly at ease with Falon’s forthright honesty, Lance immediately decided that he liked her. She had as much sass in her talk as there was in her honey-brown eyes. Her eyes matched the fiery honey-blond hair that flowed down her shoulders and accentuated her cocoa-colored complexion. Yes, he liked her and thought that just as Asia was the perfect woman for him, Falon was the perfect woman for Sam.

  He would even admit to feeling a tiny bit of envy the night Sam had told him about Falon. But then it had worn off, and been replaced by a determination to share the same thing with Asia that Sam had with his Falon.

  He leaned in closer, for her ears only. “And what if I were to let you in on a little secret?”

  Falon’s eyebrows raised, her curiosity piqued. She glanced up at Sam, who merely grinned before she looked back to Lance. “What kind of a secret?”

  “That I’m a reformed man.”

  Her brows lifted farther, and Falon knew the man standing in front of her was full of intelligence ... as well as humor if he thought for one moment she believed what he’d just said. A reformed Dr. Lance Montgomery? There was no way.

  “Well, I guess I have to take your word for it,” she said. “I’m going to leave it up to Sam to introduce you to our other guests, but don’t be surprised if the women corner you and read you the riot act.”

  “Oh, I’m prepared.”

  Falon shook her head. In addition to the intelligence and humor, she also saw a man who was highly self-confident. She decided that even with all that garbage he wrote, she liked him. “Enjoy the party, and make sure you eat as much as you want. I did all the cooking.”

  Lance nodded. “Sam told me you were a chef. The best.”

  She glanced up at Sam, and Lance could feel the love flowing between them. According to Sam, they were taking things slow, but Lance felt it wouldn’t be long before they made future plans. In the back of his mind, he could actually hear wedding bells and for once the sound wasn’t coming from Asia and Sean’s wedding.

  Asia and Sean.

  Just the thought of them together caused a deep throbbing pressure to build around his temples. He couldn’t think of them in the same sentence without wanting to go ballistic.

  He watched as Falon stood on tiptoe and placed a kiss on Sam’s lips. “No,he’s the best, Lance.”

  Moments later, he and Sam were crossing the room to where two other couples were standing. He recognized the guys immediately: Phillip McKenna and Marcus Lowery. Phillip had been Sam’s college roommate at Howard University, and Marcus was another of the guys from the hood where he and Sam had grown up.

  Sam introduced Phillip’s and Marcus’s dates, Terri Davenport and Naomi Monroe. It didn’t take much for Lance to figure out that like Sam, Phillip and Marcus had found good women to love, as well. He was happy for the both of them—especially for Marcus, who had lost his wife in a train accident a few years back.

  An hour or so later, Lance had stopped counting the number of glares he had received from the women in the room. One woman had had the nerve to brush up against him and whisper the word asshole in his ear. Then another woman had almost followed him to the bathroom and told him he should take all his books with him and flush them down the toilet.

  “Hey, man, you enjoying yourself?”

  Lance took a sip of his beer. “Sure, I’m having a blast.”

  Sam barely suppressed a laugh and shot him a skeptical look. “So do you have a plan on how to get your lady back?”

  “Yeah, but I need all the help I can get, so keep me in your prayers.”

  “You know I will.”

  Lance looked across the room to where Falon was, talking to Sam’s sister Carolyn, who was in town visiting from Philly. “I think you’ve hit gold, Sam.”

  Sam followed Lance’s gaze and smiled. “Yeah, I think so, too. She’s a very special woman.”

  Until recently, Lance hadn’t known that such a woman could exist. Now that he did know, he was determined more than any thing to bring that special woman back into his life. He was prepared for the battle he knew would ensue. Not only would he have to deal with Asia, but there was also Sean Crews. The man wouldn’t give her up without a fight, and he would definitely be a challenge. Competing for women was not in Lance’s realm of expertise, but he was almost certain of one thing: Asia loved him and not Sean.

  Now it would be up to him to make sure she realized that very important fact.

  “Enjoying yourself?” Phillip McKenna asked the woman by his side. Not for the fir
st time he thought of how much he loved Terri. They had been seeing each other exclusively for a couple of months, and every day he fell more and more in love with her. He had considered the M-word, although they had never talked about it. With one failed marriage behind him, he wanted to be sure. Now he was certain, and tonight he intended to ask her to marry him—and if she said yes, she and her daughter, Star, and he and his daughter, Chandra, would live together happily as one big family. Especially now that his ex-wife, Rhonda, had agreed to give him full custody of their daughter. Rhonda had gotten a big job promotion that was contingent on her moving to San Diego to start up another branch of operations there. Rhonda had surprisingly suggested that it would be best if he kept Chandra during the school year and that she could come out to California for extended visits during the summers. Phillip had quickly agreed, and they were supposed to visit with the attorney next week to draw up the custody papers.

  “Yes, it’s a nice party,” Terri answered. “I’m rather surprised by Dr. Lance Montgomery. I thought if I ever met him that I wouldn’t like him, considering the stuff he writes, but I do. He seems to be a nice guy.”

  Phillip smiled. “Yes, he is quite a charmer, isn’t he?” Even he had to admit that Lance seemed to have developed a new attitude. Of course, he didn’t know him as well as Sam did, but there had been a few times that he had been to Sam’s place when Lance had been visiting.

  He glanced down at his watch. He was eager to leave the party and take Terri home, especially since her little girl was spending the night over at her grandparents’ house. That meant Terri had the house all to herself, and tonight he intended to fulfill more of her fantasies. He couldn’t help but grin. His woman could become a diva in the bedroom, and he thoroughly enjoyed each and every moment the two of them spent there. But their relationship wasn’t just based on great sex. . . . and it was definitely great. They also had the same interests and enjoyed doing a lot of other activities together, like playing tennis and golf and going camping.

  “I’m thinking . . . ,” he said softly, inching closer to Terri.

  She glanced up at him and smiled seductively. “And what are you thinking?”

  “That I would like to handcuff you to my bed and have my way with you,” he said, desire shining in his eyes.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  The desire in his eyes deepened. “For you to say let’s leave.”

  She leaned over, brushed his lips, and whispered, “Let’s leave.”

  The sexy sound of her voice did things to Phillip. He intended to do more than handcuff her to the bed. Later that night, he would also ask her to be his wife.

  “Thanks for taking me to the party, Marcus,” Naomi Monroe said as she and Marcus Lowery entered her home. “And I’m enjoying the friendship I’m developing with Falon and Terri. They’re a lot of fun to be around.”

  Marcus nodded and watched Naomi take off her coat and toss it across her sofa. He had admired her outfit when he first picked her up for the party, and was still admiring it now. Her dress wasn’t overly flashy, but it had been an attention getter because she looked so good in it.

  He and Naomi had begun dating serious last month. Things had been rocky for them for a while, but spending time with her, he was seeing the truly special woman that she was. And deep down, he believed God had sent her into his life to help build him back up after years of being bereft and torn down and wallowing in grief and self-pity, all of which he had blamed God for.

  Now he was going to church more—which definitely made his mother happy—and thanks to Naomi, he was even a part of the singles group at church and found himself enjoying it.

  “Would you like something to drink, Marcus? I still have tea left from dinner yesterday, or I can put on a pot of coffee.”

  “No, I’m fine, but I do want to talk to you for a second.”

  Her brow rose slightly as she went to the sofa and sat down. “All right. What is it?”

  He crossed the room and sat down beside her. They had decided to take things slow. He knew her history: she had been abstinent for four years and was waiting for a good Christian man to come into her life. More than anything, he wanted to be that man, and although he wasn’t a perfect Christian, he felt he was improving each day and building a deep commitment with his faith.

  He had also come to realize that he had fallen in love with Naomi. He had really fallen in love. His wife, Dottie, would always hold a special place in his heart, and something Dottie had said to him in a dream a few months ago came so vividly to his mind now.“You are a special man, Marcus, and there is a woman out there who needs you, and you will come to realize that you need her, as well. And one day you will also realize that you can love her as much as you loved me.”

  Dottie had been right. Love had come back into his life, and he refused to make the mistake of denying it. Shifting his position on the sofa to face Naomi, he took her hand in his and met her gaze. There was so much he wanted to say, but he knew the most important thing was that he speak from his heart.

  “You are a special person, Naomi, and I feel special just from being in your presence. You have that way about you. I’ve watched you—I’ve noticed you. No wonder my mother and so many other people at church think a lot of you. You have a heart of gold. And the way you volunteer your time to others, especially the senior citizens at church, is admirable.”

  She smiled. “Thank you, Marcus.”

  “And I guess all of that is just some of the reasons I feel for you like I do.”

  He watched her throat move slowly when she swallowed. “And how do you feel for me, Marcus?” she asked quietly.

  He held her gaze. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Naomi.”

  He saw her eyes widen in surprise; then moments later he watched those same eyes fill with tears. He quickly wondered if they were tears of happiness or tears of despair. He reached out and wiped a tear from her chin with his finger. “Hey, me loving you can’t be that bad,” he said jokingly. “I know it might take time for you to reciprocate those feelings, and I don’t want to give you the impression that I’m trying to rush you or anything, but I just wanted—”

  “I love you, too, Marcus. I’ve always loved you.”

  Marcus blinked. Then he said, “Define always.”

  Naomi smiled. “Always means forever. Since high school, but you never noticed me. Then you left for college, and I gave up all hope of ever getting with you. It was during that time I made the mistake of getting married to a man I didn’t love—to forget you. It didn’t work out, and we were together less than a year.”

  She paused briefly before continuing. “I was hoping to get together when word got out that you were returning home from college. But then I’d heard you were seeing someone and later that you had gotten married. I tried getting on with my life, not ever thinking we had a chance to get together.”

  Marcus shook his head, smiling. “Let me get this straight. You loved me back in the day? While we were in high school? But I was older than you.”

  “Only by a few years, but it didn’t matter. I loved you anyway.”

  For a moment Marcus remained silent. “And how do you feel about me now?” He needed to hear it again.

  “I love you, Marcus.”

  Marcus leaned over and captured Naomi’s mouth, kissing her deeply, completely. When the kiss ended, he pulled her into his arms. “I need you in my life. I’m so tired of being alone, sweetheart. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? If you say yes, I promise to love you always, too.” He felt Naomi tremble and held her tighter. He pulled back slightly to meet her gaze.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you, Marcus.”

  He smiled. “And I don’t want to wait forever. I want to start the New Year off right. How does a spring wedding sound?”

  Joy touched Naomi’s features, making the woman he loved even more radiant. “I think it sounds wonderful.”


  He grinned. “But the hard part will be keeping my hands off you until then. I intend to remain celibate for you until our wedding night. I want to be the man worthy of your gift, Naomi.”

  And then he leaned over and began kissing her again.

  Before Lance Montgomery retired for bed, he received a phone call from Carl. “Keep your fax machine on so I can send you the information regarding Asia Fowler’s itinerary for the next couple of months.”

  Lance smiled. “I’m not going to ask how you got it, but thanks.”

  “I just hope you know what the hell you’re doing and that you don’t get yourself into any trouble.”

  Lance’s smile widened. “Trouble? There won’t be any trouble.”

  4

  Carrie

  There is a way to look at the past. Don’t hide from it. It will

  not catch you if you don’t repeat it.

  —Pearl Bailey

  This is the day.

  It was another year, and for Carrie Montgomery it was the anniversary of the day she had returned home to her family. It was hard to believe it was just six years ago that the three brothers she hadn’t known existed suddenly appeared to snatch her off the streets of Los Angeles, where she had been living as a runaway. She couldn’t help wandering around her condo, wanting to pinch herself.

  Carrie had barely turned eight, when her mother had become an alcoholic and a junkie after moving in with a man named Simon Anderson. When she wasn’t hitting the bottle, she was shooting up, leaving Carrie in Simon’s “care.” When Carrie couldn’t take the sexual abuse anymore, she decided that living on the streets had to be better than what she’d been enduring. Simon’s threats of coming after her had meant nothing to her—she had been willing to take her chances.

  Living as a runaway those years hadn’t been easy, but she’d made it the best way she could. She had become an accomplished thief and could defend herself when she needed to, and curse like a sailor, but she avoided getting caught up in anything like drugs. She had seen what had happened to her mother.