Perfect Timing Read online

  “He never sniffed behind me.”

  “Yes he did. Your face was too buried in books to notice.”

  Maxi raised eyes heavenward. “But you noticed?”

  “Damn right I noticed.”

  Her brows drew together. “Why?”

  “Because,” he said quietly as a smile tilted the corners of his mouth. “My face wasn’t too buried in books not to notice.”

  He decided not to add that during that time his face was too busy watching her. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been the only one. Ronald Swindel had been watching her too. One day they both caught the other watching. Each had read the other’s thoughts and they’d been arch-enemies since. Ronald Swindel had gotten royally pissed when he’d been the one assigned to work closely with Maxi on the science project.

  “So, are you going to be my cabinmate for a week?” he asked, dismissing Ronald Swindel from his mind.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll think about it.”

  “You may not have a choice.”

  “There’s always Mya and Garrett.”

  “Three’s a crowd.”

  Maxi tipped her head to one side and look at him. “Why the change of heart? I got the distinct impression that you wanted to spend time on this cruise alone.”

  Christopher shrugged. He’d had that distinct impression himself. “You need a place to stay and I’m willing to make a sacrifice. For old times’ sake.”

  “Fine. Great. You do whatever you want for old times’ sake,” she said poking him in the chest. “But you owe me an explanation about one thing that has bothered me for the last ten years.”

  Christopher picked up on the fact that Maxi’s anger was brewing again. He took a step back just in case she got the urge to get violent once more. “What?”

  “You left town without telling me goodbye. I deserved better.”

  Christopher’s heart gave two hard knocks against his ribs. That had been the very reason he had left without telling her goodbye. Because he’d known she had deserved better, too, and that meant anyone other than him. Damn it, she should have been able to figure out that the reason he had left was because he had cared for her more than he should have. All it took was one look at her expression to know she evidently had not figured it out.

  He dipped his hands in his pockets not knowing what he could tell her and decided now was not the time to tell her the truth. “I had my reasons for doing things that way, Maxi.”

  After a few tense, silent moments she asked. “Is that all you’re going to say about it?”

  The hurt he heard in her voice got through to him. It was real and for the second time that day he’d been thrown for a loop. He took a deep intake of breath, feeling the need for another drink. “Yes, that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

  He took her hand in his. “Let’s drop it and go get something to drink.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Garrett Rivers drew in a deep fortifying breath as he stood over the bed and gazed down at his wife. After they had eaten dinner in their cabin, Mya had slipped into a sexy white lacy gown. Now she was in bed waiting for him and the sight of her pulled everything male about him to the forefront. Her breasts, firm and full, were veiled by embroidered lace. She was reclining on her back and the gown she wore had slits on both sides, exposing the smooth length of her long legs.

  He removed his robe and slipped into bed beside her, drawing her into his arms. “Just me and you, baby, for seven days.”

  Mya chuckled softly as she was encompassed in her husband’s warm embrace. Their sons were with their paternal grandparents and had plenty of cousins to keep them company. Like Garrett she was grateful for this time alone, just the two of them. The last six months had been hectic ones. It seemed one football season had barely ended before it was time to start training for another. And then her job with Monahan Investments had kept her pretty much on the go.

  “I think we should make the most of our time alone, don’t you?” she asked seconds before leaning over and joining her mouth to his. He allowed her time to do things her way before seizing control. His lips became aggressive and took over, becoming hot, hungry, demanding.

  Mya’s body tingled in every place and blood rushed fast and rapidly through her veins, making her emotions whirl. Even after a lengthy courtship and the longevity of their marriage, Garrett could still make her want him with a need that went beyond anything rational. It was downright crazy. Whenever she was in his arms she enjoyed every single minute of the excruciating madness. He had the ability to give her the ultimate in sexual pleasure. He had a way of making her feel loved, wanted, and sexy.

  She protested softy when his lips left hers to nibble at her earlobe before searing a path down her neck and shoulders. The touch of his mouth on her skin sent a shiver through every part of her body.

  “Dinner was great,” he whispered huskily as a smile hovered at the corners of his lips. He began removing her gown. “But now I want dessert.”

  Instant heat pooled in Mya’s lower body and tempestuous steam simmered through her mind when Garrett began branding her entire body with his kisses. The pit of her stomach clenched with mindless, desire-driven passion and the toes of her feet actually curled from such demanding, sensuous assault. The flame that her husband could effortlessly ignite within her roared to blazing intensity. This is what she wanted. This is what she needed. This mind-blowing closeness, this hauntingly beautiful form of intimacy she had always been able to share with the man who had complete ownership of her heart.

  All thoughts scattered to the wind when their bodies joined as one, the way their lives had been for what seemed like forever. Garrett established their pace, first fast, then slow, then fast again, repeating the process, feeding their need and fanning the fires blazing within them. Faster. Deeper. Harder.

  Gasping for breath, before her world shattered into a zillion passionate pieces, Mya reached up and bracketed Garrett’s face with her hands and stared deep into his eyes as he pumped his body into hers, the turgid length of him sensuously stroking her with relentless passion.

  She whispered, “I love you,” just moments before his strong, masculine body plunged deeper into hers, triggering every part of her into a delicious erogenous spin and sending her body, as well as his own, into a shattering climax that both of them wanted, needed, and treasured.

  Mya listened to the sound of her husband’s even, peaceful breathing and with a deep satiated sigh, she snuggled her body closer to his. Even in sleep his arm reached out and wrapped around her, bringing her closer.

  She smiled upon remembering the first time she had met Garrett. She was in the ninth grade and his family had moved to Savannah from New York. The memory of that day was still so clear in her mind.

  She had just walked out of her English class and had accidentally bumped into him. She’d been so embarrassed and to make matters worse he was with Elizabeth Standish, the prettiest and most popular girl at school. She’d known immediately that he was the guy all the girls had been whispering about lately. The good-looking, well-built brother with a northern accent and who could play really good football. After mumbling her apology about being so clumsy she had quickly walked off. But later when school ended that day he had approached her at her locker.

  “Hi, Mya,” he said as he leaned against the locker next to hers. “You dropped this earlier.”

  She nodded and took the writing pad he was handing to her, wondering how he knew her name. “Thanks for returning it. My homework assignment for Ms. Bishop is in here. She can be a real pain if you don’t turn in your homework.”

  “Really?” he asked smiling. “Then it’s a good thing I ran into you today. I’m in Mrs. Bishop’s third period class and English isn’t my best subject. Maybe the two of us can get together and study after school sometime, whenever I don’t have football practice.” After a brief few moments he asked. “Do your parents let guys come over to visit you…to study?”

  Mya’s eyes
blinked with surprise at what he was suggesting. “You want to come over to my house to study with me?”

  “Yes. I would like to get to know you better.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment as she tried to give her frenzied mind time to catch up with her racing heart. “But what about Elizabeth Standish? I saw the two of you together today.”

  “Elizabeth has been nice enough to show me around since I got here.”

  Mya tried covering her chuckle with a cough wondering if he really believed that. Word was out around school that Elizabeth had dibs on him.

  “So what about it, Mya? Will your parents allow me to come over and visit you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. No guy has ever asked to come visit me before. My parents are deceased and I live with my grandmother. She probably wouldn’t mind it if it were for us to study together. I’m only fifteen so she wouldn’t let you come see me for any other reason.”

  He nodded. “Okay. Then, I’ll ask your grandmother if I can come visit you so we can study together.”

  And he’d done just that. That day he had walked her home from school and made it a point to meet her grandmother. Gramma Twila had been impressed with him the moment she’d met him, saying he was such a mannerable young man and gave him permission to come back and visit, but only when she was home.

  That day began a courtship that carried them from junior high school, through senior high, and right on through college. They had celebrated the excitement of his first football game and winning touchdown, and had celebrated him achieving his dream when he’d signed up to play pro ball. He had kept the promise he’d made to her grandmother to always be good to her, take care of her and make her happy.

  Everything about their marriage was good, both in and out of bed. They had two beautiful sons and she loved her husband as much today as she did the day she had married him. But a part of her felt a thin, slender thread was beginning to unravel. She knew he would not be happy with the news of her promotion since it meant more time away from home.

  Mya sighed deeply, not wanting to think about that now. She was determined that they have their seven days of glorious bliss, and then when they returned to Dallas she would tell him. She leaned over and brushed her lips against Garrett’s. She would let him sleep a while longer before waking him up to get dressed for the welcoming reception. She looked forward to seeing all her old friends again…especially Maxi.

  This cruise would be the perfect time for her and Maxi to have a long talk and finally get to the root of the problem that had existed between them for quite a while. It was a bone of contention they had tiptoed around for years. A chasm had widened their relationship ever since the time they had left to attend separate colleges, causing a rift in their special friendship. It was time for them to sit down and talk about it. Although they had seen each other occasionally over the years whenever she had come to Savannah to visit her grandmother or Garrett’s parents, things hadn’t been the same, although they’d both tried pretending that they were. They had skirted around the issue for close to ten years. Now it was time to bring it out in the open and deal with it like two mature women and not two overwrought, emotional teenagers. More than anything she wanted to recapture that special friendship, that unique closeness and bond they had shared from day one when they had both been seven years old. And she believed it could be done. They had too much history together not to try. More than anything she wanted her best friend back.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “So, Christopher, what have you been doing for the past ten years?”

  Mentally running through an answer that he could give Maxi without deliberately lying gave Christopher pause. No matter what type of friendship they may have shared in the past, he wasn’t quite ready to tell her everything just yet. “After I left Savannah I headed up north, to Detroit, and found work with a construction company there. Basically, I’ve been associated with the outfit ever since.” He leaned back in his chair. What he’d just told her wasn’t a total lie. It wasn’t the complete truth either.

  Maxi nodded, finding it amazingly easy to relax and enjoy Christopher’s company, now that they had cleared the air between them earlier in the cabin. They had found a table in the back of one of the restaurants on board ship. Christopher had ordered a small glass of brandy and she had settled for a tropical drink. “So, what do you do at this construction company? Build things?”

  He smiled over his glass at her thinking of all the upscale shopping malls and office parks that The Regency Corporation had built over parts of the United States within the last four years. The Landmark Project, their latest huge business venture, involved building several ski resorts, the first of which would be in Alaska.

  “Yes, we build things.” After taking a sip of his drink he asked. “What about you? Did you ever make it to Howard University?”

  Maxi couldn’t help noticing how the rays from the sun shining through a nearby window shone on Christopher, highlighting his sable brown coloring. She also noticed other things as well—like how his fingers, that appeared so innately strong, were curved gently around the bowl of his brandy glass. “Yes. I spent four years there, earning a degree in African-American Studies. Then I returned home and got my graduate degree at Savannah State.”

  “Was it hard leaving Washington to return to Savannah?”

  “What you should be asking me is if it was hard leaving Savannah and moving to Washington. My father died a couple of weeks before I was to report to Howard and that was hard on me. As you know, Dad and I were close.”

  Christopher nodded as he took another sip of his drink. He had liked and respected her father. The older man had made him feel welcomed on the occasions that he had visited. “I’m sorry to hear about your father, Maxi.” He’d known about Mr. Chandler’s death from Mr. Thompson’s updates. But at the time he had just gotten settled in his new life in Detroit and had been determined to put Maxi out of his mind.

  “Thanks, Christopher.” She looked down at her drink as she twirled the straw around in it. “What made matters worse was that Mya decided at the last minute not to go to Howard University with me. She followed Garrett to Texas Southern instead. That was something I hadn’t counted on and the news nearly crushed me. Especially after all the plans the two of us had made.” She released a long sigh as she remembered that time and the impact it had on her and Mya’s friendship.

  “Needless to say, I ventured to a new city and started a new phase of my life alone. Although it may not have been hard for some people, it was a big adjustment for me. I had grown up in Savannah all my life and felt comfortable with the people and my surroundings. Washington was totally different. The diversity in the culture as well as the attitudes of the people was totally overwhelming. It was hard for me to blend in at first.”

  Christopher studied her as he listened to what she was sharing with him. In a way he understood. When he had made it to Detroit he had found it overwhelming as well. But he had always been a loner and hadn’t ever wanted to blend in and knew with Maxi it was different. By nature she was an outgoing person who made friends easily.

  “I find it hard to believe you had trouble blending in, Maxi. You’re the type of person who could blend in anywhere and with anyone. You have that air about you; that warm southern hospitality wherever you go,” he said softly, the dimples in his cheeks extending into a smile.

  “Well, I did have a hard time,” she said dryly, remembering that time. “I got the roommate from hell; a spoiled brat whose father was a politician with clout. She decided I was a person no one should like and made sure no one did. For half a semester most of the people in the dorm wouldn’t talk to me. Things got a lot better after my roommate popped up pregnant the second semester. Her father sent her out of the country for a while. I eventually moved off campus into an apartment and got a male roommate, a guy by the name of Wilson Harris. Wilson was smart as a whip, easygoing and fun to be around. He was also gay, which was something he was
n’t ready to share with the rest of the world quite yet. And because he was so drop-dead gorgeous, no one had a clue. The two of us living together gave him the rouse he needed to keep his family in the dark for a while. It also gave me a chance to escape unwanted suitors since a lot of people assumed Wilson and I were an item. I discovered that a male roommate worked out better for me than a female. Wilson and I roomed together until we finished college. During those years we became good friends.”

  Christopher took another sip of his drink. No wonder she had found their co-ed sleeping arrangements on the cruise comfortable. “Do the two of you still stay in contact?”

  “Yes, he writes to me often. He and his partner are living in Los Angeles and he’s extremely happy.”

  “Did his family ever find out about his alternative lifestyle?”

  “Yes. They gave him a hard time at first but eventually they came around. I’m glad they did. It had been hard for Wilson to deceive them for those three years.”

  “So what do you do now?” he asked smoothly, from genuine interest.

  “I’m a college professor. I teach African-American History at Savannah State and totally love my job. It’s very fulfilling and rewarding to educate students about things in our history that they didn’t know about. This summer I’m teaching a special class on Great African-American Women.”

  “Sounds interesting.” He checked his watch. “Are you planning to attend the function the class is having tonight?”

  “Yes. You?”

  “No. The only function I plan to attend is the reunion banquet the last night.”

  Maxi nodded. “I guess I better go back to the cabin and get dressed. Will you give me about thirty minutes alone to do that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you.” She stood. “And thanks for buying me a drink.” She turned and walked off.

  For long moments after she left, Christopher continued sitting at the table alone, gazing out a nearby window, watching the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico and going back over in his mind his conversation with Maxi. So much for his determination not to let her get under his skin. His intentions made little difference whenever he listened to her talk. Her voice was still soft and enticing. It could lead a man to all kind of irrational thoughts.