The Way Love Goes (Serendipitous Love Book 4) Read online

  My cell rang again, this time my mother, and that was a call I answered with enthusiasm.

  “Hey mama,” I said, twirling a coil of hair around my finger as I paced the length of the counter back and forth. “You’re calling a little late for you, is everything okay?”

  “Oh, wonderful baby girl. I was just sitting here talking to your daddy about you, so we thought we’d call and make sure you were alright.”

  I frowned a little. “I’m fine mama. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Because of that no-good ass Raymond boy.”

  “Raymonté, mama.”

  “Well ain’t that just a little more foolishness? Whatever his damned name is,” my mother replied, her voice dripping with disgust. “You know I saw him at the bank the other day, and he had the nerve to speak to me, after Donnie told me what happened between you two. I cussed him so bad, I bet he won’t make that mistake again.”

  “Oh, God, MA!”

  I was going to wring Donnie’s neck next time I saw him. I’d asked him, distinctly, not to mention this to mom and dad, because I knew exactly what was going to happen.

  “Don’t you oh God, ma me, little girl! Now, we’re sitting here looking at flights, and—”

  “Mama, I don’t need you to do that. I’m almost 34 years old; I don’t need banana pudding to get me through heartbreaks anymore. I’m pretty sure I have it under control.”

  “But, what if you—”

  “But nothing, mama. Really. I know you’ll come in a heartbeat if I need you, but really, I’m fine. Okay?”

  My mother pushed out the kind of heavy sigh that only a mother can, all wrapped in pride that you’re grown now, but simultaneously disappointed that you’re being a disobedient child. “I told you not to move across the country for that man anyway. Couldn’t even put a ring on your finger before he asked you to go to such pains for him! What kind of supposed-to-be man does that?”

  “One that ain’t shit,” my dad chimed in from the background, and I shook my head, biting my lip to not laugh.

  “Okay, I don’t want to talk about Ray, if that’s okay. I’m going to try to move on with my life… if you guys could just not engage with him, at all, that would be great.”

  “Ain’t nobody thinking about him. Grown ass man that couldn’t grow a beard. What kind of nonsense was that? What kind of grown man doesn’t keep a little hair on his face?”

  “One that ain’t sh—”

  “Guys, please?”

  She gave me that sigh again, and I could practically see my beautiful mother in front of me, her thick, gray streaked hair pulled into a single braid, mahogany skin glowing as she poked out her bottom lip like a spoiled child. She, like Donnie, was never a big Ray fan. She wanted to clown him badly, and I wanted to listen, but… not today. Today, I just wanted him off my mind.

  “So you said you’re moving on, does that mean you’re coming back to Chicago?”

  “Uh, no.”

  “And why on earth not?”

  I looked down at the floor, letting my eyes make patterns from the freckles in the traffic-worn tile. “Because my life is here now. I’m still establishing my business, I just bought a house, and, I don’t want to run into Ray.”

  “We’ll get rid of Ray, if it makes you come back home.”

  “Ma…”

  “What?”

  “Don’t joke like that...”

  My mother scoffed. “Who you think is joking?”

  I rolled my eyes, then took the conversation back on track. “I’m not planning to move back, momma.”

  “But you’re up there by yourself!”

  “I’m not by myself. I’ve made friends here, and I have Ayden with me. And I talk to you and my friends in Chicago all the time. You act like I’m up here in misery, wasting away.”

  “Because I haven’t seen you in forever, child. You could be telling me anything about how you’re doing while you’re up there at sex clubs, and getting tattoos and piercings, and getting God knows what else!”

  I stopped my pacing to throw my free hand into the air. “First of all… what?! Second, mama, I just saw you when I flew down last month for Donnie’s birthday.”

  Who I hadn’t seen was Ray, but I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about him right now.

  “Well, when I’m used to seeing you three days a week, once a month is not even close to enough.”

  Maybe not for you. But for me…

  I loved my mother dearly, and honestly considered her a friend now that she was – finally, kind of – starting to treat me like an adult. But… there was a bit of codependency there that I was honestly glad to get away from. I didn’t feel a burning need to sit with my parents and get plied with peach cobbler and greens multiple times a week. Once a month was plenty as far as I was concerned, with regular phone calls in-between. In a way… I think I needed this distance.

  “I’ll tell you what, how about I come back that way in a few weeks, and spend a day or two with you and daddy? Would that make you feel better?”

  Again, there she went, with the heavy sigh. “I suppose.”

  “I love you guys.”

  “We love you too, baby girl.”

  “Alright, I pulled it out for you, but I parked in back so we can both leave through there,” Sean said as he stepped back into the room, holding my keys.

  On the other end of the phone line, my mother gasped. “Fallon, do you have a man in your house little girl?!”

  “I’m not at home, mom. Nor am I a little girl. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  “Wait a minute, he sounds like he—”

  “Goodbye mother.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and ended the call with an embarrassed half grin in Sean’s direction. “So, we’re ready to handle payment now, right?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. Davis said to tell you to come by in the morning, handle it then.” He stepped around the counter to put my car keys in my hand, then motioned for me to follow him, so I did.

  Outside, in the owner/employee parking, he turned to me, staring for a short moment before he nodded. “You know, I just realized something,” he said, as he locked the door. “You’re the one who owns the sex shop, huh?”

  “What?!” My face screwed into a scowl. “Not that anything is wrong with a sex shop, but that’s not what Scantilily is.”

  He shrugged. “Could have fooled me. With those window displays, it definitely looks like you’re selling sex.”

  He lifted an eyebrow at me, and I couldn’t help blushing a teeny tiny bit as I thought about what he meant. I used custom designed mannequins that represented women in all various shapes and sizes, but one thing was a constant: they were very, very realistic looking mannequins, and the way they were usually posed was rather… risqué. I’d actually had to tone it down after an “indecent exposure” citation from the city – but I’d sold a ton of the barely-there garter and corset outfit that got me in trouble.

  “Well, I guess when you put it like that, I kind of am selling sex, but the neighborhood has made me feel welcome, mostly. I like to think I’ve helped a few sex lives, created some happier lovers. I’m sure you have a lady friend who’d like a gift from my store.”

  Sean was parked to the left of me, and chuckled a little as he turned away from the door and started toward his own vehicle, a deep blue SUV. He stopped, and leaned against his truck with a smile that said he knew exactly what I was doing – fishing, to find out if he was seeing anyone. Not that it mattered.

  “Nah,” he said, dragging the word out in a low, sexy tone. “Not at the moment. Why are you interested in knowing something like that?”

  So I can fantasize about you without feeling guilty.

  “No reason, not really. I mean… you did me a favor tonight, and you’re working on my house. I was thinking maybe I could put together a little thank you gift.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “A thank you gift for… me? From your store?”

  “Uh, yeah, duh,
” I said, unlocking my door, and opening it to toss my bag into the passenger seat. “Lingerie is a gift for both parties. She feels super sexy, you get to look at her while she’s feeling super sexy. Probably lead to super-hot sex… win-win situation, right?”

  “Yeah, if you have somebody to model for you.”

  “I guess you need to find somebody then,” Those words left my lips in a flirtatious tone that came blazing out of nowhere, but I held my head high, looking him right in the eyes, even if I was bluffing.

  The corners of his mouth tipped into another sexy grin, and he shook his head. “I’m gonna get in my car before I say something that might get me in trouble. You have a good night, Ms. Perkins.”

  I smiled back. “You too, Mr. Keahi.”

  And with that, I climbed into my car without another word, and he climbed into his. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I wondered what the hell I was thinking, flirting with him like that. But it was just flirting. That was all. Innocent, newly single, figuring out if I remembered how to do it. Just for fun.

  By the time I made it home… I was almost convinced.

  Five.

  I should have known there was something unsaid behind the insistence that we go to Urban Grind. But that’s what I get, for kicking it with a bunch of married and damn near married dudes. On the rare opportunity that we were all available on a Friday night, they wanted to crash the girl’s night out thing.

  The unexpected perk was that I got to see Fallon. And while just seeing her, period, wasn’t an event to underestimate, seeing her dressed up for a night out was something else entirely.

  We first found them in the smoke-free area Roman – owner of Urban Grind – had created for his wife, Simone – owner of our local flower shop, Posh Petals – when she was pregnant. He realized she needed to be able to enjoy being at the coffee shop after hours, when things switched from cappuccinos and aspiring authors to Irish coffee and hookah smoke. Now, anyone who wanted to light up had to do so in the – large enough, but dedicated – area toward the back.

  In any case, in the large crowd of people, I didn’t see Fallon standing with them at first. But then Viv, Charlie, and their pregnant bellies moved away to go to Carter and Nix, and I saw that curvy body of hers poured into a sexy black dress. She had to have felt my eyes on her, because when she turned away from accepting a drink from the bartender, her gaze landed right on mine.

  Somehow, we all ended up squeezed into a booth, with me next to Fallon, who was doing her best to act as if she was ignoring me. We were close, and shoved in the middle so the pregnant people could have the more comfortable outside seats. Close enough that every time she moved, her arm brushed against mine, and the seductive scent of her perfume, sandalwood and citrus and vanilla, filled my nose.

  Couples left the table one by one, and when it was just me and her, I touched my shoulder to hers and dropped my mouth to her ear to ask a question that had been on my mind since I laid eyes on her. “Hey,” I said, and even over the music, I caught her sharp intake of breath. “I’m not gonna have to kick anybody’s ass if they see me sitting here with you, am I? No jealous boyfriend, thinking I’m trying to push up on you or anything?”

  Fallon laughed, then shook her head before turning toward me. “No, I’m single.”

  “Really? Huh.”

  She lifted an eyebrow, and then wrinkled her nose at me, causing an expression that I don’t think was intended to be cute, but definitely was. “Why really like that?”

  I shrugged. “I’m just surprised I guess. Beautiful woman like you, thick thighs, healthy dose of attitude. That’s like a damn dog whistle for men.”

  “Wow.” She shook her head, then took another sip from her drink before she looked at me again. “You know, you’ve been really bold with me the last two times I’ve seen you.”

  “Because I haven’t been on the job the last two times you saw me. I’m a lot of things when I’m off the clock that I can’t be when I’m on.”

  Fallon stared at me for a moment, then shifted her gaze to her drink. “I got you. So… you’re not going to ask me that question your species seems to love asking?”

  “My species?”

  She nodded. “Mhm. Men.”

  “Ahh, damn. It’s like that?”

  “Oh, it’s definitely like that,” she said, raising her glass again, and bringing the drink to her mouth. I didn’t even try to pretend I wasn’t watching her lips as they closed around her straw in a pucker. When she pulled away, she dripped a little liquor on her bottom lip, and I had the wildest urge to grab her chin, pull her forward, and suck those drops away.

  I cleared my throat and looked away. “So,” I said, trying to shift my mind away from pulling her into my lap. “I wasn’t going to ask why you were single, but from that little statement you just made, I’m going to guess you had a recent breakup.”

  Her eyes widened a little, before she shuttered her expression, then began swirling the crushed ice in her drink. “Yeah.”

  “Is that who pissed you off that day you went in on me?”

  She laughed, embarrassed, and then lifted her gaze to mine. “Yes. He’d already broken up with me, and then, I found out that he’d been cheating on me, for a while. So…” Her voice choked a little, and she down the rest of her drink in one gulp. “I’m sorry, I –”

  “You’re good,” I insisted, but she shook her head.

  “No, not really. I haven’t been… I haven’t felt like myself, not since the breakup. And I haven’t exactly been the nicest person to you.”

  I’m not sure what made me touch her, but I covered her hand with mine and squeezed. “Listen… I know what infidelity is like, aiight? You’ve been betrayed, you feel like shit, and when it’s still fresh… it’s hard to keep it cool. I get it. So, for real. You’re good. You’ll move past it.”

  Kind of.

  “Hey,” she said, turning her palm toward mine and giving a squeeze of her own. “If you had a drink, I’d toast to that.”

  “Let’s do it.” I flagged down a server, and a few minutes later, we both had fresh drinks.

  “To moving forward,” she said, lifting her glass in the air.

  I tapped mine against hers. “To moving forward.”

  Fallon was soft, and I mean that in the best possible way.

  Shortly after our toast, I Belong to You by Rome had started pumping through the speakers for the hourly “throwback” song. Fallon had closed her eyes, and started moving her head to the music – the black woman’s universal “that’s my jam” signal.

  I’d chuckled at that, and then reached for her hand, which made her open her eyes. “You want to dance?”

  “To this. With you?” she asked, eyebrow lifted, and I knew exactly what she meant, but I drew my head back like I was offended.

  “Yeah, to this, with me. What’s wrong with me? I’m ugly? I smell bad?”

  “No,” she said, giggling as she shook her head. “You know neither one of those is true.”

  “Then… come on.”

  I’d smiled at her, and she gave me this look like she wished I wouldn’t, but then she smiled back, and nodded. And now, here we were, on the dance floor, her soft body pressed against mine as we swayed to the music. I wrapped my arms low on her waist, and she propped her hands on my chest as we moved.

  “You know what this makes me think of?” she asked, smiling as she slid her hands up, draping her arms around my neck.

  “What?”

  “High school dances.” She laughed a little, and then looked up at the ceiling before she brought her gaze back to me. “Singing lyrics like this to each other when we didn’t know what the hell we were talking about. Telling them we belonged to them, we’d give all our love to them, their face made us want to sing, thinking about their love drove us crazy. Like… really?”

  “You speak for yourself,” I chuckled, pulling her a little tighter. “I was the man; I knew what I was talking about.”

  “Oh is that right?
”

  I shook my head. “Hell no. Didn’t nobody want me.”

  “I find that very hard to believe,” Fallon said. “Why wouldn’t the girls want you?” Her face shone with amusement as she bit her lip, waiting on me to respond. In the background, the song changed, but neither of us moved apart, and a little relief washed through me when the next song was a slow tempo too.

  “Cause I was ugly, and I smelled bad.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You are such a liar.”

  “I’m not lying,” I laughed. “I was skinny as hell. Like, painfully so. My dad jokes that his genes must not have kicked in until late, cause I didn’t put on any weight until I was like sixteen.”

  “Your dad’s genes?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, my grandfather is Samoan. The men in my family tend to be big, and my dad was too. But there I was, like a stick of bamboo next to a sycamore.”

  “It was not that bad.”

  “Yes, it was! I filled out though. Girls suddenly started liking the smell of sawdust. I spent so much time at work sites with my dad when I wasn’t at school, the scent was basically embedded in my pores. I was never just swimming in girls like that, but… I did alright.”

  Fallon pressed her lips together, trying not to break into another big smile. “And I doubt you have any problem with women now.”

  “So what are you saying?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow. “You think I’m sexy?”

  Her eyes went wide, and she dropped her gaze as if she was actually embarrassed. “I didn’t say that.”

  “So what are you saying then?”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but…” Fallon and I looked up at the same time to see Simone standing beside us, looking back and forth with a little grin. “Fallon… I think the rest of us are ready to call it a night, but if you and Sean are having a good time, we can—”

  Fallon dropped her arms from my shoulders, and my hands slipped away from her waist as she turned to face Simone. “I should probably get home too, it’s late. I’m going to go ahead and request a cab.”

  “A cab?” I asked. “Your car okay?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, it’s great. I just knew I’d probably want to drink a little, so I used car service. I could’ve driven though, really.”