A Tropical Rendezvous: A BWWM Interracial Bad Boy Billionaire Multicultural Romance (African American Romance) (20 page)

Story of my life.

Brandi gave herself two minutes to cry over a man she had no business falling for and then washed her face and applied a light layer of makeup. If anyone was an expert at hiding their pain, it was her. Another day, another week, hell another seven months of hiding was no big deal. “Alright, let’s go.”

Chapter Five

“Why are you sad, Brandi?”

She looked up at Kylie and smiled, but in her heart, she knew it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m not sad, sweetie.”

Kylie pouted. “You said we would always tell each other the truth.”

She sighed. “You’re right, I did. I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to worry about it, you have enough on your plate.”

Kylie walked around the work table and wrapped her tutor in a hug. “But I love you, and I worry about you. Are you going to leave me?”

“No, I’m not. At least not until my contract is up.”

Tears formed in Kylie’s eyes. “That’s just seven months from now. Can I hire you for the next five years? Please?”

This time her smile was genuine. “By then you’ll be starting medical school, and you won’t need me.” She would miss Kylie when she was gone, but it was a pain she’d grown used to over the years.

“I’ll always need you, Brandi. Will we always be friends?”

“Yes. Always.” It would be easier to maintain a friendship with the young genius once she was far away from this home and Xander Northrop. Things had been tense in the weeks since they’d returned from D.C., and that made it easier for her to get over her silly love for the man. He didn’t want her love, and he couldn’t return it. She couldn’t have fallen for a better man.

“Do you love me, Brandi?”

“Ah, more than anything kiddo. You’ve lit up my world.”

Kylie smiled. “You’re the best.”

Yeah, I’m a real peach.

~

Something was up with Brandi and Xander had no idea what. She’d been acting strange since that morning in D.C., and she’d gone out of her way to avoid him. She took dinner in her room most nights, if she ate at all, claiming he and Kylie needed time to be a family. Tonight he’d ordered a buffet of Vietnamese dishes to entice her out of her room, and he was setting it out when Kylie stormed into the dining room.

“Hey Uncle Xander, what’s all this?”

“This is dinner, Kylie. It’s a meal typically eaten in the evening,” he joked.

“Very funny,” she rolled her eyes at him. “I meant why did you get all this? Is it Brandi’s birthday?”

“I don’t know. But she loves this stuff, and I figured it would entice her to eat with us tonight.”

Kylie dropped into a chair ungracefully. “She won’t come down. She’s sad.”

He heard the pain in the little girl’s voice and hated it. “Do you know why?”

She shook her head with her lips stuck out in a pout. “She’s going to leave, isn’t she?”

“Eventually yes, when her contract is up.” He thought maybe she would leave before her year was up, but Xander would hold her to the contract. He knew he should probably ask why it mattered to him, but he didn’t. It only mattered that he wanted to keep her.

“I wish she could stay forever. I love Brandi.”

Me too, Kylie.
“She loves you too, kiddo. Why don’t you ask her to come down for dinner?”

“Do you love me, Uncle Xander?”

“Of course, I do. You’re my favorite person around.” He froze as his words sank in.
Of course, I do
. He did love her. He loved her! Xander turned and gathered her in a hug. “I’m sorry I haven’t said it sooner Kylie. I can be an idiot sometimes.”

“That’s okay. Brandi said it’s a common affliction among the male sex.” She giggled at his scowl.

“Alright you,” he pointed and faked a scowl. “Go see if Brandi wants to eat with us.”

“Okay. I love you too, Uncle Xander.”

~

“We need to talk.” Xander stood in the doorway of Brandi’s room.

She looked up at him with, what she hoped was a polite smile. “Okay. What would you like to talk about?”

“Us.”

Her stupid heart flared alive with open, but her brain was now running the show. “Are you not happy with my work?”

“Of course, I am. You’ve done tremendous work with Kylie.” He raked a hand through his already mussed hair.

“Then what exactly is the problem?”

He shook his head. “You misunderstand me, on purpose I’m sure. We need to talk. About us. Together.”

Brandi folded her hands in her lap, cool as you please.
At least she hoped.
“There is no us, together.” He made sure she knew that in D.C. when he was so worried about Kylie getting the wrong idea about them.

“Is that what this is about? You regret what happened?”

“I don’t.” Life would be much easier if she did regret it. “But I don’t have casual sex, which means that shouldn’t have happened.”

“Then why did you? Have sex with me, I mean?” He didn’t understand it. Any of it.

“I liked you and foolishly thought there might be something between us. I was wrong.”

“What if you weren’t?”

“I was,” she answered definitively. She wouldn’t let him charm his way back into her heart and her bed when it could lead nowhere.

“But what if you weren’t wrong, Brandi?”

She released an exasperated breath. “I wasn’t wrong, Xander. What is this about? You want another night? I’m sure with your looks and money you could find a woman to warm your bed.”

He growled and stepped past the threshold. “You know damn well that’s not why I’m here.”

“I know no such thing.”

This woman was determined to drive him insane. “Okay fine. I’m here because I want you, Brandi. Not just your body, but all of you. Your heart, your body, your soul. Everything.”

Oh, how she wanted to believe those words. A week ago, maybe a day ago she would have leaped at those pretty words. “What’s changed? Because you didn’t want Kylie—or me, right—to get any ideas.”

Ah, finally it all becomes clear.
“I didn’t mean it. Okay, at the time I did, but I was wrong.” He knelt in front of her. “Before Kylie asked you to come down for food a few nights ago she asked me if I loved her. And I told her ‘of course’ without even thinking about it. Then it hit me, I
do
love her.”

She gave a sad smile and caressed his stubbled jaw. “I’m happy for you both.” Kylie deserved all the love she could get, and it was nice to know Xander could provide it.

“But that’s not all I realized. All these months trying to keep my hands off you, trying to keep from wanting you and dreaming about life with you. The reason it was so hard was that you were already in here,” he placed a hand over his heart. “I didn't know when it happened, but somewhere in between the arguing, the family outings and the stolen kisses I fell in love with you.”

She felt the first tear fall down her cheek and Brandi knew she was lost. This man had become everything she never knew she wanted in a man. He was arrogant and domineering, stuck in his ways and a workaholic. But he was also beautiful and kind, sexy and sweet. Intelligent. He was her heart, her soul.

His dark brows furrowed. “Don’t keep me in suspense, woman!”

She laughed at the impatient look on his face. “I love you too, Xander. I didn’t want to, and I didn’t even plan to fall in love with you, but you watching you become the man I knew you were all along, it’s been an honor to watch.”

He smiled and kissed her until she was breathless and begging for more. “We should date while your contract is active, and to let Kylie get used to the idea of us together. Then, I’m going to ask you to be my wife.”

She smiled and swiped at the tears that poured down her face. “When you do, the chances are good that I’ll say yes.”

His smile was wide and full of that cockiness of a man who knew he was loved. Xander stood and leaned over her until she was spread sideways across her bed, and kissed her.

“Jeez, it’s about time! I didn’t think you two would ever get it together,” Kylie said from the doorway, looking far too smug for their liking.

“Never interrupt a man when he’s kissing his woman, kid.”

She giggled and jumped on the bed, wrapping her arms around both of them. “You’ll have plenty of time for that. Later. Right now we have college applications to fill out, don’t we Brandi?”

“What? No, I’m not ready to lose you yet.”

The little girl beamed a smile that did nothing to hide her blush. “You won’t. I’ll have to live at home because I’m a kid.”

He smiled. “Oh yeah.”

Brandi smiled at how easy they were with each other now. “I’m on my way, Kylie.”

“In a minute,” Xander whispered and kissed her again. It was long and sweet, and he thought it might have been the sweetest kiss he’d ever had.

Brandi loved her life at this moment. Kissing the man she loved, to the soundtrack of laughter provided by the little girl who’d captured her heart. She knew everything would be alright because they had a tiny genius who’d taught them both how to love again.

The End

Prologue

Ruby gazed up at clear blue skies, well what she could see through the giant sequoias. It was a beautiful day and her last day in the Sierra Nevada. It was the sixth national park she’d visited between her day jobs. She’d starting working as a professional photographer at twenty-one and now four years later she finally felt ready to branch out, to try something new. She was sick of making food look beautiful enough to get the masses to buy it, and she was bone tired of erotic photo shoots of girls fresh off the bus from Middle America. But those jobs paid the bills and helped her grow as a photographer.

This book would change things for her. She’d crisscrossed the country visiting national parks and photographing the hidden beauty in the different climates and elevations in the United States. Ruby planned to visit three more parks and then she would put her book together and find an agent. For now, she would soak up the beauty and capture it through her lens.

For the first nine years of her life, Ruby was a city girl through and through. She and her mom lived in a funky one bedroom apartment in Hollywood, surrounded by freaks, geeks, and weirdoes. She’d loved it. Between her mother’s tumultuous relationships, they would walk everywhere, taking advantage of what the city had to offer. After a bad breakup, they would pig out at Mel’s Diner, and when she thought she’d found The One they indulged at Cold Stone Creamery. Then her life had gone to hell when her mother’s lover killed her, and Ruby had been forced into the foster care system. Five homes later she was sent to live on a ranch where she learned the importance of a strong work ethic and hard work at the hands of a tough and loving couple. And a love of the outdoors. Sliding her sunglasses onto her face, Ruby forged ahead thinking about things she hadn’t thought about in years. It was probably here, being close to the only other home she’d known that brought those memories to mind.

“Excuse me, Miss?”

Pulled from the past, she turned toward the deep velvety voice and gasped. The man was a vision. His long, lean body encased in cargo shorts; golden hair dusted bronzed calves; a t-shirt stretched across broad shoulders, and bronze-toned arms made her mouth water. Never mind the floppy blonde hair and sparkling brown eyes.
Damn.
“Yes?”

He smiled as though he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Do you know which way the Sherman Trail is?”

She smiled. “Yep. I’m starting there too, walk with me.” She turned and continued on, smiling at the gorgeous man running to catch up with her.

“Hey, thanks. I’m Jack,” he held out his hand, and she took it with a smile.

“Ruby.”

“What brings you here on a Wednesday, Ruby?”

Shrugging she looked at him, glad her gaze was hidden behind oversized sunglasses. “I’m working on a photography book, visiting the national parks. You?”

Jack sighed and turned his face toward the sky; a magnificent smile stretched across his handsome, chiseled face. “I’ve just finished a week of camping and figured I’d visit the park before heading home.”

“You went camping alone? Are you heartbroken?”

He smiled at her softened expression and gentle voice. “Not heartbroken, but I needed some
me
time and out here where no one can reach me was the best place. Plus it’s amazing.”

“On that we agree,” she said, enjoying the companionable silence as they hiked. The Sherman Trail was easy, and they quickly moved on to a lesser worn trail that was slightly more difficult. It was nice to have someone beside her and knowing they didn’t need to talk, but just knowing they were there.

Jack was mesmerized by the long smooth brown legs walking in front of him on the narrow strip of the trail. They were shapely; they looked silky smooth, and he could only think about doing dirty things with them wrapped around his body. “So where do you call home, Ruby?”

She smiled over her shoulder. “Southern California.”

Smart girl.
Giving a vague answer made him smile. “Me too.”

“Cool.” She stopped and looked at him. “You want to stop for a bit, have some water and maybe a snack?”

He gave her an assessing glance and then smiled. “I’m fine, but we should turn around. Rain will be here soon.”

She laughed. “That will give me great pictures, so I think I’ll stay. It was nice to meet you, Jack.” Ruby waved and continued on the path.

Damn stubborn woman.

She turned and watched him go, thinking what a fine sight it was. His ass was tight and round, muscled. Delicious. “I should’ve gotten a picture,” she smiled and continued up the trail.

~

Lost. Unbelievably Jackson Silver was lost. How it happened, he couldn’t possibly say. He’d followed the exact path he and Ruby had taken past Sherman and onto the unmarked trail, but he hadn’t ended up in the same place. And now it was raining, making it even more impossible to see. He’d been out here for at least an hour, maybe more, trying to get back to the right trail and now he had no idea which way was even up. “Dammit.”

“Hey! What are you doing out here? Are you lost or crazy?”

He smiled at the familiar voice and scanned his surroundings until his gaze settled on her. Ruby. “I’m lost. How did you find me?”

“Come on; there’s an emergency cabin not too far from here.” She waited and when he was beside her, explained, “I went back to the entrance and the woman at the welcome center said they still had one outstanding ticket. You. Thanks to budget cuts there’s no one close enough to search for you, so I decided to come back. You’re welcome.”

He watched her march ahead, this time, his mind was more focused on getting out of the rain than the sexy mocha legs. He couldn’t see much besides her legs, which he faithfully followed until they stumbled upon a rustic cabin. She found the key and pushed the door open, motioning him forward. “You go first,” he stifled a smile. He may have gotten lost, but he was still a man, dammit.

“Alright,” she rolled her eyes and walked inside.

Jack watched her look around the room and gather items like it was her home. Five minutes and she had a fire roaring in one corner and a lantern lit by the door. “You’re pretty good at all this for a girl from southern California.”

She gave him a look over her shoulder, but all he could see was her round ass. “What, black people can’t be good at hiking and outdoors stuff?”

He barked out a laugh at her. “Oh please. Women who look like you are rarely comfortable in the great outdoors.” She simply shrugged and turned back towards the fire while he watched, surprised when her shirt hit the ground with a wet plop. “What are you doing?”

She turned, and he sucked in a breath. Her bare breasts were fucking gorgeous. High and teardrop shaped, capped with sweet dark chocolate nipples. “I’m taking off my wet clothes and leaving them near the fire so they can dry. You should be asking why you’re sitting there in wet clothes.”

He stared at her in disbelief and then laughed until his shoulders shook with it. An unexpected sneeze quickly stopped his laughter. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Turn around,” he instructed.

“I hadn’t pegged you as the shy type,” she said and turned her back to him.

He spoke as he removed his shirt. “We’ve spent a total of three hours together; you didn’t have me pegged at all. Seriously,” he asked when his shirt was gone, and she faced him with open curiosity.

“What? I’ve seen it all before.”

“Not mine,” he growled.

Her smile was pure mischief. “Is yours magical?”

Before he could give her a smart ass reply she laughed and it was husky and so damn sexy, she knew he’d be responding soon. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” was all he could come up with.

Her exotic green gaze darkened; even from across the dimly lit room he noticed the hitch in her breath. “I would, actually.”

Jackson froze, certain he’d heard wrong. It wasn’t the first time a woman had come on to him, not even the first time the woman was significantly younger than him. But those women all knew who he was.
Of course.
“Do you know who I am?”

Ruby tapped her chin thoughtfully and snapped her fingers. “Are you a celebrity? Movies or music?” She looked at him with a smug smile that dripped with sarcasm. “Or are you in porn? Because I can definitely see
that
.”

Unbelievable!
“Are you serious?” She walked closer to him but not close enough for him to touch her.

“Is this some type of foreplay or should I know who you are? More importantly, should I care?”

“Many women would,” he answered matter of factly.

“If they have eyes, I have no doubt.”

She doesn’t know.
Jackson smiled. “So you’re saying you want my body?”

Ruby pushed her shorts and panties to the floor and kicked them near the fireplace before she nodded up at him. “Yes. And you want mine, Jack. Let’s ride this storm out together. Properly.”

Jack was so turned on he barely heard her last words. Heart racing and erection at full mast he closed the gap between them and smiled. “Ride, huh? I like the sound of that.” Then he kissed her until they were both breathless, panting and soon after, all over each other.