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She purposely avoided his face because she knew the truth about her feelings towards him.

She still loved him. She was still
in love
with him. She was in love with someone who hated her with all of his being. Knowing Joey, he probably showed up not out of support for his brother and sister-in-law, but out of pure spite. Zoe wouldn’t blame him in the least bit.

She took another long glance at Joey and let out an exasperated sigh. She was going have to put on her big girl panties and just deal with it.

Sixteen

Two years earlier, New York

“Welcome back from your vacation, boss!” Aneesa Sands greeted Joey as he entered

Madre’s. She was a young Black woman, fresh out of college and still a little wet behind the ears. She wore her brown hair in a shoulder-length natural style, had a small gap between her front teeth that matched the dimple on her chin. Her build could be described as thick, yet she managed to cover up her assets to the best of her ability every day she was at work.

Naturally bubbly and upbeat, Aneesa was one of the few women Joey could trust for the simple fact she was a lesbian and had absolutely no interest in him (or any man) whatsoever.

“You look…tan. I take it you had a great vacation?”

A proud smile spread on Joey’s face as he thought about Zoe. Great couldn’t possibly describe the vacation. Amazing. Fantastic. Incredible. Excellent.

He didn’t have any expectations when he went on vacation, only hoping he would get

lucky with Zoe and she didn’t bore him in bed. She was anything but boring. Her tongue was skilled, wrapping around his cock repeatedly as she sucked him. When she was on top, she rolled back and forth as if she already had his body memorized and knew where his erogenous zones were. He discovered a new one – his nipples.

And her moans…her sweet, beautiful moans. They started off soft and almost demure,

growing into something voracious and deep, encouraging Joey to fuck her harder and faster with each thrust.

Own this pussy, baby. I want you to own it.

Joey felt his slacks tighten around his cock and refocused his attention to work. It wasn’t just the sex that had Joey addicted; Zoe was everything he wanted in a woman. She was ambitious, didn’t bullshit him, and could talk to him about sports and current events. She challenged his mind along with his body and soul, making him question everything he ever believed in about love, life, and relationships.

Sprung. That was the word that described Joey to a tee. He didn’t even feel ashamed about it. He loved Zoe. He was
in love
with her.

I don’t do long-distance relationships, Joey.

It was a threat Joey took seriously and didn’t dismiss it as falderal. He couldn’t see himself ever leaving New York and relocating to L.A. but if he could somehow convince Zoe to move…

“I had a great time,” he finally answered Aneesa, shifting his attention back to his assistant. “I’ll be going back soon. I need you to arrange a flight for me in two weeks from today.

I’ll handle business items from there.”

Aneesa hastily jotted down the notes. “Preference on travel?”

“Business-class.” Joey thought about if he wanted to reveal the burning request on the tip of his tongue. He wanted Aneesa to make travel arrangements for Zoe and in first-class. His girl was going to have the best of the best
everything
. He already thought about upgrading her SUV

to something a little more high-class, though it drove just fine. “And I’ll be gone for a few days.

I’ll let you know for sure, but I expect to leave on Thursday and possibly return on Monday evening.”

“Sounds like a nice trip. Going to see Kieran and Tiana?”

A slow smirk curled Joey’s lips. He successfully avoided seeing Kieran and Tiana, though he did feel a little guilty about it. Whenever he made a trip out to L.A., he always made it a point to see his brother, even if it was just for a few hours. If he played his cards right, he could avoid seeing Kieran and Tiana again. It was his goal to see where things went with Zoe first before he revealed their relationship to the rest of the family. He knew his reputation with women and could admit that didn’t help matters when he purposely brought home some unfavorable ones.

All of that was going to change. Maybe sprung wasn’t an appropriate word. Twisted. Yes.

Zoe definitely had him twisted.

“Maybe,” Joey answered. It was an honest answer. He
might
see Kieran and Tiana. Or, he
might
spend all of his free time with Zoe.

He could keep a secret. The question was, could Zoe?

****

Every step Zoe took seemed to be a battle. Her thighs felt like she just did a thousand squats. Her stomach was tight. Her pussy went through its own war with Joey’s cock, though he won every time.

Six years of celibacy made her a born-again virgin. It was a good thing she had a sitz bath after Joey left or there was no way in hell she would’ve been able to climb the steps leading up to Fits and Giggles.

Joey. Her new boyfriend. The man who turned her on and turned her out. The way he

dominated her in their trysts, taunting her with ‘
Whose is it?
’ and ‘
Is this my pussy?
’ as he drove in and out of her like he was fucking to save her life.

When they didn’t make love, they watched football on TV, drank beers as they rooted for their respective teams. They talked current events and found they shared the same beliefs on many issues. She felt comfortable enough to show him her sketches and he asked questions about her designs, trying to understand her thought and creative processes.

He was her heart. Her soul. Her everything.

Their relationship changed dramatically when he proved his love to her not through sex but by tossing out his cell phone and discarding the others. It was uncharted territory for him and Zoe could tell there was fear and uncertainty in his eyes when he did it. But what became certain was his love for her throughout the week. He held hands with her publicly and continued his New York chivalry in Los Angeles. They went shopping and he asked her honest opinion on a few pieces.

Zoe got the feeling Joey treated her different for one reason: he finally saw someone who was his equal. It warmed her heart.

She never casually said I love you to a boyfriend, knowing the power behind that phrase and didn’t want to say it just because he said it first or it was expected. Yet, Joey brought it out of her as if he non-verbally told her it was okay for her to feel that way and not be ashamed about it.

She was in love. Heart-stopping, breathtaking, everything’s-coming-up-roses in love. It was going to be difficult – a long-distance relationship. It wasn’t that she lived in New Jersey; she was clear across the country. A different time zone. She told her mind it wasn’t going to work but her heart wouldn’t listen. She just hoped it would all be worth it.

She also hoped Kieran wouldn’t have a bitch fit and a half when he found out.

“There’s my girl!” Kieran greeted Zoe with a hug as he entered Fits and Giggles. “You look refreshed. I see that vacation worked out for you.”

Did it ever.
Besides Joey breaking her celibacy drought, Zoe needed a break from Fits and Giggles to clear her head. It took some convincing – in large part from another D’Amato brother

– to make Zoe realize that there was more to her life than being a personal assistant and nanny.

Fashion was something she was innately passionate about it and she wanted to pursue it with everything she had. With Tiana and Kieran backing her up and Joey supporting her every step of the way, Zoe couldn’t go wrong.

“Yes,” she smiled, her grin spreading from ear to ear. “It was a great vacay. I just needed to clear my head and be focused on the clothing line. I came up with a lot of great designs and I worked on a few pieces as well.” She could credit that to Joey but Kieran could never know about it.

“Great!” Kieran smiled as they walked to his office. “I would love to see them. Oh, and we decided on a name – Tyson’s Heart.”

“How beautiful,” Zoe nodded, “do you have a logo yet?”

“Not yet but it’ll be something simple like a heart,” Kieran shrugged, “it was Tee’s idea and I just went along with it.”

“Ah, smart man.”

“She married me for a reason.” He set down his messenger bag and sat behind his desk.

“So what did you do during your vacation? Just stayed here in town?”

“Um…” Zoe did a lot of things during her vacation – namely Kieran’s brother. “I went out shopping a little, had dinner, and visited some places I’ve haven’t been to in a while. And I slept in every day of this week!” All of that was true. She and Joey went out every day and made love into the wee hours of morning every night. It was some of the best sleep she’s had in a long while.

She and Joey agreed to keep their relationship a secret until they found a way to share the news with Kieran and other D’Amato family members when it was appropriate. With the drama surrounding Faith and Eli, not to mention Kieran’s impending disappointment and disapproval, the couple agreed to keep it quiet.

Not that it would be a problem. Zoe never really discussed her personal life with Kieran other than occasional rants about the dating scene and lack of quality men in Los Angeles.

There’s someone for everyone
, he would always remind her. She was pretty sure he didn’t think that someone would be his player younger brother.

“Well, you look great. Maybe that vacation was what you needed. You’ve put in a lot of hours here, Zo. You should reward yourself and go out and have some fun.” Kieran mentioned.

“I’m sure you’ll find a great guy to keep up with your crazy self.”

I did and he’s related to you.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, K.”

“Not a problem.” Kieran flipped open his laptop. “Anyway, I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do. Let’s sit down and schedule a pow-wow for later to discuss the sketches and other things.”

“Sounds good. I’ll send a meeting invite. Talk to you later, Boss.” Zoe then left his office.

As she made her way back to her desk, there was a little bounce in her step and she started giggling. Once she realized what she was doing, she quickly put a stop to it. Joey already had her acting like a lovestruck middle-schooler who just discovered her first crush.

She wondered how much longer she was going to contain this secret before her actions told on her.

Seventeen

I’m gone for a week and people act like I’ve been gone for a month.

Upon Joey’s return, there were a few meetings. There were
too many
meetings. New event planners were anxious to be associated with Madre’s. Different restaurants promised the best food and atmosphere for special events. Local hotels and private gardens wanted an exclusivity contract with Madre’s.

Those businesses, Joey didn’t mind. The ones that were like fingernails on a chalkboard were the churches and religious institutions. He believed in God and he went to mass whenever he could. But he did not believe in the church being a business that wanted free things because they were faith-based – especially if they were happily taking money from its parishioners. The only church he didn’t have an issue with was the one that belonged to David Sheppard.

So Joey found himself stuck in the middle of a business meeting at the conference room at Madre’s, trying very hard not to roll his eyes at the pastor and deacons in front of him. Oh, they wanted the full-service floral arrangement every Sunday; they did not want to pay for it. The flowers would be considered a donation from God, was what one of the ministers said. A contribution to the church and society, emphasized another deacon.

How about you pay just like everyone else
, was Joey’s only thought.

He bit the inside of his cheek and carefully sipped his lemon water, letting the cold beverage roll around in his mouth. The only thing that was keeping Joey firmly planted in his seat and not giving God yet another reason to refuse him entry into heaven were his thoughts of Zoe.

There I go again.

He wondered if she was swamped at work, if she was trying to play catch up with

everything and most importantly, if she told Kieran. No, she didn’t tell Kieran. Had she told Kieran, Joey’s phone would’ve been blown up already, with no less than a dozen messages.

Good.
Kieran’s involvement was the last thing Joey needed.

Joey did wonder when he would be able to see her again. He must call her the moment he had a free moment.

“So fellas, do we have a deal?” The pastor asked.

Eli glanced over at his brother, who clearly was somewhere but the meeting. “We’ll have to get back to you, pastor.”

“This would be a great marketing opportunity for Madre’s.” One of the deacons pressed.

“More people would know about your flowers and services. You can spread the word every Sunday and have an ad placed in our program.”

“For free?” Eli asked.

“For a minimal fee.” The deacon replied.

If there was one thing Joey didn’t like, it was the thought of being hustled. And he
really
didn’t like the thought of being hustled by members of the church. “Madre’s has enough marketing on its own,” Joey finally cut in, his deep baritone booming throughout the room, “we don’t need to send a free floral arrangement to your church every Sunday for
marketing
purposes
.”

The ministers glanced at each other and one of them leaned forward. “We have other floral shops who regularly donate to us. You do know what the Bible says about charitable donations?”

Joey followed the minister’s lead. “And you do know what the Bible says about false

prophets?”

“And I think that’s all for today!” Eli interrupted a potential showdown. “Pastor, we’ll be in touch. Thank you for coming.” He dismissed the ministers, who quickly left and shut the door behind them. Eli turned to his brother with a twinge of a smirk on his face. “I see you’re back in rare form.”