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Authors: Cheris Hodges

I Heard A Rumor (28 page)

BOOK: I Heard A Rumor
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“In that case we are never buying one. Good plan.”
She blew him a kiss. “Stop being such a . . .”
“Chante, Zachary!” Allison called out from the top of the steps. “Where have you been? Mother is about to make her presentation.” Chante smiled at her mother, who looked fabulous in a goldenrod gown and diamond accessories. “I thought you two had been in some horrible accident in that race car.”
“I told Chante, we're never going to own one of these things,” Zach said.
“I'm liking you more and more every day, Zach,” Allison said. “Now let's get a move on.”
Walking into the house was like stepping into the pages of
Who's Who in Charleston, South Carolina
. A few people stopped Chante and asked her if she was all right, but there were no probing questions about what had happened in Charlotte.
Shortly after Zach and Chante finished mingling, Elsie called for everyone's attention.
“This has been a wonderful night, and it gives me great pleasure to open my home to so many friends, old and new. To my wonderful husband, my daughter, my son-in-law, and my granddaughter, I'm so glad we're here together tonight,” Elsie said. “There is so much history right here on this land and in this house. I think it would be pretty selfish if I didn't share this with everybody. That's one of the reasons I had this house restored.”
The guests clapped. “And,” Elsie continued, “this house will always be persevered as it has been declared a historic landmark.”
Allison's face showed her surprise. Elsie grabbed her daughter's hand. “Our family has always been a feisty lot. And that continues through our bloodline. It's our past that inspires our future. I'm hoping all of the great things that happened here will inspire generations to come. Thank you for celebrating this event with me.”
Thunderous applause broke out, and Chante saw her mother and grandmother hug for the first time in years. Her heart melted when she heard Allison tell her Grammy thank you.
“This is so beautiful,” Chante whispered to Zach. He nodded.
“You know what else is beautiful?” he said, then dropped to one knee. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out an old velvet box. “I'll never love another woman as much as I love you. I'll never have the honor of meeting a stronger or braver woman than you.” Zach opened the box, revealing a white-gold, emerald-cut diamond ring. Chante's eyes stretched to the size of quarters. That was the mythical Cooper stone.
“Oh my God.”
“Your grandmother told me that this ring has been in your family for generations, and since you always were a student of history, you know that every Cooper who wore this ring never had a day of sadness when she married the man she truly loved.”
Allison and Chante were both about to cry. “Do you love me?” Zach asked.
“With all my heart,” Chante found the voice to say.
“So will you do me the honor of being my wife and my lover for the rest of our lives?”
“Yes, yes,” Chante said as Zach slipped the ring on her finger. As the room cheered for their love, Chante couldn't wait to begin her future with the man she'd love forever.
Don't miss
 
Rumor Has It
 
 
Liza Palmer couldn't be happier when her best friend and sorority sister, Chante Britt, and her closest guy friend, Robert Montgomery, hit it off. And she's beyond thrilled when they announce their engagement. Robert is an up-and-comer running for the North Carolina senate. Chante is a partner at a prestigious law firm. They're a power couple made in heaven—until Liza discovers Robert in a compromising position—with another woman . . .
 
Liza can't possibly continue to support Robert's campaign, much less let him marry Chante. But when she tries to reveal the truth, Robert pulls out every corrupt trick in the book—including turning Chante against her. Her only choice is to seek out his opponent, Jackson Franklin, and help him take Robert down. But to Liza's great surprise, Jackson won't play dirty—and Liza finds him irresistible. As sparks fly, personally
and
politically, Liza and Jackson may become a winning team in more ways than one . . .
Chapter 1
Sitting at a table in the middle of Starbucks, Liza Palmer pushed her steaming caramel latte aside and focused her ebony stare on her friend, Robert Montgomery, as he explained why he was going to run for North Carolina Senate Seat Forty-Five. His brown eyes sparkled with passion as he talked about serving the people and that look ignited her like a firecracker. “Yes! I think you will be a great senator and I know some people who can help us build a buzz around you. This is just awesome, Robert. I can't wait to . . .”
“Slow down,” Robert said. “You're talking as if I'm one of the brands you represent.” She frowned at him and Robert threw his hands up. “Not saying what you do isn't serious, but I don't think marketing me like a cashmere sweater is going to work. People are going to have to connect with me and know that I'm going to Raleigh to represent their best interests.”
Liza rolled her eyes and toyed with the lid of her cup. “Of course not, but a grassroots campaign got Barack Obama into the White House. You need a Twitter account, Facebook fan page, and website where people donate to your campaign.” Liza pulled out her iPad and started taking notes. Robert laughed.
“You take that thing everywhere, don't you?”
She nodded. “Got to stay connected. You know who would be a great campaign manager for you: Dominic Hall. He has been behind some of the biggest campaigns in the city and the state. Remember that contentious fight for the chairmanship of the board of county commissioners? Dominic was behind the winner. And he systematically shut the other guy down.”
“Funny you should say that,” he said. “Nic and I met this morning and he agreed to work with me.”
“Awesome! But you still need me.”
Robert placed his hand on top of hers. “I know. One thing I know for sure is that you have my back for real. Together we're going to be unstoppable.”
“That's right, Senator Montgomery. Now, about your social media life. Do you tweet?”
“As the law firm, but I don't have a personal account. I don't understand that whole Twitter thing.”
“Good, I'll be happy to explain it to you. More people get their news from Twitter than the local TV stations. So, you kind of need to get on board,” she said, then stroked her cheek. “Your personal life is going to be under a microscope—especially because you're single. Anything or anyone out there with an ax to grind?”
“Did you just say ‘anything'?”
Liza rolled her eyes and flipped her shoulder-length auburn tresses back. “I've seen some of the women you've dated, Rob. ‘Anything' was being kind.”
“And you don't have much room to talk. Remember your thug life stage? You really can't hold my hood rat phase in college against me.”
Liza giggled. “Where did you import those hood boogers from? I wasn't aware of a hood within walking distance to Chapel Hill.”
“See, you can't be saying stuff like that.” He looked around the semi-full coffee shop to make sure no one was paying them any attention.
“Well, if you're running as a single candidate, you need to be seen with a higher class of woman.”
“Are you suggesting a fake relationship?” he asked, raising his right eyebrow. A frown marred his handsome cocoa brown face.
“No, people would see through that like glass. I'm suggesting you meet some nice ladies at my dinner party on Saturday, which you didn't RSVP for.”
“I'll be there.”
“When are you filing?” Liza asked.
“Dominic and I are going to discuss that tomorrow. I need a war chest and Dominic said he has a list of donors willing to help.”
“What platform are you running on?” Liza asked in between sips of her cold latte. “You really need to consider the problems in the district. There are three issues getting military family behind you and . . .”
“Business development is my main thing. I know the military's important, but Charlotte and the surrounding area need jobs.”
“Yeah,” she said, then drummed her French-tipped fingernails on the lid of her cup. “But people are wary of politicians who are for big business. You need to play up your roots.”
Robert's handsome face darkened. “I don't want to be some sad-sack politician that people are drawn to because of their shortcomings.”
“Whoa! You're starting to sound like a Republican.”
“No, you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. I'll acknowledge everyone who helped me, but I'm not going to tell the state and the world that I was born to a crackhead who left me at a fire station.”
Liza held her tongue; she knew how hurtful Robert's past was. But the public relations professional inside her knew people would cheer for a man who came from absolutely nothing to go on and breeze through college, then law school. Maybe he'd listen to Dominic about telling his story. “Anyway,” she said, “I am so proud of you, Rob. I remember when we were in that political science class together and you did that mock campaign for president. I knew two things that day.” She brought her cup to her lips and took a final sip of her latte.
“What?”
“That you'd be president one day and I wasn't going to get a degree in political science.”
“President, huh?” Robert smiled and Liza knew his picture-ready smile would win hearts even if he didn't talk about his past. “You expect a lot from me, huh?”
“Actually, I do,” she said, then pushed her cup away. “I believe in you, Rob. And I don't say that lightly. You're the embodiment of the American dream and the people of North Carolina will be lucky to have you.”
“Great, that means I have one vote.”
“You'll have more than one vote. How many people are going to be in the primary, I wonder,” she said, then looked down at her iPad as it chimed. “Oh, hate to run, but I have a meeting in twenty minutes with the Hornets' new player relations manager.”
“There you go, moving and shaking things in the city,” Robert said as he watched his friend collect her things.
“Next, we're going to move and shake this election.” Liza gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then dashed out the door.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
 
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
 
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
 
Copyright © 2015 by Cheris Hodges
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
 
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
 
Dafina and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-61773-381-9
ISBN-10: 1-61773-381-4
First Kensington Mass Market Edition: December 2015
ISBN: 978-1-6177-3381-9
First Kensington Electronic Edition: December 2015
 
BOOK: I Heard A Rumor
7.09Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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