Niki's Challenge (11 page)

Gale and Tony followed at a sedate
pace. “Hey everybody, I want to introduce you to my brother, Tony,”
Gale said, pride evident in her tone. “This is Rissa’s Nana Bea,
you met her mom before and you met her cousin, Niki.” Gale pointed
at each one as she called out their names.

Niki avoided his eyes after the
introduction. Her mind spun with this new complication. Watching
from the corner of her eyes, grudgingly she admitted her kids would
be tall and probably cute. The man stood over six feet, a cropped
beard and the most unusual eyes she’d ever seen. His piercing orbs
had more blue than Gale’s. She knew from firsthand experience he
had a slamming body. The man was fine and hard all over. Her face
heated as memories from that night assaulted her. What the hell had
he done to her that she got aroused from six-month-old memories.
Frustrated, she grabbed her water and gulped it fast to calm the
flames that licked between her legs and her core. Her panties
dampened, she clamped her thighs together and held back a moan.
Damn screwy hormones. That’s right; she’d blame her wanton desires
on the pregnancy. Glancing up, her eyes met Tony’s. His brow rose
in question. She rolled her eyes and drank more water.

This pregnancy had her emotions on a
rollercoaster ride. What happened to her cool reserve, solid
posture and steely nerves? She’d been reduced to childish antics of
sulking, foot stomping and, God help her, crying. Niki wanted her
world back where she had command of her body and
surroundings.

“
Ladies, it was nice
meeting you.” Tony’s eyes lingered on Niki. “Enjoy your lunch.” He
glanced at Gale. “Talk to you later.” He left, heading toward the
exit.

Four pairs of eyes watched his
departure.

“
Well, what was that all
about?” Niki’s Aunt asked her. “I saw him staring at you during the
introductions.” Picking up her fork, she watched Niki
eat.

“
Yeah, Gale, isn’t he
dating Angie?” Rissa asked, concern etched across her face.
Everyone at the table paused to look at Gale, waiting on her
response.

“
No, they haven’t been
dating for a while. He’s been trying to locate some woman he met a
while back and hasn’t been dating anyone seriously.” Looking at
Rissa, she missed the shocked expression on Niki’s face. Nana Bea
caught it and frowned.

“
Oh, all right then.” Rissa
winked at Gale. “So what’d he want, Niki?”

Caught by the recent bombshell and not
ready to deal with all the revelations she threw out what she knew
would divert Rissa’s attention. “He talked about your
earrings.”

“
Really? You think he wants
to buy a matching pair for someone?” She asked looking at Gale with
a sly smile.

“
I don’t know,” Niki said,
finishing her food. Pushing the empty plate away, she stretched.
“Nana, I’m wiped. It’s time for my nap. I’m going to head back to
the hotel.” She stood slowly, rubbing her extended
tummy.

“
What’s that?” Gale pointed
to an extra bulge in Niki’s stomach.

“
The baby’s stretching.”
Niki took Gale’s hand and placed it on her stomach. They both
smiled at the kick and then the movements of the babies.

“
Wow, Niki, that’s
awesome.” Her tone filled with wonder. “Thanks.”

“
No problem.” Niki ignored
the long look her Nana gave her. The older woman probably suspected
something was up with her and Gale’s brother, and had questions.
Thank goodness, she’d wait until she had Niki alone to find out
what.

“
Mom’s going to hang out
with me tonight. We’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Sharita announced as
she stood, picking up her bag, and throwing the tip on the
table.

“
We’ve got to go see this
exhibit downtown. Today is the last day,” Rissa told her mom,
pushing up from the table.

“
I didn’t know that.” Gale
frowned at her.

“
Well, now you do.” Rissa
smiled as she rubbed Gale’s arm, causing her lover to smile down at
her. “Niki, go with us, it’ll be fun.” Rissa looked at her
cousin.

“
No thanks. I’mma head back
and take a nap.” Niki yawned. “I’m tired. Plus it’s too hot.” She
waved goodbye and waddled to the exit.

Nana Bea hung back to talk to Gale as
Rissa and her mom walked ahead laughing. “So...Gale,” she started.
Gale looked at her in surprise, although Rissa’s Nana wasn’t rude
or anything, she never had much to say to her.

“
Does your brother, Tony,
is that right?” She continued at Gale’s nod. “Does Tony travel
much?”

“
Yes ma’am. Well his real
name’s Garrett Anthony. But we call him Tony. He has a Doctorate in
Anthropology and travels the world on digs for lost cities. His
company is one of the best in the world for validating antiquities
and artifacts.” Gale was proud of her brother and had no problems
letting others know.

“
Kind of Indiana Jones,
huh?” She smiled.

“
Well, I’d like to believe
he’s not in as much danger as the movie guy, although he’s had some
problems and has been in and out of the hospital over the years.
But, he loves what he does and the only reason he’s been here this
long is because of Mom’s birthday,” Gale said as they
stopped.

“
And who was the young lady
you all were talking about?”

“
Oh....that’s Angie.” Her
face reddened.

“
Angie...?”

“
Um...Angela Downing, an
old friend,” she answered quickly. It was apparent she didn’t
understand why Rissa’s Nana was interested in either her brother or
another female, but she was too afraid to ask questions.

“
Thanks, Gale. You’re very
nice and thanks for making my Rissa happy.” She patted the taller
woman’s arm and started walking towards the restroom. “Please tell
my daughter I’ll be out in a minute. I have to go to the
restroom.”

“
Yes’m.” Gale beamed and
went to locate Rissa.

Pulling out her cell and punching in a
couple of numbers, Bea waited. The call was answered on the second
ring.

“
You’ll never believe
this.” Bea informed Rita of what she observed. “Run a check on
him...Garrett Anthony Brunson, and also check an Angie, possibly
Angela, Downing.” She paused. “No, her name was mentioned as
someone he dated and I just want to make sure there’s no drama
later on.” Nodding, she looked around and noticed Sherita waving at
her to come on.

“
Listen I’ve got to go,
Sherita is calling me. We should be back soon... although something
tells me he’s not going to just walk away from this.” Bea sighed
and sucked her teeth. “Stop making threats, Rita, and just gather
the information. I mean it,” she snapped and disconnected the call,
hoping she hadn’t just made a big mistake. Rita could be a loose
cannon where Nicole was concerned. In all honesty, she knew she’d
feel the same if she was on the other end of the call, so she’d
just hope for the best.

Walking slowly towards the entrance,
Niki gave the valet her ticket. Thank goodness everyone had plans.
She needed to be alone to think, then she’d contact her attorney to
discover her options.

Gale’s brother—never in a million
years could she have put that together. She shook her head at the
irony. Today was the first real look she’d had of him. And try as
she might, she simply didn’t remember. Hell, he could be anyone,
except he knew the details of what happened that night, coupled
with the flare of arousal between her legs when he spoke, nailed
it. Her body had no problem recognizing his. She’d forgotten the
manager’s name until he mentioned it.

What should she do? The
father of her babies recognized her after all this time.
Impossible
. What were the
odds? First off, he was Gale’s twin. Second, he’d searched for her.
Third, he was single and wanted to talk to her.
Unbelievable
. That stuff only
happened in the movies. Shuffling from foot to foot, she willed her
rental car to get to the curb faster and sighed in relief when it
rolled up. Passing the valet his tip, she climbed in and headed for
the hotel.

****

Distracted, Tony walked out
the restaurant without returning to his table and gave the valet
his ticket. His mind calculated the time since he’d met her. Damn.
She
could
be
pregnant from that night. Surely, common decency would’ve prompted
her to say something, right? Not even. What kind of person would
withhold something that important?
A
person who didn’t recognize you
. Obviously,
she planned to raise his kids without any input from him, their
father. Hadn’t she brushed off his offer of help that morning at
the hotel? Yep, she had. Amazed at her gall, he sat unseeing in his
car. It was one thing when she didn’t know who he was, but now that
she knew…He needed to talk to her, but how? Short of kidnapping
her, he had no clue how to get the answers he needed. She’d made it
clear she didn’t want to talk or have anything to do with him. An
image of a little Nicole infant rose in his mind’s eye; he growled
his frustration. He may not have planned to have kids. Now that it
happened, he’d be damned if anyone would deny him contact with his
children. He pulled off, determined to change the
situation.

His mind played various scenarios as
he navigated the streets to his home. Damn, just when he thought to
move on, to let go of her haunting memories, she walked into his
life again. Last night, he’d given an “I’ll think about it”
commitment to a major antiquities player to oversee an upcoming dig
in the rainforest of South America. It was a serious opportunity
for him and his company. With the right funding and properly
trained crew, there was no telling what he’d uncover. This morning,
he couldn’t believe he hadn’t accepted the offer straight off. Now,
he was glad he hadn’t. With that job, he’d be gone for six months
at a minimum. If his calculations were correct, the babies would
arrive before Christmas, in three months. His knuckles whitened on
the steering wheel.

Nothing had ever eclipsed
his hunger for digging near old ruins. The thrill of a new
discovery warred against the necessity to see his children birthed
into the world.
Nicole
. Her name floated across his mind.

The battle ceased.

Under no circumstances would he leave
until they came to an understanding about their children. In the
far recesses of his mind, he harbored a foolish hope that she’d
allow him an opportunity to know her as more than his babies’ mama.
She was still beautiful, more so now. Sweat beaded his brow as his
cock hardened in remembrance of that night. No woman had ever
satisfied him as well as she had. He slapped the steering
wheel.

“
I need to talk to her.”
Her offer to buy him off still shocked him and bruised his ego.
Although her dismissal of their sexual encounter all but crushed
him, it still gave him a boner. He pulled his hand through his
hair, remembering her tactless rejection.

Why was he putting himself through
this? For sex? He didn’t see that happening, despite how much he
wanted it. She didn’t need or want him. Did he really want or need
this added complication? Interacting with his children was a given.
If Nicole proved stubborn, the courts would make sure of
that.

Indignation rose in his chest as he
remembered her attempts to get rid of him. Why should he put up
with her insults and continual rejection of him? She’d been good in
bed, he’d give her that, but he wasn’t going to jump through her
hoops for the opportunity to deal with his kids. She could forget
that. Her tongue was lethal, and not in a good way. A lot of people
co-parented these days. He’d do it as well. In that instant, he
decided no one else mattered. No one but his babies.

Babies…He felt a punch in his gut. He
was going to be a dad. The thought settled around his shoulders and
knocked on the door of his heart. It expanded with the knowledge.
Twins. He wiped his brow as reality hit him. He cringed, thinking
of his mom’s reaction. He’d tell them after he talked to Nicole.
Right now, he wasn’t sure if they’d be headed to court or if they’d
come to a rational, adult decision on his role in his children’s
life. Within minutes, his life had changed and he needed to make
preparations.

First, they needed to talk without
interference. He needed to be strategic. The “I’m your babies’
daddy” card probably wouldn’t get high marks. He remembered Gale
saying Rissa reserved a suite of rooms for Niki and her Nana. He
knew exactly where that’d be.

An hour later, Niki answered the room
phone. “This is Tony, we need to talk.” He hoped for a rational
conversation.

“
No, we don’t,” she
snapped, sounding groggy. “There’s nothing to talk
about.”

“
Yes, there is,” he said as
pleasantly as his clenched jaw allowed. “Or are you going to
convince a judge the DNA tests are wrong?” He waited a beat, hoping
he hadn’t overplayed his hand. Another thought crossed his mind.
“Don’t bother offering me money again. I guess you know I don’t
need it.” He scowled at the phone, as anger coursed through him
again.

“
Why...why are you doing
this?” Niki whined. “Can’t you...just forget about everything?
Forget about my babies? I promise I’ll never mention what
happened.” Her careless words released a torrent of anger and
another emotion he didn’t want to name within him. Veins throbbed
painfully in his head. His face and neck were on fire as he spoke
through clenched teeth. His voice sounded guttural to his
ears.