When It Rains... (17 page)

Read When It Rains... Online

Authors: Angie Daniels

BOOK: When It Rains...
10.47Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
She finally got her wish.
Jay placed his hand at the small of Jocelyn's back and, after making their excuses, moved with her to a table at the center of the room.
Their food arrived, and Honey picked up her knife and eagerly carved into her steak. Focusing on her food kept her from looking across the room. Normally she looked forward to a juicy steak, but tonight the meat had somehow lost its flavor.
Darrius didn't seem to mind carrying the conversationwhile Honey, who was deep in thought, said very little. Though her attention was focused on her date, her thoughts and occasionally her eyes strayed to the man across the room.
After a while, Honey's lips tightened with annoyance. This was no coincidence. Jay had purposely showed up to spy on her ass. She knew she wasn't being full of herself. Jay was snooping. Only thing she didn't know was how he found out where Darrius had planned to take her tonight.
What was even worse was that he'd brought along a date of his own. A beautiful date. Not that she cared.
Who am I trying to fool?
It pained her to admit it, but it bothered her to see him with someone else. Especially an attractive female. Out the corner of her eye, she assessed her, one female to another.
I'm not hating.
She took a deep breath and tried to release her rising frustrationwith a forceful, ragged, exhalation.
It shouldn't matter, but it bothered her to know that Jay had moved the fuck on, and had no qualms about finding someone else.
I guess he got sick of my bullshit.
What infuriated her the most was that he was rubbingthe shit in her face.
“Honey?” she heard someone say.
“Huh?” she managed before her gaze shifted to Darrius,her breath coming out in a sigh.
He leaned toward her, lowering his voice. “You haven't heard a word I said.”
“Yes ... Yes, I have.” But even as she spoke, she found it hard to keep from looking past his shoulders.
Darrius tilted his head to the side, blocking her view. “Then what did I say?” he asked, drawing her gaze again.
“You ... uh ...” She lowered her head, then looked at him beneath her lowered lashes. “I ... I guess I wasn't listening,” she admitted.
Darrius didn't appear offended. In fact, he seemed amused. “Is somethin' wrong?”
“No, nothing at all,” she said, still distracted. Things were getting out of hand. Ever since Jay's return, her life had been turned upside down.
Darrius bit back a smile. “I haven't had your attentionsince your boy arrived.” He placed a palm over his heart. “I'm insulted.”
Honey eyed him doubtfully, even though his gentle face appeared trustworthy. “He's not my boy. It's just a coincidence,” she said, putting on a cool expression. “I was thinkin' about somethin'.”
“Or some-
one
, maybe?” Darrius reached across the table and clasped her hand. “Is there somethin' you're not tellin' me?” His eyes were warm with concern as he searched hers.
Lowering her gaze, she stared down at her plate. “Why would you say that?”
“Because you look as if you've lost your best friend,” he added with a chuckle that vibrated through her body.
She lifted her chin. “Whatever,” she mumbled. He didn't know how close he was to the truth. She
had
lost a very good friend.
“In fact, you look the same way Jay did when he saw you and me together yesterday.” His gaze narrowed with curiosity, but she could tell he was teasing her. “Is there somethin' goin' on between the two of y'all? 'Cause I don't want to step on another man's toes.” A knowing smile touched his lips, causing her cheeks to warm.
She really wasn't fooling anyone, and now she knew it. “No, there ain't shit going on,” she said quietly. “I'm fine.”
“You sure?” he asked with such a charming smile she couldn't resist smiling back.
“Really, I am.” It was fuckin' ridiculous to be jealous.After all, she was the one who had put the brakes on their relationship. Jay had every right to be with someone else.
“Good.” Releasing her hand, Darrius leaned back against the chair, still unconvinced, but he decided to leave it alone.
Their waitress arrived with their dessert, ending furtherdiscussion.
Digging into a large slice of New York cheesecake, she asked herself what right she had to be mad. From the corner of her eye she caught Jay staring, his gaze burning into hers, and her appetite disappeared. She sighed with relief when Darrius finally signaled for the check.
 
 
Despite his best intentions, Jay found himself watchingHoney over the rim of his glass. Even from across the room, he couldn't keep his eyes off the soft features of her face—nose delightfully small, lips gently full. The dim light made her eyes appear larger and more luminousthan ever. Her hair was shiny and fell into layers around her shoulders. Simply dressed, even covered up to her neck, she made his dick hard.
Jay pulled his eyes away and tried to focus on what Jocelyn was saying, but found himself comparing her features to Honey's. He watched her perfect, sensual lips parted with surprise. Lips covered in the deep, penetrating red that he was fond of. Lips he had kissed. Lips he imagined wrapped around his dick. Jealousy brewed in him as he watched Darrius reach across the table and squeeze her hand. He wondered how well they knew each other.
It had been a bad idea to bring Jocelyn here. It was fuckin' impossible to conduct business. While Jocelyn was just as beautiful as Chad had promised, she didn't have shit on Honey. There was no doubt about it—Honey was special to him.
Jay was delighted to think that she just might be jealous. Showing up with Jocelyn, he had only wanted to give her something to think about, and felt confident that he'd done enough for one night. As stubborn as Honey was, she would never admit jealousy. He'd have to keep hammering the nails until he finally broke through that damn shell.
Seeing Jocelyn smile at him, his mind sprang back to the present. She was chairman of a pediatric charitableorganization, and for the past five minutes had been giving him her sales pitch, hoping his company would be a sponsor for an upcoming event.
He cleared his throat. “I'd love to be a sponsor. Maybe I can get a couple of my operatives to dress up like clowns and do face paintings or something.” He smiled. “Just give my secretary a call.”
“Wonderful,” she said, with bold eyes beaming and a kind smile that surely put her patients at ease.
Soon he was watching Honey and Darrius rise to leave. He took a long sip of his drink to quell the suddenemptiness, and decided it was time to get down to business.
“Let's talk about your husband.”
Jocelyn gave him a thoughtful look before she began. “I was a second-year medical student when I met James in ninety-two. He swept me off my feet. He was a wonderful man. It never mattered to me that he was ten years my senior. Age was nothing but a number.James spent his life trying to make sure everyone around him was happy ... his patients as well as me. He was a strong believer in commitment, and put a lot of time into keeping the spark strong in our marriage.”
“Sounds like you were a lucky woman,” he said with sincerity.
She nodded. “I was.” Pain shadowed her eyes.
“What happened that night?”
She crossed her legs and rested her elbow on the table. “The last time I saw him was at breakfast that morning. Mama Price was turning seventy on Saturday, and there was no way James was missing his mother's birthday.” Her lips compressed. “After work, he hit the highway for Des Moines. He made it as far as Boonville, and I guess he must have fallen asleep, because that's where his car flipped over and exploded. He was burned beyond recognition.”
Jay didn't miss the deep emotion in her voice. “I'm sorry for your loss, Dr. Price.”
“So am I.” Her lips curved into a sad smile. “Please, call me Jocelyn.”
“Why didn't you accompany your husband on that trip?”
She took a few seconds to chew on her bottom lip. “There was no love lost between my mother-in-law and me. She never thought I was good enough for him. She blamed me for his death. That didn't come as a surprise. She even had me believing it for a while. I know I shouldn't have let him drive that night after a late night at the clinic. But she knew better than I did that once James had his mind made up, there wasn't a damn thing anybody could do about it.”
“When was the last time the two of you spoke?” he asked, tapping a forefinger against his chin. “Your mother-in-law, I mean.”
“Six months after the funeral, I called her. At first, she acted like she didn't even know me. Then she told me in so many words never to call her damn house again.” She tensed, as if to fight off the rush of memories.
Then Jay asked the question he'd wanted to ask all night. “What makes you so sure that was your husband you saw that night?”
“I'm positive it was James.” She paused and raised her hands to cup her face. “I feel like I'm losing my mind. No one believes me, but I know my husband.” Her voice lowered to a mournful whisper. “I lived and slept with that man for almost ten years.”
Jay looked at her and, just as Chad had, he believed her. Something about her eyes proved her a sincere individual.“I'm sorry.”
She blinked long lashes, fighting back tears. “I buried this. I put this behind me. I just started dating a colleague, trying to get on with my life. I ...” She paused again to take a deep breath. “I desperately need to move on.”
“I understand.”
She reached into her pocket, pulled out a photo, and handed it to him. “James took this photograph right beforehe died.”
Jay stared down at the wallet-sized version of James Price. He had salt-and-pepper, close-cropped hair. Fine lines were visible under velvet black eyes. And he was clean-shaven; the only facial hair he had were fine eyebrows.His lips were large, displaying a distinctive gap between his two front teeth. His most distinguishing mark was a cleft in his chin.
“Do you think you can help me?” Jocelyn gave Jay a desperate look that told him he was her last hope.
He handed the picture back. “I'm gonna do more than help you. I'm gonna find your husband.”
 
 
As Darrius turned his black BMW onto her street, Honey groaned, “Can my day get any worse?”
“Is somethin' wrong?” he asked, peeking at her out of the corner of his eye.
“No, nothin's wrong.” She sighed.
He grinned. “I believe you have a bad habit of lying.”
“And I believe you ask too many damn questions.” As they pulled into her driveway, she looked at the light on in one of the bedrooms upstairs. “I have company.”
He gave her an arched look. “Another man?”
Honey turned to him and rolled her eyes. “I'm startingto remember why I never liked your ass.”
Darrius pretended to wince. “Why, 'cause you can't handle the truth?”
Honey couldn't hide her smile. “You know what they say ... the truth hurts.” She reached for the door handle. “Thanks for dinner and being a friend.”
“The pleasure was all mine. I'll give you a call so we can do this again.”
“You do that,” she said, and then he leaned across the seat and kissed her cheek.
Honey climbed out of the car and reached into her purse for her key, but before she could stick it in the door, it opened.
“How was dinner?”
Honey looked at the image in front of her. Mercedes'sjaw was faintly black and blue. Honey forced a smile and said, “It was nice.” She waved at Darrius, then stepped past her and moved toward the coat closet. “Lil' Dee sleeping?”
Mercedes nodded.
She would check in on him on her way up. Nothing pleased Honey more than to watch the darling little three-year-old sleeping peacefully. She could guaranteeher home was a lot quieter than his had been tonight.
After hanging her coat in the small hall closet near the front entrance, she moved across the plush desert brown carpet into the living room and set her purse on the coffee table.
“Did Jay catch up with you?”
Honey's head snapped around. “Jay?”
Mercedes flopped onto an overstuffed chair. “Yeah, he called the salon, said it was important that he get in touch with you. He wanted to know where you were goin' for dinner tonight.” She paused to shrug. “So I told him.”
Ain't that a bitch!
Honey thought.
So that's how his sneaky ass knew. Wait until I see him again.

Other books

Double Coverage by Meghan Quinn
Vienna Waltz by Teresa Grant
The Ex-Wives by Deborah Moggach
Surviving Love by M.S. Brannon
Out of Bounds by Kris Pearson
The Bug: Complete Season One by Barry J. Hutchison
Harmony's Way by Leigh, Lora