was still staring at him. “What now?” He gestured to a nearby table and they sat.
“You seem a little preoccupied with the owner.”
He grinned. “It’s nothing but a little harmless flirting. She’s not even my type. I prefer my women a little taller and ones who have legs that go on forever.”
Brandon studied Khalil for a long moment. “She may not be the type you’re used to dating, but she may end up being exactly your type.”
Khalil waved Brandon off. “Don’t get all sentimental on me now that you’ve gotten married. I told you before, there’s not a woman alive who can make me give up my single life. After all the relationship drama I’ve seen over the past decade and a half...I’ll pass.” He acknowledged that Lexia was a beautiful woman, but that was as far as it went. Never again would he allow his emotions to overrule his good sense. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I noticed you on your phone and frowning during the meeting. Is everything okay?”
Khalil took a sip of tea and set the cup down. Just thinking about what Felicia told him incensed him all over again. “I got a call from my assistant manager telling me a few people have complained that they had been double charged for their membership fee this month.” He continued eating.
“How did that happen?”
“Hell if I know.” He polished off the last few bites. “She’s already had the charges reversed, but I need to figure out why it happened in the first place.”
Brandon frowned. “Strange. Well, let me know if there’s something I can help with.” He stood.
Khalil followed suit. “You have enough on your plate with the company and I can handle it.”
“I have no doubts about that, but the offer stands.”
“Thanks.” He passed the table where Lexia sat with the woman. Her wide smile and sparkling eyes held him spellbound briefly and he forced himself to keep moving. Their eyes connected momentarily before she looked away and continued her conversation.
In the lobby, Brandon chuckled. “You’d better be careful, little brother or else you’ll be the next one down the aisle.”
Khalil snorted. “Please. I told you she’s not my type. See you later.” He left Brandon at the elevator and headed for the parking lot. He had been fortunate enough to grab the spot of someone leaving, which kept him from having to park in the underground garage, as he normally did. His gaze automatically shifted to the café and Lexia. No, she wasn’t his type, but she did fascinate him.
* * *
Lexia Daniels tried to focus on what her best friend, Elyse Ross, was saying, but kept stealing peeks at Khalil Gray. From the way he moved and talked, to the playful glint in his light brown eyes and sexy, dark caramel body, the man was absolutely gorgeous. A few seconds later, her gaze drifted once more to the table where Khalil sat eating and talking with the other man, who she knew worked in the building. The two men favored each other and she guessed they might be brothers. Lexia could still feel the hairs of Khalil’s neatly barbered close-cropped beard and soft lips grazing the back of her hand. She unconsciously rubbed the spot, trying to erase the sensation.
Elyse waved a hand in front of Lexia’s face.
She blinked.
“Are you okay?”
Lexia smiled and signed back, “I’m fine.” Elyse had lost her hearing as a result of a virus she’d contracted as a teen. Lexia and their other friend, Janice Hughes, had learned sign language to communicate more effectively with Elyse. “What are you doing here in the middle of the day? Don’t you have a school to run?”
“Hey, when you’re the boss...” Elyse shrugged. A sly smile curved her lips. “So, how long have you known that delicious specimen of a man? I saw the way he looked at you. And you can’t seem to keep your eyes off him.”
“I don’t really know him. He comes in here every few weeks or so and orders a piece of the low fat apple cinnamon coffee cake and decaf vanilla chai tea. I assume he has business here.” Lexia was usually in the back whenever he appeared and, although he couldn’t see her, she never missed him. Just like always, Khalil Gray wore an expensive pair of track pants paired with an equally expensive fitted athletic shirt that showed off the lean well-defined muscles in his upper body. Clearly, he spent hours in a gym.
“Obviously you know him well enough to remember what he orders.”
Lexia laughed. “It’s not that hard because he’s been ordering the same thing for over a year. Anyway, what’s up?”
“I was going to call you last night, but I wanted to tell you this in person.”
Her heart started pounding in alarm and her hands moved rapidly. “What happened? Is Sheldon okay? Did something—”
Elyse reached for Lexia’s hands to still them, and then smiled. “My husband is just fine and there’s nothing wrong.” She placed a hand on her belly, then placed both arms together and rocked them back and forth.
Lexia’s eyes lit up. She jumped out of the booth and rushed around to the other side. “You’re having a baby!”
She nodded. The two women shared a hug. Once Lexia went back to her seat, Elyse wiped her tears. “The only thing that would make this perfect is if Janice was here.”
She squeezed her friend’s hand and they fell silent. Janice rounded out their trio. Friends since the age of ten, they’d laughed, cried and basically done life together. Janice and her two daughters had been killed in a car accident a year and a half ago, three months after Oasis Café opened. Janice’s husband, Cameron, had been devastated when he lost his high school sweetheart.
As if she’d read Lexia’s mind, Elyse asked, “Have you seen Cam lately? I’ve been so worried about him.”
Lexia shook her head sadly. “He usually comes around every four or five weeks, but I haven’t heard from him in close to two months.” The tragedy had taken a toll on him and in the end Cameron had lost everything, including himself. “I’m praying he shows up soon.”
She nodded. “When you see him, give him a hug from me.”
“I will.” Silence stretched between them again and she offered up a silent prayer for her friend.
Elyse slid out of the booth. “I’d better get back.”
Lexia came to her feet. “Thanks for sharing your good news. Give my congratulations to Sheldon.” She opened her mouth to say something else, but went still when she noticed Khalil through the window. Their eyes locked for a brief moment. He shot her a sexy grin and winked. Lexia’s pulse skipped and the back of her hand tingled with remembrance of their earlier encounter. Irritated that he affected her this way, she jerked her gaze away.
Elyse laughed and shook her head. “Should I be offering you congratulations, as well?”
She frowned. “No.”
“Whatever you say. We’ll see if you’re still spouting that nonsense the next time we talk.”
“Nonsense
