more than happy to comply. The backyard with its large patio and the tennis court beckoned, along with the prospect of an afternoon with friends near their age. Billie’s big black dog, Sadie, was already in the yard and ran to greet them with her usual happy smile.
Billie held the door open for Jason, and she and Ayanna followed him into the big kitchen with all its new appliances. As Jason put the desserts on the counter, Ayanna grinned at him.
“You’re in luck. I made cupcakes. Half are German chocolate and half are red velvet. And there’s some pineapple bread pudding, too.”
The swinging door between the dining room and the kitchen flew open and a loud voice boomed out. “Did somebody say red velvet? Who said red velvet? Is there seriously some red velvet cake on the premises?”
Ayanna burst into laughter with everyone else except the source of the voice, Billie’s older brother, Johnny Phillips.
“Don’t play with me. I just came back from the motherland. I’ve been delayed for hours in every major airport in the world, I may never see my other suitcase again and they were talkin’ about strip-searching a brother at O’Hare just ’cause they could. So I’m not in the mood to kid around,” he said sternly.
The afternoon sun streamed through the windows and glinted off his smooth shaven head. His slightly almond-shaped eyes were intense as his arms were crossed over his bare chest, and he towered over everyone as his expression demanded an immediate answer. Ayanna laughed again.
“Hello, Johnny. It’s nice to see you, too,” she said pointedly. “Yes, I believe the words red and velvet were used in the same sentence. Do they have special significance for you?”
Her last words were muffled because Johnny took a couple of steps toward her and gave her a big bear hug that lifted her off the floor. “I’m sorry, Ayanna. I didn’t even speak to you, and I’m all over you for your cake. That was just wrong,” he said contritely, kissing her on top of her head. “You smell good,” he added as he set her down.
“So how was your trip? And how long are you going to be here?” She smiled up at him.
Johnny draped his arm around her shoulders. “I’m not saying another word until I get my fix.” He was completely comfortable with his lack of attire, but his younger sister wasn’t impressed with his rugged physique.
“Um, I hate to point out the obvious, but why are you in my kitchen half-naked? Where is your shirt?” Billie asked with a frown.
Johnny didn’t look embarrassed in the least. He glanced down at his broad chest rippling with muscles and shrugged. “I was on my way to the car to get my stuff when I heard the magic words that made me lose all reason. Are you going to help a brother out or what?” His warm black eyes crinkled in a smile that made Ayanna’s knees a little weak, but she ignored the sensation.
“If you put on a shirt, I might let you sample a little somethin’,” she teased.
“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed and went out the back door, jingling the keys he retrieved from the pocket of his jeans.
She washed her hands at the kitchen sink, and by the time she finished, Johnny was back with a garment bag. “Can I get a taste now? You’re not going to make me wait until I go upstairs and put something on, are you?”
Glancing up at him with a grin, she daintily opened the white bakery box and took out a perfect cupcake with a thick, enticing swirl of cream cheese frosting on top.
“Here. Now you’ve got your fix so you can get dressed and tell me all about your trip to Africa.”
“Not yet, woman! Let me savor this before my pop comes in here and we have to fight over it.” Johnny had peeled off the cupcake paper and closed his eyes. His strong, even white teeth sank into the pastry, and he devoured it in two bites while moaning like he was in the throes of ecstasy. “Damn, that was good. That tastes like more, ’Yanna. Come on and hook a brother up,” he pleaded. “Just one more?”
Ayanna was about to give in to his request when his other sister, Dakota Phillips Hunter, came into the kitchen with her new baby on her shoulder. “Johnny, leave this poor woman alone. What’s he trying to get from you, Ayanna?”
By way of answer, Ayanna tipped the box so Dakota could see the cupcakes. “Oh, shoot. Well, you’re on your own, girl. Nothing comes between a Phillips man and his need for high-quality sugar in the form of a delicious dessert. The groom’s cake at my wedding was red velvet, and he ate the entire thing. I saw him do it. Go for it, brother.”
The box had lost all interest for Ayanna. She was much more interested in getting her hands on Dakota’s baby girl. “Knock yourself out, Johnny. I want to see this little cupcake right here,” she cooed, holding her hands out.
The two women sat down in the dining room so Ayanna could dote on the baby. Johnny helped himself to two more cupcakes before joining them. “Ayanna, you’re gorgeous, and you can cook. If I was a marrying man, I’d be chasing you down,” he said sincerely.
Ayanna laughed softly and looked at little Bethany Anne Hunter, who was gurgling softly in her arms. “Sweetie pie, your uncle is nice, but he’s crazy.”
Johnny polished off the third cake with a deep sigh of enjoyment and licked a bit of frosting off his finger. “I might be crazy, but I know a good woman when I see one,” he said with a wink.
The blush only showed on her cheeks, but Ayanna could feel it from the bottom of her feet all the way to the top of her head as she pretended that she wasn’t listening to his joking. She cuddled Bethany to her shoulder and inhaled her sweet baby scent before stealing a look in Johnny’s direction. Luckily, he was talking to Dakota, and she got a good look at his long, muscular frame and sexy rear end. Her face filled with heat again as he turned just in time to see her staring at him, and he winked at her again; but this time it was slow and sexy. She knew she looked like a critter caught in the high beams of a semi, but she couldn’t look away to save herself.
She really didn’t have a choice in the matter because someone came into the room to join them.
“Johnny, sweetheart, what is taking you so long? I’ve been waiting for you,” a feminine voice purred.
Ayanna felt a weird sensation creep over her, but it wasn’t the same pleasurable feeling she’d enjoyed earlier. This was dangerously close to jealousy, something she hadn’t experienced in years. And she hadn’t missed it one bit, either.
Chapter 2
A yanna had to put on her best game face and act as though nothing were amiss, when in reality, she was a little unnerved to hear the dulcet tones of Dr. Davina Wainwright. She was Jason’s sister, and she never let anyone forget that she was the most beautiful woman in the room as well as one of the top cosmetic surgeons on the East Coast. She was also one of the snottiest people Ayanna had ever met in her life. The only one who could top her was Cloris, the other Wainwright sister. She, too, was a plastic surgeon.
Both the sisters were tall and thin and quite pretty in a heavily painted sort of way. Since Billie had married into their family they had toned down a little bit of the diva behavior because they were never the prettiest anything when the Phillips sisters were in the room. They had refused Billie’s invitation to be her bridesmaids, but once they found out that Billie’s wedding was featured in every fashion publication in this country as
