bad? No wonder she turned you down for a date. If you can’t appreciate fabulous cake, you probably can’t appreciate her, either.”
Did his niece just take a stranger’s side over his? He couldn’t blame her. Lanelle radiated something alluring beyond her obvious beauty. The memory of her flawless skin, large dark brown eyes, an adorable nose he could eat up and lips he had difficulty looking away from made him sigh.
Lanelle’s poise and sophistication, along with her readiness to smile and celebrate life with a stranger, added to her charisma. He’d been inches from kissing her. Only the fact that his family stood so close watching their every move had stopped him. “Watch it. It’s not too late to revoke your driving privileges on my car.”
“You wouldn’t. Not to someone who found out she’s still free from cancer, now, would you?” Vanessa tried to pull off her sad, begging puppy-dog look but got diverted by the cake.
“We’ll be eating soon.”
“Mom’s not here to threaten me, so I’m eating dessert first. Can we swing by the college? Art history is letting out now, and I want to show off a little to my friends.”
Dante chuckled. “Fine, but don’t expect me to get out of the car and wait on the corner while you do.”
She shoved the half-empty container into his hands when the light turned green and the car behind them honked. “It’ll only be for ten minutes.”
“Either you showcase me and the car or there’s no deal,” Dante insisted.
“Okay.”
He closed the lid on the cake after sneaking another forkful. “What made you get Lanelle’s number?”
Vanessa flashed him a grin. “What made you ask her out?”
Smart-assed little girl. How Cynthia hadn’t driven that annoying quality out of her by now was a mystery to everyone. He resorted to “I asked you first.”
“I liked her. She seemed to be someone I could hang out with.”
“Even though she’s older?”
She shrugged. “We hang out.”
“Because we’re family.”
Vanessa sucked her teeth as she made a left turn. “Uncle Xander is family, but I don’t go places with him.”
Dante held up a finger. “First of all, your dad’s brother is nowhere near as cool as me, and second he lives in California, so you can’t just pick up the phone and ask him to come get you. And don’t you even mention my brother Emmanuel. With the number of kids he and his wife have, they can barely get out the house.”
“Whatever. My point is, age doesn’t matter with friendship. Or did I hear it about love?”
“I concede.”
Vanessa pulled the car over in front of a café a few blocks from her school, put it in Park and pressed the button to unlock the doors. “Please, Uncle D?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the windshield. One glance at her would break his resolve. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for his nieces and nephews, and they knew how to play him. “You can forget about me getting out of this car.”
“How about if I talk you up to Lanelle when I call her?” The manipulative minx tapped a finger on the custom-designed steering wheel. “Maybe find out where she’ll be, so you can bump into her.”
Dante reached for the handle. “You can tell her how wonderful I am, but don’t ask where she’ll be at any point in time. The woman is not stupid.” He opened the door. “You have twenty minutes. We still have to meet your parents and little brother at the restaurant. Your friends can sit in the car, but don’t go joyriding.”
He pulled out his phone. “I have an app that lets me see exactly where the car is at all times.” She didn’t need to know he had yet to learn how to use it.
“I promise. Thanks, Uncle D.”
Curbside, he watched his precious niece and car roll down the street.
Vanessa’s offer had been tempting, but he’d never get away with it if she became his informant. The two seemed to get along, but who knew if anything would come of their spark of friendship?
He had to find a way to see Lanelle again. Why would she deny the attraction blazing between them? Maybe she’s married. A ring had adorned two fingers on her right hand, but the left hand was free. No matter the reason, he’d find her. He hadn’t become successful in life by giving up, and he wouldn’t do so with her.
On the other hand, if they were meant to be together, they’d meet again. He scoffed at the idea. As long as my name is Dante Leroy Sanderson, I’ll find her. Fate be damned.
* * *
Toshia Covington panted hard as the StairMaster kicked her ass early the next morning.
Lanelle’s own breath came out with less stress as she jogged at an easy pace on the treadmill next to her best friend. “Why don’t you lower the intensity? I don’t want to break out my CPR skills on you here in the gym.”
Even sweating buckets, her best friend looked good. Toshia’s thick hair swung in its ponytail as her hips swayed. Her large, dark brown, almond-shaped eyes remained bright even as sweat dripped into them. “What happened to no pain, no gain?”
“I think the person who coined the phrase died of a massive heart attack while not listening to his body.”
Toshia let go of her machine’s handle long enough to dab the sweat from her face with her towel. “Ha, ha, ha. How are things going with the NICU you’re building?”
Lanelle puffed out a breath. “The wing is coming along great in terms of construction, but we’re running out of money.” Saying the words out loud brought on a fresh wave of frustration.
“What?”
“Yeah, we have no idea what’s going on. The books balance, but it doesn’t make sense. The flooring and the fixtures are the only things remaining. And there’s very little cash in the till.”
Toshia stared at her. “How can that be?”
Thinking about it made her angrier with each minute. “You know how I was busy working on Dad’s supersensitive project.”
“You mean the one where I saw you once during the six-week period and you hardly slept?”
Lanelle shivered thinking about how much work had gone into the assignment. Every once in a while, when her father had a highly confidential financial project, he’d call her to head it. “Work on the NICU started at around the same time, but I couldn’t say no to Dad.”
“Plus, you’re naive as hell and thought people would be honest.”
“Who would try to extort money from a hospital trying to build a wing to help innocent babies?”
Toshia pursed
