the house, pointing out extra touches here and there I thought were unique. I paused when we reached the upstairs master/mistress suite. Taking a deep breath, I said, “These are our rooms.”
Dubois took in the blue-green décor I’d used in the room in silence. When his eyes rested on the iron king-sized bed, he smiled appreciatively. “Nice.” He pulled me into his arms and added, “Nice, indeed,” before covering my lips with his. He released me just as I was starting to feel giddy. “I think we’ll have a lot of good times in this room.”
“Um,” was all I could manage to eke out. I stepped back from all the maleness that was seeping into my pores and shook my head to clear it. “Hey, let me show you one of my favorite spots in the house.”
“There is such a thing as a favorite place besides the bedroom?” His eyebrow quirked in amusement.
“For me, there is. Come along.” I pulled him behind me as we navigated back down the stairwell and out onto the patio. Here I’d installed a hot tub with those wonderful shooting jets. I’d had more than my share of orgasms thanks to those jets. “This…is my favorite spot.”
Dubois turned in a circle, taking in the hot tub, the gazebo and pergola, and the mini–botanical garden I’d been tinkering around with. “Are you the green thumb?”
“Yes. It’s a hobby of mine.” I walked him around spouting off the names of the different flowers and shrubbery I’d planted around the koi pond. The sun glinted off the exotic fishes’ iridescent scales.
“You did a great job here.”
“Thanks.” Appreciation never sounded so good. “Hey, why don’t you go…explore…and I’ll get started on dinner.”
“If that’s all right with you. By the way, how close are our neighbors?”
“The nearest one is a half a mile in that direction.” I pointed to the west. “On this side, the closest would be around a mile.” I waved to the east.
“So who owns the pasture across the road?”
“I’m not sure. I think it’s the family on this side.” I pointed to the west again.
“Do you have a bicycle?”
Of course, it was his normal mode of transportation. I chastised myself for not thinking of buying one. “No. But we can get you one tomorrow.”
A big smile broke out on his face. “Great. I guess walking will have to do today.”
Suddenly, I heard the front door open and close. I frowned, wondering who it could be.
“Hey, Dina! You here?” My eyes widened. “Yeah, her car is out front, so she’s around here somewhere,” I heard her say before footsteps were clomping across the ceramic tile.
“Expecting company?” Dubois asked beside me. I was mute as a body walked into view, cell phone plastered to her ear.
Sleek black hair, black-rimmed eyes, a halter top that dipped down to there and shorts that rose up to here—my lifetime nemesis, aka Stacy, my younger sister. Brown eyes widened as they took in me and Dubois. “Let me call you back, Mom.” She clicked her phone off slowly and took a moment to look Dubois from head to toe, licking her lips as she gazed into his eyes. “Damn, girl. Where’d you find him?”
It never ceased to amaze me how someone who had grown up in a small town could become ghettofied at the drop of a piece of lint. Today she was definitely in Ghetto Mode. “Hello to you too, Stacy.”
Her eyes shifted to me, “Oh, my bad,” then back to Dubois. “Hell-o.” She held out her hand. “I’m Stacy, Dina’s younger, single sister.” If her meaning wasn’t made obvious by emphasizing her words, the way she thrust out her high breasts and let a leg extend a bit in front of her sure made it clear.
Dubois took the offered hand and pulled it to his lips. I felt a tinge of greenness swimming in my blood as Stacy showed every one of her braces-perfect teeth in appreciation. “It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Stacy.”
“Oooh. Talks pretty, too.” She gave me a look of shared conspiracy that I didn’t return. “I think you and I will be getting much, much better acquainted, as you say.”
Dubois flashed her a megawatt smile. “I would think so.” Stacy gave me a look I’d seen many times before. “I’m Dubois. Dina’s new husband.”
I would have happily paid a month’s salary to have a photo of the changed look on Stacy’s face at that announcement. Priceless, indeed.
5
I changed into some shorts before heading toward the kitchen. Dubois had set out on his exploration after helping Stacy bring in her bags. While I defrosted chicken, I checked my messages. Two from my parents, one from my brother, and the last from Michael, a man whom I never hoped to see ever again. His message was typical of the men I’d dated: Hey, if you aren’t busy, let’s “hook up.” Well, I’m busy whenever you call from here on out, buster.
A giggle made me turn around. Stacy leaned against the door, a hand over her mouth.
“What’s so funny?”
“The fact that you suddenly have a husband nobody ever heard you mention, yet the man you have been dating and even brought to the family reunion is still leaving messages. That tells me a couple of things: one, you broke up with Michael but the breakup is so fresh, he still thinks he has a chance and has no idea you’ve really moved on.” I felt the redness creeping up my neck. “And two, Dubois must be hella good in bed since you married him so fast.”
I turned away from her, opened the microwave, and poked at the defrosting bird. “You are not as smart as you think you are,” I responded over my shoulder.
“Really?” A perfectly arched eyebrow rose. “What part did I get wrong? I mean, Mom keeps me up on everything, and not once has she mentioned this Adonis with a British accent and you. So I’m definitely thinking she has no clue…or rather, had no clue.”
I swung around then. “Tell me you didn’t tell Mom and Dad.” Stacy gave me a noncommittal shrug. Blood swooshed through my brain. I wasn’t ashamed at what I’d done, but like everything in life, it was about timing. My own timing to keep and reveal my secrets as I wanted. The fact that Stacy had possibly preempted me had me seeing red. I moved closer to her. Stacy moved backward, eyes looking at my hand. The skewer I’d poked at the chicken with pointed straight ahead. I dropped it and got into her face.
“I want you to hear me and hear me well. My business is my business. Despite what you believe, I will live my life like I want, whether it meets with your, the rest of the family, friends, or the world’s standards, understand?”
Stacy eyes were wide, but suddenly they narrowed and she burst out laughing. “Girl, that must have been some kind of sex to make your uptight ass get some backbone.”
Her statement infuriated me further. I grabbed her upper arm. “I don’t need hellified sex to give me courage. I just need you to understand that this is my life and I’ll live it however I want, regardless of your opinion.”
Stacy didn’t back down. “You’re just bluffing.
