her cheek, he traced her lips with his thumb. He could feel the steady beat of her heart as she took a deep breath.
Even though it was the last thing he wanted to do, he moved his hand. “So, do we have a deal?”
“Fine, I’ll let you buy me dinner.”
Latonya smiled and Carlton could have sworn her eyes danced just for him. He had no idea the woman’s smile could make his heartbeat skip. Not wanting to lose the closeness he was starting to feel, he let his hand rest on her shoulder and held her close.
The rest of the ride passed in silence. Carlton enjoyed the drive from downtown Miami to the restaurant near his home in Coconut Grove. The lush green foliage and the blue waters calmed him as he looked out of the window. Once they were in view of Biscayne Bay he could almost feel himself relaxing a bit. Gazing at the blue water that surrounded the freeway offered a cathartic release of tension.
Although not as beautiful as his island home in the Bahamas, Miami held a beauty special to him as well. Ever since he was a child he’d split his time between the Bahamas and the almost tropical Florida city. A Bahamian native by birth, he considered Miami home while in the States.
Coconut Grove, the place of Miami’s earliest black settlers, was also the spot his Bahamian-born great-great-grandfather decided to make his home. In the years since the first Harrington resided in Coconut Grove, the Harringtons maintained their Bahamian citizenship and heritage, keeping homes in both places. Carlton’s home on Millionaire’s Row had been in the family for several generations and he lived there by himself part of the year with a small number of servants.
When the limo pulled up in front of the small restaurant, he almost let out a sigh of relief. Out of the close confines of the limo, at least he didn’t have to worry about trying to maul the poor woman anymore. He did have some sense of decorum about public behavior. Yet one look at her sweetly rounded bottom and long legs as she stepped out of the vehicle before him made Carlton realize that he’d better request the corner table in the back just in case he forgot all his home training.
Latonya looked around the small and sophisticated restaurant and tried to catch her breath. The white linen tablecloths gave the place a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous aura, and one look at the menu prices confirmed her observation.
She tried to wrap her mind around all that had happened between herself and Carlton. She’d felt an attraction to him from the first moment she’d seen him and that scared her. She’d never experienced such overwhelming desire before. Her grandmother, a strict, church-going woman, had a mantra that she preached to her granddaughters daily: books before boys. For the most part, Latonya had listened. She’d never wanted to disappoint her grandmother so she’d stayed clear of boys in high school and college. She often thought about what it would be like to have sex. She found herself thinking about it a whole lot more whenever Carlton was around. Those thoughts were not safe or good.
She looked up from the menu to find him gazing at her, and the heat traveled from the pit of her stomach to the tips of her toes.
Latonya was so caught up in Carlton’s gaze that she barely heard the waiter as he spouted off the list of specials in a sultry Spanish accent.
“Do you like mojitos, Tonya? I think a cocktail is in order after all our hard work today.” Carlton smiled and then ordered a pitcher full of the wonderful Cuban drink.
She took a deep breath. If a little rum, mint, sugar and lime didn’t help her get over her nervousness, nothing would. She gladly took the glass the waiter poured for her when he returned with the pitcher.
Carlton proceeded to order their meal in flawless Spanish and she bit back the urge to tell him that she had been deciding her own meals since she was twelve years old. Before her mother died she took care of preparing meals for her younger sister and herself, and after that, because of the long hours her grandmother put in cleaning the homes of others, she had to prepare meals for the entire family. The last thing she needed was some guy thinking he could just decide what she wanted or needed.
He turned to her and smiled in spite of the daggers she was shooting at him with her eyes. “I know you can order your own food. But I come here a lot and I know what’s good and what’s truly superb.”
Carlton proceeded to tell her what he’d ordered. Everything from the croquetas as an appetizer to the flan for dessert.
“The meal you’ve picked out sounds scrumptious. I can’t wait. I’m famished.” She smiled in spite of herself. It became increasingly harder to maintain an attitude with Carlton when he looked at her with that sexy glint in his eyes. She cleared her throat instead of reprimanding him and finished off her mojito.
He reached for the pitcher and refilled her glass as soon as she put it down.
“So, tell me about yourself.”
Carlton appeared sincere, but she didn’t know how much of her life she wanted to share with him. She squinted her eyes as she tried to decide. “What do you want to know?”
“I don’t know, tell me everything, anything.” He seemed genuinely interested.
“Well, let’s see. I grew up in Overtown. My grandmother practically raised me. She had a stroke about a year ago and she needs constant care until she is fully rehabilitated. She’s coming along well, though.” Looking up, she found him staring at her intently.
“Is that why you took a job with the Miami office of Harrington Enterprise? So you can be with her while she’s recovering?”
“Sort of. My grandmother took my little sister and me in when my mom died. She helped me out when I was in school, and it was understood that I would help her to send my little sister to college.” Smiling with relief when the waiter brought their food, she figured they could start eating and she could end her this-is-my-life show. She never liked talking about herself. Talking about her nondescript little life to a rich business mogul like Carlton Harrington III had to be among the most nerve-racking experiences she’d ever had.
Carlton gave her an encouraging smile. It seemed like he wanted to hear more. “That must have been rough. I lost both of my parents when I was fifteen…They died together in a plane crash. Was your dad still around?”
“That’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that.” Latonya hadn’t known that growing up parentless was something they shared. “My father left way before my mother died. And it wasn’t so rough. We had Gran and she worked extra hard to take care of us and make sure that we didn’t want for anything. When she had the stroke, I had just finished my MBA program and I realized that I had to be there for her. So, I stayed home and took over the mortgage and my sister’s tuition.”
“That’s commendable of you. Most people would have just put their grandmother in a nursing home and let their sibling fend for him or herself.”
Latonya just toyed with her food without looking up or responding. She never would have considered any of the options he mentioned, but she often felt overwhelmed by her responsibilities. Even if she did feel as if she were carrying a lot on her shoulders, she certainly wasn’t going to admit it to him.
Carlton must have sensed that he’d made her uncomfortable because he suddenly switched the subject. “So tell me how you like working for Harrington Enterprise?”
Her fork fell on the plate with a clang. She glanced up from her meal. Twisting her lips to the side, she gave him her sassiest look. “Well, up until about five months ago,
