Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58947 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“And we’re doing a cruise to celebrate,” Lotus continues. “Some of his closest friends on a yacht in the Mediterranean for two weeks. We’ll stop in Corsica, Sardinia, Capri, Positano, and Ponz. It should be fantastic.”
“That’s really cool.”
Why is she telling me this?
“I’d love for you to join us.”
“Oh…so…huh?” I lean forward to prop my elbows on my knees. “I loved meeting you and Kenan yesterday, but I wouldn’t think it qualified me as a close friend.”
“Well, I was thinking maybe you could help me while we sail. Remember I said my summer line is Carnival-inspired? I’d love for you to look at what I have so far and maybe brainstorm some other inspirations from the Islands I should consider.”
It sounds flimsy, and Lotus is not a flimsy woman. I’m not an aura girl, but Lotus has…something about her that makes you take notice. I’ve never met a woman with as much presence as she has, commanding a room just by walking into it. So offering me something like this with a trumped-up reason is uncharacteristic.
“What’s really going on here, Lotus?” I ask, keeping my voice light so I don’t offend her, but also acknowledging that I’m not falling for it.
She huffs out a sigh. “I told him you’d see right through it.”
“Him?” I query, sitting up straight with a frown. “Him who?”
“Naz. He and Kenan became really close after he went to the Waves when Kenan retired. They also share an agent, Banner Morales. August’s agent, his stepbrother Jared, co-owns the agency and is Banner’s husband. It’s one big happy family. They’ll all be on the cruise.”
Sounds like a floating who’s who, and under normal circumstances, I’d be jumping at the chance to tag along, even if only for the possible networking opportunities. But Naz is so dangerous, so tempting. If I go on this trip, I know how it’ll end. Me fucking that man by the first port.
“It’s all couples and Naz.” Lotus laughs. “Poor thing doesn’t have a plus one.”
“Don’t try to make me feel sorry for him,” I joke. “It won’t work.”
“Look, the man never pursues women like this. He likes you enough to make himself look this desperate, which for a man as proud as he is? That’s saying something. I don’t want to overstep—”
“But you will,” I interject mildly.
“A little, yeah. I got major vibes from the two of you even in the few minutes I saw you at the show together yesterday. I know you had something when you were young.”
“High school. It was only one night.”
“Looked to me like you wanted one more.” Lotus pauses. “Am I wrong?”
“Damn, I knew I liked you,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s complicated.”
“I’mma get personal here for a sec. That all right?”
“Sure. Of course.”
“Getting with Kenan was complicated. He had a very public situation with his ex, and she was making it even tougher, on top of bringing custody of his daughter into it. I had my own shit I was dealing with. On the surface, you’d look at our situation and say we should have waited until things were simpler, but I’m glad we didn’t. It helped us sort through what was most important to us. It helped us see that we were worth it.”
I absorb that in silence, and she goes on.
“And I bet you’ve heard about Iris and August. Iris’s past relationship made national headlines. It gets no more complicated than what Iris and August had to negotiate to be together.”
“You guys are married. You’re couples. Naz and I barely know each other.”
“You should’ve seen my poor husband the first time he saw me.” Lotus lets out a low laugh. “You woulda thought lightning struck that man. The crazy thing was, it struck me, too. You can feel more with the right person in an instant than you’ve felt with folks you’ve known all your life. It’s not how long you’ve had together. Maybe it’s what you could have. I’m just asking if you’d like to find out? And bonus! Sail the Mediterranean eating bomb-ass food and hanging with the most amazing group of friends you ever want to meet? Don’t let the belly fool you. Mama still knows how to get down.”
I laugh and have no doubt I would love hanging out with Lotus and Iris and their friends for two weeks. They seem like my kind of people. With Neevah and Canon traveling to recoup after the movie wrapped, I don’t have many friends in town I know or like to hang with.
And who am I kidding? The greatest draw is that man, Naz. Like Janice said, we can keep it simple, and Cliff won’t even have to know. I cannot deny I want to see him again. Kiss him again. And more… Lord, more.
“Can I think about it?” I ask.