Jaded Hearts (19 page)

"I had a great time today. Your family is
awesome and I love how close you guys are." He held me against his
chest as he rubbed my thighs.

"Yeah, I haven't had this much fun in years.
I am pooped." I yawned at that.

"Well, I'm surprised you even lasted this
long with all that booty shakin you had going on,” he pointed
out.

"So you were watching me?" I teased

"I couldn't help it. It was like hypnotism.
I couldn't look away. Shit. I wasn't the only one either. Do you
have any idea what you do to all of us beez?" Of course he caught
the joke.

I laughed and moved against him
suggestively, feeling his arousal growing against me. "You're so
silly."

"Would you, by chance happen to have any
honey? If so could I have a drop? Perhaps a taste?" He
whispered.

"I've got your honey..." That was an
invitation.

"Then give it to me,” John accepted.

He leaned down to kiss me gently on my lips.
Yes, I missed this. I had become so reliant on this man's affection
in such a short time.  Forty-eight hours away from him felt
like a month. I curled my fingers in his hair and pulled him deeper
into my kiss. As tired as I was, I wasn't too tired for this.

*

Brunch was served out on the patio by the
pool. Nobody was waking up to eat breakfast let alone make it.
Vivian was so thrilled to have us all at the house that she put on
a full spread. The smell of classic Jamaican cuisine lured me out
of my slumber, and I left John asleep to join her in the kitchen.
She was making each of our favorite dishes. Ackee and salt-fish for
me, callaloo for Jackie and Porridge for Drew. She also had started
a traditional breakfast for our other guests. I stepped in and took
over the pancakes and omelets.

"You have outdone yourself Vivian. I may
never go home after all this. I haven't had cooking like this in so
long." I flipped a pancake as she added cinnamon and nutmeg to the
porridge.

"I'm so happy to have visitors to cook for.
I love this house, but Jacks is only here maybe once or twice a
week if at all since she rented the place in the city. Now that
you're here she hardly makes it over on the weekends."

"Well, I can fix that. We'll just spend
weekends here. I feel like I'm at a resort. No way can you tell me
that all that brick and smog is just twenty minutes away."

I tasted her porridge for good measure.
Yummy!

"Child please, that man of yours is not
going to let you stay away all weekend." She was right. I just
glared at her anyway.

"Don't give me that look, because I see the
way you look at him. I never saw you look at the stupid boy Evan
like that." She scowled when she said his name.

"No. I never felt this with Evan either. Do
you know he had the nerve to send me an email? 'Bout he will be up
here soon and hopes I give him the chance to apologize."

I couldn't see her face since I was working
another pancake, but I could imagine her expression.

"Shame!" Her accent came out when she was
disgusted.

"I didn't even reply. Can you say, not
interested?" I really wasn't.

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to be but I am
glad to hear that. You've never been that type..." She stopped
abruptly.

"Like my mother." I knew what she meant. She
sighed.

"Well, you're not. I just want you to know
that." She rubbed my cheek as she said that.

As if on cue Drew and Jackie came bounding
in the room. They were both so loud. Drew went straight to the
porridge and Jackie was back to fondle me some more.

"Woman! Where did you get all this from?
I'll gladly pay you on Tuesday for some booty today!" I smacked her
with the spatula I had just finished using.

Just as she was trying to come back for
seconds, John walked in, Blackberry in hand. He and Drew exchanged
some random man greeting and he came over and kissed me good
morning.

"Good morning, Sweet-Face." I momentarily
forgot we weren't alone and glanced up to see Vivian gawking, and
Drew and Jackie pretending to gag. John just laughed.

"Baby, seriously. You've got to come up with
a new name. I forbid you to use that one again," he demanded.

"Yeah, Baby girl. Any man who sharks people
out of money the way JB does cannot be called Sweet anything" Drew
chimed in.

"I'm not a shark D. I'm just serious about
my cash." John was being converted.

"That's what I'm saying. We're going to set
up a racket. JB's gonna get the money and then I'm going to triple
it in investments." Drew almost sounded serious. All the women in
the kitchen just looked confused and shook our heads.

After brunch we all lounged out by the pool.
 John had to leave to take care of some business and was
waiting on the car service so that I could have his truck at my
disposal. He received nothing but approval from my family. He was
feeding me strawberries while I lay out on a lounge chair trying to
dry off from my swim when I saw Jackie walk out with someone, and
for a split second I thought my life was over. I had already choked
on my snack before I saw that it was Edward, not Julian, who was
walking towards me.

I can't believe she didn't warn me!

"What happened?" John asked in confusion

"Stupid seed!" I cleared my throat as I
regained my composure.

I looked over at Vivian who was trying
desperately to hide her irritation. Donna and Alex were just
leaving, but she shot me a quick WTF glance.

 Introductions were made and he came
over to me to say hello. I sat up to greet him.

"Hey, Jade. It's good to see you again,
finally. You're a hard woman to catch up with." He gave me a quick
kiss on the cheek and exchanged handshakes with John.

"Hello, Edward. This is John. John, Edward.
He is one of the owners of La Carra." John nodded in
acknowledgment.

"Good to meet you Edward. I know Jade has
brilliant plans for your business and she has the Midas touch so
I'm sure she will be successful." He was too calm. Friendly John
was nowhere to be found. Edward regarded him thoughtfully before he
replied.

"Yes, I have heard of her magical talents. I
too, hope to be able to see these great plans for my business. We
should set something up this week." He was just like his
nephew.

OMG!

Just as they were about to walk the ten
paces for their duel, John's phone alerted him that his car was
waiting.

"Edward, good luck with your business. I
have some of my own to attend to. Baby." That was my cue to walk
him out.

John said his farewells to my family and we
walked through the house in silence. He opened the front door and I
followed him outside.

"What the fuck was that?" He barked. He was
pissed.

"Excuse me?" I didn't appreciate his
tone

"Maybe I should rephrase. What was that
about? Your magical talents?" He was beyond pissed.

"John, that is Julian's uncle. I've met him
twice, briefly. He is Jackie's friend really; I don't even know why
he was so hostile." This was ridiculous.

"Who is Julian?" He asked incredulously.

"The Dark Knight." I hated the moniker at
that precise moment.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't
do this shit." He ran a hand through his hair and put on his
shades.

"Don't do that John. Don't shut me out. Why
do I feel like I'm constantly explaining myself for other people's
actions?"  I grabbed his arm as he turned to walk away.

"Jade, it's the way you react that bothers
me. Maybe if you didn't look like you were just caught with the
canary..."

"The canary?" I couldn't help but be
amused.

"Yeah, you know. The cat gets caught-"

"Um, I know of the saying I'm just trying to
figure out why you're saying it to me and comparing me to a crazy
cat that eats yellow birds?" I'm a pro at confrontation
diffusion.

Apparently my strategy worked because John
couldn't hide his amusement.

"No, don't try to make me laugh." He was
going down.

"Don't try to make you laugh? I expected far
more than cats and canaries from you JB esquire." We both laughed
and he grabbed my hand and put it up to his heart.

"Fragile." One word never held so much
meaning. I didn't know what to say so I just hugged him. He held me
and kissed me goodbye.

I went back to the kitchen to get a drink
and collect myself. How was I letting someone who wasn't even here
affect my life?

Fucking Ghost!

"You know, crazy people tend to talk to
themselves." Drew walked up and took the drink out of my hand as if
I had just made it for him. I just shook my head.

"I'm gonna kill Jackie. How could she not
give me a heads up about Edward?" I was riled up.

"Who is Edward?"

"He is freaking Julian's Uncle,” I
sputtered

"Who is freaking Julian?" Drew was not
following.

I gave him a shamefaced look and long
sigh.

He looked at me like a brother who was
enjoying his sister finally being the one in a mess.

"Don't do that,” I snipped.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Don't judge me." I used his other favorite
line on him and he laughed.

"Damn, Baby girl. I need details before I
can do that. You know the rules."

So I told him about my very brief whirlwind
relationship with Julian. In typical Drew fashion he let out a long
whistle after I was done.

"Yo! You don't do anything small do you? I
mean you really didn't do anything because you met this guy first,
and JB is JB so I don't blame you for that, but you do have to
check yourself."

"I don't even realize I need to be
checked
until random shit like this
happens,” I defended.

"Well, that's what I mean. Get yourself in
check. Either confront this shit or put it in a box and burn it. JB
is not going to have it. Alpha male to the highest power and smart
enough to check himself,” he advised.

"Confront what?" I knew I shouldn't get
upset, but I couldn't help it.

"That! All of that attitude right there.
Snapped.com. Get a grip!" Just as he was giving me the fake Mike
Tyson right hook, Jackie walked in looking like she caught the
canary. Drew stood between us like a bodyguard.

"I was wondering where you two were. Are you
ever coming back outside?" She grabbed my drink from Drew.

"Don't give me that. Are you serious right
now?" The wrong words and I was going to blow.

"Jade! I didn't know he was coming. He
called me and asked what I was doing, and then he called an hour
later saying he was here." She sounded convincing.

"He called to see if you could work and then
showed up? How did he get here without directions?" I was not
following.

Jackie just looked at Drew and me with a
guilty grin.

Oh!

"You're seeing Edward? Jesus, take the
wheel!" I was a little slow at times.

Drew laughed so hard his platinum shades
fell off of his head.

"Man, you can't pay to see shit like this.
This is classic. Priceless, even! If I don't do anything else for
the rest of the week, my trip is already worth it,” he mused.

"Why the hell did he behave that way with
John? I could kill someone right now. Him or you!" I felt like I
was in the pig face episode of the Twilight Zone.

"Well, he wants to talk to you, so you can
ask him that." Jackie handed the empty cup to me and walked back
outside.

Classic!

*

Going back outside provided a great internal
struggle for me. After both Drew and Jackie had left me in the
kitchen while I made myself a drink I would actually get to enjoy,
I decided that I needed to face Edward and whatever he had to say
to me. I ventured outside to take a seat at the patio table. Edward
was sitting with Jackie who was obviously entranced by him. I
understood that look.

"I doubted you would ever make another
appearance." Edward teased.

Jackie's look implored me to be civil.

"Well, Edward, I have learned a thing or two
about disappearing, but that's not in my repertoire of successful
magic tricks." I wasn't going to play nice.

"Good, then I feel even more confident in
your ability to succeed with La Carra, since you are aware of your
limitations. Some people don't seem to know their limits,” he shot
back.

Jackie decided she was not interested in
staying for the rest of our chat and excused herself to join Drew
in the pool.

I wish I could escape too.

I sat in expectant silence as I nursed my
much needed rum and coke until Edward broke the silence.

"I apologize if I caused and conflict
between you and your friend. I suppose it was unfair to act on the
behalf of my nephew given the circumstances,” he admitted.

"I'm glad you said that considering I'm not
sure what the circumstances are." I still hadn't found 'nice' yet.
Edward regarded my response and then sat back in his chair.

"We should start over Jade. I don't think
that we have any issue and I can see that my role as messenger is
not going to be well received. I really have wanted to touch base
with you regarding your plans for the boutique and wanted to give
you the space to decide when the time was right. So I have to admit
that I wasn't expecting you to be here with anyone when I got here,
and I lost sight of my actual goal of seeing you today,” he
explained.

As much as I wanted to stay in attack mode,
I agreed with him.

"You're right, we do not have any problems
and I accept your apology. I knew that sooner than later I needed
to move forward with our business plans, but what I would like to
know is what other agenda you might have been operating under." I
wasn't going to go back to playing pretend.