Recipe for Desire (9 page)
Authors: Cheris Hodges
“Wait a minute, Charlotte’s it girl has never been to Hometown Delights? Now that doesn’t seem right,” he quipped. “Let me know when you plan to come, and I’ll roll out the chef’s table for you.”
“Wow, that’s nice of you,” she said. “I think I owe you an apology.”
“You think?”
Marie shrugged and nodded. “I have to admit, I wasn’t very open to working with you and My Sister’s Keeper when we met yesterday. And I thought you were doing this because you had some secret motive behind it, but watching you today, I see I was wrong.”
Devon smirked and shook his head. “There is a reason those ladies are important to me,” he said.
“Really?”
He nodded and sighed. Before he could say anything else, the nurse called Marie’s name and Devon wheeled her over to the examination room. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it over dinner one day,” he whispered.
She turned around and smiled, secretly hoping that day came sooner rather than later.
Two hours later, Marie found out that she had a high ankle sprain, nothing super serious, but she would have to put a brake on wearing heels. That meant she had to go shoe shopping, because Marie didn’t own a shoe with a heel under three inches high. The nurse practitioner wrapped her ankle in a tight Ace bandage and handed her a pair of crutches.
“You’re lucky it’s not broken,” the nurse had said as she wrapped Marie’s wounded ankle. “Why in the world would you think that you could work in a kitchen with these ridiculously high shoes on?”
“Well, I didn’t have any real intentions of working,” Marie had replied. When she’d been wheeled back into the waiting room, her shoes stuffed into her Coach satchel and crutches resting on her shoulder, Devon rose to his feet and crossed over to her.
“You didn’t break it, did you?” he asked as he took her crutches from her shoulder and helped her out of the chair.
“No, thank goodness,” she said. “But I did learn one thing.”
“What’s that?” Devon asked.
“I’m going to have to do some serious shoe shopping,” she said. “Especially if someone is going to be working me so hard in the kitchen.”
“Yes,” the nurse said. “Because these shoes are not for working; please remind her of that when she gets dressed tomorrow.”
“I would if ... OK,” Devon said, rather than explaining his complex situation with Marie. “We’ll make sure that she does the right thing tomorrow.”
Marie nodded and gripped the crutches, but once again, Devon scooped her up in his arms and carried her out to the car. “There’s no way you can walk on crutches and that sky-high shoe,” he said when she cast a questioning look at him.
“But I’m going to have to learn how to use the crutches, and I have to get into my condo,” she said.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “Tonight, you have me.”
Marie shivered, wishing that she could have him—naked, deep inside her, and making her scream with pleasure. But how did she know that it would be good? She looked down at the sizable hands holding her and thought about how he kneaded the bread on the one show she’d watched. Would he handle her body that way? Touch her softly and firmly at the same time?
“Thank you,” she said when she found her voice. “But I’m sure you have something else you could be doing this evening.”
“I thought we’d been over this already,” he said as he walked over to his car.
“I don’t want to hold you up from anything or anyone.”
“Smooth,” he said. “If you have something to ask me, then just ask.”
“All right,” she replied. “What’s up with you and Alicia?”
“What? Me and Alicia are old friends,” he said. “There is absolutely nothing going on with us. Why would you think so?”
She shrugged, happy but cautious about what was going on with the two of them. They seemed very close, and she wasn’t sure that there wasn’t more to the story that he wasn’t telling. “You two seemed as if you were very close and I was just wondering.”
“I used to date her best friend,” he said. “And you know how you women are about things like that.”
“So, you do want to date her?” Marie asked, or rather, stated. “I could tell by the way you two were joking around that there was history there or maybe something more.”
“Whatever,” he said with a laugh. “Alicia is like that annoying little sister from
What’s Happening!!
”
What’s Happening!!
”
“I wish I had siblings,” she said. “Maybe my father wouldn’t need me to do the right thing all the time.”
“So, you want siblings so that you could be the official black sheep of the family? What would your mother think about that?”
Marie sucked her bottom lip in. She hadn’t thought about her mother in years, hadn’t thought about what her mother would think about some of the things that she’d done. She knew for sure that she would not approve of many—none—of them. Marie simply looked at him and remained silent.
They rode in an uncomfortable silence to Marie’s uptown home. She glanced at him as he pulled into the parking garage. “Thank you for bringing me home, but I think I got it from here.”
“And I told you already, I’m taking care of you this evening. Or at least getting you in the door.”
“You really don’t have to do that. All I have to do is elevate my leg, ice it, and wear sensible shoes. That shouldn’t be too hard for me to take care of alone,” she said. “Besides, I’ve taken enough of your time this evening.
Devon placed his car in park and hopped out. He crossed over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. He took Marie into his arms. Their eyes locked momentarily, and a rush of heated desire rippled through them both. And they knew it as another beat passed and they were still standing there locked in a stare that said more than words could at that moment. “You should put me down,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “At some point, I’m going to have to learn how to use my crutches, unless you’re going to carry me around until I don’t need them.”
“No, I’m not going to do that, but your shoes and your crutches aren’t going to work, and when you traverse this parking lot with one shoe on and the other inside your purse, you’re going to say, ‘Devon Harris could’ve helped me inside, damn it.’”
Marie laughed as Devon leaned into her and their lips touched briefly, gently, sending a jolt of electric yearning coursing through her system. When Devon devoured her lips, holding her tightly against his chest, Marie wanted to scream out, YES. His kiss had been everything she’d dreamed of and more.
Her lips were like honey, sweet and warm. The longer he kissed her, the more he wanted to rip her clothes off and take her right there. But this was wrong. It wasn’t as if he and Marie had met at a club or a social gathering where they could embark on something special and romantic. He was supervising her community service. He was in a position of power over her. One more minute, then he’d pull back. Just another sixty seconds of the hottest and wettest kiss he’d had in months, and he would stop. It took every ounce of self-control in every cell of his body for Devon to break the kiss.
“This. Is. Wrong,” he said, yet he didn’t put her down. “I have to get you inside and leave.”
“What?” she asked breathlessly. “Devon ...”
He placed his finger to her lips. When Marie flicked her tongue across the pad of his fingertip, he realized just what a mistake that was. “Don’t do that,” he groaned, snatching his finger away. “We can’t do this.”
“Why not? That kiss was not one-sided,” she said.
“But in the morning, I will still be the person in charge of your community service. This isn’t right.”
“Put me down,” she demanded. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing or if you just get off on women throwing themselves at you, but ...”
“Listen, I accept responsibility for that kiss, but I told you I was going to get you home safely and that’s what I intend to do.”
“Put me down,” she said as she pounded her hand against his chest. When she saw that he wasn’t going to comply with her demands, she stopped pounding and pouted. Devon couldn’t help but laugh because she was so sexy when she poked her full lips out like that. Lips he could
never
taste again, or at least not until her community service was complete.
never
taste again, or at least not until her community service was complete.
As they stepped on the elevator, Devon looked down at her and asked, “What floor?”
“Seven,” she said.
Devon pressed the button and smiled at her as the car rose. “I hope things aren’t going to be awkward between us tomorrow.”
“I’m not the one with the problem,” she said. “How could you kiss me like that and just drop that load of bull about this being wrong?”
“You kissed me, I simply responded. Lost control, and I should’ve kept my head about me.”
The doors to the elevator opened and Devon stepped off. “You know what,” she said as she reached into her purse and pulled out her keys. “I think you should lose your head again.”
Devon took the keys from her hand and unlocked the door, then walked into her place. He crossed over to the sofa and sat her down. “All right,” he said. “Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?”
Marie propped her ankle on the coffee table and folded her arms across her chest. Did he really ask her could he do anything else for her? He could rip her clothes off and make love to her right there on the sofa. He could run his hands all over her body until she felt as if she would explode from the inside out. Sighing, she said, “No. Just leave the crutches where I can get to them.”
“All right,” he said as he leaned them against the sofa. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Bright and early, right?” she said sarcastically.
“Have a good night, Marie,” Devon said, then turned and headed out the door.
Chapter 9
Marie sat on her sofa for about an hour after Devon left, reliving the kiss and the rejection that followed. With her eyes closed, Marie tilted her head back, imagining that Devon had changed his mind and was kissing her again, hotter and wetter than in the parking garage. She could feel his hot hands roaming her body, slowly and tenderly. Before she knew it, she was slipping her hand inside her pants, wishing it was Devon’s hand spreading her thighs.
“Oh, no,” she snapped, opening her eyes and returning to reality. She was alone in her uptown condo. Leaning over, she reached for her crutches and struggled to stand. She needed to get in the kitchen and fix herself a glass of the coldest water she could find. As she slipped her crutches underneath her arms, Marie’s cell phone rang. “Damn it,” she muttered as she turned and hobbled back to the sofa as quickly as her crutches would allow. When she reached for her purse, the phone had stopped ringing. Easing onto the edge of the sofa, she checked the missed call and was surprised to see that it was her father.
Immediately, she called him back. “Hi, Daddy,” she said when he answered.
“Good evening, Marie. How was your first day at the shelter?”
“How did you ... never mind, I’m sure your connections in the legal world are how you found out about my start date.”
“Well?” he asked. “Did you show up on time?”
“I did,” she said. “And I think I knocked eight hours off my sentence today.”
“I hope you’re taking this seriously,” Richard said. “If you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, then you could find yourself behind bars.”
“I understand, Dad,” she said. “Look, I have to go. I had an accident at the shelter.”
“What happened?” Richard asked, his voice filled with fatherly concern.
“Oh, I twisted my ankle.”
“I’m coming over,” he said. Before Marie could protest, her father had disconnected the call. She couldn’t help but smile; even when he was trying to be tough on her, she was still Daddy’s little girl.
Devon drove around aimlessly for about forty-five minutes after leaving Marie’s place. He finally ended up at the restaurant. He figured working on a new recipe or something would take his mind off the enigma of Marie Charles. Maybe if he worked with chicken and spices he could erase the sweetness of her kiss from his mind. As soon as he walked through the back door of Hometown Delights, he saw that he would have a distraction.
“Kandace,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
A very pregnant and glowing Kandace Crawford turned around and smiled at Devon. “Hey, buddy,” she replied. “I came by to meet the girls. Solomon is announcing plans for a Crawford resort in Ballentyne tomorrow, and I couldn’t pass up a chance to come to Charlotte.”
Devon looked down at his watch; dinner service was over, but he knew his friends would probably want something to eat. “Who’s here?”
“Jade’s in the office on the phone and Alicia’s closing out the bar. Serena’s allegedly coming over, but we probably won’t see her until breakfast.” Kandace laughed and then rubbed her stomach. “Where have you been?”
“That’s a long story,” he said as he motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen. Before Devon started whipping up something for them to eat, he inspected the cleaning that his staff had done. Excellent job, he surmised.
“Hello,” Kandace said. “Did you hear me?”
“What?”
“Tell me the story.”
Devon smiled as he looked at Kandace’s swollen belly. She rested her hands on her stomach and tilted her head to the side. “You act like you’ve never seen a pregnant woman before,” Kandace joked.
“I’ve never seen a pregnant Kandace before,” he replied. “But anyway. I’m just leaving the hospital. Marie Charles, who is working at My Sister’s Keeper with me, twisted her ankle, and when we left the taping today, her ankle was swelling, we thought it was broken.”
“This isn’t a long story, this is a boring story,” Kandace quipped.
Jade appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on in here?” she asked, looking from Devon to Kandace.
Kandace tilted her head toward Devon. “He’s boring me with a story that’s hiding the truth.”
“Is this about Marie Charles?” Jade asked.
Devon threw his hands up and shook his head. “And I was going to cook for you nosy heifers.”
“A new recipe?” Kandace asked. “Oh, this is serious.”
“Alicia said she saw sparks,” Jade said.
Devon leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “Alicia didn’t see a damned thing,” he snapped. Jade and Kandace exchanged a knowing look.
“He had to take her to the hospital,” Kandace told Jade.
“And then what happened?” Jade asked as she and Kandace focused their stare on him while he crossed over to the freezer. Devon opened the door and pulled out a package of chicken breasts.
“Well,” he said, “I took her home and we kissed.”
“I knew it,” Alicia exclaimed from the doorway. “This is about Marie Charles, right?”
Devon slammed the meat on the counter. “Do y’all want to eat?”
“She’s trouble,” Alicia said. “Be careful.”
“Did you think she was trouble when you invited her to dinner here?” he asked as he walked over to the spice rack.
Alicia shrugged. “Marie is a walking headline, that’s why I invited her for dinner. Marketing one-oh-one. Photographers follow her like moths to a flame.”
Kandace raised her hand as if she were in class. “Who is Marie Charles?”
Alicia crossed over to Kandace and placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Charlotte’s chocolate Paris Hilton. Her father is an attorney, Richard Charles. Ask Kenya about him. He’s like the reincarnation of Johnnie Cochran.”
“That I did not know,” Devon said as he set the spices on the counter. “I wonder why he didn’t get her out of ...”
“Out of what?” Kandace asked.
“While you were in New York, Miss Marie got a DUI charge and has to do community service with Devon at the shelter,” Alicia said. “But when they were here earlier today, I know what I saw.”
Devon groaned and shook his head. “Here we go,” he said.
Jade turned to Alicia. “I thought it was just me,” she said to her friend. “But when you and Devon were talking at the end of the taping, she looked as if she wanted to claw your eyes out.”
“Why would you say something that stupid?” Devon snapped, then he dropped his head. “How about all of you get out of my kitchen. Go in the office and talk about me there. If you want to stand around, then all of you can help cook.” He pointed at Kandace. “Pregnant women can work, too.”
“Whatever,” Kandace said. “And how are you trying to tell us what to do?”
Devon cocked his head to the side and laughed out loud. “Y’all are a trip, haven’t changed since college, just got older.”
“Then you know we’re not moving until you tell us what’s going on with you and Marie,” Jade said.
Devon began seasoning the chicken and kept his eyes focused on the meat as he said, “I could like her, under different circumstances. She’s different when the cameras aren’t around her.”
“Oh, snap,” Alicia said. “Are you out of your mind? Weren’t you lamenting about not being able to find a good woman the other day?”
“And why do you think Marie isn’t a good woman? I saw a different side of her today. She was nice to the women at My Sister’s Keeper and quickly dropped that diva attitude that she’s known for. But it’s not as if anything can come from it.”
“Why not?” Jade and Kandace asked in concert.
Devon crossed over to the sink and washed his hands, then grabbed a pan for the chicken. “Because, I supervise her community service,” he said as he turned the stove on. “I’m sure there are rules against that.”
“She’s not going to be doing community service forever,” Jade said.
“Which means she might not be on her good behavior forever,” Alicia said.
“What will getting to know this woman hurt?” Kandace asked.
Devon coated the bottom of the pan with olive oil and pondered Kandace’s question. What would getting to know Marie better hurt? Maybe his work at the shelter, maybe his sanity, maybe his heart? There was one thing he knew about her and that was going to stay on his mind longer than it was going to take to cook this almond chicken dish. As the chicken sizzled and his friends bantered back and forth about whatever they were talking about, all he could think about was Marie’s kiss: the softness of her lips and the sweetness of her tongue. He wanted more. Needed more, and he couldn’t have it, which made the tightness in his loins unbearable.
“Shit,” he muttered as he nearly burnt his hand on the side of the pan.
“Are you all right over there?” Alicia asked.
“Fine,” he said. “Just broke my number-one rule.”
“What’s that?”
“Cooking while distracted,” he replied.
“You know,” Kandace said. “You never answered my question.”
Devon sprinkled a half cup of almonds over the chicken as well as his secret blend of spices, then flipped the breasts over and sprinkled more almonds and spices. “What question was that?” he asked, fully aware of the question.
“Now, you’re just playing silly,” she replied. “About this Marie Charles lady, why can’t you get to know her? Devon, you deserve to be happy.”
Jade and Alicia cast a suspicious glance Kandace’s way. “I mean,” Kandace continued, “I think you’ve grown and will treat the next woman in your life the way she should be treated. She’s going to be a lucky woman.”
Devon smiled and shook his head. “I honestly never thought I would hear those words come from you.”
“I never thought I would say them, either,” she said. “I thought I wanted you to be lonely for the rest of your life, but everyone deserves a second chance.”
As Devon continued making the chicken and preparing the jasmine rice to accompany the dish, he wondered if he and Marie could find that second chance together.
An hour later, Devon was setting plates of almond chicken over jasmine rice, steamed vegetables with Devon’s secret blend of herbs and spices, and piping hot crescent rolls on the bar in the back of the restaurant for the women to sample.
“Just like old times,” he said as he watched them eat. “I cook, y’all eat.”
“Better than old times,” Jade said. “The cooking has improved tremendously.”
“Even if you could always out cook us,” Kandace said as she broke a roll in half and slathered it with warm honey butter. “So, have you fed Marie Charles yet?”
“I can take the food away, too,” he said as he took a piece of chicken breast from the platter. Devon savored the nuttiness and richness of the chicken. This was good, a menu-ready dish, he decided. “How about we make this a dinner special next week?”
“Sure,” Alicia said. “What about that New Orleans chicken dish you make; can we make that a dinner special tomorrow? When we did inventory, there was a lot of chicken that might go to waste.”
Devon squeezed Alicia’s shoulder and smiled. “My favorite bean counter. We’ll make it a lunch special.”
“I know where Solomon and I will be for lunch,” Kandace said, then took another bite of her chicken.
Devon smiled. “When are you due?”
“Less than a month away,” she said, then rubbed her belly. “We decided that my baby is going to be born here.” Kandace turned to her friends. “I couldn’t bear having my baby without you guys here.”
“Aww,” Jade said as she dropped her fork and hugged Kandace. “I was ready to load James and Jaden up for a trip to New York.”
“Well, I was impressed with the facility at Presbyterian, where you and Kenya gave birth. So, I thought it would be best that we had the baby here, especially since construction on a new Crawford resort will be starting soon.”
“Do you know if you’re having a girl or a boy?” Alicia asked.
“I’m praying for a girl,” Kandace said. “The world is not ready for another Solomon Crawford.”
“Amen,” Devon muttered, causing the women to focus a glance in his direction. He threw his hand up. “Hey, you said it, I just agreed.”
“I wish you and my husband would grill this beef between the two of you, serve it on some yeast rolls and get rid of it,” Kandace said with a delicate shake of her head.
“I’m not the one with the beef. That’s all on your hubby,” he replied. “I can understand why he’d think you’d leave him for someone as devastatingly handsome as myself, but I messed that up a long time ago.” Devon winked at her. “If it isn’t obvious that we’ve moved on, I’m going to have to question your husband’s confidence.”
“Please,” Alicia said. “That’s the one thing the world knows Solomon Crawford isn’t lacking.”
Kandace rubbed her stomach and smiled brightly. “He’s not lacking in anything.”
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