Risking It All (2 page)

Devon was an excellent wedding planner and event coordinator. He had been in the business for four yea
rs. He
was highly recommended when it came to weddings.

“I talked to her last week, Devon! She miscalculated the amount of ribbon and that caused her to be off schedule. She said that she’d bring them to me tomorr
ow morning,” Christina snapped, shaking her cinnamon brown tight curly hair.

“Well, she
better
or I’ll go find her myself. I’ll be at your house at ten
tomorrow
to pick them up,” Devon said.

At that moment, Shanice saunter
ed over. “When are we starting? This s
ista has got things to do. I have a hot date in a couple of hours.”

Shanice was
the most exotic looking of the three. Her mother was Korean and African-American and her father was Jamaican. Though s
he was the shortest
, she still turned heads when they had a girl’s night out. Heck, when the girls were together, sometimes brothas caught whiplash trying to get a good look at them. In the past, when they were single ladie
s, they enjoyed play
i
ng a game or two of cat and mouse
with the males.

Devon’s hands went to his hips again and he stared at Shanice with defiance.
“We’re waiting on a couple more people to get here, Miss Thang. So, don’t act like we’re the hold up.
Sit yo hot ass down somewhere and wait.”

“I can’t stand you.” Shanice cut her eyes at Devon, and turned to Christina.
“Is Jay doing our hair on Saturday? Because I won’t stand
anybody
else up in my hair.”

D
evon’s friend
, Jay, was their hairdresser. Christina
had
introduced Jay to Julissa and Shanice a while back and ever since the three girls had b
een going to get their hair done
at the salon
he owned. Often
, they went on the same day and booked Jay for a good portio
n of it
.

“Yes, he is. He’s bringing some help from the salon, though,” Christina answered.

Two more m
embers of the wedding party
arrived and
Devon clapped his hands
loudly, blew a whistle, and called for everyone to gather around
for instructions
.

Julissa greeted some of Christina’s other cousins and friends who were in the bridal party and gave Christina’s sister, Myra, a hug. Myra lived in New York, but visited Christina often. Only six years older than Christina, Myra adored her little sister and still insisted that they talk at least twice a week.

Richard had two best
men;
one was his younger brother, Ed
ward
, and his best friend, Carlos. Christina had told her during the wedding planning that the other groomsman were either relatives or close buddies of
Richard’s.

Julissa was deep in conversation with Myra about the housing market, when Ed
ward
interrupted them. “Myra, what’s going on?”

“Ed…long time no see. How are you?” Myra smiled.

“I’ve been pretty good.” Ed turned and smiled at Julissa. “How’s life been treating you, Julissa?”

Julissa didn’t miss the overly aggressive slow glance he gave her body.
“
I’
ve been great.”
She
hadn’t worn the flashy gold blouse, form-fitting jeans, and stilettos for him, but he certainly didn’t miss getting his fair share of the view.

Before the rehearsal, s
he and Michael had
been to a jazz festival
at a local park, so t
he jeans were worn exclusively for his eyes only. Julissa knew just how much it
pleased
Michael on to see her in his favorite pair of jeans. It was a major turn-on for him and Julissa would do anything in the hopes of revamping their almost non-existent sex life.

“It looks like you and I are going to be with each other quite a lot over the next couple of days.” Ed had a smug look on his face.

The gu
y was cute, nonetheless. He didn’t resemble his brother,
Richard
, at all
. It made sense, since they had two different fathers. Julissa had to admit that Ed was slightly
better looking though
. Word from Christina was that he had just accepted a position as a lawyer at a local law firm. If Julissa wasn’t taken, she may have already given into Ed’s numerous advances.
He was persistent anywhere he happened to bump into her. He was a good guy and a good friend, but there was no real attraction between them. Well, maybe Ed was attracted to her, but she had always seen him as a brother figure.

“It does look that way, doesn’t it?”

“Aren’t you still with Michael…that investor?” Ed crossed his arms over his wide chest, looking at her seriously.

“As a matter of f
act, I am.”

“Where is he now, huh?”

“None of
your business,” Julissa replied.
“Why are you so nosy?”

Ed laughed. It had always been that way between Ed and Julissa. For the past year, in fact, ever since she and Ed got to talking at Christina and Richard’s engagement party, he had been coming on to her and then playing it off every chance he got. “None of my business? Okay, I’ll take that.”

They all thought that the rehearsal was ready to start, but Christina and Devon announced that they needed to step aside to discuss something.

“Oh, my gosh! This rehearsal will never start,” Myra shrugged her shoulders and went to follow her sister and Devon out the door.

“Well
at least we have refreshments while we wait.” Julissa turned on her heels, smiling, happy that she had an excuse to get away from Ed. It was bad enou
gh that she would be on his arm
most of tonight and most of Saturday.

She helped herself to a couple quiches and veggie sticks at the snack table, hoping to be able to pass the time by munching on food. She was about to turn around, plate in hand, when someone walked up beside her.
The subtle, but inviting smell of the cologne told her it was a man.

“
I g
uess your friend and her wedding planner
is a little indecisive tonight,
”
the
man said from behind her.

Julissa looked up to match the
smooth and sexy
voice with the face and almost lost her g
rounding. The guy was
handsome.
His face was relatively
flawless. His day old stubble
gave him an edgy look and complimented
the bone structure in his face even more. His eyes were deep set brown. His eyelashes and eyebro
ws were thick but
well-groomed. His skin…a smooth, even, brown tone. The instant he smiled, he revealed pearly white teeth beneath a set of full
lips
.

Julissa let out the breath she’
d been holding. “Yes. I guess this will be one of the best days of the rest of her life and she wants it to be perfect.”

As she spoke, she continued to check him out. She took everything in…from the way he wore the dark navy blue button-down shirt, to the black slacks, to the leather dress shoes. His
entire appearance appealed to her
.

“Right.”
He removed his hands from his
front pockets and offered his right hand in
greet
ing to
her. “I’m
Q
. Quinton Brennan.”

She lifted her hands and
slowly slipped it into his. “Ju—”

“Julissa.” He squeezed her hands, softly, instead of returning her shake and didn’t let go.

The
intense
eye contact he made wit
h her was something
she wasn’t used to, and she
lowered her eyes. “
How’d you know
my name
?”

“Richard
told me
a few moments ago. I needed to know the name and meet the beautiful diva in the gold stilettos.”

Julissa felt her hand warming up in his as she b
lushed. When she looked up to meet his stare, his eyes were
fixed on her
. As tall
and as close
as he was, she had to tilt her c
hin up high
in order to see his face
. “Lorenzo.”

“Huh?” He blinked.

“Lorenzo. Julissa Lorenzo.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Julissa Lorenzo.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Quinton. Are you a friend of Richard’s?
”

“We’re cousins. We grew up together.”

Julissa noticed that Quinton was still holding her hand and she pulled it away. “How nice. You must be proud of your cousin getting married, huh?”

“Yes
. He looks very happy
.”

“It’s funny. Richard talks about his family members a lot, b
ut I never recall him mentioning
a Quinton before.”

Quinton laughed. “I must be the long lost cousin to him, then. I live in Florida and don’t visit Atlanta very often, so that may be the reason I’m forgotten about by my own family so much.”

“Oh…well, maybe he did mention y
ou and it just crossed my mind.
Then
you’re just in
Atlanta for his wedding
?”

“That too. I’ve been up here since Monday actually. I’m here kind of on business, as well. I’ll be here
another week
.”

Julissa and Quinton moved over to the side after some other people came up to grab a bite at the snack table.

“What kind of business?” she asked. He intrigued her and she wanted to know more about him.

“
I’m l
ooking at
investing in some real estate.”

“Real estate is my thing. I’m a realtor.” Julissa had been working as a licensed real estate agent for the past three years. After she moved in with Michael less than a year ago, he insisted that she work only part time so that she could keep up the hou
sehold duties like cooking and
cleaning.
Wifey duties.

Quinton looked surprised. “Oh. Well, we should exchange numbers and maybe we can get together sometime. I primarily buy commercial properties. I have a few residential, as well.”

Julissa didn’t know if she was comfortable yet to exchange numbers with a man she barely knew. “Oh. I primarily deal in residential, so I may not be of any help.”

“I’m pretty sure you know more than I do. Besides, I still want to get together sometime. I’ve been here a week and have had no one to really show me around town.”

“Oh. Well, I’m pretty sure that Richard can show you lots of things to do here in Atlanta.” Julissa realized that she hadn’t tou
ched anything on the plate
she’d carefully prepared only moments ago. She didn’t know why, but suddenly food didn’t interest her at all, anymore.

“Obviously, Richard is busy with his wedding and after the wedding, he’ll be away on honeymoon. It will be time for me go back to Florida by that time. I’d rather a beautiful woman, such as yourself, show me, anyway.”

“I’d be happy to show you, but I
—
”

Before she could finish, Devon blew hi
s whistle and half-yelled, half-
screamed for everyone to gather
around again. Saved by the bell.

“I guess we should go,
”
she said.

“We can talk after rehearsal, if you have time, of course, and only if you would like to.” With that, he pressed his hand in the small of her back as they walked towards the center of the ballroom.

Yes, I would like to
.

Julissa couldn’t help but feel an immediate connection to Quinton. Despite the few words
they’d shared for less than ten
minutes, he really sparked her interest. Julissa took note of the girl that would get to walk down the aisle with him at
the
wedding. The girl, Christina’s cousin, certainly did look pleased with Quinton. In fact, she was hanging all over him as Devon lined them up for demonstration on how to walk and stand. She didn’t blame that girl. Quinton was eye candy.

As Ed stood beside her and rambled on and on about his new job, she let her mind wonder off to h
er own relationship
. Michael had promised her months ago that the day they would
get married was near. The only reason she’d moved
in with him
was because he
had
assured her that if he was ever going to get married, then she would be the woman to be his wife. Even though their relationship was on shaky grounds half the time, he never failed to remind her that no other woman, besides herself,
was worthy enough
to
be
his wife.
Sometimes what Julissa thought he
actually
meant was that he liked to show her off to his clients, co-workers, and friends.