The Sweetest Thing (18 page)

Dwayne smiled. “And I respect that. In fact, I would love for Quentin to join us.”

“Dwayne, hello!” Troy chimed, suddenly moving into the space. He looked from Harper to Dwayne and back. “What brings you here at this time of the morning?”

“I was just telling Harper that I had planned a celebratory surprise for her. That’s when I was certain she was going to sell me the business but since she’s not, I didn’t want my gift to go to waste. I thought she and Quentin might be willing to enjoy my little surprise together.”

Troy cut an eye at her and she shrugged her shoulders in response. “Well, Quentin’s not here,” he said, “but I’m sure he and Harper will talk it over when he gets back.”

Dwayne shook his head. “Shoot! We would need to do it this morning. Why don’t you come instead? I’m sure Quentin would be okay with that, right?”

Troy tossed her another look. “Sorry but I have court this afternoon.”

“Can you just tell me what it is?” Harper asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not big on surprises anyway.”

“I understand,” Dwayne said, the hint of a pout pulling at his full lips. “It really isn’t a problem, I just hate wasting the money but I’ll just cancel.”

Troy shrugged. “Why don’t you go?” he said. “You can call Quentin or I can call him for you.”

“I can call him,” Harper said, “but I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

Dwayne tossed her one of his infamous smiles. “Trust me. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Harper took a deep breath and sighed, blowing warm breath past her lips. “A few hours?”

“I’ll get you back in time for dinner,” he said. “In fact, I’ll treat you and Quentin to wherever you want to go. And I won’t go with you!” he said with a soft laugh.

“Can I think about it for a second?” Harper asked.

Dwayne nodded. “Of course. Take two,” he said, still smiling.

Harper excused herself and disappeared back into the office. She dialed Quentin’s number on her cell phone. When he didn’t answer she left a message for him to please call her back when he got her message.

As she was about to exit the room, Troy met her in the doorway.

“Your brother isn’t going to like this,” Harper said.

Troy nodded. “Probably not but you can’t pick your friends based on whether Quentin is going to approve. And he’s never going to like your being friends with any other man. Not even me. But he is going to have to trust you if your relationship is going to work. Besides, I think Dwayne is harmless. He’s more smoke and mirrors than anything else. A cheap con artist at best. I don’t see you falling for his lame lines.”

“Rachel fell for them,” Harper commented.

“Rachel is an outstanding attorney. If she wasn’t she wouldn’t be my law partner. But where Rachel is wholeheartedly secure in the courtroom, she has some serious insecurities when it comes to men. Besides, she and Dwayne have some serious history together. Everyone told Quentin from the get-go that he and Rachel weren’t meant to be together. He just chose not to listen. By the time he did, he had already gotten his feelings hurt.”

Harper blew a deep sigh. “I don’t want to hurt his feelings, Troy.”

The man smiled. “Quentin loves you and I think you love him, too. Dwayne can’t touch that.”

She nodded. “No, he definitely can’t do that.” She paused in reflection for a quick moment. “All right. I guess I’ll be back soon. I left Quentin a message to call me.”

Troy gave her two thumbs up. “I’ll catch up with both of you later,” he said.

 

 

Dwayne’s enthusiasm had him acting like a little boy in a toy store who’d been told he could have anything he wanted. And with no warning, it wasn’t hard to see that what he wanted was Harper. She was both flattered and unnerved by it.

It was a quick limousine ride to the General De Witt Spain Airport off North 2nd Street. As they pulled in front of the general aviation terminal Harper’s stomach did a major flip, her nerves kicking into high gear. “Why are we here?” she questioned, eyeing the private planes that sat in the terminal’s hangar.

Dwayne grinned as he extended his hand to help her out of the limo. “I arranged a quick day-trip for us,” he said, tossing her an easy wink of his eye. He took note of her anxiety. “Relax, please. I promise you’re going to have a great day!”

Harper shook her head. “I didn’t know we were
flying
someplace. I wasn’t prepared to leave Memphis,” she said. She glanced down to the denim jeans, casual T-shirt, and Jimmy Choo heels she was wearing. “Dwayne, I’m sorry but I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this.”

He nodded. “I understand, but I’m going to ask you to trust me. Harper, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you and just like I assured Troy that I would return you safe and sound this afternoon, I will keep that promise. The only thing that will stop me is if you don’t want to come back,” he said. He sounded wholeheartedly sincere.

Harper took a deep breath, meeting the look he was giving her. There was something in his eyes that she found endearing and despite her reservations she didn’t believe Dwayne’s actions held any malicious intent toward her. She nodded her head slowly as she took the hand he extended, allowing him to wrap his fingers around hers.

Minutes later she was settled in the leather seats of a Gulfstream 100, the midsize jet one of Dwayne’s prized possessions.

“The second year the business turned a substantial profit I had to have it,” he said, his enthusiasm for flying coming as a complete surprise to Harper.

“And you actually have your pilot’s license?”

He nodded. “I do. I won’t be flying today though because I want to give you my full attention.”

“That’s sweet of you but I would have liked to have seen that.”

“Hopefully you’ll have that opportunity,” he said, winking an eye at her. He adjusted the seat belt around his waist as the plane soared into the early morning sky.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” she questioned. Her eyebrows were raised, her smile eager.

Dwayne laughed. “Nope!”

Harper laughed. “If I didn’t know better, Dwayne Porter, I would say that you are a notorious tease!”

“Yes, I am,” he said as he laughed with her. “What I can tell you though is that we will be landing in about forty-five minutes and once we do, you will have full control over where we go and what we do.”

“Full control?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am!”

Harper shook her head. Dwayne Porter was not an easy man to read, and despite how she saw him through Quentin’s eyes, through her own she found him open and engaging. It crossed her mind that any other time and place and she might have given him some serious consideration. As if he had read her thought Dwayne cut an eye at her and smiled, the bend of his full lips ever so gentle. It unnerved her and she turned to look out the plane’s window, biting down against her bottom lip to stall the wave of embarrassment that had washed over her. She took a deep breath and sighed.

Dwayne took a quick glance down to his watch. “You know, I’ve done a lot of talking about myself but you haven’t told me much about you.”

“What do you want to know?” Harper asked.

He hesitated as he pondered the question. “Favorite restaurant back home?”

“George’s. They have the best shrimp po’boys in the state of Louisiana. That, a side of onion rings, and a sweet tea and I’m in food heaven.”

“Definitely must try them then.”

“You wouldn’t be disappointed.”

“So, how do you keep that slim and trim figure of yours because from what I’ve seen you like to eat,” he noted. “You like to eat a lot!”

Harper laughed. “Good genes. My metabolism is my best friend.”

“I just knew you were going to tell me you spend hours in the gym working on your muscle definition and cardio.”

“I hate exercise with a passion. I will occasionally walk with my grandmother but other than that, breaking a sweat is not my idea of fun.”

“Really,” Dwayne questioned, his eyebrows raised. “I would have thought you to be the type of woman who wouldn’t mind breaking a sweat. Under the right circumstances, of course.” His tone was deep and sultry, intent registered all over his face. He leaned forward in his seat.

Harper met his gaze and held it.
Any other time, any other place,
she thought. She dropped her eyes to her cell phone, checking to see if Quentin had responded to her texts or her call. When she looked back up Dwayne was still eyeing her.

“Not going to answer that?” he persisted.

“No. I’m going to ignore it completely,” she answered. “I’m not playing that game with you, Dwayne Porter.”

Dwayne laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”

Harper smiled. As she felt the plane beginning its descent she looked back out the window. She watched as they dropped into the clouds, the ethereal atmosphere seeming to ignite her excitement. She tossed him another look as the plane descended past the cloud cover and she could see the outline of land and water rising quickly to meet them. Her eyes suddenly widened and her heart began to race in her chest. She shifted her body forward, her gaze whipping back and forth across the landscape. Tears suddenly filled her eyes as she turned back to stare at him.

Dwayne smiled and nodded. “That first time we talked at dinner I could hear how much you missed Baton Rouge and your family and friends. So, I thought you’d enjoy an opportunity to come home for a visit. Surprise!”

Harper nodded, looking back outside the airplane window. She swiped at a tear that had fallen onto her cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, the words catching in her throat. “Thank you so much!”

There was a stretch limousine waiting for them when they landed. Harper’s enthusiasm had bubbled over tenfold and she could barely contain her excitement. As the driver held the door open for them Dwayne reminded her that she was in full control.

“We can go wherever you want,” he said. “You just need to give our new friend here the address.”

Harper laughed. “I want to go to my grandmother’s first,” she gushed as she directed the driver to the Esplanade Avenue home. As the driver maneuvered out of the municipal airport, Harper called Jasmine to meet them there.

Mama Pearl was sitting on the front porch of the one-story, low country home when the limousine pulled up and came to a stop. As Harper stepped out of the vehicle, her grandmother lifted her eyes from the quilting fabric that lay across her lap. Quilting was her grandmother’s favorite pastime and Harper couldn’t help but smile as she reflected on the many memories the two had shared as Mama Pearl had tried to teach her.

She waved excitedly as she rushed up the front steps to greet the old woman. “Hey, Mama Pearl!”

“Harper?” Mama Pearl pulled at the reading glasses that sat on her face, her eyes narrowed tightly as she struggled to focus on her granddaughter’s face. “Is that you? Girl, why you ain’t call to tell somebody you was coming home? Where you come from? How you get here? Who that man?”

Harper laughed as her grandmother tossed a hundred questions at her, not bothering to pause so that she could answer at least one. “Mama Pearl, this is my friend. This is Dwayne Porter. Dwayne, this is my grandmother, Pearl Townes.”

Dwayne moved onto the porch beside Harper and extended his hand to shake hers. “Mrs. Townes! It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard such wonderful things about you from Harper.”

Mama Pearl eyed him up and down. “Humph! Have you now? Unfortunately, son, I can’t say the same about you,” she commented. “Harper’s been keeping you a secret. Haven’t you, Harper?” She turned to stare at her granddaughter.

Harper waved her head from side to side. “It’s not like that, Mama Pearl.”

Her grandmother narrowed her gaze on Harper’s face. “So, are you home for good, baby girl?”

“Not quite, Mama Pearl. I still have a few things I need to resolve in Memphis and then we’ll see. Dwayne thought this would be a nice surprise for us all. He arranged for me to be home today but we’re flying back later this afternoon.”

Mama Pearl turned her attention back to Dwayne. Her face was pinched as if she smelled something sour. She eyed him up and down, a slow trek from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet and back again. Harper knew that look all too well; that disapproving stare that many of her previous suitors had been made to endure. Dwayne didn’t seem to be fazed, his teasing expression heightened by his wide smile.

Mama Pearl pushed her glasses back onto her face and gestured for him to take a seat. “Make yourself comfortable, Dwayne. Would you like some lemonade? Harper, go pour the man a glass of lemonade,” she said as she looked back down to her quilting. “You do remember where the kitchen is, don’t you?”

Harper gave her grandmother a look, annoyance creasing her forehead. Mama Pearl gave her a look back, a reprimand perched on the tip of her tongue. She hesitated when Jasmine suddenly turned her BMW into the family driveway, her tires spinning against the gravel.

“What you do,” Mama Pearl intoned, “call that girl the minute you got some Louisiana dirt under your feet?”

“I sure did!” Harper exclaimed, her smile widening.

Mama Pearl shook her head, the two women meeting each other’s gazes.

“I missed you, Mama!” Harper said, leaning to kiss her grandmother’s cheek.

Mama Pearl giggled and pushed her away. “I missed you, too, now get up off me. It’s too hot for all that nonsense,” she said as she drew a finger across the line of Harper’s profile.

Jasmine screamed her name as she bounded up the stairs, the two women throwing themselves into each other’s arms. “Girl! It’s about damn time you came home!”

“Watch your mouth!” Miss Pearl admonished. “Done lost your mind if you think you gone come up in my house cussing like that.”

Jasmine slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Mama Pearl. It slipped out.” She and Harper both giggled. Jasmine’s eyes were wide. She suddenly caught sight of Dwayne, who was eyeing them both from the porch swing, sitting quietly in the background. Her jaw dropped as he came to his feet and extended his hand. She tossed Harper a quick glance.

“You must be Jasmine,” Dwayne said sweetly. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“And who might you be?” Jasmine questioned, an amused expression crossing her face.

He smiled brightly. “Dwayne Porter.”

“Dwayne Porter?” She shifted her eyes back to Harper. “
The
Dwayne Porter?”

His expression was sheepish. “Does my reputation precede me?”

Jasmine’s laugh was flirtatious as she batted her lashes at him. “Harper said you were cute but . . .” She cut an eye at Mama Pearl and mouthed her last word.
Damn!

Dwayne laughed, the warmth of it rising into the late morning air. He met Harper’s stare, his eyebrows raised.

“You know this boy?” Mama Pearl interjected. “’Cause Harper ain’t told me nothing about him.”

“He’s just a friend, Mama Pearl!” Harper intoned. “There was nothing to tell.”

Dwayne laughed. “That’s right, Mrs. Townes. Harper and I are only friends. Her heart is with an old friend of mine. Isn’t that right, Harper?”

“Is that right?” Mama Pearl chimed, pulling off her glasses a second time. “What’s this about his old friend?” she asked.

Harper closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them she shot Dwayne a chilly stare. “We can talk later, Mama Pearl.”

Dwayne continued to stir the pot. “Harper, you haven’t told your grandmother about you and Quentin?”

Mama Pearl looked from one to the other, her gaze resting on Harper, who was clearly not happy about being the center of her grandmother’s scrutiny.

Jasmine laughed. “You are so going to get it now,” she muttered under her breath.

“You both gone get it,” Mama Pearl responded. “’Cause I know you knew, Jasmine, and you didn’t tell me either.”

Harper rolled her eyes and changed the subject. “Mama Pearl, we were going to go get something for lunch. Would you like to join us?”

Mama Pearl said nothing as she pushed her glasses back against her nose. “No, I’ll catch up with you when you get back. We can have us a sit-down later and you can tell me about what you been doing in Memphis with this Quentin boy.”

Harper nodded. “I can’t wait,” she said, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Behind her Jasmine punched her in the shoulder and laughed heartily.

 

 

Jasmine and Dwayne had been thoroughly amused with themselves as the limousine navigated them through town toward George’s Restaurant. Harper didn’t find either one of them funny.

“I’m sorry,” Dwayne gasped as he fought to stifle the gut-wrenching laugh that had consumed him. “But your face was priceless!”

“It really was,” Jasmine chimed in. “You don’t know how much I missed seeing you hemmed up by Mama Pearl. She’s been working my last nerve so I’m glad she has you to focus on for a minute.”

“Keep messing with me,” Harper said. “I do know how to get my grandmother’s attention off me and onto something you two might not want her to be focused on. Trust me when I tell you.”

The two were still laughing and Harper couldn’t help but join in. Her cell phone suddenly chimed in her purse. She dug through the bag’s contents, pulling it into her hand. Quentin’s number registered on the screen.

“It’s Quentin,” she said as she pressed the answer button.

Dwayne’s smile dimmed ever so slightly and he dropped his eyes to the floor. Harper’s look was uneasy, the rise of tension registering on her face. Jasmine looked from one to the other, suddenly curious.

“Hello?”

“Hey, baby, everything okay?”

She could hear Quentin smiling into the receiver. “It is. Did you get my message?”

“Yeah! So what was the big surprise Dwayne just had to give you?”

She took a deep breath. “We’re in Baton Rouge. At my grandmother’s,” she said matter-of-factly.

There was a heavy pause over the phone line. She could hear Quentin take a deep breath and then a second before he spoke. “He flew the two of you to Baton Rouge?”

She nodded, forgetting that he couldn’t see her. “Wasn’t that sweet of him?” she said. She tossed a quick glance in Dwayne’s direction.

“He’s up to something,” Quentin said. “When are you coming back?”

“In a few hours. We plan on being back by dinner.”

“I’m headed back to the bakery. If you need anything, and I mean anything, Harper, you call me.”

She smiled, releasing the breath she’d been holding. “I will,” she answered, “but I’m sure everything will be okay.”

“Harper, I don’t trust Dwayne, and baby, neither should you. I understand that you don’t know him like I do and I also know my issues with him are strictly personal but believe me when I tell you, Dwayne Porter does not have your best interests at heart.”

“I hear you, Quentin,” she said, trying to keep the expression on her face from reflecting their conversation. “And I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Quentin took another deep breath. “I love you, Harper.”

“I’ll see you soon,” she said softly.

Disconnecting the call, she dropped her phone back into her purse. She looked up to see Jasmine eyeing her, the young woman’s arms crossed over her chest. Her friend tossed her a smile and a slight nod of her head. Both women turned to look at Dwayne. His expression was indifferent, no hint of emotion shining in his eyes. And then he turned on that smile.

“Is our boy okay? He’s not too upset with me, is he?”

Harper shook her head. “No, he’s not upset at all.”

Dwayne hesitated for a brief moment then nodded. “Good. That’s good. I’m glad to hear it.”

 

 

Miss Alice, Rachel, and Troy were seated at the back table when Quentin came through the bakery’s front door. The trio was deep in conversation, debating political philosophies and the issues Troy hoped to address in his campaign. Dropping into the seat beside Rachel, he cut an eye toward his brother as he greeted both women.

“How’d it go?” Troy asked, referring to his brother’s teaching gig.

Quentin nodded. “It was good. They’re interested in my doing it on a regular basis.”

“Faculty! I’m impressed,” Troy replied. “How do you feel about it?”

Quentin shrugged. “In all honesty I haven’t given it much thought.” He changed the subject. “Did you know Dwayne took Harper to Baton Rouge?”

Rachel’s neck snapped as she turned to stare at him. Her expression hardened, rage washing over her face. She clenched her fists together in her lap and shifted her gaze down to the table. Miss Alice leaned forward in her seat. “Weren’t you planning to surprise Harper with a trip to Baton Rouge?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but apparently my old friend beat me to it.”

“I’m sorry,” Troy interjected. “I didn’t know they were leaving the state. I actually encouraged Harper to go. I didn’t think it would hurt anything. If I’d even thought that was what he was planning I would have said something to her.”

“I’m just curious to know where he got the idea from. Why Baton Rouge? And why Baton Rouge just days before I was planning to surprise her with a visit? What was he hoping to accomplish?”

“I told him,” Rachel said suddenly, shifting her gaze to meet Quentin’s. “I mentioned it in conversation that you wanted to surprise Harper with a visit to see her grandmother.”

“But how did you know?” Quentin questioned, a confused expression crossing his face. “I never told you.”

Rachel’s gaze moved toward Miss Alice, who was shaking her head from side to side. “I guess that’s my fault,” the older woman interjected. “I saw Rachel right after you and Troy were planning it the other day and I mentioned it to her. I didn’t know you planned to share it with Dwayne though,” Miss Alice said, speaking directly to Rachel.

Quentin looked at the woman. “Rachel, are you and Dwayne seeing each other again?”

Rachel met his stare and shrugged. She didn’t bother to respond. An awkward silence fell over the table. In the distance they could hear the staff chatting in the rear kitchen. It was late and there were no customers in the storefront.

Quentin moved back onto his feet and excused himself from the table. He leaned and kissed Miss Alice’s cheek then gestured for Troy to follow him to the back. As the two disappeared through the rear doors Miss Alice crossed her hands together on top of the table. Her eyes reflected her disappointment.

Rachel met her stare. Her body stiffened even more. Her jaw was tight and her eyes narrowed. “What?” she snapped.

Miss Alice shook her head. “Check your tone,” she chided. “I’m not the one you should be having issues with.”

Rachel paused then blew a deep sigh. She didn’t speak, fighting tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Her head waved slightly from side to side.

“Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on with you,” Miss Alice said, “and with Dwayne.”

Rachel took a deep breath. “Dwayne wants the restaurant. But more than that he doesn’t want Quentin to have it. Harper told him she didn’t plan to sell and I guess he figured he’d go after her instead.”

“You guess or you know?”

“Apparently I don’t know much about anything,” Rachel retorted.

Miss Alice studied her for a moment, the young woman’s anguished expression pulling at her heartstrings. “You love Dwayne, don’t you?” she finally asked.

Rachel lifted her eyes and stared at the older woman. She shrugged her shoulders.