Yield to Love (20 page)

Jade glanced at her. “Were you promiscuous
or something?”

“
Or something. Let’s just
say I was looking for love in all the wrong places.”

She nodded. “Don’t worry, Marlowe. I won’t
judge you.”

“
I appreciate
that.”

They drove in companionable silence until
Marlowe took the familiar road to Roque’s upscale neighborhood.
Jade waved at the guard on duty, saving Marlowe from having to look
him in the eye. She was still embarrassed after having him call a
cab for her earlier.

She parked further from Roque’s house than
she would under normal circumstances. “Um, I’m going to let you out
here,” she told Jade.

“
Okay. Thanks again,
Marlowe.” She surprised Marlowe by leaning over and giving her a
hug. Marlowe hugged her back, feeling a little choked up inside.
“You’re the best girlfriend my dad ever had. In fact, you’re the
only one he ever had.”

Marlowe shook her head. “I’m not his
girlfriend.”

“
Well, you should be. I
can tell he likes you a lot.”

Marlowe bit her tongue. Her issues with
Roque were not Jade’s fault. Besides, the girl had been through
enough tonight. “You’d better get going. Your dad is probably
worried sick.”

Jade opened the passenger side door. “Will
you help me pick out a dress for the school dance in a few months?
I could use your help.”

“
Girl, knowing your daddy,
I don’t think you’ll be off punishment by then.”

“
That’s two months from
now.” She flashed an impish grin. “I think I have a
chance.”

Marlowe waited as Jade let herself in with
her key. Then, she drove back to her condo, ready to put the image
of Roque and his house out of her mind for good.

###

Roque stared at the person he loved most in
this world. He didn’t understand females. His daughter was living
proof of that. Hadn’t he indulged her every whim? And now look what
had happened. After he’d heard her version of the weekend’s events,
it was all he could do not to find the young man and rip him a new
asshole. He’d have to settle for calling his parents instead.

“
What the hell were you
thinking, Jade?” She sat cross-legged on her bed, looking at him
with wide eyes. “And don’t say I cursed,” he told her. “Cursing is
the least of your problems right now.” He towered over her, his
arms folded across his chest.

“
I don’t know,” she
answered sullenly. “I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

“
Clearly.”

“
I’m sorry.”

“
Sorry doesn’t make me
feel any better about what happened. You could have been raped or
killed.” He tried to cool the anger boiling inside him. If anything
had happened to Jade he would be beside himself.

“
I know you don’t trust me
anymore,” she blubbered.

“
It’s not that I don’t
trust you. I don’t trust other people. Especially horny little boys
who think only of getting in your pants.”

“
I figured if I went along
they would like me more.”

Peer pressure? His baby was desperately
trying to be liked. He had to remind himself how hard it was at
that age. And probably even more so nowadays. He sat on the bed
beside her. “You don’t have to do things to get people to like you.
You just have to be yourself. If they can’t handle that, they don’t
deserve to be your friend. And any boy that forces you do to
something you’re not comfortable with certainly doesn’t deserve
you.”

“
I know. I was never going
to do anything with that guy, Dad.”

“
What you had planned and
what actually happened are two different things. He could have
easily overpowered you, Jade.”

“
I did what you told me to
do if I ever got in trouble. I defended myself. I kicked him in the
nuts.”

Ouch.
Roque clenched his legs together. “I bet that hurt
him.”

“
I know it did. He howled
like a coyote.”

Roque chuckled. “Good girl.”

“
That’s the same thing
Marlowe said. And she said I have to carry myself with respect and
demand it from a man.”

Hearing Marlowe’s name sobered him. “Marlowe
is a smart woman,” Roque admitted.

“
Yeah, and she came to get
me, no questions asked.”

He was forever in her debt for that. He knew
Marlowe was special from the moment he met her. Now, he’d gone and
screwed up things royally with her.

“
She dropped me off,” Jade
continued, “but she didn’t want to come in.”

Roque stood. “She’s a little upset with me
right now.”

“
What did you
do?”

“
It’s what I didn’t do. I
didn’t tell her I’m still married to Natalyn. She found out
today.”

“
Dad, I’m sorry, but I
have to side with Marlowe. You should have told her about
mom.”

“
I know. Oh!” He reached
under the bed and pulled out the cage with the turtle in it.
“Marlowe bought this for you.”

Jade’s eyes lit up. “For me? I love it! I’m
going to text her and tell her thanks.”

“
I think she’d like
that.”

She pinned him with a serious look. “Okay,
Dad. You cannot mess this up. She bought me a turtle. This is
serious. Marlowe is worth fighting for.”

Roque nodded. “I know, sweetheart. I’ve been
thinking the same thing.”

###

Roque picked up his cell phone. So far, he’d
called Marlowe eight times with no response from her. She was
ignoring his calls. How could he make things right when she
wouldn’t pick up the phone? He toyed with the idea of going over to
her house. But he knew how it would end up. He’d be stuck on her
porch looking like a dumbass. Marlowe was stubborn, and right now,
she had every reason to be.

He divided his life into two parts. The part
before he met Marlowe and the part after. It was crazy how he could
feel so strongly about her after knowing her for only one month.
No, it was more than just crazy. It was irrational. It was
unrealistic. It was madness. Just like the ridiculous plots on
those archaic soap operas. He’d told himself time and time again he
couldn’t be falling for Marlowe. Yet, he couldn’t stop thinking
about the way she felt in his arms. The way she kissed him. The way
her tongue dueled with his. The way her long legs wrapped tightly
around his back, pulling him deep into her hot wetness. The way she
fit his body like a custom-made suit.

But it was more than sex. It was her sharp
intellect. Her biting wit. Her compassion for others. She was one
of the few women who could keep him in line. She wasn’t afraid of
his bark—or his bite. She was a special woman. It hadn’t taken him
long to realize that. Jade was right. He had to get Marlowe
back.

He dialed her number again.

He silently prayed.

Dear God, if you have any pity on me at all,
help me out. Please let her answer.

“
You have sixty seconds,”
Marlowe said when she answered.

Roque looked
Heavenward.
Thank you!

“
I appreciate you coming
to Jade’s rescue,” he started. “I’m so glad she called you. She
thinks very highly of you, you know?”

“
That makes one person in
the Coleman family,” she snipped.

“
Okay, I deserved that.
Marlowe, I think more highly of you than you know. Contrary to what
you may believe, I do respect you.”

“
Nothing has changed,
Roque. You’re still married. You lied about it.”

“
I never lied.”

“
Thirty seconds
left.”

“
C’mon, don’t you think
I’d be with Natalyn if I loved her? She doesn’t even have a key. We
don’t live together.
We’re separated. We
just never got a divorce.” He was rambling, he knew it, but he had
to get it all out. Marlowe had given him thirty seconds. And he
knew she would follow through on her promise to hang up on him.
“Jade was young at the time,” he continued. “I was trying to build
my business. I never had time to pursue the divorce like I should
have. I dropped the ball.”

“
One thing I’ve learned
about you is you never let others control you,” Marlowe said. “You
take charge, and if something is in your life, it’s there for a
reason.”

“
This is the one
exception. I should have done something by now. It seemed easier
not to deal with Natalyn and all of her shenanigans. Now that I
have you, I have a reason to make change.”

“
Newsflash, Roque. You
don’t have me.”

She was not making this easy. Roque was out
of excuses. He made one last attempt. “I’m not perfect, Marlowe. I
make mistakes, too. Believe me, this is one mistake I wish I could
go back and fix. If you forgive me, I’ll never give you a reason to
doubt me again.”

“
There are three types of
men I don’t screw with. Losers, liars, and husbands. You hit the
mark on all of those. Don’t call me again. Or else next time, I
won’t be so nice.”

Marlowe blew her nose. She’d gone through a
whole box of tissue wasting tears on Roque. Since yesterday, she
hadn’t talked to anyone. She’d called Penny this morning and told
her she wouldn’t be in, but she could be reached for any meetings,
via cell phone. She just didn’t feel like facing anyone today. Both
Candace and Ronnie had called to check on her. She’d lied so
smoothly, she felt bad. She’d told them she’d gone out of town with
some girlfriends and caught a cold. Thankfully, they fell for
it.

She couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been.
She’d let Roque fuck her when all the time he knew he was married.
Thank goodness, he hadn’t called her today. Maybe he’d finally
gotten the message.

She lounged on her couch, flipping through
channels until she landed on some random daytime talk show. She
hadn’t even bothered to change out of her nightgown. She lay curled
up in a fetal position, surrounded by wadded up Kleenex.

“
So, let me get this
straight,” the talk show host said to a young girl wearing enough
weave to start her own salon. “Your man cheated on you with your
mother?”

“
Yep,” the girl
answered.

The audience booed.

“
Ugh, that’s just nasty,”
the host egged them on.

The young girl nodded. “But I’m over it now.
You know they say the best way to get over your old man is to get a
new man.”

The audience cheered.

“
So true,” the host
agreed. “But how do you move on after a betrayal like
that?”

“
Oh, I didn’t move on. I
moved in—with his brother!” The girl gave a classic neck roll and
pursed her heavily glossed lips.

The audience went wild.

“
Oh, no you didn’t!” the
host joked.

“
I figured since my ex
liked keeping things in the family so much, he shouldn’t have a
problem with it.”

Marlowe shook her head. This show was trash,
but she was riveted to it. Maybe that’s what she needed to do. Get
someone new to forget about Roque. Too bad he didn’t have a
brother. But she knew plenty of men who would love to distract her
from her problems.

She jumped up and whipped out her cell
phone. She scrolled through the ridiculously long list of contacts.
There had to be over fifty possible candidates here. She frowned as
she scanned the names. William was too short. Curt was too
immature. Dante had an annoying habit of grinding his teeth. Hank
sucked in bed.

In fact, let me delete his number right now.
No use in keeping a brotha around who can’t satisfy me.

Derrick had baby-mama-drama. Robert talked
non-stop about his job. Fred was too loud-mouthed. Malik was too
mild-mannered. James had a crooked smile.

Now you’re just nitpicking!

The more names she scrolled through, the
more depressed she became. She eliminated them all for a variety of
reasons. When she compared them to Roque, there was no comparison.
She tossed her phone on the end of the couch.

“
But there’s a new
development,” the host announced. “You’re pregnant by his
brother?”

“
Yep,” the girl answered.
“And now, that fool wants me back.”

Marlowe’s stomach sank. Pregnant. She’d
forgotten all about that. She could be preggers with Roque’s baby.
Maybe they could all move in together. Her, Roque, the baby, Jade,
and Natalyn. Then, they could have their own reality show.

She laughed out loud and kept giggling until
her laughter turned to sobs.

This shit is not funny.

She reached for a tissue. She felt like a
total idiot falling for Roque. She was supposed to be smarter than
that. She’d had her heart broken once, and now she knew why she
avoided close relationships. She never wanted to know that type of
pain again.

A knock on her door made her jump. Her
stomach flip flopped. Could it be Roque? On shaky legs, she walked
to the door and peered through the peephole. Her heartbeat slowed
when she saw Toye standing on her porch.

“
Hi,” Toye said when she
opened the door. “I heard you were sick. I brought some chicken
soup.”

“
Thanks.” Marlowe accepted
the warm pot and walked it into the kitchen to put it on the stove.
Once again, she felt bad about lying.

“
I knew you were gone,”
Toye said, “but I didn’t know where. I was hoping it wasn’t with
Roque Coleman.”