9781631052347OnCallKenyan (11 page)

“I
think you should leave AJ alone as well. We are together and your endowed
breasts—are those real?—nice ass and very sweet lips, are not going to take him
away from me.” Katherine frowned; those were three more things that Lisette had
that she didn’t.

“Does
my brother know you are marking your territory?”

“Your
brother?”

“Yes, I
know, he’s black and I’m Latina. There was a mix up of orders in our mother’s
womb.” She teased. “He is my stepbrother.”

Katherine
felt utterly stupid. She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. To
make matters worse, AJ was walking toward them, a strange smile on his face.
Katherine took a step back, ready to make a pivot turn and run to hide her
shame. But Lisette caught her arm before she could move. She struggled to set
herself free. You’d think a girl who grew up wrestling three brothers would be
stronger than this. But Lisette seemed to have the strength of a thousand
bulls.

“Hey,
big brother!” Lisette chirped.

“Hi.”
Katherine managed to mumble out. She was seriously pissed. Why hadn’t AJ told
her Lisette was his sister? But now it dawned on her, like a ton of bricks
crashing into her. AJ was “the” Adrian Ross Junior. How could she forget one of
the most powerful and multicultural families in New York? Adrian Ross Senior
was mostly seen with David Kent, the man who married into the Italian financial
giant family with the Hawaiian son. There was also something in the papers
about a missing daughter.

“Adrian
Jackson Ross of Ross and Kent Associates. And Lisette Marie Ross, of Ross and
Kent Financials.”

“I’m
not that Adrian Ross,” AJ said with a grin. “My father is the lawyer, I’m the
doctor.”

“And
you are Katherine Henry. Oh, my God!” Lisette broke out in a fit of giggles.
“Your father is our main competitor. And your brother—dear God, if I didn’t
have Reno I’d be barking-up that tree.”

“Lisette!”
AJ’s silencing tone was back.

“I’m
just saying.” Lisette stuck out her stubborn jaw and immediately Katherine knew
this was what AJ was talking about when they met at the hospital.

Randomly,
Katherine pressed her finger against the throbbing vein in Lisette’s jaw that
was still stuck out defiantly. “Ha! You were right, AJ.”

“Right
about what?” Lisette asked confused.

“Lisette,
you do exactly the same thing. Except Katherine has those lightning blue-gray
eyes—that just drive me crazy.” Katherine blushed as AJ’s desire laden tone
wrapped around her in an erotic hug.

“Keep
it in your pants. And, don’t drool, Katherine, he’s just a man, I assure you.”
Lisette mocked. “Before you arrived your girlfriend was hitting on me.”

“What?”

“She
asked me if my boobs are real. I promise you they are, and if you don’t believe
me ask Reno. You should come for Saturday lunch and meet him. I’ll tell Mama to
set an extra plate setting. You’ll have fun and our parents will be happy to
know AJ has finally settled down.”

“But—”
Katherine and AJ cut in at the same time.

“Don’t
worry; you don’t have to bring anything. Mama, Catalella and I will have
everything ready for you. By the way Kat, if you ever need some back up with
those flies, I got you.”

“Why
are you here, Lisette?” AJ cut in.

“Birth
control, I’m out.”

“No!
Not hearing anything!” Katherine chuckled as AJ covered his ears with his
hands, a troubled look on his face. He was definitely a big brother.

“I’m
going. I’ll see you this weekend, Katherine.” Lisette grabbed her into a
vise-like hug leaving Katherine gasping for breath. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Katherine
watched as Lisette sauntered away. She stopped and tossed over her shoulder.
“Peeing on him will be better. That’s what dogs do.”

“What!”
AJ exclaimed.

Katherine
felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She shrugged her shoulders feigning
ignorance. Right then Lisette growled at Rose just before she disappeared round
the corner. “She’s something.”

“She is
everything to me,” AJ said with softness that Katherine had never heard before.
“About the lunch—”

“I
don’t have to come if you don’t want me too.” She rushed to say it.

“I want
you to, but only if you want to come.”

“I want
to.”

“Great.”

“Great.”
They stood in an awkward silence for a while, before Katherine ran away.

Chapter
Nine

“I
think you’d better take a step back.” AJ said once they walked into the
Hamptons mansion.

“Why?”
Katherine asked confused.

“You’ll
see in just a second.”

Katherine
watched as AJ set the bags down on the floor. He took off his leather jacket
and handed it to her. He stood with his legs apart and arms ready. And just as
Katherine was about to ask him what he was doing, two bullets shot past her
from around the corner and into AJ’s arms. Startled, it took Katherine a few
minutes to realize one of those bullets was Lisette, the other one with a pixie
hair cut had to be the youngest, Catalella. It was nice to see that Lisette
wasn’t always as tough as she seemed and that AJ had such a gentle side.

AJ set
Lisette on her feet and held Catalella a little while longer. “
Mi
tesoro
.”
He
whispered as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

“I miss
you, big brother.” Catalella’s voice made her seem more like a little child
than a married woman. She snuggled closer to AJ, wrapping her arms around his
torso, like she never wanted to let go.

“I
missed you too, peanut.” AJ looked over Catalella’s head at Katherine.
Katherine smiled then looked away, hoping he hadn’t seen the emotion in her eyes.
AJ seemed to prove to her every single day why he was the man for her. But
Katherine was too stubborn or frightened to see it.

“What
does ‘
mi
tesoro
’
mean?” She asked once the girls had abandoned them.

“It
means ‘my treasure’.” His smile wrapped around her and Katherine wished one day
AJ would have such a loving word reserved just for her.

She
coughed the knots of emotion out of her throat and smiled. “How do you say my
nagging roommate in Spanish?”

AJ
turned toward her; looking her straight in the eyes his warmth filled her. With
the back of his hand he caressed her cheek. He smiled at her, a smile he always
seemed to have reserved for her. Then he said. “
Eres
la
razon
de mi
existencia
.”

Katherine
didn’t have time to ask for a translation. But the oh, so warm and tingly
feeling inside told her AJ hadn’t said what she asked him to. She watched as he
was swallowed into the embraces of his family. The sweet picture reminded her
so much of her own family, without her father of course. But the need to know what
he said superseded the nostalgic feeling she had. Katherine tried to piece
together what he said, but she couldn’t remember. Otherwise she would have
asked Lisette for a translation.

“Why
are you standing way over there?” AJ’s stepmother asked.

“Come over
here, sweetheart. We don’t bite.” Adrian Senior’s booming voice matched his
massive body. Now she knew where AJ got all his positive attributes from. Apart
from the hint of silver in the old man’s jet black hair, AJ looked just like
his father, down to the well- kept goatee that bordered his mouth.

Katherine
found herself the center of attention and it made her fidget. She let out a
quiet sigh of relief when AJ took his place beside her and introduced her to
the Ross clan.

“This
is Lisette’s boyfriend, Reno.”

The
night AJ kind of said he loves her. She remembered he had been out with Reno.
Katherine just wanted to hug the man, right after questioning him about
everything AJ had talked about that night. “The Reno who got you drunk and
dropped you off at my door step.”

“Guilty,”
he said grinning.

“What?”
Rosalinda exclaimed.

“It was
nothing, Mama,” AJ assured.

Katherine
looked around the room and noticed the odd one out. The man was leaning against
a far wall, swirling golden liquid and ice in his glass. He was out of place,
and to her, it seemed as if he had wandered in off the street and into the
house. But when Catalella went to his side, looping her arm into his, Katherine
realized he was little Catalella’s husband. She also realized there was no love
lost between him and the rest of the family. You only had to look at the
clenched jaws of Reno and AJ to know. Even Lisette had the look of murder in
her eyes.

“We
should sit down for dinner.” Adrian Senior boomed, breaking the thick silence
that had cloaked them.

“This
is Michael Mathews, my husband,” Catalella introduced with a wavering smile.

“Hallo.”

Michael
raised his glass to her and sent a wink her way. Katherine took a step back,
confusion canvassing her face. She wondered if anyone had seen that. She looked
up at AJ and the throbbing vein in his jaw told her he had. Cautious, she took
AJ’s hand and led him away from the man who seemed eager to part with his life.
How the hell had that vile creature slipped past Adrian Senior and AJ?

Katherine
sat across from AJ at the dinner table. Every few seconds she would sneak a
peek at him. She loved, yes
loved,
the flex of his jaw, the way he laughed and how he every so often reached over
to caress his little sister Catalella’s cheek. How she wished she was in Catalella’s
place. But AJ had been showing her some attention. Under the table, his foot
would rub against her leg. At first she was startled and looked up in surprise,
only to be met by a smile in AJ’s gleaming eyes.

Katherine
looked around the dining table and realized she had been missing more than the
love of a man. She had been missing this—family sitting around the dinner table
talking about things. No matter how mundane or silly it was, they would still
share.

Sure,
she had a close relationship with the twins, Christian and Christopher, but
Duke seemed to have been engulfed in their father’s seriousness ever since they
were children. There was no saving him. And Mr. and Mrs. Henry, they seemed
stuck in the monotony of activities they called life.

She looked
over at Rosalinda and Adrian Senior as she kissed his pasta-stained cheek. Even
from a look that passed between them, a blind man could see the fire and
passion which still burned between them. They were in love, the sort of love
never ruined by social status or what was expected by the ‘upper crust’.

They
were like teenagers, and they loved each other like teenagers. Sweet, innocent,
curious and with a fire that would never burn out. That was what she wanted for
her and AJ.

She
gazed at him again, a smile tugging at her heart. She would have that with him.
It didn’t matter how long she would have to wait for him to realize one woman
was enough for him. She, Katherine Henry, was enough for him.

“Are
you alright?”

Katherine
blinked out of her fairytale haze at the sound of AJ’s voice. She smiled at him
and nodded. She was perfect, how could she not be. “Lunch is delicious, Mrs.
Ross.”

“Thank
you,
querida
, I’m glad you were able
to join us.”

Katherine
gave Rosalinda a bashful smile. The woman was so warm. Something about her made
you want to be wrapped in her arms like a snuggy and never come out from the
embrace.

“She
called you ‘sweetheart’,” AJ put in.

“Thank
you.” Katherine said sincerely. The only time her mother called her sweetheart
was if a request would follow. Rosalinda just offered the endearment because
she could.

“What
do you do…
querida
?” Michael asked,
not giving the word the same warmth Rosalinda had.

“I’m
practicing to be a cardiac surgeon. AJ and I work together.”

“Oh? I
thought he was in trauma,” Michael said in a nonchalant tone.

“I
think that’s what he wants.” Katherine looked up at AJ seeking permission to go
on. And when he nodded she did. “Actually, Mr. Ross, your son is somewhat a
super star down at the hospital. The department’s heads are always trying to
seduce him into joining their department. But I think his heart is set on
trauma.”

“How
are the nurses down in trauma?” Michael asked with a smirk.

Katherine
could feel AJ begin to push his chair back. She put her foot on his knee to
stop him. And fortunately for her, he settled back down. “I don’t know. Maybe
you should keep your attitude up and find out,” She mumbled it under her
breath.

“What
was that, dear?” Rosalinda asked.

Katherine
looked around the table and the humorous glances she got from everyone except
Catalella and Michael, told her they had all heard her. Lisette especially
seemed to like her remark. She coughed out a laugh and almost choked on her
chicken.

“It
went down the wrong hole,” Lisette said, trying her best not to laugh out loud.
But her teary eyes were selling her out.

Katherine
chanced a glance at AJ, half expecting him to be cross with her. But the
approving wink she got made her relieved. “I said I don’t know why he just
didn’t go to John Hopkins.”

“My
fault. I begged him not to leave me,” Catalella piped in.

“Begged?
Baby girl, you cried for a week when he discovered his acceptance letter,”
Lisette piped in.

“What
do you mean discovered?”

“Catalella
had hidden it from me. She only gave me the letters from the New York area.” AJ
winked at her. “But what she doesn’t know is—I would have never left her.”

“If we
are done kissing the almighty AJ’s butt, I just wanted to say that I’ve passed
the Bar,” Michael put it.

“That’s
great!” Catalella was the only one to show genuine happiness.

Katherine
got the feeling everyone else wanted to hog tie him and throw him off the
Brooklyn Bridge.

* * *
*

“Dude,
it seems like you got it bad. ‘
Eres
la
razon
de mi
existencia
.’”
Reno
barked out a laugh. “I didn’t start telling Lisette she was the reason for my
existence until we were three months into the relationship. How long have you
been with her, a week?”

“Since
when did you start speaking Spanish?”

“I had
to learn. When your sister gets pissed, her mind flips on the Latina switch.
Stop avoiding the question.”

“Two,”
AJ said curtly. He didn’t like being laughed at. And if he had known people
were paying attention to what he was saying, he wouldn’t have said it at all.
“We aren’t together, together. We are still on the roommates with benefits
stage.”

“When
was the last time you two had sex?”

“With
each other?”

“No,
with Santa Claus, you dumb ass.”

“That
night we met for drinks. Just before I met you at the bar.” But AJ wouldn’t
call it sex, something happened between them that broke his soul, and every
single defense he had put up against love. The way she surrendered to him, how
she did everything he asked, trusting him to completion. It was staggering to
him. Especially since it seemed like she was giving more than just her body and
mind. She gave him her soul.

“So
what do you plan on doing? I can see you want something more.”

“I’m
not going to rush her. I’m going to wait until she sees I’m the best thing for
her. And that I need her so desperately,” he said in earnest.

AJ
stepped out of the house through the glass sliding doors. He watched as
Katherine took a walk down the beach with his sisters. They were laughing and
playing. She seemed so right for him. She fit in perfectly with his family.
AJ’s breath hitched in his throat when she pulled her long thick hair out of
its hold, letting it blow in every direction with the ocean breeze.

“I’ll
call Catalella and Lisette back in. You should go to her.”

“I
should have known.” AJ’s head turned toward the direction of Michael’s voice. “Letting
her meet Rosalinda and Senior before you charm her pants off is beneath you AJ.
Or are the girls not coming as easily as they used to?”

AJ
exhaled a labored breath. He wasn’t going to ruin this day for Katherine no
matter what. “Let’s go, Reno.”

“What,
you don’t want to share a moment with your brother?” Michael called after them
as they walked away.

“One
day I’m going to kick that guy’s ass.” Reno spat out.

“Get in
line.”

AJ felt
his heart beat faster with each step he took toward Katherine. Soon his scowl
disappeared, cleansed by the sound of her hearty laughter. Acting on impulse he
charged at the girls, picking Katherine and Catalella in his arms and rushing
with them toward the crashing waves. He looked over to his right and saw Reno
holding Lisette upside down, dipping her curly black hair into the salty water.

AJ set
them on their feet, but began retreating as they rolled balls of sand to throw
at him. He waited for Catalella to be distracted before he hoisted her up to
his shoulders, and before they knew it they were engaged in a battle of
strength against Lisette and Reno. AJ had to set Catalella down when she got
too dizzy. He didn’t know what she would say at first, or if she would refuse
him, so AJ picked Katherine up without asking. And after a few tries, they were
able to push Lisette and Reno into the water.