Blissfully Yours (Mills & Boon Kimani) (13 page)

Chapter 24

B
randon walked the crowded streets of Manhattan in a state of disbelief. He was oblivious to the people swarming around him as he plodded along, his steps much slower than the rest. He was well aware of Ayana's duel persona and had accepted her antics as Saturday sparring with the other cast members. But what he couldn't accept was her being engaged to another man. Brandon didn't care if the entire proposal was staged. In his opinion, she should have straight-out said,
HELL NO, I WON'T MARRY YOU!
But she'd smiled and sat patiently while another man slipped a huge diamond ring on her finger. Brandon probably could have accepted the fake engagement if it hadn't been for the tape. Watching her kiss another man was too much. Not only was she lip-locked with him, but from the looks of it—the way she was hugged up with him—she was enjoying every second of their romantic carriage ride.

As Brandon walked aimlessly down Broadway, his cell buzzed. He dug the phone out of his jeans' pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Ayana. He thought about answering her call but wasn't ready to talk to her just yet. He was still upset that she had accepted the proposal and needed to wrap his mind around what had happened and what he should do about the situation. He needed time to think. He pressed Ignore and put the phone back in his pocket. Brandon didn't feel like going home and watching mindless television or staring at the walls. Instead, he walked into an Italian restaurant and went directly to the bar.

“Hi, what can I get you to drink?” the bartender asked.

“I'll have a bottle of Apothic Red.” Brandon planned on being there awhile and didn't want to bother with ordering one glass of wine after another.

“Coming right up.”

While Brandon waited for the bartender to return, he looked around the restaurant. Serafina was packed with the after-theater crowd munching on homemade pizzas, delicious pastas, fresh fish and grilled filet mignon. When the bartender came back, Brandon ordered a thin-crusted margherita pizza to complement the wine.

As Brandon enjoyed a glass of red wine, he heard someone call his name. He swiveled around on the stool.

“Hey, B, where the hell have you been?” his friend Jon asked as he walked up to the bar.

“Hey, Jon, I've been meaning to call you.” Brandon hadn't spoken to his friend since the shooting started for
Divorced Divas.

“Man, you did a vanishing act on a brother. The last time we spoke, you were getting ready for your first day on that reality show with them hot chicks,” Jon said, licking his lips as if envisioning the cast. “So, how's it going?”

“What are you doing here? Are you meeting friends?” Brandon asked, ignoring Jon's question. There was so much to tell that Brandon didn't know where to start, so he averted the question.

“Yeah, I'm meeting my new girl, Ashley. I haven't spoken to you since I met her. Man, she's so fine it's ridiculous.”

“Sit down and tell me how you guys met. You want a glass of wine?”

When Jon sat down, Brandon motioned for the bartender and asked him to bring another glass.

“Man, she's a dancer and is in the ensemble of
Kinky Boots,
the new Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein musical. She's so good that she ought to have a starring role,” Jon said, gushing. “We met through mutual friends one night after the show.”

“Wow, you must really like this woman. I haven't seen you this excited about somebody in a while.”

“Well...I wouldn't say all that.” Jon was a ladies' man and didn't like admitting that he was hung up on one woman.

“Don't deny it. The way you feel about her is written all over your face.”

“Okay, okay.” Jon threw up his hands in mock defense. “You got me. It's true—she might be the
one.
”

As they were talking, Brandon's cell buzzed. He took the phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Ayana calling again. He ignored her call and placed his phone back in his pocket.

“The
one?
Wow, I've never heard you say that before.”

“That's because I've never felt this way before. Man, we're not getting any younger, and I've been thinking a lot about settling down.”

Brandon was floored. Jon, the ladies' man, was actually serious about one woman. Hearing Jon admit his true feelings made Brandon think about Ayana. He had thought that she was the
one,
but now he wasn't so sure.

“So what about you? Have you been dating?” Jon asked.

“Sort of.” Brandon didn't feel like baring his soul and confessing that he had fallen in love with the cast member that Jon had gushed over before Brandon started the show. His and Ayana's situation had turned complicated, and it would be difficult explaining that his woman was engaged to another man. Besides, clarifying all the details to Jon would expose Ayana's fake persona, and he wasn't going to jeopardize what she had worked so hard to conceal.

“Oh, I see you're taking a page from my playbook and rotating the ladies,” Jon said, smiling.

“Well, I wouldn't say all that.”

“Come on, man. Don't be modest. So what if you're dating multiple women? You're single and that's what single men do.”

But he wasn't truly single. His heart was with one woman. Even though he was upset with her, he couldn't deny that he was deeply in love with Ayana “Saturday Knight” Lewis.

As they were talking, in walked Jon's girlfriend, Ashley, along with another woman.

“Hey, there's my girl,” Jon said, quickly rising from the bar stool and giving Ashley a big hug and kiss. “Man, this is Ashley and her friend Naomi. Ladies, this is my main man, Brandon.”

“Hello,” the ladies said in unison.

Brandon shook their hands and offered them the two empty bar stools next to him. He had to admit that Jon was right. Ashley was gorgeous, and so was her friend. They both had long, lean dancers' bodies and beautiful faces. Brandon motioned for the bartender and asked him to bring two additional glasses. As he watched the bartender pour the ladies a glass of wine, his phone buzzed. He didn't bother to take his phone out of his pocket this time. He knew it was probably Ayana calling again.

“So, how do you guys know each other?” Ashley asked.

“B and I grew up together in Queens.”

“That's ironic. Naomi and I have also known each other since childhood. Ever since we were kids, we both wanted to be dancers. We would put on talent shows in the summer and perform for the neighbors.”

Brandon turned his attention to Naomi and asked, “How long have you been dancing on Broadway?”

“This is my first Broadway show. I've been all over Europe and Africa learning different techniques and dancing. I recently came back to the States and landed this gig. So what do you do?”

“I work in television,” he said vaguely.

“Oh, really? Where?”

“Brandon is the director for
Divorced Divas,
” Jon said, answering for his friend.

“Oh, we love that show!” Ashley and Naomi exclaimed.

“Those women are so sharp. They dress to the nines. I mean, they are put together from head to toe. Do designers donate clothes for the ladies to wear?” Ashley asked.

“I have no idea,” Brandon answered.

“So tell me, is Saturday as much of a diva in person as she is on-screen?” Naomi asked.

“Yep,” he simply said, not wanting to expound.

He wanted to quickly change the subject. The last person he wanted to talk about was Saturday. So, noticing the bottle of wine was empty, he ordered another bottle and turned to Naomi. “I'd much rather hear about your work.”

“There's really not much to talk about. We dance in the chorus line with hopes of one day having a starring role in a show. That's basically it. Your job, however, must be so exciting. I mean, you're the director of a hit TV show. Now, that's something to talk about. Tell me, who's your favorite cast member?” Naomi asked, leaning in closer to him. “Saturday is my favorite. She makes the show interesting. You never know what she's going to say or do. The way she ribs Petra is a hoot. She's always correcting the poor girl's English. Give us a scoop.”

“What do you mean? What kind of scoop?”

Naomi moved even closer to Brandon, their bodies nearly touching. “Tell us some juicy insider information. Like which guy out of all Saturday's dates is she going to wind up with? I don't see her with that nerdy-looking guy. And the man she had mad chemistry with, I think his name was Erick, never came back on the show. Do you think he's coming back?”

As Brandon hesitated, he wanted to say,
Her name is Ayana, and she's mine.
But of course he couldn't. As he sat there trying to decide how to steer the conversation away from
Divorced Divas
and Saturday's choice of men, he heard a familiar voice from behind.

“Oh, that's why you couldn't answer any of my calls. You're on a flipping date!”

He spun around and saw Ayana standing there with her hand on her hip, looking from him to Naomi.

“We're not on a...”

“Oh, my God—Saturday Knight! I can't believe it! We were just talking about you,” Naomi exclaimed.

Ashley chimed in, “Saturday, is that Erick over there?”

Saturday didn't respond. She stood there and glared at Brandon.

Before Brandon could explain, Ayana turned around and hurried away. He started to go after her, but Ed, Steve and Erick were waiting by the hostess podium. They probably couldn't hear Ayana but they could clearly see her. Brandon watched Ayana as she walked to their table. She had a disappointed expression on her face. He wanted to rush over, take her in his arms and kiss her like he had done in Jamaica. However, one look at Erick, the Swiss banker, and the entire proposal played over in his mind. He got mad all over again. Brandon returned his attention to Naomi. He needed a distraction from his thoughts, and she was the perfect diversion.

Chapter 25

A
yana could barely sit through dinner with Ed, Steve and Erick. She was too busy stealing glances at the bar where Brandon sat with his date. Ed had wanted to go out with his star, her new fiancé and the executive producer to discuss plans for the season finale—Saturday and Erick's lavish wedding.

“You know, I've been thinking. I decided that The Plaza isn't the best venue for the wedding to take place,” Ed told the group.

“And why not?” Erick asked.

“Although I love The Plaza, I think it's been done enough. So many celebrities have had their weddings there. I'm envisioning a tropical locale,” Ed remarked.

“Like Fiji?” Steve said.

“No, some place closer.”

“Like the Bahamas?” Erick asked.

“Actually, I'm thinking Jamaica. It's only a few hours from New York. What do you think, Saturday?” Ed asked.

Although Ayana's body was physically at the table, her mind was elsewhere. She was too busy wondering what Brandon was talking about with the beautiful woman sitting next to him. The woman now had her hand on his arm as she spoke. Ayana was seething. Brandon had all but blasted her about Erick, and now here he was entertaining another woman.

“Saturday, did you hear what I said?” Ed asked when she didn't respond to his question.

Ayana refocused her attention, momentarily taking her eyes off of Brandon and his date. “I'm sorry. What did you say?”

“I said, I think Jamaica would be the perfect locale for the wedding.”

“What wedding?” she asked, looking at him strangely.

“Your wedding to Erick,” he responded.

“What! Are you kidding? I thought you said the proposal was just for ratings and that I wasn't expected to marry him,” Ayana said, slightly raising her voice. She turned to Erick and said, “Sorry, no offense, but we don't know each other well enough to get married.”

Erick didn't say anything. He looked at Ed as if deferring the question to the show's creator.

“Don't panic. The wedding will only look real. A marriage license won't be filed. Therefore, you and Erick won't officially be married,” he explained.

“Are you sure? I don't want to mistakenly marry a stranger.”

“Yes, I'm certain. Your contract is coming up, so this wedding will be the perfect way for you to exit the show.”

Ayana thought about Ed's reasoning for a few moments. “I guess that does make sense.”

“I plan to marry off each of you ladies one by one, depending on who wants out of their contract. And then I'll start fresh with a new divorced diva each season. That way the show will remain fresh,” Ed explained.

“So you're saying this will be the last antic I'll ever have to enact,” Ayana said, warming up to the idea.

“Yes, this wedding will be your final appearance, and then you're off the show—free to do whatever you please.”

That was music to Ayana's ears. She could finally see the light at the end of this dreadful tunnel.

“So what do you think about having the wedding in Jamaica?” Ed asked.

“Jamaica!” Ayana shrieked. She had been lost in thought earlier and hadn't heard him mention her homeland.

Steve and Ed, noticing the way she reacted, said at the same time, “What's wrong with Jamaica?”

“Uh...nothing.” She couldn't think of a fast answer, short of telling them the truth, which wasn't an option. “Can we shoot in Montego Bay? It's closer than Negril. If we shoot in Mo'Bay, we wouldn't have to transport the cast and crew on a two-hour bus ride into the country.” As long as they didn't film the wedding in her hometown of Negril, Ayana didn't feel too anxious about being seen in Jamaica as her alter ego.

“That's a good idea. I want to shoot the wedding as soon as possible. I know Moses said on set that the show will follow you and the girls as you get ready for the wedding, but that's too long to drag this out. The ratings are slipping fast, and this wedding will help salvage our positioning. Steve, can you oversee all of the arrangements?” Ed asked.

“Sure thing. I have contacts at the Grand Palladium, so it won't be a problem to expedite the shoot. The Grand Palladium is a fabulous five-star hotel and will be the perfect venue.”

“Excellent!” Ed exclaimed.

As the three men continued to talk about the upcoming wedding, Ayana tuned out again. News of her exit from the show was great, but she still had the fake proposal to deal with
and
the cold shoulder from Brandon. Finding him with another woman had totally caught her off guard. Ayana glanced over at the bar. She watched as another couple sitting next to Brandon raised their wineglasses and toasted with Brandon and his date. It was clear that the four of them were on a double date. Ayana had half a mind to go over there and break up their little party, but she didn't want to cause a scene. Instead, she took out her cell phone and punched in a text to Brandon.

I see you've moved on. So keep on moving. It's over!

She watched and waited for Brandon to acknowledge the text. A few minutes later, she saw him take his phone out of his pocket and look at it. She assumed he was reading her message. He didn't text back—just put the phone back in his pocket and continued his conversation.

Ayana felt hurt and dejected. A part of her—her heart—wanted to keep the relationship going, but another part of her—her pride—wouldn't let her watch Brandon flirt with another woman in front of her face. She thought that after he read her text, he would come over to the table and ask to speak to her, but he didn't. Her sitting there with Erick was probably keeping Brandon from coming over, she reasoned.

The love that she and Brandon had shared in Jamaica seemed like a lifetime ago. Their enchanted time on the island was now nothing more than a distant memory. Ayana was shocked at how quickly everything had changed. She'd thought that Brandon was the
one.
Now he seemed to be the one who was slowly breaking her heart.