Evidence of Desire: Hero Series 3 (10 page)

She leaned back against the island and stared out the large sliding glass door beyond the dining room that led onto the Alexandar’s patio and hot tub and pondered the question.

Her friend allowed her the privacy of her own thoughts and went back to tend to the greens and get them into the big pot of water on the stove.

Sonya went back to her pound cake.

They both worked in silence for a long time.

Once she slid the first bundt pan into the lower oven and set the timer, she went to stand beside Charmagne as she snapped green beans and placed them in a fresh sink of water.

“You alright?” her friend hip-checked her.

“You’re going to break my hip with all that double baby swing you’ve got going on,” she teased, reaching into the bag for a hand full of beans to help. “Yes. I’m okay. And to answer your earlier question, truthfully. I don’t want to admit it, but I like having Parker around. Sharing things with him and seeing that smile I’d only imagined for years. Now, I don’t know if that means I want everything that comes with having him close or just friendship.”

Tossing the ends in a designated trash bowl and the rest into the water, Sonya tilted her head in Charmagne’s direction. “I still want him there.”

“That’s all that matters. There’s no need for rush in this. You’re not a coed this time, take your time. You’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks, Mommy-Mommy.” She poked her friend gently in the belly.

“Oh, Lord.”

“You have to get used to hearing it twice and in stereo.”

Charmagne rubbed her belly. “Am I ready for all this?”

She looked at the concern evident now in her friend’s eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Girl, you are going to be the best mother. Out of all of our girlfriends you’re the one I’ve always known would slide into a mommy role with ease. If Tiffany was the planner of the group and Veronica the boss of us all then you were the mother hen. Making sure we were all cared for.”

Sonya thought about their group of six women back in college. Tiffany, the Governor’s daughter, had gone on to marry Trevor a computer business owner. Veronica, the strait-laced business minded one had opened a hotel/restaurant with her best friend and married Kent. Charmagne, the college Dean’s daughter, had married her college sweetheart, Charles, a few years after graduation. Josephine, the interior decorator who owned a business with Tiffany had just married her longtime boyfriend, Ruben, this summer. The only one of their friends who had never married was Karen, a marketing executive at a sneaker company, and she refused to ever walk down the aisle.

“What does that make you in our group of six?”

“The fun one?” Sonya lifted both her brows in question.

“Nope.” Charmagne shook her head. “Karen has the lock on that.”

“Very true.”

“You were our wisdom and inspiration. I think it’s because of all that history and art you drown yourself in. You always know the right words to say.”

“Now if I could only pick out some to say to myself about Parker…” Sonya grabbed more beans.

Charmagne took hold of her arm. “It will come, my child.”

Rolling her eyes at her friend’s ethereal, fairy godmother type tone, she laughed. “I’ve created a monster.”

“No. A mom-ster. Get it?”

The bad puns went on for the remainder of the night while they cooked and talked. Charles returned home and joined in with the teasing and fun.

By midnight they were all bone tired. One cake was under a glass dome, the other in a plastic dessert container in the back of the pantry. Charles stored the cooked greens and beans in the garage deep freezer while Charmagne checked and based the turkey one last time before turning the oven on a low cook setting.

“I’ll do the check and base through the night.” Sonya yawned, not even attempting to stifle it as the trio moved to the stairs.

“I can do it.” Her friend’s yawn was just as great.

“Nope, you need the rest. I’ll set my alarm for every hour.” She stood before the open guest room door.

“Okay. Thanks.” The mother to be rubbed her back and headed down the hall to the master suite.

“You know I could tak—”

“Night, Charles. See you both in the morning.” She shooed the man away, before he could volunteer. They were the only family Sonya had and they both had been working overtime to prepare for the inundation of both sides of their family, this was the least she could do.

After she closed the door behind her, she retrieved her bag at the foot of the bed. She opened it and removed her pajamas pants and top. She changed, then shuffled to the bathroom connected to the room and brushed her teeth and washed her face. Back in the room she kneeled for a quick prayer then crawled into the bed.

As she closed her eyes, she realized that she wasn’t physically drained from all the food prep, but emotionally exhausted. Even after she and Charmagne had ended the conversation about Parker’s return in her life, thoughts of him had still plagued her mind. She wanted to make the right choice for her life, she didn’t know if Parker was it.

Daryl had definitely not been it. But was her ex-husband?

Grabbing her phone from her purse beside the bed, she set alarms on the hour then placed the phone on the nightstand. Within seconds she had drifted off to sleep, Parker Hayden’s handsome smiling face as he looked in the garden appeared in her mind. She didn’t fight to push it away but relaxed, feeling secure with him in her life.

The man was her center. She could at least admit that to herself.

~ML~

“Hello. Sonya Watson. African American Histories.”

He loved the sultriness of her voice. It was huskier than most women, but that’s what captured his attention and awakened his desire for her. It was Tuesday and he was just returning back. He’d missed Sonya while he’d been at his parent’s house and thought about coming back earlier, but wanted to give her some time to focus on her new exhibit as he’d promised her.

“How was your Thanksgiving?”

“Parker. It was good. I’m sure Charles filled you in on that.”

“You talked to Charles did you?” He chuckled.

“Ah, no. I spoke to Charmagne who had got the information from her husband. You got me ambushed,” she chided.

“Hey! If you’re not telling your best friend what is going on in your life. Let me know and I’ll keep our secret.” He leaned back in his office chair.

“
We
don’t have any secr—”

He heard a thump of something hitting something else.

“Ouch.” Sonya moaned.

“What happened?” he bolted up in his seat concerned.

“I stubbed my toe on the desk leg.”

“You want me to come over there and kiss it? I promise to make you forget all about the pain.” He lowered his voice, making sure she understood his message. If she said yes, he would start with kissing her toes and keep moving up until he got to the valley of her womanhood.

There was a quick intake from the other end of the line.

The image played out in his mind and caused his shaft to harden even more than it had at simply hearing her voice. “Don’t change the subject.” Her voice sounded tight, just not as sure or confident as it did a moment before. “There is no secret us. We both just happen to work together. That’s it.”

“I want more.” While he was away he’d come to a decision that he was going to place all his cards on the table when it came to Sonya and his intentions toward her.

“Parker…”

“Have dinner with me tonight, Soni-love?”

“I have a shipment due in this week. I need to still handle more correspondenc—”

“Dinner tonight.” He wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“You can’t just show up in my life and dictate my schedule,” she growled.

“I’m not. I simply want you to make time for me. A few hours in your busy world. That’s it.” Finding time for each other had been one of their problems during their marriage. He’d been consumed in one direction and she in another. It wasn’t any wonder that she didn’t have a signal qualm about taking a job away from him. They had lived two separate lives, becoming roommates.

There was a long pause and he could hear a tapping sound in the background. He visualized her swinging her pencil up and down against her stack of work.

“Sonya?”

“Fine! I’ll do it. Dinner, what time?”

“You make it sound as if I’m asking you to volunteer for a tooth extraction.” He smiled. “But, I’ll take it. I will be there at seven to get you.”

“I can’t stay out late, because—”

“You need to be at the office early to call South Africa.”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“Duly noted.” He rose, needing to get back to his own work. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you later.” She ended the call before he could say anything else.

I love you
was the only thing his mind could formulate as a valediction, but he knew she was barely ready to have dinner with him, so that would have sent her running.

A chime sounded.

He removed his cell phone from his lab coat and looked at it.

What am I supposed to wear?
The text came in from Sonya.

He realized that she had actually loaded his number into her phone from the card he’d placed inside the package with the folder. A part of him had wished she would have used it before Thanksgiving because short of sending a message for her wishing her a happy holiday through Charles there was no way he had to reach her. He’d opted not to do that. Which was probably the best thing since she was already pissed at him for talking to Charles. He was glad that his good friend hadn’t told his wife everything he’d shared with him. Parker could only imagine what would happen if Sonya knew the truth about his being here.

Responding back to her, the texted,
Something nice. Formal.

Where are we going?

Bentley’s on 27

What???

He smiled.
See you tonight, Soni-love.

With that texted he placed his phone back in his pocket and ignored all the following chimes that came to it. The only way she would be able to back out of their dinner agreement was for her to come to his wing and see him face to face. Chuckling, he headed out his office to the lab to see his new rare Brush-footed Trapdoors spider from the Cooper Creek region of Daintree. There was no way Sonya was coming to see him.

~ML~

Sonya tossed her pencil down, and watched it bounce from the desk and sail over the front to the floor. She wanted to kick something. Better yet, someone. Parker had roped her into going out with him and now she was stuck. She stared down at her cell phone. Squeezing her hand around it, seeing that he had not replied to her last three text messages about them canceling or going somewhere more casual, she thought about throwing the phone down too. But, took several cleansing breaths to calm herself.

“It is just dinner, Sonya.” She set her phone down before her monitor. “So, what if he wants to go all out. It is one time. That’s it.”

Over the course that she and Daryl had seen each other, they’d gone to a couple formal events. Those nights filled with glitz and glamour hadn’t changed how she felt about the Councilman so why should she think for one moment that this should be any different.

You never loved Daryl Marcs.

Ring. Ring.

Saved from having to answer her private thoughts she picked up her desk phone seeing that the line for her vault was blinking. “Hey, Simeon.”

“The Senufo Seated Figure has arrived.”

“I’ll be right down.” She hung up. Her heart pumped with excitement as she headed out of her office to see the mid-20
th
Century piece from the Ivory Coast.

Right now she had work to do. She wouldn’t think about Parker or dinner or anything else for the next few hours. A pro at drowning herself in her work, she kept her focus where it needed to be right now. Away from Parker.

Several hours later, she was sitting at her desk reading emails that had come through while she’d been in the vault and meeting with Edgar her restoration specialist. When it came to sizing her knowledge up against Edgar Minton she knew absolutely nothing about African or African American artwork. However, it was his job to know it as well. Museums were nothing without authentication specialist in each department.

“You need anything else from me boss lady?”

Blinking a few times, to clear the blurriness from her eyes, she glanced toward the door at Simeon. “No. Have a good night.”

All of her staff where pulling long hours to put forth the best effort when it came to the new exhibit.

“I will. Planning to catch a movie with my girl by six.” He gave her a wave as he back away.

“Have fu—” she started to yell back, when she realized something. Dinner. Parker.

Looking at the time in the corner of her monitor she realized that it was already five fifteen. Parker would be at her house at seven to take her to a high-end restaurant and she was still at work.