His Sexy Bad Habit (12 page)

“Nothing,” she hissed. “That you’d always put A.J. first. That you’d try and keep the family together. All Marian ever cared about was her son.”

Antonio dropped his head and fought the urge to tell her the truth about her sister. “Marian is dead and my life is going on. You don’t have to like it, but you will respect it.”

“What do you even know about her? Why is she all of a sudden so important?”

“I’m not going to explain what I do to you. Serena is a part of my life. Deal with it and don’t ever question how I raise my son again,” he said.

“Well, don’t expect me to babysit while you’re screwing that woman!”

Antonio shook his head and stalked over to the door. “Casey, stay out of my personal business.” He slammed out of the house and hopped into his truck, heading for Norman’s hoping Casey would heed his warning.

Serena stretched her arms above her head as Jade rocked Jaden back and forth. Though she adored her friend, Serena wanted her to leave so she could close her eyes and relive all the sexy things she and Antonio had spent the weekend doing.

“Earth to Serena,” Jade said. “Are you listening to me?”

“No.”

“What has that man done to you?” Jade giggled causing her baby to do the same thing. “You look like a high school girl in love for the first time.”

Serena shot Jade an icy look. “You throw the L-word around too much. I’m not in love. This is the look of a satisfied woman.”

Jade gently placed her sleepy baby in his carrier seat. “Well, the love bug is going around and I can’t wait until it bites you.”

“Don’t start this again. So, the restaurant relaunch? You were saying?”

“Maurice and the new quarterback, Marcus Hastings, are hosting our launch and a party,” Jade said. “Of course Maurice is open to the media covering it.”

“Of course,” Serena said. “Jade, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” she replied.

“If something happened to James, do you think Maurice would have a problem with you moving on with your life?”

Jade propped her chin on her hand and looked at Serena with questions dancing in her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Serena sighed. “Never mind. So, what else is happening with this party?”

“No,” Jade said. “Why would you ask that?”

Serena told Jade about Antonio’s sister-in-law’s reaction to seeing the two of them together.

Jade shook her head. “Something doesn’t seem right about her,” she said. “Maybe she thought Antonio was going to turn to her, but that is gross. Even if Maurice wasn’t married, I could never look at him in a romantic way.”

“I think you’re right about Casey,” Serena said. “Anyway, I’m not giving her another thought. Tell me more about the party.”

Jade furrowed her eyebrows, but happily began telling her more details about the party. “Well, Maurice and Marcus invited some other NFL players and guess who’s singing,” Jade said.

Serena cocked her head to the side. “Who?”

“Babyface!”

Serena closed her eyes and tried not to think
about the last time she was supposed to hear Babyface sing live. He’d been scheduled to sing at her ill-fated wedding. Was this some sort of sign?

“Serena,” Jade said. “Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds. Aren’t you excited?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess this party is going be called ‘Grown and Sexy.’”

“And here I thought you weren’t listening,” Jade replied. “Even Kandace and Solomon are coming to the party. Alicia thinks we should have a live show every month.”

“Are we a night club or a restaurant?” Serena asked. “We need to do one thing and do it well.”

“But the night life in Charlotte is so blah. We can do more than one thing. Or do you think this is going to cut into your time with Mr. Billups? Did he really fall for your meal?”

“I actually told him you cooked it. So he has decided I need cooking lessons and he’s going to be my teacher,” Serena said with a smile on her face.

Jade chewed her bottom lip and fought back her laughter.

Serena rolled her eyes at her friend, and snapped, “Whatever, Jade.”

“I didn’t say a word,” Jade said as she rose to her feet. “We need to buy some radio ads about the relaunch and film a TV spot.”

“Who’s going to pay for all of it?” Serena asked, jumping back into business mode.

“We’re going to use the money we saved since Solomon took care of the redesign. But from the
way you and Antonio are getting it on, we should’ve let you handle it.”

Serena tossed a pillow at Jade’s head. “Get out.”

“I was leaving anyway. James and I are having a barbeque with Kenya and Maurice. Why don’t you call Antonio and join us?”

“No, his son is back from his fishing trip and he’s going to bring me some of the fresh fish,” she said.

“Wow. When are you going to meet his son? Do you even want to meet the little boy? Let’s be real, you don’t really like kids.”

“I don’t know,” Serena said. “We’re taking things slowly.”

Jade raised a questioning eyebrow. “If this is taking it slow, I’d hate to see you moving quickly.”

“Good-bye, Jade,” Serena said as she rose from the sofa and picked up Jaden’s carrier seat. She looked down at the sleeping baby and smiled. Once upon a time she dreamed of having one of her own. Those dreams had died on the altar when Emerson hadn’t showed up for their wedding. It wasn’t that she didn’t like kids. She figured she’d never get suckered by love again and she wouldn’t have a baby. She hid her dreams and wants behind a prickly exterior.

Did she really want to risk allowing Antonio to get to know the real Serena Jacobs?

She walked out to the car with Jade and handed the baby to her after Jade dropped the diaper bag and her purse on the front seat.

“See you in the morning at the restaurant,” Jade said after buckling Jaden in the back seat.

Serena waved at her friend, then headed back inside to think about Antonio. But as soon as she walked through the door, her cell phone rang. “Great,” she muttered as she looked down at the display. The caller was calling from an unknown number.

“Serena Jacobs,” she said when she answered.

“Still Jacobs? I just knew some wise man would’ve made you his by now,” the voice from her past said.

“Wh-who is this?” she asked even though she knew.

“Has it really been that long, Serena? It’s Emerson.”

She pressed the
END
button on the phone and dropped it on the floor.
No, no! How did he find me? What does he want?

When the phone rang again, Serena jerked as if a brick had been tossed through her window.
Get it together,
she told herself as she picked up the phone.
You’re not the little girl you were five years ago.

“You have some nerve calling me, you selfish son of a bitch,” she barked when she pressed the
TALK
button on her phone.

“Excuse me?” Antonio said. “Serena?”

“Oh my goodness,” she said, then laughed nervously. “I didn’t know it was you.”

“I hope not. Who pissed you off?”

“No one important,” she said. “What’s going on? How’s the fish cleaning coming?”

“We’ve cleaned and cooked it. My son is quite the fisherman. He caught about five bass—one really big one,” Antonio said proudly.

Serena smiled despite herself. “Good for him.”

“Are you ready to try some of this fish?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “And I will make it up to you for how I spoke to you when you first called.”

“I like the sound of that,” he said, and Serena could almost see the smile on his sexy lips. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“I’ll be here,” she said. After hanging up, Serena turned her phone off. She couldn’t risk getting another call from Emerson. As she headed upstairs to her bedroom to change out of her yoga pants and tank top and into a lacy black teddy, Serena couldn’t help but wonder what was behind Emerson’s call.

You’ve reached Serena Jacobs. Leave a message and I’ll return your call. Thanks and have a great day.
Her voicemail played back in Emerson’s ear for the third time. He snapped his phone shut. “This is going to be harder than I thought,” he groaned as he left the baggage claim of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. He wasn’t surprised she’d hung up on him, but she had to know he wasn’t going to be dealt with that easily. He’d found her cell phone number on her restaurant’s Web site. If he had to become Hometown Delights best customer, then he’d eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner there until he got what he wanted.

If the movie turned out to be the jolt his career needed, maybe he could convince Serena to give their relationship another try. He’d make her the
star she should be and he could take his place at the top with her by his side.
I wonder if she still has that sex appeal she had on film,
he thought as he walked out to an awaiting taxi cab.

“Where to, sir?” the driver asked.

Emerson looked down at his phone to pull up his hotel reservation. “The Westin,” he replied.

“All right. Welcome to Charlotte.”

“Thanks,” Emerson replied, then slipped his earbuds in his ears so he wouldn’t have to have a conversation with the driver. He needed to focus on finding Serena and getting her signature on the movie release form.

Emerson pulled the Internet browser up on his cell phone and typed Serena’s name in again. He didn’t understand why she had abandoned her Hollywood dreams. The acting, yes. But she was a talented writer. She couldn’t be fulfilled working at a restaurant or sitting behind a desk. She was creative and had dreams he’d planned to nurture. Sure, he’d planned to make himself a success first. Then it would’ve been easier to get movie executives to take a chance on Serena’s screenplays. Emerson smiled as he thought about how she’d practically rewritten
De Chocolat.
Her revisions had made the work come alive and he knew she would go far.

But the movie had been shelved and his stock in Hollywood was down to nothing. He couldn’t help Serena or himself. When a picture of Serena, dressed in a tailored business suit, popped up on the screen, Emerson licked his lips, remembering how he used to wrap her around his waist and
bury all of his hopes, dreams, and problems between her thighs. Sex with Serena was damned near magical. She’d been so free and so passionate. He really missed her passion and from the slick smile on her face, it was still there.

“Sir,” the driver said as the car pulled to a stop. “We’re at the hotel.”

Emerson looked up from his phone and offered the man an empty smile as he paid the fare and gave him a paltry tip. The driver shook his head when he took the money and made no effort to help Emerson with his bags.

It didn’t faze Emerson at all. The only person he was in town to impress was Serena Jacobs.

“Daddy, where are we going?” A.J. asked as they headed uptown toward Serena’s place.

“I promised a friend I’d share some of your fish with her. But we won’t be there long. We have to go home and get cleaned up before we have dinner with your grandparents.”

“Okay,” A.J. said as Antonio pulled up to Serena’s. “Daddy, I have to use the bathroom.”

“All right, come on. Let’s see if Miss Serena will let you use the bathroom.” Antonio put the truck in park and grabbed the plate of fish, grilled corn on the cob, and cole slaw.

Antonio and A.J. dashed to the door and rang the bell. A.J. wiggled around as his urge to use the bathroom became unbearable. The door opened and their mouths dropped when they
saw Serena standing there in a form hugging black teddy and fishnet thigh-high stockings.

“Oh my God,” she said when she saw the little boy looking up at her. Serena quickly closed the door.

A.J. patted his father’s leg. “Why did that lady answer the door in her underwear?” A.J. asked.

Of course Antonio knew the answer, but there was no way he could tell his son. “I think we caught her by surprise,” he answered.

Moments later, Serena opened the door wrapped in a silk robe that hit her at her ankles. “Hi,” she said with a red tint to her cheeks.

“A.J. needs to go to the bathroom,” Antonio said as they stepped inside and placed the plate on a table next to the door.

“All right,” she replied, then pointed the little boy to the bathroom. When he was out of earshot, Serena turned to Antonio and placed her hand over her mouth. “I am so sorry.”

“That’s all right. I had no intentions of bringing him in here, but nature called and wow.”

“Wow. I guess I should strip for your grandfather or another family member next,” she said with a tense smile. “I wasn’t expecting to see you at the door with your son.”

Antonio wrapped his arms around Serena and kissed her on the forehead. “He didn’t expect to see the lady in her underwear either.”

She dropped her head and squeezed the bridge of her nose. “I probably scarred the poor kid for life.”

Antonio dropped his arms from her waist as
he heard the flush of the toilet. “I almost forgot the purpose of my visit.” He picked up the plate he’d set on the table near the door and handed it to Serena.

“Thanks.”

“I made the cole slaw,” AJ. said from behind her.

Serena turned around and smiled at the little boy, who returned her smile with a wide one of his own. “Then I’m going to eat it first. I love cole slaw.”

“You’re pretty,” he said, then skipped over to his father.

Antonio rubbed his son’s head. “All right, Sport, we’d better go.” He winked at Serena. A.J. bounced outside and Antonio gave Serena a quick kiss. “I have to agree with my son.”

“About what?”

“You are pretty.”

Serena smiled and waved as Antonio climbed into his truck.

Jade laughed so hard when Serena told her about meeting Antonio’s son, she nearly choked on a piece of chocolate cake. And Serena wished she hadn’t joined the Goings clan for dessert.

“Okay, I want to laugh, too,” Kenya said as she sat down with the two women.

“This one flashed a five-year-old,” Jade said as she wiped her mouth.

Kenya raised her eyebrow and looked at Serena.

“That’s not how it happened,” Serena said when she caught Kenya’s eye. “I just made a bad decision.”

“Channeling Apollonia around a five-year-old is more than a bad decision,” Jade said with another laugh.

“So, a little kid saw you in lingerie?” Kenya asked.

“Not just any little kid. Her boyfriend’s son,” Jade said.

Serena threw her hands up. “First of all, Antonio is not my boyfriend. And secondly, I didn’t think he was going to bring the little boy with him, but he had to use the bathroom.”

“Do you often answer your door in lingerie?” Kenya asked.

Serena popped a piece of cake in her mouth. “Depends on who’s on the other side of the door,” she replied.

Kenya and Jade laughed.

“She’s a mess,” Jade said. “What did the little boy say?”

“That I’m pretty,” Serena revealed. “At least he has good taste.”

“Well, now that you’ve met Antonio’s son, what happens next?” Jade asked.

Before she could answer, Jaden and Nairobi began crying and Jade and Kenya slipped into mother mode. As she watched them tend to their babies, Serena wondered if she could be a mother.

Stop it,
she told herself.
Don’t start thinking about things that aren’t going to happen.

Kenya returned to the table with Nairobi in her arms and Jade handed Jaden off to James for a diaper change. Serena smiled at Kenya’s little girl, who tugged at her mother’s blouse.

“One day this child will give me my breasts back,” Kenya said as she draped a nursing pad over her shoulder.

“You and Jade seem as if you were born to be moms,” Serena said. “You guys are doing a great job.”

“I couldn’t do it without Mo. Believe it or not, he’s up at the slightest sound Robi makes at night. Watching him with her, I’m amazed every day,” Kenya said. “Kids change you.”

Serena nodded. Seeing Antonio with his son was proof of that. He was obviously a protective father. She could tell by the way Antonio had draped his arm around the little boy’s shoulders and the way he checked A.J.’s seat belt before driving off. Would she have room in his life? Fatherhood wasn’t easy and Serena knew that Antonio was always going to put his son first. Was she going to be woman enough to share him? Women enough to understand broken dates because something came up with his son?
Yes, you can do this because you really care about this man,
she thought.
Wait a minute, it’s not that serious.

She looked up as Jade and James walked over to the table with Jaden.

“Serena,” James said, “are you excited about tomorrow?”

“I am. It’s time to reopen the restaurant and I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

“I imagine Antonio’s going to give you guys a tour,” James said knowingly. “How did your dinner turn out?”

Serena turned her head and smiled. “I confessed that I couldn’t cook. But he thought Jade’s meal was good.”

“You actually told him she cooked it?” James asked as he cut himself a hunk of cake. “That’s either some real game or you really like this guy.”

“I don’t make a practice of lying to nice men,” she replied. “And maybe I do like him.”

“Shh,” James said.

Jade, Kenya, and Serena looked at him skeptically.

“What, babe?” Jade asked.

“I think I just heard hell freeze over. Serena said a man was nice.”

Jade shook her head and Serena stuck her finger in the middle of James’s cake.

“Now, that wasn’t nice,” he said as she took the cake and cut it in half and gave him the piece she didn’t touch, which was a much smaller piece than James had wanted.

“I never said
I
was nice,” she said. “But you already know that.”

James waved his hand as he dug into the cake. “That’s what you want people to think, but we all know the truth about you,” he said.

Before Serena could reply, her cell phone rang. She looked down at the screen and saw it was from an unknown number and she knew it was Emerson again. She pressed the
IGNORE
button and tried to pretend the call was nothing.

Maurice walked into the dining room with a pint of ice cream as Serena’s phone rang again. “What happened to the cake?” he asked when he saw that it was half gone. “Man, y’all are greedy.”

“Y’all?” Jade said. “It was your brother who tried to eat half the cake.”

Maurice opened the ice cream and shook his head. “I should’ve known. Mom said she sent you a cake, too, Greedy.”

James looked at Jade and smirked. “I’m guessing Jaden ate most of that one.”

Jade pinched him on the arm. “You know I love your mother’s baking. When is she coming back to town for a visit?”

Maurice and James shrugged. “She was supposed to be going to Atlanta and packing up to move up here. But she went back to the bakery and that was all she wrote,” Maurice said.

“I think she’s trying to let us down gently about not moving to Charlotte,” James said.

Kenya winked at her sister-in-law and said, “I know why Maryann isn’t in a hurry to come back here.”

Jade hid her wide smile from her husband and brother-in-law.

“Why?” Maurice asked as he cut a slice of cake and topped it with a scoop of ice cream.

“Because she’s in love,” Kenya said.

“Yeah, with her bakery,” James interjected. “We know that. But she could bake here in Jade’s kitchen. She said she was happy about doing that.”

Jade placed Jaden in his carrier seat as he went to sleep. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell them,” Jade said.

Kenya nodded as she swiped some of Maurice’s ice cream. “Right because they might end up in Atlanta in the morning,” Kenya replied.

Maurice and James looked at each other, then stared at their wives. “What the hell is going on?” Maurice demanded.

“Your mother has a boyfriend,” Kenya said.

“A what?” Maurice said, dropping his fork to the side of his plate.

“Why wouldn’t she tell us?” James asked.

Jade placed her hand on her hip. “Because you two are the most overprotective sons in history. Don’t go to Atlanta questioning her about her life. She’s a grown woman and she’s pretty much stayed out of your lives.”

“I’m not going to Atlanta,” Maurice said. “Mom should be happy.”

“Yeah,” James said. “Who are we to stand in the way of her happiness?”

Jade, Serena, and Kenya exchanged knowing looks. “I guess you two are going to go to Atlanta this week?” Jade said.

“The kids miss their grandmother,” Maurice said with a laugh. “Maybe they should go for a visit, you know what I mean?” He looked over at James who was nodding in agreement.

“And I want some cinnamon buns and all the icing that goes along with them,” James said, then smiled at Jade. Heat flushed her cheeks and Serena knew she had to ask her friend what was so special about cinnamon buns and icing.

“Well, if you all are going to go to Atlanta, please do it around our schedules,” Kenya said. “I have to be in court on Tuesday.”

“And we’re trying to open for lunch on Thursday,” Jade said. “But Maurice, you’re going to have to be back by Friday to go over the invitations and your VIP guest list for your party.”

“And my trial should be wrapped by Friday,” Kenya said.

James and Maurice looked at each other and shrugged. “Then we leave in the morning,” James said.

Serena laughed. “I know this is technically not my business, but have either of you thought your mother might be busy this week? I’m sure she didn’t fall in love just holding hands and talking.”

Maurice and James groaned in concert. “That’s a visual I don’t need,” James said.

“Some old man had better not be getting it on with my mother,” Maurice exclaimed.

Serena shook her head. “Who said she’s with an old man? It’s the age of the cougar.”

James walked out of the room and Maurice continued eating his cake.

Jade gave Serena a high five and laughed. “I’m going to nurse my husband now,” she said. “You know these two don’t think their mother is supposed to have a life.”

Kenya burped Nairobi and shook her head at Serena. “You don’t know what you just started. Mo and James don’t think their mother should be having s-e-x.”

Maurice dropped his fork. “I’m trying to eat,” he said. “If some old or young man is trying to cozy up to my mother, then he needs to meet her sons. We might not hurt him.”

“Try not to beat the man up or scare him off,” Serena said as she rose from the table. “I’m out of here. Kenya, I hope you will stop by for lunch soon.”

“I will.”

As Serena walked out the door, her cell phone rang again. She knew if she didn’t answer, Emerson would keep calling. And she had to admit she was curious to find out what he wanted. “Yes?” she said when she answered the phone.

“Serena, this is Emerson and we need to talk,” he stated in a tone that would’ve had her running to his side five years ago.

“You have a lot of damned nerve calling me now, Emerson. I guess it didn’t cross your mind to make this call five years ago when I was standing at the altar waiting for you,” she hissed into the phone as she climbed into her car.

“We should get together and talk,” Emerson said.

“I don’t think so. I have nothing to say to you. Don’t call me again.”

“Serena, I’m not going to give up that easily. I know I hurt you, but I want to make up for it. You have to give me a chance to do that.”

As much as she wanted to hang up or tell him to go straight to hell, she listened to him go on about how sorry he was.

“I should’ve been able to come to you and tell you what was going on,” he said. “But something stopped me and I have regretted that for the last five years.”

“But you didn’t. You’re years too late for me to give a damn.”

“Serena, don’t do this. Give me a chance to see you and talk to you face-to-face. I’m in Charlotte. I came here just to see you.”

Serena’s heart dropped to her feet and she
slammed on the brakes at a green light, causing the cars behind her to blast her with their horns. “You’re where?”

“In Charlotte at the Westin Hotel. Can you meet me for a drink? I really want to see you. And Serena, I’m sorry.”

Serena pressed the
END
button and tossed her phone on the floor.
Why is he here? And hell no, I am not going to have a drink with him,
she thought as she took off though the light. Her cell phone rang again and she ignored it, knowing it was Emerson.

She drove to her house trying to pretend the sound of his voice hadn’t shaken her to the core. But Serena knew at some point, she’d have to see Emerson if she wanted to move on with her life.