Only One for Me (12 page)

She’d never stopped loving him.
Instead, she learned how to live without him.

Yasmine fell for him when she was a
geeky freshman in high school and he was a senior. Class president,
president of the Academic and Science Clubs, as well as captain of
the golf team, he was one of the most popular and handsome boys at
their school. Besides nodding his head and saying hello in the
hallway, he barely knew she was alive. The only reason he
acknowledged her was because her mother was his mentor and favorite
teacher. Eight years later, when Yasmine was reading to her first
grade class waiting for the volunteer reader, she was pleasantly
surprised to see Cannon Arrington standing in the doorway, staring
at her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world. That
had been fourteen years ago, and he still stirred her heart as he
had then.

The less she saw or spoke to him the
better because she didn’t want to fall for him again. But she knew
in her heart that would be impossible. Cannon had a charismatic air
about him that drew her to him, and she didn’t know how much longer
she could handle planning the wedding if it meant having to deal
with him.

She closed her laptop, grabbed her
cell phone, and went to the kitchen for a slice of leftover pizza.
She was alone tonight in the house she grew up in. Her mother was
spending the weekend out of town with her boyfriend. Yasmine was
happy that her mother found love again after losing her husband.
Frederick Dubose had been a workaholic, working around the clock as
a financial analyst. He died from his second heart attack on
Christmas Eve when Yasmine was only ten. She’d been devastated
because she was a daddy’s girl. While dating Cannon, she realized
how similar he was to her father, and she tried to make him stop
and smell the roses every once and a while, but that didn’t last
long. She wasn’t surprised when he wanted to postpone their
wedding, considering he’d postponed or cancelled everything else,
which was why she felt the best thing to do was to let him go. He’d
hurt her too many times and that was the last straw.

The ringing of her cell phone startled
her. Glancing at the clock on the stove, she saw it was almost
midnight. It was a Memphis number she didn’t recognize but answered
it anyway.

“
Hello?” she asked in a
cautious manner.

“
Hey there,” the sexy,
deep voice on the other end answered.

Her heart dropped. Why was Cannon
calling her so late … or at all?

“
I wanted to talk to you
about the floral arrangements. I figured you’d still be
awake.”

“
I was just about to turn
in so make it quick,” she said in a curt tone and immediately felt
bad about it. This wasn’t about them. It was about making sure her
best friend had the wedding of her dreams.

“
I spoke to my
brother-in-law’s cousin who is the event planner for his
restaurant. She also does floral arrangements on the side. I sent
her the invoice, and she can do the same arrangements for half or
maybe even a third of the cost by ordering the flowers wholesale
from a distributor she uses.”

“
Really? That would be
great, but have you seen her work?”

“
Yes. She did the floral
arrangements for Shelbi and Bria’s weddings. They were out of this
world. Better than the ones that the wedding coordinator showed
us.”

She placed the slice of pizza in the
microwave and hit one minute. “Wait. I knew Bria was married
because I saw her all over magazines and the Internet with ex
basketball player Rasheed Vincent, but when did little Shelbi get
married?” She’d also seen pictures of the wedding party, including
one with Cannon looking suave and handsome in his
tuxedo.

He laughed. “Little Shelbi is all
grown up now. She got married a year ago to Justin Richardson. He’s
the owner and chef of Lillian’s Dinner and Blues Club over on
Beale. She’s also in her second year of her residency at Memphis
Central.”

“
That’s great. I thought
she would be a chef at her own restaurant. Your baby sister can
cook.”

“
She still can, but she
leaves it to her husband now. But she did have a short stint as a
food critic, and she has a food blog called “Cooking up Love.”
However, my parents were happy when she decided to continue her
medical career instead.”

“
I know your parents
wanted you all to become doctors. How are they doing?”

“
They’re quite well and
semi-retired, working only three days a week even though my father
is still a heart surgeon so he may work more days at the hospital.
They travel a lot. Raven and I run the practice now.”

“
How’s Raven? Is she
married with children? That’s all she talked about.”

“
Well, she did get married
a few years ago, but her husband was a police officer and died in
the line of duty three months after their wedding.”

“
That’s horrible. I’m
truly sorry to hear that. How is she coping?”

“
Well, you know Raven. She
knows how to be strong on the outside, but as her twin brother, I
know it still hurts her. I think she needs a change of
scenery.”

“
Wow. A lot has changed in
twelve years.”

“
Yes it has, and I would
love to continue to catch up with you, Yaz,” he said in a sincere
manner. “I meant what I said earlier. I’ve missed you.”

“
Cannon—”

“
I know. I won’t say
anything else. However, Zaria, that’s Justin cousin, can meet with
us tomorrow afternoon at the restaurant if you’re free to look at
her portfolio.”

Yasmine was glad for the change of
subject. She could feel herself wanting to tell him just how much
she’d missed him, too.

“
Yes. The sooner the
better. Sherika called me earlier frustrated about something else.
Luckily she and Doug will be here in a few weeks to meet with the
coordinator and the caterer.”

“
That’s good. There’s only
so much we can do considering it’s not our wedding.”

She sighed. It was time to get off the
phone before she said the wrong thing.

“
What time?”

“
Zaria said around four.
Do you need me to pick you up?”

“
No, I know where Beale
Street is. I’m sure I can find the restaurant.”

“
Just checking. I’ll be on
your side of town tomorrow. I’m going to beat Sean in a round a
golf since the weather is going to be nice.”

“
How could I forget about
Sean? How is he?”

“
The same. Still a player.
He says he’s a lifelong bachelor, but he just needs a good woman to
make him fall.”

“
I’m sure he’ll meet the
right woman one day.” She let out a big yawn. “Sorry. It’s been a
long day.”
More like a long
week.

“
Well … I’ll let you get
some rest.”

She could hear the reluctance in his
voice, but she knew it was time to get off the phone. When they’d
first started dating, they would talk on the phone all night, and
she didn’t want this to be one of those sessions.

“
All right, see you
tomorrow.”

“
Sweet dreams,
Yasmine.”

Chapter Four

Yasmine sat in her car in the parking
lot behind Lillian’s and took a deep breath. She was frustrated by
the fact that she had to see Cannon again for the third time in a
week. She almost ran her fingers through her hair, but stopped as
she remembered she’d just left the salon and didn’t want to mess it
up. Her hair was styled in the pixie cut that she normally wore,
but since she’d been back in Memphis, she just washed her hair and
wore her natural curls.

She’d tossed and turned the night
before after getting off of the phone with him. His voice in her
ear had turned her on. She found herself as she had many nights
before pretending her hands were his, running them over her body as
he would, caressing her breasts tenderly and then moving down to
her moist center, massaging herself with an urgency of needing to
feel him inside of her again, driving her crazy as always. She
screamed his name when her orgasm erupted through her body sending
her into convulsions. His scent, which still lingered on her from
earlier, seeped through her pores and mingled with her sweat that
had drenched her body and sheets. She smiled briefly before the
tears began to flow. She missed the way their bodies would be
meshed together, wet and uninhibited. The few men she’d been with
after him could never carry her to a place of serenity and complete
freedom as he had. With him she could be herself sexually and
sensually, holding nothing back. After one more round of pleasure,
she’d finally managed to drift off to sleep, not completely
satisfied because he was the only one that could accomplish
that.

Now she had to face him once again and
hoped that last night’s guilty pleasure wasn’t written all over her
face. A black BMW sedan backed into the parking space beside her,
and the driver’s window rolled down. She pushed the button to do
the same on her car.

“
Been waiting long?”
Cannon asked.

“
Nope. Just pulled up a
few minutes ago.”

Moments later they walked to the front
of the restaurant. Cannon was on his cell phone with Zaria asking
her to unlock the door because the restaurant didn’t open until
five. Yasmine walked slightly behind him taking in the view. He was
dressed in a pair of khakis that hugged his butt perfectly, a gold
golf shirt with an argyle black and gold sweater vest over it. His
invigorating scent turned her on even more, and she hoped she
wouldn’t jump him as last night’s escapade still invaded her
thoughts.

When they approached the door, a
handsome man in a chef’s jacket and untamed, curly sexy hair leaned
against the door.

“
What’s up, Justin?”
Cannon asked. “I was expecting to see Zaria.”

“
I’m waiting for
Shelbi.”

Cannon turned to Yasmine and made
introductions.

They shook hands, and she could
definitely see Shelbi with Justin. He was the cool, artsy type that
Shelbi used to hang with when she was a teenager.

“
Nice to meet you,
Yasmine,” Justin said and glanced at Cannon. “Are you two staying
for dinner? We have a band playing tonight that mixes R&B with
jazz and blues. You have to check it out.”

“
I don’t know.” Cannon
turned to Yasmine with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile. “Are we
staying for dinner?”

Yasmine hated being put on the spot,
especially considering Justin seemed sincere and excited about them
eating at his establishment. However, she refused to let Cannon get
his way. She agreed to be cordial but not accommodating.

“
That sounds really nice,
Justin, but I can’t tonight. However, I’ll come back with my mother
before I move back to Atlanta.”

“
Cool. Let me know in
advance so you can sit in the VIP section.”

They bid Justin good-bye as he stayed
outside to wait for his wife.

“
What was that about?”
Yasmine asked as they stood alone in the dining room. “You didn’t
have to put me on the spot just to get me to have dinner with
you.”

“
I wasn’t trying to. He
asked, not me … but I think you’d like Lillian’s. It reminds me of
the place I took you for our first date.”

Yasmine had been so angry with him
that she hadn’t noticed the restaurant. It wasn’t some hole in the
wall juke joint; it was a very classy establishment. Red brocade
toppers adorned black tablecloths under glass overlays and
silverware rolled in black napkins. Wineglasses and a candle in the
middle elegantly finished the inviting table scene. The walnut
hardwood floors shone brilliantly, and brick walls rose two
stories, ornamented with abstract pieces. There was another dining
area on the second floor and sparkling chandeliers were
strategically placed throughout the entire restaurant adding to its
stylish ambiance. She’d read the reviews online before coming and
learned that it was a southern soul food restaurant that focused on
healthy ways to prepare meals. She thought perhaps she could order
something to go, because she didn’t want to sit across a table from
Cannon.

“
It’s quite beautiful and
the aromas floating from the kitchen are making me hungry, but I’m
not promising you a dinner date tonight,” she said, following him
through the dining area to a hallway of offices. They stopped in
front of a slightly ajar door, and Cannon lightly knocked on
it.

“
Who said anything about a
date?” He winked and pushed the door open. “Hey, Zaria.”

“
You’re late,” Zaria
Richardson said in a serious tone as she stood from her desk. She
was a tall, strikingly beautiful woman with smooth, toffee skin and
flowing brown hair down to her waist that wasn’t a weave or a wig.
Her red suit fit like a glove and stopped right before her knees,
showcasing long legs. She should’ve been on a run way in Paris not
an event planner for a restaurant.

“
Blame your cousin.”
Cannon laughed as he gave Zaria a hug. “We were here on
time.”

After he made the introductions, they
looked over the portfolios. Yasmine was quite impressed with the
bouquets and flower arrangements that Zaria had created for various
functions at the restaurant, as well as weddings and
receptions.