Too Little, Too Late (20 page)

B
RIAN ROLLED OVER, PAUSED
as Alexis snuggled into the sheets, then slipped from the bed. He glanced at his wife, her face glowing with her smile.

It was a night of wondrous love after he confessed, and in their bed, she told him that almost all was forgiven. He should have been smiling himself.

But he couldn’t find any joy.

He tiptoed from the bedroom, and inside the living room he lay back on the couch. Remembered what he had told his wife and wondered what would happen if he took it all back. But he couldn’t. And he wouldn’t.

He’d never been a man big on the truth, but tonight his heartache was deep as he thought about the number of ways he’d lied to Alexis.

How do I love thee? Let me count the lies!

He’d told lie after lie. Lies to cover lies. Lied because he loved her. But if God was on his side, these would be the last lies he’d ever have to tell.

Today’s lie was almost ridiculous. He’d slept with a legion of ladies, yet he had lied about this one. Lied because he had to come up with something big that Alexis would believe. And though he’d conquered many, Tonya wasn’t one of them. Just a lie to satisfy his wife.

Luckily Tonya had moved to Juneau, Alaska, and Brian’s hope was that Tonya would never leave the last frontier. That she would stay in Alaska forever and never run into Alexis.

This lie had served him well, had satisfied his wife in ways that he couldn’t have imagined. Not only did Alexis seem to understand why he never confessed to bedding Tonya, but in a warped way, Brian could tell that Tonya made Alexis feel better about this disease. If he could have sex with Tonya, surely he was a sick man.

The lie had worked.

Big time.

Too bad he still couldn’t smile.

But he couldn’t wallow. He’d done what he had to do. Now, he’d start telling the truth—but first, he had to create it. And for that, he needed a different plan. For that, he needed Jasmine.

“S
O HAVE YOU COME UP WITH
a plan yet?”

Jasmine shook her head. Days had passed, yet the ghost of the Oakland weekend remained.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Mae Frances. I’m just praying that Natasia will take one of those jobs Annika found.”

Mae Frances grinned and sat back on the couch. “I have to admit, Jasmine Larson, that was a good one.” Then she was serious again. “But you can’t depend on that alone. Not the way this witch operates. You need a Plan C to back up that Plan B.”

Mae Frances was right. But she had run out of ideas. And her thoughts weren’t on Natasia as much as they were on Hosea and the way he was since he returned from Oakland.

“Well, if you don’t have a Plan C, I’ll come up with one for you.” Mae Frances’s eyes were squinted when she stood, as if she was already deep in thought. “I’ll call a few of my connections. See if we can find out a little somethin’ somethin’ on her.”

“Thanks, Nama,” Jasmine said, although she didn’t have much hope. Women like Natasia had little to hide. They laid every card right out front for the world to see. Natasia didn’t care who knew about her plans to get Hosea. She wanted him, she would have him. Period.

At the door, Mae Frances stopped. “If my granddaughter wakes up, call me.”

“I will, but she’s so worn out from the park this morning. Thanks for taking her.”

“You know that girl is my heart.” Then Mae Frances rolled her eyes. “You need to get dressed. No use walking around here like somebody died, Jasmine Larson,” she said before she slammed the door.

Jasmine looked down at the robe she wore, even though it was after three, and she sank onto the couch. She hadn’t had the energy to get dressed. Not when she was so consumed with what was happening to her marriage.

It wasn’t like Hosea had made any great transformation—just little things that let a wife know that something was not right.

It began on Monday, when she hadn’t been able to contact Hosea all day. By five o’clock, when she finally got through, he did apologize profusely.

“I’m so sorry, darlin’, I just got caught up today.”

“I understand,” she said, although she didn’t. He’d never gotten caught up like that before the trip to Oakland.

“I’ll make it up to you tonight,” he promised.

But it was after ten by the time he came home and collapsed into bed. He’d had few words for her—just said enough to tell her how exhausted he was.

It’s just my imagination,
she’d told herself when she’d laid beside him in bed, his back turned to her.

Then on Tuesday, he’d awakened, kissed her, and said, “I want to make up for yesterday. Can you meet me at the office for lunch?”

Jasmine had been thrilled, thinking that her concerns were unfounded. As she rushed to check on Jacqueline, she was already planning how she would order a picnic basket so they could stay in. There was no telling what would happen with a couple of pieces of fried chicken behind locked doors. She giggled just thinking about it.

Then she’d walked back into their bedroom and heard, “Okay, Natasia, I’ll meet you at the Bistro at noon.” But if that wasn’t bad enough, it was the way he laughed afterward. Like he and Natasia shared something that she wasn’t privy to.

He’d flipped off the phone, turned around, and when he saw her standing there, all he said was, “Sorry, darlin’, gotta take a rain check on lunch,” as if she didn’t deserve any further explanation.

By this morning, Jasmine’s imagination and intuition had gone from zero to one hundred. So she turned to what she knew best—sex. Natasia may have had her husband in the office, but she trumped that—she had Hosea in bed.

She couldn’t sleep, waiting for the clock to strike six, not wanting to wake Hosea too early. At thirty seconds past six, she had straddled her husband, ready to give him some good, old-fashioned loving. But he’d kissed her cheek, and gently nudged her away.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got an early meeting.”

Since the day they’d married, there hadn’t been a meeting that had stopped him from a quickie. And they hadn’t made love in a week?

Something was definitely wrong.

And she was sure that something was Natasia.

The ringing hotel telephone gave her hope. Maybe Mae Frances had uncovered something already.

“Hey, what did you find?”

“Uh, Jasmine, this is Brian.”

She bolted up straight. “What do you want?”

He stayed civil although she’d done nothing to hide her contempt for him. “I want to meet with you and your husband.”

“No way.”

“I’m not trying to start anything. You said your husband knows about me and the baby. So I need to talk to the two of you. To discuss your intentions.”

“Our only intention is to keep you out of our lives.”

“That’s what I want.”

“Then it’s done. Over. We don’t need to meet, and you don’t need to call anymore.”

“Jasmine, I’m not going away. I need to see you, talk to you straight. And I’ll keep calling until you agree to see me.” He paused. “I’ll call your husband if I have to.”

She could not believe this was happening. Not now, in the middle of her disaster.

“What is this really about, Brian? Are you trying to get involved with my daughter?”

“No,” he spoke so loudly, she had to move the handset a couple of inches from her ear. “I don’t want…look, all I want is one face-to-face meeting so that we’re on the same page. I want to let you guys know my plans and I want to know yours so that nothing comes up later. A quick meeting. In and out. After this meeting, you’ll never hear from me again.”

Jasmine wanted to just hang up, but she certainly didn’t want him calling Hosea. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than her husband getting a call from Brian.

“Okay,” she said, anger still in her voice and her heart.

He gave her his number. “And Jasmine, if I don’t hear from you, I’ll be—”

She slammed down the phone before he could finish his threat.

“G
OTTA SEC
?” N
ATASIA PEEKED
into Hosea’s office.

She wore that smile that still made him melt. “What’s going down?”

“Wendy will be handling the meeting this afternoon. I just filled her in.”

Hosea frowned. Since their return from Oakland, Natasia seemed to be avoiding him—passing off a meeting on Monday, canceling their lunch date on Tuesday, and then she’d been out of the studio on Wednesday and Thursday. She hadn’t made a single pass, hadn’t called him sweetie once. For the first time since they’d come together again, their relationship was totally professional. Exactly how it was supposed to be.

So why did he feel so bad?

“You don’t have a problem with Wendy, do you?” She tilted her head in just that way that he used to say was so adorable.

“No,” and then he wanted to kick himself for sounding like a disappointed teenager. He cleared his throat, brought the bass back into his voice. “You have another meeting?”

“Nope. For once, I’m putting pleasure before business.” She leaned over his desk, her cleavage right in front of his nose. “You wanna know what I’ll be doing?”

He had to look up to see her eyes. “If you want to tell me.”

“I’m going on a date.”

“With whom?” The moment he asked the question, he regretted it. Why did he want to know?

“With Mario. He told me I have a lot of making up to do since I canceled last weekend because of our…business in Oakland.” She paused as if she were giving him time to remember their trip, their kiss. “Anyway,” she continued, “he has big plans for me.”

“How did you hook up with him?” Again, more regret for caring.

“I met him a few years ago at the Emmys. But we weren’t able to connect until I got out here.” She paused, sat back, and looked straight into his eyes. “Seems like L.A. is turning out to be a very good place for me.”

“Great.”

“So, if there’s nothing else…”

“Nope.”

“Then I’m out.” She stood, wiggled her fingers. “Enjoy your weekend. I’m sure I will.”

She sashayed toward the door, moving as if she knew his eyes were on her behind.

For the rest of the afternoon and through the early evening meeting, the vision of Natasia walking away from him had stayed.

Even now, as he sat in his office trying to prepare for Monday’s taping, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

What is going on?
he wondered. Why was he spending so many hours thinking about a woman who wasn’t his wife?

It had begun with that kiss.

Now everything about Natasia made him remember. Made him wonder. Made him yearn.

Made him sick.

He needed to go home. Apologize to Jasmine. Not that he’d really done anything, but that was the problem. He’d been distracted, pushing aside his wife and daughter.

All because of one little kiss.

He needed to get Natasia out of his mind and out of his marriage. He grabbed his jacket and headed toward the door. He had a lot of making up to do.

Even in the dark he could see most of her face. And to Hosea, his wife was still the most beautiful woman he knew.

This is the woman God chose for me.

He knelt down at the side of the sofa, kissed her cheek. Jasmine stirred, then her eyes fluttered open.

“Umm, Hosea. What time is it?”

“It’s late. Were you waiting for me?”

She nodded; her eyes were glazed with sleep. “I needed to talk to you.” She tightened her robe around her waist.

“I’m sorry, darlin’.”

For the first time in days, he saw her smile. She put her arms around his neck. “That’s okay. You were working, right?”

“Yeah.” He kissed her nose, then sat next to her. “Did you have a good day?”

She shrugged. “It was all right. I didn’t do much. Missed you, though. I’ve been missing you a lot.”

“Spoken like a wife.”

“Spoken like a wife in love.”

He pulled her into his arms. Kissed her, then leaned back and held her. They rested on the sofa, in the quiet, in the dark.

“What did you want to talk about?”

He couldn’t see her face, but he could feel her smile go away. “It’s late. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

“No, I’ve been distracted enough this week. Tonight, it’s all about you. Let’s talk…unless…this is about Natasia.”

“No.”

“Good, ’cause like I said, no one can come between us.” He stopped when he felt her stiffen. With his fingers, he lifted her chin. Made her look at him. “Talk to me.”

It took a moment. “I got a call today. From Brian.” Another pause. “Jacquie’s fa—”

Now, it was Hosea’s smile that was gone. “I know who he is. What did he want?”

“He wasn’t calling for me, Hosea,” she said quickly. “He wanted…he knows…he has some questions about Jacquie.”

He tried not to push her away. Moved slowly, gently. Sat up straight. But he couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice. “You told him he’s Jacqueline’s father?”

“No, I never said anything to him. But somehow he knew.”

His eyes narrowed. “You told me you never spoke to him after that day…” He stopped, his mind swelled with memories. But he shoved them aside. He didn’t need to focus on the pain of the past.

“I don’t know how he found out, or how he knew that we were here in L.A. But he called…”

He waited for her to say more and then wondered why she stopped. Wondered what she was hiding. Was this the first call she had received from Brian? Had she and Brian been meeting all of this time? Had their affair…

He took a breath and threw those ridiculous questions away. Jasmine had not been with another man. She would never cheat on him, never lie to him again.

“Well,” he began slowly, “I wanted Brian to know the truth when the time was right.”

She exhaled as if she was relieved. Moved closer to him and spoke softly, “He said he wants to know our intentions. I think he wants to know if we want anything from him.” She placed her hand on top of his, but he didn’t move. “He wants to meet.”

His doubts came rushing back. “He wants to meet with you?”

“With us.”

He stayed still, considering the idea. Then, he nodded. “Let’s do it.” Gently, he nudged her hands away from his. “Let’s handle this right here, right now.” His hands folded into fists. “Brian needs to know
my intentions
—that I’m not giving anything to anybody.”

Jasmine waited a moment. “Are you sure you want to do this? Because we don’t have to.”

“Yeah, I want to meet with him. Make it plain. Face him man-to-man. So he can look in my eyes and know where I stand.” He could hear, feel his anger rising. And then he knew that time had not healed his wounds. He peered at his wife and tried not to think of her as the source of his pain. “Call Brian,” he said, once again pushing aside his suspicions. “Set it up. As soon as possible.”

“Okay.” She paused. “Hosea, you know that I love you, right?” Gently, she pressed her lips against his. “Come with me,” she said, lust filling her voice.

He had rushed home to see his wife, to be with her, make love to her. But the memories of Jasmine with Brian were poison. Made him not want to touch her ever again.

“Come on,” she said again. “I’ve missed you.”

He’d missed her, too. But now Brian was in his head. “You go on. I’ll be there in a while.”

Her eyes pleaded with him before the words began. “I’m so sorry, Hosea.”

“Nothing for you to be sorry about, right?” He prayed that was the truth. “It’s fine, Jasmine,” he said, even though it wasn’t. “I’ll join you in a little while.”

Slowly, she walked toward the bedroom, then stopped at the archway. She looked back with hope in her eyes, but he was right where she left him.

When he heard their bedroom door close, he sighed. He couldn’t believe that Brian Lewis was back. He’d expected this day to come—but way in the future. When it was time for Jacqueline. He wasn’t ready for it now.

He leaned back, closed his eyes, and tried to forget. But all he could do was remember. The day he’d been betrayed.

It should have been the best of times when he walked into that hospital, his pockets full of pink-cellophane-wrapped cigars. All he wanted to do that night was kiss his wife and new baby girl good night, then rush out to prepare for their homecoming.

But instead, his bride of six months had spoken words that had crushed his heart into pieces.

“Hosea, I had an affair.”

Those five words had stopped him from breathing. “What did you say”? he had asked, sure that he had somehow had a stroke that had confused his brain cells.

“I had an affair. And the baby, our baby, is not—”

Jasmine had tried to stop there, but he had made her say it. Had forced her to tell him the whole truth.

“Are you saying that Jacqueline is not my daughter?”

“Yes.” And then she started talking about how she’d been faithful from the moment they became engaged.

Like that even mattered.

In those minutes, she’d taken away what he’d wanted for a lifetime—a child of his own.

Even now, that was too much misery for him to bear. He needed to get away from these thoughts, this pain that could still bring him to his knees. He needed to be somewhere else. Another place. Another time.

He settled into the sofa. Closed his eyes and thought about Natasia.