Forever's Promise. Farrah Rochon
eyes still locked with his, she slowly eased her fingers out of his grasp. “While I appreciate the invitation, I’m just too busy these days. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. Good night, Dr. Wright.”
No way was he giving up this easily, not after the forceful surge that had overpowered the air between them a moment ago.
“What can I do to convince you to reconsider?” Xavier asked.
So now he was pleading for a date? What in the hell was going on with him?
A group of spandex-clad women of varying ages walked through the front door.
“Good night, Dr. Wright,” Shayla said again.
Swallowing a frustrated groan, Xavier accepted defeat. For now.
“Good night,” he said, staring at her retreating form as she turned and headed for one of the tables toward the back of the room. He continued to stare as she set up an iPod docking station and attached a set of speakers to it.
Just as he turned to leave, Margery Lambert, who’d brought her grandson to the clinic last week with a virus, stopped him. As she went on and on about the child’s antics over the past week, the Zumba class started. Xavier barely registered Mrs. Lambert’s words as Shayla began to instruct her students. His mouth dried up at the sight of her perfectly curved hips rotating to the Latin dance beats coming from the iPod.
God, she was beautiful. And sexy.
And definitely worth another attempt at asking out to dinner.
It took him a moment to reacquaint himself with the idea of actually pursuing a woman. Sure, he’d hooked up with a couple of women over the past year—women who knew from the start that he wanted a no-strings-attached deal. Dinner wasn’t even expected, just a mutual meeting of body parts to fulfill a certain need. But when he’d asked Shayla to dinner, a casual hookup had been the last thing on his mind.
“Oh, I’m missing the warm-up,” Mrs. Lambert said. “Anyway, Jayden is doing so much better. Thank you again, Dr. Wright. I am so grateful to have you and the others at the new clinic.”
Xavier jerked to attention. Had she been talking to him this whole time?
“I... You’re welcome,” he said before Mrs. Lambert went over to join the rest of the class.
He lingered for a few minutes before forcing himself to exit the coffee shop. As he strolled to his Jeep, he prayed that visions of Shayla Kirkland’s swaying hips didn’t keep him up half the night.
* * *
“What about marshmallows?” Kristi clapped her hands excitedly and jumped up and down as if she’d just come up with the best recipe in the history of the universe.
“I’m not sure marshmallows will work in these cookies,” Shayla said. “What if we try bulgur wheat, chai seeds and raisins?”
That got her the “you must be an alien who just sprouted two heads and an extra arm” look from both nieces.
“Okay, nix the chai,” Shayla said. She’d throw them in there when they weren’t looking.
“And add chocolate chips,” Kristi suggested.
They compromised on a dark chocolate drizzle. Even with the extra chocolate the cookies would still be better than the junk Shayla had encountered Kristi eating when she’d dropped in unannounced during snack time at school today. She’d walked into the classroom and had to stop herself from snatching the honeybun slathered with thick icing from her niece’s hands.
Discovering what passed for snacks at Kristi’s preschool only reaffirmed Shayla’s quest to break the cycle of unhealthy eating habits in this area before her nieces fell into the trap. Tonight’s baking adventure served double-duty. Not only was it another way to bond with the girls, but it also gave her a chance to test a few new recipes for The Jazzy Bean.
She’d been ecstatic to find a supplier in New Orleans that specialized in heart-healthy organic baked goods, but their prices had increased by 15 percent in the past six months. It was hard enough convincing customers to try the healthier options; they definitely would not be willing to pay a premium for them.
“What time does mommy get here?” Kristi asked as she sprinkled in raisins a little at a time.
“She should be getting in any minute. Her airplane landed at eight o’clock.”
Cass’s eyes darted to the stove. “She’s going to fuss at us for not being in bed.”
“She’ll be so happy to see you I think she’ll forgive you this one time.”
The sound of tires crunching the shelled driveway could be heard through the opened kitchen window.
“Mommy!” Cassidy and Kristi both screamed. They took off for the back door. Moments later, her sister-in-law walked into the house. She stooped and gathered her girls in a group hug.
“Welcome back,” Shayla said, wiping dough from her fingers.
“It’s good to be back,” Leslie said. “I’ve missed you girls so much.” She planted loud kisses on each daughter’s cheek. “Did you two have fun with Auntie Shayla?”
Kristi nodded. “I went to the hospital.”
Leslie’s gaze flew to Shayla, her eyes wide with dismay. “What happened?”
Damn. She’d wanted to ease that bit of news into the conversation. She should have known Kristi would be eager to share her E.R. adventure with her mother.
“It turned out to be nothing,” Shayla said.
“What’s nothing?”
“Kristi ate the color that goes on the Easter eggs,” Cassidy supplied.
Shayla quickly filled her in on yesterday’s mishap.
“The E.R. visit was probably overboard, but I didn’t want to take any chances,” she tacked on.
After an awkwardly long silence that only ratcheted up Shayla’s anxiety, Leslie smoothed a hand over Kristi’s springy curls and said, “Well, I guess accidents happen.”
Shayla’s head snapped back in surprise. Of all the reactions that had swarmed through her head, that had not been one of them. She hadn’t expected Leslie to yell and scream—that just wasn’t in her sister-in-law’s quiet nature—but she’d anticipated more of a reprimand, or at least a dirty look.
“You girls go and get your things,” Leslie said. “It’s past your bedtime and there’s school tomorrow.”
Shayla waited until they were alone before saying, “I really am sorry, Les.”
“It’s okay. I know how hard it is. You can’t watch them every minute of every day.”
“But I had to watch them for only a few days. I swear, I thought I would die when I saw Kristi vomiting all over the place.”
“You should have been here when Cassidy got an ink pen cap stuck up her nose. Braylon needed more comforting than she did.” Leslie laughed, then she covered her mouth with her hand as if she’d done something wrong.
Shayla’s heart broke in two. “Oh, Leslie. There’s nothing wrong with talking about him.”
She took a step forward, intending to what? Hug her? Place a comforting hand on her shoulder?
It didn’t matter, because Leslie backed away, moving to the counter where Shayla had stacked the DVDs, board games, and crayons and coloring books Leslie had provided before she’d left for Houston.
Tension suffused the air, the brief gaiety of a few moments ago obliterated by the mention of her brother’s name.
If only she could figure out a way to get them all past their grief.
She was still learning her way when it came to her family, never