Chapter 7
M ark’s favorite way to unwind after a hard day at work was to grab a tasty snack and lay around watching a movie or tv show.
Tonight’s tasty snack was stuffed mushrooms. The show was a beautiful, tasty woman in a form-fitting red dress who looked like she’d rather be anywhere else other than talking to her ex-husband.
He popped a mushroom in his mouth as he watched her. Earlier, after the introductions, Brooklyn hadn’t been any help in that department. She was too frazzled and too distracted to answer any of his many deliberately vague questions. All he’d managed to find out was that she and Orion were divorced, which he knew already, and that Davion was still upset about it. Also obvious. The only new information he gleaned was that she worked as a flight attendant.
He threw in some questions about the boys, too, for a little razzle dazzle. Apparently Amari wanted to be a pilot, and Sylvan was headed to medical school soon. Cool. He’d tried to bring the conversation back to Sunny, but Brooklyn lost interest by then because Daisy, the wedding planner, walked in with another problem to solve.
Mark’s usual problem-solving measure was to pull out his Amex, but money wasn’t gonna fix the fact that the weather forecast had changed.
That was the last thing Brooklyn needed to hear.
He’d left them to discuss the idea of moving the outdoor wedding inside. He showered and changed into his suit, then went to the kitchen to check on the food. When he saw Cici, in that dress, his chest tightened. His body heated. It was a foreign feeling to him, something he hadn’t experienced since Alayna was alive. Sometimes, he thought his desires had died with her.
Looking at Cici, he realized he’d been mistaken.
He’d told the band to play their song, wondering if she’d even remember. But watching her from the kitchen, he saw the flicker of recognition cross her pretty face.
And then he airdropped her.
He’d debated doing it for several minutes before remembering this was his house, and he was a grown ass man. She had made him forget that. She made him feel like that nineteen year old boy again.
They say you’re a man at eighteen, but if so, Mark suffered from arrested development. He didn’t become a man until her .
Now, he put one foot in front of the other until he stood across from her and her ex.
“Good to see you two,” he said. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay so far.”
“It’s all good,” Orion said, looking him up and down. “I was just telling Sunny, you gotta loosen up, man. You so buttoned up.”
Mark smiled tightly, something Sunny knew was a warning.
“Sunny, can I speak with you for a minute?”
She nodded and followed behind him as he walked away, leaving Orion alone and wondering what he said wrong.
The music faded as they walked, lingering in the air behind them until silence overtook it. They finally stopped in a dimly lit hallway off the kitchen. A secret place that held the promise of something. Sunny looked up at him and waited. When his face broke into a real smile, she let out the breath she’d been holding.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” he said. His deep baritone caressed her ears, making her shiver.
“I know,” she managed to say. “It’s a small world.”
He shook his head slowly as he walked into her space, muttering, “Come ‘ere, girl.”
He swept her into his arms, pinning her to him in a way that made her breathless. She wrapped her free arm around his neck, inhaling deeply, smelling his cologne, triggering memories she’d repressed a long time ago. Love. Lust. Pain.
The air was easier to breathe once they parted.
“Sunnecia Johnson.” He smiled. “I mean Dixon .”
“Markez Bennett. I mean Dr. Mark. ”
He bellowed out a laugh. “It’s been damn near thirty years. Two name changes. Two marriages. Six kids. But goddamn, girl. You still got it.”
That was the second time she’d heard that this evening, but it may as well have been the first. It was the only one that made her feel something.
“I can’t get over us meeting again like this,” she said. “My head is still spinning.”
“Mine, too.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear, gazing at him like she once did, making him feel weak.
“And yes, I heard our song.”
He chuckled. “There’s so much I wanna say to you. Questions I wanna ask.”
“I’m listening.”
Heat passed between them, their eyes fixed on each other like no one else in the world mattered. “How do I get on your schedule?” he said.
She laughed. “You tell me . You planned this whole thing from top to bottom.”
“I can’t take the credit. That’s all Daisy.”
“Daisy?”
“Wedding planner.”
She smiled. “That’s her real name?”
“Hell if I know.” He laughed. “How do we do this?”
“Do what?”
“I wanna talk. I wanna…” he trailed off, grabbing her hand in his. “I wanna get reacquainted. If this was a regular situation, I’d be asking if I can take you to dinner.”
“So ask me.”
His full lips curled into a sly smile. “Oh, it’s like that?”
“It is like that, Kez.”
He took another step toward her, leaving roughly an inch of space between them. “So, Cici’s still in there, huh?”
She gazed up at him through her lashes. “Cici never left.”
“Tonight, then? When it’s quiet,” he said as he brought her hand up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “When all of this wedding shit is over. Can we go out there on the beach and have dinner?”
She inhaled a quick, shaky breath. “Absolutely. I guess you can message me when everything is ready. I’d give you my number, but it doesn’t seem like you need it.”
He nodded. “And we’re on the same page as far as—“
“Nobody needs to know. There’s already enough going on.”
“Right.
His eyes were fixed again, this time on her neck. Her collarbone. Her full breasts straining against the thin red fabric of her dress. Her nipples, poking ever so gently, so slight, she probably didn’t realize. But he knew every inch of her body backwards and forwards. He could read every expression. Decipher subtle changes in her breathing. Best of all, or worst, he could physically feel her desire. Even after all these years.
He licked his lips, swallowing hard.
She dropped her gaze to her hand, still nestled tightly in his.
“Can I get my hand back?” she teased.
He ran his thumb across the back of her hand, relishing the silky softness of her skin.
“You can,” he said as he released her. “For now.”
Without another word, because she didn’t need one, Cici turned and switched out of his kitchen—and right back into his heart.
He blew out a breath, shaking his head as he relished the sight of her.
And he thought this weekend was gonna be boring.