Chapter 15
When Pearl finally pulls into the parking lot of La Petite Boulangerie, it”s almost twenty minutes after our reservation time. I glance at my watch as she hurries over to my truck with an anxious look on her face.
”Sorry! Sorry, I got stuck at work. The girl that was supposed to relieve me called out and--” She stops, her cheeks glowing a dusky pink. ”And you are not interested in all that.”
I give her a tight smile. ”Maybe save it for later. Right now, I need you to change out of your uniform and into the dress I brought for you.”
Pearl looks down and runs her fingers up the apron skirt, where a dark brown stain has taken hold. ”It”s soda,” she explains when she catches me noticing it. ”The soda machine broke and I had to climb up on the counter to reach the instrument panel.”
Suppressing a sigh, I open the door to my truck. ”Gem is lucky to have you.”
”Trust me, she knows that.” She shoots me a quick smile and climbs in. She turns in the seat and starts to unzip the back of her dress.
She doesn”t seem to know or care that anyone walking by might see her changing. Just another reminder that Pearl is totally different from the other girls I have dated. They would pout and simper when anything was the least bit hard, or wrong.
I unzip the garment bag that I brought and hand her the designer gown with pink and gold sequins. Then I partially close the door for privacy, although I don”t think Pearl really cares all that much. She pushes on the door to be let out and looks down at her sneakers. ”You didn”t happen to bring shoes, did you?”
”As long as you don”t mind recycling, I can give you the ones that you wore to the Kings game.” I check in the truck”s back seat, which resembles a mobile closet for Pearl. The personal shopper I paid to pick out fancy dresses for my fiancée just came by this morning, and I haven”t had time to move the clothes into the house yet.
I make a note to get the shopper to order more shoes.
Once I hand the gold heels over, Pearl turns away from me, showing me her spine in the unzipped dress. The flash surprises me; most girls I know would definitely care if I saw them half-naked, even after we”d had sex.
There is something almost erotic about the sight. I clamp down my raging libido, reminding myself that we are late.
There”s always later tonight for seeing Pearl”s incredible body buck naked. I take a deep breath and try to calm my suddenly-racing heart.
Pearl gathers her hair at her nape and says, ”Can you zip me?”
I can”t help brushing my fingertips along her spine. She giggles and looks back at me. I zip the dress up and help her to step away from the truck.
My eyes rove down her figure, snagging at her shapely ass. The dress fits her like a glove, and stops midthigh so her toned legs are on display.
Pearl looks like a whole-ass treat, and I”m a man who’s been starved for a thousand years. I open my mouth to suggest that we just ditch the dinner.
But Brooks sticks his head out the restaurant door and calls to me. ”There you are! Can you come inside so we can order already? I”m famished!!”
I press a kiss to Pearl”s knuckles. Leaning my head close to hers, I whisper, ”You look like a million bucks, darlin’.”
She laughs and catches my hand. ”Stop blowing air up my skirt.”
Brooks holds the door open and points us toward the private dining room. Beau Rivage is the fanciest restaurant for miles around, and its interior reflects that. All the furniture is sleek and black. The tables are lit by candlelight and the uniformed waiters rush to and fro in front of the big windows overlooking the beach, carrying drinks and plates on giant black serving trays. We bypass tables full of couples whispering to each other over their menus and step into the large room just off the reception area.
I stop as I take in the long table, and the faces of my family and Pearl”s sitting around it. No one looks particularly thrilled to see us, which isn”t exactly the way I wanted to start things off.
An older Black woman gets to her feet as soon as we enter. ”Pearl!”
Pearl puts her hands over her mouth and looks at me with wide eyes. ”You invited my family?! River! We talked about this!!”
My mom jumps up, hustling around the table to hug Pearl. ”Come in! Come in, sit down. We saved you two these seats right in the middle.”
Pearl smiles and greets her, and then heads around the table to hug her Aunt Delta, her mother, and Malik. I see that Cole, Brooks, and Rex are here, in addition to Sam. After a minute of greeting everybody, I pull out Pearl”s chair and wait for her to hurry over to it and sit down.
I sit down and look to my right. Pearl”s Aunt Delta glowers at me.
”Hello,” I say. I force a smile. ”You must be Aunt Delta.”
She looks like she”s sucking on a lemon. She picks a piece of lint from her black dress and gives me a calculating look. ”And you must be the boy that my niece has been sneaking around with. I don”t know what Pearl was thinking, hiding a relationship from her family. Makes me wonder if the engagement is even real.”
My heart rate rises and I feel my face get hot. ”Err...”
”Delta, we talked about this in the car. Nobody wants your crackpot theories, okay?” Pearl”s mom is quick to fire back. She levels an apologetic smile at me. ”I”m Flo. And you probably know Malik, Pearl”s brother.”
I nod to Flo and offer Malik a quick handshake. ”Pearl talks about you guys nonstop.”
That”s a direct lie, but it is out of my mouth before I have time to consider it. Delta arches a brow at me. ”Is that so?”
My mom, who has strategically seated herself across the table from me, jumps in the conversation to rescue me.
”Miss Jackson, I was thinking of hosting my sorority sisters for a weekend at a hotel. Your resort would actually be the perfect place. What do you think about having a group of Kappa Alphas and a lot of wine? It sounds fun.”
Delta smiles at my mother. ”We would love to have you. Here, let me give you my card so that you can call me when you have your calendar in front of you.”
She hands my mom a slick business card. Mom looks at it carefully. ”Do you guys have a website?” she asks. ”To share with the girls, before I book.”
Malik clears his throat. ”We have an Instagram. We”re The Vintages Coastal.”
Delta pats Malik”s hand. ”My nephew is very good with the internet.”
Pearl looks over to our half of the table with a timid smile. ”Is everyone playing nice over here?”
”Nice enough,” Flo says. ”We were just about to ask your fiancé a lot of personal questions. See if he”s good enough for you, Pearl.”
Delta coughs into her hand. I swear that I hear a low, ‘not a chance in hell”.
”River, what do you do for a living? How are you going to support my daughter? And your kids, I assume.”
”Mom,” Pearl squeaks. ”Please. This is the man I love.”
She puts her hand on my neck, caressing it. I lean into her touch just a little more than is necessary.
”I am the CEO of our family”s real estate company. And if it helps at all, I have a law degree from Emory University.”
Her mom purses her lips. ”That”s a good school.”
”It is,” Malik adds. ”My boyfriend wants to go there.”
”Definitely let me know if I can give a reference. Emory is nuts about students that know alumni.”
”Sounds pretty nepotistic,” Delta says, frowning.
”Aunt Delta!” Malik scolds. ”Come on. Be polite. We”re guests here.”
”Oh look!” my mom calls, desperately waving the waiter over. ”I think we could all use a nice glass of wine. Anyone else?”
”I”ll take a glass,” Flo says. She”s staring daggers at Delta.
”So what does a CEO of a real estate company do?” Delta asks, complete unperturbed.
”River is basically a project manager. Our family has a lot of construction projects going on at any one time. So River manages those and does anything that an architect doesn”t do. Isn”t that right, baby?” Mom answers.
I try not to sound sulky as I answer. ”That”s right.”
”Uh huh.” Delta looks unimpressed as a nervous waiter fills her wine glass with some expensive white wine. ”Just to be clear, though. You”re not looking for property to develop, right?”
”No,” I say, cutting off any other answers. ”The family just took on a large project north of Cape Simon. That”s what the family is focused on right now.”
I can feel Cole’s eyes on my and I see his brows knit together.
”Y”all are doing a big renovation in downtown South Shore too. Right? My sister Glory said she worked with one of you Bennetts on that,” Flo says.
I point to Cole. ”That would be Cole. He told me that Glory made him jump through hoops to get that construction permitted.”
Delta sniffs. ”She”s just doing her job as an elected representative of her community.”
Pearl smiles at Delta. ”Everyone agrees with you, Auntie.”
”Oh, they”re bringing the food,” Malik announces. ”Thank god. I”m starving.”
The next ten minutes are taken up by waiters arriving with steaming platters of coq au vin, sausage cassoulet, duck confit, salad, and various bowls of tarte tatin, bouillabaisse, baked Brie, and giant piles of crusty sliced French bread.
After we have all filled our plates, but before I manage to tuck into the first mouthwatering bite, Delta stands up.
”Let us pray,” she announces. She glares around the table, especially at Brooks, who’d stuffed half a slice of French bread in his mouth already. He swallows convulsively.
”Go ahead, Miss Delta,” Sam calls. ”Remind us why we need to give thanks.”
Delta frowns around at the table. ”Bless us, oh Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Give us this day our daily bread. Deliver us from trespassing, as we may forgive those who trespass against us. May the Lord God almighty bless these two children, who have gathered us all here to discuss their engagement. Pearl and River, let the Lord shine his light through you both. Let you both practice abstinence and chastity until you are wed, as God commands. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost...” Delta draws the moment out, making me want to squirm. ”Amen.”
”Amen!” my mother calls. ”That was the best blessing I”ve ever heard. Hear that, River?”
”It was definitely... good...” I mumble.
Pearl presses her lips together, her eyes full of mirth. I reach under the table and squeeze her thigh. She jumps at my touch and squeals. ”River!” she protests.
I flash her a wide smile. ”What?”
Pearl leans close and scolds me. ”Behave.”
”Not a chance in hell,” I whisper back.
She”s just taken a sip of water, but she spits it back into her glass. Her shoulders are shaking with laughter. ”You”re terrible,” she accuses.
”And you are an angel, descended from heaven, made to walk among us mere mortals for eternity.” I splay my hands. ”But what are you gonna do?”
Pearl”s grin is wide and genuine. ”I couldn”t possibly say.”
At this exact moment, it”s easy to forget that we are not a real couple. In fact, I struggle to recall my perfect career-minded female counterpart at all.
All I can see right now is Pearl. I drop a quick kiss to her shoulder, making her shiver. She”s so damn responsive to my every touch.
It”s even tougher to remember that this is temporary. She will go her own way, and I will go mine. There is nothing that will keep us together after the next few months.
”River?”
I blink, breaking the reverie. I turn to find that Sam is talking to me.
”What”s that?” I ask.
Sam spoons sauce onto his chicken from a nearby platter.
”I asked when Pearl was moving in with you. I assume that you two will do it sooner than later.”
”Uhh...” I stammer. I look to Pearl, as if she has the answer I”m seeking. ”I don”t know.”
Sam pauses, his fork in midair. ”Is there some reason that you don”t want to take that next step?”
I feel my face heat. ”No. Pearl and I just haven”t decided on the details. We”ve talked about it, obviously.”
”Maybe they shouldn”t move in together until they are a married couple,” Delta says, her expression tart.
”No, no,” I correct her. I don”t want Delta to go into the religious speech that I feel is building up in her throat. ”What do you think, Pearl?”
Pearl gives me a wide-eyed look. ”I don”t know, honey.”
”I think y”all should go ahead and move in,” my mom chips in. ”Just to make sure that y”all don”t drive each other crazy when you”re married. You know, he leaves his socks on the floor, she spits toothpaste in the sink without rinsing it. Get the kinks worked out.”
I tense. My mom”s words immediately put a filthy image of me, naked as a jaybird, standing over a kneeling Pearl. She”s wearing nothing but a white silk blindfold and a white silk binding on her wrists. I”m brandishing a fully erect cock and a cat-o-nine tails.
Kinky, indeed.
”Yes,” Pearl blurts out. ”Let”s do it, baby. Let”s move in together.”
Now I”m the one who has a wide-eyed look.
”Okay...” I say hesitantly. ”Whatever you want...”
I shovel a giant forkful of duck confit into my mouth, trying to figure out just what I have gotten myself into this time.