Chapter 7 #2
“Yeah, baby. I thought your sister would like that, seeing as she’s posted about it so many times on her social media.”
“You have been checking me out too.” Delphi chuckles.
“Only to see if you liked certain foods.”
“I can’t believe you know Judson Newman. He’s a hottie.”
“I’ll be sure to let him know you think so.”
“We’ll have to go back to the condo after the ride to shower and get ready. With yesterday’s rain, it will be muddy.”
“No problem. We’ll stop at my place. I’ll have Jethro grab you each some clean clothes.”
“Girl, don’t break up with him. If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.” Delphi smacks her sister on the shoulder.
“No, he’s mine.” Daphne pulls my hand to her chest and holds on tight.
I love that she’s getting jealous for me with her twin.
I pull into the park, and the girls start to get out.
“Stay there, ladies. My mom raised a gentleman,” I tell them both, and they remain seated.
Rounding the vehicle, I let Delphi out first.
“I’ll be sure to tell her what a gentleman you are,” Delphi says as she moves to the back of the truck.
She doesn’t know what her words mean, and my heart hurts for a moment. When I let Daphne out, she immediately hugs me.
“She doesn’t know. I haven’t told her,” she whispers in my ear.
It warms my heart, making it thump harder that she’s worried about me.
“It was a long time ago. But thank you, little girl,” I whisper back.
“Did I miss something?” Delphi asks.
“Darrell lost his parents years ago.”
“Oh my God. I’m always putting my foot in my mouth. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“It’s fine.” I nod and touch her arm as I move to the back of the vehicle. “My sister was still in high school when it happened.”
“I read about your sister. She’s a bigwig at the Nashville Zoo. She traveled around before she settled there.”
“Yeah. I’m hoping to take Daphne up there in a couple of weeks to meet her and my niece and nephew.”
“I’m going to be moving to the Nashville area. Haven’t decided where yet. I need to hurry because I move in two weeks. I think I’m going to do what Daphy is doing and just rent a condo, although I want to buy.”
“Where around Nashville are you thinking?” I ask her. “I know several areas. I have friends who live in Chapelville. I could get a hold of them and see if they know of any places.”
“Oh, that would be nice.”
“Give me a moment.”
After I get their bikes out of the back of the truck, I text Poseidon to see if he has any ins.
He’s a part of Cronus’s group and works for a construction company too.
Then I message Jethro, telling him to have the clerk at the boutique where I got Daphne’s gown pull two outfits for the women.
I tell him to make sure they’re styles they’ll like.
He sends back an emoji face with its tongue stuck out.
“One of these days, I’m going to fire that smart ass.”
“Who?” Daphne asks.
“Jethro. He’s giving me a hard time.”
“Doesn’t he take days off?”
“No. He’s paid well enough to work whenever I need him.”
“After he finishes those couple of tasks you gave him, tell him to take the rest of the afternoon off.”
I text him.
Me
Daphne says to tell you once you complete these tasks, you can take the afternoon off.
I’m not shocked by his response, and I show her.
Jethro
Am I being fired?
She takes my phone.
Me
This is Daphne. No, you are not being fired. He just needs to give you time off once in a while.
Jethro
Thank you, ma’am. But he’s paying for me to go to Greece next month for two weeks.
Me
Good for you.
She hands me back my phone, and I realize I better make sure he has a good person stepping in for him while he’s gone. I will go crazy without him.
“You better really give him those two weeks off,” she says, full of sass, and I pull her into me before she puts on her helmet.
“Baby, are you going to come take care of me while he’s gone?”
“You can’t afford me.” She teases, then kisses me quickly before climbing onto her bike. “Let’s go. Last one back here buys dinner.”
We take off, having fun and biking through the park. We stop for a break at the top. I love seeing Daphne so free and happy. She’s got mud all over her, but she doesn’t care. She’s just happy.
Delphi is the same, but she’s complaining a bit about the mud in her hair.
We stop for a group photo at one point. We’re at the top of the mountain, looking over the valley, with Chattanooga in the distance. I wrap my arms around Daphne and snap a selfie of the two of us before Delphi takes the phone from my hand and takes a few more pictures.
“I’m sending that one to Mom and Dad.” Delphi teases. “I won’t post them online, though, not that I can right now. But I don’t want to cause any issues with the paparazzi for you, Darrell.”
“Don’t worry about it. Titan should have you back online soon. As for posting pictures, I don’t really care, unless you only want your family and friends to see them.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m not going to hide what I have with your sister.” I lean in and kiss Daphne’s nose. “Okay, gear up. Let’s get back to the truck.”
I make sure I’m the last one to pull into the parking lot because I’m buying dinner, but also, I want to keep an eye on both of them.
A couple of hours later, we’re all showered, dressed in nice clothes, and climbing into the Range Rover.
Delphi sits up front next to Totten, turned around in her seat talking to us.
She’s been looking at some of the properties Poseidon forwarded to me.
His construction company usually handles specialty construction, but they recently finished a couple of fully loaded luxury homes.
When we pull up to the restaurant, I get out and help both women from the SUV, taking Daphne’s arm as we head inside. My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it for a moment while we get seated in the booth. Finally, I pull it out and look at the text message.
Hades
What the fuck, dude? She’s off limits.
Me
WTF are you talking about?
“How the hell are there two of them?”
Judson’s deep voice pulls me away from watching the bubbles appear and disappear on my screen. He must be typing one hell of a message.
“I get one of them.”
“As long as it isn’t mine.” I pull Daphne toward me.
“Hello, I’m Delphi.” She holds her hand out to Judson. “I’m a huge fan. I can’t wait to taste your creations in person.”
“Damn, babe. That’s sexy. I’ll make you anything you want as long as you keep talking to me in that perfect southern belle voice of yours.”
“Don’t make me blush, Mr. Newman.” She flirts back with him, and I know she’s pulling his leg. I’ve been with her all day. I’ve gotten to know her.
“Call me Judson, beautiful.”
My phone vibrates, and I look down at it.
Hades
Delphi Placer is not going to be a notch in your bedpost, fucker. We might be friends, but if you touch her, I’ll break every bone in your body.
I chuckle, and Daphne leans toward me.
I want to show her what he’s saying, but I don’t want to give anything away if her sister hasn’t told her.
A picture of Daphne and me from the gala last night pops up in the next message, and that explains why he thinks I’m with Delphi.
Me
That’s her twin sister, Daphne, on my arm. Delphi is beautiful, but she isn’t my girl. Daphne is mine. Didn’t you know she had a twin?
Hades
Well yes, but I didn’t realize they looked like carbon copies of each other.
Carefully, so that I’m not caught, I snap a picture of Delphi flirting with Judson.
Me
Might want to hurry with your claim. Judson is going in for the kill.
It’s not fair that I’m pitting my friends against each other, but it will make next month when we all get together for fighting more interesting. I won’t tell Cronus. He’ll put money on Judson, who will get his ass kicked if Hades has half the feelings for Delphi that I have for Daphne.
I pull her close to me, and she smiles at me as she watches Delphi and Judson talk food.
I’m hiring Nelly from the boutique to be Daphne’s personal shopper. She picked out another beautiful piece for my woman to wear. It’s a long pink floral V-neck maxi dress that looks amazing on her. A slit runs high along her leg, perfectly placed so I can rest my hand on her warm skin.
The outfit she chose for Delphi, I’ve heard numerous times tonight is her style to a T. It’s a green leather skirt that falls to her knees, a bondage-style long-sleeved top, and matching green heels.
Both of them are breathtaking, but my girl is perfect.
My phone buzzes again.
Hades
I’ll kill the fucker. I claimed her back in college. It’s not my fault she has this stupid rule. I’m doing everything I can to break it so I can get her to go out with me again.
Me
Good luck. She’s pretty stubborn.
Hades
How do you know?
Me
I’ve spent all day with her and Daphne. We went mountain biking, and now we’re having dinner.
Hades
Fuck. I didn’t know she was heading out of town. Keep an eye on her for me.
Me
I’ll think about it.
I set my phone face down on the table and proceed to spend time with both the lovely ladies who have graced me with their presence.
When I drop them off later, I’m sad I won’t get my nightly time with Daphne, but I want her to spend time with her sister. I don’t want to take that away from her.