A Merry Little Christmas (25 page)

She shrugged. “It still hurts a little. I seem to have a big bump on the side of my head, wanna see?” Before he could answer, she came and knelt in front of him and rested her arms on his bare
thighs
so he could examine her head. His long fingers probed her thick black hair and he did indeed find a sizable knot. While he was doing that, her warm palms were tracing circles on his thighs, creating a sensation that was difficult to ignore and impossible to deny. He pulled her up to sit on the sofa next to him. Praying for control, he suggested that Angelique take a shower, also. “The steam will make you feel better and I’ll get you an ice pack for the head. I’m really good at making ice packs,” he said with a grim smile.

“Well, why don’t we shower together?” Angelique said seductively. “That way we can get nice and clean at the same time.”

Trying to conceal his panic, Donnie insisted that she shower alone. “I’ll fix us breakfast while you do that” Angelique looked disappointed, but she was touched by his offer of breakfast.

“That’s very sweet of you, Donnie. You don’t have to go to wo
r
k today?”

Donnie couldn’t help himself—he leaned over and kissed her on the temple. “I’m not going in today, baby. I don’t want to leave you, for one thing, and nobody is going anywhere for another. Look out the window.”

Angelique went to the living room window and pulled the draperies open to a winter wonderland. It had snowed about ten inches during the night and was still coming down in fat flakes. Her look of utter delight needed no exclamation; she just stood there and drank it in. Donnie looked at her and surrendered to the charming picture she made. He went to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “It is kind of pretty out there, as long as I get to be in here,” he said, nuzzling her neck.

Angelique turned around in his arms and hugged him. “With me?” she asked flirtatiously. “I’m glad to be here with you, too. By the way, what color is my toothbrush?”

He looked at her oddly and said, “It’s purple, why do you ask?”

Chapter Fifteen

Donnie and Angelique were sitting in the living room with the draperies wide open, watching the snow. Things had been progressing quite smoothly, once the after-shower incident passed. He’d been in the kitchen trying to figure out what he could possibly fix for breakfast when he heard Angelique’s voice behind
him
.

“Donnie, where is the washing machine?”

He’d turned around to see her standing in the kitchen, wearing hip-hugging white cotton panties with tiny pink pin dots and a tiny pink bow in the front. She was also wearing a very seductive half-cup bra made of the same fabric and a pair of thick white socks that should have looked totally out of place. Instead she looked incredibly sexy and adorable and he was extremely glad the refrigerator door was blocking his nether regions from her view.

“Put some clothes on!”

Angelique looked stunned for a second then put her hand on her hip and stared at him. “If you didn’t have the heat set on ‘hell’ I might be able to get dressed! This place is like an oven!” She tossed her hair back and flounced out of the kitchen, mumbling.

Donnie groaned and reached for more ice cubes. After his immediate reaction to seeing her beautiful body subsided he went to the thermostat, turned it down and went to find his very angry wife. She had dressed in jeans and one of his old sweatshirts and gave him a hostile look.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I turned the heat down. Since you’re from Atlanta, I thought you might be cold, I guess.”

Angelique looked more intrigued than angry. “I’m from Atlanta? How long have I lived here?”

“About eight months.”

“Did I move up here by myself? Do I have a family in Atlanta?” she asked curiously.

Suddenly Donnie’s heart turned over. Poor baby, she had no memory of anything about who she was and where she came from. “I’ll make you a deal. You let me take a shower and get dressed and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.
How’s that?”

She gave him a sly smile and stared at his long, strong legs and broad chest. “Well, if you just
have
to cover up that gorgeous body, I guess
it’s
okay.” She moved slowly toward him and licked her lips. “You don’t have to get dressed on my account, though. You can wear a lot less if you want.” By now she’d reached him and put her hands on his hips.

Donnie found the strength to put his hands on her shoulders and gently guide her backward out of the room. “Cut that out
. 
You’re not ready for what comes next.”

“Because of a little bump on the head?”
She pouted.

“Yes! Yes, that’s right because of your head. Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll make you a breakfast you’ll never forget and tell you anything you want to know,” he promised.

When he finally emerged from the bedroom, he was attired similarly to Angelique in old baggy jeans, thick gray socks and a tattered Alpha sweatshirt. He walked down die hall and was stunned to smell something really appetizing coming from the kitchen. To his utter surprise and gratitude, he found Angelique putting crisp bacon on a layer of paper towels to drain. There was an aromatic smell of coffee mixed with the sweet smell of the maple-cured bacon. She then turned her attention to the thick slices of bread on the counter, dipping each one into an egg mixture to prepare it for French toast. The table was already set for two and the scene was one of total domestic
tranquillity
. The snow continued to rage, but inside it was like being in a fairy tale.

“Angel, what is all this? I told you I was going to fix breakfast.”

“I know you did but I wanted to surprise you. Why can I remember how to cook but I can’t remember anything else? Isn’t this weird?” She didn’t seem very concerned though, as she continued to work until the French toast was laid neatly on the grill.

After the excellent repast, they sat facing each other across the table. Jordan and Pippen had long since given up on getting a handout and were asleep in the laundry room. Angelique looked quizzically at Donnie. “I thought you said it was March.”

Donnie confirmed that it was indeed March.

“I never knew it could snow this late in the year,” Angelique said She stared out the window, enthralled by what she saw. “It’s so pretty!”

“That’s because you grew up in Georgia, baby. If you grew up here like I did you wouldn’t think it was so cute. And you’d be used to it—it’s not unusual for us to get a big dump of snow right before spring.”

Angelique sipped the last of her coffee and looked at Donnie with a smile in her eyes. “Okay, I fed you. Now I’m going to clean up the kitchen and then you’re going to tell me who I am.”

Donnie insisted on cleaning the kitchen and further insisted that Angelique lie down while he did it. He made a fire for her in the living room and she curled up on the sofa, enjoying the
fragrant fire and the feeling of being cared for. When she woke up she was cuddled up in Donnie’s lap and he was asleep, with his long legs stretched out in front of him. She was warm and relaxed and perfectly content to stay where she was forever. There was something about being with this big, handsome man that eased all her fears and made her happy. She began to stroke his face softly, tracing his thick eyebrows, his high, defined cheekbones and his beautiful lips. His eyes opened slowly and locked on hers. They didn’t speak; they just stared into each other’s eyes. They were lost in each other, bound together in a long, timeless moment that spoke more loudly that any words could.

“How long have we been married?” Angelique whispered.
“Not very long.
We got married on Valentine’s Day,” he answered. He didn’t really want to talk, but he knew it was a better idea than the alternative, which was to take her into the bedroom and make love to her until she screamed his name without stopping.

“Did we have a big wedding? Was my family there? What
about
my family, anyway—do I have parents?”

Donnie settled her more comfortably in his arms and began talking. “We eloped. Got married in Vegas on Valentine’s Day,” he said in a soft voice. “You’re from Atlanta. You have a mother named Lillian and a stepfather named Bill Williams. His nickname is Bump and he’s a famous jazz musician. Your mother is very beautiful and very sweet and your stepfather is a card. He’s one of the funniest men I ever met. He’s also my siste
r’s godfather;
he’s been a friend of our family for a long time. You have four brothers and all of them are older than you. Clay is the oldest, then Martin and Malcolm, who are identical twins. Marcus is the youngest. All your brothers are married and you have a bunch of nieces and nephews. You’re the baby of the family and the only girl.” He rubbed his cheek against her soft, fragrant hair.

“Four brothers,” she said with wonder. “What happened to my father? Are he and my mother divorced?”

“No, baby, your father died when you were a little girl,” he said gently. “My mother died when I was a baby, so that’s something we have in common. I’m also the youngest in my family.” He proceeded to give her the Cochran family history.

Angelique was fascinated by everything he told her. “How did we meet? Was it
love
at first sight?”

Donnie laughed and assured her that it was nothing of the kind. “We met years ago when your brother Clay started dating my sister Benita. Everyone calls her Bennie except for me and my brothers and her husband. Anyway, the first time I saw you I thought you were beautiful and you thought I was a jerk and that was about it. We never got along, especially after you sabotaged Benita’s wedding shower,” he said carelessly.

“After I
what?”
Angelique looked horrified and Donnie wished he’d never brought it up. “What did I do to her shower? Tell me, I need to know.”

Hesitantly, Donnie told her that she had invited all of her brother’s old girlfriends to the shower, instead of inviting real guests. “It was just a prank, Angel, and it turned out fine. Benita’s so cool, she just made friends with everybody and it wasn’t a bad thing, not at all.”

Angelique wasn’t buying it, though. “I don’t care what you say,
Donnie, that
was a horrible thing to do. I must be a terrible person,” she said quietly. “Your family must hate me.
”

“Angel, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you that. You may have tried to disrupt Benita’s shower, but you more than made up for it when she and Clay were separated.”

“They were separated? Why?” she asked, wiping away moisture from her eyes.

“It’s another long story. When she was pregnant with their first child she had to go to California on business. While she was out there a drunk driver hit the car she was riding in. She was terribly injured and she lost the baby and
she
and Clay blamed themselves for it. They were so eaten up with guilt that they stayed away from each other for months until you got them back together,” he told her.

“I did? So maybe I’m not so bad after all?” She sounded so humble and hesitant that she won Donnie’s heart all over again.

“Baby, you’re wonderful. My family loves you, especially my father. He calls you
Babydoll
and he thinks you’re spunky. He always liked you, especially after the shower incident; he thought it was funny as hell because he wasn’t too crazy about Benita marrying Clay.”

Angelique’s eyes got big when he related this. “Does he like Clay now? He’s not still mad at him, is he?”

Donnie said no. “No, my dad respects Clay and, in his own way, he loves him. Benita is happy, which is all that matters to him. And she and Clay have some beautiful kids, so that makes him happy, too. My father used to be really possessive of Benita; she was his oldest and his only girl. Clay had to let him know what time it was and
Pop
had to deal with it.”

He continued to hold her closely and nuzzle her cheek and neck as he spoke. “My nieces and nephews all love you. You’re wonderful,” he whispered and kissed her forehead, her cheeks and her chin.

“So I moved to Michigan about eight months ago. Why did I come here?” She sat up a little so she could better see his face. “Was it because I missed you so much and wanted to be with you?”

Donnie smiled at the eagerness in her voice. “Your cousin Paris Deveraux is doing an internship with our company because we’re partnered and all our executives train with both companie
s. So she’s up here now.
And the man you were working for, Alan
Jandrewski
, moved back home to Detroit and you came with him.
  You and Paris were sharing a house before we got married,
”
he told her.

Something about the way he said
A.J.’s
name made Angelique ask if she and this man had been involved. “No,” Donnie said emphatically. “You’re just good friends.”

The familiar yearning for her took over him once again, engulfing his body in fiery sensation. He wanted her so bad, it was a physical ache, but he forced himself to behave. They couldn’t continue to hug and kiss like this if he was to keep the promise he made to himself not to touch her until her amnesia was gone. As if a brilliant idea had just occurred to him, he said, “Hey, we’d better call your cousin Paris and let her know what happened to you.”