ALL HE DESIRES (Voluptuous Woman Series) (14 page)

To him this was home.

His parents had moved away some twenty years ago when he’d been twelve, but he had managed to convince them of his need to come back every summer to visit his grandmother and the mass of cousins he had left behind.

Speaking of cousins, his gaze moved to the one who had picked him up from the airport and who was now nervously pacing around the room while he unpacked. He had known Tonya long enough to know when something was on her mind, and whatever it was, he would give her time to work it off.

In the meantime, he would think about the rest and relaxation he planned to get during the next month. Around family he could chill and be himself. His relatives accepted him for who he was. To them he was merely Blake, Cleophus and Christine’s boy, another one of Thelma Savoy’s grands and cousin to all those zillion other Savoys. He smiled, thinking just how much he appreciated that.

Blake thought about how others viewed him. Some said he was cold, unapproachable, and unsociable. Personally, he didn’t consider himself any of those things. He merely lived his life the way he wanted and only associated with those he wanted to be around.

There were those who thought he was born with a camera around his neck or at least with one in his hand. That was the only explanation for him being a master craftsman with the ability to capture wildlife subjects and scenes through the eyes of a lens the way he did.

His business was photojournalism and he was proud to admit he was very successful at what he did and had numerous awards to prove it. Over the years he had made a name for himself. His work had been featured in numerous wildlife documentaries for National Geographic and several other television shows, and his books on animal photography were bestsellers with millions of copies in print.

But one of the things people could not figure out about him was how with all his notoriety, fortune and fame, he still maintained a level head and hadn’t let his accomplishments swell it.

His smile widened as he closed his luggage. Those who spent their time pondering why success hadn’t spoiled him had never had Thelma Savoy for a grandmother. She had always instilled into each one of her children and grandchildren – and was probably preaching the same message to her great-grands – that no matter how successful, rich and famous you got in life, you never forgot your roots. That was her most important rule, a rule that had stuck with him. No matter how much money he made, he much preferred living a simple life. A private yet simple one. He enjoyed having nice things but treated them as a luxury and not a necessity.

He thought of another one of Gramma Savoy’s rules: A Savoy was to always be there for another Savoy. Therefore, although he didn’t want to ask the question - not knowing what his cousin Tonya’s answer might be, and remembering she had a history of asking favors that got him in trouble more often than not - he stowed his garment bag in the closet, turned around, and asked, “Okay, Tonya, what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

He watched as she stopped pacing and smiled. She had cut her hair into a short Afro that she had dyed honey blond, which looked rather good with her creamy brown skin and the Savoy’s trademark hazel eyes.

“Since you’ve asked, there’s a tiny favor I’d like to ask of you, Blake.”

Blake had expected as much. Of all his girl cousins, he felt closest to the one standing across the room staring hopefully at him. Although there was a six year difference in their ages -- she was twenty-six and he was thirty-two -- they had always had a close relationship. He had heard through one of his cousins that she had started some sort of Internet sales company last year, but was unclear as to just what type of business it was.

“What’s the favor, Tonya?” he asked, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest.

She met his gaze. “I know you only came home to rest and relax, and I really hate to impose.”

He smiled. “You’re not imposing, now what is it?”

“I started this Internet company called Tonya’s Temptations.”

He lifted a brow. “Tonya’s Temptations?”

“Yes, it’s a lingerie company that caters to full-figured women.”

His forehead furrowed in confusion. His five-three, barely one hundred and twenty pounds, slim and trim cousin was anything but full-figured. “Why?”

She knew just what he was thinking. “Because there’s a need. I did a lot of research and sadly discovered that a lot of the well-known lingerie shops only sold merchandise up to a certain size. I thought they were making an unfair statement that full-figured women don’t want to be sexy so I decided to change that. I’m proud to say I’ve only been in business for a year and sales have been tremendous. I’m shipping out orders all over the country. Although the U.S. is my primary market, I’m steadily getting orders from places like Africa, Australia and Japan. A few months ago I decided to quit my job at the bank, step out on faith and expand the business. Starting next month I’ll be working full time for Tonya’s Temptations dot com.”

He nodded, proud of her accomplishments and her decision to become self-employed. “So what do you need from me? Another hand at stuffing boxes?” he asked, grinning.

“No, it’s something a little more involved than that.”

“What?”

“I’m doing a major overhaul to my Web site, since that’s how I get my sales. The new site is supposed to be up and running at the end of the month, but the photographer who was taking the photos for the site was called out of town unexpectedly due to a family emergency before the last model was photographed, and I need those photos into my Webmaster’s hands right away. So, I was wondering if I can impose on you to take the remaining photographs for me.”

Blake looked at her surprised. “Photographs of a model?”

“Yes, only one model and Justice is a natural and will be easy to work with.”

“Justice?” he asked, thinking the name was unusual.

“Yes, Justice Manning. I don’t think you’ve ever met her but I believe you know her brother, Bryan Manning. He’s a good friend of Tyler.”

He nodded thinking of his cousin Tyler, who was his age and a veterinarian. He recalled Bryan Manning and had heard from Tyler a few years back that Bryan was working for the FBI. Blake also recalled something else: for as long as he could remember, Tonya had a major crush on Bryan Manning.

Blake sighed deeply. “I usually don’t shoot human subjects, Tonya. I mainly stick to wildlife and wilderness scenes, but if you’re sure you can’t get someone at this late date and --”

“I can’t.”

“And if you’re certain this Justice person won’t be difficult to work with –”

“She won’t be.”

“Then I guess I can do that small favor for you. It shouldn’t take any more than a few hours to get some decent photos done.”

Tonya’s face broke into a huge, relieved smile and she quickly walked across the room to hug her cousin. “Thanks, Blake, I knew I could count on you. I’ll talk to Justice and make all the necessary arrangements, and you can use the basement at my house. The other photographer I hired said the lighting was rather good there.”

“All right. I’ll check things out tomorrow to make sure.”

Tonya’s smile widened. “You’re the greatest and I owe you one.”

***

“Justice, why are you being difficult?” Tonya asked as she reached for her wineglass.

Justice Manning picked at her salad and mumbled. “I’m not being difficult.”

“Aren’t you?” Tonya asked, her hazel gaze fixed straight on Justice’s face. The two of them were having lunch at a restaurant located on the third floor of a renovated eighteenth century building that housed the temporary staffing agency Justice owned.

Tonya had known Justice since high school and although they had attended different universities, their close friendship had spanned more than ten years. In her opinion Justice was simply beautiful, with her slanted dark eyes, straight nose, soft feminine curvy mouth and flawless sable-colored face. With her fashionably short hairstyle and expertly applied makeup, she could grace the covers of
Essence
with ease.

Seconds passed before Justice placed her fork down and met Tonya’s gaze. “You told me a woman would be photographing me.”

“And I just explained the last-minute change and the reason for it.” A slight frown marred Tonya’s smooth forehead. Justice was certainly not acting like herself today. Everyone was entitled to PMS days but for some reason Tonya had a feeling there was more behind Justice’s mood.

“Okay, girlfriend, what’s the real deal here? And I don’t buy the change of photographer from a female to a male has gotten you this agitated. So level with me, Just. What’s going on?”

Justice sighed deeply. Tonya knew her too well so there was no need to lie and say there was nothing going on. She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope and slid it in front of Tonya. “This came in the mail yesterday.”

Tonya lifted an arched brow as she picked up the envelope and pulled out the card inside. It was a wedding invitation. After reading it she released a quick hiss of breath and met Justice’s gaze. Shocked. “Harold is getting married?”

Justice shrugged. “So it seems.”

Tonya glanced back down at the invitation. Harold Roberts was the guy Justice had dated exclusively for two years. Last year he had asked Justice to marry him and she had turned him down, telling him she wasn’t ready to make that sort of commitment yet. Upset at being turned down, he had walked out of her life.

Tonya reached out and laid a hand over her friend’s. “He asked you to marry him and you turned him down, Just. You knew how much marriage and having a family meant to Harold. He was a good catch. Sooner or later some woman, willing to give him anything and everything he wanted, was bound to reel him in.”

Justice sat silently for a moment. Tonya was right. She had wanted a relationship with Harold yet at the same time had been fearful of the big C - commitment. The minute he had begun talking marriage, she had begun getting cold feet. “I know and now I can’t help but feel this tremendous sense of loss.”

Denying herself love because of being afraid of taking a chance had done nothing but cause her plenty of lonely, sleepless nights. Over the past year she had read as many self-awareness and love-and-understanding-yourself books she could get her hands on, but still, the simple truth was that when it came to men she had lumped them together, seeing the danger of failure and heartbreak in all of them.

She wished she had someone in her life who wanted to make her happy and whom she would make happy in return, but she wasn’t sure that was possible. The main reason she was suffering from commitment phobia was because divorces ran in her family. Her mother had been married three times and her two aunts were also on their third husbands. When it came to marriages, people weren’t as strong, dedicated and committed. At least it seemed that way in her family. In her opinion there didn’t seem to be such a thing as “till death do us part.”

Tonya handed her the invitation. “Do you plan to go to the wedding?”

Justice leaned back in her chair and gave Tonya a forced throaty laugh. “You know I ought to go just for the hell of it.” Then her pretended amusement faded. “But a part of me thinks I should leave well enough alone. I didn’t want Harold and he found someone else who did. I should be happy for him and accept that things wouldn’t have worked between us anyway.”

“If you feel that way then why the ‘I’m pissed off’ attitude?”

Justin grimaced. “Although I believe I did the right thing by not jumping into another relationship when things ended with him, you know as well as I do the biggest challenge for a single woman is meeting a good available man. The only ones out there seem to be emotionally handicapped or just not interested in anything but one night stands.”

Tonya took a sip of her wine and smiled. “Hey, we’re only twenty-six years old so let’s not get depressed or begin feeling hopeless. We have a few years left before the big thirty and I happen to believe in fate. There’s someone out there for the both of us. At the moment, I happen to not be looking since my heart is still set on getting your brother to notice me one day. As for you, move on; start going out more and try new things. Sitting home every night will not open the door to meeting a potential mate. But my strongest advice for you is to work on overcoming your fear of commitment and stop avoiding relationships, Justice. You should consider putting into place a plan of action that starts with realistic expectations of a relationship. When you do, everything else will fall into place the way you want them to.”

Realistic expectations of a relationship
. . .

A flood of emotions tore through Justice as she thought about it.

Since she feared she would never be able to fully commit to any man, she wasn’t looking for someone who was husband material. Nor did she want to become involved in an exclusive relationship again where the man assumed marriage would eventually be the outcome.

She wondered if she could somehow become one of those women who could date just for the sheer fun of it? In other words, could she settle for nights of passion rather than for a long-term relationship since in her book no one was ever truly happy together forever?

She sighed deeply. First, she needed to find a man who appealed to her and then take it from there. Instead of sitting back fantasizing about a fun, short-term relationship with a man, one she could accept, it was time she made things happen.