Before I Let You Go (5 page)

“Are you ready to get going?”

He glanced at her smiling face. Damn, he wasn’t sure how long he had been staring, making a fool of himself. “Yeah, um…sure.”

Diamere shifted and made himself comfortable behind the wheel. “I hope you like Clarence’s?”

Kelly turned her head toward him, eyes sparkling with amusement. “I love it. In fact, that’s where Essence and I were going to go before you arrived.”

Diamere put on his seat belt, but hesitated before starting the car. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your lunch plans. If you’d rather eat with Essence than me, I understand.”

“No, I’d be happy to have lunch with you.”

“Good,” he replied, happy with her answer. He turned the key in the ignition and a rush of cool air circulated through the vents. The temperature was already well over eighty degrees and it was barely noon. He maneuvered
the luxury SUV through the residential neighborhood in the direction of the small, popular restaurant.

“So are you playing hooky today? Wait, I forgot. You’re the boss.”

He took a quick glance at Kelly and chuckled. “I see you’ve still got your sense of humor. Actually, I had some business to take care of in Wilmington. I finished early so I thought I would swing by to see if I could steal you away for lunch.”

“I’m glad you did.”

Pleased by her confession, he smiled.

On the ride to the restaurant, just a few blocks away, they chatted about the weather and the upcoming school year before Kelly steered the conversation back to them.

“How did you know what time I left for lunch?”

Diamere took his eyes off the road long enough to admit, “I called Mark last night. Essence grabbed the phone and told me.”

Kelly flipped her hair away from her face and blushed prettily. “I’m gonna kill that girl,” she replied, then added, “but, really, I’m glad you came by.”

Diamere pulled into the parking lot and brought the car to a stop. Her honesty caused unexpected warmth to surge through him. He knew Kelly was attracted to him. He could see it in her eyes. It was also obvious in the kisses they had shared a few nights ago. Yet it still felt as if she put up a brick wall with a sign that said Predators Beware. Her comment gave him hope that maybe he was getting somewhere.

He turned in his seat. “To be totally honest, I was looking for an excuse to see you.” From the look on her face, Diamere could tell his response surprised her.

“Why?”

He met her eyes. “Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since Friday.” He couldn’t stop looking at her, either—at those earthy cinnamon eyes. Did she realize her mere presence kept him hot and aroused? No longer able to resist, Diamere leaned over and pressed his lips against hers. Light and affectionate, his mouth just touched hers, yet he experienced an explosive sensation. Smiling, he drew back. Diamere could sense her breath quickening. Good. He wasn’t the only one who felt desire brewing wildly between them. Confident he had given her enough to think about, he opened his door and climbed out.

K
elly barely had time to take two deep breaths before Diamere opened her door. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and dizziness still lingered from their kiss. He took her hand and she stepped out of the SUV, pulse racing.
Get it together
, she kept telling herself. She had no plans to fall for this man again, and knew she needed to keep her head straight to accomplish that. The last thing she needed was for Diamere to think she was the least bit interested in a relationship.

He shut the door, but instead of releasing her, he laced his fingers with hers and led her to the restaurant. As soon as they stepped inside, the smell of catfish hit her nose and her stomach growled.

“I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who’s hungry,” Diamere teased.

She giggled and followed him to a table near the window.

The place was already busy with the lunch rush. Kelly took a seat in the chair Diamere offered to her, and rested her hands on the red-and-white-checkered tablecloth. Glancing around the room, she eyed the rhythm and blues photos and memorabilia mounted on the walls until their waitress arrived with their menus. A pretty twenty-something, her face lit up the instant she spotted Diamere.

“Hey, Diamere!” she exclaimed merrily.

He smiled with recognition. “How are you doing, Tammy? How’re the boys?”

She rolled her eyes. “They’re a handful, but we’re all doing great.”

Diamere looked over at Kelly. “Tammy, this is my good friend Kelly. Tammy is one of my former employees,” he explained.

Kelly shook her proffered hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Same here,” she said, then changed to her professional mode. “Today’s special is catfish, shrimp and coleslaw, for five ninety-nine.”

Kelly looked at Diamere and nodded. “That sounds good to me.”

He held up his fingers. “Make that two. And I’ll also take a sweetened tea.”

“Me, too,” Kelly stated.

Tammy scribbled across a small pad. “All right. Two specials with iced teas, coming right up.”

As soon as she moved toward the kitchen, Diamere leaned forward and said in a low voice, “She’s really come a long way.”

Kelly looked at him with interest. “What do you mean?”

“She was in an abusive relationship with her husband for years. After seeing one black eye too many, I told her either she had to leave the bastard or I was going to personally kill him and make her a widow,” he replied with sympathy and anger pooling in his eyes. “Thank God she took her boys and left him. He tried to get her back but she finally stood strong and divorced him.”

“Thank goodness for that.”

Diamere nodded and leaned back in the chair. “She was one of my best employees.”

Curious, Kelly crossed her arms. “Then why doesn’t she still work for you?”

The corner of his lips tilted upward. “I used to own this restaurant.”

“What? You owned…” Her voice trailed off as she suddenly remembered something. “This used to be your father’s restaurant.” She recalled that Darren Redmond used to own a successful family restaurant, one she had eaten in on at least two occasions.

Diamere nodded. “Yep. But after my dad passed away I decided the restaurant business was not for me, so I sold it to my cousin, Bianca Beaumont, and her husband, London Brown, who happens to own the Clarence’s Infamous Chicken and Fish House franchise.”

“Wow!” Kelly cried, then glanced around the room. “I’ve been here many times before but it never even dawned on me that this was the same restaurant.”

His eyes also traveled around and his smile widened. “It’s the same place, just a different look. I still have part ownership, but I now focus all my attention on the three women in my life.”

Kelly gave him a puzzled look. “Three women?”

“Ja’net, Diamond and Hadley. I have to put business first, you know.”

She laughed as Diamere tried to keep a straight face, but eventually he gave in and laughed along with her. Tammy returned with their drinks and Kelly thanked her, then brought the straw to her lips and sipped. “Wow! This tea is really good.”

“That’s why folks buy it by the gallon.”

They talked about the restaurant until their food arrived. Kelly’s stomach growled again the second Tammy lowered the plate to the table. As soon as she was gone, Kelly bit into the fried fish and couldn’t resist a moan. No one battered seafood like Clarence’s. “What made you decide to buy a nightclub—or, correction, three?” she asked, breaking the momentary silence.

“Opportunity,” Diamere told her between bites. “A friend of mine was trying to sell the clubs to cover his brother’s legal fees. I jumped at the chance. Renovated the places and changed the dress codes, and a year later I’ve got three of the hottest clubs in Philadelphia.”

She smiled, happy for his success. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks. I put a lot of hours into my business. After Ryan and I divorced, I needed something to take my mind off of her and the twins.”

“Essence told me what happened. I’m so sorry,” Kelly said apologetically.

“Thanks. I really miss those girls and tried to be a part of their lives, but their real father flat-out refused.” Diamere stabbed a shrimp with his fork. “Them’s the breaks. You know what they say—once, shame on her, twice, shame on me. All I know is I’ll never set myself up for failure again.”

She didn’t miss the hint of bitterness in his voice. Kelly knew exactly what he meant. She had been foolish once, as well, giving her heart to a man, and had even been ready to give him the most precious gift a woman ever could give a man—her virginity. Thank goodness she had found out the truth in time.

“What’s your story? Last I heard you were living in Texas and getting married.”

She met his gaze. “It was before I realized I was about to make a terrible mistake. I walked in on my fiancé and another woman.”

“Ouch.”

“Right.” Kelly finished chewing, then shrugged. “After that I realized I truly missed being home.”

“Any regrets?”

She met his intense look and felt her insides turn liquid. “Nope. No regrets. I finally found the right path. I’m back here teaching and going to Wilmington University at night, working on my master’s degree.”

“Good for you.”

“Thanks. Our assistant principal is leaving at the end of the first semester. Her husband got a job in Los Angeles and she’s going with him. I’m planning to apply for her job.”

“That’s great, but I thought you liked teaching.”

She had asked herself that same question several times while she had been weighing the pros and cons. “As long as I’m still working with the students, I’ll be happy. And this way I can work with a whole lot of them.”

While they finished their lunch they talked about her upcoming school semester and how she planned to take a few days to go down to Rehoboth Beach to her
grandparents’ summer home. That would be the only vacation she’d have all year, although she planned to spend the majority of the time working on her thesis.

After Diamere took care of the bill, he escorted her out to the SUV and they drove back to the school in silence. Kelly had to admit she’d had a fabulous time with him. Even after all these years, Diamere was still the same carefree man with an amazing personality.

He pulled in beside her Saturn, then came around and opened the door for her. Kelly stepped out of the Navigator and tried to get past him, but Diamere was blocking her way. Suddenly, she became nervous. “Thanks for lunch.”

“The pleasure was all mine.”

The word
pleasure
had a weird effect on her and she felt her insides quiver. Pleasure was something she was desperately missing in her life.

They gazed at each other for a long, intense moment before he said, “I’d like to take you to dinner and a movie on Friday.”

His offer shocked her. She met his eyes and tried not to drown in their depth. “Why?” Her heart was now beating frantically. If she didn’t get away from him she was going to do something foolish, like allow him to kiss her again.

Diamere took a step closer. “Why?” He smiled. “Do you really have to ask why? Because we have some unfinished business.”

The air around them snapped, crackled and popped with sexual tension. The look he gave her told her he was thinking about the last night they had spent together seven years ago, and how close she had come to giving in to her desires and allowing him to…

Kelly shook off the thought. There was no way they could go back to that day. What happened was in the past and needed to stay there. So much had happened since then. They had both changed and were two different people. She tried swallowing and ran her sweaty hands across her hips. “I think some things are better left alone,” she said, barely above a whisper.

“I disagree.” He lifted a hand to her waist and brought her body flush against his. “If things hadn’t happened the way they had…If Ryan hadn’t…” He drew a deep breath and Kelly knew he was trying to keep his cool as he tried not to remember what that woman had put him through. “I just want to finish where we left off.”

She licked her lips nervously. “We’re not the same people.”

“Maybe not, but we’re both still attracted to each other and that’s not about to go away.” He pulled her tighter. “How about at least agreeing to have dinner with me?”

Kelly had to tilt her head to meet his eyes, and gave Diamere a light nod.

“I knew you would.”

Before she could say anything, Diamere dropped his lips down on hers, his tongue effortlessly opening her to him, and then she felt it. Passion. And when his tongue touched hers, she heard a moan. It took her a second before she realized it had come from her. She brought her arms around his neck, locked her fingers together and leaned in closer. The blood surged through her veins, lowering her resistance and blotting out all the reasons why kissing him again was wrong. Right now none of that mattered. She let him kiss her, let him taste her. His lips were hot and urgent and so damn
irresistible. This was what she had been longing for the past several days. His taste. His smell. The feel of his body next to hers. He pulled her closer and yet it still wasn’t close enough as far as she was concerned. Everything else around them vanished and at that exact moment nothing else existed except for Diamere kissing her.

As the kiss deepened, all Kelly could think about were her wants and desires, and right now she wanted desperately to feel his mouth on hers, his tongue dancing with hers, his body pressing against hers. Diamere slid his hands down her back, rounding her hips and cupping the swell of her bottom as he lifted her gently off her feet. Another helpless moan slid from her lips. The man had skills. He deepened the kiss and she felt shock and excitement all tangled up in one—a magnificent sensation.

Pulling her even closer, Diamere pressed Kelly against his arousal. Knowing how badly he wanted her drove her even crazier. She wanted him, too. His hand slid around the front of her dress and cupped the swell of her aching breasts. Through the seersucker fabric, Kelly could feel the heat of his touch. His hand was kneading, stroking while his index finger circled the sensitive peaks straining in response against her cotton bra. Kelly wanted him. She wanted him so badly her body was humming with a need she had never felt before…and that was a problem.

Her eyes flew open and she pushed hard against his chest. “Diamere, please!” she cried finally. “We’re acting like kids!”

“Well, we are in an elementary school parking lot.” He laughed as if sincerely amused.

“Ha ha! Very funny,” Kelly replied as she pulled her dress back into place. What in the world was she thinking, allowing him to ravish her in the parking lot of her school? What if Principal Combs witnessed the two of them acting like a pair of horny teenagers? Angry more at herself than at him, she wiped her mouth and met his eyes with a stern look. “Look, thanks for lunch, but I need to go before I end up losing my job.”

Diamere caught her arm just as she brushed past him. “Kelly, wait. I’m sorry. I’ll agree that things did get a little out of hand here, but there’s something about you that makes it hard for me to behave properly when you’re around.”

She saw the sincerity in his eyes, and knew what he meant firsthand. She had no control over her own emotions when she was around him, either.

“No harm done,” she replied, then looked over at the school to make sure Principal Combs’s office window wasn’t in plain view, sighing with relief when it wasn’t.

“Hey, why don’t you let me make it up to you and take you to a movie on Friday?”

Her brows rose. “What happened to dinner?”

His laugh was deep, warm and rich. “That, too. You can even have some popcorn if you want it.”

Smiling, she turned on her heel and moved toward her car. “I might just take you up on that offer. I’ll be in touch.”

Chuckling, he called after her, “Don’t keep me waiting too long.”

Kelly climbed into her car feeling better than she had in months. She would let Diamere sweat a little even though she had every intention of spending Friday
evening with him. At the blink of an eye, Diamere Redmond had managed to wiggle his way back into her life. She wasn’t prepared yet to admit how she felt about that. But one thing was for sure—no matter what happened between them, she would never allow him to get close to her heart.