Dream Girl Awakened (34 page)

“Is that okay with you?” Royce asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“What did you say?” she asked.

“I asked if you'd be all right staying at my place for a while. You won't actually be staying with me. There's a carriage house in back of my property and you're welcome to live there 'til you get back on your feet.”

“What about Millicent?”

“Millie and I have been divorced for about two years now. After our daughter died, things never were the same between us. I filed. I don't think she wanted to admit we were through.”

“I wish you'd told me that. Ms. Millicent was always nice to me when she came by the office. I envied your relationship. How long were you married?”

“Thirty-four years.”

“That's a lifetime.”

Royce drove past the main dwelling to the carriage house. His in-laws had passed on four years ago, leaving the house lifeless.

“Royce, this place is beautiful. Are you sure it's okay for me to stay?”

“Last time I checked, my name was on the deed to both places. Come on inside.”

Royce removed her bag and gifts from the trunk. He gave her a set of keys to the house and stepped just inside the living room, giving her time and space to take in her surroundings.

“Get some rest and call me if you want to go out later tonight.”

“Royce, I'm speechless. If it takes me forever, I promise I'll make this up to you.” She hugged him and counted the ways she'd show him just how much she appreciated his kindness.

“Baby, don't fidget. Let me get this tie straight,” said Shandy.

“How many times do I have to tell you I can knot my own tie, Shan?” James joked and swatted Shandy's hand.

“And have us looking crazy at this banquet? No way.”

“Oh, I'm representing
you,
now, huh?”

“Don't you forget it, either.” Shandy kissed James on the lips, grateful for an evening on the town. Maybe this kiss would be a precursor to a night of passion that kept eluding them.

“Slow your roll, Ms. Fulton. We've got all night to be together,” James chided.

I won't start with him tonight. I'll let things unfold.
“So how long do you think this shindig will last? When Isaak gets worked up, he can't stop. Even Katrina can't make him be quiet.”

“If my mentor wants to talk all night, let him. Sitting at his feet made me the success I am, so you won't hear any complaints from me.”

James raked his fingers through his curly mane as he eyed Shandy. His thoughts worked double-time to concoct another excuse to be intimate with her. They'd grown closer over the past four years of dating, but something was missing in their relationship and he couldn't put his finger on it. He knew any man would gladly trade places with him. Shandy had become his business partner first, then his lover. She'd moved in with him over a year ago and went to work making his house her own. She
never uttered why, but he knew the renovation was to erase all traces of his ex-wife, Aruba.

Maybe Shan could erase traces of Aruba, but he couldn't. Of late, Aruba was all he thought about. Their divorce had ended bitterly after she pursued her friend's husband, Winston, and won hands down. Aruba waited for him to get his act together, encouraged him to work, and reassured him she'd always be there for him. She held out for ten years and then swiped back the promise of forever when she discovered he'd had an affair with Tawatha Gipson, a secretary at his former job. Tawatha's obsession graduated to insanity when she burned three of her children in a house fire to be with him. He marveled at Aruba's audacity, self-righteousness, and unwillingness to give their marriage a second chance since she crept with Winston just as he crept with Tawatha. Who was he kidding? It would have been chance number 300 after the way he'd treated her. If that wasn't enough, an out-of-wedlock daughter he produced with Tawatha, Jameshia, was still at the forefront of his mind. He always said if he had a child, he wanted to be a part of the child's life. This wasn't how it was supposed to be and he didn't know how to make things right. The few times he'd visited Aruba in Los Angeles, their son, Jeremiah, refused to talk to him. Little man had grown into a sharp, witty nine-year-old who needed him.

“So will I have to stage a mutiny for a vegetarian meal tonight?” Shandy asked, coaxing James from his thoughts of Jeremiah and past indiscretions.

“I got that taken care of already. I know how much you detest meat, Shan.”

“Keep eating secretions if you like. I just want my man to be healthy.”

“I'm pure meat and potatoes. Always have been, always will be.”

“I'll wear you down eventually,” said Shandy.
Literally and figuratively.
She wanted to know what he was thinking but was too afraid to ask. When she scooted closer to him at night in bed and rubbed his hair or his stomach, he'd turn to her, eyes still shut, and say, “I miss you, Aruba.” The only thing she knew about their divorce was that Aruba cheated on him with her girlfriend's husband. She wondered why he'd miss a woman like Aruba and why, after all these years, he seemed filled with regret. The last time she broached the subject, an ugly shouting match ensued, James stormed out the house, and he spent two nights in a hotel. No way was she mentioning the subject again. She loved him so much and wanted to be the new Mrs. Dixon. This summer would be the mother of all tests because his son, Jeremiah, was coming to stay from late-May to August. Her exposure to children was babysitting her niece, Kathryn, whenever she visited Vegas and gave her twin brother, Simeon, a night on the town with his wife.

“And afterward, we can go dancing if you like,” said James.

“What did you say?” asked Shandy.

“I said after the banquet, we can go dancing if you like.”

“Or we can come home and make passionate love until the sun comes up.”

“Is that all I am to you?” joked James.

“Of course not. That's one of many things I like about you, James Dixon.”

Shandy twirled around in her teal and black floor-length dress. She'd had her shoulder-length hair pulled back in a bun and her makeup done at the same studio she'd frequented since meeting James. Maybe James would find the look appealing enough tonight. She always looked good on his arm; lately, she had found it hard to captivate him behind closed doors.

Tonight has to be different. I can't take this pain much longer.

Stacy Campbell was born and raised in Sparta, Georgia, where she spent summers on her family's front porch listening to the animated tales of her older relatives. She lives with her family in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dream Girl Awakened
is her first novel. You may visit the author on Facebook.

You may also email Stacy at
[email protected]
or visit her website at
www.stacyloveswriting.com
.

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COVER DESIGN BY MARION DESIGNS
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY KEITH SAUNDERS

Strebor Books

P.O. Box 6505

Largo, MD 20792

Strebor Books
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

© 2013 by Stacy Campbell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792.

ISBN 978-1-59309-457-7

ISBN 978-1-4516-9654-7 (ebook)

LCCN 2012951344

First Strebor Books trade paperback edition February 2013

Cover design:
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Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders/Marion Designs

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