From One Night to Forever

Avon, Massachusetts

Copyright © 2015 by Synithia Williams.

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by

Crimson Romance

an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.

10151 Carver Road, Suite 200

Blue Ash, OH 45242. U.S.A.

www.crimsonromance.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-8674-8

ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8674-3

eISBN 10: 1-4405-8675-6

eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-8675-0

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

Cover art ©atic12/123RF © Leonid Smirnov/123RF.

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• Title Page
  
• Copyright Page
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  
• Chapter 22
  
• Chapter 23
  
• Chapter 24
  
• Chapter 25
  
• Chapter 26
  
• Chapter 27
  
• Chapter 28
  
• Chapter 29
  
• Chapter 30
  
• Chapter 31
  
• Epilogue
  
• Acknowledgments
  
• About the Author
  
• More from the Author
  
• More from Crimson Romance
  

Aaron Henderson’s stomach kept up the angry growl it had started twenty miles down the road as he walked across the packed parking lot of Momma’s Kitchen. The hotel clerk had recommended the restaurant after Aaron had parked his big rig, Bertha, and checked in. The lively sounds of a band filtered from the restaurant’s closed door. The name
Momma’s Kitchen
in pink neon letters glowed from a sign over a front porch. When the clerk had mentioned the place, Aaron remembered his friend Reggie Holmes saying something about the restaurant and the good food.

Reggie was the reason Aaron was in Resilient, Tennessee. After two years of talking about merging their trucking companies, Aaron and his old college friend were actually taking the steps to do it. Both successful in their own right, the merger would make their company a leading contender for transportation in the Southeast.

Not bad for a college dropout. A grin spread across Aaron’s lips. Many people had sneered and thought he was crazy when he’d sold all his belongings, cashed out the savings account his parents had set up for him, dropped out of Appalachian State, and bought Bertha ten years ago. Hell, he hadn’t thought his spur-of-the-moment decision to drive big rigs and see the country would turn into running his own business, and four years ago when he’d hired his first driver he hadn’t imagined he’d be on the verge of doubling the size of his company. Henderson and Holmes Trucking would one day be a powerhouse in the freight industry. He not only believed that; he was certain. Things always worked out for him.

A couple came through the front door, increasing the sound of the music and bringing out the savory smells of good food. Aaron’s stomach growled in appreciation, and he jogged up the stairs and through the front door. He quickly scanned the busy seating area. Tables covered the black-and-white-checkered floor and were filled with couples, some families, and groups of guys. A young woman belted out Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” accompanied by a band in the far right corner. A long wooden bar with silver and black stools ran along the left wall.

Aaron turned to the hostess standing behind a podium right near the door. “How long is the wait?”

The hostess smiled, emphasizing a pair of cute dimples. Her ponytail swung to the side as she checked the list. “Umm…about twenty minutes. Unless you want to sit at the bar.”

She met his eye and the corner of her friendly smile went up a little more with interest. Aaron grinned and his eyes flicked down to the abundance of cleavage in the white button-up shirt straining to contain her blessings. Cute, definitely, with golden tan skin and shiny dark hair, but he guessed she was in her early twenties. Not too young for him, since he was only thirty, but the early twenties came with drama and he didn’t need more drama.

“I’ll wait at the bar, sweetie, thanks.” He winked and the hostess licked her full lips.

Aaron chuckled to himself and rubbed the stubble on his chin. He strolled to the bar and grabbed an empty seat in the middle. The female bartender scrambled from the back holding a tray filled with glasses in her arms. She dropped the tray with a rattle on the shelf behind the bar, wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, and then waved his way.

“I’ll be with you in just a second,” she said and hurried to fill two of the new glasses with beer from the tap and gave them to two men sitting at the end. After chatting and laughing with them, she made her way down the bar to him.

“What can I get you?” She looked up from her notebook and her friendly smile tilted up with interest.

She was another cutie, more his age, and with enough curves to cushion a man for days. She wore the same tight white button-up and black pants as the hostess and other waitresses he’d spotted. No wonder Reggie told him to check out this place. The women were beautiful.

“I’ll start with a Budweiser and a menu.” He glanced at the name tag on her chest. “Monique.”

“You got it, handsome.” She winked and handed him a menu from beneath the bar, then sashayed over to fix his drink.

The woman on stage finished her song and the place erupted in cheers. The guy next to him whistled. “Another one, Kacey!”

The rest of the place joined in whistling and asking for more. Aaron raised a brow and watched as the performer waved a hand and shook her head.

“Come on, this is my night off.” The smile on her face said she was loving the call for encores despite her words.

“One more. One more!” someone chanted.

“Fine, one more, then I’m going back to the bar. I’m supposed to be celebrating,” she said with a laugh. “Not working.”

The guy next to Aaron bumped him with his elbow. “She can celebrate with me, know what I’m saying?” The guy chuckled.

Aaron grinned and let out a light laugh. “I guess she’s a local favorite.”

“Oh, yes. Everyone loves Kacey. Good girl, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind being her surfboard for the night.” He elbowed Aaron again. “Know what I’m saying?”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah, I get you.”

The cute bartender came back with his beer. “Ready to order?”

Aaron barely glimpsed at the menu. “Just bring me the best thing in the place.”

She flipped her waist-length hair over her shoulder and batted her long lashes. “I’m not on the menu.”

Aha, so it was like that. Aaron checked her out again, appreciating the smooth brown skin and voluptuous curves. Her thick makeup wasn’t his thing, nor the extra-long lashes, but that wasn’t enough to make him not take interest.

You’re here on business, not to get laid,
he reminded himself. That could wait until he got things settled with the merger. But it didn’t mean he couldn’t lay the foundation for a future hookup with a little harmless flirting.

“That’s too bad,” he said with a smile. “I guess I’ll have to compensate with a burger and fries.”

She slid the notebook into the pocket of her apron and gave him another flirtatious look. “Coming right up.” Her full hips swung suggestively as she sauntered over to put in his order. She gave another glance at him over her shoulder.

Business, man, business
. He had enough female drama in his life right now. Too many glasses of champagne at his sister Janiyah’s wedding to his best friend, Fred, had contributed to Aaron making the monumental mistake of sleeping with Janiyah’s best friend, Liz. The sex was good; the two—or three—hookups the organ below his belt agreed on later weren’t bad, either. On the way up his oldest brother, Kareem, had called to say that Aaron’s hookup with Liz had led Janiyah to believe Aaron and Liz were becoming serious.

At least the misinterpretation wasn’t on Liz’s end. They’d been on the same page with their friends-with-benefits relationship. He and Liz hadn’t hooked up in the last three months. He hadn’t been in town much, and she’d gotten back together with her ex-boyfriend, an architect she had an off-again, on-again relationship with.

The band revved up and the sounds of “Lady Marmalade” filled the place. The guy next to him drummed his hands on the bar. “I love it when she sings this,” he said to Aaron.

Aaron nodded at the guy’s enthusiasm. “Number-one fan” would be an understatement of the man’s excitement. Aaron focused back on the woman who had the poor guy so enthralled.

His first thought was she was a little too skinny. He liked them like the bartender, but the songstress had perfect curves in just the right locations. Her face immediately drew him in. She wasn’t classically beautiful—some would say her lips were too full or her cheeks too sharp—but that didn’t prevent Aaron’s heart from starting a crazy rhythm.

She swayed from side to side with the music. Her slim hips hypnotized him and the rest of the men in the crowd with their easy flow in dark jeans and tall black heels. A red tank top with a white heart with wings spread across her perfect rack, and dark straight hair brushed her russet brown shoulders. With each word and graceful movement she commanded the stage. Her voice belted out to perfection the suggestive lyrics with enough passion to have Aaron shifting in his seat.

Aaron tapped the guy next to him. “Hey, what’s her name again?”

“Kacey,” the guy said almost with idolization.

Kacey? He would’ve expected something more elaborate or flamboyant. Something more suited to the goddess onstage.

“Me and her used to hang out,” the guy said. “I think I may try to rekindle that flame tonight. Know what I’m saying?” Another elbow to Aaron. “Show her why breaking up with me wasn’t such a good idea.”

Aaron shook his head. The guy’s overuse of the elbow and “know what I’m saying” made Aaron think Kacey was smart for breaking things off.

Aaron picked up his beer without taking his attention off the woman onstage, the curvy bartender forgotten. Aaron brought the bottle to his lips and watched the seductive sway of Kacey’s hips as she sang the Creole words every man wanted to hear from a beautiful woman. “Do you want to go to bed with me tonight?” Heat rose slowly up his body, an affirmative answer to her lyrical question.

No complications, remember?

Aaron pushed the thought aside. Talking to her a little wasn’t the same as going home with her.

“Can I get you another drink?” Monique asked.

Aaron shook his head. “No, but you can send one over to her on my tab when she’s done.” He pointed to his stage goddess.

Monique cocked a brow and chuckled. “No offense, but you’re the sixth person who’s ordered my sister a drink tonight.”

Aaron leaned on the bar. “Sister, huh? One of these guys in here special to her?”

Monique shook her head and leaned a hand on her hip. “Nope.”

“And there are five guys ahead of me interested in getting her attention tonight?”