My Kind of Girl (11 page)

“
Hey. I was just chilling
with Cait,” Garrett said as the two men got on the
elevator.

“
Cool.” Sean pressed the
ground floor button. “You’re going to see her again?”

“
Um … maybe. I don’t know.
She’s nice, but … I doubt it. So how was your evening? It’s only
one o’clock in the morning. I’m surprised you aren’t spending the
night.”

“
Yeah, I’m surprised,
too.”

“
She turned you down?” They
stepped off the elevator and headed to the double doors that led to
the street.

“
No. We agreed we’d just
get to know each other first. No point in rushing.” The more he
spoke it out loud he was still in shock. He had a chance to be with
her tonight. Even had two magnums in his wallet.

“
Wait? What? Man, you’re
falling hard. Real hard.”

“
Yep. I can’t believe it
either, but Traci is the type of woman I’ve been searching for.
She’s my kind of girl, and I intend to make her mine.”

Chapter Seven

Sean strolled into Raven’s home a few
minutes before the family meeting was supposed to begin. Delicious
aromas drifted to his nose and perked his taste buds. He stopped by
the dining room first and peeked his head in to see the display of
food that Justin set up for everyone to sample. Zaria had emailed
the menu selection, and Sean couldn’t wait to taste the blackened
salmon and the kale salad. He heard voices from the great room and
decided to head in there even though he wanted to grab a plate of
food.

Unnoticed by his family, he leaned on
the entrance way as his eyes landed on his sisters Shelbi and Bria
while they sat on the floor with Bria’s son, Rasheed Jr., or RJ as
the toddler was affectionately called. He was rubbing his mother’s
stomach for she was almost three months pregnant with her second
baby. A child’s laughter filled the room and Sean turned slightly
to the right to see Raven’s six-year-old twins, Isabella and
Israel, playing a game on their laptop. Cannon and his wife Yasmine
sat on the loveseat as Cannon rocked his one-year-old daughter,
Mia, to sleep.

Sean smiled at the scene before him.
His siblings had all found love in the past few years, and he’d
always encouraged and supported them in their relationships. He’d
counseled all of them as they confided in him in all aspects of
their lives and he always kept whatever they spilled to himself. He
was a psychiatrist and took his oath very seriously. He found it
amusing he knew all of his siblings’ secrets, and he’d promised to
never tell the others. He hadn’t, and never would. He remembered
when Shelbi first moved back to Memphis after graduating from
medical school. She decided to forego her residency and take a job
as a food critic instead considering she also had a culinary
degree. She hid the real reason, which was a patient dying under
her care during her internship during her last year of medical
school, and blamed herself when it actually wasn’t her fault. She’d
called him the night it happened in tears, but he pretended as if
he didn’t know once she told the entire family. Now she was on her
last year of her residency and would join the family practice in a
few months.

His family sometimes thought he was
uncaring and too much into his own life, but the truth was he knew
too much about their lives that the others didn’t. He pretended to
be aloof when his siblings finally revealed their secrets because
he already knew.

“
Hey, big brother,” Bria
said, coming toward him and kissing him on the cheek. Her son was
on her heels and Sean scooped up the toddler who gave him a
high-five in the process.

Cannon approached next. “Well, glad
you can join us this time. Dad and I missed you on the greens
yesterday.”

Sean handed RJ back to Bria and the
brothers stepped into the empty dining room.

“
Who won?”

“
Dad did, but only by two
strokes.”

“
Cool. I wanted to hang
with you, but I had to be there while the koi pond was being
finished, and I helped Traci plant some flowers along the
walkways.” His mind trekked back to yesterday when she arrived, and
he immediately lifted her as promised in order to hug her. Her
infectious laugh was enough to make him forget the promise he’d
made to take it slow. However, he restrained himself and instead
enjoyed spending the afternoon with her “playing in the earth” as
she called it before she had to go to an event at the Botanical
Gardens.

“
That’s cool you’ve been
helping.” Cannon’s eyes perused over the food on the table. “So
everything’s done?”

“
Almost. She’s there now
planting tulips, and daffodils in the shrubbery bed in the front
yard to give the house some color and curb appeal. All that’s left
are the roses, and she’s planting them one day next week.” Sean
grabbed a baby quiche from a tray on the table and popped it into
his mouth.

“
Perfect. I volunteer your
house for the next family cookout.”

“
No problem. You know I
love cookouts. I’ll have one before the surprise anniversary
party.”

“
Are you going to invite
your new friend?” Cannon asked, biting into a stuffed
mushroom.

“
If you’re referring to
Traci, then yes. After all, she’s the reason the backyard is
stunning.”

“
And she’s also the reason
I’ve never seen you like this. You literally beam every time you
mention her. Are you cutting up your player card?”

Sean chuckled at the thought. “I’m
taking it one step at a time with her, but yeah … I don’t see her
as just some fling or one time tryst. She’s not that type of
woman.”

Cannon patted his younger brother on
the back. “Wow. I never thought I’d see the day when you would find
the one that will lock you up for good. I hope she’s the one for
you. I know I was blessed when Yasmine reentered my life, and I was
given a second a chance to prove to her she was the only one for
me. I really don’t know how I lived without her for almost twelve
years.”

“
I do. You buried yourself
in more work to not think about it, but some good came out of it.
You started Doctor’s Unlimited. You’ve helped save many lives
across the world, big brother. We’re all proud of you and your
accomplishments.”

Doctor’s Unlimited was a non-profit
organization that Cannon and some of his friends from medical
school had started in order to build medical facilities and clinics
in impoverished areas that were without proper medical
care.

Cannon smiled and glanced through to
the living area where Yasmine was with their daughter playing
peek-a-boo. “Thank you. You were definitely there for me when I
needed you. I appreciate it, little bro.” He popped another stuffed
mushroom in his mouth.

“
I know you two are not in
here eating up the samples that my husband and I worked on all
morning. Save some for the others.”

They turned to find their baby sister,
Shelbi, scolding them with her arms crossed against her chest and a
pouty lip.

The brothers laughed as the rest of
their siblings and their families joined them in the dining room.
Sean stood back and watched his sisters and brother with their
spouses and children. Marriage wasn’t something he’d considered,
but lately he could imagine himself being married with a kid or
two, maybe even a dog. The only woman that he could visualize by
his side was Traci with her cute dimples, adorable smile, and her
quirky personality. He glanced at his watch as Zaria arrived, and
he hoped the meeting wouldn’t last too long. He wanted to catch
Traci before she left. Sean excused himself to the sunroom while
Justin and Shelbi explained the different selections of foods for
each course.

Sean sat on the couch and checked the
security cameras at his home with his cell phone. Traci was seated
on the top step of his porch taking a drink of her water and
scrolling through her phone. He wondered who she was calling and
was pleasantly surprised when her name appeared on his
screen.

“
Hey,
beautiful.”

“
Hey, you have a minute?”
she asked. “I know your family meeting begins soon.”

“
I have all the time in the
world for you. What’s up?”

“
I just wanted to tell you
that I’m done with the flowers in the front yard and would be
leaving soon. I’ll make sure to lock up and set the
alarm.”

He saw her stand and stride down the
steps. Bending over, she picked up a black garbage bag and headed
toward the curb where a few other bags sat. She was sexy as hell in
cut-off jean shorts and a white T-shirt. Her calf muscles flexed
every time she took a step and his stomach churned into a knot. The
last thing he wanted her to do was leave.

“
I was hoping you’d be
there when I returned.” He frowned. He couldn’t believe he was
disappointed. Normally, if one girl wasn’t available he’d just call
another one, but Traci wasn’t some girl and he only wanted to see
her.

“
Okay, I can stay and wait
or I can leave and come back. I need to take a shower and change
clothes. Grab something to eat.”

“
I have four bathrooms and
a fridge full of food.”

“
I don’t have a change of
clothes.” She tossed the bag on top of the others and pivoted
around to the front of the house. A stunning smile crossed her face
showcasing her yummy dimples. He assumed she was admiring her
finished project for she jokingly patted herself on the back and
the continued up the sidewalk. She stopped as if she was pondering
something and he hoped it was a yes about waiting for him to
return.

“
I have a closet full of
clothes.”

Her face wrinkled, causing her cute
dimples to scrunch up. “Um … I totally doubt I can fit anything of
yours.”

“
Just go to the bedroom off
of the kitchen. You can’t miss it. It has two double doors. Put on
what you like. I’ll be home in about ninety minutes. My house is
only a subdivision away from Raven’s house. Make yourself at
home.”

Her face brightened up. “Okay, I’ll
see you then.”

Once he hung up, Sean realized she was
the first woman to be alone in his home outside of family and the
housekeeper who came twice a week to clean and cook dinner. She was
also the first woman he was getting to know that would have access
to the master bedroom. When he had overnight guests which was rare
for he usually stayed at their places, he would take them to the
guestroom on the other side of the house. His master suite was his
retreat after a long day.

He glanced down at his the cell phone
again to see Traci in his kitchen looking through the refrigerator.
She grabbed a bottled water and a hand full of grapes. Afterwards,
she tramped to the hallway to the master. He didn’t have any
cameras past that point, but now he wished like hell that he did,
especially in the shower.

*****

Traci carefully opened one of the
double doors to Sean’s bedroom and peeked inside into the
immaculate space. A California-size king bed greeted her that was
overflowing with decorative pillows at the headboard and topped
with a gorgeous plush black and gold comforter. The cherrywood bed
was high off the floor which was perfect for his height, but she’d
need a mini-ladder to climb into it. On the other side of the room
was a sitting area with a black leather couch and a matching
recliner that faced the fireplace. There was a small antique desk
in the corner with a laptop and a picture of his parents. Above the
mantle was a flat screened television. She found the remote on the
little table next to the chair and turned on the TV. A football
game was on, so she decided to leave it there and walked over to
another set of double doors that opened into the bathroom. In the
middle there was a huge garden tub that looked as if it could hold
at least four people, and she wondered if that had ever been a
possibility. With Sean she assumed yes and glanced at the vanities
facing each other on opposite walls. The one that was clearly for a
female was empty of toiletries, but instead displayed pictures of
his siblings with their families or pictures of when they were
younger. She’d recognized some as duplicates from his parents’
home.

She moved further into the room and
opened the door to the closet that was almost as big as the
bedroom. There were hundreds of dress shirts and suits that lined
one long wall. On the opposite wall were casual clothes and in the
center a huge island sort of like the one in his kitchen. It was
adorned with jewelry boxes, cologne, and some of his watches were
laid out as well. She ran her fingers along his dress shirts.
Everything was color-coordinated and there were pull out racks
every few shirts that held ties and handkerchiefs. There was also
pull out shelves with belts and suspenders. She still had no idea
what she was going to throw on after her shower. She trekked over
to the casual side where he had shirts arranged according to colors
and types, as well as slacks and shorts. She hated going through
his things, but she needed to find something to throw on so she
could shower and be out of it before he returned home. The thought
of him walking into the bathroom while she was showering sent a
heat wave to slam through her. She could imagine him sneaking up
behind her and wrapping his hands around her waist and sliding them
up to her breasts, massaging them while laying passionate kisses on
her neck. She trembled at the scene in her head as it seemed almost
too real; however, she needed to stay focused. They’d agreed they
would get to know each first, but after the other night in her
apartment she wasn’t so sure if she could hold out. She’d never
craved for a man to the point of breaking her own dating rules. She
didn’t believe in casual sex anymore. The times she did had been
horrific. No passion or love. Just sex with no emotion plus, she
didn’t want to add to the number of men she’d slept with. She’d had
three real boyfriends and two casual sex partners in her lifetime.
She didn’t want to add to the count which would have to now begin
on her next hand, and she hated that. She honestly thought she’d
never go past the second one because she thought she was so in love
with him and that would get married after college. However, he
neglected to tell her that he was still seeing his ex-girlfriend
who was at another college, and he eventually went back to
her.