Only One for Me (10 page)

Of course she wasn’t paying attention
to the conversation. She was too busy trying to pretend to listen
as Cannon stared her down like a tiger ready to pounce on his
prey.

“
I … must’ve
misunderstood.”

“
How’s your
mother?”

“
Fine.” She wanted to keep
her answers short. The less he knew about her life the
better.

“
I was disappointed to
learn she has cancer,” he said with sincerity in his voice. “Please
give her my best.”

“
She’s in remission and
doing a lot better.” Yasmine tried to avoid eye contact with him,
but it was hard since he overpowered her personal space. Plus, she
was pinned against the car and his hand was still on top of it over
her shoulder.

“
How long will you be in
Memphis?”

“
Until the beginning of
summer.”

“
Maybe we can have dinner.
Go over the wedding plans and catch up.”

“
I can’t,” she said in a
strained voice.

His hand slid off of the car, brushing
her shoulder and down her bare arm in the process. Yasmine winced
at his subtle, warm touch. They stared at each other in silence,
and she was scared of what he may do or say, especially when he
stepped toward her, closing what little space was between them. His
sexy mouth was just inches from hers, and she yearned to kiss him
to know what heaven felt like again.

“
Well, if you change your
mind.” He paused, brushing a curl off her forehead that had fallen
out of her headband on her brisk walk to the car. “Call me. My
contact information is in the packet the coordinator gave
you.”

Stepping back, he turned to open the
car door for her. Without acknowledging him, she slid into the car,
tossing her coat and purse onto the passenger seat. She reached to
close the door, but he shut it for her and stood outside for a
second, staring at her through the tinted window before walking
away. Tears burned her eyes, but she was too mad to let them roll
down her face.

She started the car, turned on her
cell phone, and noticed she had several missed calls and voicemails
from Sherika. Yasmine had forgotten to turn her cell phone back on
after a meeting with a group of elementary school
principals.

She activated the hands free system to
call Sherika. She had some explaining to do. Yasmine pulled out of
the parking lot as the phone rang through the speakers.

“
Yasmine. I’m so glad you
finally called me back. I’ve been—”

“
Why on earth is Cannon
suddenly the best man?”

“
Calm down. I didn’t know
until right before the meeting either. Doug had been trying to call
me, but my third graders did a mock test this morning to prepare
for the upcoming standardized test, so you know cell phones can’t
be on.”

“
I don’t know if I can …”
She tried to hold back the tears, but it was no use. One streamed
down her face followed by another, and she wiped them way before
they clouded her vision as she drove.

“
You can’t back out!
You’re my best friend.”

Yasmine could hear the urgency and
panic in her friend’s voice, and she felt bad. She couldn’t be
selfish, but planning a wedding with Cannon wasn’t exactly on her
bucket list.

“
It took everything I had
not to slap him … or worse, kiss him.”

“
Girl, I know he hurt you,
but please try to suck it up for me. I need you.”

Yasmine sighed as she turned onto the
interstate. They’d been best friends since fifth grade when Sherika
moved to Memphis from Gary, Indiana. They went to middle and high
school together, as well as Tennessee State University, pledged the
same sorority, taught together in Nashville and then New York until
Yasmine moved to Atlanta a few years ago to finish her doctorate.
Both only children, they were more like sisters, and Yasmine knew
she couldn’t disappoint her best friend.

“
If you weren’t my girl
…”

Sherika let out a big sigh. “Oh thank
goodness, and I promise there really isn’t much you have to do with
him.”

“
If you say so. I have a
cake tasting appointment on Friday afternoon, and he’ll be there to
sample the groom’s cakes.”

“
I’m kinda glad you’ll be
there at the same time. Doug just wants plain chocolate, nothing
fancy. But perhaps you could find a chocolate with a little more
kick. I spoke to the baker, and she said she’ll have about six to
eight chocolate samples to select from, so make sure it’s not just
plain chocolate.”

“
Yes, bridezilla.” Yasmine
laughed. “I’m just teasing.”

“
Girl, by the end of this
you won’t be teasing. I hate not being there, but I’m so glad Doug
and I have friends like you and Cannon to help make our special day
perfect.”

Yasmine cringed at his name and hated
being reminded he would be helping. However, Sherika was her
friend, and her peace of mind during the planning of the wedding
was more important.

“
I’m not going to let you
down.”

*****

Yasmine walked into Ollie’s Sweets at
exactly two o’clock to find Cannon already there chatting with
Ollie Moss, the owner and head baker. Sherika and Yasmine used to
frequent the downtown Memphis bakery as teenagers, and she wasn’t
surprised to learn that the bride-to-be had selected their favorite
bakery to make the wedding cakes.

“
Hi, Ms.
Ollie.”

“
Look at my Yaz all grown
up.” The ladies hugged and Yasmine inhaled Ms. Ollie’s fragrance.
She always smelled like vanilla and buttercream icing. Stepping
back, she got a good look at Ms. Ollie. She still had the same
sweet smile and grandmother nature that always made customers feel
at home in her bakery.

“
Hello, Yasmine,” Cannon’s
deep voice stated behind her.

She turned and nodded to acknowledge
his presence. Staring up at him, she tried to stifle a gulp or two
as her heartbeat sped up. He was dressed casually in khakis and a
light blue sweater that fit his sexy physique. Cannon had never
been overly muscular, but he’d always been in shape, and the way
his sweater fit over his arms and abs suggested he still worked
out. His fresh scent loomed into her personal space, outweighing
the aroma of all the cakes and pastries in the bakery. She wasn’t
sure how long she could do this, but she’d made a promise to her
best friend.

“
Well, let’s get started,”
Ms. Ollie stated. “Follow me. I have everything set up in the
tasting room.”

Yasmine flinched as Cannon placed his
warm hand at the small of her back, causing a flow of burning
desire to rush through her veins. She cleared her throat and walked
faster to escape his touch searing her skin. As his hand fell, it
brushed against her butt, and she gave him a glare. He mouthed
“sorry” and placed his hands mischievously in his pocket. She knew
it was probably an accident but wasn’t sure how sorry he was about
doing it. He’d always known just the right way to caress and kiss
her body, and no other man had turned her on as much as he
had.

When they entered the tasting room,
there was a long table laden with dessert plates of miniature
cupcakes. On small pink cards, the flavor of the cupcake was
written in calligraphy. Yasmine snapped a few pictures with her
digital camera to email to Sherika for her wedding memory
book.

“
There are six mini
cupcakes of each cake flavor that I discussed with the bride and
groom for you to sample. On the bistro table,” Ms. Ollie paused as
she pointed to a small table by the window, “you’ll find a list of
the flavors for you to take notes and to check off the ones you
like. The bride wants three different flavors since her cake has
three layers, and for the groom’s cake two different flavors of
chocolate. There’s also bottled water. I suggest you take a few
sips to clean your palate before trying a different flavor. If you
need anything, I’ll be next door working on a cake for a wedding
tomorrow, but will be in and out to check on you.”

After she left, Yasmine placed her
coat and purse on a chair at the bistro table and Cannon
immediately went to the cupcakes.

“
Which should we try
first?” he asked.

He handed her an empty dessert plate
as his eyes roamed over her black cropped sweater that stopped at
the belt of her dark skinny jeans, down to her black knee-high
boots before rising back up to settle on her face which she knew
had to be flushed because her cheeks were burning. She placed her
focus on the tasty cupcakes to avoid looking in his
direction.

“
Can’t decide. They all
look delicious, but I know Sherika loves amaretto so let’s try that
one and one of the chocolates for the groom’s cake,” Yasmine
answered with ease, and was surprised she wasn’t as nervous being
alone with him as she thought she would be, despite the way he’d
just raked his eyes over her like an x-ray.

She grabbed the two amaretto cupcakes
while Cannon grabbed two German chocolates, and they settled in at
the table.

“
Did you eat something
before coming?” he asked, taking a sip of the water.

“
Not since breakfast.” She
sipped her water. “What about you?”

“
The same. You know I love
eating anything sweet and couldn’t wait to get here.” He had a
sparkle in his eye and a wicked grin crossed his face.

Yasmine blinked her eyes a few times
at his comment. Cannon had a way of saying something normal, but
there was always a sexual connotation behind it. She thought surely
she’d heard emphasis on the word eating. Her mind transported her
to a time where he’d done just that while they were at his parent’s
home visiting for the weekend, and he told her not to make a sound.
Starting from her forehead, he’d kissed and licked every inch of
her, enticing her breasts in his warm mouth, before lingering in
the sensitive area between her legs longer than the other places
until he drove her crazy with an unruly, muffled orgasm. She
squirmed in her chair at the memory.

“
Are you ready to begin?”
he asked picking up the chocolate cupcake.

She snapped out of the daydream she’d
had plenty times before. “Yep.” She picked up the amaretto one.
“Bon appétit.”

She bit into her cupcake while Cannon
popped the entire thing into his mouth, leaving a little bit of
chocolate icing on the corner of his bottom lip. Yasmine’s eyes
settled on the delectable spot. She wanted nothing more than to
reach across the table and lick the chocolate off of him and taste
his lips that she’d missed so much.

“
Mmm … that was good,” he
said and proceeded to swish his tongue to the side where the icing
lay. “You have to try this one.”

I wanted to, but you beat
me to it.

For the next twenty minutes they
sampled cupcakes and compared notes. Yasmine was trying to keep the
conversation only to the task at hand, and so far it worked. She
found herself a little more at ease with him. She wasn’t sure what
to expect, but he’d been a gentleman, which was his
nature.

“
How many more do we
have?” she asked, taking a sip of water as Cannon stood at the
table grabbing two more cupcakes and setting them on the bistro
table in front of her.

“
This is the last
chocolate one for the groom’s cake and there are two more to taste
for the bride’s cake. Think you can hang?”

Yasmine laughed and patted her
stomach. “I think so. I’m actually ready for some real food
now.”

“
Me too. I guess we ate
dessert first.” He laughed and took a bite of the cake. “This
chocolate mint flavor is good. I think we have a
winner.”

She bit into hers. “You’re right. This
really is good. Let’s make it the second layer for the groom’s
cake,” she suggested, remembering what Sherika said about having a
different flavor besides plain chocolate.

“
Sounds good to me.” He
checked it off on his list and pushed the plate aside, resting his
arms crossed in front of him on the table and leaning toward her.
“Never been much of a chocolate fan. I prefer caramel.”

Yasmine almost choked on her cupcake
and lifted her head to meet his smoldering gaze. There was no
laughter in his words or on his face. Instead, she noted the
seriousness in his tone and the way his eyes examined her as if he
was reading her mind and liked what he read.

“
How’s
everything?”

Cannon and Yasmine both jumped at the
words as Ms. Ollie entered the room. Yasmine was glad for the
interruption. The way Cannon had moved toward her she thought he
was going to kiss her, and considering where her thoughts had just
returned, she would’ve let him.

Cannon relaxed back into his chair and
patted his midsection. “Perfect,” he answered with a smile and
Yasmine was glad that he had. She was still in a daze.

“
Good.” Ms. Ollie glanced
at the cake table. “I see you have a few more to sample. I’ll be
back in about twenty minutes to go over any questions you may have
and pack up the uneaten cupcakes for you.”

The smile he’d displayed for Ms. Ollie
vanished when she left and was once more replaced with a serious
facade. Yasmine knew all of his facial expressions, and this one
was screaming she needed to move and move fast before he reached
for her like he had the first time they’d made love.