Recipe for Desire (21 page)

Authors: Cheris Hodges

BOOK: Recipe for Desire

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“Umm,” she said. “Maybe we need to take a trip to Trader Joe’s.”

“But before we go,” he said, grabbing a hold of Marie and pulling her against his chest. “I want to take a different kind of trip.”

She tossed her leg over his hip, giving him direct access to her hot valley of desire. “I definitely want to enjoy this ride.”

Chapter 20

Over the next three weeks, Devon and Marie turned their attention to the fund-raiser for My Sister’s Keeper. Shay had been working with Marie’s company and had saved enough money to pay a security deposit on her apartment. Marie had helped Shay find another part-time job with an advertising agency in South Charlotte that needed an assistant.

Since Marie had virtually disappeared from the headlines and hadn’t had any more legal problems, and the district attorney declined to bring charges against her, things had been smooth as silk. She and Devon spend most of their days at the shelter and many nights in bed.

On this Monday, when Marie woke up, she had an appointment with her probation officer. “Do you want me to drive you to the court house?” Devon asked over coffee at Marie’s condo. She shook her head as she sipped her coffee and reached for a mango-infused biscuit that Devon had prepared.

“I wish I could simply skip this meeting, but the sooner I go and turn in my hours, the sooner I can get over to the shelter.”

Devon crossed over to the sink and dropped his empty cup in, then he returned to the table and kissed Marie’s cheek. “Do you think you can pick up the programs and donation cards from Kinko’s before you come in?” He looked down at her feet and shook his head at the four-inch snakeskin heels she wore. “And change your shoes.”

Marie stuck her leg out and held her foot out. “These are actually sensible heels. Notice the rounded toe,” she said as she waggled her foot back and forth.

Devon grabbed her foot and removed the shoe, massaging her foot, inching up her ankle, spending time around her calf and stopping at her knee. Marie moaned in delight until she glanced at the clock on the stove. “Damn it,” she groaned.

“It is getting late,” he said before kissing her knee. “And you don’t need any trouble with your probation officer.”

“He hates me, and I think he’s hoping I’m going to mess up.”

Devon folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. “You do realize that he doesn’t get to deal with convicts like you all day,” he said with a wink. “Some of them are actually mean, don’t do as they’re told, and are probably pretty ugly. Then there’s you, sexy, smelling good, and beautiful. It’s not you he hates, it’s the job.”

She stroked his leg and smiled. “You know just what to say to make a girl’s day. May I have my shoe back now?”

Devon kneeled down and placed her shoe on her foot. “There you go, Cinderella.”

“Why, thank you, Prince Charming,” she said in an exaggerated Southern drawl. “Maybe later, you can take them off.”

When she stood up, Devon pulled her against his chest and brushed his lips against hers and said, “Maybe the shoes are the only thing I want to see you in at the end of the day.”

Marie’s phone rang, her signal that the car service was downstairs. Kissing Devon quickly, she grabbed her oversized purse and headed out the door. She’d packed a pair of flats in the bag because she’d learned her lesson about wearing the wrong shoes in the kitchen.

When she got into the car, Marie released a calm sigh. “Excuse me,” she said to the driver when she noticed that they hadn’t moved an inch. “What’s the problem, I have an appointment.”

The driver turned around, revealing himself to be William. “The problem is, you won’t return my phone calls.”

“Are you kidding me? Where the hell is my driver?” Marie yelled and reached for the door handle. William locked the door.

“Can we talk for just a few minutes?” he pleaded.

“Unlock the door, now! I have nothing to say to you.”

“I miss you and we’re going to talk,” he said. “We’re supposed to be planning our life together.”

Marie grabbed her BlackBerry. “Open the doors or I will call the police.”

William started the car. “That’s extreme, don’t you think?”

“Move this car, and I swear, I will have your ass arrested for kidnapping.”

“Marie, I made a mistake and I want to make up for it. I love you.”

She released a thundering laugh and punched the back of his seat. “You are a damned joke. And let’s be real, we didn’t share love. I needed a husband to shut my father up and you needed my coattails. Now that Greta has kicked you out again, you think you can come crawling back to me?”

“That’s over because my heart is with you,” he said.

Marie looked at the time on her phone. She had five minutes to get to her meeting with her parole officer; playtime was over as she dialed 911. “Yes, I need the police,” she said to the operator. “I’m being kidnapped by a homicidal maniac. His name is William Franklin. I think he killed my driver and he has me locked in a Lincoln Town Car outside of ...” The door lock clicked. “Never mind, he’s letting me go.” Marie hopped out of the car and took off running down the street. She hoped that she could make it to the Gold Rush trolley in time. Heads were going to roll at the car company.
I need my driver’s license back so I can run William over!
she thought as she reached the trolley stop just as it pulled up. Maybe her morning wouldn’t be completely ruined.

Devon washed the breakfast dishes before leaving Marie’s place. When he drove by the front of the building, he was surprised to see the town car was still parked out front. Had something happened? Devon slowed the car and pulled up beside that vehicle. Turning his hazards on, he placed the car in park. Dashing to the driver’s side, he banged on the window. “Hey, is everything all right?”

The man Devon assumed was the driver rolled the window down and scowled at him. “Who the hell are you?”

“Where’s my girlfriend? You should’ve picked her up thirty minutes ago.”

The driver opened the door, nearly knocking Devon over. “What’s your problem, partner?” Devon growled.

“First of all, the name’s William Franklin. And secondly, Marie is my fiancée, not your girlfriend.”

“You’re delusional,” Devon said. “Everybody knows Marie came to her senses about what a son of a bitch you are and you two have been over. Now where is she?”

“I’m
delusional?
That would be you, buddy, if you think Marie Charles is going to stay with you and continue on this little I’m-a-saint-now routine. She’s a party girl, she likes being seen and talked about. That’s why we’re perfect for each other. Who the hell are you, anyway? Some nobody her father handpicked for her? Much like the punk I snagged her from in the beginning.”

Devon shook his head, wondering what Marie ever saw in this idiot to begin with. Still, he had to know if he’d done something to Marie. “Is she in the car?” he demanded.

“No.”

Devon pushed William aside and peered into the backseat. He didn’t see any signs of Marie. Turning around, he grabbed William by his shirt and threw him against the open door.

“Where the hell is she?” he asked, putting pressure on William’s throat with his elbow.

“Shh–she got out ... the car,” he gasped. Devon tossed him to the ground and glared at him.

“Stay away from her. Understand me?” he hissed, then jogged over to his car. Devon headed to the courthouse, hoping Marie made her meeting and that William hadn’t caused her any more trouble. He would’ve called her, but if she was in a meeting with her probation officer, the last thing he wanted was for the phone to ring and interrupt them. Besides, he did have to deliver his verification report to the probation officer—no time like the present.

After finding a parking spot and walking the block and a half to the courthouse, he was happy to see Marie exiting the building. “Devon,” she said when she spotted him. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking up on you. I saw the town car in front of your building as I left and your ‘fiancé’ was masquerading as the driver. I just wanted to make sure you’d made it to your meeting and see if you were OK.”

“Did that idiot really tell you he was my fiancé?” Marie asked as she shook her head. “I was just about to call the car company and give them a big piece of my mind. I can’t believe he just got rid of the driver and took over the car like that. What kind of bootleg organization are they running?”

Devon shook his head. “We can take care of that later. Since I’m here, we might as well ride to My Sister’s Keeper together. That way you won’t have to worry about running into William again.”

“Well, this morning hasn’t been all bad,” she said with a smile. “My probation has been completed early and my driver’s license will be reinstated in five days.”

“Wow. I guess you impressed the right people with your work.”

“That and a letter Elaine wrote on my behalf,” she said with a smile.

“So what does this mean for you and volunteering at the shelter now?” he asked.

Marie shrugged. “I don’t have to do it anymore. But it doesn’t mean that I plan to stop working with you and the ladies. My Sister’s Keeper has really grown on me, and I want to make sure things work out for Bria.”

Devon hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. He couldn’t have been happier to hear her say that. Part of him thought she would stop working with My Sister’s Keeper. But the changes in Marie hadn’t been just for show. Now, he could believe it. He took her hand in his and kissed it. Looking in her eyes, Devon knew he loved her more than he thought was possible. Still, he wasn’t sure if he should put his cards on the table. Not that William had gotten to him, but he wasn’t sure if Marie was ready to settle down. She may have tempered her partying ways, but was she going to get bored?

“What?” she asked when she caught the gleam in his eye.

“Nothing,” he replied. “I was just thinking that you and I have some serious celebrating to do. Maybe we should actually go out.”

Marie shrugged, thinking that the only party she needed was with her man in the bedroom or on the kitchen counter. Smiling, she said, “I think we should go someplace ultra-exclusive, where we are tops on the guest list and won’t be worried about other people. And the food is always great.”

“Where is such a place?” he asked, though he knew exactly where she meant.

“In the heart of NoDa. I stay on this guest list,” she said with a wink as they got into the car.

“Is that so? Sounds like I need to have a talk with the owner of this establishment,” he joked.

“Yeah, I like him a lot. Coolest man on the planet,” she replied, then leaned over and kissed him. “Sexy as hell, too.”

“Is that so?”

She nodded as he pulled into traffic. Once they arrived at My Sister’s Keeper, the first thing Marie did was seek out Elaine so that she could give her a huge hug of thanks.

“Well,” Elaine said. “All I did was tell the truth. I hope this doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of you.”

“Oh, no,” Marie said. “I’m thinking that my company should add you guys to our company’s roster and help you when you need publicity campaigns.”

“Wow, Marie, that is so sweet, but I’m sure we wouldn’t be able to afford ...”

Marie cut her off. “Who said anything about charging you? What this shelter does for women should be on the front page of the
Charlotte Observer
, leading the local newscasts, and on the lips of everyone in Charlotte.”

Elaine hugged Marie again. “You’re too kind, thank you so much.”

“Anytime,” she replied. “Now, let me get into the kitchen before the boss gets mad at me.”

Elaine smiled. “I got a feeling that he’s going to be just fine.”

Inside the kitchen, Devon was trying to keep his students on task, but they kept asking him questions about his father, Marie, and the upcoming fund-raiser. “Hey, ladies,” he said, pointing to the dough in the middle of their workstations. “If we don’t knead and stretch, our bread is going to be hard and won’t rise.”

“We don’t care about the bread,” Bria said, her voice light and full of life. “When’s the wedding?”

“That’s right,” Shay said. She still participated in Devon’s class despite the fact that she didn’t live at the shelter anymore. “And I hope you set your dad straight. I read that mess on the blog and I wanted to hunt him down and beat him with my shoe.”

Devon laughed and started kneading his dough. “Join the club. But seriously,” he said as the door opened and Marie walked in, “we have to get this bread ready for baking.” She winked at him and walked over to the full trash cans and began gathering the bags.

“I saw that,” Bria called out as she kneaded her dough. “Marie, are you going to tell us when the wedding is?”

She turned around as she tied up the trash bags. “I defer to the chef,” she quipped and then made a hasty exit.

All of the women stopped kneading and focused on Devon. “Well?” Shay asked.

He looked down at his watch and smiled. “Don’t you have to go to work?”

She looked up at the clock on the wall. “Not for another three hours, which gives me time to question you into submission.”

“Not if that yeast doesn’t rise,” Devon said.