The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed (27 page)

Desmond forced her words
down. He didn’t want to, but he did, simply because she was right
about him. She described the man he’d become. Hearing her say it
made him realize just how long he’d lived this life, and how much
he didn’t want it anymore.

“
I’ll have your car back
safe and sound on Friday,” she told him. “And don’t worry…I’m not
coming to anymore of your family functions so you don’t have to
feel awkward about my presence. I know how important it is to you
to make sure they never find out about us, so I’ll stay away for
good. And do me a favor, Desmond…don’t call me anymore. I just got
this cell phone. I would hate to turn around and get another
one.”

Sherita ended the call,
leaving Desmond sitting alone, listening to the dial tone after the
verbal beating she’d just given him. She’d never spoken to him this
way before which let him know just how angry she was. Now he had to
work twice as hard to convince Sherita he loved her or risk losing
her forever.

CHAPTER 31

“
I must say this is a
surprise, Sherita,” Dante said as he leaned back in his chair at
the office. “I wasn’t expecting a phone call from you.”

“
I know. I was going to
call Emily instead, but I didn’t make this deal with Emily. I made
it with you, so I decided to call you personally.”

“
What’s going on? Are you
still at Myrtle Beach?”

“
I am, and that’s why I
wanted to talk to you. I’m not trying to hurt the business you and
your brothers have worked so hard to build, and I hope this deal
can go through without me, Dante, because I’m not coming
back.”

Dante frowned and threw his
head back. After absorbing the initial shock of it all, he asked,
“Why are you not coming back?”

“
Because I can’t live with
him anymore.”

“
With Desmond?”

“
Yes. With
him.”

Dante shook his head. She
didn’t even want to say his name.
What
have you done, Desmond?
“Well it seems
like you already have your mind made up and so does
Victor.”

“
Good. Then I guess this
means I’m free and clear.”

Dante shook his head again.
The first call he answers on Thursday morning was a call to let him
know his plan to get Sherita and Desmond together had failed.
“Sherita, I may need you to attend another dinner if Victor calls
for one. Do you think you could do that for me?”

“
As long as I don’t have a
job booked that day.”

“
Fair enough.”

“
Oh, and Dante, I have
another problem. I drove Desmond’s car here. Is there any way you
can help me get it back to him and get my car down here to
me?”

“
Uh…” He couldn’t believe
it was happening, and the sad part about it for him was, he liked
Sherita. She was one of Emily’s best friends, and Emily didn’t know
any of this was going on. “Yes, I can have it arranged. Did you
leave your keys with Desmond?”

“
I did.”

“
Then you know when I ask
him for the keys to your car, he’s going to want to know
why.”

“
I know. I just need my
car back.”

Dante sighed. “All right.
I’ll take care of it.”

“
Thanks,
Dante.”

“
Thank
you
, Sherita. I’m sorry about all of
this.”

Dante placed his phone back
on the receiver then rubbed his eyes. This was partially his fault.
He shouldn’t have been playing matchmaker with his brother anyway.
He knew Desmond wasn’t ready to settle down. He’d been saying it
for years. Desmond had a lot of issues he hadn’t been dealing with,
and they were consuming him, ruining his life.

Dante picked up the phone
again and dialed Emily. She was at the boutique this
morning.

“
Hey, you,” she answered.
“What are you doing calling me so early?”

“
Baby, I just got a phone
call from Sherita.”

“
Okay. Is she all
right?”

“
She’s not coming back,
Emily.”

“
What do you mean she’s
not coming back?”

“
I mean, she’s not coming
back. She called to notify me of that and to arrange to have
Desmond’s jeep picked up.”

“
Wait…don’t do anything
yet. Let me talk to her. This doesn’t sound like
Sherita.”

“
She was upset…seemed like
she had her mind made up.”

“
I’ll call her now. Are
you going to talk to Desmond?”

“
Not now. I’m too
irritated to talk to him right now. He’ll be by the house later.
I’ll talk to him then.”

“
Okay. Well, let me call
Sherita.”

“’
Kay, baby. I love you,
Emily.”

“
Love you too, Dante.
Bye.”

CHAPTER 32

Sherita glanced at her
phone seeing Emily’s picture and name on the display. She could
barely hang up with Dante and Emily was already calling. And she
knew why.

“
Hello,” Sherita
answered.

“
What do you mean you’re
not coming back?”

“
Emily—”

“
This has to be a joke.
You’re joking, right.”

“
No, Emily. I’m not
joking. I’m not coming back. I told you I was leaving last Friday.
Why are you acting like you’re surprised now?”

“
Because when I talked to
you a few days ago, you said everything was okay, so I thought you
and Desmond had straightened things out.”

Sherita closed her eyes.
Rubbed them. “I’m staying here in Myrtle Beach. That’s what I
should’ve done in the first place instead of getting involved in
this stupid marriage nonsense for The Champion Corporation. That’s
my fault. I’m the idiot for doing that. Now, I’m doing something
about it.”

“
But that has nothing to
do with me or our friendship. You’re punishing the rest of the
family for something somebody else did to you.”

“
I’m not punishing
you.”

“
That’s exactly what
you’re doing, Sherita!”

“
So we can’t be friends
long distance? Is what you’re saying? I don’t understand why you’re
upset, Emily.” Then she snapped. “Why do you want me to come back
to Asheville? Seems everybody wants me for something, but it’s
never anything genuine. I mean, are you afraid you won’t find
anyone to work at your boutique anytime you need them, because I’m
sure Dante will take care of that for you. You have a nanny. You
don’t need my babysitting services. So why do you want me to come
back?”

“
Because you’re my friend,
and I love you.”

A tear slid down Sherita’s
face. She sniffled and brushed it away. “I’m not coming back. I’m
done…done doing everything for everybody else, making other people
lives happier and easier and what do I get in return? Not a thing
as usual. Goodbye, Emily.”

Sherita hung up the phone
and dropped her face into her hands, sobbing. She was close with
Emily. She was close with Melanie, too, and then it dawned on her –
what about Ezra and Grace? If she never went back, she wouldn’t see
them grow up.

And they wouldn’t get to
know their twin cousins she was carrying inside of her.

CHAPTER 33

How could I have been so
oblivious before?
Desmond shook his head,
frustrated at himself for not being there for the woman he loved.
She needed him, and he had all the means to help her but hadn’t
done a thing to assist her. Well, he’d done a few things, but not
as much as he could have. No wonder she didn’t think he loved her.
His actions hadn’t been speaking louder than his words. That’s why,
for the rest of the week, he’d been working tirelessly to do things
he knew would help her greatly. He’d tracked down her parents,
Lewis and Carol Wilkins and paid off the remaining balance on their
mortgage. Now they owned their house free and clear, and Sherita
didn’t have to worry about making their mortgage payments any
longer.

Next, he called his realtor
to line up some commercial properties that would make an excellent
home for a portrait studio. Sherita would be back on Friday night
and Saturday, he would take her around to look at some properties.
She was upset with him at the moment, but once she saw how he had
been thinking about her, the anger she felt would soon
vanish.

* * *

Desmond glanced at his
watch. She should’ve been here by now, he thought. Sherita told him
she wasn’t coming back, but he thought for sure she’d be here at
Dante’s house tonight for dinner, if for nothing else, to see
Emily, Melanie and the babies.

Dante discreetly watched
Desmond sit alone, withdrawn, glancing at his watch and his phone,
waiting for her. He wasn’t his normal, talkative self. Wasn’t into
the game tonight. And he knew why.

“
Des, you want to shoot
this round?” Dimitrius asked, holding a cue stick.

“
No. I’m good,” Desmond
said.

Dante sighed heavily.
“Desmond, she’s not coming.”

Desmond sat up tall. “What
are you talking about?”

“
Sherita. She’s not coming
back,” Dante said. “Did she not tell you that?”

“
She did, but…I thought
she was saying it out of anger. Did she tell Emily she wasn’t
coming back?”

“
She did, after she called
me. She wanted me to make arrangements to have someone drive her
car to the beach and drive your car back.”

Desmond stood up, turned
away from Dante before turning around again. “Thanks a lot, Dante.
Thanks for having my back,” he said angrily.

“
Why are you getting upset
with me? You need to be mad at yourself.
You
did this!” Dante
snapped.

Emily and Melanie rushed
over to see what all the commotion was about while Desmond headed
for the door, kicking over a chair.

“
You need to stop blaming
everyone else for your own mistakes and insecurities,
Desmond.”

Desmond stopped in his
tracks, turned around and looked at his brother with rage in his
fiery eyes.

“
That’s right, I said it,”
Dante continued. “I handed Sherita to you on a platter, but you’re
too thick-headed to realize you actually love her because love
isn’t your thing. You let the best thing that has ever happened to
you slip away because you’re set in your own ways.”

Frowning, Desmond slowly
walked back towards the pool table. “What do you mean you handed
her to me on a platter?”

Deciding to come clean,
Dante said, “I made the whole thing up, Desmond. Victor could give
a crap about your marital status. I lied…made the whole thing up
because I knew you liked Sherita but all you ever did was avoid
her. So, I thought if I convinced you two to marry, then you would
fall madly in love and realize you were soul mates…that you
belonged together. But my plan failed because while she fell in
love with you, you could not care less about her.”

“
That’s not true,” Desmond
said, shaking his head.

“
It is true. If it wasn’t
true, why aren’t you over there right now, trying to get her back?
Why am I making arrangements to have
your
jeep picked up?”

“
I don’t need you to make
any arrangements on my behalf. I’ll go and get my own
car.”

“
Actually, I decided to
come get my car, so here are your keys,” Sherita said.

Desmond turned around so
quickly, he almost broke his neck. He watched her hold his keys out
in front of her, extending her arm towards him.

No one had seen her come in
and the look of surprise on their faces said they hadn’t expected
to see her.

At that moment, Desmond
didn’t care about the keys, the car or anything else. He only cared
about her. It had been a long, lonely week without seeing her face,
touching her body, holding her. He didn’t care how angry she was.
Her anger couldn’t compare to how much he’d missed her. So, walking
towards her, he said, “I’ve missed you.”

“
Just take your keys,
Desmond.”

Desmond took the keys and
shoved them in his pocket.

“
Where are
mine?”

“
At home,” he told
her.

“
Figures…guess I’ll have
to get it with the rest of my stuff.” When Sherita turned to walk
away, he reached for her arm, grabbed hold of her and said, “I know
you’re bitter, and you have every right to be.”

Sherita snatched her arm
away from him and said, “Don’t touch me. Don’t ever touch me
again.”

“
Sherita—”

“
I have to go,” she said,
walking away without speaking to anyone else. She came to the house
for one reason, and that was to give Desmond his keys back and get
hers. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone else.

Catching up to her in the
dining room, Desmond said, “You got a chance to scream in my ear
and tell me everything you needed to tell me. Now it’s my turn to
say what I need to say to you.”