TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES) (14 page)

“So, when will you see Willie again?” she decided to ask.

Peggy paused in the middle of biting into her grilled chicken and said. “He’s arriving on Thursday. We’re going to the party Toni and John are giving on New Year’s Eve night, and then we plan to spend New Year’s Day together. Why?”

Toni was Peggy’s best friend from high school. “I know Sonya and Mike are flying out to New York to see the ball drop on New Year’s Eve and won’t be returning for a few days, and Courtney and Lake are still be on their honeymoon. Why don’t you and Willie drop by my place on New Year’s Day and hang out a while. Rick and I plan on watching the game.”

Peggy smiled. “We just might do that.”

“Umm, I missed you,” Willie whispered against Peggy’s lips.

He hadn’t been in the house but a few seconds, just long enough to drop his traveling bag on the floor and close the door behind him before pulling her into his arms. And he meant every word he’d said. He had missed her. He had thought about her every waking moment and at night he would dream about her.

Needing the taste of her, he covered her mouth with his while slipping his hand into her hair to cup her face for deeper penetration. Those were the key words whenever he was with her – deeper penetration. It didn’t matter if it was when his tongue was inside her mouth, between the folds of her womanhood or when his shaft was buried deep inside her body. He always wanted to delve deeper and penetrate further.

And he liked the sound of her moan signifying her pleasure. He loved pleasing his woman and thought of her as his in every way. And when she wrapped her arms around his neck and molded her body to his, every primal instinct inside of him reacted. He got hard even more and responded in kind by deepening the kiss when a shudder of desire, as intense as it could get, rammed through him, tempting him to take her right then and there.

He finally released her mouth when she gently shoved at his chest. “Hey, what are you trying to do, Willie? Seduce me in the middle of my foyer?” she asked grinning.

He couldn’t help but grin back. He’d seduced her in the middle of her foyer before and she very well knew it. In fact there weren’t too many places in her condo that they hadn’t made out in, including a few of her closets. The two of them had healthy sexual appetites and it seemed whenever they were together they also dealt with constant cravings – mainly for each other.

“Besides, since your plane arrived later than expected, you just have time to shower and change. I promised Toni I would get to her place early and help out before everyone arrives.”

He glanced down at her. She was wearing a bathrobe and he knew she was naked underneath. “Hey, you’re not even dressed.”

“Yes, but it won’t take me long. I plan to finish dressing while you shower.”

He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “And what if I said I wanted to take you now? All I thought about on the flight over here was getting inside of you, mating, and exploding.”

He could tell by the sound of her breathing that his blatant description of what he wanted to do to her effected her. But still she took a deep breath and pushed out of his arms. “Then I would say I owe you a check later.”

He smiled. “And I plan to collect.”

She laughed. “I know you will. Now scat, I don’t want to be late.”

He made a move to walk around her and then he reached out and pulled her back into his arms and kissed her deeply before releasing her. He then grabbed his bag off the floor and headed toward her bedroom.

Peggy drew in a deep breath as she watched him go, thinking the man had a nice backside that looked damn good in a pair of jeans. Always. Thinking she needed something cold to drink she headed toward the refrigerator. She loved iced tea and always had a pitcher on hand, and after pouring a class she took a long soothing drink. Already she could hear the shower going and Willie singing. He liked to sing in the shower and she loved hearing it.

She was about to head in the direction of her bedroom to get dressed when her phone rang. She reached to pick it up off the table. “Hello.”

“Peg, this is Joe. Where’s Sonya? She’s not answering her phone.”

Peggy rolled her eyes. The only time her ex called was when he was looking for their daughter, not that she was complaining. As far as she was concerned the less she heard from him the better.

The two of them hadn’t been on the best of terms since that day around seven months ago when he had invited her to lunch to let her know he was seeking an attorney to stop his alimony payments to her since his child bride was having a baby. Peggy had threatened to counter his actions by contacting her own attorney and having her monthly alimony payments increased if he were to try it. Evidently he hadn’t wanted to call her bluff and had backed down. She was certain he had caught plenty hell at home for doing so.

“Sonya and Mike are in New York, Joe. They left this morning to celebrate New Year’s. I would imagine the reason she’s not answering her phone is because she can’t hear it. You know how people are trying to squeeze into Times Square to see the ball drop. It’s probably crowded.”

“I guess you’re right. With that size crowd I hope she’s careful.”

“She’s married to Mike remember. He will not let anything happen to Sonya.” Peggy said, knowing that to be true. She couldn’t ask for a finer son-in-law and knew Mike loved her daughter.

“Yeah, I remember who she’s married to,” he said, reminding Peggy he hadn’t been all that keen about their daughter marrying outside her race. She on the other hand just wanted Sonya happy and thought love was colorblind. She knew for a fact that Sonya was happy.

“And how have you been doing, Peggy?”

She couldn’t believe he was actually asking. “I’ve been doing great. What about you? You missed Courtney’s wedding.”

“I hated to have to do that but I was under the weather.”

She rolled her eyes. Hadn’t he told Sonya that it was his newborn baby who was under the weather? He needed to get his lies straight and almost called him out on it but changed her mind. It was none of her business and she could have cared less.

“Well, I need to go. Nice talking to you, Peg.”

Nice talking to her?
She smiled knowing he was lying through his teeth, but she would accept yet another lie. “Fine. Goodbye.”

“Happy New Years, Peg.”

She blinked. It had been five years since he’d said those words to her. Suzette must not be around for him to be having this conversation. “Happy New Years to you, too, Joe.” And then she quickly hung up the phone.

She hated admitting it but he sounded rather sad, but then how he sounded was none of her business. She’d heard the tough economic times were killing his business, but not surprisingly that hadn’t stopped Suzette from breaking the bank, buying whatever she wanted.

But then she thought as she moved toward her bedroom. His happiness or lack of it wasn’t her problem. He’d made his bed so now he could wallow in it for all she cared.

* * *

The New Year’s Eve party was held in the home of Peggy’s high school friend, Antonia Siplin, and her husband John. Willie figured if it was anything like the last party he’d attended here then the place would be packed later. The one thing he’d discovered about the couple was that they enjoyed having a good time.

Technically, Antonia or Toni as she preferred to be called, was Peggy’s boss. And according to Peggy, the woman was also her best friend and lifesaver. During the rough time of her divorce Toni had been there for Peggy through thick and thin and had provided her a shoulder to cry on.

He parked the car and then got out to open the door for Peggy. He couldn’t help but admire her outfit, one hell of a mini-dress with fish-net stockings. And long dangling earrings hung from her ears. She had warned him the theme of the party was “Old School” and he knew the moment they walked to the door with Earth, Wind and Fire’s, Let’s Groove Tonight, blasting from inside that the party would be a fun one.

“Remember, I don’t care what I’m doing or where I am at the stroke of midnight, I want you to find me,” Peggy whispered.

He smiled. Did she honestly think that he wouldn’t? Although he was looking forward to having fun tonight, it wouldn’t bother him in the least if by the time the New Year came in they’d made it back to her place, stripped off their clothes and were in bed making love. He’d come close to suggesting such a thing to her a few times on the drive over.

They had made it to the front door and he was about to make that very proposition when the front door flung open and a woman who could be Meg Ryan’s twin with her blond hair and blue eyes stared at them with a huge smile on her face.

“Good seeing you two. I need help with the food and Willie, John needs help with the decorations.”

He lifted a brow as he and Peggy entered the house wondering what kind of decorations John was putting up. Peggy immediately followed Toni to the kitchen and he followed the sound of John’s cursing. He stepped in the family room and glanced up. John was on a tall ladder trying to install in the ceiling a replica of the Times Square ball.

Willie propped against a wall and said. “I’m almost afraid to ask where you got that from.”

John glanced down at him and said. “Please don’t ask. This was Toni’s idea and like a fool I let her talk me into it. It’s remote controlled and I’m afraid something is going to go wrong and it will end up falling on someone’s head and we’ll get sued.”

Willie laughed and straightened his stance and rolled up his sleeves. “Well, I’m here so tell me what you need me to do.”

* * *

“What are you trying to do? Feed an army?” Peggy asked glancing around the kitchen at all the food trays and covered dishes. “Don’t tell me you prepared all of this.”

Toni chuckled. “Heck no. I hired a caterer and she just dropped everything off moments ago.”

Peggy nodded. “Everything looks good.”

“So does that hunk you’re with. I know you’re my best friend and all but if I were you, I would have kept him in tonight, namely in bed. The man oozes sensuality.”

Peggy smiled. “Hey, there’s always later.”

“Smart girl.” And then Toni took a moment to study her. “You’re happy.”

Peggy’s smile widened and she couldn’t agree with her best friend more. “Yes, I’m happy. I’m very happy.”

Toni glanced down at Peggy’s hand and then raised a brow. “Did you get a Christmas present you forgot to tell me about? You’re not wearing a ring so what is it?”

Now it was Peggy’s turn to lift a brow. “A ring? Why would Willie buy me a ring?”

Toni rolled her eyes. “If you have to ask then you’re hopeless. John and I figured it won’t be long now before he pops the question. The two of you have been seeing each other now for a good eight months.”

Peggy frowned. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Toni ignored the frown and said, “It means I bet something serious is in the works. He adores you, I know that. And you just admitted you’re happy with him.”

“But that doesn’t mean something permanent is in the works.” Peggy thought about her conversation with Barbara a few days ago. “Why does everyone assume when two people are into each other it has to end in marriage?”

Toni grinned. “Because that’s usually the way it is. Remember, women have been telling their daughters that for centuries. You know I freaked out when Johnetta decided she and Nick were moving in with each other and after a year no one was mentioning the word marriage.”

Peggy remembered that time. Johnetta was headstrong like her mother and thought there was nothing wrong with her and Nick just having an exclusive relationship for the rest of their lives. It was pretty much how she felt about her and Willie. “Our daughters are our daughters. As mothers we can do whatever we want to do. Remember that saying - do as I say and not as I do?” Peggy said.

Toni tossed the mass of blond hair back from her face and glared her blue eyes. “Yes, but give me one good reason you wouldn’t want to marry Willie?”

“Joe.”

Toni frowned. “Joe?”

“Yes, Joe,” Peggy said, calmly taking a sip of the punch Toni had given her to sample.

“For crying out loud, what does Joe have to do with anything?”

Peggy rolled her eyes upward. “Joe has everything to do with it. If you recall, he’s the reason I almost became an alcoholic. He’s the reason I almost drove my only daughter away and the reason I lost every ounce of self-esteem I possessed. You were there during that time Toni. I was one emotional mess and the thought of ever going through that again is more than I could bear.”

Toni didn’t say anything. She just stared a moment at Peggy and then asked softly. “Do you honestly think that Willie is anything like Joe?”

“No, in fact I know he’s nothing like Joe, but he’s still a man and like you pointed out earlier, he’s a man oozing in sensuality. A prime target for a hoochie like Suzette and the million others out there. If a younger woman wanted him there is no way in hell I could compete.”

“Yes, there is.”

“No, there’s not,” Peggy countered firmly. “I’m fifty-seven and not twenty-seven. Willie not only oozes in sensuality but he also oozes in money. What sophisticated hoochie in her right mind wouldn’t want a sugar daddy like him?”