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Authors: Angie Daniels

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BOOK: When It Rains...
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“Honey, I—”
She held up a hand and broke in with a crisp tone. “If we're gonna work together, we need to get somethin'straight from the beginning.” She gathered her emotions, getting them under control, then pushed them to the back. Fixing him with a glacial stare, she continued.“I'm not getting involved with yo' ass.”
Jay's expression stilled, and his gaze held her stormy eyes for a long spell as he witnessed her visible struggle to keep herself together. “Aw'ight.”
Honey's lips compressed into a thin line. Jay didn't appear to be offended; his tone was casual and his smile, although small, was friendly. She couldn't believehe was giving up so easy. Part of her wanted him to keep pursuing her, while the other half knew that was no good.
“I'm glad we got that straight,” she said, her tone soft now.
“Friends?” Jay asked, extending a hand, and saw the lines of worry in her face ease.
Honey noted the mischief twinkling in his eyes, and knew being friends wasn't going to be easy. Jay was going to tempt the hell out of her every chance he got. But she was determined to fight him all the way.
“Friends.” She clasped his hand and ignored the searing heat.
Jay released her grip and winked. “See you in a couple of days.” Then he headed for the door.
 
 
Natalia arrived at the Galleria Mall just in time to find Kendra descending the escalator.
“Oh!” Kendra waved several bags in the air. “I was hopin' I hadn't missed you!” She embraced her friend in a bear hug.
When they pulled away, Natalia lowered a hand to Kendra's belly and patted it playfully. “Looka here. My little godchild is sprouting like a weed.” Natalia chuckled.“You're as big as a damn house!”
Kendra cut her eyes and said, “Thanks for remindin' me.” She wasn't in the mood for teasing, especially after spending half the morning trying to get ready. It was becoming fuckin' impossible to do even the simplesttasks.
“But no less beautiful,” Natalia said, beaming at her friend. It was true, Kendra's full mocha face was adorably round and glowing. The burgundy jumper and turtleneckblouse she was wearing made her look every bit the part of the expectant mother. But from the look on Kendra's face, Natalia knew “cute” was the last thing she'd want to hear. She remembered reading that pregnantwomen became increasingly sensitive during their last trimester, and she had to agree Kendra was a perfectexample.
Natalia looped their arms together. “I can't wait to hold that baby in my arms!”
Kendra clicked her teeth and turned her head to gaze up at her tall friend, and felt the usual pang of jealousy. Kendra had always been envious of Natalia's beauty and talent. When she'd first begun modeling during their freshman year, Natalia covered the expenses so Kendra could travel with her during the summer. It had been the most memorable experience of her life. At that point, she knew she wanted to have as much controlof her life as Natalia had, not shackled down with a baby. Natalia had money, power, and beauty. Her model's figure, her greatest asset, had an amazing effect on men. She was also the first real friend Kendra had ever had. She felt proud Natalia had chosen her.
“How about you taking this baby off my hands and raisin' it yourself?” Kendra blurted.
Natalia looked down at her for several seconds beforerealizing Kendra was dead serious. “Girl, please! I don't even know how to change a damn diaper.” She chuckled. “I'm definitely not ready for motherhood. I need to get married first. Then I'm depending on you to teach me a few things.”
Kendra gave her a choked laugh. “And you think
I'm
ready? Nat, you know I don't know shit about babies. I don't have a family to help me. Unfortunately, babies don't come with instructions.”
The pair grew silent as they strolled side by side, passing several specialty shops while Natalia wonderedif it was time to mention her reason for asking Kendra to meet her this afternoon.
Natalia had a lot of admiration for her friend. Kendra's mother gave birth to her at fifteen, and had never pulled herself together. Kendra grew up living in and out of foster homes until she turned ten, when she returned to her mother and was verbally abused until she was old enough to get away. An honor student, she was granted a full scholarship to UMKC's school of dentistry. UnlikeKendra, Natalia had grown up with a college trust fund. Kendra had made something of her life through a lot of hard work and determination, and Natalia admiredthat.
“Oh, look!” Kendra shouted, pulling Natalia out of her reverie. She was pointing at a cashmere coat in the windowof Lord & Taylor. “The coat's the bomb!” She rushed toward the door, dragging Natalia alongside her.
“You're pregnant! What good is that coat gonna do you?” Natalia teased, amazed at how fast Kendra could maneuver her body if she needed to.
Kendra dropped a hand to her thickened waist and muttered, “Hmmph! This is a temporary situation,” beforestomping off with a look of disgust.
Natalia found her reaction oddly disturbing. She'd always imagined that when Kendra decided to have children, she would cherish the moment and give her child all the love she had been deprived of in her life. Instead, she was acting the complete opposite.
They entered the department store, and Natalia scanned a rack of wool slacks while Kendra went in search of the coat. Natalia quickly found a pair of royal-blue pleated slacks on sale and was pleased. She had a dinner party to attend next week, and was dying to wear a two-toned blue blazer she'd purchased while at a conference in New York.
Natalia smiled, thinking of the dinner. She was certainher boyfriend, Jacob Stone, was planning to propose. While at dinner together the night before, he'd casually asked her if a woman preferred a marquise or a round-cutdiamond, then quickly added that he was planning on purchasing a pair of diamond earrings for his mother. However, when they dropped by a jewelry store on the way home, instead of looking at earrings he'd moved over to the ring display and asked Natalia what she liked. With that in mind, her heart lurched with happiness at the prospect of spending the rest of her life with him.
Not too long ago, she had believed herself to be in love with Terraine Andrews. Now she knew that had only been infatuation. She'd been jealous of Terraine loving someone other than her. She had been young, too. He was like a big brother to her, and she his pesky little sister going through puberty. When Terraine began dating and no longer paid attention to her, she became pissed off. One night she switched his allergy pills with sleeping pills, and once she was sure he was sleep, she slipped into his bed. Terraine awakened the next morning to find her lying naked next to him, and immediately assumed they'd had sex. Natalia did nothingto correct him.
A month later, she announced that she was pregnant. Richard Andrews immediately stepped in, as Natalia knew he would, and demanded his grandson marry her. But shortly before the wedding was to take place, Nataliawas offered a modeling contract and regretfully admitted she had lied. It had taken Terraine falling hard for fashion model Sasha Moore for Natalia to finally see the light. Now, with Jacob Stone in her life, she realizedthe difference between love and infatuation. Last night he had fucked the shit out of her and then they had lain in each other's arms, curled together in satin sheets. She had never felt more at peace.
She removed the size-five pants from the rack and disappeared into the dressing room, where she slid them over her narrow hips, then admired herself in the mirror. Jacob would be pleased. Slipping her jeans back on, she walked out to the sales desk where she found Kendra paying for the coat.
“Oh, Nat! I was able to snatch the last one,” she said, eyes dancing with delight. Kendra fingered the materialone more time before the sales rep placed the coat in a hanging bag. Then she moved out of line so Nataliacould pay for her slacks, and they exited the store together.
Natalia looked down at all the bags Kendra was carryingand took several from her hands. “I've never seen you shop like this.”
Kendra turned to her and grinned. “And it feels so damn good. I've got a lot on my mind these days.”
“Anything you want to talk about?” Natalia asked with genuine concern.
Kendra's smile faded as she pressed her lips togethertightly. “Yes, but let's do it over lunch.”
They decided to indulge at California Pizza, a popularspot that usually had a line out of the door. Today, however, they were lucky to be seated right away. They ordered a chicken pizza and two Diet Cokes, and engagedin casual conversation before Kendra blurted out, “Oh, Nat, I've fucked up big time.”
“How so?” A wave of guilt washed over Natalia as the nickname reminded her of how close the two really were. There was no reason for either of them to play games when they'd always been so honest about everythingelse. Natalia leaned forward and listened while Kendra told her about her breakup with Lawrence.
“That's terrible!” Natalia said. “I can't believe he was messing around with his nurse.” Natalia was, in fact, flabbergasted. They had double-dated on several occasions, and she had believed Lawrence to be a kind, gentle man and a large contributor to the community.
“The ho!” Kendra fumed. Even though Natalia was her best friend, it was difficult sharing her humiliation. “I should have suspected somethin' by the way she was lookin' at him with those big bubble eye of hers, pantin'like a dog in heat.”
Natalia covered her mouth and laughed. “You're mean.”
“It's true! She even had the audacity to call me last week on behalf of Lawrence and ask me to return the gown he purchased for our wedding. If I wasn't pregnant,I would have beat that bitch's ass.”
Natalia's brow rose as she remembered the beautifulsatin gown Kendra had insisted on having. It had cost Dr. Hill close to five thousand dollars. “So, what happened?”
“I sat up that night and cut it into shreds, and then had it FedExed to his office the next mornin'.”
“You didn't?” Natalia asked, even though by the look Kendra gave her she knew she had. “Girl, you're crazy.”
“Hmmph! That was just a start.” Her nostrils flared. “I plan on gettin' even.” She reached for her glass and took a long drink before adding, “You just wait until he asks me for this ring back.”
Natalia dropped her eyes to the three-carat solitaire Kendra was still wearing. “What are you planning on doin'?”
Kendra's eyes danced as she leaned across the table. “Cubic zirconia, baby.” She screeched with laughter.
Natalia brow rose. “You wouldn't?”
“Girl, you know I will. Lawrence doesn't know who he's playing with. I already found one that looks just like this one at the pawnshop.” She stirred the ice in her glass with her straw. “I was going to be
everything
for that man. Why else was I willin' to have a fuckin' baby?” She dropped her eyes to the table. “Then he decides he wants to dump me when it's too late to get rid of it.”
Natalia's face clouded with uneasiness as she pushed back several unruly curls. She knew Kendra was a strong believer in an eye for an eye, but in all the years they'd known each other, she never would have guessed Kendra could be so vindictive. The rage blazingin her eyes made her shudder.
Their waitress returned with their food. After she departed,Natalia decided it was time to mention the baby. She cleared her throat and said, “What are the two of you gonna do about the baby?”
Kendra bit into a slice of pizza and finished chewingbefore she spoke. “Please don't think any less of me when I tell you this.”
Natalia heard the plea in her friend's voice, and reached across to squeeze Kendra's hand. “Of course not. We're friends no matter what. What is it?”
Kendra didn't say anything for the longest time, and when she did, she spoke in a soft voice. “I'm carryin'Jay's baby.” She stared intently at Natalia, analyzingher reaction. Instead of surprise, she noticed a look of relief. “You already knew, didn't you?”
Natalia looked at her pained expression and nodded.“Yes, but I wanted to hear it from you. But ... are you sure it's Jay's baby?”
Kendra looked hurt for a moment, then realized the question was warranted. She'd fooled Natalia into telling everyone she was carrying Lawrence's child. “I'm sure,” she said, then sighed and rested her head in her palm. “The worst part about it is Jay's tryin' to play games.”
Natalia squeezed her hand again. “Jay intends to do right by you and the baby.”
Kendra pulled her arm away and laughed bitterly. “The right thing to do would be to marry me.”
Giving her a sympathetic smile, Natalia said, “I don't think that's going to happen. But I can reassure you, Jay will take care of his responsibilities.”
Kendra thought about the restless nights she'd been having. The baby's rapid movement in her womb was constantly interrupting her sleep. “He'll have to marry me, or I'm givin' this baby up for adoption.”
BOOK: When It Rains...
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