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  “I know. We’ll make it work. We have no choice but to, right?”

  “Right.”

  Chapter 3

  The sun poured through the windows of Kurt’s second-floor bedroom. Candice could hardly open her eyes as its brightness showered her with the gift of morning, but she welcomed it in little doses. Once she was able to get her eyes all the way open, she saw the fine specimen lying next to her.

  He was all man and then some.

  His features told the story of his masculinity. He was tall, six-four, with enough muscles – enough stamina – to build structures with his bare hands, yet his job was one of strategies and analytics. He used his intelligence for a living. His eyes were closed, but she always enjoyed staring into their deep, rich brown color while thinking of the untold stories they held. And his lashes – those long lashes of his put him in a special category of handsome when it came to good-looking men – not to mention the carved-to-perfection jawline, trimmed goatee and toasted almond colored skin. He was everything – so much more than just his looks.

  He was a man she could trust. Granted that trust came over the course of six months but she was comfortable with him. She didn’t have to question his motives or worry he’d do something to hurt her. She came with the baggage of distrust, but with this man, she knew things would be different. They’d dated for five months before getting married, but during that time, she was comfortable with him and his relationship with his divorced parents. He kept in contact with his mother and father.

  And he was a true gentleman. The open-doors and get-the-chair-for-a-woman kind of gentleman. He was polite. Kind. A perfect mixture of strength and mildness – the kind of man a girl didn’t mind introducing to her parents.

  But she hadn’t done that. Hadn’t introduced the man she loved, the man she married on the low-low to any of her family members. She wanted to put it off for as long as she could but she knew he was getting tired of that approach.

  His eyes slowly opened. He released a soft moan like he did whenever he was waking up. He stretched causing his joints to crackle and wake up while the muscles in his arms flexed.

  Candice strummed the black hair beneath his arms. “Good morning.”

  He smiled. “Good morning.”

  She kissed his chest then propped her chin up on the valley between his pecks. He smelled like the comforting scent of the man she loved. Every time she was with him, she felt guilty for keeping him in hiding until she was ready to answer a million questions from her family. She was afraid of their judgments. What would her father think about her dating a man who worked for a company that wanted to buy the company he’d built with his own hands?

  “Did you give any thought to what you wanted to do today?” she asked.

  “I think we should stay in bed, get up at noon, eat a late lunch and get back in bed.”

  “Kurt, nooo. I’m leaving tomorrow night. We have to take advantage of every moment we have together.”

  “There are plenty of moments we can have on this mattress.”

  “We had those moments last night. Now, get up. Let’s do something.”

  “What did you have in mind, baby?”

  “I don’t care what we do as long as I’m with you.”

  Kurt lifted his head from the pillow to kiss her forehead. He brushed her brown strands away from her face. “You better be glad you’re so pretty and sweet.”

  She smiled. “Let’s go get some breakfast. I need more energy after you depleted me of it last night.”

  * * *

  After breakfast at Biscuit Head, they took in two games of bowling and a little shopping at the mall. From there, they went straight to dinner at Bouchon, a French-style restaurant where they both ordered the Carre d’Agneau – a Moroccan spiced lamb topped with preserved lemon gremolata and feta, served over couscous and seasoned vegetables. This was one of their favorite spots because of the delicious food and the romantic atmosphere. It was just what they both needed to round out the day.

  They were sharing a crepe – one with Grand Marnier orange butter sauce and whipped cream when Candice said, “I can’t believe I beat you in two games of bowling.”

  “I’m rusty. Bowling isn’t necessarily one of my favorite activities.”

  “Right. I’ll have to catch you on the basketball court.”

  He smirked. “You won’t be able to handle me on the court, baby.”

  “You don’t think so? I think that game of bowling is proof I can handle my balls pretty well.”

  “Trust me when I say I didn’t need to see you bowling to know you can handle some balls, baby,” Kurt said then grinned slyly.

  “You and your gutter mind…”

  Kurt laughed more.

  “If you say so.”

  “When I was growing up, my family went bowling all the time. My parents loved it. Dad had his own ball and glove—the works. My brothers were pretty good at it, too. They always beat me.”

  “Do you still think your brothers are going to give me a hard time once they find out about us?”

  “I know they will. I have no doubt in my mind about it.”

  “Okay, so give me an in here. Which one am I likely to get along with? I think my strategy is to go from the good to the bad.”

  “In that case, you should probably talk to Everson first.”

  “Right. Everson. The only member of your family who actually knew me before we met...”

  “He doesn’t know you like that. Just because you went to the same high school doesn’t mean you know them. Plus, I suggested Everson because he’s more reasonable than the rest of them. Him and Garrison.”

  “What’s Garrison’s story? You told me his wife died.”

  “Yeah, a little over a year ago. And she was such a lovable, sweet woman. I miss her.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “She died while giving birth to their son.”

  “Right. I remember now. Wow. I couldn’t fathom what he has to endure on a daily basis.”

  “Yeah,” Candice said, realizing she hadn’t had a real, heart-to-heart talk with Garrison in a while. He always presented himself in a way that made it appear all was well with him. She hoped that was the case.

  “What about Bryson?” Kurt asked.

  Candice shook her head. “Bryson is—he’s—Bryson is very protective of me. Well, they all are, but he takes it to a new level. He’s like a second father.”

  “Because he’s the oldest?”

  She shrugged. “Probably. He’s ten years older than I am, and he loves telling stories of how he used to change my diaper, feed me and rock me to sleep and all that. Even when he left for college, he made sure to be home for my winter concerts and school plays. He always made sure I kept up with my homework.”

  “He sounds like an overall good brother to have.”

  “Yeah, he’s a good guy. He gets on my last nerve, but that’s what brothers are supposed to do, I’ve learned.”

  Kurt took a sip of his drink.

  “Oh, sorry, you don’t know anything about that being an only child and all.”

  “No, I don’t, but hey, I’ve inherited four brothers by marriage, so I need to know these things. Now, tell me about Barringer. I’ve already had a few run-ins with him as you know, but I don’t know him outside of business.”

  “All you need to understand about Barry is, he’s all business. It’s in his DNA. When dad passed the company down to him, he vowed to make it a success on his own without help from anyone, especially not a company like The Champion Corporation who gobbles up other companies for midday snacks. Barringer will fall dead before he lets that happen. He’s always run the company like he has something to prove, and he does. He has some big shoes to fill.”

  “The shoes of Daddy Blackstone, huh?”

  “Yep. Barringer ain’t all that bad, though. You should see him with his baby daughter. He’s a different man when he’s with Bella. But when he’s at the office, he’s a shark. He thinks
about everything in a round-a-bout way and he takes a while to warm up to people. He gets that from dad.”

  Kurt furrowed a brow. “Is that your way of telling me Daddy Blackstone won’t like me either?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. We’re a pretty close family. I believe he’d be more upset with me for keeping you a secret.”

  “And what about your mother?”

  Candice’s cheeks flushed. “I’m sure she’ll be upset, too, but only because she didn’t get to share this experience with me. I feel bad about that.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s nothing for you to be sorry about. When I finally tell everyone about us, I’ll have a lot of explaining to do. That’s all that means.”

  Kurt got up from his seat, moved the chair around the table and placed it close to her in the dimly lit restaurant. He took her right hand into his left and said, “Well get through it, and once we do, baby, then our lives can finally begin. No more back-and-forth to see each other. I’ll have you right here with me.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Candice said, squeezing his hand. She licked her lips and leaned close to him until their lips touched. She moaned as she tasted liquor on his tongue.

  “Mmm,” he said with his eyes closed. He opened them and smiled. “Let’s get out of here so I can get my last dose of you before you leave me to go back home.”

  “Yeah. We should totally do that.”

  Kurt lifted a finger, signaling the waitress for the check, then tossed back the rest of his drink. Her being away from him was a lot harder than he made it seem, but since knowing she had a lot of pressure coming from her family, he didn’t want to burden her by pressing the issue. All he wanted to do was love her – to show her he was worthy of the cause. That, if it came down to it, their marriage was worth fighting for.

  Chapter 4

  Kalina was busy in her office when Candice walked in. She was tearing up her keyboard responding to anonymous relationship questions that people (more often women than men) sent to her blog email. Kalina owned The Cooper Files, a blog she’d started before she married Candice’s brother Bryson. She was somewhat of a relationship expert and the blog was highly popular in the relationship advice field.

  “Goodness, girl. How fast do you type?” Candice asked.

  “Fast, especially when I’m answering a question that women should already know the answer to. Plus, Lizette’s off today so here I am replying to a question from this woman who wants to know if her boyfriend is sincere when he says he’ll never cheat on her again.”

  “Ugh. If she knows like I know, she’ll kick him to the curb,” Candice said. “Once a cheater, always a cheater.”

  “I joke about it but that’s not necessarily the case,” Kalina said.

  Candice raised a brow. “It is with me.”

  “You say that now until you actually find yourself in that situation. It’s kind of a difficult question to answer. A lot of factors go into these sorts of conflicts, like how long the couple has been together, if he’s cheated on her before, if she’s cheated on him before—there’s never an easy answer.”

  “So if Bryson cheated on you, you’d keep him around?”

  “I wouldn’t know unless I was in that situation, but I don’t have to worry about that. Bryson knows where it’s at.”

  Kalina laughed as she finished typing then spun around in her chair, crossed her legs and looked at Candice. “You look nice,” she said checking her out. She had on black pants and a yellow front-tie blouse.

  “Thanks,” Candice said.

  “And you’re glowing,” Kalina commented as she stood up, walked over to Candice and hugged her sister-in-law.

  “Oh, stop it,” Candice said, blushing, making Kalina’s point.

  “You are!”

  “No, I’m not. That’s this yellow shirt doing funky things to my makeup. It’s the angles—like Drake said. That’s all.”

  Kalina chuckled. “Whatever the case, you look good, girl. Where are you coming from? Work?”

  “Yeah, I ducked out early so I could catch you before you left to go home.”

  “Oh. How’s everything going at Blackstone Financial Services? Barringer still seems to be a little flustered about trying to get the company back on track.”

  “He is, but Bella is keeping him somewhat sane at the moment,” she said speaking of Calista and Barringer’s three-month-old daughter – the child they always wanted but thought they’d never have. She was definitely a miracle baby, and boy was she a gorgeous little thing – pretty just like her mother.

  “I know she is, and I’m glad somebody can keep him sane. Whew.” The woman laughed together. “Have a seat, girl,” Kalina told Candice. “Take a load off. You look like you got something on your mind.”

  “Oh, you know me so well,” Candice said, pulling the chair from Lizette’s workstation to sit in. She stabbed her elbows in her thighs as she rested her chin on her interlocked hands.

  “What’s wrong, Candy?”

  Candice hesitated and Kalina knew why. It was difficult to confide in someone who was married to her brother – her oldest brother. The strict one. But if she couldn’t talk to Kalina about this, who would she talk to? Calista was busy with baby Bella and Junior. June and Everson – well, they had their marital struggles and were trying to get back on track and she definitely wasn’t prepared for the backlash of telling Elowyn Blackstone that her only daughter had run off and gotten hitched.

  So, Kalina it was…

  “Well, I’m just going to say it because I’m tired of hiding it and I have to tell somebody or I’m going to explode.”

  “O-kay.” Kalina looked at her, waiting for Candice’s announcement but she appeared to be having a hard time getting it out. “Candy…”

  “I got married,” Candice blurted out.

  Kalina’s eyes grew big. “You did what!”

  “I got married,” Candice said smiling.

  Kalina laughed. “Good one, Candy. Everybody knows you ain’t got time for no man, so why are you up in here playing with me?”

  “I’m serious, Kalina. I’m a married woman.”

  Kalina scrunched up her face as she analyzed Candice. Then she said, “First of all, you have to date somebody and get to know them to get married.”

  “Not necessarily. There are such things as marriages of convenience, arranged marriages—”

  “Okay, Candice—stop playing with me.”

  Candice laughed. “I did none of those things so don’t worry. I chose to date.”

  “You chose to date who exactly?”

  Candice stared at the spot on her left finger where her ring was supposed to go. Every time she left Asheville after visiting Kurt, she took it off and kept it inside her purse. No one in Wilmington – more specifically – no one in her family was supposed to know she was married.

  “You remember that guy I was telling y’all about named Kurt?”

  “The cute guy you met at the boardwalk?”

  Candice beamed. “Yes. He’s the one. Well—”

  “You married him?”

  “Yes. We’re—”

  “You married him!” Kalina said louder.

  “Yes. We’re married.”

  “Okay, timeout,” Kalina said standing up from her computer desk chair to lie on the sofa – the spot where she usually de-stressed and meditated while working. “When? How?”

  “We’ve been secretly dating for five months. When month six came around, we decided to make it official.”

  “But why so fast?”

  “Fast? How is that fast when you and Bryson dated for like three seconds?”

  “Yeah, well that’s Bryson,” Kalina said beaming. “He’s everything.”

  “Ew.”

  Kalina laughed. “He is.”

  “And Kurt is everything to me.”

  “If that’s true, why keep him a secret?”

  “Because I didn’t want the family dynamic to ruin what we have. It’s co
nfusing enough as it is.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Kurt works for The Champion Corporation.”

  “Oh. That’s right! That guy,” Kalina said when she realized The Champion Corporation was the company that wanted to acquire Blackstone Financial. “I remember telling you that dating him would be counter-productive.”

  “I remember, and I’m sure my brothers will say the same thing. I don’t need them ganging up on me about this.”

  “Then that’s going to be a problem for you, girl. You can’t keep Kurt a secret forever.”

  “I know. I want to tell them. I just—I don’t know how. Mom’s gonna think I’ve lost it. According to dad, there is no man good enough for his baby girl—”

  “Aw, that’s so sweet.”

  “No, it ain’t. Do you know what kind of pressure that puts me under? That makes me look for perfection, especially after the screwed-up relationship I had with Quinton.” Candice released a heavy sigh.

  “Not to overshadow your good news, that still has my head spinning by the way, but what exactly happened between you and Quinton?”

  “As a woman, you have a certain intuition about the things going on with your man, you know, but I didn’t have any alarms going off in my head. I thought Quinton and I were fine. That I was enough. Then things fell apart. He stopped talking to me, wouldn’t take my phone calls, didn’t answer my text messages and I didn’t know what to think, so I assumed he’d found someone else. Then I found out it was Bryson who told Quinton to cease all contact with me. He hated Quinton from the jump and I didn’t know why. Anyway, Bryson told Quinton to stop talking to me and later when I pressed him about why he would do something like that, he said it was because he saw Quinton having a cozy dinner with another woman.”

  “Oh my goodness.”

  “Yeah, hence my reluctance to tell him about Kurt.”

  “You need a plan. That’s the bottom line. They need to know and they need to find out straight from you. You can’t be tiptoeing around them. They need to recognize that you’re their little sister, yes, but you’re also a grown woman.”