Regal Read online

  “Good morning. Bonjour.” He made another attempt to give her a chance to properly greet him.

  “Why are you bothering me, Regal? I didn’t invite you to my table,” she said evenly determined not to let him win or, in other words, get under her skin.

  “You didn’t have to. I invited myself and it’s exactly what you get for trying to hide from me back up in Gianna’s office.”

  Aggravated, Felicity ran her fingers through her hair. “What are you talking about? Nobody was hiding from you.”

  “Yeah, you were.” He slurped coffee. “You saw me coming and bolted, huh? I wonder why it’s so difficult for you to be in my presence. I mean, I know I got swag and all, but you should be able to withstand all this man, shouldn’t you? Instead, you run and hide.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh get over yourself. I had to take a phone call.”

  His lips quirked up. He didn’t buy her story. “Sure you did, Dub.”

  “Jeez. There you go with that crap. What are you even doing here? Don’t you have some buildings to design or something?”

  “Don’t you have some marriages to orchestrate?”

  “That’s what I was trying to do before I was so rudely interrupted.”

  “All because you won’t say good morning. Pity…”

  “Is that what it’s going to take for you to leave my table?” she asked, looking up at him. He had a smirk on his handsome face and already looked amused like he was ready with a comeback to whatever she would dish out.

  He lifted a massive shoulder. “Don’t know. You could give it a shot.”

  “Okay. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning! Happy now?”

  His small smile grew into a much bigger one. Of course, he was happy. He’d successfully gotten under her skin again. Why wouldn’t he be happy? “Would you like a cupcake?” he offered, opening the box as he did so like he was some sort of a cupcake dealer.

  “No, thanks.”

  “Suit yourself. These thangs are bangin’.” He took one of the cupcakes, bit it in half and chewed like he’d never had sweets in his life, moaning and carrying on. “That’s a good cupcake, Gianna,” he said loudly, holding up the rest of it like he was making a toast to her.

  Gianna smiled as she watched him stuff the rest of it in his mouth.

  Felicity glanced up at him and grinned.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “You got a little frosting on your mustache.”

  “Then what are you waiting on? Lean over here and lick it off for ya boy.”

  “Ya boy done lost his mind if you think I’m licking anything on your body.”

  He smirked. “Well, I would’ve asked you to wipe it off, but I’m afraid you might stab me with those pink razor blades you call fingernails.”

  “Funny,” she said, flashing a phony smile. “How about this—you’re a grown, rusty man. Wipe your own doggone mouth.”

  “Why do I have to be rusty?” he asked, amused still rocking a glob of frosting. “This is how you gon’ do me?”

  Felicity chuckled. “You better go ahead wipe it off before it settles and hardens.”

  Regal took a napkin and wiped his mouth. “That’s alright. Laugh it up. I’ma come see you on Monday.”

  That wiped the smile off of her face. She looked up from her papers. “For what purpose?”

  “So you can engineer me a wife. I already wrote down a list of everything I want.”

  “Let me guess—number one on the list is a big butt. Two, a smile.”

  Regal threw his head back and laughed. “You’re funny. I like it.”

  She eased out an exasperated sigh and glanced down at her notes.

  “By the way, Ramsey has already walked me through the process and he sent me a copy of the intake questionnaire, which I found hilarious. I laughed my way through the entire thing. I did manage to fill it out though.”

  “Don’t know why…”

  “I just told you. I’m coming to Wedded Bliss so you can engineer me a wife and a life of Wedded Bliss, Dub.”

  “First of all, you’re not a client.”

  “Not at the moment, but I will be,” he said with a world of confidence.

  “I have a right to refuse service to anyone.”

  “And are you refusing service to me?” he asked with raised brows like he dared her to.

  “I am.”

  “Based on what?”

  “Based on the fact that you’re not serious about dating or getting married and all you want to do is waste my time and call me silly made-up names that you seem to get a kick out of for some sick reason.”

  “Let me put your mind at ease. I’m very serious, WB.”

  Hearing him call her WB again literally made something shift inside of her head and cause a small migraine. She decided she wasn’t going to entertain him any longer, and so she went about reading the profile of a woman whom she was trying to match up with one of her active clients. All the while, she could feel the heat of Regal’s eyes like rays of sun bearing down on her from across the table. Against her better judgment, she glanced up and once their eyes connected, a smile grew on his face.

  “What do you want, Regal?”

  “I want you to take me seriously, first of all.”

  “That’s impossible, so I’ll ask again. What do you want, Regal? In other words, how can I get you to leave my table? Like asap?”

  Regal reached in the inner pocket of his jacket and removed an envelope. Placing it on the table in front of her, he said, “Here is my intake questionnaire. Promise me you’ll read it over.”

  “You’re not my client.”

  He shot her a challenging gaze when he said, “I am your client and, if need be, I will show up at your office every day until you acknowledge me as one.”

  She laughed off the absurdity. “You wouldn’t. You have a job. You don’t have the time to be driving back and forth between University City and South Park. That’s what? A good twenty-five to thirty-minute drive?”

  “Oh, that’s right,” he said, standing up, picking up his cupcake stash. “You don’t know me very well, so you don’t know how persistent I can be. You’ll find out soon enough.” He lowered his face so his mouth was a breath away from her ear when he said, “Have a good weekend, Felicity. I’ll see you on Monday.”

  Regal walked toward the counter, waved to Gianna, then left the bakery and walked toward his new Audi A8-L, same model as Ramsey’s – fully loaded – though he opted for a white one. He easily slid his long legs inside, placed the cupcakes on the passenger seat and sat there for a moment while his racing pulse calmed down. What was it about Felicity James that made his heart pound in his chest so fiercely? He’d seen beautiful faces before, but hers was one he didn’t mind looking at over and over again. And just being in her presence did something to delight him. She had a good aura surrounding her. Good looks. Nice lips. A killer body. And on top of all of that, there was something mysterious about her. He intended on finding out what that was.

  * * *

  “Girl, what was that about?” Gianna asked, walking over to Felicity’s table.

  “Ugh.” Felicity massaged her temples, face flushed with annoyance. “That man is going to be the death of me. Why didn’t you tell me he was here?”

  “How? He was talking my ear off the entire time.” Gianna grinned.

  “You could’ve broken away for a few seconds to give me a heads up.”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt your phone call, Felicity. You said it was important.”

  “Then let me clarify things for the next time sexy chocolate shows up. If he comes here and I’m here, interrupt me! I don’t care what I’m doing. Give me some type of warning. Do that crazy eye-blinking thing you do when you’re in the midst of a flour dust storm. Snap your fingers, tap your foot a couple of times. Do the Cupid Shuffle. Hit me off with some Morse code—something is better than nothing as far as I’m concerned. Jeez.”

  Gianna was laughing when
she asked, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did you just refer to Regal as sexy chocolate?”

  “Look, this isn’t funny, Gianna. He’s threatening to show up at Wedded Bliss on Monday so I can find him a wife. Seriously? He’s not looking for a wife. He’s looking for a toy—something he can play around with for a little while and when the next best thing comes along, he’s on to the next one.”

  Gianna shook her head. “Why do you let him get to you so bad? I’ve seen you deal with guys before. You act like you don’t know how to handle Regal.”

  “That’s because I don’t. I can’t figure out what his angle is.” She nervously chewed on her lip.

  “It appears you’re going to find out soon enough when he rolls up to Wedded Bliss on Monday.”

  “He’s bluffing. He has to be. Don’t you think he’s bluffing?”

  “Nope. I don’t think he’s bluffing this time,” Gianna said. She’d been close to the St. Claires to learn their personalities pretty well and while it was true that Regal joked around a lot, something about the look in his eyes gave him away every time as to whether he was being serious or not. Felicity didn’t recognize it. She wouldn’t. She didn’t know Regal as well as Gianna did, but as soon as Gianna saw the look, she knew he wasn’t playing. If he said he was going to be there on Monday, you could bet your bottom dollar that he would.

  “He said he was coming by before but he never showed up,” Felicity said. “What’s so different about this time?”

  Gianna shrugged. “You’ll find out soon.”

  “Nope. I refuse to be a sitting duck, waiting for him to come by and ruin my day by interfering with my job. I’m putting an end to this nonsense right now.”

  Felicity stood up and rushed for the door where she saw Regal’s car still in the parking lot. He had started the engine, the daytime running headlights were on but he had yet to back out of the parking space. She tapped on the window with her knuckles.

  Instead of rolling down the glass, Regal got out of the car standing tall, towering over her. “You want something?”

  “Yeah. I wanted to tell you that you will not come to my job with your little games, Regal. I have a job like you have a job and this, whatever it is you think you’re doing, ends now.”

  Regal looked at her pouty lips and said, “Oh, you mad, huh?”

  Felicity crossed her arms. “Joke all you want—just so as long as you heard what I said.”

  “Don’t poke your pink lips at me, girl. You may not like what I do to ‘em.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I,” he said. He took a step closer and without warning lowered his mouth to hers, taking advantage of those pouty lips just like he told her he would. He took them inside of his mouth, sucked on them and savored the taste of them. When she gasped, probably out of the shock of it all, he used the opportunity to slide his tongue inside of her mouth, stealing a quick taste before letting her go. Then he asked tauntingly, “What were you saying again?”

  She pushed her hands against his chest. The tower of muscles didn’t budge. “Don’t you ever...” She growled, fuming mad before turning away and walking back toward the bakery lightheaded and off balance.

  “See you on Monday,” Regal called out before getting back inside of his car with a smile of satisfaction on his face. He thought it was cute how she thought she was going to tell him what he wasn’t going to do. If he said he’d be at Wedded Bliss, he’d be there – didn’t matter how mad she was. She’d find a way to deal with it because he was coming through to initiate the beginning of his plan.

  Chapter 1

  Monday Morning

  When Regal observed Felicity make the turn into the parking lot, literally on two wheels, he instantly laughed out loud. He was at her place of business, parked inconspicuously in the cut. He drove his Mercedes G-Class today and was reclined back in the driver’s seat like a patient stalker, waiting for her arrival. He’d made promises (that came off as threats to her) that he would swing by Wedded Bliss so she could find him a wife and finally, he was there, bright and early making good on that promise.

  He glanced at his Rollie. She was late by ten minutes – probably the reason why she drifted around the corner the way she did. He observed her as she got out of the car – a black Infinity Q70 – her hair looking like it was gone with the wind. She removed a briefcase from the back seat, then stood up straight, collected herself, forgetting about her untamed hair, and strutted to the building like she was ready to whip up some holy matrimonies.

  God forbid a strong gust of wind came through. Her heels were so tall, she’d topple right over. For now, she was in the clear working the black skirt suit combo she had on. It was fitted, shaped to the form of her tight, little body. Something about observing her without her knowledge excited him. Made him realize that this was the way she was, and she wasn’t putting on airs to impress anyone with her super-high heels and body contoured clothes. She was being herself. This was the real Felicity James – at least the physical version of her. He still had no clue about who she was as a person. Right now, though, he’d enjoy watching her strut.

  She had quite the body on her – a figure eight – shaped perfectly in all the right places. Her legs were a beautiful brown and straight with just the right amount of calf muscles – looked like she worked out, but he supposed her legs had to be strong in order to support her choice in shoes – skyscrapers he liked to call them. Her butt sat perfectly in the skirt she had on, the same way he remembered seeing it in a pair of jeans. Forget an apple bottom – the woman had a pair of peaches – plump, round and firm from what he could tell by staring at the way that thang bounced. And then there was everything else about her. She was beautiful in every way imaginable. She had the hair, the brown eyes, the pretty eyelashes that could make any man’s heart skip a beat and lips – goodness, those ample lips he had snuck a kiss from – were as soft and as sweet as overly ripened plums. All weekend he relived that kiss and the feeling of her lips against his – a match made in heaven.

  He always thought she was pretty, but instead of telling her that, he chose to tease her, to see those lips of hers pout and watch her eyes roll while her face turned different shades of red. It all excited him. Turned him on. Made him want her. She had no idea.

  Lately, the opportunity to see her hadn’t presented itself as frequently as it used to. Felicity was best friends with Gianna (his brother’s Ramsey’s wife) and since she wasn’t necessarily what you would call a family friend, he didn’t run into her as often as he would’ve liked. Whenever he’d go by Ramsey’s, he’d always ask Gianna how Felicity was doing, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy him any longer. He wanted to put eyes on her on a more regular basis. He wanted to converse with her. Ruffle her feathers. Get under her skin. Watch her sweat – all reactions he recognized as signs she was attracted to him no matter how hard she tried to pretend otherwise.

  Wedded Bliss, Incorporated was located on the third floor of a corporate building in South Park. The main doors to the building always opened early for the business owners who leased suites there. Felicity passed through the doors and ran to catch a closing elevator, using a wave of her arm to trigger the elevator’s automatic doors to reopen. She hopped on with a couple of other people, pressed the button for her floor and closed her eyes.

  Regal wasn’t too far behind.

  Her expensive perfume that smelled like hints of strawberry candy and apple blossom wafted in the air as he stood in the lobby, waiting for an elevator. But after only a few seconds, he grew impatient and opted for the stairs. He jogged up each set, anxious to see her. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on her face the moment he stepped into her office.

  On the third floor now, he followed her scent, his nose guiding him directly to her place of business. He saw the suite number on the door as well as the Wedded Bliss logo. The last ‘D’ in Wedded and the ‘B’ in Bliss were linked together by a wedding band.

  Cute, he tho
ught. She probably came up with the concept. It certainly looked like something she would’ve done with the fancy lettering and all.

  He turned the doorknob to see if the door was unlocked since, from the tall windows on both sides of the door, he could see that the lights were still off in what looked to be a waiting room of some sort. To his delight, the door was unlocked, but a bell sounded briefly, alerting her that someone was there.

  So much for a sneak attack…

  “Hey, Zandra,” Felicity said from her office. “I thought you had a doctor’s appointment this morning?”

  Regal smiled inwardly. So, she thought Zandra, her receptionist, was there. Boy was she in for a surprise! He kept walking down the hallway toward where it sounded like her voice had come from.

  “Zandra, did you hear me?” she asked.

  When he found her office, Regal crossed his arms and shifted his weight against the doorframe, watching Felicity unpack her briefcase. Exactly how many files did a matchmaker really need to carry around? And, her hair – why did it look like she just rolled out of bed without putting a comb or a brush to that luscious stuff? She was so occupied and focused on what she was doing, she had yet to look up and see him gracing her with his presence, taking over her doorway and filling her personal workspace with a heavy dose of St. Claire testosterone. He decided to make his presence known by clearing his throat and saying, “Good morning, Speedy Gonzales.”

  Felicity’s heart almost stopped at the sound of the deep, masculine voice and when she looked up, her eyes nearly bulged out of her head at the sight of Regal St. Claire standing in her doorway. Forget the fact that he was drop-dead sexy, dressed in a black suit that made his shoulders appear broadly massive and accentuated everything about him that added to his appeal – forget all that. He was in her space. Her space! And his eyes were deep, pensive and stalkerish. Jaw hard and straight with something akin to a smirk on his face. She saw a muscle at his temple move around the same time, he seductively bit down on his lip. He looked eerily satisfied that he’d successfully caught her off guard.