Love Discovered in New York (The Washington Triplets) (18 page)

A man cleared his throat loudly causing us to startle apart.

“Excuse me, Ms. Washington?” Taylor interrupted with his face scrunched up in a nonverbal apology. “I’m sorry to intrude on your…moment.” He gave us a disapproving look. “But you have an urgent call on line one. And here is the message of which Sheila informed you.”

“Okay, thank you,” I said, taking the envelope from Taylor and following him to the front desk phone.

Picking up the receiver and hitting line one, I glanced over my shoulder at Colton. He was standing at a column near the front desk. He was far enough away to give me privacy, but close enough that the electricity crackled between us.

“Hello?” I answered the call curiously. My eyes remaining locked with Colton’s.

“Mya! Thank God! I was starting to think you’d been abducted. Colton is looking for you,” Kelsey squealed into the phone. “He’s in Chicago! He’s coming to see you at the Waldorf—”

“He’s here,” I mumbled, hoping Colton couldn’t read my lips. “I am on my way to buy a charger and then I’ll call you as soon as possible.”

“Charge your damn phone and call me immediately!”

I laughed as we said our goodbyes. I placed the receiver down and thanked the front desk staff. Walking slowly toward Colton, I opened the envelope and pulled out a note on hotel stationary.

“I got your message and I heard you. I heard it in your voice,” I read quietly. “So no I’m not going to chase you… But I’m not going to give up on you either. But when you’re ready to admit it, know that I feel the same way.” I stopped in my tracks as my eyes darted from the slip of paper to the sexy man standing a few feet in front of me.

Quickly covering the distance between us, I threw myself into Colton’s arms. Scooping me up, he lifted me as he held me close. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I buried my face into his neck. His hands gripped my ass as he held me securely against him. I pulled my face from his neck and stared down at the strikingly handsome and undeniably sexy man who held me in his arms. I was so overwhelmed by my emotions that I couldn’t do anything but openly gape at him.

My mouth opened and I choked on my words. “I…”

“You don’t have to say it, love. I know,” Colton whispered.

Colton took me upstairs to my room and had his way with me. For hours, we ebbed and flowed between making love and fucking and back again. My body ached from physical exhaustion and complete and utter satisfaction. By the time we wore ourselves out, it was late afternoon and we were starving.

Telling me he knew a place where they had the best pizza in Chicago, I let Colton convince me to leave the hotel. Showering together, it took us twice as long to get ready to go. But almost twelve hours after my first attempt to leave, I walked out of the hotel, grinning from ear to ear.

“I can’t believe you drove here,” I said as I got comfortable in the front seat of Colton’s car.

“I drove overnight so the twelve hour drive wasn’t that bad,” he replied as he coasted into Friday night traffic. “It gave me time to think.”

“About me?” I asked playfully. I sat back in the seat and gazed at his profile.

He glanced over at me and smirked. “You have no idea.”

My skin warmed instantly at his words as I tucked the grey jersey knit dress under my leg. Changing the subject, I murmured, “Thank you for agreeing to go with me tomorrow. I’m not sure if I’m going to the wedding, but whatever happens, having you with me will make everything better.”

We talked nonstop for the next fifteen minutes about my conversation with my dad and my plan to meet with my sisters Saturday morning, well before the wedding. As we pulled off of the highway, it dawned on me that I didn’t know where we were headed. “Where are we going?” I asked as I looked around.

I don’t know of any renowned pizzerias in this part of Logan Square,
I thought curiously.

“To get the best pizza in Chicago,” he responded, placing his hand on my thigh.

Covering his hand with mine, I felt anxious as the area became increasingly residential. I stilled, swallowing thickly as we slowed in front of an older, two-story brick house. With my eyes focused on the well-lit house, I asked, “Whose house is this?”

My gut answered the question before he did. Cutting the car off, Colton turned to me and replied, “This is my parents’ house.”

“What?” I screeched as my eyes widened in surprise. “Your parents’ house?”

He jumped out and was on my side of the car in no time. Opening the door, he pulled me out of the car and into his arms. “Don’t be nervous,” Colton said softly, his lips in my hair. “I need to get a change of clothes. I also have a spare charger in the house that you can have so I wanted to grab that for you. If you want to stay, we can stay. If you want to go, we can go. It’s up to you, so don’t be nervous.”

“I’m not nervous. I’m caught off guard. There’s a difference,” I huffed, halfheartedly attempting to push myself out of his arms. In turn, he just held me tighter.

We were both quiet for a moment and then I relented. “But I guess since you’re going to meet my family tomorrow, it’s only fair I meet your family tonight.”

He kissed the tip of my nose before planting a kiss on my lips. “Thank you.”

We walked silently to the house and through the front door. Between the television and the loud talking, noise quickly enveloped us. Heading toward the noise, Colton’s hand was firmly on the small of my back as we entered a beautifully decorated living room.

“Hey!” Colton called out, gaining everyone’s attention. Pointing everyone out as he made introductions he said, “Mom, Dad, Corrine, Tom… I’d like you to meet Mya Washington. My girlfriend.”

“ARE YOU OKAY?” COLTON ASKED
from the stainless steel desk in the corner of the hotel room. He was supposed to be crunching numbers for the marketing and promotion of the Harlem location of Inkwell, but instead I caught him watching me in the mirror.

“I just don’t know what to expect,” I admitted as I spun around, making the black and grey floral dress fan out around me. “I haven’t seen my sisters since the funeral. And we haven’t really talked much.” I let out a short, dry laugh. “I’m more worried to see my family than I was to meet yours.”

Getting up from the table, Colton’s basketball shorts hung low on his hips. My eyes zeroed in on his abs and then wandered over the rest of him, taking in his shirtlessness.

I will never get tired of seeing that,
I thought as he closed the gap between us.

He wrapped his arms around my waist. “I just got another text from my parents telling me how much they love you. Corrine is planning to come to New York next month just so you two can go shopping—”

“She’s coming for your birthday,” I interrupted with a smile.

“Yes, but she said the first thing she wants to do is go shopping with you.”

“Fine, you’re right. I’m awesome,” I jokingly relented as he pulled my body flush with his.

He chuckled before responding, “Your awesomeness, or lack thereof, was not my point. My point is that you have nothing to be worried about today. You had strangers eating out of the palm of your hand last night. You will be fine with your sisters today. I promise.”

Looking at him through my lashes, I created a little space between us. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Removing his hands from around my waist, he threaded his hands through my hair and clasped them at the nape of my neck. “I promise that you will be fine because you’re strong. I promise that if things don’t go the way you’d like for them to go with your sisters and you want to leave, I will pick you up immediately. I promise that whatever happens, I’ll be here for you. And I keep my promises.”

I kissed him hard and deep in response. When I pulled out of the kiss, I could feel him hardening through his shorts.

“My boyfriend is awesome.” I kissed him again as he groaned. “And if I didn’t have to leave now, I would definitely do something about this.” I stroked him through the material of his shorts before abruptly breaking away. “But I have to go!”

He looked momentarily shocked before he gave way to a laugh. “Oh, I will be getting you back,” he warned with a sexy smirk.

I backed away from him smiling smugly. “That was for last night and that massage you gave me.”

He laughed as he followed me to the front door and grabbed the handle before I had a chance to grab it. Looking into his eyes, I felt my entire body tremble slightly.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I whispered.

Bringing his face so close to mine that our noses touched, our lips just barely grazed each other as he said, “Like what?”

Sharing one more kiss, we said goodbye. I was almost to the elevator at the end of the hallway when I looked behind me. Leaning against the doorjamb, Colton looked incredibly sexy as he watched me walk away. Hitting the elevator button, I looked over my shoulder again and saw him still standing there, watching me. My heart raced and the fluttering in my belly intensified. I could feel his eyes on me as I rocked slowly from side-to-side waiting for the elevator. The heat of his gaze traveled up the back of my bare legs all the way to my bare shoulders.

When the elevator dinged to announce its arrival, I turned to back into the elevator car. I stared back at Colton and just as the doors were about to close, I blew him a kiss.

Smiling during the quick elevator ride, I exited the hotel through the lobby. The sun on my skin was no comparison to the feeling of Colton’s eyes on me or his hands on my body. I turned my face up to the clear blue sky and let the heat beam down on me before I made my way to the coffee shop on the next block.

Walking in, I was greeted by a blast of cold air and the overwhelming scent of coffee. After ordering a caramel latte, I spotted an empty table by the window.

I can get a scone when Marisa and Mikaela get here,
I thought as I maneuvered to the table before anyone else could get it.

Nervously, I bounced my leg under the table and waited. Pulling my phone out of my clutch, I thought about distracting myself with a text conversation with Colton. I smiled and looked wistfully out of the window as I thought about the last twenty-four hours with him.

The feeling of not being with him, not being able to find him, not being able to get in contact with him was heartbreaking…and it really put things into perspective,
I realized, staring at the people walking by the window.
I don’t want to create distance between myself and the people I love.

Long dark hair caught my eye and I shifted my gaze to the entrance of the coffee shop. Looking better than I’d seen her in a long time, Mikaela made her way toward me.

Standing as she reached the table, I smiled brightly at her. “You look great, Mikaela,” I said as we hugged each other tightly.

As soon as the embrace was over, I noticed another familiar face walking through the front door. “Marisa!” Mikaela and I called out in unison.

They went to grab drinks and pastries and then we took our seats at the round table. Making small talk, I looked between my sisters and although our faces were identical, it was so easy to tell us apart. From the way we wore our hair to the way we dressed, we couldn’t have been more different if we tried.

When the first lull in the conversation surfaced, I didn’t know if they could see it in my eyes, but I could see it in theirs. It was clear to me that the reason we were gathered was at the forefront of our minds.

Running my hand through my long curls, I decided to jump right in. Looking back and forth between Marisa and Mikaela, I started, “I thought we were all on board with not going to Dad's wedding...and then there was a change of heart. What happened?”

“I wouldn't say we were all on board with not going, Mya. You were on board with that, but it was time to make a step in the right direction... for our family," Mikaela pointed out.

“No matter what, he's the only dad we've got. Plus, I'm not so sure Dad's not telling the truth about their marriage. You've been gone, Mya,” Marisa chimed in, sharing an understanding look with Mikaela. "The last few years, there haven't been a ton of happy moments between the two of them.”

Shaking my head in confusion, I asked, “Were Mom and Dad talking about getting a divorce?”

“No, not to me at least,” Marisa answered uncertainly. “But when I would show up unexpectedly to the house they were never together. Remember how they were inseparable when we were younger? It wasn’t like that anymore. One would be home and the other out. If one came home while I was there, it was awkward and uncomfortable.”

My eyebrows came together, perplexed. I looked at Mikaela and nonverbally repeated the question since she was at home with Mom and Dad the longest. I saw something in her face that made me nervous before she responded.

“I'm pretty sure. I definitely heard and saw some things I probably shouldn't have.”

Attempting to wrap my head around the information I was given, I ran my manicured nails across my forehead.
Was Dad telling the truth? Was the marriage over long before Mom’s unexpected death?
I wondered, taking a sip of my latte.