Hooked!: A Contemporary, Multicultural Romance Page 6

  Chapter 11

  Kammille crossed her arms in front of her chest. She couldn’t possibly imagine what he had to say that she would be interested in. The only thing she had to say to him was take a hike!

  “Five minutes, then I have to get back in there,” Kammille said.

  “Then I’d better use the time wisely,” he responded. Before she could even begin to guess his intentions, he’d backed her against the wall and his lips were seducing hers open.

  Kammille had no time to form resistance. Her physical craving for him outweighed any mental objections, and before her mind could catch up, she was purring in acquiescence against him, her arms wrapped around his neck – receiving and giving kisses like a starved woman. And starved she was – for the sight, feel, touch and need of him. She missed him mightily.

  Landon groaned in satisfaction, and his hands laced their way around her waist, kneading the top of her buttocks, clawing in their desperation. The feel of her in his arms was almost surreal -- he’d visualized it; dreamed of it; prayed for it so many times since their parting. And now, she was here – in the confines of his embrace, and he was never going to let her go again.

  “Whoa,” he said as he lifted his lips reluctantly from hers, his chest heaving as he strove to control the breath rasping from his chest.

  Kammille felt dizzy. She staggered, his strong arms steadying her as he continued to massage the mounds of her buttocks.

  "I've missed you so Kammille. I made such a mess of things in Miami. I wanted to call you so many times,” he said, nipping at the sweetness of her bottom lip.

  "We didn't exchange numbers," she said, breathing heavily, her tongue darting in and out to receive his desire-filled pecks. It was the only rational thought she was able to form at that moment.

  Landon chuckled. "You're not hard to find sweetheart; especially when you and your firm make the business pages quite often."

  Kammille smiled meekly. She wasn't ashamed of her success, but she didn't like to brag about it either. Her anger had melted. She had no room in her body for any other emotion than desire, which she didn't want to admit. But it was the truth. All she wanted now was to hear what he had to say; to get this conversation over with so she could figure out how to move on. “I have to be getting back Landon. So can you just say what you want to say?” she said, her blood cooling just a bit after the initial explosion of lust between them.

  Please God, let him hurry up before I dissolve into him again, she prayed. Kammille knew that if he decided to take her right here in this hallways, she’d be powerless to stop him.

  His lips ground into hers again. He pulled her hips to his, grinding his hardened shaft into her. Kammille liquefied.

  “Damn I want you so bad,” he spit out, lost in a sea of frustrated restraint. “The first thing I want to say,” he said, gulping for air, “is I’m sorry for the way I behaved in Miami. I saw you leave the hotel, you know?”

  “You did?” Kammille looked up at him, a mixture of desire and confusion in her eyes.

  “Yes. The cab driver was putting your bag in the car. By the time I navigated that damn long staircase, he’d already pulled off. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was pissed – first at you, but most of all at myself.”

  “I don’t understand,” she uttered.

  His grey eyes penetrated hers, his hand cradling one side of her face. “I’m going to say something, but please don’t react until I finish. Promise?”

  Kammille shook her head in the affirmative.

  “I hadn’t decided if I wanted to see you again after the night we spent together.”

  True to her word, she didn’t move, but she did react. Landon felt her body stiffen, and the hurt in her eyes gouged his heart.

  “I see,” was all she said.

  “I was afraid Kammille. You brought out feelings in me that I wasn’t prepared to have. But I never would have left you hanging. I left your room and went back to mine to think. I didn’t call because you were sleeping so peacefully. If you’ll remember, we didn’t exactly get a lot of sleep that night. I didn’t want to wake you, and besides, we had a pending breakfast date, remember?”

  “I remember,” she said. She hadn’t forgotten one second of what had transpired between them. She lowered her eyes, letting the hurt of what he said register. She felt the sting of tears, but refused to let them fall. She couldn’t believe how painful his words were. But then, she also couldn’t believe the things they’d done; the wanton woman she became in his arms. Everything about her reactions to him were a surprise. Why should this be any different? Kammille kept her head lowered. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, hoping she could keep it together until this conversation was over.

  Landon kissed the top of her head, and continued. “Anyway, I got hung up on a conference call that lasted way too long. That’s why I missed you. By the time I finished the call, in spite of my reservations about what I was feeling about you, I couldn’t wait to spend the day with you. I ran down to your room and knocked. No answer. I went back to my room to call you. No answer. That’s when I jetted down to the lobby and saw you getting in the cab. I went to the reservation desk to confirm that you’d checked out. Once it was confirmed, like I said, I was pissed. I realized later that it was mostly at myself for missing the opportunity of a lifetime with you.”

  “Thanks for the explanation. At least I know what happened,” Kammille said, not lifting her head. Two more seconds; she needed two more seconds to swallow the tears that were stuck in her throat. It still didn’t explain why he hadn’t contacted her in a month. But it didn’t matter; what was done was done and he didn’t owe her any explanations.

  “That brings me to why I haven’t contacted you this last month,” he said.

  Kammille wondered if she’d utter her last thought aloud, as he picked up on exactly what she was thinking.

  “I’ve missed you like you wouldn’t believe, and one of the hardest things I’ve ever done is not call you all this time. I wanted be sure of what I wanted. I’ve lived my life a certain way – mainly, no serious romantic entanglements. That’s the way I wanted it … until you.”

  “You mean at 34 you’ve never been in a serious relationship?” Kammille said, finding that hard to believe.

  “My last serious relationship was two years ago. We even got so far as an engagement, but I had to choose between getting married and having a family, or growing my business. My success meant everything to me, so I chose my business.”

  “Many people do both. It’s not an either-or situation Landon,” Kammille pointed out slowly.

  “It is when your proposed spouse wants to get married and start popping out babies right away. I wasn’t ready for that. I’m still not ready for that – at least not the children part. So I broke off the engagement. But what I am ready for is to have a special lady in my life. And I want that lady to be you Kammille. I fell in love with you in Miami … it was easy for me to recognize, but hard for me to accept. So what do you say, will you give me a chance?”

  “A chance for what? We don’t really know each other. We don’t know each other!” Kammille protested.

  “Exactly. So we need to start somewhere. I’m ready to settle down with one woman Kammille – and I want that woman to be you. And right now, all I’m proposing is that we date exclusively. I want it to go further, obviously. I love you – in case you didn’t hear that part. But in spite of that, I realize we need time to get to know each other; to build up to the ultimate commitment. And I want that opportunity. I want to court you, take you out to dinner, go on vacations together, plan out a future. When I commit, I commit with my whole being and I know we have one -- if only you’ll give me a chance.”

  “I don’t even know where you live Landon,” she continued protesting.

  Was he serious?! Was this actually happening?

  “I’m based in Chicago, but I’m on the road 26 to 30 weeks out of the year, so I can live anywhere. And I’m perfectly
ready, willing and able to relocate here to Atlanta. I’m here all the time anyway. All you need to do is say the word. Say you’ll give us a chance Kammille.”

  “You’d do that? … Just uproot like that?” she said, incredulous. Kammille’s head was spinning. If someone had told her this morning that the day would end with the man she’d fallen in love with coming back into her life and asking her to be in a committed relationship, she wouldn’t have believed it. It was the proverbial fairy tale; only fairy tales didn’t happen to women like her. It was for southern belles like Liza, not New York City born-and-bred, career-focused women her.

  “They say home is where the heart is … and my heart is with you Kammille. I love you. I want to start building a life with you; to see where ‘we’ can take ‘us.’ Are you game?”

  Kammille laughed out loud. “‘Are you game?’ Are you kidding me? So unoriginal Mr. Shaw? So very unoriginal,” she said, laughing harder as she fell into him. “But yes. I love you too and I’m definitely game. I’d be honored to see where ‘we’ could take ‘us.’”

  “Game on sweetheart, game on,” he said.

  Landon enveloped Kammille in his enormous embrace, raising her face to his to ply her with kisses. He didn’t realize until the second she accepted his profession of love just how empty his life would be if she’d refused him. In his arms he held everything he wanted, and he vowed never to jeopardize it so foolishly again. This commitment felt liberating, not constraining. And that’s because it was right.

  Because he’d become hooked on love … with this woman.

  Chapter 12

  Kammille was exhausted. She hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before – thanks to Landon -- who’d departed for Chicago this morning. She’d dropped him off at the airport.

  A large cup of coffee in one hand, she immediately asked their office manager, Cheryl, if Liza was in yet. They always had a meeting after a major event, just to compare notes and discuss how to be better next time.

  “Yes, she’s in Ms. Howard. She’s in her office.”

  “Great. Thanks Cheryl,” she said, removing the sunshine-yellow, silk scarf from around her neck on the way to her office.

  “Ms. Howard,” Cheryl said, “she’s … she seems upset about something. She looked like she’d been crying. … She went in her office and …”

  “Go on Cheryl,” Kammille said, sensing the young woman’s hesitation in continuing.

  “I went to check on her and I heard her crying through the door. I decided to leave her in privacy. … I just thought you should know.”

  “Thanks Cheryl. I’ll go check on her.”

  Instead of going to her office, Kammille went straight to Liza’s. She knocked gently on the door. “Liza, it’s me. Can I come in?”

  There was no response.

  “Cheryl told me you were in, so I know you’re in there,” Kammille said gently. At further silence, Kammille slowly opened the door.

  Liza was sitting at her desk, a box of tissue on the desk with three used wads in front of her. She held another in her hand, wiping tears as fast as they flowed.

  “Liza what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this.”

  “I know, not my normal perfectly coiffed, unflappable self, huh?” Liza blew her nose, obviously not the first time that morning by the color of it. It was pinkish-red.

  “No, not exactly,” Kammille said, noting the irony in her friend’s voice. Even though she and Liza still weren’t bosom buddies, they had become more friendly since landing hotel contract because they’d been working insane hours, often spending more hours at work than at home. Liza was pretty private and on the hard side to get to know, but the more Kammille had learned about her business partner, the more she liked and respected her.

  “You look like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you know?”

  Liza laughed.

  “That’s my girl. What’s wrong Liza? Wanna talk about it?”

  Liza put her hands on her desk, picking apart a fresh piece of tissue she’d grabbed from the box. “Today’s the second anniversary of the break-off of my engagement. I know it sounds crazy to be crying over a two-year-old broken engagement, but it was to the only man I fear I’ll ever love. And to top it off, my sister – my younger sister, no less – just announced her engagement. Now all the women in my family are in wedding mode. It just brought everything crashing down on me Kammille. I thought I’d be married with at least one bun in the oven by now. But here I am … 31, single, alone and no prospects in sight. … And I’m losing more eggs every year.”

  Kammille laughed out loud at that, which she knew was Liza’s intention. She had to mean it that way; it was just too funny.

  “It’s true,” Liza said, unable to keep a straight face herself. “I read a study that said that by age 30, a woman has lost 90 percent of her eggs. And by 35, well it’s just downhill after that. Don’t you worry about stuff like this Kammille? I mean, we are the same age.”

  “I guess I just hadn’t given it that much thought. Of course, I want marriage and a family, but I’m willing to let nature take its course. There’s no timetable. I just want to have it with the right person.”

  “I wish I was more like you,” Liza said. “In my family, all the women are married and have at least one kid by their late 20s; early 30s at the latest. If I hear one more ‘Old Maid’ reference at Sunday dinner, I’m gonna explode,” Liza said.

  “I guess I can see why you’re upset. I just wish I knew what to say to make you feel better. … By the way, who is this guy who broke your heart? He must’ve really been something to move you to tears two years after breaking off your engagement.”

  “I swore after he broke up with me that I’d never utter his name again. And I haven’t. … But I still love him Kammille. I can’t help it. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him and no man since then has caught my eye. Not one.”

  “I know that feeling,” Kammille agreed, reflecting on the year she’d spent alone after her broken engagement.

  “I know you do. What’s it been, almost a year that you and Omar split?” Liza observed. “But judging by the look on your face from last night and this morning, your broken heart has healed and you’ve moved on. You look like the cat who ate the canary. Spill! What’s his name?”

  “What do you mean what’s his name? How do you know that my mood has anything to do with a man?” Kammille said coyly.

  “For one, you’re not denying it. But mainly, I know love when I see it and you’re definitely in love. So who is he? What does he do? Tell me all about him? Let me live vicariously through you. Start with what he looks like? Is he gorgeous? At least tell me he’s better looking than Omar.”

  “Omar was handsome!” Kammille defended.

  “He was alright looking; I wouldn’t call him handsome.”

  “Ouch,” Kammille said.

  “I hope that didn’t hurt your feelings. It’s just, you’re so beautiful. I always thought you should have someone who matched your gorgeousness.”

  Kammille was truly flattered. “I’m … I’m humbled I guess. Thank you Liza. That’s the nicest thing any woman’s ever said to me. And it’s not like you’re chopped liver. You’re pretty hot yourself.”

  “I’m not in your league Kammille; I know that, but I’m perfectly comfortable in my own skin. What I lack in looks, I make up for in brains – and hair. I have gorgeous, gorgeous hair!” Liza said, flicking her long, thick, wavy red mane back melodramatically.

  “Yes you do!” Kammille agreed, “and a wicked sense of humor. Don’t forget your inimitable sense of humor. I find you irresistible. You should let that part of you show more. I never would have guessed you were so darned funny!”

  “Well Kammille Howard, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were hitting on me,” Liza said in her thickest southern accent.

  “Just stating facts,” Kammille said, laughing out loud at her theatrics.

  “Thanks,” Liza said, “but get to the good stuff. T
ell me about this guy who has your head in the clouds.”

  “To start with, we met in Miami. Or I should say, on the flight to Miami. He pulled my stuck bag from the overhead bin. The first thing I noticed about him were his amazing grey eyes.”

  A knock sounded on Liza’s office door.

  “A Mr. Lennox is on Line 1 for you, Ms. Howard.”

  “Thanks Cheryl.”

  “Take it here,” Liza said. She turned her head and teared up again. She used to be in love with a pair of grey eyes. She had to warn Kammille that once you go grey, you never go back, she thought sardonically.

  Kammille hung up. “I have to jet over to the airport. I swear, that man should rent office space at Hartsfield Jackson. Of the four meetings we’ve had, three have been in the VIP lounge at the airport.”