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She gave him a level look. “Don’t try, Griffin. Just do it.”
He nodded in a gesture of acquiescence. “I’m going to change my clothes. I want to get to the school early enough so I don’t have to wait to be seen.”
Belinda turned back to finish cleaning up the kitchen. She didn’t have to be at the high school until eleven, which left her time to dust and vacuum. As the only person living in the house her house was always spotless. But she knew that was going to change because Donna hadn’t taught her daughters to pick up after themselves.
As a stay-at-home mother and housewife Donna didn’t mind picking up after her husband and children. Roberta Eaton had picked up after her four children, and Donna continued the practice. However, that would end with Belinda. As a certifiable neat-freak, the girls would either conform to her standards or they would forfeit their privileges.
She’d loaded the dishwasher and had begun sweeping the kitchen when Sabrina and Layla walked in with backpacks slung over their shoulders. Both had combed and neatly braided their hair into single plaits. The fuzzy hair around their hairline was evidence that it was time for their roots to be touched up.
“Before you ask, Aunt Lindy, we brushed our teeth,” Sabrina announced with a teasing smile.
Resting her hands on her denim-covered hips, Belinda looked at her from under lowered lids. “I wasn’t going to ask, Miss Prissy.”
“Who’s prissy?” asked a deep voice. Griffin stood at the entrance to the kitchen dressed in a lightweight navy blue suit, stark white shirt, striped silk tie and black leather slip-ons.
Belinda couldn’t contain the soft gasp escaping her parted lips as she stared at Griffin like a star-struck teen seeing her idol in person for the first time. Now she knew why women came on to Griffin Rice. He radiated masculinity like radioactive particles transmitting deadly rays. Her knees buckled slightly as she held on to the broom handle to keep her balance.
A nervous smile trembled over her lips. “Your daughter.”
Smiling, Griffin strolled into the kitchen. “Which one?”
“Sabrina,” Belinda and Layla said in unison, before touching fists.
Looping his arm around Sabrina’s neck, Griffin lowered his head and kissed her forehead. “Are you being prissy, Miss Rice?”
Tilting her chin, she smiled up at her uncle. “I don’t even know what prissy means.”
He ran a finger down the length of her short nose. “Look it up in the dictionary.”
Sabrina snapped her fingers. “How did I know you were going to say that?”
“That’s because you’re smart.”
Belinda propped the broom against the back of a chair. “Come give me a kiss before you leave.”
She hugged and kissed Sabrina, then Layla. “Remember we have hair appointments this afternoon.”
“Yes!” they said in unison.
Griffin shook his head. He didn’t know what it was about women getting their hair and nails done that elicited so much excitement. He got his hair cut every two weeks, but he didn’t feel any different after he left the hair salon than when he entered.
“Girls, please wait outside for me. I’ll be right out after I talk to your aunt.”
Belinda didn’t, couldn’t move as Griffin approached her. The sensual scent of his aftershave washed over her, and she was lost, lost in a spell of the sexy man who made her feel things she didn’t want to feel and made her want him even when she’d openly confessed that she hadn’t found him appealing.
She’d lied.
She’d lied to Griffin.
And she’d lied to herself.
“What do you want, Griffin?” Her query had come out in a breathless whisper, as if she were winded from running.
He took another step, bringing them only inches apart. “I just wanted to say goodbye and hope you have a wonderful day.”
She blinked. “You didn’t have to send the girls out to tell me that.”
“But I couldn’t do this in front of them,” he said cryptically.
“Do what?”
“Do this.” Griffin’s arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against his body at the same time his mouth covered hers.
Belinda didn’t have time to respond to the feel of his masculine mouth on hers as she attempted to push him away. Then the kiss changed as his lips became persuasive, coaxing and gentle. Her arms moved up of their own volition and curled around his neck, and she found herself matching him kiss for kiss. Then it ended as quickly as it had begun.
Reaching up, Griffin eased her arms from around his neck, his gaze narrowing when he stared at her swollen mouth. Passion had darkened her eyes until no light could penetrate them. Belinda had called Sabrina prissy, when it was she who was prissy. And underneath her prissy schoolteacher exterior was a very passionate woman, and he wondered if her boyfriend knew what he had.
“Thank you for the kiss. You’ve just made my day.” Turning on his heels, he walked across the kitchen, a grin spreading across his face.
“I didn’t kiss you, Griffin,” Belinda threw at his broad back. “Remember, you kissed me.”
He stopped but didn’t turn around. “But you kissed me back.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yeah, you did. And I liked it, Miss Eaton.”
Belinda wanted to tell Griffin that she liked him kissing her. But how was she going to admit that to him when supposedly he didn’t appeal to her? The truth was she did like him—a little too much despite her protests.
“Have a good day, Griffin,” she said instead.
“Trust me, I will,” he called out.
Looking around for something she could throw at his arrogant head, Belinda realized she’d been had. Griffin hadn’t kissed her because he wanted to but because he wanted to prove a point—that she was no more immune to him than the other women who chased him.
Well, he was about to get the shock of his life. She’d go along with his little game of playing house until she either tired or lost interest. And in every game there were winners and losers and Belinda Eaton didn’t plan to lose.
* * *
Belinda stabbed absentmindedly at the salad with a plastic fork as she concentrated on the article in the latest issue of Vanity Fair. She glanced up when she felt the press of a body next to hers.
“What’s up, Miss Ritchie?” she asked.
“That’s what I should be asking you, Miss Eaton,” said Valerie Ritchie as she slid into the chair beside Belinda. “You didn’t come in yesterday, and when I saw a sub cover your classes this morning I was going to call you later on tonight.”
Closing the magazine, Belinda smiled at the woman whom she’d met in graduate school. Valerie was one of only a few teachers she befriended at one of Philadelphia’s most challenging inner-city high schools. Much of the faculty, including the administration, remained at the school only because they were unable to find a similar position in a better neighborhood. But she and Valerie stayed because of the students.
“The guardianship for my sister’s children was finalized yesterday,” she said softly.
“That was fast.”
“The lawyer and judge are members of the same country club.”
Valerie shook her head. “Why is it always not what you know, but who you know?”
“That’s the way of the world.”
Belinda stared at Valerie, a world history and economics teacher. Recently divorced, Valerie had rebuffed the advances of every male teacher who’d asked her out, claiming she wanted to wait a year before jumping back into the dating game. The petite, curvy natural beauty had caught the attention of the grandson of a prominent black Philadelphia politician who pursued her until she married him, much to the consternation of his family, his father in particular. Tired of the interference from her in-laws, Valerie filed for divorce and netted a sizeable settlement for her emotional pain and anguish.
“I don’t envy you, Belinda.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s very noble of you to want to raise your sister’s kids, especially when you have to do it alone.”
A math teacher walked into the lounge and sat down on a worn leather love seat in a corner far enough away so they wouldn’t be overheard. Belinda had made it a practice to keep her private and professional lives separate.
“I’m not going to raise them by myself.”
Valerie gave Belinda a narrow stare. “Have you been holding out on me?”
“What are you going on about, Valerie?”
“Are you and Raymond getting married?”
Belinda shook her head. She and Dr. Raymond Miller had what she referred to as an I-95 relationship when he accepted a position as head of cardiology at an Orlando, Florida, geriatric facility. They alternated visiting each other—she visited during school recesses and Raymond whenever he could manage to take a break from the hospital.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“We’re just friends, Valerie.”
“Do you think you’ll ever stop being friends and become lovers?”
“I doubt it.”
Valerie’s clear brown eyes set in a flawless olive-brown face narrowed. “Are you in love with someone else?”
Belinda shook her head again. “No. Griffin and I share custody of our nieces.”
“Griffin Rice,” Valerie repeated loud enough for those in the room to turn and look in their direction.
Belinda angled her head closer to Valerie’s. She’d just finished telling her about the arrangement she’d established with her brother-in-law when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Papers, magazines and the remnants of lunch were put away as teachers left the lounge for their classrooms.
Chapter 4
“How is she getting along, Dad?” Griffin asked his father when he joined him at the picture window in the living room of the spacious apartment in Spring Garden, a neighborhood that had been completely transformed by gentrification. The nighttime view from the high-rise was spectacular.
He knew exactly what he’d look like in twenty years. An inch shy of the six-foot mark, sixty-two-year-old Lucas Rice claimed a ramrod-straight back, slender physique and a full head of shimmering silver hair. Balanced features, a cleft chin and a sensual smile drew women of all ages to him like sunflowers facing the sun. His looks and charisma posed a problem for his wives because women loved Lucas, and he in turn loved them back.
Nevertheless, Grant’s death had humbled Lucas, making him aware of his own mortality. In his shared grief with Gloria and his surviving son, he’d confessed his many transgressions. It hadn’t made it any easier for Griffin to hear about the number of women his father had slept with while still married to his mother, but he realized how much strength it took for Lucas to confess.
The confession signaled a turning point for everyone—especially Gloria. Surprisingly, she forgave her ex-husband, saying they’d married much too young and for the wrong reason. They’d met in college where Gloria was a library science major and Lucas was pre-med. Gloria discovered halfway through her sophomore year that she was pregnant. And instead of going to medical school, Lucas married his pregnant girlfriend and switched his major to pharmacology. Most of their marital strife was the result of Lucas not fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor.
Lucas stole a glance at his son’s profile. “She’s pretty good during the day, but I found that she’s a wreck at night.”
Shifting slightly, Griffin turned to give Lucas an incredible stare. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been checking up on her since we...we lost Grant. We talk every day, and several nights each week we have dinner—either here, at my place, or at a restaurant. I always call her to say good-night, but that’s when I lose it, son.”
A slight frown furrowed Griffin’s smooth forehead. “Why, Dad?”
Lucas closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling heavily. “The sound of her crying rips my heart out. I know she used to cry whenever we had an argument, but this time it’s different.”
“She’s still grieving. We’re all still grieving.”
“Not like your mother, Griffin. That’s why I suggested taking the cruise. I know I can’t go back forty years and right all the wrongs, but I promised myself that I would spend what’s left of my life making your mother happy.”
“Do you love her, Dad?”
A sad smile crinkled the skin around Lucas’s eyes. “I’ve always loved her and I will always love her.”
“What about your other women?”
“There are no other women, and there hasn’t been one in a long time.”
Griffin chose his words carefully. “Is it because you’re trying to insinuate yourself back into my mother’s life?”
Lucas shook his head. “Don’t worry, son. I won’t hurt her.”
“I’m not worried, Dad. You will be sorry if you hurt her again.”
Lucas met Griffin’s withering gaze, knowing he wasn’t issuing an idle threat. He hadn’t stayed to see Griffin grow to adulthood, but he was proud of how he’d turned out nevertheless. He was proud of both of his sons, and had never hesitated to give Gloria all the credit for their successes.
“Glo has been hurt enough. I’d rather walk away than cause her more pain.”
Griffin smiled. It’d been a long time since he’d heard his father shorten his mother’s name. Reaching into the pocket of his slacks, he took out a small envelope, slipping it into Lucas’s shirt pocket. “There’s enough on that gift card to buy something nice in Florence or Rome for your cabin mate.”
Lucas took the envelope, staring numbly at the value of the gift card. It was half of what he’d paid for two first-class tickets for the month-long European cruise. “I can’t take this, Griffin.”
“You can and you will, otherwise I’ll give it to Mom, and you know she’ll buy gifts for everyone but herself.”
A smile flashed across the older man’s face. “You’re right about that. I want to bring something back for the twins. Do you have an idea of what they’d like?”
Griffin pondered his father’s question for several minutes. “I believe Layla would love a Venetian Carnevale mask, the kind revelers wear. Sabrina likes fashion, so anything from Rome or Paris will make her very happy.”
“What about Belinda?”
