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Grant was still sexier than any man had a right to be. He was wearing a stylish suit with Italian loafers and a blue striped tie. He was the picture of a successful businessman. He’d clearly achieved what he’d set out to do when he’d obtained his MBA at Ledgeman.
Before she could speak, Grant pulled her firmly against him for a warm hug. He didn’t immediately let go, allowing Shari to smell his musky, masculine scent.
She eventually was the one to pull away, and she looked up at him with an open, friendly smile. “Grant, it’s good to see you again.”
“You, too.” He grinned broadly.
Shari sighed inwardly. The years had been good to Grant. And he looked even more handsome, more distinguished than he did back in college. Her inner muscles churned, letting her know that the tug she’d felt years ago hadn’t dissipated and was still strong—no...stronger than before.
Shari came out of her daze and noticed that Carter and Grant had moved away, so she shuffled after them. Carter was introducing Grant to the rest of the family in the kitchen. Her father, especially, seemed very impressed with Grant’s success.
“Well, I for one don’t appreciate you trying to steal a member of my family away,” Grandma Lillian said from over by the massive table where she, Belinda, Malik and Drake were working on one of the wedding cake designs for the You Take The Cake competition.
When had they gotten started? Shari wondered. Probably when she was in the restroom for half an hour trying to figure out how she was going to handle being in the same room as Grant again. Why is it that he still has the same effect on me as he did when I was twenty? It still felt like he’d taken up all the air in the room, which was why she was having a hard time breathing again.
Shari tried to focus her thoughts when Grant turned to her and asked, “So everyone knows I tried to steal Carter?”
Shari nodded.
“Well, it was a worth a shot,” Grant said, turning back around to answer Mrs. Reynolds-Drayson’s question. “But after seeing this operation—” he motioned around the kitchen “—I can see why he wouldn’t leave. Your family is pretty amazing, which is why I have a proposition for you.”
Grandma Lillian eyed Grant suspiciously. She was wary of strangers, especially someone trying to steal one of her cubs.
“But first, I need Shari for a moment.” Grant pulled Shari away from the kitchen and into the conference room. “I was hoping we could talk.”
“About?” Shari could only muster one word sentences when in Grant’s presence.
“About what happened that night between us,” Grant said, shifting uncomfortably from side to side. He hated to bring it up, but he had to clear the air.
Shari looked at the door. She didn’t want any of her cousins to overhear the conversation. “Grant, I don’t think this is the time or place—”
Grant interrupted her as if he hadn’t heard a word she said. “I always thought you were a great girl, Shari. I still do. I just hope you don’t hold it against me that I took advantage of you that night and behaved so abominably.”
Shari wasn’t sure how to react to Grant’s apology. Maybe she wouldn’t have held it against him, if he hadn’t jumped from her bed into her best friend’s. But was it all his fault? She had told him that night that there were “no strings attached.” Even so, that didn’t change the fact that he’d rushed off into Dina’s arms and married the woman.
“So how’s Dina?” Shari inquired, her voice holding a touch of bitterness. She couldn’t allow herself to get caught up in Grant again.
Grant’s face darkened. “I wouldn’t know. We’re divorced, and I haven’t spoken to her in years.”
Shari’s heart leapt. He was divorced! When? Why? For how long?
“Mommy, Mommy!” Andre came bounding down the hall toward her. Shari bent down and he flew into her arms. Her heart began hammering furiously in her chest. She hadn’t been prepared for this introduction so quickly. She had no choice but to introduce her son to Grant and pray for the best. Perhaps he wouldn’t realize her secret...that Andre was his.
Chapter 3
“Andre, Mommy would like you to meet one of her old friends,” Shari said, turning and looking up at Grant, who was looking at her strangely. Was he surprised that she had a child? “Andre, this is Grant Robinson.”
Grant looked at Shari curiously for several moments, but didn’t say a word. Instead, he squatted down and shook hands with the little man.
Shari was floored. What should she do next? Should she say, by the way, this is your son?
“Nice to meet you,” Andre replied, shaking Grant’s hand. Shari’s throat constricted as she watched father and son interact for the first time.
“How long have you known my mommy?”
“A very long time,” Shari replied for Grant.
Grant rose to his feet. “He’s beautiful, Shari.”
“Thank you.”
Shari didn’t get to say anything more because Grandpa Henry came over to meet Grant. “Sorry, Shari,” Grandpa Henry apologized. “Andre got away from me up front. But I hear Mr. Robinson here is interested in Lillian’s and your father asked me to come get him about a proposition.”
Grandpa Henry grasped Grant by the shoulder and pulled him toward the executive office where her father and grandmother were waiting. “Let’s discuss some business.”
Shari walked out of the conference room and watched the men walk down the hall. She felt an impending sense of doom that all was not right with the world because there was no way that having Grant Robinson back in her life was going to end with a good result.
Andre poked her in the leg. “Is everything okay, Mommy?”
“Of course.” Shari bent down to pick him up. “Mommy’s got everything under control.”
* * *
“Are you sure about that?” Belinda whispered in Shari’s ear once Grant had walked off. “He’s pretty handsome. Not to mention sexy.”
Shari whirled around with Andre, the evidence of just how sexy Grant really was. She lowered their son to the ground. “Honey, why don’t you go to the kitchen and get a snack from one of your uncles?” Where had Belinda come from, anyway? She hadn’t even heard her sneak up.
Andre rushed off toward the kitchen to find Drake, Carter or Malik, whom he considered like uncles.
“You guys know each other, right?” Belinda asked. “Because his name sounds oddly familiar, like I’ve heard it before.”
Shari nodded. “We went to college together.”
“Oh, yes, now I remember.” Belinda eyes sparked with interest. “He’s the one you had a crush on, isn’t he?”
“One and the same. And then he went off and married Dina.” Shari tried not to sound bitter, but it was hard not to, knowing what Dina took from her—the chance to be with the father of her child.
Belinda’s mouth formed an O as if the light had finally dawned. “He married Dina? Well, that hits close to home.”
“You have no idea,” Shari murmured underneath her breath.
“Do you guys share some sort of history other than the Dina connection?” Belinda wondered aloud.
Shari eyed her suspiciously. Had she given something away? Was she sending off vibes that there was more to the story? “Why are you bringing this up?” She evaded the question rather than lie to her cousin.
Belinda shrugged. “Oh, no reason. I was just curious.”
Shari breathed a sigh of relief. “All right. Well, let’s go bake some cakes.” She left Belinda in the hall and walked ahead of her toward the kitchen. She didn’t want anyone to realize the true connection between her and Grant. But would that even be possible now that Grant had met Andre?
* * *
Grant eventually left Shari’s father and went in search of the lady herself. Although the older man seemed intent on talking about a business venture between the two companies, Grant’s mind’s was far from thinking about it. Yes, he was interested in having Lillian’s desserts exclusively in his restaurants, but after seeing Shari again and meeting her son, all bets were off.
He’d calculated the young boy’s age in his head and he had to be four or five at the most, which meant Shari had gotten pregnant in college. Was she pregnant when she’d slept with him? He recalled that she’d been dating some guy named Thomas. Was he Andre’s father? Or worse yet, could Andre be his?
As soon as the thought popped in his head, Grant quickly dismissed it. If Andre was his, he’d lost years of his son’s life, those early primary years when a son needed his father. Grant felt sick at the thought. Surely, Shari wouldn’t have kept Andre from him. Could she be that vindictive? He had started dating Dina soon after their encounter. Had Shari been so upset with him that she’d calculatingly decided to keep him from his child?
Grant had to know.
He found Shari in the kitchen with her family. He watched her from the doorway. What he’d always liked about Shari was that she wasn’t aware of her beauty. She was unpretentious. Always had been. Her dark brown hair was swept back in a long ponytail. She wore very little makeup other than some lipstick, but she was still the prettiest girl in the room. And her figure, although she was hiding behind a white shirt and baggy jeans, was just as curvy as Grant remembered. He closed his eyes for a second and recalled her full breasts and voluptuous behind. He would like nothing more than to smack it. Grant’s eyes popped open at the visual. He was daydreaming about what it would be like to make love with Shari again, even when he knew she could have kept a monumental secret from him for years. What was wrong with him?
He returned his focus back to Shari. She’d donned an apron over her jeans and it was splattered with flour, and she held a pastry bag in her hand that she was using to adorn a cake on a board. The entire family was working together as a team for some competition they were discussing. He wished he had the same camaraderie with his own family, but the Robinson bunch didn’t show affection toward each other. His father was a coldhearted businessman with a heart of a stone; he only cared about the bottom line. And his mother...well, she was a borderline drunk. Often in his youth, he’d find her passed out on the sofa after one too many vodka tonics. He barely spoke to his parents now. As an only child, he envied Shari her big family.
But if Andre was his, Grant was going to be a part of the Drayson family soon enough. And there was only one way to find out.
* * *
Shari glanced up and sucked in a deep breath. Grant was watching her from the kitchen doorway. When he saw that she’d caught him, he motioned her over. Reluctantly, Shari held the pastry bag out to Belinda. “You want to take over?”
Shari inclined her head toward the door, and Belinda smiled knowingly. “Just because I’m going to go talk to him, don’t go getting ideas,” Shari whispered.
“Who, me?” Belinda asked innocently.
Shari walked over to Grant and nodded when he said, “Sorry to disturb you, but do you have a moment?”
She glanced behind her to see several curious pairs of eyes staring at them. Her family was such nosy busybodies. “Yes, follow me.” She led him back into the conference room. “Was there something else?”
“Well, yes,” Grant said. “I was hoping you were free tonight for dinner.”
“Dinner?” She hadn’t expected that.
“I thought we could catch up,” Grant said. “You know, reminisce about old times. How about I pick you up around seven?”
“Well...I don’t know. There’s Andre to think about,” Shari began, but Grant refused to take no for an answer.
“With a family as large as this one, I’m sure you can find a babysitter. So what’s your address?”
Several minutes later, Shari had written down her address, handed it to Grant and arranged for babysitting all in one fell swoop. She was going out on a date with Grant Robinson.
* * *
Shari paced the floor of her home on Chicago’s north side in Glenville Heights waiting for Grant’s arrival. She hadn’t been out on a date in over two years. Most men her age weren’t interested in dating a single mother and so she’d become accustomed to staying home, curled up in front of the television or reading a good book while Andre played.
But her date tonight was much different than any of her other encounters. She was going out with Grant. The man she’d crushed on for years only to share a fateful one-night stand with him that had resulted in the love of her life, Andre. Was this really a date? she wondered. Grant had claimed he was asking her out to catch up with an old friend. Was she reading too much into it?
In any event, she’d dropped Andre off at her parents’ and so the night was hers to spend as she saw fit. Shari was a mix of emotions. Excitement. Nervousness. And fear. Fear that Grant might somehow realize the truth. But why would he? Everyone in the family assumed Andre’s father was Thomas Abernathy. They all assumed that when she told Thomas she was pregnant, he’d broken up with her.
Shari knew her family was completely off the mark. Andre’s father was gorgeous, sexy, smart, millionaire Grant Robinson. A man she’d never fully gotten over, and now she was about to spend the evening with him.
She’d debated with herself on what to wear, but had finally settled on a simple V-neck, sleeveless, jersey wrap dress. It showed a hint of cleavage, but not too much. She paired it with hoop earrings and simple sling-back sandals. She couldn’t wear stilettos like her little sister Monica and would probably fall over if she tried. It was the best she could do with short notice and her meager wardrobe. Monica and Belinda were always telling her to spruce up her appearance if she wanted to find a man, but Shari liked her jeans. Plus, she couldn’t pull off the hip Forever 21 clothes and stilettos like Monica or the designer clothes like Belinda.
Luckily, she didn’t have too long to wonder if her outfit was good enough because Grant arrived promptly at 7:00 p.m. When she opened the door, Grant was holding a bouquet of roses.
“For me?” Shari touched her chest.
“Of course.” Grant handed the flowers to her. Then his eyes gave her an appreciative once-over from head to toe. He must have liked the canary-yellow dress she was wearing because he commented, “You look beautiful tonight, Shari, but then again, you always did.”
Shari blushed furiously. His compliment gave her butterflies and she was luxuriating in the moment, which was why they stood there for several more awkward moments in the foyer, both looking at each other, before Grant finally asked, “May I come in?”
Shari blinked several times. “Oh, yes, c’mon in.” She motioned for him to follow her inside.
* * *
Grant looked around and was impressed by the warm home Shari had created. The large living room area had a rust-colored sectional sofa, colorful pillows and several interesting sculptures. The walls were filled with pictures of her family and Andre. Andre. Who could be his son!
He’d come to Chicago with a dual purpose of having Lillian’s desserts sold at Robinson Restaurants, but also to seek Shari out and see if the passion they’d shared once was still there. But now, everything was different. He could be a father and it was weighing heavy on his heart. He had to know the truth. So tonight was a way for him to spend time with Shari, but it was also a truth-seeking mission to find out if he or Shari’s college boyfriend was Andre’s father.
Grant swallowed and forced himself to follow Shari as she gave him a short tour of her home. She pointed out the dining room, the master suite with en-suite bathroom and Andre’s room, which was painted like a locker room and filled with his toys. They ended the tour in the kitchen with granite countertops and a breakfast nook.
“So what do you think?” Shari asked, turning around to face him. “Not bad for a single mom, huh?”
“Not bad at all,” Grant replied. “You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you.” Shari smiled broadly. “You ready to go?”
Several minutes later, they were seated in his sleek Mercedes Benz with leather interior. “You’re driving yourself?” Shari commented when he helped her into the passenger seat before sliding in behind the wheel.
“Yes, does that surprise you?”
“Well, I had heard you’d had a driver earlier.”
“He came and got me from O’Hare and took me to my penthouse on Lake Shore Drive where I keep my Benz.”
“I didn’t realize you had a home in Chicago.” It made her nervous to think that Grant had been so close and she hadn’t even known it. He could have easily discovered the truth about Andre at any moment.
“Well, I’m in the final stages of acquiring a new restaurant in Lincoln Park, so I thought it would be prudent to have a home here rather than live out of a suitcase.”
“Sounds smart, and real estate is always a wise investment. So where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
He drove them to Smooth, soon to be the newest Robinson Restaurant in Lincoln Park. Situated along restaurant row near DePaul University, Smooth had the right location to get the young business set and college kids, which kept business steady and created a good income stream.
“You like?” Grant said when they entered the building.
The restaurant was upscale with a wood-paneled ceiling, gleaming tile floors and a carpet inlay. White cushioned booths surrounded the main dining room while oak tables and chairs were in the carpet inlay. A circular bar surrounded the lounge area that had comfy couches and chairs and large televisions mounted to the wall. The lounge doors were opened to let the spring air in.
“It’s lovely, Grant,” Shari commented. It had an elegant, quiet style that Shari found appealing.
