Heart to Heart

Deanna looked toward the stage area, where an attractive young man had just appeared. He looked stylish in a fedora, cream-colored dress shirt with tie, dark jeans and black loafers. A few people cheered as he sat behind the keyboard, which led Deanna to believe that they were already acquainted with this musician.

“So, what have you been up to for the past nine years?” Deanna asked.

“Other than dedicating myself to work?”

“Certainly it couldn’t have been all work, no play,” Deanna said. “You’re not wearing a wedding ring, but that doesn’t mean you’re not married.”

“Why?” Eric asked, giving her a playful look. “You interested?”

“Just wondering,” Deanna said. “A lot can happen in nine years.”

The musician hit a few keys on the keyboard and then paused. “Evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Trey Martinez.”

There were more hoots and whistles. Then Trey began to play. Moments later, he began to sing. He had a sultry, smooth sound and reminded her of Brian McKnight.

Deanna turned back to Eric. “So?” she prompted. “Are you going to answer my question?”

Eric swallowed the piece of corn bread he’d bitten before answering. “Actually, I was married. But it didn’t last long. Not quite two years.”

Deanna looked at him, into his handsome face and bright eyes. Maybe it was the love ballad that Trey was singing, and the romantic atmosphere with two lit candles on the table. But it struck her just how totally sexy Eric was. She hadn’t truly taken notice of this fact years ago, because she’d been so obsessed with Marvin. But there was no denying it now.

Eric was superfine.

Which prompted the question, why would any woman let him go?

“Why did you divorce?” Deanna couldn’t help asking.

And that was when she saw the first sign of discomfort flash in Eric’s eyes. So much so that she quickly said, “You don’t have to tell me. It’s really none of my business.”

“We just…we just didn’t see eye to eye on everything. Irreconcilable differences, if you will.”

Vivian returned with the two glasses of wine. With an amiable smile, she placed them on the table and then went on her way. She seemed to be the type of server who believed in being unobtrusive, and Deanna appreciated that.

“I made mistakes,” Eric went on, still talking about his marriage. “I was focused on my career. I’m not saying I ignored my wife, but she wanted me to take her out to dinners all the time, to the movies, the theater. And we did go out—don’t get the wrong idea. But not all the time the way she wanted. And one other thing she really hoped for that I hadn’t realized when we got married was that I would travel with her during the summer. She had dreams of going to Italy with me, to a cooking school in Tuscany for a few weeks—which I wasn’t opposed to, but the summer after we married was out of the question. I was working on completing my second master’s, and she wasn’t happy that I wouldn’t go with her.” Eric sighed softly. “I knew that I wanted to achieve certain goals by a certain time. I was focused on that. So focused that I didn’t realize I was losing my wife.”

He had recited these facts so casually that Deanna had to wonder if he had been at all heartbroken over the downfall of his marriage.

“You didn’t even make the two-year mark?” she asked.

“One year, nine months. Ellie said it wasn’t working, that we weren’t on the same page. And I agreed.”

Deanna sensed that there was more to the story, something important that he was leaving out. Or was it just that in her experience, things weren’t so black and white? “You seem so…I don’t know—comfortable about everything?” she said to him. “I’m sure it must have been a terrible time for you.”

“Ellie is a great girl, and I wish her nothing but happiness and success. But we weren’t right for each other. We were two friends who both wanted to get married and thought, hey, why not to each other? But we weren’t meant to be.”

“You say that so matter-of-factly.”

“We’re still friends. Ellie has gone on to marry someone else. Now she’s the wife of some cruise ship director, and I understand that they travel quite a bit. She’s happy. And I’m happy for her.”

“I see,” Deanna said. Maybe she was reading into things, thinking there was more to the story than there really was. “Well, it happens.”

“And sometimes things happen for a reason.” Eric held her gaze as he raised his wineglass. “To new beginnings.”

And as Deanna looked into Eric’s magnetic eyes, she was struck once again with just how gorgeous he was. She clinked her glass against his. “To new beginnings.”

The patrons applauded as Trey finished his first song, and he promptly began the second one. “What about you?” Eric asked. “I’ve never heard any reports that you were married, but that doesn’t mean you never tied the knot.”

Deanna shook her head. “No. I never got married.” She paused. “Perhaps I was a little like you. Very focused on my career.”

“I bought your albums,” Eric said. “And I’m not saying this just because I know you, but you’re supremely talented.”

“Thank you,” Deanna told him.

“You have anything new coming out?” Eric asked. “I’ve been waiting for the next album to drop.”

Deanna deliberately lifted her wineglass to her mouth and took a sip. Eric watched her every movement. She felt as though a spotlight were on her as she swallowed, then finally spoke. “Well, not right now,” she answered, hoping he didn’t pick up on the discomfort in her tone. “I was working on some stuff, but…not anymore.”

Eric gave her an odd look, but he didn’t press her for details. Maybe it was obvious to him that she didn’t want to talk about it, and for that she was glad. She didn’t want to get into the story about Brian.

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked me about Marvin.” Eric chuckled softly.

Deanna rolled her eyes in a playful manner. “I think it’s fair to say I did more than enough talking about him nine years ago. I can’t believe how pathetic I was.”

“You weren’t pathetic. You were…passionate.”

Deanna’s eyebrows shot up. “Passionate?”

“Yeah. You used to be so full of fire whenever you spoke to me about Marvin. You got so heated when you complained about him doing you wrong.”

Deanna cringed as she remembered just how often she had complained about Marvin. Had she been smart, she would have dumped him without a second thought the moment she had learned about him and her sister and not looked backward. Instead, she had fought for him—and helped ruin her relationship with Natalie in the process. “Ugh…so young and stupid.”

“Not young and stupid. Young and hopeful was more like it.”

“You always were good at putting a positive spin on everything.” Deanna sighed. “I guess I may as well ask—what happened to Marvin? What’s he doing with his life?”

“My brother.” Eric rolled his eyes. “Same old Marvin. You talked about being young and foolish—well, he’s now older and still foolish. I hoped he would grow out of his player ways, but he didn’t. He’s on a second divorce now.”

“What?”

Eric nodded. “Yep. He was married to a girl from here, really nice girl he met in college, Beverly.”

“I remember Beverly. Beverly Bonaparte?”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“I can’t say that I’m surprised.” Deanna shook her head. “Wow.” Then she said, “Okay, I’m over it. What happened to their marriage?”

“What you’d expect of Marvin. Beverly loved him, but, yup, he cheated on her. Time and again. They have two kids, twins. A boy and a girl. The so-called perfect family. But not for Marvin. Nope, he wasn’t happy unless he could have more women. Sometimes I wonder how it’s possible that we’re related.”

“I wondered the same thing many times myself.”

Something changed in Eric’s expression. Giving her a pointed look, he asked, “Is that all you wondered?”

Butterflies fluttered in Deanna’s belly. Suddenly, she didn’t know what to say.

Eric held her gaze for a moment longer, then smiled softly and reached for more corn bread. “Anyway,” he went on, “Beverly and Marvin divorced, then Marvin headed to New Orleans to be with some other woman. Beverly moved to Cincinnati, so we hardly see the kids.”

“Oh, that’s awful,” Deanna said. But she was all too aware that Eric had just let her off the hook concerning whatever he had been curious about.

“Tell me about it. The twins are five, and I try to stay in touch with Beverly as much as possible. But she’s remarried, so she doesn’t have as much time for us as she used to. I think in the beginning she stayed away a lot because she didn’t like the reminders of Marvin. And because things had gotten ugly between them. Sometimes, the extended family can’t help but become casualties when divorce happens.”

Deanna nodded. She was thinking about Callie. Callie and Nigel hadn’t divorced, but she hadn’t been able to know her nephew until now because Callie had left, fearing that any contact with any of them would’ve led to Nigel finding out that she’d had his child. Thank goodness, they had all reunited—and now Callie and Nigel were together the way they should have been in the beginning.

Deanna shared that story with Eric, and when she was finished he said, “You would never know they’d been apart. Kwame talks about his mother and his father as though they were always together. He seems well-adjusted and happy.”

A smile touched Deanna’s lips. “He is. He’s elated to have met his father and thrilled that his parents are back together. You’d never know that he hadn’t been in Nigel’s life until a few months ago.”

Vivian arrived at the table with their dinner orders. “Two Cajun catfish dinners,” she announced, placing the steaming plates on the table in front of them. “Now, if you need anything else, let me know.”

“Sure thing,” Eric told her.

“It smells delicious,” Deanna commented.

“Wait till you taste it.”

Deanna did exactly that and then moaned in pleasure. “Oh, wow. This is amazing.”

Eric cut a morsel of his fish but held it in front of his mouth as he spoke again. “It sounds like your sister and Nigel had issues to work out, and as hard as it must have been for you all, having to come back here for your aunt’s funeral allowed healing to take place.”

“You’re right about that,” she said, but she couldn’t help thinking that Eric was truly insightful. Perhaps that was why she had been compelled to tell him her problems as a teenager. He was the kind of guy who got it.

“Sadly, Marvin is hardly in his kids’ lives. I don’t think he sees them at all.”

“It’s tragic, isn’t it? People divorce, and suddenly they’re not a part of their children’s lives. It shouldn’t be that way.” Deanna paused. “You said Marvin is on divorce number two?”

“Yep. He was married to this other girl for two years. No surprise, she left him. And the worst part is, she has a child with him, too. I’ve only seen his daughter once.”

“Wow.”

“I hardly talk to my brother,” Eric admitted. “He’s shacked up with some other woman in Louisiana. I don’t think he’ll ever get it.”

Silence fell between them, and they began to eat their dinners while listening to the smooth sounds of Trey Martinez. The man was good.

Deanna was halfway through her meal when she felt Eric’s

eyes on her. Slowly, she lifted her gaze and saw that yes, he was looking at her.

And something about the way he was staring at her made her breath catch in her throat.

“How old is your other niece?” she asked, hoping to alleviate the awkward tension she was now feeling.

“Cecelia’s eighteen months old,” Eric said.

No, it wasn’t awkward tension, Deanna realized. She was very distinctly feeling a sexual rush. But she tried to ignore it. “And what are the twins’ names?”

“Devon and Daneesha.”

“I bet they’re darling.”

“They are,” Eric confirmed. A beat passed, then, “You know what I’d really like to talk about?”

Deanna shook her head slightly, but her stomach was still fluttering.

“No,” she told him.

“I’d like to talk about us.” Eric held her gaze, his eyes not wavering. “About you and me.”

Chapter 4

For some reason, Deanna felt a wave of heat envelop her. You and me.

What exactly did he mean by that?

“Us?” she asked faintly, wondering why her pulse had picked up speed.

“All those years ago, when you used to come to me and cry on my shoulder about Marvin, did you never…” His voice trailed off.

“Did I never what?” Deanna asked.

Eric paused, and Deanna wondered if he wasn’t going to finish his statement. And she wanted him to, wanted to hear what he had to say.

“Did you never wonder about me? Did you never look at me in the way that you looked at Marvin?”

She felt a tightening in her chest, the kind she felt when she was attracted to someone. And yet, there was only one way to answer the question honestly. “I was so wrapped up in Marvin that someone else could have come into my life with a neon sign from God shining on him that said he was Mr. Right, and I wouldn’t have noticed.”

Eric grinned, and not for the first time Deanna noticed the way the faint lines around his eyes crinkled when he smiled, as well as those two little dimples in his cheeks. Had he always been this good-looking?

“I like that,” he told her. “What you said. It set up a really great visual image.”

Deanna shrugged. “The songwriter in me, I guess.”

“What about now?” Eric asked.

Deanna looked away for a moment, then back at him. “Now…” She drew in a deep breath. “There’s no denying that you’re an attractive man,” she said, “but we’ve always been friends.”

“And you don’t want to cross the friendship line?” Eric said, point blank.

“I…this is all out of left field,” Deanna admitted.

“For you, maybe. I was always interested in getting to know you better, but you only had eyes for my brother.”

“What?” Deanna gave him a questioning look. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Eric said softly. “But you were my brother’s girl. And even if you weren’t, I was nearly four years older than you, which is ancient when you’re nineteen. I knew that you never looked at me that way. Why am I even telling you this?”

Deanna shifted in her seat. This was getting somewhat uncomfortable. She liked Eric, and he seemed to be the same decent guy he always was. Not to mention that he was easy on the eyes. But…

“I haven’t seen you in almost nine years,” Deanna said.

“And I never forgot you in all that time. I guess what I’m saying is that I hope that now—without Marvin or anyone else between us—maybe you and I can get to know each other on a different level.”

He was serious. Deanna had to take a moment to digest everything Eric had just confessed to her.

“This guy’s good,” Eric commented, indicating Trey Martinez at his piano.

“Yeah,” Deanna agreed. “Really talented.”

“You going to have dessert?” Eric asked.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” she told him.

“The peach crumble is great. Maybe we can share it.”

“Okay, you’ve twisted my arm. Let’s get one each.”

Eric raised a hand to flag down Vivian, and she came over to the table. “Two peach crumbles,” he told her.

“How was the catfish?” Vivian asked.

“Fantastic,” Deanna told her.

“Great.” Vivian collected their plates. “Any coffee?”

“I’ll have one,” Eric said.

“Me, too,” Deanna chimed in.

And as Vivian sauntered away, Deanna couldn’t help thinking about Eric’s bombshell. Was it true? Had he always been interested in her?

And how did she feel about that?

Just the question caused her stomach to tingle. There was no doubt that she was feeling a definite attraction to him today. For the first time, she was seeing him for what he was—a man, and not just a sounding board. What wasn’t there to like? He was tall, handsome, well-spoken. It wasn’t like pulling teeth to get information from him. He was the kind of guy who knew how to talk to a woman. That was hugely appealing.

But he was also her friend. And Deanna was no good at relationships. She had proven that time and again.

She’d had girlfriends who’d dated their male buddies, only for it to end in disaster. And then not only was the relationship over, but the friendship was, as well. Deanna could easily explore more with Eric…but at what cost?

The desserts came, which they ate while enjoying Trey’s music. He finished a particularly poignant song about love and loss to huge applause, after which he bowed and thanked everyone for listening. “I’ve got CDs for sale,” he added. “Only ten dollars. If you’re interested, come on up.”

Lifting her clutch purse off of the table, Deanna stood. “Ten dollars is a steal. I’m going to get one.”

She noticed others were approaching Trey, also eager to buy his CD. As she waited, she pulled two twenties out of her wallet. And when it was her turn to step up to Trey, she said, “I’ll take two.”

He began to scrawl his signature on the first case with a silver Sharpie. “You enjoyed the show?”

“Oh, no doubt,” Deanna told him. “You were amazing.” As a musician, she knew how nice it was to receive feedback. “Definitely very talented.”

“Thanks,” he said, beaming. “That means a lot, coming from someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

He gave her a knowing look. “I know who you are,” he said. “And yeah, to hear that you enjoyed my music just made my night.”

He passed her the signed CDs, and she saw that on the top one he had written Ms. Hart, it’s a pleasure!! Which only confirmed that he knew exactly who she was.

“Thank you,” Deanna told him. Then she gave him the money.

“No problem,” Trey said, accepting the bills and heartily shaking her hand. Then he noticed that she’d given him two twenties and said, “You gave me too much.”

He offered her back a twenty, but Deanna waved a dismissive hand. “That’s a steal for the entertainment you provided.”

And she was suddenly struck with an idea. For the past few years, she thought that to continue her career meant releasing another album. But that wasn’t necessarily true. She could just as easily have a fulfilling career singing at small venues and clubs. Performing in a more intimate setting, like she had at the charity auction her sister had hosted last month.

“Hopefully I’ll see you here again,” she told Trey.

“Every Tuesday night, six-thirty.”

Deanna felt the hand creep around her waist then, and tingles of pleasure shot through her side. She looked to her right, into Eric’s handsome face. And her heart began to thud hard. Good Lord, Eric’s hand felt good on her body.

His fingers splayed over her hip, and a slow breath oozed out of Deanna. She missed a man touching her like this, she realized.

Eric offered his free hand to Trey. “Great show.”

Trey pumped his hand. “Thanks, man.”

“I’ve settled the bill,” Eric told her as he led her a few steps away.

“Oh, thank you.” She passed him one of Trey’s CDs. “And this is for you.”

Eric eyed the CD. “Great, thanks.”

His hand stayed on her waist as he led her to the restaurant’s exit. Deanna felt warring emotions inside of her. On one hand, she wanted to throw caution to the wind and tell Eric that she wanted to go back to his place with him. She was certain that he would be an excellent lover.

But on the other hand, she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that this was Eric, Marvin’s older brother. A friend she had always been able to count on.

A friend she didn’t want to lose again.

They said goodbye to the hostess and then headed to the door. Eric released her as he pushed the door open and held it for Deanna to pass.

Deanna felt a little chill as she stepped outside and the night air enveloped her, and she rubbed her arms.

“Here.” Eric slipped off his blazer and put it around Deanna’s shoulders.

“Thanks,” she said.

“I bet you forgot how cool it can get here, living in sunny California.”

“California has its share of cold days,” Deanna told him. “I really enjoyed the dinner. It was nice to get out,” she added.

“No problem. Thank you for joining me.”

She began to shrug out of his jacket. “I’ll be fine getting to my car. It’s just around the corner.”

Eric placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from removing the jacket. “You can return it tomorrow.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Though there was no need for him to continue touching her, he didn’t remove his hand. Deanna stared up at him, feeling her internal temperature rise.

And then he did something she didn’t expect. He lowered his hand to her waist, then put his other hand on the other side of her waist.

Deanna didn’t need the jacket to keep warm. Not at all…

“I never forgot about you,” Eric said in a low, throaty voice.

Dusk had turned to dark since they’d arrived for dinner, and the streetlights provided the only illumination as they stood on the sidewalk. But Deanna wouldn’t have needed that to see the heat swirling in Eric’s eyes.

“I…” She didn’t know what to say. This moment was surreal. Certainly one she’d never expected to experience. Not after she had run from Cleveland and left everyone and everything here in the rearview mirror.

“But truly,” Eric went on, “this is what I thought about. Wondered about. Wished I’d gotten the chance to do.”

“Hmm?” Deanna asked, not understanding.

But a moment later, Eric’s comment became crystal clear when he placed a finger beneath her chin, tilted her head upward to his, brought his mouth down onto hers and kissed her.

* * *

He kissed me.

It was all Deanna could think about later as she lay in bed, wondering what exactly had happened.

One minute, she had been going out for dinner with an old friend to catch up on all that had happened in his life over the years. The next, he had been revealing that he’d always been attracted to her.

And then he had laid one on her.

Deanna felt warmth as she thought about it. Her toes actually wiggled. Oh, boy—did Eric ever know how to kiss a woman….

Right there on the sidewalk, as his mouth had come down on hers, she was lost. His velvety smooth lips had made the sweetest contact with hers, and Deanna had sighed with pleasure.

The kiss had been full of fire, eliciting passion while respectfully not crossing the line. He had left her bedazzled while kissing her without using his tongue. Instead, his lips had skillfully and teasingly played over hers. And when he had softly suckled her bottom lip, Deanna had thought she would go mad with lust.

That’s what she was feeling now as she lay on her bed. Lust.

It had been a long time since she had slept with a man. She and Brian had gone to bed only a few times, and she hadn’t felt a smidgen of the fire and passion in his bed as she had tonight while kissing Eric on the street.

Before Brian, it had been a good year since her last relationship. And she hadn’t really missed the sex.

But now…

Deanna rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Closed her eyes and replayed the kiss with Eric in her mind.

They hadn’t even exchanged phone numbers—she was going to see him tomorrow, anyway—but she was so hot and bothered that a part of her wished she could call him now, that she could pay him a visit….

“What am I thinking?” she asked herself. “One decent kiss and you’re thinking about getting naked? Deanna, what is wrong with you?”

Though in all fairness, it had been more than a decent kiss. It had been an amazing kiss.

So amazing that she couldn’t wait for the hours to pass so that she could see him again at school tomorrow.

* * *

No doubt about it, the kiss had been worth the wait.

Eight years and ten months after the last time he had seen her, Eric had finally done what he’d always wanted to do. Tasted Deanna’s lips to see if they were as sweet as he imagined they would be.