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“WHAT?”
She burst into laughter at the look of horror on her mother’s face.
Jillian gasped and couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Tamara reached over and took her hand. “Mama, I’m kidding.”
Her mother patted her face with the napkin. “I can’t believe you’d say something like that.”
“It’s what you deserved,” Tamara countered. “Mama, please stop trying to set me up on blind dates. Don’t you think I’m capable of finding my own man?”
Jillian’s lips puckered in silence.
Tamara chuckled. “Good point. I haven’t done a great job in that department, either.”
“I just want to see you happily married with a family.”
“Then let it happen naturally, Mama.”
Jillian gave a stiff nod. “Now what is this about you going to Los Angeles?”
She told her mother about the assignment and seeing Micah again.
“It sounds promising,” Jillian stated. “I can’t wait to hear all about the trip.”
Tamara pushed away from the table and rose to her feet. “There you go again. Mama, I’ll see you later.”
Jillian followed her out of the restaurant.
“Mama, why don’t you look for a man for you?” Tamara suggested. “You should try to find someone to spend the rest of your life with instead of trying to shape my future.”
A shadow of sadness colored Jillian’s expression. “I don’t think I can ever trust another man. Not after…” Her voice died.
Tamara hugged her mother. “I had a great time tonight but you are forbidden to arrange any more blind dates. You’re making me feel insecure.”
Jillian placed a hand to her face. “Oh, nooo…”
“I’m kidding, Mama,” Tamara uttered with a laugh. “I need to get home and pack.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mama.”
Before she headed home, Tamara waited for Jillian to get into her car and leave the restaurant parking lot.
Tamara rehearsed exactly what she would say repeatedly in her head for the rest of the evening and again the next morning as she prepared to leave for the airport.
Tamara flew first class from Atlanta to Los Angeles, both anxious and excited about seeing Micah again.
She hoped that he would be the one picking her up at the airport so that he could clear the air before meeting his performer. It would help the interview along if there was no tension between them.
Maybe I’m making too much of this. Micah’s not the type of man who would hold a grudge.
To quell her nervousness, Tamara documented her thoughts.
August 28th
At this very moment, I am on a plane en route to Los Angeles to interview one of Micah’s performers. I have mixed feelings about this little reunion because of what happened before we graduated college. Hopefully, Micah will put the past behind us and give me a chance to explain.
I have never forgotten that look of absolute hurt in his eyes. I have never been filled with such guilt as I experienced then. I’m not really sure an apology is enough to undo the hurt.
What if I’ve overanalyzed that moment? What if what I thought was hurt was actually something else?
I guess this is why Micah and I need to have a conversation. I miss him and deeply wish to repair our friendship.
I just hope that it isn’t too late to make amends.
Most girls had considered Micah a nerd back in the day—but not Tamara.
Sexy Chocolate.
That’s what she used to call Micah behind his back. He stood six-three, and even with glasses, the man looked good.
She remembered how the basketball coach wanted Micah to play for the school but he refused. Instead, he preferred to focus on his academics and his dedication paid off.
Micah utilized his talent and dual degrees in business and computer science to build his empire, Ross Red. She was proud of him and his accomplishments and hoped for the chance to tell him so.
Things ended so abruptly that night. Tamara didn’t know if they could ever truly mend the rift in their relationship, but she was willing to try. Micah’s friendship meant the world to her.
She settled back against her seat and closed her eyes. A thread of apprehension snaked through her body when the pilot announced they would be landing in twenty minutes.
I can do this.
Tamara repeated this over and over in her mind, trying to convince herself. Not that it was working. She was extremely nervous at the thought of seeing Micah again.
She assumed that he would be the one meeting her plane, and once they got over the awkward moments, they could talk and Tamara could tell him everything.
Thirty-five minutes later, she stepped off the plane and made her way through the Los Angeles International Airport. Tamara was disappointed when she didn’t see Micah at the gate.
Maybe he was waiting for her in the baggage-claim area.
Instead, she found a man in a dark suit holding up a sign with her name on it. She walked up to him and identified herself. “Hi, I’m Tamara Hodges.”
“I hope you had a comfortable flight,” he said. “If you give me your ticket, I’ll retrieve your luggage for you, Ms. Hodges.”
“Thanks,” she murmured. “It’s red. There are two bags. One large and a medium.”
Tamara stood near the exit doors as she waited for her driver to bring her luggage.
He navigated to Tamara and led her outside to the car.
According to her itinerary, she was booked at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles. While en route, Tamara checked her voice mail and returned two missed phone calls. She had hoped to find a message from Micah but it was to no avail.
He was a busy man—she knew that, but Tamara really thought that since he had given the interview his blessing he was ready to reconnect with her.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
Micah positioned himself in the lobby area of the hotel where a suite had been reserved for Tamara. He wanted to catch a glimpse of the woman who had broken his heart.
He checked his watch.
She should be arriving at any moment.
He sensed her presence before she actually walked through the doors and up to the lobby.
Tamara was still slender with curves in all the right places, Micah noted as he watched her check into the hotel.
He raised his newspaper to shield his face when she turned to glance around the lobby.
The way she kept looking around, Micah wondered if she was looking for him.
Probably, but it didn’t matter.
Micah determined that Tamara would not see him until he was ready for a face-to-face with her. The way his heart was racing and his eyes caressing her body—it was still too soon. He needed more time to rein in his emotions.
From outward appearances, Tamara looked fragile but Micah knew that she possessed a quiet strength—a quality that had drawn him to her all those years ago.
He watched as Tamara strolled over to the elevators and waited. Her eyes traveled the luxury surroundings once more before stepping inside.
Micah waited until the doors closed before rising to his feet and taking his leave.
His cell phone rang.
It was his secretary, Bette, informing him that his guest had arrived safely and was at the hotel. She also reminded him of his meeting with the art director that was scheduled in an hour.
“Thank you, Bette. I’m on my way back to the office now.” Micah got up, strode through the glass revolving doors and handed the valet his ticket.
The love of his life was here in Los Angeles, and he was still avoiding her. He had a wall erected around his heart, but Tamara—was a trigger for him, which is why Micah purposed not to see her until he was in control of his emotions.
Micah stood outside, waiting for his car to arrive. The valet attendant pulled the car in front of him and got out. Micah tipped him and strode around to the driver side.
He experienced a strange sensation, which caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.
Micah turned around.
Tamara was standing inside the lobby, looking at him through the glass wall, her expression one of complete shock.
His emotions unsettled, Micah pretended he did not recognize her, stepped into his car and quickly drove away. It had been a mistake coming here, he decided.
Micah knew that he and Tamara would come face-to-face, and when they did it would be on his terms. Micah vowed to make her pay for the pain she caused him all those years ago.
He had done nothing but try to be a good friend to Tamara, but the way she turned on him graduation night proved that their relationship had been one-sided in reality. Micah tried to forget about her over the years, but his heart would not let him.
As much as I want to hate Tamara, I can’t. I am still in love with a woman who believes I’ll never be good enough for her.
In his college days, Micah had been more of a geek and was not the kind of boy most girls usually went for, but his job as a tutor placed him in a circle of people he wouldn’t otherwise hang with. Out of those relationships, friendships formed.
He thought Tamara was different from any other girl he had ever known. She was on the quiet side, kept to herself most of the time when she wasn’t with her sorority sisters. On the weekends, she liked visiting her grandmother—he would go with her from time to time.
Micah had been there to comfort Tamara when the woman died. He didn’t remember exactly the moment he fell in love with her, but when he landed the job with a software company in Chicago and was due to leave the week following graduation, Micah didn’t want to leave Tamara without letting her know how he felt.
That was indubitably the biggest mistake of his life because she crushed him with her rejection. Tamara had tried to contact him a few days later, but Micah was hurt and preparing to relocate to Chicago.
Chapter 3
Tamara rushed out of the hotel but failed to get there in time to catch Micah.
She thought for a moment that he had seen her, too. Apparently, he hadn’t or didn’t recognize her. Tamara had come back downstairs to visit the gift shop but seeing Micah distracted her from her purpose.
Disappointed, Tamara returned to her suite, settled down on the sofa and pulled out her cell phone.
She sat in the chair for a moment, her thin fingers tensed in her lap to calm her nerves. Tamara inhaled and exhaled slowly, opened her phone and dialed. “Hello, this is Tamara Hodges. Do you have a contact number for Micah Ross please? I’m here to do a story on Justice Kane, and I really need to speak with him.”
“I’m sorry but Mr. Ross is out of the office.”
Tamara doubted they would give out his mobile number so she didn’t bother asking for it. Instead, she inquired, “Would you take down my number and ask him to call me please?”
“What is the number?”
She gave the secretary her cell-phone number and the one to the hotel.
“I’ll give him the message as soon as he returns, Ms. Hodges.”
“Thank you.” Tamara stirred uneasily in the chair, her uncertainty increasing by the minute. She didn’t want to consider that Micah still held a grudge where she was concerned or that he didn’t want to talk to her.
Tamara strolled out onto one of the two balconies to enjoy the panoramic views of the Hollywood Hills and downtown Los Angeles. She stayed out there for the next fifteen minutes just basking in the late summer sun. It was a clear day with no smog in sight.
She navigated back into the sitting area, which was furnished with two armchairs and a sofa set around a glass-top coffee table, a writing desk, plasma TV and entertainment system.
The bedroom, decorated in a soothing neutral color with muted gold accents, offered a high-back armchair and side table, a second plasma television and large walk-in closet with dark wood furnishings and a comfortable looking king-size bed.
While she waited for Micah’s call, Tamara unpacked her suitcase and her laptop to keep busy.
When Tamara put away all of her clothes, she sat down at the desk and opened up the computer to work on an article she needed to finish before the week was out.
Tamara stole a peek at the clock.
Thirty minutes had passed.
She considered making another call to Micah but silently reasoned her way out of calling. The man was busy, and she didn’t want to become a pest. Tamara could not escape the feeling that maybe he was avoiding her.
