Page 4 of Five Midnight Moment
She’d had the same thoughts and it scared her to death. At age thirty-three, she had almost given up hope of meeting a man like Dwayne—a man good to her and goodforher. But would it cost her the job that she’d grown to love? “What if we go public, then a month or two later, he decides I’m not who he wants anymore? Everybody’s going to know and think I’m trying to sleep my way to a better position.”
“Relax, Lyn. For what it’s worth, I just don’t see him doing that. From what you’ve told me, which hasn’t been much, he seems like a great guy.”
“He is a great guy and I really like being with him.” The past four months with Dwayne had been amazing and truthfully, she didn’t want it to end.
“There you go. Think about it, your job isn’t the only one at risk. His is, too.”
“I doubt it,” Valencia mumbled. It wouldn’t even cause a blip on any radar since the man owned the company, but she couldn’t tell her friend that. At least not yet.
“It’ll work out,” Leah said. “Anyway, tell me about your weekend in the sun.”
She laughed. “It was amazing. Eighty-degree temperatures, miles of beautiful sandy beaches, and—”
“And a sexy ass man to help you get your freak on.”
“Yep, that, too. A girl could really get spoiled. The great thing was that because he has a friend with a private jet, we didn’t have to spend half of our getaway waiting in an airport.”
“Spoiled indeed. Does he have any brothers?”
“He mentioned having a brother and a sister, but since we’ve been keeping the relationship on the down low, we haven’t talked a lot about our families.” Admittedly, Valencia had been curious about his family and whether they were a close-knit bunch. She’d only seen Dwayne’s father because the older man’s photo happened to be on the website.
“So, I guess that means you don’t know if the brother is single.”
She chuckled. “No, and I’m not asking.”
“See, you just ain’t right. I thought you were my BFF. Out here finding yourself a good man and won’t even hook a sistah up,” Leah grumbled.
“Whatever, crazy woman.” Her stomach growled. She’d been so out of sorts after Dwayne left her office that she hadn’t been able to eat much at lunch. “I need to get off this phone and find some food. I’m starving.” And she wanted to call Dwayne to ask about that note.
“Okay, but you’d better keep me posted. And you could at least tell me the brother’s name now.”
“Soon.”
Leah’s heavy sigh came through the line. “Fine.”
Smiling, Valencia shook her head. They’d been best friends since high school and there had never been a dull moment with Leah around. “I’ll talk to you later.” After disconnecting, she went to the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator for something quick and easy. Because she hadn’t gone grocery shopping, she didn’t find much and settled on canned chicken noodle soup and a turkey sandwich. While the soup warmed, she sent Dwayne a text.
A few minutes later, he replied:You’ll find out at midnight.
Valencia:Does that mean you’re coming over at midnight, calling…what?
Dwayne:LOL! You’ll have to wait and see.
She sighed in frustration, then typed back:Fine! Be like that.
Dwayne:I will.
She tossed the phone on the counter. “I can’t stand him.” A lie, of course, but she’d never had patience when it came to surprises. Valencia couldn’t do anything about it, so she sat at the table and ate while sifting through her mail.
Afterwards, she lit candles, turned on some smooth R&B and took a leisurely bubble bath. By the time she got out, she felt relaxed and sleepy. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and noted that she had a little over an hour to go before midnight. Valencia made herself comfortable on the bed, turned on the TV and channel surfed for a few minutes before deciding on an old rerun ofCriminal Minds. She couldn’t go wrong with Shemar Moore on the screen. Halfway through the second episode, her doorbell rang, startling her. Forcing herself not to run, she clicked off the TV, made her way to the front door and saw Dwayne through the peephole. She unlocked it and let him in. “Hey.”
“Hey, sweetheart.” Dwayne placed a soft kiss on her lips and shut the door behind him.
“What’s in the bag?” Valencia pointed to the small duffel on his shoulder.
He grinned. “Patience, baby.” He reached for her hand, led her to the living room and gestured for her to sit on the sofa.
She sat and he lowered himself next to her. He had such a serious expression on his face, her heart began to pound. Valencia had been the one to suggest they end things, but knew it wasn’t really what she wanted. Dwayne had told he didn’t, either. Now, she couldn’t be sure. “What is it?”
