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MILLS & BOON
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To Gerald Jackson, Sr.—thanks for being
the special man that you are.
To all my readers who enjoy a good love story
that centers on family.
To my Heavenly Father, who shows me each
and every day how much he loves me.
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,
when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Proverbs 3:27
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 1
Opal Lockhart glanced around the crowded backyard and smiled at the many family, friends and invited guests she saw. There was nothing like an annual family reunion to bring everyone together. This one seemed even better than the last, because she and her sisters had a lot to celebrate.
First, she had a new job she loved, although things would be better if her boss didn’t have such surly behavior most of the time. Her sister Pearl, who at twenty-five was two years younger than Opal, had sent her new demo tapes to several gospel labels all over the country. And then there was her oldest sister, Ruby, twenty-nine, who had gotten a superior rating on her most recent job performance evaluation. That would definitely keep Ruby first in line for a promotion with her present employer. Everyone knew how important moving up the corporate ladder of success was to Ruby.
But the biggest blessing of all, as far as Opal and her other two sisters were concerned, was that their twenty-one-year-old baby sister, Amber, had finished another year in college, which she was attending part-time, and had set a record by not changing boyfriends more than three times since the last reunion.
She smiled as she glanced over at Amber, but her smile quickly turned to a frown when she saw her youngest sister openly flirting with several of the male guests, most of them from the family’s church. Opal glanced over at Ruby, who met her gaze and nodded, indicating she too was aware of Amber’s outlandish behavior.
Opal was about to go have a word with her sister when her cell phone vibrated in the back pocket of her shorts. She quickly pulled it out, and her frown deepened when she saw the caller was her boss. Why on earth would he be contacting her on a Saturday?
She moved to an area of the patio away from the noise—mainly the heated discussion going on between her sister Pearl and Reverend Wade Kendrick, regarding the woman’s role in a Christian household. Reverend Kendrick, who was only twenty-eight, was their church’s new minister. A former “gangsta,” he had found faith when he had overcome a personal tragedy.
Opal was thoroughly impressed with him and thought he was a dynamic speaker. Already, the congregation had increased tremendously since he’d arrived. And because he was a rather handsome single man, a lot of the unwed female church members were vying for his attention. At least everyone but Pearl was. It seemed she and Reverend Kendrick butted heads on just about every topic.
Opal slipped onto an empty bench and flipped open the phone. “Hello.”
“Ms. Lockhart, this is D’marcus Armstrong. I hate bothering you at home but something of importance has come up and I need you to meet me at the office in thirty minutes.”
Opal glanced at her watch. “Mr. Armstrong, my sisters and I are hosting our family reunion and—”
“I regret the interruption but I do need you at the office, otherwise, I wouldn’t be calling.” His tone indicated there would be no discussion on the matter. “You should be able to return to your family function within the hour.”
Opal sighed. Now was not the time to make waves with her boss. This was her last semester at the university in her quest for a Business Management degree, and her employment at Sports Unlimited was part of her internship. She even planned to stay with the company after graduation and take advantage of the good benefits and the potential for advancement.
Having no choice, she replied, “All right. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” Disappointed, she clicked off the phone.
“Don’t tell us you’re leaving.”
Opal turned around and saw her sisters Ruby and Pearl standing behind her. At least Pearl was no longer debating issues with the new minister. Before her cell phone had gone off, being the diplomat in the family, Opal had thought about intervening in the heated discussion to smooth a few feathers that appeared to be getting ruffled.
She met Ruby’s gaze and said, “Yes, I’m leaving but just for a little while. Something has come up at the office.”
“And why didn’t you tell that boss of yours that you don’t work on Saturdays?” Ruby said, a little miffed. “I swear, that man is a tyrant.”
Opal couldn’t help but smile as she stood up. “Really, Ruby, D’marcus isn’t that bad. He has a business to run and wants to continue its success. All those extra hours I work are justified. I am his administrative assistant, so he depends on me a lot. Besides, I can certainly use the money if I plan on moving to another apartment complex.”
“The tenants around your apartment are still partying every night?” Pearl asked.
“Yes, and the landlord acts as if there’s nothing he can do. I had hoped the situation would get better, but it hasn’t. My building has become known as the party building.”
Pearl smiled. “Umm, maybe I ought to move in when you move out. There’s nothing like a good party every now and then.”
Opal shook her head. Good at heart, Pearl enjoyed giving the impression that she was a wild-child, but Opal knew better. Her sister’s party-girl ways were just a facade. Opal had a feeling that, in reality, Pearl was someone still trying to find her purpose in life. More than anything, Opal hoped things worked out for Pearl with those demo tapes she had sent out.
“I can handle a good party every now and then,” Opal decided to say. “But there are limits to one’s tolerance and endurance.”
“Things really must be out of hand if you’re complaining,” Pearl said. “Everyone knows you rarely complain about anything. You just roll with the flow.”
Opal couldn’t help but smile. It was a known fact that of the four Lockhart sisters, she was the hopeless optimist. No matter what the problem, she believed the result would end up positive.
She then thought of the problem she had detected before answering her phone. “Did you say anything to Amber about her behavior?” she asked Ruby.
Ruby shook her head. “Are you kidding? And have her not speak to me again for weeks? No, I didn’t say anything to her, but I did ask Luther to say something. She usually listens to him.”
Opal nodded. Luther Biggens, whom they had designated as cook for the day, was a family friend. His father and theirs had been the best of buddies when the two had been alive. A military man, Luther had left the navy SEALs after suffering a disabling leg injury. Now he managed his family’s very profitable chain of mega automobile dealerships.
“I hope she listens to him,” Pearl said glancing out across the yard. “I don’t think Megan Townsend appreciates Amber flirting with her fiancé.”
Opal sighed. “Well, let me go. I won’t have time to go home and change so I’m going to have to wear what I have on,” she said, glancing down at the shorts and T-shirt she was wearing.
“You look fine,” Pearl said. “Besides, it will do D’marcus Armstrong good to see you in something other than a business suit. Maybe now he’ll take a notice to you. You have great-looking legs so you might as well flaunt them.”
Opal rolled her eyes. “I don’t want him to notice me. I just want him to pay me well for the job that I do and give me a good evaluation at the end of my internship.”
“Hey, if I were you I would want him to notice me,” Pearl said chuckling. “The man might be a tyrant but he’s definitely a hunk, and a rich one. Tall, dark and handsome are the things dreams are made of. If I were you—”
“But you aren’t me,” Opal said, laughing. “Just make sure our family and guests continue to have a good time. Let everyone know I had to leave for a while, but I’ll be back in an hour.”
“If you’re not, just make sure Mr. Armstrong knows your sisters plan on coming over there to get you,” Ruby said.
Opal returned her grin. “Okay, I’ll make sure he’s aware of it. I’m sure the last thing he wants is the Lockhart sisters showing up causing problems. I’ll be back later.” She dashed inside the house to get her purse.
D’marcus Armstrong stood at the window of his office on the fifteenth floor and looked down into the parking lot below. His administrative assistant was arriving and she’d made good time. He had asked the ever-efficient Opal Lockhart to be there in thirty minutes and she had arrived in twenty.
He watched as she got out of her car and began walking toward the entrance of the building. He had told her he needed her services right away so the only sensible solution to meet his demand was to come dressed as she was.
And much to his displeasure, he rather liked it.
He didn’t want to admit that he’d often wondered what she looked like in something other than those business suits she liked wearing. It was plain to see she had a very curvy figure in addition to her attractive features. But she was not one to flaunt them. Instead, she kept trying to keep them well hidden. Her shoulder-length hair was usually worn pulled back in a bun and her face, more times than not, was devoid of any makeup. However, there was something about her that always managed to catch his attention, anyway. Even the way she would arch her brow when she questioned him.
He released a deep breath trying to recall at what point he had become attracted to Opal. Lord knows he’d tried not to notice certain things about her, but nothing seemed to work. So he’d tried putting as much distance between them as possible, which wasn’t easy given the nature of her job.
He continued studying her, watching as she tossed her hair back from her face, and he suddenly realized this was only the second time he’d seen her hair worn in any style other than a bun on her head. He didn’t want to admit that even from fifteen stories up, she looked good.
“Hey, I’m tired of waiting for this meeting to begin.”
At first D’marcus refused to turn around to acknowledge the comment that had been made. Dashuan Kennedy was trouble. He’d known it from the first, yet his partners had insisted that they hire him to play for the Detroit Chargers, the professional basketball team of which D’marcus was part owner.
“Armstrong, are you listening to me?”
It was then that D’marcus turned around. Skimming the other two men in the room, his partners in the ownership of the Chargers, his gaze immediately settled on the man reclining in the largest chair as though he owned it. “To be quite honest with you, Kennedy, no, I’m not listening to you. But it will behoove you to listen to what the other owners and I have to say once this meeting is underway. Since you’ve been sidelined by your knee injury, you have done nothing but cause us problems, and, frankly, I’m within an inch of giving you your walking papers.”
Kennedy stared back at him, and a cocky smile touched his lips when he said, “That’s bullshit and you know it. You can’t afford to let me go. Have you forgotten who was the MVP for most of last season? If you have, Armstrong, I’m sure these two men here remember.” He smirked, indicating the team’s other owners, Ronald Williams and Stanley Hennessy.
“That might be true,” D’marcus replied. “But I’m sure, like me, they feel you can take that MVP and shove it, because we’re sick and tired of having to defend your behavior to the media. This time you have gone too far. Drugs and breaking team rules are two things that we won’t tolerate even if you’re Michael Jordan reincarnated.”
The smirk on Dashuan’s face disappeared. “When my ankle heals and I start playing this season, you’ll know that I am the team and, without me, you can kiss the championship goodbye. Like I said, I’m sure these men know my worth, even if you don’t.”
Anger rose in D’marcus’s face. Evidently Kennedy had forgotten that D’marcus owned the controlling interest in the Chargers. He decided he’d heard enough from a player who didn’t know the meaning of team work. He was about to tell him that just as Opal walked into the room. Upon seeing her, an inexplicable calmness settled over him. Not liking the sensation, he shifted his glance to the two men sitting at the table.
“We can start the meeting now,” he said, coming away from the window to stand in the middle of the room. “My administrative assistant has arrived.”
Trying to focus on the meeting to make sure her notes documented the entire proceedings, Opal stared down at her notepad. She hadn’t been surprised when she’d walked in to see bad boy, Dashuan Kennedy, being taken to task by D’marcus. This wasn’t the first time Kennedy had gotten into trouble and she had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last.
She glanced up just as the sun shining through the window hit D’marcus at a angle that highlighted his looks. At the age of thirty he was a self-made millionaire who, in addition to being part owner of the Chargers, was CEO of Sports Unlimited, which was a conglomeration of sport franchises.
As she stared at him, she had to admit that Pearl had been right in what she’d said earlier that day. D’marcus was a hunk. At six foot two, he had medium-brown skin, dark eyes, a clean-shaven face and short-cropped brown hair. Heads turned whenever he walked near women. And she was no exception. For no reason, he could make heated sensations flow through her whenever she was in a room with him.
The majority of the time he barely noticed she was alive, going about the job of making his company successful. Unfortunately, she was always quick to notice him: How well the clothes he wore fitted his body, how muscular and toned that particular body was, how the deep, husky sound of his voice could make her think of things other than business.
Even now, dressed in a polo shirt and a pair of jeans, he looked good, and she noticed as he moved around the room how the denim of his jeans stretched across muscular thighs and a firm butt. He also had a pair of lips that were very expressive. During the three months that she’d been working for him, she’d been able to decipher his mood just from watching his lips. And they were lips that were now moving again, she noted as she turned her concentration back on what he was saying.
“I think that should wrap things up as far as what we’ll say during the press conference,” D’marcus concluded. “And I hope you understand, Kennedy, that, if you cause us any more problems, you run the risk of ending your career with this organization. Understood?”
Opal watched as Kennedy narrowed his eyes. It was plain to see D’marcus had pissed him off.
“Yeah, I understand,” he responded in a clipped tone as he stood.
“Fine. We expect you at each practice session and preseason game regardless of whether you play,” D’marcus added, his expression tight and his tone of voice direct.
“Whatever,” Dashuan angrily threw over his shoulder as he left the room.
It was Opal’s opinion that D’marcus had handled the situation remarkably well, but then she wasn’t surprised. As his administrative assistant, she had seen him in action several times with both domestic and overseas buyers, and it always amazed her how astute he was in his business dealings.
“I appreciate you coming, Ms. Lockhart. I know it was unexpected.”
She blinked, then noticed the other two gentlemen had left, leaving them alone in D’marcus’s office. She stood. “No problem. You said it would take less than an hour and it did.” It then occurred to her that this was the first time her boss had ever shown his appreciation for anything. Usually, although she tried her best, they seemed always to be at odds with each other.
“Do you need me for the press conference later today?” she asked as she inserted her note pad into her desk drawer when she’d type the notes for Monday morning.
He shook his head. “No, I’ll have the task of explaining why one of my key players was charged with possession of an illegal substance. Dashuan, of course, will no doubt be thrilled with the hours of community service he’ll have to do.”
She nodded as she gathered her purse and placed the straps on her shoulder. “All right, then.”
He glanced at her T-shirt. “About your family reunion…”
“Yes?”
“I apologize for having to call you away from it.”
Now he was apologizing. This was another first. She shrugged. “No big deal, I told them I’d be back in an hour and I will be. I’ll see you on Monday.”
She moved to leave and then turned back around. She knew he intended to remain at the office awhile, so she said, “We have plenty of food. Barbecued ribs, baked beans, corn, potato salad, all sorts of desserts. If you’d like, I can drop off a plate for you since I know you’ll be here a while.”
D’marcus, who was about to reach for the phone, stopped abruptly and narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t need you to do that, Ms. Lockhart,” he said rather harshly. “If I get hungry I can very well order something up or stop what I’m doing and go somewhere for a meal.”
Although she should not have been, Opal found she was taken aback by his tone of voice. She really should be used to it by now. “Excuse me for making the suggestion, Mr. Armstrong.”
As she turned and walked out of the room she wondered why she even bothered trying to be nice to the man.
Chapter 2
“I’m glad you made it back,” Colleen Richards said when Opal stepped out on the patio.
“I told everyone I would,” Opal said, mirroring her smile. She and Colleen were more than first cousins of the same age. Opal considered Colleen her very best friend, as well. And Colleen’s sister, Paige, was Pearl’s best friend and roommate.
Opal glanced around. It seemed the crowd of guests had thinned. “What happened to the church group that was sitting over there?” she asked.
Colleen rolled her eyes. “Thanks to Amber, they left. I think a few of the sisters got disgusted with her brazen behavior. Megan Townsend left first, hauling her fiancé out of here so quick it almost made your head spin. And then when Amber started trying to flirt with a few others, their significant others hauled them away, as well.”
Opal sighed, shaking her head. “I thought Ruby asked Luther to talk to her.”
“From what I understand he tried but it didn’t do any good. He told Ruby that Amber said her flirting was harmless.” She shrugged. “It seems she was determined to get into mischief today.”
Opal glanced around the yard. “And where is she?”
Colleen chuckled. “When most of the single men left and she couldn’t do any more damage, she and that girl she was with left, too. She said they were going clubbing later.”
When Colleen fell silent, Opal released a deep breath. There was no way around it. She, Ruby and Pearl needed to have a serious conversation with their baby sister.
“Oh, and I might as well be the one to tell you that you were the topic of speculation among your sisters after you left,” Colleen said smiling.
Opal lifted a brow. “What sort of speculation?”
Colleen chuckled. “I tried to tell them D’marcus Armstrong wasn’t your type, but Pearl and Amber are convinced you should go after the man. He’s handsome, rich, looks good in his clothes, so they’re convinced he’ll look good out of them, and they think you’re what he needs.”
Opal rolled her eyes when she thought about how she and D’marcus had parted ways just moments ago. “Trust me, I am not what that man needs.”
“That’s what Ruby said. She doesn’t think he’s the type of person you should get involved with. He’s too moody. But Pearl and Amber said with all that money he has, they think you should be able to forget his moodiness.”
Opal shook her head. “Those two would think that way.”
“The three of them did agree on one thing though.”
Opal truly didn’t like the sound of that. “And what would that be?”
“They think you have a crush on the man.”
“What?”
“Just telling you what they said. I didn’t agree with them, of course.”
“Thanks, Colleen, I appreciate that.”
“But now they do have me thinking.”
Opal turned toward her cousin. “Thinking about what?”
“You are the most easygoing, tolerant and optimistic person I know. You always look on the bright side and usually don’t let anything ruffle your feathers. But D’marcus Armstrong has been doing just that.”
“There’s only so much any one person can take, Colleen. I’m not a saint.”
“No, but why is he getting next to you? If he’s that bad, just quit.”
Opal released a groan of frustration. “Mr. Armstrong is not all that bad, really. I think his bark is worse than his bite, and a part of me wants to think he deliberately tries getting on my last nerve.”
Colleen arched a brow. “Why do you think he would do that?”
Opal shrugged. “That’s the way some bosses are, I guess. They like to be in control. He just has a rough-and-gruff demeanor. I’m getting used to it. But trust me when I say that I don’t have a crush on the man. Of course, I think he’s good-looking and all that, but he is not someone I want to get to know personally. I like my space and I’m sure he likes his.”
Colleen nodded. “What do you know about him…personally?”
“Just what the gossip mill around the office says. He was raised by an aunt and uncle after his parents were killed in a car accident when he was six. He was engaged to marry his high-school sweetheart in his last year of college when she was killed in a boating accident two weeks before their wedding.”
“Oh, how awful that must have been for him.”
Opal nodded. She knew that Colleen, who was pursuing a degree in psychology, was probably trying to figure out if D’marcus’s past somehow had had an effect on his present state.
“You’re back,” she heard Pearl say behind them as she came out of the house carrying another bowl of potato salad. “What was so important that The Hunk had to call you away?”
“Nothing important,” she said quickly. Because of the often confidential nature of her job she never divulged any private information. “He just needed me to take a few notes for him.” And to change the subject quickly she glanced around and asked, “Where’s Ruby?”
“She’s inside trying to bring order to the kitchen,” Pearl responded over her shoulder.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Opal said to Colleen. “I need to talk to Ruby about something.”
As she entered the back door into the kitchen, she paused. Ruby, who had fixed most of the food and gotten the meats ready for Luther to grill, was sitting at the kitchen table while Luther massaged her shoulders. It seemed her sister was taking a much-deserved quiet moment.