“Oh, I can most definitely finishit.”
He lifted his head and looked over at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand. Shaking his head before he dropped it back on the pillow he groaned, “Not before we both need to be dressed and downstairs at Mama’s breakfasttable.”
“Well, if you’d had my things placed in your room, then you wouldn’t have to waste time walking all the way down the hall to shower and get dressed. We could’ve saved time by showeringtogether.”
Slade looked up again. Mandisa expected to see amusement in his eyes, perhaps a fun retort waiting on his tongue. But what she found were those soulful eyes penetrating her consciousness, looking deeper, venturing beyond the smiling façade she held inplace.
“I hope you’re not upset about me asking Mama to fix this room for you. I didn’t want to presume you wanted to be down the hall with me. I wanted you to have the option to say no if you wantedto.”
Damn it. Again, he’d been able to read her without any difficulty at all. Was she really that much of an open book? Was she that transparent? Or was it just as she’d assumed in the car with Aaron, that this was Slade’ssuperpower?
“I’d be more than honored to have you down the hall with me, darlin’. As long as it’s what you wanttoo.”
She gave up a brief chuckle before she spoke. “Maybe once Mama Indy leaves tonight. I don’t think I want her seeing you move my things into your room. Don’t want her thinking thoughts about what we might be doing inthere.”
Slade let out a loud howl of laughter. “If you only knew Indira Price the way I do, you’d know you have nothing to worryabout.”
He brought his lips to hers in a quick kiss before he stood. “Get some rest. We’ll figure out sleeping arrangementslater.”
Slade stole another kiss before stepping into his jeans. He grabbed his shirt, socks, and boots in one hand and headed out the door with a quietclick.
Mandisa closed her eyes as Slade exited the room. She snuggled into the still-warm linens that were covered in Slade’s delectable scent. She wrapped herself up in those covers and luxuriated in the comfort she found withinthem.
There had been brief moments of doubt that fought to rear their head when she’d arrived on this land, but Slade had snuffed them out with a tender kiss. She refused to allow doubt to intrude on this. She’d come here with the purpose of enjoying herself. Right now, that meant enjoying the promise of sharing intimate space with Slade again. Mandisa would worry about everything elselater.
* * *
Mandisa was startled by her ringing cellphone. Realizing she must have dozed off after Slade’s departure from her room in the early morning, she pulled herself up in the bed and smiled when she saw Kandi’s name flashing across thescreen.
“Hey, girl, you’re violating the terms of my bet with Slade. What’sup?”
Kandi’s full-bodied laugh jumped across the phone line and settled somewhere deep in Mandisa’s heart. Damn, she’d missed hearing Kandi cackle like ahyena.
“Actually I’m not,” Kandi offered. “I called the great man himself and asked if I could call you and check on you. He says I can call you when I want to chat, but you’re not to dial my number unless it’s anemergency.”
“You did?” Mandisa was a bit puzzled. She wasn’t exactly certain when Slade and Kandi talked. Slade allowed few things to disrupt their time together. “When did thishappen?”
“Earlier today. So, how’s thefarm?”
“It’s actually aranch.”
“And the difference?” Kandiasked.
“A ranch has more livestock, focuses mostly on animals like horses and cattle. A farm focuses more on crops. They have animals too, but smaller animals like chickens andpigs.”
Mandisa heard Kandi suck her teeth, a Brooklyn girl’s way of calling bullshit. “And just how do you know this, Miss ConcretePrincess?”
Mandisa had to laugh, herself. A week ago she wouldn’t have known the difference; all this open land would have looked the same to her. But after spending time with Slade and his small family, they’d taken the time to educate her on their way of life. Not to mention, she’d made the exact same mistake a few days after arriving here and was quickly corrected by MamaIndy.
“Let’s just say Slade’s mother is a wonderfully knowledgeable woman about suchmatters.”
“Wait, hol’up,” Kandi interrupted. “You’ve met hismother?”
“Yes, and his best friend too. They both live on theproperty.”
“On the property? You mean, in the same house?” Kandiasked.
“No. I mean on the property. They each have their own homes spread out on the land. It’s huge down here, Kandi. You could fit East New York, Brownsville, Flatbush, and Canarsie within these gates, and there’d still be some room leftover.”
