“When you bought my family’s home and decided to make it into a bed-and-breakfast.” She raised her palm, stanching his protest. “This isn’t your fault, and I know you don’t deserve any of the disgust I feel toward you.”
He flinched at her harsh word choice, and Phil felt even worse.
“I’m sorry. That was uncalled for,” she said. “I just can’t do this, Jamal. What you’re doing? Opening this B&B? It’s a great thing for Gauthier. It’s going to be a huge draw for tourists, and I know the businesses on Main Street are going to benefit from it. But that’s my house,” she said, pointing east toward Belle Maison. “It’s hard to see it being destroyed.”
“I’m not going to destroy the house. How many times do I have to say that?”
“When it comes to this sort of thing, it seems we have different definitions of what it means to destroy. And youareplanning to destroy a part of the house.”
“Just that one room,” he said.
“It’s the most important room in the house!” Phil yelled.
She covered her face with her hands and pulled in a deep breath. As the tears collected in her throat, she mentally cursed each and every one of them. But it was too hard to maintain a stoic façade. She was never one for wearing her heart on her sleeve, but when it came to her mother, she couldn’t hold back.
Phil bit her lower lip to help curb the wavering. She wiped at the tears that traveled down her cheeks.
“Twenty years ago, my father built that room for my mother. It’s where she painted. She needed a place with plenty of natural sunlight, and there wasn’t a room on the east side of the house that was suitable. She would spend hours in that room. Her painting meant everything to her.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve lost so much of her already. Hearing that you planned to tear down her room… It was just too much.”
She couldn’t interpret the expression on Jamal’s face. He just stood there, staring at her, and her discomfort grew with every nanosecond that passed.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I had no idea. About any of it. The bank never told me anything about the previous owner. Shit, Corey didn’t even say anything.”
“I was surprised neither Corey nor Mya told you it was my family home. But neither of them knows how Belle Maison ended up on the market. Mya believes I put it up for sale intentionally.” She looked up at him. “I never would have let the property go if I’d had a choice. I love that house. It’s been in my family for generations.”
His mouth dipped in a frown. “Phylicia, I’m really sorry that you had to sell your family’s home, but I’ve invested too much into this project not to see it through.”
“Oh, God, I’m not asking you not to go forth with the B&B. I’m a businesswoman, Jamal. I understand how these things work. You bought the house. It’s yours. I just can’t be a part of the restoration process. I thought I could, but to stand there and watch my mother’s room being torn to the ground?” Phil shook her head. “I just can’t do it.”
Several moments passed before Jamal asked in a gentle voice, “What if I don’t touch that room?”
Phil’s eyes shot to his. She didn’t want to believe the sincerity she saw there. “You would do that?”
He took a step toward her. “The room isn’t hurting anybody,” he said.
His deep brown eyes searched her face. When he reached toward her, Phil stiffened, but he only captured the safety shield and pulled it off her head.
“Besides,” he continued, “as you pointed out, I’m making a lot of other changes, so my authenticity argument doesn’t carry much weight. And the house holds sentimental value for you.”
“Forme, not you.”
“It’s clear how much it would hurt if the room was destroyed. I don’t want to be the one who hurts you, Phylicia.” He reached forward and lifted her ponytail from where it draped along her neck. “I think someone did that already.”
She gazed at him, feeling as if she’d been drawn into a trance by his hushed voice. “Why do you always call me Phylicia?”
The edge of his mouth quirked in a smile. “Because it’s your name.”
“Everyone else calls me Phil.”
“That’s a man’s name. And despite that blowtorch you were wielding a few minutes ago, there’s no denying that you are all woman, Phylicia.”
As he dipped his head toward her, a tiny voice told Phil to move out of his reach. But a much louder voice told her to stay right where she was. It had been way too long since she’d been kissed, and after the day she’d had, she couldn’t think of a single thing she needed more.
The moment Jamal’s soft lips touched hers, her heart melted. He was gentle in his coaxing, but insistent, his lips enticing her to join in. He cupped the back of her head and slanted his to the side to get a better angle.
Phil heard a moan but couldn’t tell which one of them had made the sound. Without fully recognizing what she was doing, she linked her hands behind Jamal’s neck and cradled the back of his head. She parted her lips and thrust her tongue inside his mouth, losing herself in the kiss.
