On a lovely day in early June, wild screams, overzealous
whistling and hand clapping thundered through the cavernous
restaurant. There didn't appear to be a single woman—young,
middle-aged or elderly—who didn't find handsome,
toffee-complexioned Houston Carrington sinfully sexy. The
NBA's Texas Cyclones' power forward, a confirmed bachelor,
couldn't help but smile at the wild reactions as he made his
way to a reserved table inside the popular restaurant All
About Appetites, an upscale eatery in downtown Houston,
Texas. He was used to this.
The ladies' instant
recognition of the hometown sports hero made Houston feel
good. He was a man who enjoyed women of all types, shapes
and sizes.
The moment the hostess seated Houston, a
male waiter approached him with caution and obvious
reverence. "Good afternoon, Mr. Carrington. Welcome back to
All About Appetites. It's a pleasure to serve you.
Interested in starting with a drink,
sir?"
Recognizing the waiter's nervousness, Houston
extended his hand to the young guy while reading his name
tag. "Thanks, Alex. Please bring me a bottle of mineral
water. I'm expecting another party, so we'll order
appetizers and meals once my companion
arrives."
"Right away, Mr. Carrington," Alex said,
quickly backing away from the table.
Houston drummed
his fingers on the table, looking back and forth between his
watch and the entryway. His date wasn't late; he was early
by fifteen minutes.
A bad case of nerves could
knock a man off his normal course, he
thought.
As Houston thought about his beautiful
luncheon companion and how the date had come about, his
drop-dead-gorgeous smile came easy. The first time he'd met
her was nothing more than a brief introduction by a friend
at a Christmas party six months ago. The second time he saw
her was at a charity auction to raise money for Haven House,
a foster-care home. Both sightings had remained crystal
clear in his mind.
Looking like she belonged on the
front cover of a fashion magazine, a stunning female, with
rich, dark sienna skin, had stood to make a bid. Thick,
glossy, reddish-brown hair swept her shoulders. She was
clearly intent on winning the auction entry when she'd
lifted her hand as high as her bid of twenty-five hundred
dollars.
The fabulous-looking male being auctioned
off for a celebrity lunch date was Houston's brother Austin,
who was the Texas Wranglers' quarterback. The
toffee-complexioned dead ringers were only two members of
the Carrington triplets, who played different professional
sports in front of their hometown Houston fans. The other
brother, Dallas, played shortstop for the National Baseball
League's Texas Hurricanes.
Houston recalled the
audible gasps that had swept through the room over the
amount bid. The smug look on Austin's ex-fiancée's face had
quickly changed to an expression matching her evil, hateful
ways. Clearly, Sabrina Beaudreaux was not a happy
participant. Determined to win, Sabrina had tried topping
the last bid by another five hundred dollars, but to no
avail. Kelly Charleston, the stunning beauty, was not to be
denied.
For the next few minutes, Sabrina and the
model-type, five-foot-seven Kelly held a private bidding
war. The numbers had gotten so high no else dared to bid on
Austin, though the ladies thought he was priceless. Since
other gorgeous bachelors were to be showcased on the auction
block, some women figured they'd save their bids for
then.
The next time Houston saw Kelly after the
auction was at a Karamu feast held at Haven House on the
last day of Kwanzaa. Each encounter was crystal clear in his
mind.
Houston glanced at the entry again. With no
Kelly in sight, he sat back and recalled how this luncheon
had been arranged. The details were ingrained in his
mind.
Austin had approached Houston. "I need a big
favor."
Houston had been skeptical. "What's on your
mind?"
Austin grinned. "I need you to swap places
with me for the celebrity luncheon date. I don't want to
hurt Ashleigh. Sabrina knew I wasn't among the celebrity
auction participants when she pulled this fast
one."
Houston wasn't too thrilled. "And you went
along with it because the cause is too important. Haven
House needs all the money we can raise, right?"
"What
would you say if I told you the lady requested the swap? She
says she met you at a Christmas party."
Houston
nodded. "We were merely introduced. No conversation occurred
between us. As for us swapping places, we haven't done that
since high school."
"The beautiful lady bid on me but
I think she'd like lunch with you, Houston. Please accept
it. I don't want to risk losing the funds. It's all for
Haven House."
Houston had agreed to take the date in
his brother's stead. He could hear Austin's plea as though
it was happening right now. Due to home games and the hectic
away schedule, this was the first chance he'd gotten to make
good on his promise.
Houston turned his thoughts from
the past to the present. It was now Kelly
time.
Lovely Kelly Charleston slid out of her
sand-colored Porsche sportscar and handed over her keys to
the valet parking attendant. She had the top up even though
the June day was warm and pleasant. She didn't want to mess
up her just-been-to-the-salon waves and curls. Dressed in a
hip-hugging heather-gray dress, showing off all her
eye-catching curves, she was a delightful and marvelous
vision. The shiny gray-and-black patent stilettos added a
couple inches more to her already graceful height. She was
vivacious, beautiful and sexy—a total knockout.
Kelly
didn't want to be late for her date with Houston Carrington,
the sexy power forward for the NBA's Texas Cyclones. A
pretty hostess immediately escorted Kelly to the table where
Houston awaited her arrival. His breath caught, causing him
to swallow hard. She looked sensational. The kind of
reaction he had to her wasn't so unusual, but remaining his
normal cool and aloof self in her presence might be
difficult. It was the first time any woman impacted him so
profoundly, and they'd only known each other a short time.
Wrenching his eyes from her sexy figure wasn't easy. Ladies
didn't come any more beautiful than this one.
As
Kelly arrived, Houston practically leaped to his feet.
Lifting her hand, he gently kissed the back of it. "We have
to stop meeting like this," he teased. "You look stunning!"
Pulling out a chair, he waited for her to sit before
reclaiming his chair.
"Thanks for the compliment.
You're quite handsome yourself," she said flirtily. Kelly
wasn't worried about coming off as too forward. She smiled,
revealing sparkling white teeth. "Hope I haven't kept you
waiting long." Her voice was soft and smooth as silk, yet
the rich, slightly husky intonation sounded seductive to
him.
Houston glanced at his watch. "You're actually
on time. I was a bit early."
Kelly nodded. "I like
punctuality. It's a great quality to possess."
He
liked her candor and self-confidence. "I agree. I'm also a
stickler for punctuality. Yet I hang around with a group of
guys who habitually run late."
"Good friends of
yours?" Kelly asked, raising a perfectly arched
eyebrow.
"My teammates. I can't tell you how often
our travel plans are delayed because of tardiness. Good
thing we travel on the franchise's private
jet."
"Most professional sports teams do travel that
way," Kelly asserted. "My friend is an air traffic
controller. He only handles corporate jets and privately
owned aircraft."
"Interesting gig," Houston remarked,
wondering if Kelly was romantically involved with the man
she'd just spoken of. His quiet thought had him annoyed.
This was a first date—and by all accounts of his past
history, a final one.
If Austin hadn't said Haven
House might not get the bid monies unless he accepted the
date in his stead, Houston wasn't so sure he'd be
here.
Houston picked up two menus and handed one to
Kelly. He opened his despite his knowledge of what food and
dessert items were offered. "Hope you brought along a decent
appetite. This place is appropriately named. My teammates
refer to it as Triple A."
"All About Appetites,"
Kelly said on a laugh. "Cute! I like it. I was here once,
but not for dinner. I came around the same time they started
offering live music."
"Surprised I didn't run in to
you. I love the music entertainment they bring in. My
teammates and I frequent this place."
The couple
quietly began discussing the menu. Kelly asked Houston
questions about the entrées and he recommended several items
he'd ordered before.
"The tender, juicy mesquite
grilled steak and jumbo shrimp is one of the best
combination entrées," Houston praised.
"I love steak
and shrimp."
Once Houston and Kelly selected their
meal choices, he summoned the waiter and wasted no time in
making their preferences known.
As if Houston had
suddenly recalled something, he snapped his fingers. "Please
bring the lady a glass of white zinfandel." Austin had
overheard Kelly's wine order at the auction and had passed
the information on to Houston.
Kelly looked at
Houston with skepticism. "How in the world did you
know?"
Houston winked. "I make it my business to
know." He laid his forefinger against his temple. "By the
way, my brother never told me why you wanted me to
come on this date versus him. Care to enlighten this old
curious George?"
Color stole into Kelly's cheeks.
Although she already knew the answer she pondered Houston's
query, the million-dollar question swirling around in her
mind.
Did Houston need to know the
truth?
Kelly cleared her throat. "I bid on
Austin because I utterly love to annoy Sabrina Beaudreaux,
whom I hadn't seen in a while. She and I are old college
roommates. The lady treated me horribly the first semester.
I eventually ended up changing roommates."
"I heard
there was tension between you. Members of our family felt it
at the auction. We tried to accept Sabrina in our lives.
Austin was going to marry her, but the Carrington family was
never comfortable with his decision or with her. She was
rude to us and she constantly showed an unattractive spirit
of selfishness and heartlessness."
Kelly snorted
under her breath. "I'm sure your family didn't see the half
of it. People Sabrina dislikes, fears or is just plain
jealous of are the ones who feel the full brunt of her
meanness. She often made me the butt of her downright crude
and unkind jokes." Kelly cringed at the painful
memories.
"I'm sorry for whatever you endured."
Houston closed one eye and peered at Kelly through the
other, letting her know she still hadn't answered his
question. "I've heard what you've said, but I'm also aware
of what you haven't said. Why me?"
Amused by his
persistent line of questioning, Kelly smiled softly. "Why
not you?" she asked straightforwardly.
"That's what I
want to find out," he said, eyeing her inquisitively.
"You're the only one with the answers."
"Although
Austin was the most popular male athlete on the auction
block Sabrina wasn't the only reason I bid on him. I simply
had a desire to check out the chemistry I felt the first
time I saw you in person. So I asked Austin if he was
willing to make a switch for the luncheon." She'd told
Austin not to reveal her agenda, like she thought that would
really happen between brothers.
The famous triplets,
Austin, Dallas and Houston, born to Angelica and Beaumont
Carrington, were tall, toffee-brown-complexioned, sinfully
handsome, athletically built and buff beyond imagination.
The brothers' sexy, athletic physiques, Southern accents,
sparkling ebony eyes and silken curly hair had women all
over the nation swooning. Kelly had found out she was no
exception on her first glimpse of Houston.
Leaning
forward, Kelly made unflinching eye contact with her date.
"I find you attractive and sexy and I wanted to see if the
first unbelievable reaction I had to you was real." She
trilled off the sweetest, most heart-stopping laughter he'd
ever heard. "It was."
Feeling good about Kelly's
remarks, Houston laughed jovially. "You've hit a tender spot
in my heart. The compliments are so sweet." His gaze strayed
momentarily. "You're not alone in your reaction. I confess I
was also enamored with you on each of our quick encounters.
It's nice to share lunch with you, Kelly Charleston—very
nice."
While extending her hand to Houston, Kelly
felt the heat rise in her cheeks.
The meals were
delivered in a timely manner. Once the waiter found out
everything was to his patrons' satisfaction, he promptly
disappeared.
Kelly didn't know if Houston was into
blessing the food or not so she took the lead and said a
short supplication. Following his enthusiastic amen, he
looked up at her, approval shining in his dark
eyes.
The next look Houston gave Kelly was odd. "I
know this is just a celebrity charity date, but I try to let
people know who and where I am regardless of the situation.
As for the women I date, rarely is there a second one.
Because of my profession and lifestyle, I have a lot of
platonic female relationships, but I'm not the type to
commit. I only date one woman at a time, but even that is
never serious."
Kelly was totally surprised at
Houston's pointed remarks. He'd been up-front on sharing his
views on relationships, but she wasn't sure the timing was
appropriate.
The look on Kelly's face let Houston
know he'd caught her completely off guard. "You may think I
shared too much information for a first-time get-together,
but that's the way it is with me, Kelly. I'm direct and
up-front, pulling no punches. Big problems arise for me when
I don't lay my cards out in plain view."
Taken
slightly aback by how painfully direct he was, Kelly took a
sip of her drink. "It is a bit much, but only because I'm
surprised by the timing. Are you perfectly clear from the
jump with every woman you meet? And why aren't you
the committing type?"
Houston ran steady fingers
through his dark curls. "I love meeting all kinds of women,
love them in all shapes, sizes and colors. My career keeps
me moving at full speed. I think it'd be unfair to tie
someone down, especially when I can't be there on a
consistent basis. Commitments come with a certain amount of
demands. I have a house but I'm also in love with a new
condo…commitment is not my middle name."
"Hmm, those
are interesting and commendable edicts. I like a man who is
straight and to the point, yet it's unusual for stuff like
this to come up in a discussion during a casual first lunch,
don't you think?"
"You don't strike me as the kind of
woman who kids herself. We've both mentioned our wild
reactions to each other so I think the things I've said
are appropriate."
Shrugging, Kelly chuckled
nervously. "Put like that, I'd have to agree. How do you
define yourself and manage your life as a superstar athlete?
And how are things for you out of the spotlight of
superstardom?"