She closed her eyes in contemplation.
“I just want us to be together. Say yes. You felt how good it is. I know you want to be with me. I can feel it when I kiss you.” He touched her cheek and willed her to say yes.
She opened her eyes, looked at him for several minutes, and bit her lower lip as she considered what he’d said. She sighed. “Okay, you can cut the sales pitch.” She looked at him for what seemed like an eternity before she simply said, “Yes.”
Caught up in a whirlwind of swirling emotions, Latonya could barely believe that the word yes had just fallen out of her mouth. The thing she realized as she left Harrington Enterprise earlier that evening was that she cared for Carlton more than she was willing to admit. She had already shared more with him in just a matter of days than she had ever shared with anyone. She looked at the man who had captured her heart before she even knew it was in danger of being lost, and the reality of her situation hit her: playa-proof Latonya had fallen in love. All at once she felt fear and excitement pulsing through her veins. Carlton hadn’t said that he loved her. And she hadn’t said that she loved him. But when she was with him, she felt as if her heart knew him. She didn’t want to lose that feeling. She knew it wouldn’t be easy for the two of them, but she also knew she had to move past her fears and give it a try.
It wasn’t just the way he made her body feel, either. It was the power he had to make her heart beat faster or even stop with the smallest of acts. It was the way her heart ached when for the few short hours she thought she’d never see him again. She had to say yes, because she couldn’t say no.
“Yes!” Carlton shouted as he squeezed her tightly. “You have just made me the happiest man in the world.” He brought his lips to hers and kissed her passionately before whispering, “You won’t regret this, baby. It’s going to be so good between us. You’ll see.”
Allowing herself to relish the tight squeeze of his embrace and the soothing touch of his hands, she prayed that he was right. Even though she had no reason to expect good things to last, she didn’t want the special stirrings that he’d awakened in her to end yet.
Experience had taught her that even when you tried your best, things didn’t always go as planned. She’d tried to be a good girl, help out around the house and take care of her little sister so that her parents wouldn’t argue so much. And her father still left them. She stood out in the parking lot of the grocery store helping people carry groceries to their cars to get extra money so her mom wouldn’t have to work so hard. And her mother had still worked herself to an early grave. Latonya had even turned down a partial tuition scholarship to a school out of state to stay in Miami and help Gran. And Gran had a stroke, anyway. As she let herself feel the warmth of Carlton’s embrace, Latonya figured she was long overdue for a little happiness, even if it didn’t last.
“You believe it, don’t you, baby? I know you feel it.” His hand moved through her hair and her entire body tingled.
“Yes. I do,” was all she could say in response, because she did. God help her, she did.
Chapter 9
Married and pregnant in less than three months, Latonya felt as if she’d been swept up in a hurricane—a hurricane named Carlton. So many changes happened in her life in such a short span of time that she couldn’t get her bearings. Even though she technically didn’t have to worry about her family anymore, or supporting them, she still worried. She worried about them because she wasn’t in Miami anymore and couldn’t see them every day.
Jillian said she would check in on Gran from time to time, so that made Latonya feel a little better. The older woman was turning out to be a good friend and a much-needed ally as Latonya navigated her new life. Jillian was small in stature but big in personality and will. Latonya adored the way the woman spoke her mind. She only wished that Jillian had come with them to the Bahamas.
As soon as they married, Carlton finished up his restructuring at the Miami office and they moved to the Bahamas, spending their time between Carlton’s luxury penthouse apartment in Nassau and the family estate on a private spot in the Berry islands on the weekends. The estate, Marissa, had been named for Carlton’s deceased grandmother.
The Harrington estate was only accessible by boat or helicopter. The huge plantation-style mansion forebodingly sat in the middle of the tropical island, and Latonya had never felt more overwhelmed than when she had to spend time there. Just like every day she shared with Carlton in the huge penthouse, she felt sufficiently intimidated by the overstated opulence of the family estate. The expensive furnishings that graced all of the Harrington residences made Latonya feel as if she were living in a museum. Since her grandmother worked in the homes of wealthy people just like the Harringtons, she had a hard time reconciling her present with her past.
The sheer size of her new living arrangements left her head spinning. The properties were enormous, even the penthouse doubled her grandmother’s place several times over. Her life changed so drastically in a matter of months that it became harder and harder to get a grip. Moving from entry-level worker to rich, pampered wife took all of her energy, energy that she barely had to spare in the early stages of pregnancy. Even though she had dreamed of one day being rich and being able to take care of her family, she always thought she would do so by working hard and putting her MBA to good use. Her sudden entry into the jetset lifestyle that Carlton lived put her dreams on the fast track, and she had no idea how she felt about it.
In the space of three months, she’d acquired more clothes, shoes and jewelry than she’d had in her entire life. She outright refused most of the items Carlton insisted she have, but it was to no avail. Finally, she figured that as the wife of a rich and powerful man, she was probably expected to look a certain way. So, she started wearing the designer clothing and fancy jewels. She spent her days shopping in the glitzy boutiques of Nassau while Carlton worked. It seemed to please him when she splurged on some frivolous frock or trinket. And it pleased him even more to see her all dressed up. Nervous about just how much she really wanted to please her new husband, she tried to take the same pleasure that he did out of her transformation. But, she felt as if she wore someone else’s life when she put on all the expensive clothing.
She gazed in the mirror at her perfectly made-up face and designer red silk skirt suit. She certainly looked her part. The diamond-and-ruby jewelry that her husband had brought home for her the night before made her feel like she might be able to fake belonging for one more day. And the sophisticated, rich material hugged her curves, which had become just a little fuller in her early months of pregnancy.
When she played her new role and dressed her part, she worried about what the many rich socialites she’d been meeting might think. Did they think her a conniving gold digger obsessed with clothes and jewels? Unfortunately, she didn’t have to worry about what the elder Carlton Harrington thought. He made his opinion clear from the moment they told him they were getting married; he wasn’t happy about it.
She couldn’t blame the old man, either. She, too, would question the motives of some young woman coming out of the blue, pregnant and married so quickly, especially with the amount of money the Harringtons had.
She figured that if she just kept her eyes on her plate during the dinner that night, and let Carlton and his grandfather discuss business, she would escape untouched by the old man’s wrath. If only she could have been so lucky.
“So, Latonya, what have you been doing with yourself since you’ve left Harrington Enterprise?” The elder Harrington’s voice sounded pleasant enough.
Looking up from her plate, she tried to ascertain if it was safe, if the old man was really going to play nice. He seemed like he might.
The elder Harrington was handsome, to say the least. He looked like she imagined her Carlton would look in fifty years. His salt-and-pepper hair was short with deep waves. He was still in good physical shape, and the wrinkles in the corner of his eyes gave him a distinguished appearance. Dressed formally, he made quite the imposing picture. The older man peered at her from behind rounded spectacles.
“Well, I’ve been getting adjusted to the changes that my life has gone through in such a short amount of time, getting used to life here in the Bahamas and not having to work. I’ve also spent a lot of time going back and forth between Nassau and Miami to see my grandmother and help with her therapy.”
“Don’t you miss working for a living? Or did you always plan to grab yourself a rich husband to take care of you?” A slight snarl became evident underneath the elder Harrington’s pleasant facade.
Not playing nice at all, he instead set her up for the kill and she fell right into his trap. Glancing up at him, she noticed the way his lip curled ruthlessly as he looked at her. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. Before she could respond, Carlton did.
“Grandfather, we’re married now. Latonya’s having my child, and if you cannot respect that, we don’t have to come here and spend time with you. She’s my wife, and I won’t have anyone disrespecting her. Not even you.”
The old man pushed his chair back in shock. “Well. Look at how far she’s gotten her paws. She has you disrespecting your grandfather. The man who raised you.”
Without breaking a sweat or even raising his voice, Carlton responded, “You raised me to be a man, and I wouldn’t be the man you raised if I sat here and let anyone insult my wife.”
“You don’t even know anything about her. She has your nose wide open. As many women as you’ve been with, I can’t believe that you’ve let this one—a black American, for Christ’s sake—wrap you around her finger.” The elder Harrington slammed his hand down on the table and it shook.
Willing her hormones not to take over, Latonya blinked rapidly to hold back the tears. Being pregnant had some drawbacks that she could have done without. Although she couldn’t wait for her child to arrive and didn’t regret anything as far as the child was concerned, the fact that she broke down crying at the slightest things irritated her. She could not stand for people to see her cry, and she was determined not to let the elder Harrington bring on a bout of tears.
She had no idea that the elder Harrington had issues with her being a black American on top of all his other issues. Growing up in Miami, Latonya had been exposed to black people from just about every place in the world, and she appreciated the variety in cultures as well as the things that blacks shared throughout the African diaspora. She remembered being appalled when her best friend in high school told her that her mom said never to date a foreign black man and then proceeded to name just about every island in the Caribbean and several countries in Africa to boot. In Latonya’s mind, black was black. Period.
If it were just the class issues that bothered the elder Harrington, she might have been able to deal with it. But how did she deal with ignorant black-on-black prejudice based on cultural and geographical differences? Latonya wondered as she stared at the elder Harrington. The possibility of developing a cordial relationship with the man suddenly seemed insurmountable.
She decided to try to at least initiate a conversation with him about it. “Since I can’t do anything about where I was born, Mr. Harrington, what would you have me do? I’m American, African-American. Your great-grandchild is going to be part African-American.”
Appalled, the elder Harrington turned and stared at her with wide eyes. The expression on his face showed that he didn’t expect her to ask him anything or even stand up for herself.
“If he is even the father of that child you’re carrying. You are clearly a gold digger and you have gotten yourself pregnant to trap my grandson. Maybe you see it as some sort of a free ticket out of your little ghetto. I don’t know. And I don’t care. All I know is he shouldn’t have married you just because you got yourself knocked up.”
Swallowing back all of the curse words that would have surely given the old man ammunition as to just how ghetto the little black American sitting at his dinner table was, Latonya simply glared at the man. She didn’t even look at Carlton. She wanted to go home.
Carlton angrily pushed back his chair and stood. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I didn’t marry her because she’s pregnant. I married her because I wanted to. Now, if you can’t deal with my decisions then feel free to let me know. We can leave.”
She winced at Carlton’s words. He wanted to. Not he loved her and couldn’t live without her. She wondered if she had gotten in over her head and if she would be able to protect her heart.
