could only imagine the grief she would feel if she ever lost her. “I wished I could have known them.”
Lil sighed, “I know they are proud of you and smiling from heaven. Well, come on in.”
Chloe stepped into the house behind the older woman. The smell of lemon and pine assailed her nostrils pleasantly. It was a home filled with love of family. The walls were crowded with photographs of the twins as children and with their parents. Their degrees from North Carolina State hung prominently and with pride.
Devon leaned in close to her ear, again from behind her. “I know it’s not what you’re used to, but we love it. It’s our home.”
Confused and startled, Chloe turned to set him straight, but Nana Lil called for her to come into the kitchen. She looked at the sardonic expression on his handsome face with a frown before following her down the narrow hallway into the brightly lit kitchen. Large and airy, it was well-used and probably a family meeting ground.
“Have a seat baby.” Lil opened the refrigerator door. “Sweet tea or lemonade?”
“Lemonade please, thank you.” Chloe took a seat at the round oak table in the center of the kitchen.
“Nana, I’ll be upstairs. If you’ll excuse me Ms. Bolton, I’m just going to shower and change.” He retraced his steps down the hallway. Soon they heard the sounds of him running up the stairs.
Chloe sipped from the glass of iced lemonade Nana Lil sat before her, letting the cool sweetness wet her throat. “Fresh squeezed? It’s delicious.”
“Thank you kindly.” Lil sat in the chair across from Chloe. “So Vonnie ... I mean Devon, says you won’t be moving here permanently. I know Holtsville don’t compare to New York and all those other places you’ve been to, but it’s a good family-oriented place filled with hard-working people who can be a bit nosy at times. Plus, we take our family land very serious here and I know your grandparents would love for you to be living here on the land they worked so hard for. I would also love to get the chance to know my best friend’s only grandchild.”
Chloe nearly choked on her drink when Lil first started talking. “Devon said . . . what?”
Lil watched the other woman’s shocked expression. “Devon said you weren’t moving here permanently. Baby, you didn’t say that?”
Nana Lil had this way of calling a person “baby” that would soothe the soul, but Chloe was angry about his assumptions and nothing would pacify that. She’d never spoken to the man, so how could he be so presumptuous about what she would do? Or was he just a habitual, bold-faced liar? “Nana Lil, I did not say that because you see, I’m here to stay. Devon was ... mistaken.”
∞
Devon stepped out of the shower in the adjoining bathroom of his suite of rooms, which took up the entire third floor. The hot steam swirled around his naked, muscular form like a fog. Water trickled down his handsome, almost beautiful face, down to that little pocket of his collarbone, continuing down its wet journey to the deep valley between his hard, square chest. It followed the rugged, zig-zag pattern of his washboard abdomen to disappear in the ebony, curly bush of his groin.
She looked down her nose at your house, man, he thought as he toweled dry. He remembered that little Miss Diva was downstairs in his living room. He had noticed how she looked around the living room when she first entered the house. He hated to see what hideous decorating would be done to the house when construction was complete. Visions of massive crystal chandeliers and garish furnishings caused him to shudder with disgust. Elissa had spoken of her own dreams of a mansion filled with glamour and servants. Devon laughed as he tried to imagine himself sitting and waiting for someone to bring him a glass of water, in his own home. Never! Not when he could get off his behind and get it for himself.
He wouldn’t be surprised if she did turn out to be one of
Lil sighed, “I know they are proud of you and smiling from heaven. Well, come on in.”
Chloe stepped into the house behind the older woman. The smell of lemon and pine assailed her nostrils pleasantly. It was a home filled with love of family. The walls were crowded with photographs of the twins as children and with their parents. Their degrees from North Carolina State hung prominently and with pride.
Devon leaned in close to her ear, again from behind her. “I know it’s not what you’re used to, but we love it. It’s our home.”
Confused and startled, Chloe turned to set him straight, but Nana Lil called for her to come into the kitchen. She looked at the sardonic expression on his handsome face with a frown before following her down the narrow hallway into the brightly lit kitchen. Large and airy, it was well-used and probably a family meeting ground.
“Have a seat baby.” Lil opened the refrigerator door. “Sweet tea or lemonade?”
“Lemonade please, thank you.” Chloe took a seat at the round oak table in the center of the kitchen.
“Nana, I’ll be upstairs. If you’ll excuse me Ms. Bolton, I’m just going to shower and change.” He retraced his steps down the hallway. Soon they heard the sounds of him running up the stairs.
Chloe sipped from the glass of iced lemonade Nana Lil sat before her, letting the cool sweetness wet her throat. “Fresh squeezed? It’s delicious.”
“Thank you kindly.” Lil sat in the chair across from Chloe. “So Vonnie ... I mean Devon, says you won’t be moving here permanently. I know Holtsville don’t compare to New York and all those other places you’ve been to, but it’s a good family-oriented place filled with hard-working people who can be a bit nosy at times. Plus, we take our family land very serious here and I know your grandparents would love for you to be living here on the land they worked so hard for. I would also love to get the chance to know my best friend’s only grandchild.”
Chloe nearly choked on her drink when Lil first started talking. “Devon said . . . what?”
Lil watched the other woman’s shocked expression. “Devon said you weren’t moving here permanently. Baby, you didn’t say that?”
Nana Lil had this way of calling a person “baby” that would soothe the soul, but Chloe was angry about his assumptions and nothing would pacify that. She’d never spoken to the man, so how could he be so presumptuous about what she would do? Or was he just a habitual, bold-faced liar? “Nana Lil, I did not say that because you see, I’m here to stay. Devon was ... mistaken.”
∞
Devon stepped out of the shower in the adjoining bathroom of his suite of rooms, which took up the entire third floor. The hot steam swirled around his naked, muscular form like a fog. Water trickled down his handsome, almost beautiful face, down to that little pocket of his collarbone, continuing down its wet journey to the deep valley between his hard, square chest. It followed the rugged, zig-zag pattern of his washboard abdomen to disappear in the ebony, curly bush of his groin.
She looked down her nose at your house, man, he thought as he toweled dry. He remembered that little Miss Diva was downstairs in his living room. He had noticed how she looked around the living room when she first entered the house. He hated to see what hideous decorating would be done to the house when construction was complete. Visions of massive crystal chandeliers and garish furnishings caused him to shudder with disgust. Elissa had spoken of her own dreams of a mansion filled with glamour and servants. Devon laughed as he tried to imagine himself sitting and waiting for someone to bring him a glass of water, in his own home. Never! Not when he could get off his behind and get it for himself.
He wouldn’t be surprised if she did turn out to be one of
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