Read Online Dream Girl Awakened by Stacy Campbell - Free Book Online Page A

was almost like the woman he’d married. Running around, changing the gauze on his injuries, not bitching about the bills, at least letting a brother see her curves in those sexy negligees. His leg injury prevented him from being intimate, but he knew she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Her new attitude even made him forget about Tawatha for the time being. Maybe, just maybe this was what he needed to be faithful. He was even pleased that Aruba wasn’t so uptight about money these days since the company salary cuts. Last year this time, she wouldn’t have dreamed of throwinga party for everyone, but this year, she must have seen the light and realized how good she had it at home.
    â€œHey, need some help with those ribs?” Winston interrupted James’s thoughts.
    â€œI got it. What’s up, man?”
    â€œIt’s good to see you up and about, James. I was a little worried about you at the hospital.”
    Yeah, right. “Staying off my feet has been good for me. I think this is what I needed. Spending time with Jerry and Aruba has been good for us.”
    â€œI meant what I said at the hospital, James. If you need anything, just let me know.”
    Like I’d fucking ask. “Thanks, man. Good looking out.”
    Victoria nursed lemonade spiked with vodka and wondered what James and Winston were talking about at the grill. Her slumped shoulders were not lost on the older women at the tables. They gossiped about their husbands, the presidential election, and why such a pretty girl was shrouded in that ugly don’t-bother-me countenance. Victoria offered to help Aruba and Darnella in the kitchen, but she’d been shooed away, told to go mix and mingle with the crowd. She knew Aruba’s friends Bria and Renae would be arriving later with their husbands. Since marrying and disappearing into Winston’s world, she felt rusty and out of place in social settings. She shook off those thoughts, scanning the crowd for a familiar face, someone with whom she could trade barbs. When she turned right, a woman one table over looked up from a half-eaten tangerine and winked. She spat seeds in her hands and tossed them in the tangerine peels. She pointed a finger at Victoria. “Come here.”
    â€œMe?” Victoria asked, touching her chest.
    â€œYeah, you, sugar.”
    She joined the woman, hesitant and simultaneously amazed someone noticed her over the raucous card games, prattling, and dancing.
    â€œI’m Maxine, Aruba’s grandmother.” She patted the seat next to her.
    â€œIt’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about everyone. Actually, Aruba talks about her family all the time. I’m her friend Victoria.”
    Victoria remembered Aruba saying her grandmother was grown and sexy, but wasn’t that every granddaughter’s claim? Maxine’s flawless skin, lightly dusted with powder and the color of teak wood, glowed. The warmest smile Victoria had ever seen set off Maxine’s high cheekbones. Maxine wasn’t trying to hide her age; her salt-and-pepper hair flowed past her shoulders in spiral curls. The smell of The One body oil drifted from her skin. Victoria’s quick head-to-toe glance of Maxine’s outfit yielded a well put-together summer outfit: diamond hoops, a flowing, peach-colored silk blouse, painted-on jeans, and peach stilettos. She ran peach-colored nails through her curls, and yelled to James, “Bring me one of those ribs. I’m starving! I need more than this fruit.”
    Maxine had the body of a thirty-year-old and Victoria guessed she was at least sixty-five. Damn good genes!
    Maxine turned her attention back to Victoria. “That’s good to know Aruba talks about us. We sure do miss her and that baby.”
    â€œDon’t you all miss James, too?”
    Maxine discarded the tangerine peels in a plastic plate, ignoring the question and continuing,
    â€œSo, how many of our