Read Online For the Sake of Love by Dwan Abrams - Free Book Online Page A

handshakes. The guests seemed excited and eager to enter. And Bria noticed a crowd was beginning to form.
    â€œAre you ready?” Nya whispered in Bria’s ear.
    She drew a deep breath and slowly released it. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Bria stood in front of the door and thought about how special this moment was for her. People showed up to support her vision. That meant a lot to her.
    â€œWelcome to The Spa Factory!” Her voice projected confidence and enthusiasm. Thank goodness she didn’t look like what she was going through. “I want to thank you all for coming out tonight to join us in celebrating our grand opening. I hope the traffic wasn’t too bad.”
    There were some chuckles and rumblings before the crowd applauded. Bria flashed a warm smile. Next, she introduced the mayor who made a brief speech before assisting Bria with cutting the red ribbon in front of the spa.
    â€œThe doors are officially open,” Bria announced. “Come on in and tour the facilities. We have food and drinks for everyone.”
    The stampeding crowd passed her like a herd of nimble gazelle. The dimly lit room smelled like vanilla as Bruno Mars’s song “Treasure” played in the background. For the moment, Bria was out of her funk and felt like socializing. She mingled with the guests and made sure they were comfortable. The waitstaff walked around offering champagne and hors d’oeuvres. She was glad that the staff was attentive to the guests, and everyone appeared to be having a good time.
    Mini massages were available. A robust lady had her eyes closed and appeared to be a head nod away from falling asleep as the massage therapist kneaded her shoulders like dough, Bria noticed.
    â€œI’ve been looking for you all evening,” a man whispered in Bria’s ear, startling her.
    She turned around and said, “Oh? Do I know you?”
    â€œI’m Kerryngton. Kerryngton Kruse.”
    Bria guessed he was older than she was. Not because he looked old, just that he conducted himself like a more mature man. If she had to guess his age, she’d say somewhere around thirty.
    Extending a hand to him, she said, “Nice to meet you.”
    He took her hand and gazed into her eyes. His stare sent a chill through her body. She almost shivered. Although she had never met him before in her life there was something oddly familiar about him, but what? She couldn’t quite figure it out. She released his hand and said, “Are you having a nice time?”
    â€œBetter now that I’ve had an opportunity to speak with you.”
    She tried to figure out his game because she thought he was cooler than the actor Morris Chestnut in the movie The Best Man, or her mother’s all-time favorite Denzel Washington in Mo’ Better Blues. Regardless, he had swagger with a capital “s.” He acted like he knew her, and that caught her off guard. At this point, she was not sure whether she should be suspicious or intrigued.
    He smiled, revealing beautiful white teeth and congratulated her.
    She thanked him and politely said, “It was a pleasure, Kerryngton.”
    Grabbing her hand he asked, “Will I see you again, Ms. Murray?”
    His attention was like sunshine, and she basked in the delicious warmth of it. He had totally disarmed her. She was at a loss for words. Even though she was brokenhearted from her breakup with Spade, she wasn’t blind and thought that Kerryngton was very good looking. She was tempted to give him a business card, but felt as though she was being unfaithful to Spade, so she did not. She pried her hand away from his, and before she could walk away, he handed her his card instead. She studied the black card with gold lettering and when she looked up, he was gone.
    That was smooth, she thought, grinning from ear to ear. Her father had often schooled her on the ways of young men. If a guy had a way of making a woman eat out of the