Read Online Vegas Surrender by Sasha Peterson - Free Book Online Page A

feel
free to contact me.”
    Ding. The timer went off.
    “ Thank you so much.” I accepted her
outstretched hand and whisked Daniel outside.
    “ What’s the rush?” He searched my
face for answers.
    “ I wanted out of there before she
changed her mind.” I gave him a gentle nudge. “You have time for
lunch?”
    “ No. I have a meeting.” He kissed
my forehead. “I’ll see you at home.”
    He opened my car door and made sure I was
safely inside before heading to his vehicle. My back sunk into the
soft interior. It was finally over. No more of that woman poking
and prodding in my life until I questioned every decision I’d ever
made about being with my husband. If I had my way, I would have
never returned after the first day. How dare she question my love
for him just because he was white and I’m not? Dr. Patrick just put
it out there.
    “ Is being with a man of another
race I thrill for you? Is being with him something to upset your
parents?”
    I had wanted to slap the smirk off her face.
Who in their right mind would be with someone just to upset another
person? Our life wasn’t an act, and it sure as heck didn’t come
easy. Atlanta isn’t called Chocolate City for nothing. This city
oozed with black professionals compared to other cities. Sure,
there were interracial couples, but those were majority black men
with white women.
    My mother didn’t care who I dated as long as
the money kept flowing. From the time I I’d become and adult, I’d
only been a paycheck to cover her living expenses. For all of my
childhood she semi-raised me, my grandmother did most of the work
until she passed away two years before my eighteenth birthday, I
owed her the rest of my life. So she overcame a drug addiction. It
didn’t negate her lack of parenting. I tried not to think of her at
all.
    Daniel only met her on a few occasions. He
understood my and Tina’s reluctance in being around her.
    “ No, Dr. Patrick,” I’d answered.
“I’m not getting back at anyone. In fact, I relish in the stares
black men give me for thinking I sold out.”
    Daniel had nudged me for my sarcasm.
    “ I’m with my husband because I love
him.”
    My stomach growled, interrupting my
funk.
    “ Call Tina.”
    The phone rang twice before she answered. “You
finished getting your head shrunk?”
    “ Ha ha. Have you eaten lunch
yet?”
    “ I was getting ready to head out,
why?”
    I switched my car in gear and pulled off. “I’ll
be there in five.”
    From the counselor’s office, my sister’s
building was a straight shot. I ended the call and navigated Ponce
de Leon with ease.
    Her purple wrap dress stood out among the
others coming and going from the law firm. She gave me a half smile
as I pulled up.
    “ What’s up?” She eased her body
into the passenger seat.
    “ Today was the last session. You
want Italian or American?”
    “ If you’re buying, then Italian.”
She laughed. “So you two are fixed now. That’s awesome. Did it fix
the way some of the white woman make you feel when you attend
events together?”
    “ Tina.” I kept my focus on the
road. “It’s not as bad as you think.”
    “ Is that why you didn’t bother
telling me how the last one went?” She folded her arms. Her eyes
bore into the side of my skull.
    “ I didn’t tell you because
Cynthia…” Oh crap I didn’t mean to let her name slip
out.
    Her brow rose. I’d garnered her interest.
“Who’s Cynthia?”
    “ Nobody.” I pulled up to the valet.
He held my door open and traded my keys for a ticket. I stepped
ahead of my sister as we walked up the small path to the door. I
bypassed the smiling hostess and went for a seat in the bar
area.
    Tina’s chair scraped across the cobblestone
floor as she adjusted her seat. “Nobody my ass. This is the first
time you haven’t uttered a word after an event. Spill
it.”
    I waited for the bar staff to fill our water
glasses. “Sweet tea, thank you.” She walked off, and I turned to my
sister. “Fine.