Sherelle Green - A Los Angeles Passion

“Oh, wow,” she whispered as she soaked in the six-foot-two milk-chocolate-colored man wearing a tailored, deep gray suit with a navy blue BabyBjorn strapped to him and a baby bag hanging off his shoulder.

“You don’t see that every day,” Miranda said.

“No, you don’t.” Kiara couldn’t take her eyes off him even though he obviously had enough admirers to last a lifetime. His dark hair was closely cropped and his face was clear of any facial hair. Kiara had always been a fan of facial hair, but she had to admit that the clean-shaven look was doing crazy things to her insides.

She couldn’t see the baby inside the carrier, but the way he lightly touched the back of the infant’s head every so often to make sure the baby was okay caused her ovaries to do a backward flip.

“That’s interesting,” Miranda said. “For every lustful look he gets from a woman, he’s met with a hard and disapproving stare from the men.”

“I wonder who that is,” Kyra said. “I hope he’s a bachelor. But I didn’t flip through the bachelor book long enough to spot him.”

“There’s a reason some of the men aren’t very happy with him,” Vaughn said. “That’s Trey Moore, oldest son of Reginald Moore.”

Kiara stole her eyes away to look at Vaughn and Miranda. “The son of the man who caused the LA chapter to be placed on the six-month suspension?”

“In the flesh,” Vaughn said. “But I’ve been working with Trey for some charity events lately, and he’s a good guy. He and his two brothers were cleared of any wrongdoings, but I guess some of the members think the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Well, I don’t know the story,” Kyra said. “But Mr. Daddy Daycare seems to be in the running for tonight’s greatest catch. Women are fawning all over him and that baby.”

“I don’t think he has any kids,” Vaughn said. “So, I’m not sure who the baby is. Trey is also the brain behind Rent-a-Bachelor. He’s involved with a lot of community outreach for the chapter.”

Kiara glanced back at Trey just as his eyes lifted from the baby and locked onto hers. She gasped, caught off guard by the intensity in his gaze. Even from across the room, she could feel the heat.

“Well, well, well.” Kyra nudged her. “Looks like our little Kiara has caught someone’s eye.”

Kiara swallowed, willing her eyes to break contact. Come on, girl. Why are you still staring at him? She vaguely heard her friends continuing to chatter around her, but she wasn’t comprehending anything they were saying. His gaze had her hypnotized and she was pretty sure she’d never stared at a stranger this long or this deeply before.

“I’m not interested,” she said as she finally looked away. She ignored the shared look between Kyra and Miranda. When no one began speaking, she realized they were waiting to call her out on her blatant lie.

“I’m seriously not,” she said again, before turning to Vaughn. “I know this isn’t your chapter, but do you think you could give us a quick tour?”

Vaughn nodded. “Sure. The LA members have opened some of the rooms for tours and such tonight anyway. We’ll start on the second level.”

“Great,” Kiara said a little too enthusiastically. When she’d finally agreed to a night out, she’d assumed she would catch up with her friends before their trip to Dubai and maybe have some good old-fashioned adult conversation since the majority of her day was spent around children and babies. What she hadn’t signed up for was the most intense eye contact she’d ever had. His eyes had seemed to penetrate right through her, and all she’d wanted to do was tell him to keep on peeling back the layers.

If he could do all that from across the room without even saying two words to her, she didn’t want to know what would happen if they actually spoke.

* * *

“Who are you looking for?”

Trey turned to face his brother Max. “No one. Just checking out the crowd and seeing who arrived.”

Even though they were members of the same chapter and were heavily involved in Prescott George, they weren’t particularly close. Their brother Derek was a member as well, but only because their father insisted on paying his membership dues. Trey had always wondered if Reginald paid Derek’s dues because he genuinely thought Derek would be a great member, or just for bragging rights to say that all three of his sons were a part of Prescott George.

“The turnout is great,” Max said. “Great idea, Trey.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” When Trey had initially presented the idea of having Rent-a-Bachelor as a fund-raising effort to support their big Christmas bash for the chapter, he hadn’t expected so many members to be on board given the crazy few months they’d had. Surprisingly, the vote had been unanimous.

Max smiled as he glanced down at Matthew. “And who is this little guy?”

“This is Matthew, Carmen’s son, and the reason I had to put you guys on hold a couple days ago when Reginald called.” Trey looked from his nephew to Max. “Actually, I was hoping I would see you tonight. I’m sorry to hear about Reginald. How are you holding up?”

Max’s smile dropped. “I’m okay given the circumstances. I know that you and Derek don’t care for him, but I can’t imagine him not being here.”

Trey clasped Max’s shoulder. “I may not like the man, but I would never wish death on anyone. After I got over the initial shock, I immediately thought about you and how hard I know this will be for you. It’s unfortunate, and if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.” As the words left his mouth, Trey realized he truly did mean every word. He wanted to be there for Max.

“Thanks, man.” Max grew quiet for a few moments before speaking. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. After the call, some things were sort of left unsaid. I know you and Derek don’t owe Reginald anything, but I want to do this for him. I want to investigate this a little more and see if he’s innocent like he claims to be, but I don’t think I can do it alone. I know we all have demanding schedules, but I can’t help but feel like this is something we should all be doing together.”

Trey had figured that Max would want to investigate the case for Reginald. He’d had a couple of days to think about the phone call, and although Trey didn’t think for one minute that Reginald deserved their help, he couldn’t deny the fact that it would weigh heavily on his heart if Reginald was telling the truth and died without them uncovering the real culprit.

“Although I’m not sure I believe that Reginald is innocent, I’d be willing to help investigate further,” Trey said. “Maybe we should talk to Derek and meet sometime this week.”

“I appreciate this,” Max said. “And I already spoke to Derek. I called him this morning. He told me he was sorry that Reginald was dying, but Reginald has never been a part of his life, so he won’t help. I know that although he is a member, he isn’t actively involved with anything for Prescott George, but I’m hoping that he attends tonight so we can talk.”

Trey nodded. “I understand where he’s coming from. I may not have the best relationship with Reginald, but Derek went through worse. I think Derek would be willing to meet with us, though. My schedule is swamped, but maybe you could swing by my place this Sunday morning. Are you free?”

Max pulled out his cell phone. “I think so. I can come by before an event I have to appear at. What about Derek?”

“He texted me that he’s supposed to be here tonight.”

Max’s eyes widened. “Really? Derek never attends anything related to Prescott George.”

“I was surprised, too,” Trey said. “But in case he doesn’t show or doesn’t stay for long, maybe we should just contact him after the event and see if he’s willing to meet with us?”