Nana Prah - Path To Passion

“Nothing for you to do tomorrow,” he said in a haughtier voice than she appreciated. “You’ve been here every weekend since taking over. Not even Broderick was here that much.”

She stiffened. Was he trying to remind her of where her ex-husband had spent his time when he’d said he’d been at the club? No matter—their relationship had been doomed from the moment she’d left Miguel’s arms and cried on Broderick’s shoulder back in college. He’d been so understanding and had a way of making her feel good about herself. They’d stayed friends over the years and when he’d returned to Cleveland after working in the Boston club scene, he’d looked her up and they’d started dating. Three months later, they were married.

Everyone had told her she’d moved into the relationship too fast, but it wasn’t as if she’d had a plethora of choices. The handful of relationships she’d had over the past six years had all gone nowhere. Broderick had liked her even though she’d outweighed him by sixty pounds and she would wince whenever he pulled her onto his lap.

“I’ll take time off when we start making money again,” she responded.

What was the expression that passed over his face? He’d looked almost pained before grinning. Lately, something had been off about Clint, but she couldn’t put her finger on it, so she blamed it on her distrust of all men.

“We’ll get there,” he affirmed.

She didn’t quite feel his conviction as she nodded and pumped her fist. “Yes, we will. Have a good night.”

“You, too.”

She ignored the temptation to grab a bottle of wine from the club’s stock so she could head straight to Becca’s place. A quick stop at the supermarket wouldn’t kill her. A brownie pick-me-up would be nice, too. No. Absolutely no brownies. She’d done so well to keep the stress eating at bay. Dealing with Miguel would not make her gain weight again.

She refused to let him have any kind of effect on her. She’d merely been in shock after not having seen him for so long. More like overwhelmed. Now that she had control over her reactions, she’d be able to deal with him to make her business successful. No emotion.

Chapter 5

Twenty minutes later, Tanya lounged on her best friend’s couch with the crumbs of a decadent chocolate-chip cheesecake waiting for her to make them disappear. “So that’s what happened.” Becca had remained silent, sipping wine, as she listened to Tanya’s account of her encounter with Miguel.

Becca poured herself another glass and bit off a tiny piece of her carrot cake. “You just watched him roam through your club and didn’t even think to talk to him?”

“He was in some sort of disguise.” She crinkled her nose. “Which I could see right through, but no one else recognized him. I don’t think he wanted to be seen. And as I mentioned before, I was beyond embarrassed about what happened yesterday. I got snot all over him.”

“Which is romantic as hell because he let you. I wish you could remember what he’d said as you were entwined in his comforting embrace. Maybe something like, ‘Baby, it’s okay. I’ll be here to take care of you. You don’t need to do it alone anymore. I love you.’” Becca said the last in a dramatic breathy whisper.

Tanya broke out into a fit of laughter. “You’re a nut. I do remember an ‘It’s okay’ being repeated.”

“Do you think he likes you?”

Her lip curled involuntarily. “It doesn’t matter.” She and Becca had met in junior high school and had maintained their closeness even when they’d gone to different universities. “Need I remind you that I confessed my love to him, and he laughed in my face telling me to call him when I lost forty pounds. Sixty for good measure because he didn’t like his women fat.”

Becca rolled her eyes. “He did not say that.”

“I know that’s what he meant when he said he didn’t want to lose his friendship with Josh by going out with me. I was too big a girl for him.”

“You’ve always been too hard on yourself about your weight.” Becca pierced her with a stare. “You were active, which made a difference in your structure. Sure you look great now, but you looked good back then, too. I believe him.” She waggled her head. “I don’t understand why he couldn’t have both you and Josh in his life, but at least he didn’t betray his friend by sneaking around with you.”

Nothing her friend could say would change her mind about why Miguel had rejected her. It didn’t help that although Broderick had been a wonderful husband for a while, she could count on both hands and feet the number of times they’d made love. She’d blamed the problem on her weight then, too. That time she’d been wrong. Tanya eyed the carrot cake she’d bought for her friend. Seeing the direction of her gaze, Becca broke off a piece slathered with frosting and handed over the rest. “With the marathon you’re training for, you’ll burn these calories off in a hot minute.”

Tanya didn’t say no to the offer. Tired of having a passionless marriage and needing to feel healthier, she’d worked hard a couple years ago to lose over eighty pounds. The ordeal with Miguel had had her eating like a fiend and before she knew it, she’d ballooned to the point where she got out of breath when walking from her bed to the bathroom.

The weight loss hadn’t made a difference to the frequency or quality of the lovemaking with Broderick, and things started going downhill in their relationship. When Broderick presented her with divorce papers, she’d finally understood why he’d never really wanted to touch her in more than friendly ways.

“What am I going to do?” Tanya whined after finishing off the treat.

“Obviously, you’re going to let him help you, but keep your heart as far away from him as possible. You married a gay man because of Miguel.”

“That’s not the way it went down.”

Becca pursed her lips. “Would you have bumped into Broderick while crying your eyes out if Miguel hadn’t rejected you?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “No. You would’ve been more than happy to ignore him as you did every man you came into contact with because you only had eyes for Astacio. You wouldn’t be at risk of losing your house and livelihood. Plus, you might have had the chance to find a guy worthy of you if you hadn’t been attached to Broderick.”

Tanya loved her best friend. Becca always knew what to say. “I wonder what he scribbled so furiously on his tablet. Do you think he’ll be able to save the place?”

Becca sipped her wine, pondering. “He’s a marketing genius. Josh did well by setting up an appointment with him. The only thing I’m worried about is him charming you into bed.”

Tanya gasped with a slap to her chest. “I wouldn’t sleep with him.”

“That’s my concern.” Becca couldn’t hold a straight face and giggled. “Seriously. You need to have a good time, and he might be the one to give it to you. Just don’t get all emotional.”

She ran a hand through her hair, refusing to consider it. “Girl, stop being ridiculous.” At that moment, her cell phone rang. Miguel’s name flashed across the screen. It’s him , she mouthed even though the phone still rang.

“Answer it. And for goodness’ sake, put him on speakerphone,” Becca said.

She ignored her friend and hit Talk. “Hello.”

“Hi, Tanya. This is Miguel Astacio.”

As if she had more than one Miguel in her life. His voice melted over her, richer than the cheesecake she’d just eaten. “Hi, Miguel. What’s up?” Was that her sounding cool?

Speakerphone , Becca mouthed.

“I stopped by your club this evening.”

She thumped a fist to her chest to stop her heart from hammering out of it. “Really? Why didn’t you call me?”