Niobia Bryant - Tempting The Billionaire

As she neared the Olympic-sized pool, she felt an urge to jump in and sink beneath the crystal clear depths to swim to the other end and back. Instead, she settled for slipping off one of her sandals to dip her toes in the water, causing it to ripple outward.

Dennis loved to swim.

She felt sadness, closing her eyes as she remembered his looking back at her over his shoulder before he dived into the deep end of her parents’ pool back in some of the rare moments of free time they had during law school.

She smiled a bit, remembering how happy they were then.

That was a long time ago.

“Excuse me, Ms. Johns.”

She was surprised by the same waiter who took her drink, now standing beside her with a sandwich on his tray.

“Courtesy of Olga, the house manager, per the request of Mr. Castillo,” he said.

Ngozi looked up and bit back a smile at Chance standing in the open doorway, raising his flute to her in a silent toast. Her stomach rumbled again as she bowed her head to him in gratitude. She assumed he had overhead her conversation with the waiter.

“One sec, please,” she said, holding the man’s wrist to keep her balance as she slipped her damp foot back into her sandal.

Once done, she took the sandwich and cloth napkin from him and bit into it. Her little grunt was pure pleasure at the taste of seasoned and warmed roast beef with a gooey cheese and a tasty spread on the bread. “Thank you,” she said to him around the food, with a complete lack of the decorum she had been taught by her parents.

“No problem.”

As he walked away to finish his duties, Ngozi turned her back to the house and enjoyed the view of the manicured lawns to avoid people watching her eat.

“Ngozi.”

Him.

Her body went on high alert. Every pulse point on her pounded. What is wrong with me? Am I in heat?

“Yes?” she said, patting the corners of her mouth with the napkin before turning to face him. Wow. He’s fine.

Chance was nursing his second glass of champagne and squinting from the sun of the late summer season as he eyed her.

“You shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach,” she said, offering him the other half of the sandwich still on the saucer.

He eyed it and then her. “My appetite isn’t for food, Ngozi,” he said before taking another deep sip of his drink.

“The only thing I have for you is half of this sandwich, Mr. Castillo,” she said, keeping her voice cool and even.

He chuckled.

“Akwaaba. Akwaaba. Memo o akwaaba.”

They both turned to find LuLu Ansah, Alek’s mother, standing in the open doorway looking resplendent in traditional African white garb with gold embroidery with a matching head wrap that was simply regal. Both the Ansah and Dalmount families surrounded her, with Alek and Alessandra beside her with the baby in Alessandra’s arms. Both she and Alek looked around before they spotted Chance and Ngozi, waving them over.

They rushed to take their place, Ngozi gratefully handing the saucer and the remainder of the sandwich to one of the waiters.

“Welcome. Welcome. We welcome you,” LuLu translated, looking around at everyone gathered with a warm smile that made her eyes twinkle.

Ngozi leaned forward a bit to eye her goddaughter, who was just eight days old. She was beautiful. A perfect blend of Alek and Alessandra, with tightly coiled ebony hair and cheeks that were already round. She couldn’t wait to hear her name. Alessandra had not budged in revealing it early.

“Today we are honored to officially present a new addition to our family. We will have both a religious ceremony to baptize our little beauty to ensure she is favored by God, and then an outdooring, which is a traditional Ghanaian ceremony when a baby is taken outside the home for the first time, given a name and prepared with the love and wisdom we all hope for her. Is that okay with you all?” she asked, looking around at the faces of everyone in attendance with a sweet, loving expression.

People applauded or shouted out their approval.

“And so, we welcome into our world, our community, our village... Aliyah Olivia Ansah,” LuLu said with pride. “May we all pray for her, guide her and love her.”

Alessandra pressed a kiss to Aliyah’s head, and then Alek pressed one to her temple.

She was so loved.

Ngozi was happy for them and couldn’t help but smile.

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