Yahrah John - A Chance with You

Raina’s breath hitched and her skin colored to crimson. She looked to her best friend with pleading eyes, but Summer’s eyes were large with alarm and she just shrugged her shoulders.

Reluctantly, Raina spun around on her stool to face Spencer Davis.

Chapter 3

“Raina Martin,” Spencer said her name with a smile rather than the indignation Raina had expected.

“How did you find me?” Raina asked, her throat parched.

“You’re not the only one who can locate people,” Spencer replied. “You’ve made quite a reputation for yourself.”

Raina frowned.

“In a good way.” Spencer held up her business card. “Allyson gave me your card when I asked her for your info after such delicious canapés.”

“Y-you sought me out?”

His dark eyes watched hers from across the room as he walked farther into the kitchen, filling the small space that housed stainless steel refrigerators, commercial stoves and an abundance of pots, pans and cutlery. She knew she must have looked a wreck wearing a stained chef’s coat and jeans with her hair in a ponytail.

“Does that surprise you?” he asked, raising a brow. “I did ask you on a date and you turned me down. And I don’t take no for an answer. But then imagine my surprise when my attorney is served with paternity papers on the very same day I planned on contacting you.”

“Umm...I—I’m just going to go to the store for some supplies,” Summer said, pointing to the back door. Neither Raina nor Spencer turned to watch her grab her hobo purse and keys from a nearby hook and scurry out the door.

Raina swallowed the lump in her throat. “That must have come as quite a shock.”

“Yes, it was. It was very disappointing.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I thought you didn’t have an ulterior motive like most women who meet successful athletes...former athletes.”

“But you think I have one now?”

“Perhaps.”

“And what would it be?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet.”

“Well, you’d be wrong. I don’t have one,” Raina replied, standing up to face him. When she did, Spencer towered over her and she was slightly awestruck.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

“It was hardly the appropriate time or moment to tell you that I thought you’d slept with my sister and had fathered her child. Might have been in poor taste, don’t you think?”

Spencer smirked. “Touché. But that begs the question—what do you want from me, Raina Martin?”

“It’s quite simple. DNA,” Raina replied honestly. “I need to know if you’re Zoe’s father. And if you are, then I’m looking for help raising your daughter. I never thought I’d be a single parent. Wasn’t my heart’s desire, you know? I...I never thought my twin would die.” Raina’s voice cracked. “B-But it was my sister’s last wish that I take care of Zoe, and I’m doing what I think is best for her. She needs a father.”

“And financial support?”

“Do you honestly think that all I’m after is your money?”

Spencer knew she wasn’t, but he said, “I don’t know. Most women are.”

“Well, I’m not most women.”

That’s what he’d known the other night. It was why he’d sought her out. It was why the paternity wrinkle had put him in such a pickle. “And what if I’m not Zoe’s father?”

“Then I’m back to the drawing board,” Raina answered.

“And why do you think I am?”

Raina didn’t answer. Instead, she went to her purse on the hook where Summer’s had been. Where had she gone? Raina glanced around. She hadn’t even seen her leave. Had she been so engrossed in Spencer Davis that she was that oblivious? Why was he having this kind of effect on her?

“Because of this.” She pulled out the picture of Alexa and Spencer and shoved it at him.

Spencer took the photo from Raina’s hand and their fingers touched for the briefest of seconds, sending an electric current running through Raina. She looked up at Spencer to see if he’d felt it, and it seemed as if he had; his eyes darkened ever so slightly. Raina stepped away quickly.

Spencer looked down at the photograph and saw himself with a beautiful woman who looked somewhat like Raina, with similar facial fixtures, but not exactly. “So you were fraternal twins?”

Raina nodded without speaking. Losing her twin had been like losing her other half and she still could hardly talk about Alexa without getting choked up.

“Where did you get this?” Spencer inquired, holding up the photo.

“Alexa handed the picture to me before she died at the hospital.”

“And this is all the proof you have?”

“Do I need more?” Raina asked, peering at Spencer. He was looking at the photograph so intently. She was picking up on a vibe. “Do you recognize Alexa?”

Spencer nodded, “I remember kicking it with her, but that’s all. And I definitely didn’t sleep with her.”

“How would you know?” Raina said, putting her hand on her hip, “According to the press, at the time you and your crew were quite the party animals. Do you even remember who you slept with?”

Spencer frowned. “Are you implying that I’m a slut puppy?”

Raina laughed at his description. “If the shoe fits.”

“Then you’re basically calling your sister one because she would have been nothing other than another groupie trying to entrap a basketball player. She wouldn’t be the first and she certainly won’t be last.”

“How dare you!” Raina was horrified that he would speak of her deceased twin in such a fashion, and she turned away from Spencer immediately. His comment wasn’t that far from the truth. During that time, she and Alexa had lost touch because Raina hadn’t approved of Alexa’s lifestyle.

“Listen, I’m sorry, Raina.” He touched her shoulder, but she jumped away from him. “All I’m saying is that this photograph isn’t proof enough that I slept with your sister and fathered a child. All it does is prove we went out once. But then again, I wasn’t celibate back then, so I’ll agree to your paternity test just so we can squash this and move on. I know I’m not Zoe’s father.”

Raina spun around on her heels. “How can you say that with such certainty? You clearly were no angel back then. And the internet said you were known to drink to excess. How do you know who you slept with?”

“Trust me when I say that I don’t casually go to bed with a woman without protection. It’s just not safe. And further, I would think your sister would have remembered sleeping with me and might have mentioned it.”

“Because you’re that unforgettable?” Raina asked, raising a brow. She was sure he was. Her female intuition told her that once Spencer Davis made love to a woman, she would never forget it.

Spencer walked toward her, grasped a few tendrils of Raina’s hair and spun them around his finger. “Don’t you think so?” he asked huskily, leaning over her.

Raina’s breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t find the words to speak. She could feel his breath against her skin like tiny puffs of air and it was like a sensuous caress, one that she wanted to go on. But she couldn’t do this. Spencer Davis could very well have been involved with her sister and any attraction that she might feel was wrong until they found out the results of the paternity test.

On the one hand, she wanted Zoe to have a father, but on the other, she was hoping the test would be wrong. She was hoping Spencer Davis wasn’t the type of man to knock up her sister and not even realize he had a child.

“Don’t try and put the moves on me, Spencer Davis,” Raina said, stepping away from him. “I told you before that I’m not interested.”