he hoped she would decide to keep her distance because if she didn’t, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to resist her.
“Stay focused,” he said to himself as he tried to reinforce his thoughts before leaving her page to finish scanning the rest of the documents in the file.
* * *
Cyd chanted Beyoncé’s recent hit as she poured herself a cup of coffee and waited for her partners to arrive to the conference room. The song had been playing in her head all weekend and she was feeling good. Even better than good—she was feeling great. She wanted to ignore the fact that Shawn was the cause of her happiness, but she couldn’t. The man had sexed her in a much needed way and she’d been on a high ever since.
After adding the perfect amount of cream and sugar to her coffee, she took a sip and savored the bitter yet sweet taste. She walked to a nearby window to enjoy the brilliant colors of the fall leaves, taking two more sips of the warm deliciousness. Each taste was better than the last.
“Hmm,” she said aloud, not noticing that her partners had walked into the conference room. “Amazing.”
“Okay,” her sister Imani said, disrupting her enjoyable moment. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Cydney Rayne?”
“Very funny,” Cyd replied. “I haven’t been that bad.”
Imani looked at Mya and Lex before turning her head back to Cyd. “You’re joking, right? Do you even remember how you’ve been acting lately?”
“Well, let us remind you,” Lex chimed in. “You’ve been tense over the past few months even though you’ve tried to hide it behind your usual sarcasm. To make matters worse, you missed the bridesmaids’ group dance and the maid-of-honor toast on Imani’s wedding day.”
Whoops! Cyd had definitely forgotten about those last couple details. “Hey, I gave my maid-of-honor toast.”
“Yeah, about thirty minutes late!” Mya replied. “And you disappeared for almost an hour. We couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“So true,” Imani added. “Even though I refused to get upset on the most important day of my life, I honestly can’t believe you pulled a stunt like that on my wedding day.”
Cyd dropped her head backward and stared at the ceiling. She was slightly irritated that she was receiving the third degree, although part of her knew she deserved it. As she twisted her head to crack her neck, she immediately thought about Shawn placing soft kisses along her collarbone. She could still visualize every single moment of their sexual escapade in the closet.
“And you have the nerve to be smiling right now,” Imani said, interrupting her thoughts. “Oh, man, you are so lucky that I leave for my honeymoon in a few days because I could strangle you! But I refuse to get arrested and miss my vacation with my new husband!”
“Sorry,” Cyd said as she sat down at the conference table and thought about how her sister must feel. “If it’s any consolation, I have a very good explanation.”
All three women joined her at the table as they waited intently for her to finish.
“We’re listening,” Imani said impatiently when Cyd didn’t jump right in with excuses. Cyd had planned on telling them about Shawn, but she was hoping they would be a little less tense if she waited until Monday. Times like this made working with her sister, cousin and friend really complicated. They were a large part of one another’s lives and were also founders of a very successful business. Although she loved them dearly, sometimes she wished she could have a day or two to relax and take a step back from the family and business chaos. Luckily, a series of upcoming events would help her do just that.
Taking a deep breath, Cyd put on her big-girl pants and prepared to explain what happened.
“Do you guys remember meeting Shawn at the wedding?”
“Daman’s friend?” Imani asked.
“Yes,” Cyd replied as she watched each of her partner’s eyes open wide with interest. “Well, something happened between us during the wedding.”
“And what exactly might that be?” Mya inquired.
Cyd scrunched her nose as she thought about the right way to tell them. Slightly closing her eyes, she chose to be blunt about it. “We sneaked off to the grand walk-in closet in the foyer...and had sex.” There, she’d said it.
As she fully opened her eyes, she laughed when she noticed all three women had their mouths hanging open.
Imani was the first to speak. “You mean to tell me that while I was wondering why on earth my sister and maid of honor had missed our group dance and the time for her speech, you were getting freaky in a closet?”
“Um...yes,” Cyd said a little unknowingly, since she couldn’t tell if her sister’s high-pitched squeal and the fact that she was now standing was a good or bad thing.
Imani’s face went from surprise to excitement in a matter of seconds. “Well, judging how fine Shawn is, I’d say you did well, little sis.”
Cyd threw her head back and laughed. She should have known her sister would react that way.
“I shouldn’t even have to ask based off that look you had a few minutes ago, but was the sex good?”
Cyd gripped her Starbucks mug a little tighter and took another sip of her coffee. “It was way better than good. Y’all saw how the man looked that day. I could barely control myself when we were introduced.” No need to disclose the fact that it had actually been their second time meeting each other. She’d keep that bit of information to herself.
“He had to be good,” Lex interjected. “I never remember you actually giving a man credit for being better than good in the bedroom.”
“Or admit to not being able to control yourself,” Imani added. “So I’m guessing he had a lot of qualities off your list?”
Instead of answering Imani’s question, Cyd’s mind drifted back to the night she was with Shawn in Anguilla. She had spent a week with Imani, Lex and Mya in Barbados before meeting her college girlfriends in Anguilla. Lex and Mya had been on a quest to find sexy islanders in Barbados and had succeeded. But nothing could have prepared her for the likes of Shawn Miles when she landed in Anguilla. As shallow as it sounded, Cyd always knew the men she entertained weren’t up to her standard. The men who she believed were a great match were often too nervous to approach her, further proving her point that he wasn’t “Mr. Right” in the first place. So she settled for a bunch of “Mr. Right Nows,” waiting for a man who would sweep her off her feet.
Imani cleared her throat, zapping Cyd back to reality. “No,” Cyd slightly lied. “He doesn’t have a lot of qualities on my love list, but he does have almost every quality off my lust list.”
“Maybe you should create a ‘you’re full of it’ list,” Mya said with a laugh, her comment receiving snickers from Imani and Lex, as well. Cyd knew they thought her lists were stupid, but she didn’t care. In her mind, her lists were a necessity.
“Don’t we have business to discuss?” Cyd said, directing her question to Imani since it was her turn to lead the meeting. Imani gave her a look insinuating that she wanted to say something else, but luckily she dropped it.
“Okay, since Cyd will have her hands tied with the series of appreciation events for the Peter Vallant Company, we will need to make sure we plan efficiently and not overbook ourselves.”
“Agreed,” Mya said. “Let’s make sure that we remind our assistants to constantly check our calendars.”
“How much traveling is required?” Lex asked Cyd.
“Since the events are all in Illinois or Indiana, I will be living in and out of a hotel for the next month or so, but I don’t mind. I’ll find out more when I meet with Mr. Vallant in a couple days.” Cyd loved to travel, and although small towns