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Let Me Love You
Linda Walters
MILLS & BOON
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Contents
Acknowledgment
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Acknowledgment
I’d like to acknowledge all the folks who continually encourage and support my efforts to bring stories to light that somehow display the human spirit in its finest element. I truly believe that love is the answer.
Thank you to my family, my sisters, my nieces and nephews, and of course, to the many friends who have been there along the way. Donna Hill—you are my muse and my mentor.
Thanks especially to Nikki, Lance and Teylor, who guide me, encourage me, push me, elevate me and love me—you guys are the wings beneath my wings!!!!
And most importantly, thanks to the Lord above, whose presence is felt throughout my day 24/7, 365 days a year.
Blessings to all.
Love,
Linda Walters
Chapter 1
Skye Thompson picked up the ringing telephone, reached for a Form 1003 and began to take the necessary information which would ultimately lead to the purchase of a new home or result in one very disappointed client. The final decision would be up to her employer, the Bank for Residential Lending.
In the next forty-five minutes, she completed the application documents, ran the borrower’s credit and calculated the applicant’s debt-to-income ratios. After checking the incoming fax machine, Skye pulled off the bank statements that had been sent in and began to complete the necessary paperwork which would, hopefully, culminate in a complete file being turned in. She immediately recognized that the client had good credit, standardized pay stubs and bank statements which showed a substantial amount of assets, along with an acceptable amount of seasoning. There had been no large deposits, no unexplainable spikes or dips in the balances shown during the most recent months.
Skye breathed an audible sigh of relief as she acknowledged that the client qualified for more than one program. She also realized they would qualify for several of the low interest rate loans which they, as a first-time home buyer, would also benefit from. The phone rang again.
Skye picked it up after only two rings. “Skye Thompson, Bank for Residential Lending,” she said quickly, poised to reach for another application.
“Girl, how are you doing?”
The voice caught Skye off guard for a quick moment, then the familiar tone was recognized. They’d been best friends forever, starting with a double Dutch contest in the third grade. After challenging one another, they’d tied the contest in knots and became best friends from that day on. Even after Skye’s family had moved from New York to Atlanta, the friendship had continued.
Nita, as she’d been called since she turned sixteen, did not wait for an answer and continued speaking. “I know you’re busy, girl, but I had to call you. My crazed husband has just decreed an edict that all members of the wedding party are supposed to show up here on Friday of next week. Don’ask me what he’s up to. I just know that it will entail me cooking my butt off. I don’t know why I married him. On second thought, yes I do,” she said, then laughed deeply.
Skye joined her, their voices mingling, as the meaning behind the unspoken washed over them both. The joke worked in more ways than one as there had been many occasions when Nita had referred to Branch as a very skilled lover. She claimed he made all others before him look like amateurs. It didn’t hurt that he was also her soul mate.
Skye had been Nita’s only bridesmaid, with her older sister, Monica, serving as the maid of honor. Skye’s memory of the day only two months earlier, when Nita and Branch had pledged their love for one another in a beautiful ceremony, was still fresh. The small church had been filled with family and friends from both sides of the couple.
It would have been difficult to imagine anyone in the wedding party being happier for Nita than Skye. Marriage was something they’d both talked about, dreamed about and fantasized about all throughout their years of growing up. Many times, they’d even discussed planning a double wedding. When Nita announced her engagement to Branch, Skye’s happiness for her was bittersweet with the knowledge that she would not be joining her best friend as she walked down the aisle as a bride. It took a minute, then Skye realized that she was genuinely happy for Nita. Her time would come. She was sure of it though she couldn’t put her finger on who, what, when and where.
“I’m up to my ears in work, girl, but you know I’ll be there. Should I bring anything? And just what is the occasion this time?” Skye asked, laughter in her voice. She knew that neither Nita or Branch really needed an excuse for a gathering. They both loved people, including friends and relatives, as much as they loved one another.
“Don’t ask. And, no, you don’t have to bring anything. Just try and get here by next Friday evening—say about seven or seven-thirty. I think Branch felt badly about a couple of his friends not being able to attend the wedding so he’s doing the catch-up thing with the photos. They just came back from the photographer,” Nita added.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see them. How’d they come out?” Skye asked, her breath coming in a rush from the excitement she felt. It would be the first time she would get to see the new home in Fort Lauderdale that Branch and Nita had purchased. They’d moved in only two weeks after the wedding ceremony.
Her mind was also still concentrating on figuring out what pieces of information might be missing from the file she was putting together. Daniel Drake, the branch manager, always seemed to find something she hadn’t thought of which would be necessary before a file was acceptable for submission.
“Girl, they are gorgeous. With the exception of one or two, they all