Heavenly Match by Niobia Bryant

Author:Niobia Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sexy romance, African American romance, contemporary romance, small town romance
Publisher: Infinite Ink Presents...
Published: 2015-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

You Gotta Believe

“You want to talk about it?”

Anika looked up at Chloe, a little startled by her sudden appearance on the porch. She raised a questioning brow at her friend’s softly spoken question. “Talk about what?”

Chloe wrapped a shawl around her shoulders as she moved to sit down on the swing beside her friend. She cleared her throat before she tilted her head to look at the sky. The moon was large and luminous against the velvety backdrop.

“Talk about what, Chloe?” Anika asked again, using her foot to push off and send the porch swing gliding in a fluid back-and-forth motion.

“Deshawn and you.”

Anika released a heavy breath.

“You’ve been upset ever since we left the camp today.” Chloe gave Anika a meaningful look. “He’s not with Poochie, you know.”

“Why would I care who he’s with?” Anika asked, almost snapping as Chloe hit the nail on the head.

Chloe turned to face her, grabbing her round face firmly. She looked her directly in the eye. “Because you love him,” she told her softly.

Anika turned her head out of Chloe’s grasp, breaking her knowing gaze. “I do not.”

“Yes, you do,” Chloe insisted. “I saw it in your face today when he was outside talking to Poochie. Stop lying to yourself. Whether you want to or not, you love Deshawn.”

Anika rose from the swing. “Leave it alone, Chloe.”

“I remember you made me come to grips with my love for Devon. It was one of the best things you ever did for me as a friend.”

Anika closed her eyes against a wave of pain, wishing, hoping, and praying that Chloe would leave the topic alone. She ignored her, or at least pretended to. Coming to Holtsville was a mistake, she thought.

“I still remember the words. How could I forget them?” Chloe asked, laughing softly with a smile on her face as she continued to swing. “Let’s see, you said, ‘You, my compadre, are so deep in love with Devon that it’s just too late to try and fight it now,’ and then you said, ‘So you better accept it and swim with the current or keep denying it and drown.’”

That was exactly what she had told her friend all those years ago and she was touched that Chloe remembered her words so clearly.

“It’s not the same, Chloe,” she told her softly.

Chloe released a heavy breath. “Yes, it is. If you love him, you love him. That’s all there is to it.”

Anika swallowed over a lump in her throat. “It’s not . . . the same,” she insisted, her voice rising.

“I can’t tell.”

Tears filled Anika’s wide-set eyes as she turned on her friend. “You . . . you can’t tell?” She laughed mockingly.

“Anika—”

“Did Devon woo you just to prove a point?”

Chloe rose with effort, stunned by the rare instance of deep pain Anika was showing. She looked over at her. “He what?” she asked, her voice incredulous.

Anika laughed, mostly at herself. “Yup, and my dumb ass believed all of his lies.”

“Anika, I—” Chloe began.

She waved her hand.

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