Just Can't Get Enough by Cheris Hodges

Author:Cheris Hodges [Hodges, Cheris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, United States, African American, Romance, Contemporary
Amazon: B005JE9576
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2007-08-02T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

As the weeks passed, Celina felt less and less like returning to New York. It wasn’t like she was missing anything there and she obviously wasn’t missed because she hadn’t received any calls about work. Then again, most people in the art community thought she was still in Paris. “Why not stay?” she thought aloud as she washed the pots she’d used to cook breakfast. Thomas walked down the hall and smiled at his daughter at the sink.

“Celina,” he said. “When is the nurse coming?”

“She should be here in about an hour,” Celina said as she placed the last dish in the cupboard. “Is everything all right?”

Thomas nodded. “I was just wondering when Velma was going to get here.”

Celina looked at her father, who was starting to look like himself again. He was gaining some weight and his face was no longer gaunt. His daily breathing treatments made him talk without wheezing. Celina prayed that the cancer was in remission.

“Are you sweet on Ms. Velma?” Celina asked as she dried her hands on the dish towel.

Thomas smiled. “Maybe Nurse Velma is sweet on me. Look at me. Who wouldn’t be?” He spun around as if he were a model on the runway.

Celina broke out into laughter. This was the Thomas she remembered. Cocky, sure of himself, and in control. Celina walked over to Thomas and hugged him tightly. “I love you, Daddy,” she said. Thomas hugged her back and Celina felt hot tears on her shoulder.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“Baby, it’s what’s right. You came here and saved my life. I know I can’t make up for the twenty years I wasn’t there for you, but I’m going to try.”

Celina shook her head, “Daddy, you don’t have to do that. The past is the past and there’s nothing we can do to change that. Maybe we should just concentrate on our future.”

Thomas tweaked her chin the way he did when she was a child. “Your mother did a fine job with you.”

Celina smiled. “I’m going to go to the lake and paint for a while. Are you sure that I don’t need to stay here and chaperone you and Ms. Velma?”

“Are you going back to Paris?” Thomas asked as she walked down the hall. Celina shrugged her shoulders. She knew what a great opportunity it was to have a chance to be a part of the Guimard project in Paris, but she didn’t want to leave Darius. Would Darius go to Paris with her? Did he even like Paris? Maybe on our honeymoon, she thought. The words in her head shocked her. Celina wasn’t the kind of woman who dreamed of marriage and babies, but Darius made her want all of those things. Walking into her bedroom, she grabbed her sketch pad and pencil set. She knew Darius was working this morning and she would have a few hours to work. Celina dressed in a pair of lavender flood pants and a pink tank top, then stuck her sunglasses on her head.

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