Another Memory by Pamela Ridley

Author:Pamela Ridley
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-58571-595-4
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2012-07-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“Where are you off to now?” Kelvin asked.

“To pick up some champagne from the liquor store and get some stuff from home.”

“The liquor store. You mean the one around the corner?” Sean asked.

“Yeah, it’s the closest.”

“A rough crowd hangs out there. Do they even sell champagne?”

“I think so.”

“Then I’ll go,” Sean said. “Let’s make a list.”

“It’s okay, Sean. I can go.”

He went to his bedroom and came back with a legal pad and a pen. “No, I’m going.” He took dictation from Brenda. “Give me your key, Chelly, and I’ll pick up what we need.”

Chelly went to her purse in the living room, found the loose key Jaden had given her, and took it to Sean. “Thank you. You’re spoiling me, and I think I like it.”

After taking it from the hall closet, he slipped on his leather jacket. “You deserve to be spoiled.” Her kiss, sweet and warm, tempted him. They hadn’t been alone for four whole days and he missed that one-on-one time. He thought about asking her to go with him, but Brenda nixed that idea.

“Chelly,” Brenda said, “help me decide which candles should go where.”

Chelly turned away to answer, “Okay, Mom.” Then she kissed him once more. “The camera is in my desk drawer.”

* * *

Sean went to the liquor store first and bought five bottles of Asti Spumante. When he pulled up to Chelly’s place, he took notice of the blue BMW parked in the driveway and pondered a minute. Who did that belong to? A well-to-do contractor?

Sean walked to the door and tried the key Chelly had given him. It didn’t work. He was fiddling with it when the door flew open. A man, a couple of inches taller than him, with straight black hair pulled back from his face, stood inside Chelly’s apartment.

“May I help you?” the man asked.

Sean recognized Jaden from the newspaper photograph. “What are you doing here?”

“Do I know you?”

“I’m a friend of Chelly’s,” Sean said.

“So am I. I’m Jaden Lightfoot.” He extended his hand, but Sean’s scattered thoughts prevented him from acknowledging it.

“I’m Sean Price.”

“Price…oh, you’re Kelvin’s son.” Jaden stepped to the threshold and peered outside. “Chelly isn’t with you?”

“No, she’s not. What do you want, and how did you get in?”

Jaden walked backward, obviously sizing Sean up. Sean stepped forward.

“You must be my replacement,” Jaden said.

“I must be, so I know why I’m here. What’s your excuse?”

Jaden chuckled softly. “Chelly’s a great woman. She has…tremendous assets.” His smirk let it be known that he’d delighted in each and every one of them.

Sean moved close enough to Jaden to see the fading three-inch scar on his chin. “I’m going to ask you one more time, and then…”

“And then what? You’re going to kick my ass? That’s a bad idea for any number of reasons, the top one being I fought welterweight for the Navy and brought home two championships to my division.”

Still in Jaden’s face, Sean said, “What you are is last week’s leftovers. When your freshness date wears off, there’s nothing you can do but bow out gracefully.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.