Color Blind (BWWM Interracial Billionaire Single Mom Steamy Romance Novel) (7 page)

“
Well, he was amazing, and I had an awesome time. He was just so… different. He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met; not even close!”

“
So do you foresee going out with him again?”

“
It’s funny you asked that. He actually told me that he wanted to see me again soon!” I was as giddy as a high school girl who’d had her first kiss.
 

“
Well let me tell you what I found out while you were on your
date,
” Lorraine said, matter-of-factly. “I did some research on the computer and you were right when you thought he was rich. He’s not just loaded, he’s a freaking
billionaire
!”
 

“
Oh my God! Are you serious? I was out with a
billionaire
?” My mouth suddenly went dry as I sat in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Please tell me that you’re messing around. You’re playing with me, aren’t you?” I couldn’t get over what she heard.
 

“
I’ll show you. Come here, I might still have it up on the computer.” We walked over to the desktop and Lorraine pointed to his name on the list of the top United States billionaires.
 

“
Oh my God!” I gasped. “If I would’ve known that he was a billionaire, I would’ve dressed much nicer. I can’t even imagine this.” A smile began to return as I played with the thought of going on a date with a billionaire.
 

“
It’s fantastic to see you smiling. I hope things work out in your favor; you deserve it.” She commended. “I like seeing you so happy.”

“
I promised him that I’d call him later,” I said, sipping her coffee. “And I intend to do just that.”
 

“
I think you should,” Lorraine added.

Suddenly, I realized something. “Lorraine, what am I going to do if this
actually
turns into something? How am I going to explain this to my family? And how am I going to tell him that I might not be able to introduce him to my family?”
 

Lorraine shrugged. “Sounds like you have a problem on your hands. I don’t even know where to start with ideas on how you could break the news to your family,” she sipped her coffee. “I think Terrance will take it the
worst
since he’s the baby and all.”
 

“
I know. God, why does this shit have to happen to me? I finally find an amazing man who would be perfect for me, and Nevaeh, but he’s white.”

“
I’d say you have your work cut out for you. Maybe you should slowly introduce the idea to him that you might not be able to date him? Maybe see
if you can shake him, but I’d hate to
see
you do that.”
 

“
To be honest with you, I don’t know if I should. Why would I want to fuck up a good thing? It’s not every day a girl has a billionaire who won’t take no for an answer knocking on her door to take her out.” I frowned.
Only this would happen to me.
 

“
Well, it’s only been one date. You never know how things will turn out. Maybe he isn’t the right guy for you. Just because he’s got money doesn’t mean he’s the perfect man. You still don’t know how Nevaeh will react to him.”

“
I know,” I said contemplating how I was going to work all this out.

After I played with Nevaeh and fed her dinner, I thought about calling him. I couldn’t get him out of my mind no matter what I was doing. Nine o’clock wouldn’t come fast enough.

“
Nevaeh, honey, it’s almost time for bed. Let’s get your jammies on so you can go to sleep,” I said.
The faster I get her in bed, the sooner I can call Dale.
 

She didn’t last 10 minutes after she brushed her teeth and laid down. I quietly shut her bedroom door and went into my room to call him. At first I was worried that it was too late to call
him
but figured I’d give it a shot.
 

“
Hello?” he answered.

It didn’t sound like he was sleeping.

“
Hey, it’s Kimberly! Are you busy?”
 

“
Nope, not at all. I just got off the computer,” he said.

“
That sounds like fun,” I laughed. “Listen, I wanted to call to tell you that I had a great time today. I know I might not have
accurately
shown it, but I did.”
 

“
I had a great time, too. What was your favorite part of the date?” he asked.

Talk about putting me on the spot.

“
I don’t know. What was yours?”

“
When I kissed you in the parking lot.”

I could hear his voice smiling through the phone. “Yeah, I’d have to agree that was a pretty good part of the date.”

“
So, does that mean you’ll go out with me again?” he asked.

“
Yeah, I think I can swing that,” I teased him.

“
Next time, I get to pick what we do,” he asserted.

“
What would you like to do?”

“
We haven’t known each other long enough to do what I want to do,” he said perversely. “But I’d like to do something special.”

Chapter Four

When I returned to work on Tuesday, I filled my coworkers in on all the details about my date—and who he was. As they listened to my story, they were shocked.
 

“
It sounds like a fairy tale, Kimberly!” Rachel exclaimed.
 

“
I know. It just seems so surreal. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

“
You should go for it,” Sherry encouraged me.
 

Business was usual; we were painfully slow once again. On my break, I called to check on my daughter, which I typically did anyway.
 

“
Hi Kimberly,” Lorraine answered the call.
 

“
Hi. I was curious what you guys were up to today and was wondering how my munchkin is.”

“
We’re not doing much to tell you the truth. She’s just been hanging out with Tyrone. He’s
been working on painting the deck red so she’s been his big helper.”
 

“
Oh, I bet
he loves
that,” I chuckled.
 

“
Actually, he does! She’s a great drink-taker.” She snickered. “When you dropped her off this morning, I meant to ask you if you’ve gotten a hold of Dale since your date.”
 

“
I called him last night,” I said, smiling.
 

“
You did? I was thinking about it. If he really likes you, I say go for it. But if I were you, I wouldn’t keep him waiting too long. With his kind of cash, I’m sure women are lined up waiting to date him.” She raved.
 

“
I’m more interested in an actual relationship and finding
Nevaeh
a good
dad. We don’t need millions or billions of dollars to be happy.”
 

“
Yeah, that’s
right
.” My friend chipped in.
 

“
You never know. What if he has all this money, but he’s a complete asshole or what if he’s always gone or what if he’s abusive somehow? I don’t want to rush things only to find out too late.”

“
I understand. So when do you expect you’ll talk to him again?” She pressed.

“
I’m not sure, but.. I figured I’d hold out at least a couple of days. He said he wants to pick our next date. If he’s
actually
interested in me, then he’ll wait, but I better hang up. My break’s almost over and if Kevin comes in here and catches me on the phone, he’ll flip out. I’ll see you later.”
 

As soon as it was quitting time, I hung my apron in my locker, grabbed my purse and dashed out the door to pick up my cutie pie. I was glad my shift was over; my tips were hideous and business wasn’t picking up. Thoughts of calling Dale preoccupied my brain during my trip to Lorraine
’s house
.
What if she was right
? What if the ladies
actually
were lining up to date him? Would he take any of them up on it? If we ever became an exclusive item, would he be faithful to me? My
mind
finally shut off as I pulled in front of the house. Without fail, my sugar bug was waiting and watching through the window.
 

“
Hi sweet pea,” I greeted my daughter, making my way through the door. “I heard you helped Uncle Tyrone paint the deck?”
 

“
Yep, I sure did!” She announced beaming with pride of her accomplishment.

“
I bet it looks
beautiful
. Can we go take a look at it?”
 

“
Oh no, momma. We can’t walk out there. It’s wet!” she proclaimed.

“
I’m glad you’re here,” Lorraine teased, walking into the room. “Would you like to tell your mom what else you did today?”
 

The tiny girl glimpsed down at the floor and shook her head no.

“
What did you do?”

“
Nothin’.” She lied; smiling as she peered at the walls.

“
I’ll fill you in on what she did,” Tyrone interjected, joining the conversation. “She was helping me paint the deck—doing a splendid job—until she had a great idea to pull a prank on me.” He paused, staring at her bright hazel eyes. “Your
lovely
angel took my paint brush while I came in to use the bathroom to paint her tongue red.”
 

Nevaeh interrupted him, “I thought it would be funny to trick him into thinking I bit it and made it bleed.”
 

“
Yeah, but there’s more. She realized how awful it tasted so she ran inside and grabbed the mouth rinse to wash her mouth out.” Tyrone began laughing so hard, it prevented him from continuing with the story.
 

“
She took a swig of it and swooshed it around her mouth,” Lorraine continued. “Only except, it wasn’t
mouthwash
—it was peroxide. Once she started foaming at the mouth, she
spit
a mixture of paint and peroxide all over the bathroom counter!”
 

At this point, we were all laughing hysterically.
 

“
Ah, that’s my little Nevaeh.” I boasted as I ruffled my child’s hair.
 

“
I’m just glad she pulls most of her stunts while she’s with you,” Lorraine laughed.
 

After we had
gathered
up all of her things, we headed home, following our usual nightly ritual of a bath and a bedtime story before I put her to sleep. I laid in bed that night contemplating if I would call Dale the next evening once Nevaeh was settled in for the night. Surely a few days wouldn’t
make me seem desperate, I thought. Soon, I dozed off with the remote control still in my hand.
 

In the morning, I was surprised that Nevaeh hadn’t run
into
my room to wake me up. Normally she was up before my alarm clock sounded off. She must be zonked, I theorized as I climbed out of bed to go check on her. When I opened Nevaeh’s door, I found her curled up, crying.
 

“
What’s wrong baby?” I wondered as I sat down beside her.
 

“
Momma, it’s my knees again. They hurt so badly, and my back too.”

“
Is it as bad as it was before?”

“
Yes, but worse! My toes and ankles are sore, too.” She cried as I pulled the covers down to determine if the swelling had come back.
 

It had. Her knees were the same as
before, but
this time, her ankles and feet looked swollen too. I placed my hand on her forehead to see if the fever had returned, and it had.
 

“
I don’t know honey. Were you kneeling down or squatting when you helped Uncle Tyrone paint the porch yesterday?” I asked her.
 

“
No, I was sitting next to him on the steps.”

“
Hm. I’ll get your ibuprofen. It seemed to help the last time.” I implied, getting off the bed.
 

When I returned, Nevaeh told me more. “Momma, if I tell you something, do you promise you won’t think I’m crazy?”
 

“
No baby, what is it?” I insisted.