Was it Good for You Too? (3 page)

Conversation amongst the Nelson staff behind them had halted. Shannon nudged Nona, who nodded to Chanel, and all three of them shifted in their seats to try and listen in.

“Don't you dare do this now,” Tailan whispered, as the bus began to slow down as it neared its destination.

“Answer me,” he demanded.

“No!” Tailan countered and pushed him back.

“You're lying.” This time it was Delvin who crossed his arms over his chest.

She flinched, then her soft brown eyes shot him with bullet holes. That kind of anger could only come from one source—love. Anger and all, Delvin wanted to kiss her, do whatever it took to calm her.

“When you don't like the answer, you accuse me of lying?” She stood and tried to pass him. When he wouldn't let her by, she trembled with building rage as she stared down at him. “You know what? Why don't you take your tired ass to the front of the bus? There's a whole lot of women who'd like to get their hands on you.”

Delvin yanked her back down. “I've never stopped loving you,” he whispered.

Tailan shot to her feet the instant the bus came to a complete stop. She practically leapt over his long frame and darted to the front of the bus.

He watched her retreating form. The second the doors opened, he shouted, “Tailan!” Twenty-seven pairs of eyes ping-ponged between him and her.

Delvin rose and gave her his best smile. “I'm standing up for what I want. This is your only warning.”

Chapter 3

S
AME DAY
, 8:03
P.M.
M
ARRIOTT
I
NDIANAPOLIS
N
ORTH
H
OTEL

“What do you mean she didn't sign the divorce papers?” Delvin paced the length of his hotel room, failing miserably at controlling his temper. The first round of signings had gone off almost smoothly, and he was “riding on ten” until he received this call from Maurice Blandin, his lawyer.

“Her attorney said that she wants to reverse the custody deal,” Maurice replied.

Delvin needed to find an outlet for his rising fury. He snatched his suitcase off the floor and slammed it onto the bed, nearly yanking the zipper off. “She knows that full custody is the one thing I truly want. It's been the main reason that I've stuck in there so long. What kind of game is she playing?”

“The kind that gets played all the time,” Maurice answered in a weary tone. “Too much in my line of work.”

Delvin was sick of Gabrielle constantly pulling another fast one. For seven years, he found that Gabrielle was a stone-cold predator disguised in beguiling loveliness and with a lethal determination that turned him completely off. He endured Gabrielle's not-so-discreet affairs, the constant blow-back it had on his career, her dysfunctional family, and her embarrassing attempts at motherhood. “Let me guess, she wants more money.”

“I don't think it has anything to do with it.” The sound of papers being shuffled and the “click clack” of Maurice's keyboard echoed in the background. More than likely, he was looking for a clue to this latest setback. “You gave in to almost every one of her demands, even the ones I said you shouldn't. Are you sure you want full custody? Biologically, the children aren't even yours.”

Delvin sucked in a huge gulp of air, trying to corral his anger and disappointment. “We've been over this, Maurice. Those children
are
mine, and I refuse to leave them with that woman.” He wanted to be free of Gabrielle in the worst way but not at the expense of his children.

“Want to know what I think?” Maurice asked.

“That's what I pay you for,” he grumbled, hanging his suits and slacks in the closet.

“That Paulo dude embarrassed her big time on worldwide television. Now she's trying to retaliate by not divorcing you.”

“You'd better find her, put that pen in her hand, and make her sign,” Delvin warned. “I need this noose off my neck.”

“No worries. It'll happen.”

“That's easy for you to say.” Delvin walked over to his bed and collapsed on top. “I'm the one who's still married to her, and I'm not hearing anything on this call that's changing that fact.”

“We'll have to go back to the judge with these new developments. You might get the divorce finalized automatically, without a signature, as long as we can prove that she's stalling even after the judge has ruled.”

“Then get on it,” Delvin demanded. “My accountant emailed me your latest invoices.
Earn
my
signature
on your check and get me unhitched from that hellion.”

Delvin ended the call, snagged the keycard from the dresser and was out the door and in the lobby in a matter of minutes. He needed fresh air. His heart was heavy. For seven years he had been kicking himself for making the wrong decision. Gabrielle over Tailan.

A heated argument between him and Tailan years ago ended in an ugly ultimatum. “You want children,” Tailan snapped, facing him in the center of their beach house, “you'll have to find another woman to have them because it certainly will
never
be me.”

Yes, he had known how she felt about having children. Given her family's ugly history, her stance was totally understandable. However, he had always assumed that after years of watching him and his family interact lovingly and feeling their love herself, she would change her mind. He was dead wrong.

Delvin had taken Tailan's suggestion literally. He'd connected with a fledgling starlet and laid down an offer she couldn't refuse: he would pay for singing, acting, and dancing lessons if she would have his child. He thought he'd timed it flawlessly. His child would be born seven months after he and Tailan walked down the aisle.

Gabrielle DeLeon had seemed like the perfect candidate for what he had in mind. She was a classic beauty—café au lait skin, wide seductive eyes. She was healthy and more than willing to accommodate his wishes. He would have the best of both worlds—the woman he loved
and
the child he wanted.

Problem solved.

Well … not quite.

Tailan went ballistic when Delvin's lawyer showed up with the surrogate contract. “I can't believe you actually went through with this! I made that statement out of frustration because you refused to accept that I'm not having children. My God,” Tailan ranted. “This”—she picked up the contract—”says a lot about where your priorities lie.” Tailan flung the papers at him, hitting him square in the chest. “Your desire to have children by any means necessary certainly outweighs any love you have for me.” She wiped her tears from her eyes. “I can't marry you next month.”

Delvin had to fight hard to ease his way back into Tailan's good graces. After weeks of wearing her down, Tailan finally calmed down. But it was a short-lived victory at best.

“I'd never ask if it wasn't extremely important,” Gabrielle said one bright sunny Thursday in the living room of the home Delvin shared with Tailan.

“What's going on?” Delvin asked, alarmed that she had showed up unexpectedly—still not pregnant, but with something else equally as surprising.

Gabrielle rushed from the room and returned with a boy with honey brown skin and wide eyes.

“Who is this little guy?” Tailan had smiled, bending down to his eye level.

“His name is Jason.” Gabrielle pushed him closer to Delvin, but the child instantly gravitated to Tailan. “I don't know how he found out that I'm his mother.” She was wringing her hands nervously. “I put him up for adoption.”

“For—” Tailan started.

“Adoption?” Delvin finished.

“One of my family members took him in. Now he wants to be part of my life,” she said, and the sour tone told exactly how she felt about that prospect. “I tried to explain to him that my life is crazy—”

“Too crazy for your own flesh and blood?” Tailan challenged.

“It's not like that. I swear.” Gabrielle lied with the best of them. “I just landed my first major movie role, and I have to leave town right away—like
right now
.”

Delvin noticed how Jason stared up at Tailan. The child was completely taken with her. Tailan seemed to soften to the innocent affection. When Jason reached for Tailan's hand and she allowed it, Delvin noticed how comfortable the gesture was for her. He couldn't understand why she felt she wasn't mother material.

“Don't you have family that can help you with this?” Delvin asked.

Gabrielle shifted her gaze to Jason. There was a look there that gave Delvin pause.

“The family isn't happy with him right now,” she replied, her expression sour. “When he found out about me, he created such a mess that one of them just dropped him on my doorstep and kept moving.” She sighed. “They didn't even check to see if I was home! So inconsiderate!”

“Then he's got it honest,” Tailan added with a pointed look at Gabrielle. She squeezed the little boy's hand. “Are you hungry, Jason?” He nodded and smiled up at her. “Well, I was about to fix breakfast. Would you like to help me?” Jason simply smiled harder. “Let's go to the kitchen.”

Delvin watched them retreat into the kitchen before turning on Gabrielle. “Just this once.”

Over the next two months, Delvin watched Tailan and Jason grow closer. Strangely enough, the youngster never talked about missing Gabrielle. From what Delvin could ascertain, Jason literally saw
Tailan
as his real mother.

The bond seemed to be going both ways.

“Delvin,” Tailan said while they were enjoying a light lunch in the dining room with Jason, “I want you to cancel that
contract
.”

His fork slipped through his fingers and clattered to the plate, which caused Jason to giggle. “Are you saying what I think you're saying?” Delvin asked with his heart in his throat and his lungs on pause.

Tailan's warm eyes moved to him then to Jason, who was watching them both with eager interest. She caressed the little boy's face and smiled. “Yes.”

“Oh, baby.” He stood and leaned over the table, kissing her gently and causing her to smile. “I love you so much.” He turned to Jason and tweaked his nose. “And you're growing on me too.”

Gabrielle returned from France and brought the couple two kinds of news. “Terminating the contract won't work for me. I'm actually pregnant,” she said in a practiced silky voice.

Tailan answered that admission with, “Well, I'll just add my name to the contract and accept the responsibility of adopting and raising his child.”

Gabrielle's lips lengthened into a bitter smile as she looked to Delvin. “That won't work for me either. If you don't want me to abort this child,” she placed her hand over her belly, “you'll have to leave her … and marry me.”

Her ruthless plot to win at any cost forced Delvin to make a crippling sacrifice—Tailan's heart for the life of his unborn child. Delvin's choice unshackled all the despicable sides of Gabrielle's darker nature. She, her family, and even her
friends
sank their fangs into the new relationship and left nothing but torment in their wake.

Even his own home was invaded by her family, who moved in and literally took over. The situation was so out of pocket that Delvin built a three bedroom carriage house just to have a place to close his eyes in peace. Most days, he took the children to stay with him there.

Gabrielle didn't have a maternal bone anywhere in her body, and she was most certainly missing her moral compass.

Delvin was wiser now; too many years on the wrong side of love had taught him a hard lesson. That lesson—no longer would he live without the woman he truly loved, and no longer would his daughter and stepson suffer the consequences of his mistake.

He had a feeling that this book tour was going to be buck wild, but he was also hoping it would be the most enjoyable four days he'd had in ages. All that was needed now was Tailan Song. If he could sway her to give them another chance, life would be absolutely fantastic.

Somehow, he didn't think it would be easy, but he was certainly up for the challenge.

Chapter 4

S
OUL
E
XPRESS
T
OUR
– D
AY
2
7:47
A.M.

Four days on the road with Delvin Germaine will be the death of me!

Tailan let her skin air dry as she sat at the desk in her hotel room wrapped in a plush towel. She wouldn't glance over at the bed … too many steamy memories of the erotic dreams that visited her last night.

So much to do today. No time for a hedonistic trip down memory lane. Tailan flipped open her laptop and keyed in her password. The computer crept to life as she waited. Her laptop beeped, and Tailan quickly navigated to the blog that Nelson Entertainment Group had set up for the rookie authors. They would keep readers abreast of their personal journey on the tour. She had hoped that giving Pam and J. L. that edge would bring more book clubs and readers out to the stores to support the authors.

Tailan hesitated, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She was almost afraid to peek in and see what Pam had said. She hoped Pam didn't write anything about the snide remarks The Divas threw Tailan's way because Delvin wouldn't leave her side.

Tension had escalated to an all-time high, and the fangs came out at lunch and dinner when Delvin maneuvered between the five mature women of the group he affectionately called “The Vets” to hold a seat for Tailan. The move made it abundantly clear he had no intention of sharing the space with either one of the trifling Divas who were jockeying for a position beside him.

Delvin was driving her crazy with his grandstanding. She prayed to the publishing god in the sky that Pam had the good sense not to mention the smoldering thirsty kiss Delvin planted on Tailan after dinner just before moseying down the hall to his suite.