Found in Understanding: Refuge Series Book Three by Debbie Zello (28)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Understanding took pictures for me so I would have something to show my family. I graduated Magna Cum Laude and naturally, Understand had a crude remark to add to my distinction. I rolled my eyes at him. He kissed me hard.

He took me to dinner at Carmon Anthony’s, which I had decided was one of my favorite places to eat. We celebrated with champagne and tiramisu. Then he took me to his home which was now my home and made love to me slow and sweetly. “A girl could get used to this,” I said scratching down his back with my fingernails.

“God, that feels good. Don’t stop. And I want you to get used to this because this is where you live now. Mi casa su casa.”

“Like I could afford this place. I’m a kept woman, now,” I said sadly. He raised his head over mine and looked at me.

“That’s really how you feel about living with me. I’m keeping you? Baby, no! You’re saving me,” he said holding my face between his hands.

“How do you figure that?”

“I need you. You’re my water, my air. Don’t you know that? This last year with only seeing you on the weekends, was so damn long. We are supposed to be together. Sun and heat, wind and rain, Firelight and Understanding.”

A few days later, I was hanging out the laundry when Understanding found me. “There you are. I was looking all over for you.”

“What are you doing home? I thought you were helping someone with a problem.”

“I finished. I came home because I have a plan.” he said wiggling his eyebrows.

“What kind of plan?” I said cautiously.

“I would like to shift things into high gear for us.”

“What does that involve?”

“Come in with me and I’ll explain it to you,” he said taking my hand and walking me inside. We sat on the couch and he began. “First I want you to quit your job at the coffee shop. I want you to begin your masters now over the summer and focus on it.”

“You’ll finish sooner and you can begin your doctorate earlier. Once you’ve started your doctorate we can get married. You can finish it and we can work a baby or two into your schedule.”

“Sounds like you’ve given this some thought.”

“It’s all I think about. I sound pathetic and desperate. If you didn’t live with me I’d probably be your stalker.”

“Uh-huh, I can see that. Okay. The sooner I start, the sooner I finish, the sooner I’m Neomi Franklyn.” He stood so fast he startled me. Picking me up, he swung me around.

“I thought I was going to have to grovel. This is the best day of my life!”

I went the very next day to move my enrollment up for summer courses. The best thing about graduate courses is that some of it is research. You still have to attend classes, seminars, and lectures but a lot of it is done independently. When I got home, I did finish organizing some things I had put off doing. My summer off was now over and I needed to stop my procrastinating.

“Hey, gorgeous! Studying already?” Understanding said from the doorway with his long, lean, muscular body leaning on the doorframe.

“Not yet. I’m getting things organized. I’m glad you’re home early, I missed you.”

“You got it, bad girl! How about some ‘afternoon delight?’”

“You’re a bad man, you know that? You’re bad and you make me deliriously happy, all at the same time,” I said getting up to walk over to him. He opened his arms and I walked right into them. With my cheek on his chest I said, “Why aren’t you in a G-Man suit today?”

“I’m undercover for a rock star. I have to blend in with the scenery. He doesn’t want me to mess with his mo-jo woman magnet persona.”

“So he took one look at this face and body and figured you would get more action than him?” I said letting my hand slip down his chest.

“I don’t know what he was thinking. But I already have all the action I can handle. I’m off the market, radar, and clearly taken,” he said kissing the top of my head.

“Glad to hear it, stud. I’ll start dinner,” I said turning to walk down the hall towards the kitchen.

“Okay. I, um, got a call this morning from my parents. They’re going to be here for a visit next week and they want to meet you.”

I stopped dead in the hall and turned to face him. “Parents? I never asked you if you had parents. I know you had parents but I can’t believe I’ve never asked you about them. Am I that self-absorbed that I haven’t even asked you about your family?” I said stopping to think about it for a second. “Yes, yes, I am that girl. I never asked you, not ever.” I stared at him.

He began laughing. The deep throw your head back and roar laughing. I’m glad he found this funny.

“It’s partly my fault, baby. I never mentioned them to you. We’re not that close, obviously. Don’t beat yourself up over this. God, I love you.”

“What else don’t I know about? Brothers, sisters, what?”

“No, no and a dog. Some uncles, aunts and cousins, again not close to. You’re it for me. My one real close relationship,” he said with his hands on my shoulders. “I told you my parents were older than most when they had me. My cousins are in their fifties so I didn’t grow up close to them. I had friends in school and in the service. I told you what happened. Then with my line of work, it pays not to get close to anyone. I’ve made you my exception. I like being close to you,” he said wiggling his eyebrows.

“Ahem, I know that!” My heart broke for him. Such a solitary man. I grew up with so much family, sometimes too much. Yet he didn’t bond with anyone. No wonder he wanted the commitment from me that I would someday marry him. He was afraid of loving me so much and losing me. If I had realized this, I would have given him the reassurance sooner. “When are they coming?’

“Tuesday. They’re staying at a hotel. My father is here to speak at a conference. Mom came along for the shock factor. I thought we could have them here for dinner. If that’s okay with you.”

“They don’t want to stay here with you?” I asked confused.

“Ahh, no. You’ll appreciate that when you meet them.”

“All right. What should I make for dinner?”

“You won’t be cooking either. Just have a good wine on hand. I’ll give you the name before they arrive. Don’t worry, it will all become clear within a minute or two of their appearance,” he explained.

I took a quick look around Understanding’s living room to make sure all looked clean and orderly. Even though it was his house, I would be the one to be blamed should anything be out of place. The dark hardwood floors gleamed. The black L-shaped leather sofa sparkled with the conditioner I had used. The glass- topped coffee table and matching end tables were clutter free and shining. I resurrected the half-dead plants in the colored ceramic pots when I moved in. The NFL pillows and blanket that adorned the sofa had been replaced with a red and white check.

I was watering the hanging plants on the front porch when I saw the limo pull into the driveway. It stopped at the beginning for a few minutes before continuing up to the house. I thought they might be lost so I walked down the steps to give them directions.

The driver’s door opened and a hulk of a man got out. He tipped his hat in my direction before opening the door behind him. Another man got out wearing a dark suit. I knew immediately it was Understanding’s father. He had the same smile and a very similar body. The broad shoulders and narrow waist were identical to his son’s.

From the other door emerged a blonde woman about the same height as me. She wore a stunning pale blue sheath dress with matching pumps. Her face was pensive as if she wasn’t sure why she came.

I heard the screen door open behind me and Understanding’s familiar boots landing on the stairs. He came up behind me and squeezed my shoulders whispering in my ear, “Let the show begin.” I knitted my brow at his flippant remark and followed him to greet his parents.

“Understanding, darling you look well,” his mother said kissing his cheek.

“Thank you, mother. You look beautiful as always. Dad, how’s the golfing?”

“Good, son. Thought I might get some in here but it doesn’t look like it will happen now.”

“Mom, Dad, this is Neomi, my fiancée,” he said holding my elbow.

“Well, it’s lovely to meet my son’s bride-to-be. When did this agreement take place?” his mother said eying Understanding.

“It’s not a merger mom. We don’t have a contract. I asked her and she said yes. Plain and simple.”

“Nothing is ever plain and simple, Understanding.” With that, we climbed the stairs and went inside. We continued through the house to the back deck to enjoy the beautiful day. Understanding stopped in the kitchen to pour each of us a glass of wine. I did my best to entertain the two strangers.

“I don’t see an engagement ring, my dear. Is the bone-crushing business not doing well?” his mother said.

“I know very little about Understanding’s business. And as you can see, I’m not much of a jewelry girl.” I said holding up my bare hands. I had a small pair of stud earrings on and no other jewelry.

“Still, it is customary to give a ring in contemplation of marriage. Don’t you want one?”

“Not really. I already have everything I want,” I said smiling at Understanding as he walked outside with our wine.

“Please stop pestering Neomi, mom. We haven’t had the time to pick out a ring yet. We’ll get to it.”

“What do you do, Neomi?” his father interjected.

“I just finished my degree in English Literature at Yale. I begin my masters in a few days.”

“What are your interests?” he asked.

“I’m studying medieval manuscripts and romantic poetry right now. I’m attempting to draw a coalition between authors, under the premise they could be the same soul reincarnated.”

“A lofty ambition indeed. You obviously believe in reincarnation.”

“I don’t know yet. I hope my research defines or, more accurately, confirms my beliefs. I believe we take an instant like or dislike to the souls in others based on a past interaction with that soul.” The doorbell ended that round and I got up to answer it. “I’ll get that.”