CHAPTER 18
CONNER
After the night that Dylan broke into his home, Conner and Keisha had been inseparable. They spent almost every night together, and they still texted throughout the day. Conner was still trying to convince Keisha that they should just move in together, but she wasn’t having that.
She would always tell him that what they had was real, so taking their time to get to know one another before they made any life changing decisions was fine. He accepted her answer, so instead of asking her everyday if she changed her mind, he’d only ask once a week; it was a compromise for him.
With everything that had gone on with Dylan and the investigation, he and Keisha didn’t get to go to her friend’s annual Valentine’s Day party. They were both busy with work, and just didn’t have the energy to go. He could tell that she was disappointed, and he wanted to make it up to her, so he planned one of his dates that she told him she loved so much.
He cooked for her, and this time he followed the directions to the letter, and nothing caught on fire. He spread a blanket in the living room, and lit a fire. He covered the blanket in a heart made out of rose petals, put candles around the room for a nice romantic glow, and to top it all off, he had a dozen vases of tulips spread throughout the house.
Conner had taken off of work early to make sure everything was perfect. He tried to convince Keisha that they could make it to the party, but she told him that she’d be too tired to socialize after putting in double time at the bakery.
Since Keisha’s kitchen was still accessible, she took specialty orders to keep her business going until the shop was back open. Keisha’s insurance company paid for all of the repairs, but it took a while to get a reputable company in to fix everything. Because of that, she was behind on some of the orders. Business was doing so well that she stayed busy.
Conner was proud that she picked up the pieces, and kept moving along. She didn’t let her ex discourage her from moving on in her personal life, or with her business.
Once Dylan was arrested, it had come to light why he was stalking Keisha in the first place. Dylan was under investigation for securities fraud and had been suspended from his job. His parents, who babied him even as a grown man, had cut him off. He began to obsess over the fact that he had to pay Keisha money in the divorce settlement. Dylan felt like she didn’t deserve his money, and he needed it.
Dylan had also taken out a life insurance policy on Keisha before they were divorced. The policy was worth two million dollars, and he had planned to cash it in. Of course, Keisha had to die first, so he thought of the idea of staging a break-in at her shop to make it look like a robbery gone bad. Only problem was, Keisha wasn’t there, so he ended up going crazy and destroying her bakery instead.
The investigators also discovered that Dylan was the one who broke into Conner’s gym. He was truly stalking Keisha, and him “bumping” into them on their first date was not a coincidence. Dylan was following her every move, and when he saw that Keisha was happy with someone else, it put a wrench in his plans. So, Dylan had to find out everything he could about Conner, but without his connections and money, he took to breaking and entering. He found Conner’s address, and that was vital information in his new plan.
When Keisha didn’t go home that night, Dylan went to Conner’s house and waited for the right time to kill her. In his warped brain, he would kill Keisha, and frame Conner for her murder.
Conner couldn’t believe just how crazy Dylan turned out to be. He had only confessed all of his plans because of all of the overwhelming evidence against him. He was looking at life without the possibility of parole for premeditated attempted murder, so he cut a deal for ten years in prison instead.
Now that both of their crazy ex’s were out of their lives, Conner and Keisha could continue to focus on building a stronger relationship. Conner knew that Keisha felt some type of way about Brooke, so to reassure her, he set up a meeting with Keisha and his assistant, Gloria. After the two of them had lunch, he would never have to worry about Keisha doubting his feelings, or lack thereof, for Brooke ever again.
Conner had heard through the grapevine that Brooke, being the gold digger that she was, had finally found her a sugar daddy. The man was old enough to be her actual daddy, and she was living her gold digging dream. During their lunch, Conner not only threatened to file a restraining order, but to tell her “friends” that she was broke and was cut off by daddy dearest if she kept bothering him, so he was certain that she wouldn’t come back around anyway.
However, he did acknowledge that if it wasn’t for Brooke being a horrible girlfriend, and just a downright awful human being, he would’ve never recognized the wonderful person that Keisha was.
Conner now only had to put the finishing touches on their mid-week Valentine’s Day date so that he could be one step closer to convincing Keisha to move in with him.
****
When Keisha arrived and knocked on his door, Conner could barely contain his excitement. He opened the door to a wide-eyed Keisha. She looked him up and down and smiled brightly.
“Wow, you look handsome!” Keisha stepped in and kissed his lips. “What’s up with the suit?” She was still smiling, and Conner loved the look on her face.
“It’s Valentine’s Day,” he replied simply. “I have a surprise, so go directly upstairs. There’s a bath waiting for you.” He led her upstairs, and left her in his bedroom.
Conner knew that if he followed her into the bathroom, they would never make it back down stairs, and he wanted this night to be more than just sex. He wanted her to feel like she was cherished.
Twenty minutes later, a much more relaxed looking Keisha came down the stairs. Conner knew that she would be breathtaking in the satin red dress he’d picked out for her. Keisha’s brown skin looked smooth and soft, and Conner couldn’t wait to feel it. Her hair was in soft waves around her shoulders. She was simply perfect.
Keisha ran her hands down her dress, and smiled brightly. “Thanks for the dress, baby. I love it.”
Conner pulled her into a warm embrace, and they swayed to the music that he had softly playing. “You’re more than welcome, beautiful.” He kissed the top of her head as they continued to sway to the music.
“I thought you would be too tired to do anything.” Keisha’s brown eyes searched his face. “I thought we would just watch Netflix and chill tonight.” She smirked.
“As much as I love Netflix and chilling with you, I think you deserve more than that tonight. Besides, I slaved away to make a meal for you.” Conner winked.
“Wait!” Keisha stepped out of his embrace and headed to the kitchen.
“What are you looking for?” Conner followed behind her, confusion written across his face.
“Smoke.” Keisha laughed.
“I resent that. It only happened once, by the way.” Conner’s face was serious, but the laughter in his voice was undeniable. He stood with his arms crossed over his massive chest.
“No smoke and wow, you actually cooked for me.” Her beaming smile and sparkling eyes were so sweet that he couldn’t resist kissing her again.
Conner led her to the table that was beautifully set and pulled out her chair.
“Madame.” Conner pushed in her chair once she was seated, and then he went back to the kitchen to take the plates from the warmer.
“Wow, this looks delicious, Conner.”
They ate and talked as usual, but Conner was nervous. Besides the strawberries, champagne, and whipped cream that he had set up in the living room, Conner had something extra special planned for dessert.
The time had come for him to serve dessert. Here goes nothing.
“Oh, Conner! It’s gorgeous in here!” Keisha exclaimed happily as she looked around the romantically decorated room.
Keisha made her way over to the blanket that was laid out in the middle of the room by the fireplace, but before she could sit down, Conner was down on one knee. He knew that she would think it was too soon, but it was never too soon for love.
Keisha gasped. “It’s only been a few weeks, Conner!”
“It’s not what you think. Just hear me out.” Conner tried to soothe her concerns. He pulled out a heart-shaped box, and when he opened it, the confusion on her face was adorable.
“This is a key to my house. You said you weren’t ready to move in, yet,” he smirked, “but I wanted you to know you’re welcome here at all times. I want you here, and I don’t want my woman waiting on the porch for me to open the door. I have a garage door opener too, but it wouldn’t fit in the box.” Conner smiled, and Keisha laughed.
“Thank you, Conner. I love it!”
“And I love you,” Conner said seriously.
“And I love you too,” Keisha responded with tears in her eyes.
They never had dessert.
They made love right there on the living room floor, all night long.