Chapter Twelve
“Do you have any plans tonight?”
“No, I’ve done what I needed to do today,” Samiyah said.
Jonas grabbed her hand threading their fingers together. Samiyah’s heart skipped a beat.
“Take a walk with me, love.”
He started out of the hotel with her, hand in hand. Outside, the sun shone brightly with high blue skies. Jonas covered his eyes with aviator sunglass, and Samiyah pulled a sun hat from her beach bag and placed, it on her head. As they strolled, Jonas put his free hand inside his pocket.
“Have you ever been here before, Samiyah?”
She pursed her lips. “I can’t say that I have. It’s a beautiful island.”
“You haven’t seen the half of it.”
“What made you choose this as a destination?”
“When I was a kid, my brothers and I along with my father and mom would vacation here during the summer seasons. It was where they got married and spent their honeymoon.”
“Sounds like a very happy childhood.”
A sparkling grin covered his face, “It was.”
“Are you the oldest of your brothers?”
“I am, and because of that, my father made sure I was the toughest. He made me set the tone for my younger brothers. They would always want to follow me around, and they kept a close eye on me. We were thick as thieves. You know how siblings are.”
“I’d be remiss to say that I do.” A grim look came over her. Jonas stopped walking and faced her.
“Are you an only child?”
“Yes, but it has its perks, I guess.” A faint smile took over departing just as quickly.
Jonas touched her face, the palm of his hand caressing her cheek. “That’s nothing to be sad about. I can imagine being the only kid. Your parents must’ve spoiled you to death.”
“My parents were divorced by the time I turned four-years-old.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She shrugged, “It is what it is, I guess. My birth was hectic; it was unlike the usual happiness that comes along with having a baby. My mom used to talk about it all the time. When her and my father found out they were having me, they were both immediately excited. But I came early, too early at 30 weeks. I ended up staying in the hospital for months until I was in better condition to go home.
Needless to say, I have a soft spot for preemies. Every weekend I try and dedicate my volunteer services at the local hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.” She smiled sheepishly, “Except for this weekend of course. You have my best friend to thank for that.”
“I’ll make sure and thank her,” he said.
“Anyway, taking care of me came with its own set of challenges. For one, I came home on oxygen, and I had a few delays with crawling and walking. My parents would often argue, mostly my dad, who felt my mother wasn’t helping me enough.” A smile dotted her face but went away before it could fully form. “Then the weekend of my birthday, I saw my mom crying her eyes out in the kitchen. I asked her what was wrong and she tried to pretend she was okay. She didn’t tell me that day, but eventually, she did.”
“My dad remarried and moved to Atlanta with his wife. I didn’t see him for years until I was nineteen. By then, the memories I had of him were vague. He would pop up every couple of years and take me to dinner, or buy me a car; sometimes he would send money. He ended up having two other kids, and I never saw them. Then one day, my mom pulled up in front of the house and asked me to come outside. When I got in the car, I could tell something was wrong.”
Samiyah looked off into the distance. “That’s when she told me that he’d had a massive heart attack.” Samiyah’s eyes watered and she flickered an invisible piece of lint off her shoulder. Quickly she swiped her eyes. Jonas drew her in, his arms circling her for protection. She tried to compose herself but was too far gone to stop the trail of tears that stained his shirt. He felt her body vibrate and kissed the top of her head holding on to her for dear life.
“He passed away. The doctor’s said his brain went without oxygen for too long before help arrived.” More tears ran down her face, and she cried audibly.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Jonas stroked her back and kissed her forehead, his hold never wavering.
She allowed him to cuddle her and relaxed against him. Although she’d cried when it happened, Samiyah never expressed how she felt about the whole ordeal. After another minute, Samiyah straightened herself enough to calm down.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said shyly.
“There’s no reason to apologize. I can’t help but feel that you blame your early birth for your parents’ separation. But you shouldn’t. That is on them, not you.”
“I’m sure you’re right, and I’ve never shown anyone how I felt.”
“Not even your ex?”
“Especially not him. He would just say, what are you so sad about? It’s not like you really knew him.”
She shrugged, “In a way he was right, but it didn’t mean I didn’t love him and it hurt that he died without me having the chance to have him in my life.” She wiped her eyes.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I feel privileged to be the shoulder you cry on.”
“You said you and your brothers were thick as thieves, are you not anymore?” Samiyah was happy to change the subject.
Following her lead, Jonas slipped an arm around her shoulder and they proceeded to walk down the beach.
“We are still close; we’re just grown now and have our own endeavors. We all own our own businesses, and Jaden is the brother I see on a regular basis. He’s an investment banker. My right-hand man.”
“What about your parents,” she asked. There was a fleeting look of despair that crossed his face.
“My father Christopher Lee Rose is retired. He lives in Chicago in a home big enough to house us all, with our housekeeper, Norma. He won’t get rid of it because it holds so many memories. I swear he thinks one day we’ll all move back in.”
He chuckled. “Before he retired, my father purchased Gemz.”
“The chewing gum company?” Samiyah asked.
“Yeah. I thought he wanted it as a side hobby, but then he told me, the purchase had everything to do with Josiah, my younger brother. Right now, Josiah is the only one of us that doesn’t own a business, but he’s in his prime and holding a steady gig as a top salesman at Infiniti.”
“So your father plans to give him the company?”
Jonas smirked, “I wouldn’t say give. Josiah will have to work for it. I’m not sure exactly what my father has up his sleeves. But whatever it is, Josiah will have to compromise to get it.” Jonas stopped walking and turned to Samiyah. “Let’s do something fun.” He said suddenly.
She smiled joyfully, “What did you have in mind?”
“Follow me.”
Grabbing her hand, Jonas led Samiyah back to the hotel and into the casino. Sounds of slot machines dinged, music played, and people cheered as they tried their luck with various games. Waitresses walked around with trays displaying white and red wine.
“I’m not dressed for this.” Samiyah halted.
Jonas looked Samiyah over; she was wearing a sleek purple sundress that hung loosely to her mid thighs. Her flip flops were black with purple flowers and remnants of sand sat in between her toes.
“I think you look absolutely beautiful.”
Samiyah gazed into his hazel brown eyes and almost lost herself. She removed the sun hat and stuffed it back into her beach bag, finger combing her hair. With one swipe over her shoulder, her hair hung to the side. Jonas loved it when she flicked her hair like that. It was becoming his favorite thing. He licked his lips.
“Mr. Rose,” someone yelled. One after another, heads turned their way. Some people pulled out their cell phones and took pictures from a distance while others flat out recorded them.
With her hand still in his, Samiyah squeezed tightly as the barrage of people crowded around them. Was this what it would be like to be with him on a regular basis? She didn’t like it one bit. It was too overbearing and suffocating.
Well, it’s a good thing this will only last the weekend.
Samiyah felt a bit of sadness at that thought, but she had to keep her mind straight even if her heart was trying to tell her something else.
Jonas slipped a look at her and saw the uncomfortableness in her demeanor. “Are you okay?” he asked. “If you want to leave we can go.”
She exhaled a deep breath and braved the crowd, pulling Jonas through the onslaught of people snapping pictures and trying to get an autograph. They pulled up short to a craps table and watched as the dealer turned the hockey puck to ‘OFF.’ A guy standing at the front of the table placed his bet, twenty thousand. He picked up the dice and shook enthusiastically then yelled out, “Daddy needs a new pair of shoes,” before throwing the dice down. All eyes followed the pair as they rolled to a slow stop landing on a combined three points.
“Awe!” The crowd cried, and the dealer secured the man’s chips.
“Daddy needs another drink now.” The man mumbled walking away from the table. The crowd laughed, and another man stepped up. When he rolled, one dice landed on a seven while the other took a second to fall flat on a five.
“Oh come on!” he yelled losing his ten thousand. A waitress approached Jonas with a tray of chips.
“Mr. Rose, these are complimentary from the owner.” The woman smiled and winked never giving Samiyah a second thought.
“Complimentary?” Samiyah said. “Impressive. Do people always give you whatever you want?”
A superior smile adorned his lips. “Always.” His brows jumped, and she laughed. The sound of her delightful voice sent shivers through him and that tug he’d felt all day was back. Jonas put his hand in hers and guided her to the top of the table. The dealer turned the hockey puck to ‘OFF,’ and Jonas took the fifty thousand dollars worth of chips and sat them all on the table placing his bet.
Incredulously Samiyah said, “All of them?”
Jonas smirked and grabbed the dice juggling them back in forth in his hands. He held them up to her lips.
“Blow,” he said. His words sent a tremble down her spine. As Samiyah watched him watching her, she leaned in close enough to kiss his fingers and blew softly. The wind from her lips set his fingertips on fire, and his eyes sparkled. Absentmindedly, he tossed the dice across the table but kept his eyes on Samiyah. There was a tense silence around the table before the crowd went wild yelling, SEVEN! Jonas was awarded another fifty thousand dollars, but while everyone cheered around them, Samiyah and Jonas were still stuck in the depths of their captivating gaze where no one belonged but them.