I resisted the urge to call her on the cell while she drove behind me. We were headed back to the house and I needed a face-to-face with her. Needed to see her expressions as she explained to me. The entire drive my mind finally allowed the curiosity that I should have attended to a while back to bubble over to the point where I was now ready to drill her with questions. If she was such an adept investor, why didn’t she ever talk about her work? The only thing she talked about was the boutique that she’d yet to open. Where did the money come from? And what of the accusations thrown by Rorrie, though I knew that they could have been rooted in jealousy or anger? Rorrie’s words that night echoed in my mind: “Ask her where the name Honey came from.”

Now she’d nearly been accosted by Priest Alexander. As fine as Honey was I didn’t find it hard to believe that she might know or have dated some famous men, but why the animosity? She had some explaining to do and the second we pulled up and made it into the house it was on.

“So Honey, break it down for me. What’s the deal with you?”

I was already seated on the couch when she came through the front door. She walked past me into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of Deer Park. She exhaled as if she was preparing to go through it and then she sat on the floor in front of me, Indian-style, and leaned her back against the ottoman. “Khalil, there are some things about me, about my past that you don’t know.”

“I’ve gathered that.”

“I’ll be completely honest with you. I’m not proud of them, but I don’t regret doing them either. I may not have always made the best decisions, but I was faced with some very rough circumstances. My mother was murdered.” Her voice was steady, no sign of cracking or nervousness. “And to be honest with you I don’t want to talk about them.”

“Honey, I deserve to know what I’ve gotten into…”

She patted her heart. “You’ve gotten into me. You’ve gotten into my heart,” she said emphatically. “My past is exactly that, my past.”

I looked down at the floor. This wasn’t how I visualized the conversation going. I was about to get up and walk away but she began to speak again. “I want you to know that when we first met, I was attracted to you and it wasn’t about anything that you could give me. It was about your spirit. I hadn’t felt that way about a man in so long, but still, I had no intention of sleeping with you.”

“Until you saw the picture of Rorrie?”

She nodded. “You’re right. When I saw her face so many emotions ran through my mind. So much pain, anger, and hatred. The second I saw her I wanted to hurt her. You were there. You wanted me too and so it was easy…but then.”

I waited for her to continue. “Then what?”

“Then I fell in love with you. I couldn’t get you off of my mind. It was easier for me at first to convince myself that it was just about revenge, but I got caught up.”

“So why did you disappear?”

“Because I had things to take care of. I wanted to be with you, but I had issues with Priest to take care of.”

“Did you date him?”

“Sort of. We hung out from time to time, but the last time we did something bad happened.”

“Did you sleep with him?”

Hesitantly, she nodded her head yes. “But that wasn’t what I was talking about.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“Hell no. Not at all.”

“Is he in love with you?”

“Khalil, you were there just now. There’s no love lost between us.”

“So what happened?”

“I don’t think I should tell you details, but I will say this. I think that Priest hurt someone, or was the cause of a couple of people being hurt. He knows that I know and for that reason, he paid me to keep quiet.”

I was stunned. “So that’s why he asked you about the car? He gave you enough to buy a Bentley?”

She nodded again. “Yes, he did.”

“You blackmailed him?”

“Yes. I did.”

We talked for a few more minutes as she outlined the details of what had happened in Miami. I couldn’t believe my ears. It was like something out of a Lifetime movie. Sex, scandals, and cover-ups.

“How can you feel safe after doing that, Honey?”

“He has more to lose by harming me. I had told him that as long as nothing happened to me, he’d be good with all of his secrets.”

I sat there now wondering about the woman who I’d fallen in love with. If she was willing to blackmail a famous athlete for some major money and keep his possible crimes a secret, what wasn’t she willing to do?

“Honey I have something to confess to you as well.”

She stood up and came to sit next to me. “What is it?”

“I saw Rorrie.”

“And?”

“She told me that she was pregnant. If I’m the father it would have had to have happened in L.A. the night before you called.”

“Wow.” She leaned back and sank into the cushions.

“I didn’t believe her. In fact, I cursed her out and basically dismissed her. Now, that you’re pregnant, I believe you. But if I fathered your child then I could have fathered hers as well.”

We sat in silence for three or four minutes. Finally she asked me, “Do you love me, Khalil?”

“Yes, I do.”

“No matter what? As long as I do right by you will you always love me?”

“Yes.”

“Then I don’t care about that. Don’t stress over it,” she said so calmly that it made me uneasy. Then she said, “I want you to go upstairs and get undressed, put on some Maxwell or Gerald LeVert. I want to make love. I need to grab a couple things from the kitchen.”

Uneasy or not, I wasn’t a fool. I got up and headed upstairs.

It was four A.M. when we finally went to sleep. I looked over at Honey sleeping as hard as a coma patient. She’d earned her rest in high fashion, making love to me like a woman who knew that in three months her belly would be swollen and that her sexy as she knew it would be transformed to pregnant chic for several months.

I’d been on my back in amazement as she bounced up and down on me, flipped positions like a gymnast, and worked my body as if it belonged to her. In the past five hours she’d taken me on a physical journey that transcended any lovemaking experience that I’d ever known. Honey had begged me to spank her until she claimed it hurt so good. She’d broken body oils out of the drawer, which made my skin tingle before she massaged me. The grand finale had to be her pouring honey all over my manhood and licking it off before having me return the favor to her, showing no care toward our nine-hundred-thread-count sheets. The feeling of licking honey off of Honey was indescribably erotic.

Now I sat there staring at this woman, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath. I was completely content and somewhat relieved that we’d talked and she’d told me everything. I had to admit that the entire drive home from Clyde’s I’d contemplated hearing the worst.

When I drifted off beside her, my heart was full. I realized that as much as I’d gone through in my life, now things were evening out for me. I deserved her. I deserved to be happy and by the time I’d had my first dream I had a plan.

At eight A.M. I rolled over and scrolled through my phone. I noticed that I’d missed a couple of calls and messages. They must have come while I was in the restaurant or during the drama out front with the guy Priest.

I checked my messages and when I heard my urologist’s message I was filled with joy. “Mr. Graves. I’m sorry that I missed you but I know that you wanted to have the results as soon as I got them. It turns out that your sperm count was very healthy and you are in no way, shape, or form…sterile. Please call the office on Monday to confirm that you’ve received this message or if you have any questions.”

I left the house at nine A.M. in the Bentley, headed for Wisconsin Avenue. I pulled into the parking lot and walked into Tiffany & Company like a man on a mission.

“Hello, may we help you with something today?”

“Yes, I’d like to purchase an engagement ring.” The words rolled off of my lips as if I’d planned this for years.

“Congratulations,” the thin brunette said. “Right this way. Do you know what you’d like?”

Actually I did. I chose the ring I would have selected for Rorrie if I could have afforded it back when we got engaged. I picked out a three-carat, emerald-cut diamond in a platinum setting. I braced myself when she pulled it out of the case. “Oh, this is a great price. It’s only forty-eight thousand dollars, and for a ring of this quality, you can’t beat it.”

I wanted to slap her for saying that but it didn’t matter. “That’s the one.”

She was all smiles. “So you’ll take it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know her ring size?”

“No, but I have this.” I reached into my pocket and handed her one of Honey’s rings. “She wears it on her right hand, ring finger.”

Ten minutes later I had a fifty-thousand-dollar balance on my Black Card and a proposal to take care of.

Cruising home, I made a couple calls down to the harbor and set up a day that hopefully neither of us would forget. I stopped off at Target and the Gap and picked up a few things that Honey would need in case we didn’t come home that evening. I didn’t want to have her pack a bag. Once we dressed and left the house, she wouldn’t have a clue where we were headed.

“Where have you been?” Honey was walking around in her bathrobe when I returned to the house.

“I had a run to make. I need you to shower and put on something comfortable. I’m kidnapping you for the day,” I said as I leaned in and kissed her.

She smiled and said, “Mmmm, sounds interesting. Should I be worried?”

“I think so.”

We drove to the marina and pulled into the gravel parking lot. I had Honey wait while I talked to the owner of South River Boat Rentals. I signed the paperwork and waivers and headed down the dock while he gave me the crash course on the operation of the boat. “What are we doing here?” she asked once I came back to the truck. “Don’t tell me you’re buying a boat.”

I laughed. “Just test-driving one. You aren’t scared are you?”

“I’m not scared of much, big guy. You should know that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s go.” I went into the trunk and grabbed the bags.

As we climbed aboard the boat she asked me, “So you know how to drive a boat? You never mentioned that. You are full of surprises.”

I laughed thinking that she didn’t know the half of it.

I guided the thirty-seven-foot boat out onto the South River as if I were the Skipper himself. Once we made it into the channel I had her come and steer the boat and taught her the basic controls of the boat just in case anything happened to me. She caught the hang of it pretty quickly and I let her continue at the helm while I went through the bag to make sure she didn’t find the ring once I allowed her to sift through the bag. I took the ring out and put it in my pocket. I’d rented the boat for twenty-four hours though I planned to have us back before it got completely dark.

We traveled south from the marina about six nautical miles before we reached the waters just off the banks of Quiet Waters Park and dropped the anchor. We switched into our swimsuits and jumped into the water, which were both calmer and warmer than I hoped.

Honey was a good swimmer and we had a good time until I heard her screaming. I swam toward her and had just enough time to ask her if she was okay before I screamed out, “Oh shit.” We were swimming in the middle of a school of jellyfish. “Come on.”

A few minutes later and we were laughing about it. The sting went away after about thirty minutes. Too far from the shore to be visible and without another boat in sight, we both showered and headed out onto the deck without a stitch of clothing on.

“You tired?” Honey asked.

“A little, you know you did put it on me last night. Why, do you want to go down and take a nap?”

“No, I want to take one right here on the deck. Is that okay with you?” she asked as she put a towel down.

“Fine with me,” I said as I lay down with her. The sun was still beaming but the breeze coming across the water made it feel perfect. We dozed off as Mariah Carey played on the portable speakers that I’d hooked my iPod up to.

When I woke up it was nearly an hour later and I was hungry but too nervous to eat so when I saw the wine rack in the cabin I popped open a bottle of wine instead. Honey was still sleeping as I drank nearly half a bottle of white zinfandel.

“What’re you thinking about?” I heard her ask as I sat a few feet away staring out at the water.

“I didn’t know you were up.”

“I can’t believe I was sleeping like that,” she said as she stretched her arms and stood up. “So what were you thinking about?” she asked again.

“You.”

“Good things I hope,” she said, wrapping her arms around me.

“All good things.” I felt her smiling into my neck as we gazed out at the water. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes.

“What made you decide you wanted to be Captain Stubing today?”

“Oh you’re taking it way back to the Love Boat.” I laughed. “Well at least you didn’t call me Isaac.”

“No but I appreciate it. It’s beautiful out here especially now that the sun looks like it’s about to set.”

“Yeah, it is beautiful,” I responded as I stared at the tangerine ball of fire as it was beginning to slide into the horizon.

I opened a bottle of water for her while she ran in to grab the terry-cloth sundress and slipped it on. When she came back from the cabin I took her in my arms and kissed her passionately and then, staring into her eyes, I began to speak. “Honey, I want you to know how much I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you too.”

“I feel that from you. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt. Having you in my life has done something to me. I hate to bring her up, but even though I was in a serious relationship with Rorrie, I was never able to get to this level. It’s like I carried around all this pain until you came. I carried around so much hatred, but you’ve saved me from that. Even with each success, I felt like I was always trying to achieve in order to spite the demons that haunted me, never to enjoy it. It’s different now. I feel alive.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she said in a whisper as a tear formed in her eye.

“Baby you make me whole. I’ve walked around all of these years not knowing what it feels like to have someone understand me, and love me. I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“You won’t, baby. I’m here for you. I always will be. As long as you let me.”

I reached into my pocket. “Honey.”

“Yes, baby.”

I took one knee in front of her and pulled the black box from my pocket. She covered her mouth. “Will you…”

Before I could even open the box or get the words out she was in tears as she answered, “Yes. I thought you’d never ask.”

When I flipped the box open she screamed out a playful “Hell-o.”

“Can I slip this on your finger?”

“On one condition,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“Don’t make me wait too long to marry me.”

“We can be on a flight to anywhere in the world by midweek.”

She nodded yes. “Then please, Khalil, slip it on.”