Here I Am (Arabesque) - By Rochelle Alers Page 0,56
to recall her face. “Ciara?”
“You know her?” Alex asked.
A hint of a smile tilted the corners of Jordan’s mouth. “Yes. We met a couple of days ago.”
Brandt extended his hand to Ciara without glancing at her. It was his turn to smile when he felt the light pressure of her palm on his. “Aziza, Alex, this is my nurse, Ciara Dennison.” He glanced up at Ciara; she met his eyes. “Ciara, I’d like you to meet my attorney, my agent and my cousin’s wife—Aziza Wainwright. The other gentleman is her brother and my teammate, Alexander Fleming.”
Ciara angled her head as her gaze shifted from Aziza to her brother. Their parents had passed on the best genes to their very attractive children. A spark of recognition dawned when she realized where she’d seen Alex before. He’d been a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
“It’s my pleasure.”
Alex took a step, extending his hand to Ciara. “It’s definitely my pleasure, Ciara.”
What the… The expletive reverberated in Brandt’s head. He didn’t want to believe his best friend was flirting with his woman, girlfriend, lover, nurse. Although he and Alex disagreed occasionally, it was never about a woman.
“I just thought I’d let everyone know,” he said as Alex cradled Ciara’s hand in his, “Ciara has agreed to be my date tonight.”
Jordan stared at his cousin as if he’d taken leave of his senses. “Your nurse is your date?”
Aziza elbowed her husband. “M.Y.O.B.,” she hissed between clenched teeth.
“What?”
“She wants you to mind your own business,” Alex translated for his brother-in-law.
Ciara decided it was time for her to step into her hostess role. “Brandt and I decided dining on the rooftop terrace under the stars is the perfect way to end the day. Y’all can go on up and we’ll be right behind you.”
Waiting until their guests made their way to the staircase, she rounded on Brandt. “What were you trying to prove?” she whispered angrily.
Brandt’s expression was one of barely contained tolerance as he struggled to control his temper. A foreign and alien emotion held him in a savage grip, refusing to allow him to think with a clear head.
The moment Alex had touched Ciara, Brandt realized he was jealous, and in order to experience jealousy he had to care for her—a caring going beyond their sleeping together. He shook his head. No! There was no way he was falling in love with Ciara. He was probably confusing caring with passion. Yes, that had to be it. He was in love with Ciara’s passion.
“Are you deliberately tuning me out, Brandt?”
“No. I’m not tuning you out, Ciara.”
“If not, then will you please answer my question?” she countered.
“I didn’t want him mauling you!”
Ciara’s mouth opened and closed several times. “Mauling? The man just shook my hand.”
“The man disrespected me in my own home.”
“What!” The single word exploded from her mouth. “How did he disrespect you? Please tell me,” she continued when Brandt’s jaw tightened.
“He came on to you not knowing anything about our association.”
“You’re contradicting yourself, Brandt. Alexander is your friend and teammate. You guys are tight, so if you’d set up a woman for him to meet you would’ve told him beforehand.” She leaned over until their faces were level. “Please tell me what’s going on before we go upstairs and we embarrass each other.”
Brandt’s steady gaze bore into Ciara’s. “Would you believe me if I told you I was jealous?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You, jealous? Of me and Alexander Fleming? I didn’t know he existed before he walked in here.”
“And I didn’t know you existed before you walked in here.”
Ciara’s heart jolted, her pulse pounded erratically when she pondered what Brandt hadn’t said. She felt as if her emotions were on a roller coaster, buffeted from side to side. Brandt was jealous of his friend because he wanted her for himself. What he wanted went beyond their making love with each other.
“You like me, don’t you?”
He moved closer without moving. “Of course I like you, Ciara. I’ve told you that.”
She shook her head. “No. I mean you really, really like me.”
Brandt picked up a lock of her hair, rubbing it gently between his fingers. “Are you asking if like squared equals love?”
Ciara bit her lip, then nodded. “Something like that.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m not certain whether I love you, because I don’t know what it is.”
“Maybe you’re confusing love with lust?”
“No, babe. I’m more than familiar with lust and what I feel with you right now is not lust. I want you, and