The moment he said his vows, Garrett made a promise to himself he’d do anything to make sure Imani never had a reason to leave him. This trip was part of it. Life with him had been hell, and he knew it. “I know the past months have been hard. I want tonight to be a fresh start for us. I don’t want you to ever think, leaving me is a better option.”
Imani turned around in his arms. “The months have been equally, if not more, hard on you and not once have I ever thought about leaving.” Imani would have to both show and tell him. “My parents have been married almost thirty-five years. I’ve seen the ups and downs that come along with marriage. As long as you are, I’m in it for the long haul.”
He studied her hard, assessing if she had meant her words.
Imani could see the doubt in his eyes. She wanted to reassure him and stood up on her tip-toes to place a tender kiss on his lips.
Garrett pulled back slightly. He moved a strand of hair off her forehead and put it behind her ear. “Don’t get pissed.”
Imani exhaled. “It’s never good when a man starts a sentence off with don’t get pissed. What did you do?”
He raked a hand through his hair. “I know I promised that from now on we’d make the big decisions together, but I made one more on my own.”
Imani started to pull away, but his hold was like steel. Her eyes knotted together. “Again, I ask, what did you do?”
His eyes sparkled with mischief. “I realized I never gave you a wedding gift. So, you can’t be mad at me for getting you one.”
“Garrett, you’ve given me so many things. You don’t have to keep buying me stuff.”
“I know. I just want to make you happy.”
“Just you, all by yourself, makes me happy. Except for when I want to strangle you. But seriously, you don’t need to buy me things to put a smile on my face.”
Garrett wasn’t so sure of that. Shannon needed lots of gifts. It seemed the only time she was happy was when she was out spending his money. This time, Garrett wanted . . . no needed for his marriage to work. “I bought this villa for you. Your name is on the paperwork.”
Imani’s eyes grew wide as saucers. “You. Did. Not! You’ve got to be kidding?”
“It’s all yours.”
Imani was speechless. A year ago, she was barely making rent and living in a nine hundred square feet apartment, and now she was in a five thousand square foot luxurious home looking out over the Gulf of Oman.
Imani turned around staring at her surroundings, this time with a pair of fresh eyes. She was having a hard time reconciling the fact that her husband had money, lots of it, and was choosing to spend it on her.
She was dumbstruck and speechless. She didn’t know what to say. Her eyes glittered. She cupped the side of Garrett’s face with her hand. “Thank you. I just hope you know that whether you lived in a mansion or a box . . .” She’d almost said I’d love you anyway. Instead, she whispered, “It wouldn’t matter to me.”
“Anna and Garrett Jr. are in the guest house.” He pulled Imani close. “Tradition says we should christen each room.”
Her smile spread across her entire face. “Does it now?”
His eyes turned dark. “Oh yeah. I’m going to find out if the sound proof walls I paid for work the way they are supposed to.” Garrett bit her bottom lip as he pulled her back into the house. “We’ve got a lot of rooms to test out before morning.”
Chapter 21
Six months later
Imani was in the conference room of her office with her best friend, Malika, who now worked for her and another member of her staff when Michelle walked in. “Excuse me. You have a visitor.”
Her eyes drew together. “I thought we didn’t have anything on my schedule for the rest of the day?”
“You didn’t.” Michelle tapped her pen against her thigh. “It’s um . . . Mr. McNeal.”
Clearly irritated, Imani pressed her lips together and rubbed her temples. “What the hell? What is he doing here?”
“I’m not sure. He would only say that it was a personal matter.”
She blew out a deep breath. “Fine. Send him to my office, and I’ll be there in a moment.” Imani didn’t want to have anything to do with Raymond but figured she hadn’t made herself clear. However, this time she planned to make it crystal clear once and for all.
A few minutes later, she entered her office. Raymond stood with his hands clasped behind his back looking out of her window onto the Chicago streets.
Imani was no nonsense. “What do you want, Raymond?”
He turned. “It’s good to see you again, Imani.”
Her eyes were sharp. She wasn’t up for any of his bullshit. “That’s Mrs. Hadley to you. Seriously, what do you want?”
“I was hoping to finish our conversation we started a few months ago.”
Imani shook her head. “Just in case I wasn’t clear the last time we spoke, I’ve already told you I’m not dancing with the devil.” She pointed towards him. “And, you are definitely the devil.”
Raymond held his hands out in surrender. “I’m really not that bad when you
