Just One Taste (Kimani Romance) (6 page)

“Yes, she’s here somewhere,” Tatiana said, looking around. “Umm, let’s see. Ah, there she is coming out of the kitchen over by the buffet table.” Her cell phone beeped again. “Excuse me.” She looked at the text message and then began texting back.

Chase followed her line of vision and saw Nikita as she entered the room. She was laughing. Her associate, Darcy, was right behind her. He smiled. Seeing Nikita changed everything. She took his breath away. She had on a dark blue dress with thin straps and a deep neckline. It wasn’t tight, but it did ease and flow seductively against each luscious curve of her body. She was stunning. Beside him, Tatiana was talking about the program, but he wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying. All he saw was Nikita. She was bright and happy and completely unguarded. It was the perfect time to connect with her again.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Buchanan, I have to run backstage. The program is about to begin. Enjoy. I’ll make sure to introduce you to Spencer after the show.”

“No problem. I’ll see you after the program,” Chase said, finally tearing his eyes away from Nikita’s face. He spared a quick glance at Tatiana as she walked away. Then he noticed Oren Davis was smiling with those teeth and nodding at him. He nodded back then turned to where Nikita had been a moment ago. She was gone. He walked over and waited a few minutes, looking around casually as he prepared a small plate of hors d’oeuvres. He spoke briefly with those around him as he ate and waited for her to come back out.

But she didn’t return.

Chapter 6

T
he program began. Nikita stayed in the back of the room by the buffet table, watching her sister shine. Natalia was a natural at the podium even though she insisted she hated speaking in public. Her speech was brilliant. She was funny and insightful all while extending the center’s gratitude and prompting for more donations. When she finished, Nikita applauded long and loud, smiling with pride and delight.

Her oldest brother, Dominik, and cousin, Stephen, walked over and each hugged her. “Don’t try to be nice to me,” she whispered. “You’re both late and you know I’m going to tell on you.”

“Not my fault. I had to deliver twins,” Dominik said as he grabbed a plate and began piling on food.

Stephen held his hands up in surrender. “I just got off work. To protect and serve, remember. So what’d we miss?” he asked, following Dominik to the buffet table.

“Just the whole beginning of Nat’s speech, that’s all,” she chastised jokingly, “so you know she’s gonna strangle you both.”

“Not if you don’t tell her we were late,” Dominik said.

Nikita chuckled ominously.

“Ah, come on, Niki, we’ll make it worth your while,” Stephen promised. Dominik agreed.

“Don’t try to bribe me,” she said. Dominik and Stephen looked at each other and chuckled. Nikita joined in as they all knew she wouldn’t tell. They stood in silence as Natalia continued talking. Then they applauded when Mia joined her on the small stage.

Nikita glanced at Stephen. His eyes shone and sparkled at seeing his wife and her baby bump. The love and pride in his eyes was heartwarming. Nikita was touched and silently resolved that since she’d never see a man look at her that way, seeing others joyfully in love was all she needed.

Mia spoke a few minutes, then introduced the mayor. Next, the three would give out the teen awards.

Natalia’s husband, David, and their sons came over. “Hey, when’d you guys get here?” he asked.

“Oh, a while ago,” Stephen exaggerated. Dominik nodded in agreement, his mouth filled with food. Nikita shook her head.

“David, I thought the boys were in the nursery,” she said.

“They were, but I promised them they could see their mom on stage.”

“It looks like they’re getting sleepy,” she said.

“Yeah, they are.” His cell phone beeped with a text message. He checked it out. “They need me backstage.”

“Here, give them to me,” Nikita said, taking one-year-old Jayden in her arms and three-and-a-half-year-old Brice’s hand. “I’ll take them back to the nursery.”

They stayed a little while longer then Nikita and the boys left the room and headed down the hall and around the corner to the nursery. Since the center offered babysitting services, there were a number of children already there. Some grabbed nibbles from the kiddy buffet, others watched a movie and some were in the story-time center. Brice hurried over to the center to join some of his young friends. Jayden wanted to go, too, but she told him she’d read him a story. He settled down quickly then climbed into her arms.

Four pages into the six-page story he yawned and snuggled close. She wrapped her arms around him and continued reading. A few minutes later he was fast asleep. She laid him in one of the cribs, then checked on Brice. He was having the time of his life playing with a set of building toys. She sat down to help.

She smiled. Being with her nephews, even for such a short amount of time, warmed her heart. They were bright, gregarious and inquisitive. With her schedule as crazy as it was, she seldom got a chance to be with them, so when she did, she treasured their time together. It might sound cynical, but she knew they were the closest she’d ever get to being a mother.

Being left at the altar could do that to a person. Six years ago she stood and watched her fiancé jump into a cab with his best friend’s sister and drive off. The signs were there; she’d just chosen to ignore them. Afterward, she was fine with it. The only thing that nagged at her was the why. He never said a word, he just left. No explanation. No justification. He just left her. It was the not knowing why that had left her emotionally paralyzed.

So, waiting for her life to begin had long since taken a toll on her. If she weren’t so busy with her business she’d definitely do as her sister Natalia had done and go the in vitro fertilization route. Natalia’s happily-ever-after ending was her two adorable boys. But now being an aunt was the most precious job Nikita could imagine. She got to spoil the boys relentlessly, free of any parental responsibility.

“Aunt Niki, look what I did,” Brice said, hurrying over to her with a plane made out of building blocks.

Nikita smiled bright. “Ah, sweets, that’s beautiful.”

Brice frowned. “It’s not beautiful. It’s a plane. Planes can’t be beautiful.”

“Some planes can be beautiful,” she said.

“No way,” he said, shaking his head adamantly.

“How about planes with bright yellow flowers painted on them?”

Brice laughed. “No, planes don’t have yellow flowers,” he declared.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “Planes with bright yellow flowers and pink bananas. They’re beautiful.”

He laughed. “I’m gonna show Mommy and Daddy.” He turned quickly. She grabbed his hand before he got away.

“Whoa, wait a minute. I have a better idea. We’ll show Mommy and Daddy in a little bit, okay?”

“When’s a little bit?”

She was just about to answer when a minibattle broke out on the other side of the room between two little boys who wanted the same toy. The two professional babysitters hurried over, but the crying and yelling woke Jayden. He started crying, too. Nikita hurried over to soothe him. Brice followed.

She began to pat and rub Jayden’s back gently. A few moments later he drifted back to sleep. Nikita turned back to Brice. “Okay, little man, let me see that plane again.” But Brice was gone.

* * *

Chase applauded as did everyone in the room. The evening’s focus had shifted from a casual gathering to a more official evening of brief speeches, disbursement of awards and accolades. With everyone standing still he was able to get a better idea of his surroundings. The room was even more crowded than before. He stood to the side away from the main gathering by the small stage. He glanced around in full panoramic view, nodding to those he knew, such as the mayor and those women who made sure to be seen by him.

That’s when he spotted her. She stood in the back with three men, one of whom he recognized as movie star David Montgomery. He held two young boys, then handed them off to her and walked away. She stood talking with the boys and the other two men for a few minutes. With focused determination he headed in that direction but was stopped short. Oren, who had apparently gotten his daughter there, stood directly in his path.

“Ah, here you are,” Oren began excitedly. “Chase, this very lovely young lady is my daughter, Crystal. She came all the way here just to meet you.”

Crystal smiled in her best pageant style without saying a word. Except for her thin, small frame, she was the spitting image of her father—long ash-blond hair, spray tan and large white teeth. Where his ample girth was around his middle, hers took the form of huge melonlike breasts that nearly popped out of her tiny low-cut dress.

“Good evening,” he said, glancing away quickly and seeing Nikita and the young boys leave the room.

The conversation with Oren and Crystal was tedious and lasted much longer than he’d hoped. It was pretty much centered on Oren touting the joys of marriage and the readiness of his daughter to walk down the aisle. As he talked, she stood posed with her two very prominent assets brushing against his arm.

Unfortunately, Tatiana, his previous rescuer, was nowhere in sight. Still Oren talked, and Crystal stood smiling dutifully while her father relayed every one of her many accomplishments since sixth grade. Chase was polite, but his attention had long since been diverted. He excused himself soon after eleventh grade. Oren promised to continue at a later date. Chase walked out into the hall and looked around. Then he walked to the front entrance. He didn’t see Nikita. He turned to go in the opposite direction farther into the center.

He walked down the hall and noticed a little boy who’d just turned the far corner and was walking toward him with some kind of toy in his hand. With definite purpose, he was headed to the main area near the front door. Chase frowned. The scene was completely wrong. There was no way a young child should have been out walking the halls alone. Chase saw the sign on the wall pointing to the nursery and presumed he’d walked out unnoticed. As the young boy got closer he recognized him to be the child Nikita had walked out with earlier.

“Hi,” Chase said to the boy.

“No strangers,” the little boy said pointedly and put his hand up to stop and block all conversation. Then he kept walking dismissively while looking straight ahead.

Chase chuckled. The little boy seemed more like a little man. “Yes, you’re absolutely right. You did that very well. No strangers. But should you be out here all alone like this? I don’t think that’s a very good idea, do you?”

The little boy stopped and looked confused. He frowned, seeming to think hard about the question. “I have a plane to show Mommy and Daddy,” he finally said.

“Wow, that’s a cool-looking plane. Who made it?” Chase asked, kneeling down to the boy’s eye level.

“I did.”

“You did!” Chase said in exaggerated amazement. “You are very talented. That’s the coolest plane I’ve ever seen.”

“Yes, and it’s not beautiful. It’s cool,” he said proudly.

“Oh, yes, it’s definitely cool and not beautiful. You’re a very smart young man. Do you think you can point me to the nursery?”

Brice turned and pointed in the direction from which he’d just come. “That’s where Jayden and Aunt Niki are.”

“Aunt Niki,” Chase repeated.

He nodded his head and started to walk away.

“Wait, one more thing. Can you take me to Aunt Niki, please?”

The little boy frowned. Apparently, his mission to show his toy to his parents was interrupted again. “Okay,” he said reluctantly.

“Thank you,” Chase said.

“Brice!” Nikita called out in a near panic.

“We’re here,” Chase said, looking up when he heard Nikita’s voice calling out from around the corner.

Nikita came running around the corner just as Chase stood up. She ran right into him. “Sorry,” she said quickly, then seeing Brice she immediately dropped down to her knees. “Brice, you know you’re never to leave the nursery alone. You know that,” she scolded. He frowned, looking scared. She grabbed him and hugged him tight. He wrapped his little arms around her neck and held on as she picked him up to hug.

“Thank you so much. He just ran out of the—” Nikita stopped when she realized who he was. “You.”

“Good evening,” Chase said, smiling.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly. “Mr. Buchanan, I’m surprised. I didn’t realize you were here this evening.”

“I got here a while ago and just happened to run into this young man with a very cool plane. He was kind enough to show me the way to the nursery.”

“Thank you,” she said sincerely, placing Brice back down.

“This is my nephew, Brice. He likes planes.”

“I don’t blame him. I like planes, too.”

“Do you have a plane?” Brice asked Chase. “My daddy has a plane.”

“Yes, I do have a plane. A real big-boy plane.”

Seeing one of the sitters holding the door open, Brice hurried back to the nursery. Chase and Nikita followed more slowly. “Thanks again. He’s fast. He got away from me. I turned my head for an instant and he was gone.”

“He seems like a great kid.”

She smiled proudly. “He is.”

They stood in the doorway looking into the nursery window. Brice was with the small group of boys again. They were gathered together building what looked like a small metropolis. “So, here you are at the teen center,” she began. “You really seem to get around.”

“I like to keep busy when I’m traveling but tonight I thought I’d just enjoy a wonderful evening out.” They turned and headed back to the program.

“May I ask you something?”

“Again,” he said.

She nodded. “Yes, again.”

“Sure.”

“What exactly do you do, Mr. Buchanan?” she asked.

“I’m a structural engineer.”

“Oh, is something falling down here in Key West?”

He chuckled. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Then what brings a structural engineer to our little corner of the world? And how does he come into town and arrange to meet with the mayor and city commission members almost instantly?”

“I’m very good at my job, and I enjoy meeting people.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Vacation,” he offered, knowing she wouldn’t believe him.

It was her turn to laugh. “Somehow I doubt that. I can’t imagine a man like you taking vacations.”

“I relax on occasion, like now.”

“What is Titan Corporation doing here?” she asked again. “And I’m sure you can answer the question without divulging some top-secret plan of vital stock information.”

“We’re assessing investment property for future development.”

Nikita’s heart jumped. She knew when an oil company came in and bought property it wasn’t just to plant flowers. She didn’t know exactly what Titan was building, but she knew it was going to be major. “Do you intend to build an oil refinery here?”

“No. Definitely not.”

“Then what?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say right now.”

“Okay, that’s what Titan wants. Tell me this—what do
you
want here, Mr. Buchanan?” she asked.

He smiled. “First, I want you to call me Chase.”

She nodded. “Okay, what do you want, Chase?”

“Is world peace too broad an answer?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

He considered avoiding her questions again, but then decided to tell her the truth. “A large part of my job is troubleshooting problems. When there’s a problem I go in and solve it.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of problem are you attempting to solve now?”

“Right now—this moment—you.”