Free Yield to Love by Chanta Jefferson Rand

she?”
    Jade shrugged. “She comes and goes. She’s
supposed to have visitation rights, but half the time she cancels.
The other half she just never shows up. I haven’t seen her in a few
years.”
    “ I can relate,” Marlowe
sympathized. “My mom died when I was around eight or nine. I barely
remember her.”
    “ My mom left because my
dad wasn’t making enough money. She hooked up with some dude who
lavishes her with whatever she wants. Now, Dad is rich. So, she
left for nothing.”
    “ Does she have any other
kids?”
    “ No. That guy’s so old, he
probably farts dust.”
    Marlowe laughed. “How old is he?”
    “ Fifty-five.”
    “ Girl, please. That is not
old.”
    “ When you’re twelve it
seems ancient.”
    “ I guess you have a
point.”
    “ I wish my dad would have
some more kids. I think I’d make a great big sister.”
    “ I think you would,
too.”
    “ He said there are no
candidates. Which I don’t understand because he’s a good-looking
guy.” She sipped her latte again. “Don’t women love the tall, dark
and handsome type?”
    Marlowe scoffed. “Yeah, but no woman likes a
guy with a bad attitude.”
    Jade’s thin eyebrows jumped. “You think my
dad has a bad attitude?”
    Marlowe couldn’t believe she’d said that out
loud. “Uh, let’s just say he can be somewhat abrasive.”
    “ Abrasive? Like
sandpaper?”
    “ Exactly.”
    Marlowe imagined there must be a lot of
desperate women falling at Roque’s feet who wouldn’t mind putting
up with his domineering personality. After all, he was incredibly
handsome.
    “ You guys are alike in a
lot of ways,” Jade said.
    Marlowe almost choked on her cappuccino. “We
are nothing alike.”
    “ Oh, yes you are. You’re
both strong. Both stubborn. Both hot tempered. And you never like
to apologize.”
    “ I’m sorry about your
spider. It really was an accident.”
    “ I know.” She clasped her
hands around her paper cup. “I can tell you’re not the type of
person to do something like that to be evil or vengeful. You’re
okay.”
    That was probably the closest thing to a
compliment Marlowe was going to get from Jade. “Thanks, I
guess.”
    “ No problem.” Jade
grinned. “Us spoiled brats gotta stick together. Are you ready to
take me home now? My dad should be home soon.”
    Marlowe nodded. “Let’s get you back before
he arrives. Then, he’ll never know you were gone.”
    Truthfully, Marlowe didn’t care if Roque
knew his daughter had been shopping with her. She wanted to get
Jade home so she wouldn’t have to run into the man. Every time they
were around each other, all they did was argue—except for the last
time she was at his house. He’d silenced her with his hungry kiss.
And as much as she hated to admit it, she was afraid if she saw him
again, she’d want a repeat performance.

 
SEVEN
     
     
    Roque drove his Mercedes down the winding
road leading to the exclusive neighborhood where he lived. A red
Acura whizzed past him. He barely caught a glance at the driver of
the speeding vehicle. For a moment, it looked like Marlowe.
    No , he told himself. It couldn’t be her. He lived in a gated
community patrolled by security guards who knew all of the
residents. There was also a guard shack at the front of the
neighborhood. One of the guards would have had to let Marlowe
in.
    He pulled into the circular drive in front
of his large colonial-style home. The sun was setting now. He
couldn’t believe it was so late. He’d meant to get home earlier,
but there was too much to do at the office.
    He trotted upstairs and walked down the hall
to Jade’s room. Her door was open, giving him full access to the
jungle that was her room. Besides her numerous animals, she had a
queen-size canopy bed, a forty-two inch flat screen TV mounted on a
massive oak TV stand, a bay window nook for reading, a Mac
computer, a gaming console, and a massive walk-in closet. Yeah,
maybe he did spoil her.
    For the past three days, she’d