Free All Up In My Business by Lutishia Lovely Page A

she was a religious woman. I ain’t followed in her footsteps on that right there, but I think her prayers are still keeping a brothah protected, you know?”
    “That’s beautiful, Bobby,” Zoe said sincerely.
    Chardonnay stared straight ahead as Bobby walked over to her side of the car. She finished her cigarette and squashed it inthe ashtray. “Your order’s probably up,” she said to Zoe. “And so is my break. Move, Bobby!”
    “Damn, baby girl, you’re so hot! I like that shit right there—bodacious!” Bobby’s smile was lopsided as he opened Chardonnay’s door and stepped aside.
    “Bye, Zoe,” Chardonnay said as she stepped out of the car. She brushed past Bobby and hurried into the restaurant.
    Zoe waved to Bobby before going around to the front of the restaurant and picking up her special—Marvin’s Mellow Meat Loaf with sides. She smiled when she checked her order and noted that Chardonnay had exchanged her collard greens for smothered cabbage. “Whatever, wench,” she said, laughing out loud. She loved each green equally and was confident that the only seasonings in this serving were from the chef’s pantry, not Chardonnay’s panties.
    It wasn’t until she was almost home, with visions of meat loaf dancing in her head, that she remembered what she’d forgotten to ask her friend. What she meant to find out from Chardonnay the next time she saw her. What was up with her and Bobby? Had he told the truth? Had Chardonnay really been on Bobby’s Candid Cell Camera, thus enabling him to blackmail her for a “taste” of her goodies? Or had she just been punked?

12
    T he house was quiet. Candace browsed through the materials for the upcoming Jack and Jill conference while Adam flipped through a Forbes magazine. The chef had cleaned the kitchen and gone home for the night, his dinner of filet of sole with braised vegetables and saffron rice a pleasant memory. A bowl of fresh, cut fruit chilled in the refrigerator, along with a bottle of sparkling white wine. Candace had turned down Adam’s initial offer for a glass of bubbly but now thought it might be just what she needed. She had a lot on her mind.
    “I think I’ll have that glass of wine now,” she said, rising. “And some fruit. You want some?”
    Adam eyed her suggestively. “I sure do.”
    Candace laughed, even as thoughts of greed and indulgence interfered with her husband’s flirtations. She’d been with the same man for three decades, enjoying two wonderful boys and a fairly stable family life. Adam had given her the world, without her even asking. “You’re too good to me, you know that?” she whispered, walking toward him.
    “Is that so? You’re too good to me, too—looking good, that is. Those workouts are agreeing with you.”
    Candace twirled around, her soft cotton housecoat flowing around her. “Ooh, can you tell?”
    “I’d better be able to tell something. You’re working out now, what, three days a week?”
    “Yes, if you don’t include my Pilates class.”
    “Just remember, I like a woman with some meat on her bones and some junk in the trunk.”
    “I’ll remember.”
    Just then a memory flashed in Adam’s mind—the naked picture Joyce had sent him months ago, before the conversation in which he warned her to not call him again. He deleted the mental image quickly, just as he’d done from his computer. He was glad to be rid of her; he had all he needed right here.
    Candace leaned down, placing a tender kiss on Adam’s lips. “Wine or cognac?”
    “I’ll lay off the heavy stuff tonight and share the wine with you.”
    Moments later, Candace joined Adam on the couch. He put down the magazine and, once Candace had reclined beside him, reached over and began to massage her feet.
    Candace closed her eyes, focused on her husband’s ministrations. It’s these little things …
    “Can.”
    “Hum?”
    “What’s on your mind, baby?”
    Candace’s eyes opened slowly. “Nothing, Adam. Why do you