Free Scandalicious by Allison Hobbs Page B

reach if he hadn’t pulled himself up by his bootstraps. Chevonne had been the ultimate reward—his trophy wife.
    Now she was tainted. He gave her a look of repugnance.
    Chevonne looked away from his condemning gaze. Eyes lowered, she asked, “Do you want to try counseling—as a last-chance effort? It might help.”
    Looking at his beautiful wife, repentant and beaten, he wished he could say something optimistic, but forgiveness was not in his heart.
    “I wish you would have thought about counseling before you made that move. The trust is broken. How can talking to a counselor restore the trust that I had in you?”
    “I don’t know, but shouldn’t we think about the kids and at least make an effort?”
    Lincoln shook his head. “Like I said, I thought long and hard. I’m leaving. And Amir is gong with me when I move.”
    Chevonne made a long, croaking sound, as if stabbed with a dagger. “You can’t take my child away from me.”
    “We’re over, Chevonne. Nothing can change that. But I’m not going to allow our situation to affect the close bond I’ve built with my son. If I fought hard enough—if I paid for a high-price lawyer, I could probably get Amir and Tori. But I think a girl needs her mother.”
    “Amir needs me, too!” There was a wild and desperate look in Chevonne’s eyes—like she was capable of homicide.
    “Amir needs me! I’ll be damned if I’ll allow my son to be influenced by the opinions and attitudes of a bunch of random dudes. Fuck that!”
    Tears flowed from Chevonne’s eyes. She sniffled helplessly. “I’m a good mother. I’d never allow my children—”
    “A good mother thinks about her children’s well-being before parting her skanky legs for some out-of-town dick.”

CHAPTER 13

    T onight was the night! She was finally going to have Deon back in her bed. It didn’t surprise her that Deon was in high demand. He put it on her in the bedroom. The extra bonus was his good looks and his thuggish swagger. That curved dick of his was well worth every dollar she’d put on her credit card.
    “It’s time for my lunch break,” Vidal called out, his voice carrying to the kitchen.
    Anticipating the hot night she was going to have with Deon, Solay wore a secret smile as she replaced Vidal at the counter.
    “What’s the weekly special?” a college-aged kid asked, squinting at the chalkboard menu. Solay recognized him as a regular who bought cupcakes three or four times a week.
    “No special today,” Solay replied. Though slightly aggravated that the student wasn’t content with the regular menu, she managed a strained smile. “What would you like—chocolate, red velvet, or vanilla?”
    The college kid scowled the menu again. “No, I wanted the special.” He left the counter and skulked past the line of waiting customers.
    Solay was flabbergasted. This was a first. No customer had ever left her bakery in disappointment. After the kid left, it seemed like every other customer was asking about Screamin’ O’s or inquiring about the weekly special.
    She’d been thankful that Melanee was no longer mixing togetherexpensive ingredients and slowing down the production of the regular list of options. Something was going on with Melanee. Her mind seemed to be off in the clouds. Miraculously, she’d fallen back into step with the way that Solay ran her business. Baking Solay’s tried and true recipes only.
    Now Solay was a little worried. With Melanee’s specialties being so popular, Solay wasn’t sure if eliminating them had been a good idea. Maybe she should to speak to Melanee; give her the green light to whip up some more delectable treats. But remembering how egotistical Melanee could be, Solay changed her mind. In the future, any specialty on the menu at Scandalicious would be something that Solay created. She’d be a fool to allow her temperamental baking assistant to have that much control over her business.

     
    She checked him out through the peephole. Deon was a