Free His Sexy Bad Habit by Cheris Hodges Page B

said. “I just don’t want to spend the night in the emergency room because I fed him raw chicken.”
    The trio of Goings laughed. “At least you’re honest,” James said as he took a seat at the table.
    “Yeah, but what happens when your man wants you to cook for him in the morning?” Maurice asked as he pulled out his cell phone and punched in his wife, Kenya’s, number. “Hey baby.” He walked into the den to talk privately.
    “I have muffins,” she said. “Who said I’m going to allow him to spend the night?”
    James nodded and pointed from Serena to Maurice, who’d returned to the kitchen. “I think you two are related.”
    “All right,” Jade said, “stop giving my girl such a hard time. One day, she’s going to be happy to cook.”
    “When is that day going to come for you, babe?” James asked his wife. Jaden laughed and tugged at his father’s neck tie.
    Jade shot James a sultry look over her shoulder. “We both know you didn’t marry me for my cooking,” she cooed.
    James smiled at her shapely figure as she sauntered over to the stove. “Serena, you sure you can’t just order out?”
    “Sickening,” Serena said.
    Maurice laughed. “When are you going to join the club?” Maurice asked.
    Serena folded her arms across her chest. “Not you too?”
    “What?” Maurice asked. “As close as you and your girls are, I know you and Alicia are going to be walking down the aisle soon. That’s how you women do.”
    Serena rolled her eyes. “Maurice, every woman’s goal isn’t to be Mrs. Somebody. I’m happy with my life. I don’t need a husband.”
    Jade shook her head. “All right. We don’t need to start this right now,” she said.
    Jaden fell asleep in his father’s arms and James quietly rose from the table and took his son into the nursery.
    “I wasn’t trying to say you needed a man,” Maurice said. “But everybody is happier when they have someone to share their life with.”
    Serena turned away from him, hating that for the second time that day thoughts of Emerson popped into her mind. What if they had gotten married? Would she be happy like James and Jade, Maurice and Kenya, and Solomon and Kandace?
    No, he wasn’t the one for you. Maybe you need to start hanging out with more single people,
she thought.
    Maurice’s cell phone rang and he answered it as Serena headed over to the stove to watch what Jade was doing and to avoid further talk of marriage. “So,” Jade said as she poured three cups ofrice into a pot of boiling water. “You flashed everybody?”
    “It’s a good thing I had on a bra today,” Serena joked.
    “You’re a trip and lucky that I’m an understanding friend.”
    “Please, neither one of those men have eyes for anyone but their lovely wives. I wouldn’t have taken my shirt off had I known they were coming in,” she said.
    Jade nodded as she placed the broccoli in a pot then sprinkled a pinch of salt into the mix. “Girl, I know. What’s amazing to me is that Maurice is telling you about the joys of marriage.”
    “Can we please talk about something else?” Serena asked after sucking her teeth.
    Jade looked over Serena’s shoulder and saw that Maurice was in deep conversation. “Can I ask you a question? About L.A.?”
    “Jade,” Serena cautioned.
    “It’s been five years and you never talk about it. One minute you’re about to star in a movie and the next you’re on your way back to Atlanta.”
    “I went to L.A., chased a dream, came up with nothing, and returned to reality,” Serena said. “What more do you need to know?”
    “You’ve been different. When you left, you weren’t so cold to the idea of love,” she said.
    Serena yawned and rolled her eyes. “Do I need to cut up some chicken or something?”
    Jade laughed. “Right. You, cooking? You
really
don’t want to talk about L.A.”
    Maurice walked over to them and said, “Who’s going to L.A.?”
    “Nobody,” Jade said.
    “Well, I’m out of here. Kenya sends