His hand brushed her dainty, French-manicured one as he took the pink card from her. Her skin was warm and he had the urge to travel his fingers along the rest of her. He cleared his throat and read the card before he acted on his thoughts.
“Sweet Treats.” Broderick pondered for a moment as he noticed the bride’s twin sister, who was also his interior decorator, wave in their direction. Apparently Tiffani was needed for something as she nodded and held up a finger to signal she’d be there in a moment.
“Before you go, I’m having a get-together for some business associates at my home next week. Can you make some of these delicious cupcakes for me?”
“Why, of course. My information is on the card including my website, which has a list of desserts and prices.”
“Great. I’ll have my secretary call you on Monday.”
Her face scrunched for a second but perked back up. Was she disappointed that he wouldn’t be the one calling? Making arrangements for events wasn’t something he typically did, but a jab pierced his heart for a moment when her lovely face saddened.
“I’m closed on Sunday and Mondays, but I’ll be there Monday morning preparing for an order.” She looked past him once more. “I have to go. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Hollingsworth.” She rushed off before he could say goodbye. He watched her and the other bridesmaids hurry through the main entrance.
His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Retrieving it, he read the text message on the screen. It was his business manager, Josh Powell reminding him of the networking social he was supposed to be attending that very moment. His intention had been to leave after the wedding ceremony, but that was before he’d laid eyes on Tiffani and wanted to see her once more. Luckily, the other event was only a few blocks up on Peachtree Road in the Buckhead district, and he sent a message back that he would be there in twenty minutes.
Broderick bid his goodbyes to the newlyweds and thanked them for inviting him. As he walked out of the ballroom, he spotted Tiffani heading back inside. He caught her eyes as she graced him with the sweetest smile a woman had given him since his mother had died. He put a little more pep in his step as he trekked to the valet stand. He knew he had to see Tiffani and her breathtaking smile again.
* * *
“So I noticed you were having an in-depth conversation with Broderick Hollingsworth. I almost hated to interrupt you,” Megan Chase-Monroe stated as she and Tiffani headed back to their seats at the bridal party table. “Is there a date in the near future? That was some smile you gave him.”
Plopping into a purple tulle-covered chair, Tiffani glanced at her baby cousin out the corner of her eye. “No. No date. He wants to order cupcakes for an event he’s having. That’s all.”
Megan scrunched her forehead and frowned. “Cupcakes for an event? Broderick is the last man on Earth who would care about ordering anything. He’s one of those millionaires who has a ton of staff at his beck and call. He’s sort of standoffish and serious most of the time. Everything is business with him. Perhaps he wanted your number, hence the ordering of the cupcakes,” she stated with a beaming face. Megan was the hopeless romantic of the family and wanted everyone to be in love and happy.
“He was definitely flirting with me but he was pleasant.” And so sexy, she added in her head. “He said his secretary would call. How do you know him?”
“He’s a real estate developer and investor. I’ve decorated a plethora of projects for him including his mansion and beach home.”
Tiffani nodded and tried to keep her focus on the bride and groom’s first dance, but her thoughts drifted back to the man whose charming smile nearly knocked her over when he turned around. She wasn’t expecting a handsome man with a commanding demeanor who outshined every other male in the room. He had a yummy, smooth, butterscotch-toned face with a neatly trimmed beard and mustache that surrounded his sexy lips. He’d had a little icing on the corner of his mouth and she’d had to restrain herself from reaching over and wiping it off...with her tongue. When he’d swished his tongue over, she’d nearly melted in a steaming puddle at his feet.
She couldn’t believe her thought process. Sure, she’d oohed and aahed over men, but they were famous men on the movie screen like Denzel Washington or George Clooney. Never in person to the point of blushing. Tiffani was almost certain her cheeks had turned a rosy pink, and more than likely he’d noticed. She was disappointed when she saw him leave and had hoped perhaps he was just stepping out for a moment. However, she’d glanced over her shoulder before going back into the ballroom to see him handing a slip to the valet.
“Can you believe Sydney actually changed out of her wedding dress and into a white leather jacket and pants?” Megan asked. “I had no idea she was going to do that.”
Megan’s question jolted Tiffani from her thoughts, and she was grateful. Daydreaming about a man she would never see again wasn’t on her agenda. No need in getting all hot and bothered for nothing. If he’d wanted to ask her out he would’ve. Apparently he wasn’t interested. Not that she was, but there was a mystery about him she found intriguing, especially now that she’d learned from Megan he was standoffish. He hadn’t exhibited that. Her experience with him had been quite the opposite.
“I don’t know why you’re surprised. Your twin zoomed in here on the back of a Harley. At least she still wore her veil and had her bouquet.”
“Almost time for the bouquet toss,” Megan sung in an upbeat manner.
Here we go again, Tiffani thought. At age thirty-two, she wasn’t in the mindset to concern herself with catching bouquets. Yes, she was single but, considering she never wanted to marry again, there wasn’t any point in rushing to the dance floor. Especially with a bunch of women who had the preconceived fairy-tale notion that they would be the next to marry if they were lucky enough to catch the bouquet.
“I’ll let the young single ladies who really want to get married claw over a bunch of roses.”
“Tiff, you’re still young. I know you continue to say that you don’t want to ever marry again, though you never know. You remember when Raven confided in us after her husband died that she was done with marriage? Well, now she’s happily married again. It can happen. You never know what is in store for you.”
Tiffani gazed out onto the floor as her cousin Raven Arrington-Phillips and her husband, Armand, danced. The DJ had just instructed that everyone join the bride and groom for the Electric Slide. True, her cousin had found love again after losing her husband, but their situations were completely different. Raven had been devastatingly heartbroken and never thought she could love again.
Annoyed with the topic, Tiffani sighed and turned toward Megan. “You know the real reason why I’ve decided not to, so let’s just drop it.”
Megan nodded and patted Tiffani’s hand. “Okay, end of discussion.”
Satisfied with her cousin’s answer, Tiffani excused herself to make sure everything was set for the cake cuttings. She already knew it was because she’d checked just before she had met Broderick, but she needed a moment alone. Being reminded of her marriage from hell was always a sore subject.
Later on that night, the conversation with Megan still lingered in Tiffani’s mind when she kissed her son’s forehead as he slept. Tiffani knew she meant well, but Megan wasn’t the one who had been married to a controlling as well as verbally and mentally abusive man. The thought of having to live through that again wasn’t a life she desired. She was at peace and happier than she’d been in a long time. Plus, the fact that a handsome man had flirted with her that evening reminded her that men still found her attractive. Although she never wanted to remarry, she wasn’t closed off from dating.
Retreating to her bedroom, she grabbed her laptop from under the bed and posted a few pictures she’d taken at the wedding and some selfies with KJ to her blog “My New Life.” She’d started it a year after