No Other Lover Will Do. Cheris Hodges

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СКАЧАТЬ family’s hotel empire. The Crawford chain of hotels and resorts stretched across the United States and Canada.

      Three years ago, Solomon had been handed the reins to the business when Cynthia and Elliot Crawford retired from the hospitality business. His older brother, Richmond, was super pissed when he was passed over to run the business. Richmond was forty years old and thought he knew more about running a hotel business than “the little playboy.”

      But at age thirty-five, Solomon had been more than ready to take charge. Solomon knew the only way to shut Richmond up was to take the business to the next level and that he did with the help of his bright business partner Carmen De La Croix. Carmen talked him into investing in resorts and making the Crawford name synonymous with deluxe vacation resorts. Of course, Richmond thought this was a bad idea until they turned a million-dollar profit in the first quarter. And the money kept rolling in. Solomon knew he’d be lost without Carmen. She was the only woman he was able to talk to and trust. She didn’t want anything from him and he liked that. Why couldn’t the women he slept with be more like that? Solomon Crawford wasn’t going to give anyone a diamond and a happily ever after—that wasn’t the Crawford way.

      Despite the hour, Solomon picked up his BlackBerry and dialed his business partner and best friend, Carmen De La Croix. She had to hear about his night.

      Kandace Davis was tired of waking up in the cramped office of the restaurant she owned with her three best friends, Jade Christian-Goings, Serena Jacobs, and Alicia Michaels. Glancing at the clock on her computer, she saw that it was nearly six A.M. “Damn,” she muttered. “I did it again.”

      Kandace knew she had to get out of the restaurant before Jade came in, because she wasn’t in the mood for another lecture. She picked up her leather bag and was about to stand up…too late.

      “Kandace, you’d better not be in this office,” Jade said as the door swung open.

      “I just got here,” Kandace lied.

      “Umm-hmm, wearing yesterday’s clothes?” Jade shook her head as she looked at her friend.

      “I picked up these extra hours because you just had a baby. Why are you here?”

      “Because James and Maurice are doing the ‘daddy thing’ today,” she said referring to her husband, James and his brother. Kandace smiled remembering how Jade and James brought their son into the world just a few months after Maurice and his wife Kenya had welcomed their daughter into the family. Kandace was happy that despite the unconventional way Jade and James became husband and wife, hooking up in Las Vegas of all places, they seemed happy.

      “So,” Kandace asked, “since James and Maurice have the kids, what are you and Kenya going to do with yourselves?”

      Jade clasped her hands together. “Kenya and I can actually do something other than lactate for a few hours. I’ve never worked the breakfast shift and…wait, this isn’t about me. You need a break.” Jade perched on the edge of Kandace’s desk. “You’ve been in Charlotte for six months and I know you love Atlanta. I’ve leaned on you so much, it’s surprising that you haven’t broken in half. This place is up and running, you’ve gotten us publicity all over the place. So, the girls and I decided…”

      “Now you guys are making decisions about my life?” Kandace asked with a terse laugh.

      “Yeah, because you won’t,” Jade shot back. “We’re voting you off the island for two weeks. Go on vacation. You’ve got to relax. Everybody around here has noticed how tense you are. If you’re trying to prove to Devon Harris that you’re a capable businesswoman who no longer wants his cheating butt, mission accomplished.”

      Kandace stifled a yawn. “Since you chicks are making decisions, are y’all paying?”

      Jade folded her arms underneath her full breasts. “Now you’re just being ridiculous,” she said. “I don’t care where you go, but I don’t want to see you for two weeks!”

      Kandace knew Jade meant well and she rose to her feet and gave her friend a kiss on the cheek. “All right,” she said. “But you guys are going to miss me. I’m leaving my cell phone, laptop, and everything right here.”

      “Good,” Jade said. “Maybe while you’re on vacation you’ll have a little fun and get your feet wet.”

      “Whatever. All of us don’t find Mr. Right on vacation like you did,” Kandace said as she gathered her things.

      Jade smiled and glanced down at her wedding band. “Yes, I was lucky in vacation love. I just hope you get lucky.”

      “I think I’m going to go somewhere and be pampered for two weeks. Then you all can eat your hearts out while you’re here slaving away. And I don’t need to get lucky, thank you very much.”

      Jade waved to her friend, “Kick rocks, chick,” she joked.

      As Kandace headed to her car, she thought about what Jade had said. Over the last six months, she had poured herself into her work because she had nothing else. Her life was all work because at home, Kandace had a big empty bed waiting for her and she was tired of it. Kandace hadn’t been with a man in a year. Her last relationship ended when she decided that she’d wanted something serious. Robert Harrington was happy with the sex, the nice things that Kandace did for him, but he wasn’t willing to take their relationship to the next level. After watching Jade get married, Kandace wanted her own marriage but Robert wanted no part of it.

      “What’s wrong with the way we are?” he’d asked when she’d broached the subject of marriage before she moved to Charlotte.

      “I want to know that we’re moving toward a future,” she’d said. “Is that too much to ask?”

      “This is just like a woman. Your girl gets married and then you think it’s your turn to walk down the aisle. I don’t want to get married.”

      “All right,” Kandace had calmly replied. “If you don’t want to get married, then I don’t want to have sex with you. I don’t want to do your damned laundry and I don’t want to waste any more of my time.”

      Robert had promptly walked out of her penthouse. Kandace had packed for Charlotte and never looked back. If she’d been honest with herself, she would’ve admitted that Robert wasn’t the man she needed to marry. He was selfish, he tried to be controlling, and he lacked passion in bed and in life. Of course Robert hadn’t wanted things to change. He liked being in a rut, but Kandace had grown tired of it.

      She knew for a while that her relationship had been a dead end, had actually realized it over a year ago. But because she had been comfortable with him, she stuck around until she saw what a real and passionate relationship looked like. Jade and James had inspired her to seek something better and real in her relationships. Maybe pressing Robert about marriage had been her way of ending the relationship.

      Yeah, she needed a vacation. But more than anything else, she needed some sleep. Kandace drove to her uptown townhouse and for once, she was happy her bed was empty.

      CHAPTER 2

      Solomon woke up on Carmen’s sofa to the smell of bacon, cheese eggs, and grits. When he’d called her the night before and started telling her about the boring model, Carmen invited him over for breakfast.

      “Have you ever stayed with СКАЧАТЬ