Her Man: An Interracial Romance (The Bentini Brothers Book 2) by Jaye McCloud Page A

pretend
that I’m not hurting, when I am.”  Seeing her pain, I offer, “Kathy you can
leave and I’ll cover for you.  There can’t be that much to see to and between
Michael Elliot, Gabby, Antonio and myself; there shouldn’t be any problem that
we can’t handle.”  Kathy hugs me again but declines my offer saying, “No, I’m
not going to let his being an asshole get in the way of me doing my job.”
     
         By eleven-thirty, the club is filling up and some
of the siblings are in place.  Robert and his wife, Angela, arrive with
Nicholas and his wife, Maria.  They compliment Gabby, Kathy and me on the party
theme, decorations and lavish setup.  Gabby glows, soaking up the praise.  Kath
and I exchange secretly amused smiles, watching her escort her family to their
place of honor in the VIP section of the club.  I catch sight of Antonio making
his way over to the VIP section to greet his family.  A commotion at the door
draws my attention to a group of well- dressed young adults apparently ready to
party.  As they walk further into the club, one of the girls break away from
her friends and dashes in our direction.  “Kaaathriiine!”  She squeals as she
laughingly throws her arms around Kathy’s neck.  Feeling kind of awkward, I
step back to give them space and notice that one of the young men has veered
off from the group and has followed the young lady, who is talking to Kathy so
excitedly.
         “Hi, you must be Ti?”  I’m totally caught off
guard when he addresses me…especially by a name that only family and close
friends use.  But it doesn’t take more than a second to realize who he is. 
“And you must be Christopher Bentini?”  I ask with a genuine smile of greeting. 
I recall that Mrs. Bentini mentioned that her youngest son, Christopher, is in
his last year of college and that her baby, Luciana, is thriving in her second
year.
         “Oh my goodness!  I’m so sorry Tiressa…how
rude of me.”  Kathy turns to me apologizing with embarrassment.  “Ana and Chris
I’d like to introduce you to my friend and partner, Tiressa Hawkins…your
mother’s new PA.”  Then turning to me she says, “Ti, I’d like to introduce you
to the soon to be newest rising stars of the Bentini family, Luciana and
Christopher Bentini.”  We shake hands, and I’m wondering why brother and sister
are looking me over and shooting each other mysterious looks.  After a few
minutes, Gabby takes them to the VIP section.  Kathy turns to me and says, “I
bet they don’t stay there longer than they have to.” 
         We circulate for a good twenty minutes,
helping the event planner keep things on track.  The music is a little louder
and the DJ is doing a great job playing a mix of pop, rock and rap –the clean
versions.  As Kathy and I are walking around the club, I’m full of vibrant
energy; I haven’t been in a club in months…I’m looking good and feeling
better.  More than a few men are hitting on me, but I don’t have any problem
getting rid of them…My man is the only man I’m interested in.
     
         Jason and Adam Bentini enter the club around
midnight, smiling like beloved young Greek gods returning from Mount Olympus. 
Everyone gets to their feet and applaud enthusiastically as they make their way
to the raised dais—built especially for this party—just beyond the dance floor. 
Now, the party really gets turned up.  The DJ is in full DJ mode and the music
is louder, the alcohol is flowing, and lots of people are out on the dance
floor.  All in all, everyone appears to be having a good time, especially the
twins. 
         As I go to stand near the club entrance, I
break out into a big toothy grin because coming through the door and walking in
my direction are my sister Mya, my cousin Danece, Rachael, Frank, Carmen, Janette
and Brian.  I’ve been so busy that I haven’t seen my girlz in a good long
minute –not since the B&S picnic and Janette