Riding the Storm - Brenda Jackson [58]
He closed his eyes and remembered the scene that had played out in Jayla’s living room last night. The woman he loved was planning to let another man get her pregnant only because she was convinced there wasn’t a Mr. Right for her. She actually believed there wasn’t a man who could and would understand her need to be in control of her life.
He opened his eyes and glanced down at his watch. According to that letter he’d read last night, she had a physical at nine this morning at that fertility clinic. After the physical, it would probably be two to three weeks before the actual procedure could be performed. Hopefully that would give him time to convince Jayla that he really did love her, and that he would satisfy all her needs, including her need to remain independent…to a certain degree. Changing his conventional views wouldn’t be something he could do overnight, but it was something he could definitely work on, especially for Jayla.
The most important thing was to show her that he was the right man for her. The only man for her. For the second time since returning from New Orleans, the old fortune teller’s words crept into his thoughts.
You should keep your sights high, be patient and let destiny take its course.
He smiled. Perhaps the old woman hadn’t been a flake after all and had known exactly what she’d been talking about. Tomorrow was the night of the charity benefit and because of her involvement, he knew Jayla would be there. He would start wooing her with the intensity of a man who had one single goal in his mind.
To win the love of the woman he intended to marry.
“You can go ahead and get dressed, Ms. Cole,” the nurse said smiling. “The doctor will return in a few minutes to go over the results of your tests.”
“Thanks.”
Jayla sighed deeply as she began putting her clothes back on. She’d had a sleepless night and hadn’t been as excited about the appointment this morning as much as she’d wanted to be because of thoughts of Storm. And it hadn’t helped matters that she’d been crying most of the morning.
She walked over to the mirror in the room and looked at herself. She looked pathetic. Her reflection revealed a woman who was truly drowning in her own misery. And it was a misery well deserved. Even Lisa hadn’t given her any slack when she’d called this morning and she’d told her about the argument she’d had with Storm. And when she’d mentioned that Storm had told her that he loved her and wanted to marry her, her best friend had actually gone off on her. But then, what was a best friend for if she couldn’t give you hell when you needed it?
The sad thing about it was that everything both Storm and Lisa had said was true. She wouldn’t recognize her Mr. Right if he came to stand right in front of her.
She sighed deeply as she slipped back into her panty hose. So what if Storm was one of those men who wanted to take care of his woman? Wasn’t it better to have a man who wanted to take care of you than to have a man who expected you to take care of him? And was it so awful that he was a little on the conventional side? She would be the first to admit that she found some of his old-fashioned ways sweet. Besides, if his conventional way of thinking became too much for her, couldn’t she just make it her business to modernize him? And so what if he had ways like her father? Adam Cole had been a great parent and a part of her could now say she appreciated her strict upbringing. A couple of the girls she had wanted to hang around with in high school had either gotten pregnant before graduating or had gotten mixed up with drugs.
Upon waking this morning, it had taken several hours of wallowing in self-pity,