Reckless 2

Book 2: Reckless

by Keisha Ervin

Genres: African American Urban; African American Women's Fiction

Synopsis

After everything Farrah's been through, it's safe to say things are finally going her way. Her company, Glam Squad, has skyrocketed, and her career as a celebrity stylist has taken off faster than she can keep up. Partnering with her best friend London, she has styled and done makeup for multiple celebrities. The unstoppable duo is working hard and getting paid! On the personal side, Farrah is happier than ever. Despite everything Mills put her through, she made the right choice when she decided to give him a second chance. Mills has made up for all the lying and sneaking around he did behind her back, and he treats her like a queen. After months of bliss, he has made Farrah's dreams come true by asking her to marry him. On top of the world, Farrah is busy planning her wedding. Unbeknownst to her, however, Mills has been keeping a dark secret that will destroy everything if she finds out. Mills has been giving his ex-girlfriend Jade money to keep her quiet and take care of the baby she claims is his. He plans on taking a paternity test, but his busy schedule keeps getting in the way. In the meantime, he is doing everything in his power to keep Farrah from finding out he's cheated. Everything comes crashing down when Farrah finds out about what Mills has been up to, but she gives in to his begging and goes through with the wedding. Once they're married, things just keep getting worse as Mills keeps putting off the paternity test. He's been seeing a lot more of Jade and baby Jaysin, who looks a lot like Mills. Farrah, feeling confused and betrayed, decides to focus on her career. While on a business trip to Paris, she finds herself falling for a rapper named J.R. She still loves Mills, but after what he did to her, she's not sure their marriage will last. People always say you can't help who you love, but what happens when love gets all tangled up and no one seems to know how to set it straight? Will true love prevail, or will it break under all the lies?

Release date: September 1, 2014

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 304

Sample

Every girl dreams of that Sex and the City moment where Mr. Big rushes to Paris to declare his undying love for Carrie, finds her, rescues her from the evil Russian, and kisses her tears away. Shortly thereafter they walk hand in hand into a life filled with Manolos, candlelit dinners, and bliss. Eight months ago Farrah James’s Mr. Big, Corey Mills, aka Mills, made all of her dreams come true when he got down on one knee and put a ring on her finger. Now she was on top of the world.

Her company, Glam Squad, which she co-owned with her bestie London, was skyrocketing. Together they’d styled and done makeup for Lana Del Rey, Solange Knowles, and Rihanna. They’d even styled Lady Gaga for Vanity Fair’s September issue and dressed Emma Stone for the Oscars. On top of her career successes, she and Mills were planning their star-studded multimillion-dollar wedding, house hunting, and she was considering getting pregnant again.

After a bitter breakup, Farrah aborted their first baby, but now she was more than ready to bear Mills’s child. On the outside looking in, Farrah and Mills’s relationship was destined to fail. For three years she’d dated Mills’s best friend, Khalil, but after years of dealing with his alcoholic and mindless behavior, Farrah broke things off. Distraught over their breakup, she found solace in Mills’s friendship. Over time it turned romantic, despite the fact that Mills was in a six-year relationship with his then girlfriend, Jade.

After tiring of trying to make his failing relationship work, Mills left Jade and instantly made Farrah his new woman, disregarding his doubts that they could really make it work. Soon Mills’s fears came into fruition when, drunkenly one night, he slept with Jade. Mills was so torn up over his infidelity that when he assumed Farrah was cheating on him with Khalil, he kicked her out of his crib. He then went on to not speak to her for weeks, although she’d told him she was pregnant.

With nowhere to turn, Farrah did what she felt was best at the time and aborted their child. However, weeks later, after Mills learned that Jade had been cheating on him for the last year of their relationship, he begged for Farrah’s forgiveness and won her back. Now eight months later, she was sitting on cloud nine. Little did Farrah know, at any moment the floor was sure to fall from beneath her feet.

It was half past one and she’d been stalling celebrity wedding planner, Adore Phillips, for over thirty minutes. They had a ton of things to discuss, but none more important than the all- time-consuming seating chart. With the wedding only a month and a half away, she and Mills had to finalize who would sit where. Farrah tapped her black five-inch Louboutin Pigalle heels against the floor and eyed her watch again nervously.

She was supposed to be concentrating on the words coming out of Adore’s mouth, but they fell on deaf ears. All she could think about was Mills. He knew how important this particular meeting with their wedding planner was. I’m gonna kill him, she thought to herself as Adore showed her pictures of the finalized menu cards.

“Excuse me, Adore. Do you mind if I give Mills a call? He should’ve been here by now.”

“Sure thing, hon.” Adore eased back out of her chair. “Just tell him to get his butt over here quick. I have a two o’clock appointment with Brad and Angelina.”

“Okay,” Farrah said, nodding.

“I’ma grab me a cappuccino. Would you like one?” Adore asked.

“No. Thank you. They give me headaches,” Farrah politely declined.

“Okay.” Adore closed the door behind her.

As soon as the coast was clear, Farrah picked up her phone and called Mills. To her surprise he answered on the first ring.

“What up?”

“Where are you?” she hissed.

“Stuck in traffic,” Mills groaned.

“Which highway did you take?”

“I’m on Forty.”

“Oh, my god.” Farrah massaged her forehead. “Are you kidding me? How far away are you? Adore has another appointment at two o’clock.”

“I’m going as fast as I can, Farrah,” Mills sighed. “Just give me a minute.”

“Okay, but hurry up.” Farrah ended the call.

“Did you reach him?” Adore reentered the room with her cappuccino in hand.

“Yeah, he’s on his way. He’s just stuck in traffic. He’ll be here any minute,” Farrah assured.

Unbeknown to Farrah, Mills was not stuck in traffic. He was actually at Forest Park. Forest Park is one of St. Louis’s largest and oldest parks. It was massive, so he didn’t have to worry about anybody spotting him. Sitting anxiously on a park bench, he awaited his ex Jade’s arrival. For the past eight months he’d been telling lie after lie. With the way things were going it didn’t look like the lies were going to stop anytime soon. He couldn’t fathom how not telling Farrah about his infidelity would lead to him living a double life. Since the night Jade called and dropped the bomb that she was pregnant, Mills had been secretly keeping in contact with her.

Since there was a huge possibility that Jade’s baby was his, and he didn’t want Farrah to find out that he’d cheated, Mills made sure that Jade’s housing and medical bills were paid. He’d even gone to visit her after she’d given birth to a baby girl she’d proudly named Jaysin Cori Mills. Mills couldn’t see any resemblance between him and Jaysin, but he’d continued to support Jade financially until his paternity test was done. His schedule was all booked up until after the wedding, so he’d already decided to take the paternity test after his and Farrah’s honeymoon.

Mills had mixed feeling about taking the paternity test. A part of him just wanted to get the results so he could move on with his life and figure out what he needed to do next. But another part of him was afraid to find out the truth. If Jaysin was his, he had no idea if or how to tell Farrah. There was no way Farrah would stay with him and Mills couldn’t have that. He’d worked too hard to win her trust back. For Mills, ending up alone seemed inevitable if he was the father. Mills was, overall, anxious about getting the paternity test done, so he could find the much-needed air to breathe or a shovel to dig his own grave.

As a slight October breeze swept over his skin, he spotted Jade in the distance. She walked with all of her weight shifted to the right because of the pumpkin seat in her right hand. Although Mills no longer looked at Jade in a loving or sexual way, he couldn’t deny her beauty. Even after having a baby, sex appeal still dripped from her pores. Jade was made for the camera. She was aesthetically perfect. She stood five feet nine and her measurements were a dick- hardening 34-24-38.

Her butter-colored skin, blond buzz cut, full mouth, curvaceous hips, and ample behind made men and women turn their heads. But Mills wasn’t fooled by her good looks. He knew what lay behind the surface was a self-centered, coldhearted bitch.

“Hey,” she said, sitting the pumpkin seat down on the bench next to him.

“What’s up?” Mills replied, drily.

“It’s a little chilly out today, isn’t it?” Jade rubbed her hands against her arms to create body heat.

“Yeah.” Mills reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a check. “Here.” He held it out.

Jade eyed him and shook her head. Since Jaysin had been born, it was the same routine every month. They’d meet in the park, he’d hand her a check, then bounce. Mills didn’t try to hold the baby or ask how she was doing or anything of the sort. It was like neither of them existed. It was bad enough that she had to go through her entire pregnancy alone. Jade figured that once the baby was born, Mills would come around, but she was sadly mistaken.

Mills didn’t have anything for her but a check to keep her quiet and an attitude. Yes, she’d done him dirty and broken his heart and for the rest of her life Jade would regret her actions, but their daughter didn’t have to pay for her transgressions. Jaysin deserved better. She was Jade’s greatest accomplishment. From the moment she was born, Jade made a vow to be a better person.

Her needs no longer mattered. Everything she did was for Jaysin. She just wished that Mills felt the same. Jade slipped the check from Mills’s fingertips and read it. Her heart instantly dropped to the pit of her stomach. The check was only for a grand.

“Listen.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not tryin’ to be a bitch or get all off into your pockets, but this is not enough. I need more money.”

“Excuse me?” Mills screwed up his face.

“Don’t even start all of that.” Jade tried to reason. “All I’m sayin’ is this is not enough to cover the bills, Jaysin’s doctor bills, formula, Pampers, and putting food in the house. It takes a lot to take care of her, Mills. I just need a little bit more money every month.”

“You got a lot of nerve,” Mills chuckled. “You need to be happy that I’m even giving you that. ’Cause I don’t see that other nigga giving you a dime.”

Mills referred to NBA star Tyrin Rhodes, aka Rock, whom Jade had cheated on him with.

“Why would he?” Jade countered, becoming pissed. “She’s not his daughter.”

“That’s to be determined,” Mills scoffed.

“Are you kidding me? She looks just like you.” Jade snatched back the blanket that was covering Jaysin’s face.

Mill looked at the three-month-old baby out of the corner of his eye and saw bits of himself staring back at him. She was a gorgeous baby girl who held most of her mother’s exotic looks, but her smoldering brown eyes and deep dimples reminded her of him.

“Like I said—” Mills sat up straight. “I don’t know if that’s my baby and neither do you.”

“Oh, my god, you are unbelievable,” Jade said in disbelief. “You know that she’s your daughter. You just don’t wanna step up and take responsibility ’cause you haven’t told your so- called fiancée yet.”

“What you mean, so—called fiancée?” Mills ice grilled her. “She is my fiancée and we’re getting married in a month and a half, as a matter of fact.”

“And that’s fine Mills,” Jade stressed. “I’m happy for you, but you need to acknowledge your daughter. I need your help and the money that you’re giving me is not enough.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, ’cause I’m not giving you no more money. You can forget that.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Jade shrilled.

“How about get a job?” Mills shot.

“I can’t. I don’t have anybody to watch her.” Jade felt her face become hot.

Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. There was a time when Mills would have never talked to her like this. He used to be sweet to her, but those days were long gone and Jade had no one to blame but herself.

“That’s your problem. And just to let you know, when I get back from my honeymoon we gon’ get all of this straight once and for all.”

“Get what straight?” Jade furrowed her brows, confused.

“I’ma get a paternity test done.”

“Wow,” Jade said, stunned.

“I don’t know what you sayin’ wow for. Let’s not pretend that you weren’t fuckin’ another nigga behind my back, let alone in my bed,” Mills barked.

“Whateva, Mills,” Jade said, waving him off. “Do what you gotta do, ’cause I’ma do what I gotta do.”

“You do that, then.” Mills stood up and placed on his shades.

As Mills walked down the trail leading to his car, Jade sat staring out into the open space. When she’d awakened that morning she hadn’t suspected that things would end up this way. Mills was angry and bitter and he had every right to be. But Jade had to do what was best for her daughter, even if that meant taking things into her own hands and calling Mills’s bluff.

Twenty minutes later Mills pulled into the parking lot of Adore’s office building, only to see Farrah angrily stomping toward her car. Her long hair blew in the wind as the heel of her Louboutins clicked loudly against the pavement.

“Bay!” He placed his car into park and hopped out.

Farrah stopped mid-stride and spun around.

“What?” she huffed.

“Where you going?”

“Where does it look like I’m going? I’m going back to work.” She resumed walking toward her car.

“Come here, man,” Mills yelled from across the lot.

Farrah rolled her eyes to the sky and strutted over to him. Mills’s dick instantly got hard as he watched her small hips sway underneath the glow of the afternoon sun. She was the quintessential new-age Marilyn Monroe. Everything about her was timeless and unique. Farrah was a pint-sized beauty.

She reached only five feet three in and weighed only 105 pounds. Her sun-kissed skin reminded him of gold. Her light brown, slanted eyes, button nose, pink, pouty lips, and Sports Illustrated physique turned Mills on to the fullest. Being in the fashion industry, Farrah had an edgy swag to her that most women could never possess. She rocked both sides of her long, silky black hair shaved like Cassie and an array of small tattoos that only Mills had the pleasure of being able to find.

That day she rocked a black, sleeveless, studded T-shirt, which highlighted her black lace bra and the tightest pair of paisley-print skinny-leg jeans Mills had ever seen. His chick was the baddest and every time she stepped foot onto the scene, she murdered bitches. Mills loved her tremendously and couldn’t wait until the day he made her his wife.

“What?” Farrah folded her arms across her chest and stepped into his personal space.

Mills had no place to go. She had him trapped. His back was pressed up against the driver-side door of his car and the death glare she was giving him had him sweating bullets.

“You mad at me?” He looked lovingly into her eyes and tried to pull her close.

“Is that what you called me all the way over here for?” Farrah snapped, slapping his hands away.

“I’ma take that as a yes,” Mills chuckled.

“I don’t see nothin’ funny. Where were you?” Farrah rolled her neck.

“I told you. I was stuck in traffic.”

“You’re lyin’,” Farrah squinted her eyes. “You weren’t stuck in no damn traffic.”

“How you figure that?” Mills tuned up his face.

“’Cause I checked and there was no traffic on highway Forty. Now tell the truth. Where were you?” Farrah asked sternly.

“Damn,” Mills cocked his head back. “What are you, the police?”

“I might as well be since you hiding shit from me,” Farrah shot.

“Trust me, I had every intention on coming. I just got caught up.” Mills took her by the hand and tried pulling her close again.

“Caught up doing what?” Farrah allowed him to hold her this time. “’Cause I know whatever you were doing wasn’t more important than this.”

“If you must know, I was tryin’ to plan a surprise for you li’l nosy-ass girl.” Mills lied to cover his tracks.

“A surprise?” Farrah looked at him sideways.

“Yeah.” Mills tried to sound convincing.

“Mmm-hmm.” Farrah pursed her lips, not fully believing him. “Well, you missed everything. I had to finalize the seating chart without you, so I don’t wanna hear no shit about why I got yo’ mama sitting right next to yo’ daddy.”

“I promise I ain’t gon’ say shit,” Mills said, laughing.

“Do you see me laughing? You know, it’s bad enough that I’ve been practically planning this wedding by myself. You could’ve shown up today, Corey. That’s the one thing I asked you to do and you couldn’t even do that,” Farrah said, visibly upset.

“You need to go head wit’ all that. Who you think payin’ for all this shit?” Mills snapped. “If I don’t bust my ass doing all of these tournaments and fuckin’ commercials and shit, there won’t be no wedding.”

Mills was a pro-BMX rider. He was so good at his job that he had endorsement deals with Mountain Dew, Gatorade, and Nike. His dashing good looks only added to his success. He’d done print ads for the Gap and H&M. Women went crazy over him, especially Farrah. She loved that he towered over her. Mills stood at six feet two and possessed butter-colored skin. He donned a low cut, thick eyebrows, mesmerizing brown eyes, chiseled cheekbones, kissable pink lips, and a goatee. His entire upper body was filled with tattoos and every time he flashed his megawatt smile that exposed his dimples, Farrah melted.

“Are you sure you even want to marry me?” she asked suddenly.

“Don’t talk stupid.” Mills looked at her like she was crazy.

“No, I’m serious, ’cause lately you’ve been actin’ hella strange and I don’t know what to think.” Farrah spoke a mile a minute. “I’m tryin’ my best to make this wedding perfect, make sure all of my clients are happy, find a new house, and make sure that me and you are good, but I can’t do everything—”

“Shhhh,” Mills stopped her mid-sentence and placed his index finger up to her lips.

“Nobody asked you to do everything. You gon’ fuck around and make yourself sick stressing over this shit. The wedding and none of that other stuff matters. All that matters is that me and you are together.”

“But—”

“But nothing, li’l hardheaded girl. Look, can we just take a minute and breathe?” Mills gazed into her eyes.

Farrah knew he was right. She had to calm down. With the deafening sound of the city streets behind them, she let all of her anxieties fade away and rested her head on Mills’s chest. In his arms, she always felt safe. He was her best friend. She trusted him with her life. Being with Mills gave her a reason to live another day.

The love Farrah felt for him went deeper than mere words. When they took these moments just to relish each other’s presence, she was reminded of why she was marrying him. He was her everything and without him she didn’t know if she could go on, so she said a silent prayer to God, asking that he never take him away.

Mills and Farrah’s wedding was only a few weeks away and it was the night of their joint bachelor-bachelorette party. They were having the event at the Jumping Jupiter, which was a live-entertainment performance venue. The Jumping Jupiter offered burlesque, fire-juggler, and acrobatic performances. As soon as their guest walked in they felt as if they’d been transported back in time to a place where liquor was illegal and being naughty was a sin.

Farrah couldn’t have been more pleased with the space. Crystal chandeliers and velvet curtains hung from the ceilings. That night she and Mills, along with a fifty of their closest and dearest friends, had the entire place all to themselves. Everyone was mesmerized by the vaudeville decor and tantalizing men and women who hit the stage. While their guests enjoyed the mouthwatering food and breathtaking performances, Farrah sat off to the side by herself.

She slowly sipped on a glass of ginger ale while their guest sipped on chilled glasses of Perrier-Jouët that had been specially flown in for the event. With all of the laughter and music surrounding her, Farrah found it hard to fully enjoy herself. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Mills. He was killin’ every dude in the spot. His swag was impeccable. Mills was rockin’ the hell out of a black custom Tom Ford fitted blazer, black T-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of Air Jordan 3’s. To cap off the look, he got his 2 Chainz on and rocked two gold rope chains.

But his well-put-together ensemble wasn’t what had Farrah trippin’; it was the look of fear that hid behind his eyes that had her shook. She could feel his energy from fifty feet away. She could tell just by looking at him that he had a lot on his mind and that it had nothing to do with work or their wedding day. Farrah wished that she could pinpoint exactly what was stressing him. But no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find the location of his agony. It didn’t help that every time she asked what the problem was, he got upset and emotionally pushed her away.

All Farrah wanted was to fix him, because they couldn’t go into their marriage with things the way they were. She’d already begun to make things up in her mind, like he was cheating or wanted to back out of the wedding, but didn’t know how to tell her. Farrah took a deep breath and exhaled all of her worries. Mills loves me, she reminded herself.

No relationship was easy and she and Mills were just going through a rough patch. Things would get better. Besides, leaving him wasn’t an option. Farrah was in it for the long haul. She just prayed that whatever the problem was wouldn’t break him—or better yet, them.

“What’s wrong wit’ you?” London plopped down beside her.

“Nothing.” Farrah shot her a small smile.

“Who you think you foolin’?” London arched her eyebrow. “This is me. I know you better than you know yourself.”

“Ugh. I hate that you know me so well.” Farrah hung her head and laughed.

“Then stop frontin’ and tell Mama what’s wrong.” London nudged her with her shoulder.

“I don’t know. I might be trippin,’ but I just feel like it’s something going on with Mills.”

“Like what?” London took a small sip of her drink.

“I don’t know.” Farrah shrugged her shoulders. “He won’t tell me, but I know it’s something.”

“I personally think you’re reaching. It’s probably just pre-wedding jitters. All men go through it.”

“Nah,” Farrah said, shaking her head. “I think it’s more than that.”

“I don’t know. The only thing I can tell is you just pray and ask God for discernment. He’ll show you what you need to know.”

“You’re right. I will. Maybe it’s just me. I have been hella stressed-out lately. Planning this wedding and dealing with finding a house is driving me nuts.”

“Then quit worrying yourself. We suppose to be kickin’ it. Put a smile on your face, pretty girl, and let’s go dance.” London moved her shoulders.

“You know, I love you more tha. . .