Vexed

Genres: African American Urban

Synopsis

Blood isn't always thicker than water, especially in matters concerning love, lust, and passion.

Family ties no longer bind the once close King siblings, Zach and Jay. Their desire for the same woman transforms them from loving brother and sister to bitter arch rivals. Jamaican beauty Jillian Bessette is Jay's lover, but Zach's uncontrollable yearning to have her overpowers him, causing him to commit the ultimate act of betrayal against his flesh and blood.

For his sin, Jay orders a hit on her brother, but her plan for revenge backfires, and she is exposed. Her only way to avoid justice is to flee. In exile, Jay's hatred and resentment for Zach and Jill consumes her every waking moment. Their new life together includes a baby boy, the product of their forbidden affair, and adds more fuel to the growing fire of hatred growing inside Jay.
While she longs for the day of vengeance against them, they bask in the beauty of love and happiness, but precious moments are cut short, overshadowed by the sins of their past. Zach is forced to send Jill and their son away to the one place he believes they'll be safe from Jay and her threats to settle the score. To the contrary, he unknowingly delivers Jill right into Jay's hands.

The two former lovers come face to face, and Jill's nightmare begins. Helpless, Zach must place his faith in the heroics of others in a race against time to rescue Jill from the torturous clutches of a woman who is bitter and vexed!

Release date: January 28, 2020

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

Jill rolled her round hips from left to right slowly, perfectly, and seductively to the funky rhythm of the reggae classic. She looked content and full of life on top of the bar, wiggling her tiny, curvaceous body with the smoothness of a ribbon floating in the wind. Tipsy from too much rum, she giggled and lifted her hands high above her head while sweat trickled down her milk chocolate face and on further to her neck. It was apparent to all who saw her that Jill was braless, as her dark, hardened nipples pushed against the white cotton fabric of her tank top. Just about every brother in the crowded nightclub was mesmerized by her raw beauty and fluid moves, but Jill only had eyes for Jay. Fighting a growing erection with a healthy dose of strong coconut-flavored Jamaican rum and dwindling physical restraint, Zach closed his eyes and listened to Bob Marley’s warning. He knew from experience it was nothing but the truth.

“No woman, no cry!” the late reggae legend belted out over the drone of loud voices, foot stomping, and handclaps.

“A lucky son of a bitch,” Zach mumbled into his drink, now feeling the buzz from the alcohol.

Jay was just that, lucky as hell. Jill was sweet, sexy, and passionate. She loved hard and without limits. But she was young and innocent too. The poor girl was unaware of her real worth. And that was exactly how Jay wanted to keep her.

Jill was a trophy, a mere possession, a kept woman. She had been trained, tamed, and molded by Jay to near perfection. The twenty-three-year-old girl from the rough streets of Kingston had been handpicked to satisfy Jay’s every physical and emotional need. And she was supposed to help erase the memories of Venus back home in Atlanta and the heartbreak she had caused.

The crowd roared when Jill hopped off the bar and did a shimmy in the middle of the floor. Her denim miniskirt had crawled high above her well-toned thighs, almost revealing her pussy. Jay’s loose and cocky lips had bragged on countless occasions to Zach that nestled between Jill’s thighs was a pussy that no other human being on earth had ever touched, tasted, or entered before they’d met. It should’ve been an honor, but to Jay, it was more like a right or an entitlement, an achievement even.

The screams and applause swelled, and Zach looked up in time to see Jill gyrating in slow motion in the direction of the table he’d shared with Jay earlier. She had a mysterious glint in her eyes, and her smile was too damn sexy. Jill drew closer and began to curl her index finger at Zach, begging him to join her in a dance.

“Who me?” he asked, looking around. “Nah, baby, Zach has had one too many. Where is Jay?”

Jill tugged Zach’s arm, and he pressed his tall, muscular frame firmly in the chair and refused to move. He shook his head, embarrassed that every eye in the club was now on him. The faces of jealous men who wished they were him, combined with the loud claps and cheers, made Zach want to spit and curse. Before he could jump up and run away to safety, Jill straddled him and began a slow grind on his crotch. The bulge in his pants met her wet core, with only the denim fabric of his shorts separating them. Jill did not wear panties. That was another tidbit Jay often boasted about. Zach could smell the sweetness of Jill’s feminine center, and it intensified his high.

Jay slid back inside the club after a stroll with some busty chick sporting a headful of blond micro braids. Standing at the entrance, enjoying Jill’s little show, Jay laughed and clapped along with the rest of the club patrons, fully aroused. She witnessed Zach panic when he noticed her, younger sibling, watching the public lap dance Jill was giving him. Jay gave him the okay signal with a flimsy wave of the hand and cheered and howled along with everyone else. Apparently, by instinct, Jill sensed Zach’s relief when the song ended and she eased off his lap, to another eruption of applause and hoots.

Jay strolled over. “Did you enjoy yourself, big bro?” she asked and took a seat. She pulled Jill onto her lap and rubbed her smooth, thighs that were sweaty from dancing.

“It was fun, I guess. Where did you go? I think that dance was meant for you.” Zach wiped the perspiration from his face with his palm.

“I had to make a phone call, check on a problem at the resort.”

Jill smiled and kissed Jay on her lips. “I want to dance, Jay. I want to dance!” She stood and raised her arms in the air and rotated her hips provocatively.

Jay smacked Jill’s tight, round ass playfully as her eyes swept around the club. It was a good night for their friend Desmond, the owner of this popular establishment, Caribbean Cove. It was standing room only, and there was a long, curving line of folks outside, hoping to get in. Jay spotted dozens of attractive women, mostly visitors to the island, dancing and flirting with men for drinks. Her eyes fell on Charlotte, a woman she spent time with every once in a while. She was sitting at a table alone in a dark corner of the club, smoking a brown-label cigarette. Jay licked her lips when Charlotte leaned forward and exposed her ample cleavage, which was spilling over the low neckline of her red, strapless top.

“Jay, I want to dance, baby,” Jill whined.

“Zach, will you please dance with her? I need to call the resort again. I can’t hear a damn thing in here. I’m gonna go in Desmond’s office. I’ll be right back.”

Once again, Jay left Zach and Jill alone while she went on a kitty-cat call. It was just her lustful nature. Jayla Simone King loved women, and she had as far back as Zach could remember. Despite their five-year age difference, the King siblings had grown up very close. Zach had realized very early on that there was something unique about his little sister and how she interacted with other females. As beautiful as Jay had been as a young girl, she’d never fully embraced the significance or advantages of her looks. Back then, she’d preferred to admire Zach’s girlfriends or the gorgeous models and entertainers she saw on television.

By the time she hit puberty, a time when she especially felt the painful absence of their mother, Jay had confided in Zach that she was a lesbian with a healthy sexual appetite. He’d kept that secret, not knowing exactly what to do with it, other than hide it in the far recesses of his young mind. He’d hoped she would somehow outgrow what he had thought was an experimental phase. It had thrown their aunt, Jackie, for a loop when Jay had marched into the house one evening after cheerleading practice and had announced she was gay and proud of it. The heartbroken woman hadn’t been able to understand how a girl so gorgeous and shapely could desire the affections of another girl. Of course, since then, she’d learned it had nothing to do with the way you looked, how you were raised, or where you came from. It was a matter of the heart, and Aunt Jackie had ultimately accepted that and loved Jay more than life.

Jill’s subtle tug on Zach’s arm snatched him from the past just as he watched Jay disappear behind Desmond’s closed office door with some voluptuous redbone.

“Dance with me, Zachary,” he heard Jill say with her rich, singsong Jamaican accent.

Zach did not want to dance with Jill. He didn’t even want to be close to her. She was Jay’s lover, and the physical attraction he had for her was taboo. The more time they spent together, the stronger and more overwhelming his attraction became. Since Zach had been in Montego Bay on vacation, he had been forced to spend the majority of his time with Jill while Jay had worked as the executive manager of the luxurious Island Paradise Resort. Oftentimes, Jay had pretended to work, though she’d really been chasing skirts.

Refusing to be ignored, Jill slithered her body between the table and the chair Zach occupied, and wiggled her hips before him, as if she dared him to take her. When she lifted her leg to straddle him again, he stood to his full six-foot, two-inch stature. His rigidness pressed against her softness. The torture of the contact caused Zach’s breathing to become labored and choppy. He placed his arm loosely around Jill’s waist and led her out onto the jam-packed dance floor.

“Wake up, party animal!” Jay hit Zach softly over the head with a pillow. “You danced till the wee hours of the morning. I’ve never known you to do that.”

Zach rolled over in the bed and peered at Jay with one eye and then drew the covers over his head. He was tired. He and Jill had danced to song after song while waiting on Jay to complete her business inside Desmond’s office. She must have been in there with the buxom high-yellow chick for two hours before she emerged secretively and gave her a ride home in her black BMW 528i. By the time Jay had gotten back to Caribbean Cove, Zach had been exhausted, but Jill had still been bouncing off the walls with the energy of a young child.

“Get up, Zach! I have two important meetings today.” Jay looked at her gold Movado watch. “Jill needs to go to Kingston to check on her little brother. He’s been acting out in school. I never let her go there alone. Her family is a pack of hungry vultures. I want you to make the trip across the terrain with her. Roy, one of the resort’s drivers, will take you.”

“Jill is an adult, Jay. She doesn’t need a chaperone. She’s going home to spend time with her family. Why do you want me to tag along?”

Jay sat on the bed and snatched the covers from Zach’s head. He looked into her pretty face, which was set in a hard expression. Everyone said she looked like Jada Pinkett Smith. He admired her flawless caramel complexion, which was exactly like his, and waited for her spiel. Whatever Jay was about to say was serious. Zach knew that by the flash in her eyes and the way she was pursing her pouty lips.

“Zach, those people wanna suck me dry. They think I’m a wealthy American. They see the way Jill dresses, how well she lives and speaks. She gives her mother money for her siblings every month, but they always want more. They frown on our relationship, but their greedy hands want my damn money. Go with her for me. Make sure they don’t get inside her head or my bank account. Will you?”

On the bumpy ride to Kingston, Jill talked nonstop about her brothers and her baby sister. In between tales of her family, of whom she spoke affectionately, she pointed out the amazing sights of her country. Zach loved the way her dark brown eyes twinkled whenever she laughed. She had a dazzling smile that was infectious. Her short natural Afro accentuated her high cheekbones. Jill had the face and body of a model. Back home in the States, she could easily be the next Iman or Alek Wek, Zach thought.

“Jillian! Jillian! Jillian!” shouted a shirtless little boy in green, tattered shorts when the dusty blue Jeep Wrangler rolled to a halt in front of the small wooden house.

To Zach, the kid appeared to be around the same age as Nahima. A few chickens clucked and scattered about the yard, and a skinny dog barked and ran in circles.

“Come,” Jill said to Zach. “This is my family’s home.”

Zach’s eyes wandered over to the rickety screen door in desperate need of repair. Behind it stood a woman who looked like a heavier, more mature version of Jill. She was holding a baby in her arms. Zach exited the SUV and was met by the dry, scorching heat of the sun. Baskets, boxes, and crates, along with an overflowing trash can, cluttered the unbalanced porch. Jill trotted up the few wobbly wooden steps with a great big smile on her face. The woman behind the screen door maintained an unreadable expression. The little boy hugged Jill around her legs and waved shyly to Zach.

“Mommy, how are you?” Jill asked and pulled the door handle. “It’s so good to see you.” She stepped over the threshold, hugged her mother, and kissed the baby in her arms on her tiny face. “Meet my friend, Zachary.”

The woman smiled at Zach, displaying the decaying remains of a once lovely smile. “Hello, Zachary. I am Faye. Welcome to my home.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Faye.” Zach shook her hand.

Jill followed her mother deeper into the house, with Zach close behind her. The whir of a space fan blowing in the windowsill of the sitting room was loud, but the fan was useless. It did nothing to cool the dim room. Every wall and table, Zach noted, was filled with pictures of little boys in school uniforms. Jill sat on the yellow vinyl sofa, draped with dingy, white crocheted doilies, and Zach joined her. There was an imposing picture of Jesus Christ on the wall opposite the sofa. Underneath it was a picture of Bob Marley and one of Harry Belafonte, two of Jamaica’s most famous native sons.

Faye smiled at her daughter and her male friend. “I’ll get ya somethin’ cool to drink. You like ginger beer, eh?”

“Yes, ma’am. Ginger beer will be fine,” Zach said.

The screen door opened and shut three times, and the pounding of a few pairs of children’s feet filled the house, along with shouts and laughter.

“Jillian, it’s so good to see you!”

“It’s Jilly!”

“Jillian is home!”

One by one, a trio of little boys dressed in navy blue–and-white school uniforms ran into the room and covered Jill with hugs. She squeezed them and held them close, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Zach watched the warm exchange between Jill and her little brothers. Faye returned with two peanut butter jars filled with ice and a pale yellow liquid. She handed one to Zach and the other to Jill.

“Shoo now,” Faye said. “On to your lessons right away. Oliver, you stay here. You must sit and speak with Jillian and Mr. Zachary. He is your sister’s friend.”

“Tell me, Oliver. Why are you so troublesome at school, eh?” Jill asked as soon as her mother had left the sitting room.

“I’m vexed, Jilly, so very vexed!” The boy dropped down onto a chair across from his sister.

“And why so, Oliver, eh?”

Jill and Zach listened to Oliver tell them how he couldn’t see the blackboard very well at school. He said the words in his books and test tablets appeared blurred and jumbled. He told Jill that he had reported his poor eyesight to his mother, his teacher, and the headmaster many times, but none of them seemed to have believed him.

Zach looked at Jill. “I’d like to speak with your mother, if that’s okay.”

“Go, Oliver. Bring Mommy to me,” Jill said.

When Faye entered the room, Zach stood and removed his wallet from his back pants pocket. “Ms. Faye,” he said, “there is a clinic here. It’s called the Johnson Medical Center. I’d like you to take Oliver there. He needs to see a doctor about his eyes. He can’t see well. I think he may need glasses.” Zach held out several American bills to her. “This should cover the cost. If it isn’t enough, please call Jill immediately, and she will contact me. I’ll send you the balance.”

“No,” Faye said and folded her arms across her chest. “You are stranger. Me no take money from strangers. It is not proper.”

“He is my friend, Mommy. He wants to help you.” Jill stood from the sofa and approached her mother. “Please take it. Oliver needs to see a doctor. I will pay Zachary back for you, eh?”

Faye pointed her finger at Jill. “You must repay him, Jillian, and I will help you.” She took the money from Zach’s hand. “Thank you, Zachary. You are a fine man. God bless you.”

On the ride back to Montego Bay, Jill slept most of the way, with her head resting on Zach’s shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, and her face fell onto his chest. He listened to her light breathing and the slight whistle she made each time she exhaled. Zach thought back to what Jay had told him about Jill’s family that morning and the warning she had given him about them begging for money. Neither Faye nor her children had asked Jill for a dime, but she had voluntarily given them all a few dollars, and they’d thanked her. The three hundred dollars he had given toward Oliver’s doctor’s visit had come from his heart. The Bessette family seemed nothing like the greedy ingrates Jay had described.

“We’re home, Jill,” Zach whispered when the arrived at the resort.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she moved toward the open door, where Roy stood waiting for them to exit the vehicle. As they walked toward the building, Zach looked around the grounds of the posh resort he’d enjoyed over the past few days. He’d grown accustomed to the flowing fountains and the flashing bright lights of the casino. The rolling green lawn stretched for acres, and a colorful botanical garden was a magnificent sight. Rowland, the evening-shift concierge, greeted Zach and Jill when they entered the elegantly decorated lobby.

“Ms. King is out for the evening,” he announced. “She had an important dinner meeting with some vendors in Ocho Rios. She said you mustn’t wait up for her.”

“Let’s go to the casino,” Jill said and grabbed Zach’s hand. “I have lots of complimentary chips. I never win much, but it is so much fun! I play to pass the time whenever Jay has to work long hours.”

Zach dragged his feet.

Let’s go,” Jill urged and pulled on Zach’s hand again.

“Nah, I’m really tired, Jill. I’m not much of a night owl. I think I overdid it at the club last night. I just wanna hit the sack tonight and catch some Z’s. You go ahead. I’ll hit the casino with you one night before I return home.”

Jill looked disappointed, but she smiled anyway. Zach got the distinct impression that her young life was filled with low moments. She adored her family, but she wasn’t allowed to spend much time with them. And whenever she did, Jay was there keeping a watchful eye on their interactions. Jill had only a high school diploma, despite the fact that she was very smart and could’ve done quite well in college. Although she was a talented dancer, her formal training on the island had been limited. She’d told Zach that she’d dreamed as a child about perfecting her dance skills at Juilliard or the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. And one day she’d hoped to join the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

“Okay,” Jill whispered, trying to hide her disappointment. “We will go to the casino another time. Are you hungry?”

“I’m still stuffed from the lunch your mother served us. She’s an excellent cook. I haven’t tasted any jerk pork and rice and peas that good anywhere else on the island. Can you cook like that?”

“Yes, I cook just like my mommy. She taught me. I cooked for my family every day when I lived at home.” Jill looked around the busy lobby. Zach knew she didn’t want him to the see the sadness in her eyes.

“You miss your family, don’t you?”

“I miss them very much, but I talk to them a lot. Jay takes me to visit them as often as she can. She’s always busy, ya know?”

“I know.”

“Let’s go to the penthouse and watch a movie.”

Jill pulled Zach’s hand much harder than he’d thought she had strength to. She led him to the private elevator at the far end of the lobby. On the long ascent to the twelfth floor, she hummed and rotated her hips, with a twinkle in her eyes. Zach turned to stare at the illuminated numbers indicating the floors they passed as they rode to their destination. The tightness in his groin crept up on him like a thief in the night. Jill was not touching him. She was on the opposite side of the elevator, swaying in her own little world. His attraction to her was more intense than ever, but it wasn’t just physical. Zach was drawn to her carefree, fun-loving spirit and pure heart.

“We’re here,” Jill sang when the elevator chimed and stopped. She hurried out and walked to the double doors of the executive penthouse suite, with Zach dragging behind her. “I’m going to shower and order us some cheesecake. I want to watch Pretty Woman. It is my favorite movie! Will you watch it with me?”

“Sure. Why not?”

The cool breeze of the air conditioner greeted them when they entered the suite. The sitting area was bigger than the Bessette family’s entire house in Kingston. Jill skipped around, turning on lights, before she headed to the master bedroom she shared with Jay. Zach trudged to his bedroom, not really wanting to come out again for the rest of the night. Sure, he was exhausted and sleepy from the long night of dancing at Caribbean Cove and the trip to Kingston and back, but Zach’s primary reason for wanting to stay locked in his room was Jill. She was oblivious to the effect she had on him.

Zach genuinely cared for her. He wanted to rescue Jill and make her happy. He wanted to introduce her to a world wherein she could pursue her goals and dreams. Jay was keeping her in a closed box, away from the people and activities she loved. Jill was a prisoner, but she didn’t even realize it. She didn’t long for freedom, because she’d never tasted it before. Her entire existence revolved around Jay and the world she had created for them.

Zach stripped off his clothes and allowed them to fall to the floor around his feet. He went into the bathroom and turned on only the hot water in the shower and adjusted the stream to high pressure. He got under the pounding spray, with thoughts of Jill flooding his mind. Zach reflected back to the lap dance she’d given him the night before, and instantly, blood rushed to his shaft. It swelled to a thick, long rod of stone. As he relaxed in the shower, he fantasized about Jill.

“Zachary,” she called from behind the closed bathroom door, her soft voice floating through the steamy bathroom. “Would you prefer blueberry, raspberry, or strawberry topping on your cheesecake?”

Suddenly feeling self-conscious and vulnerable, Zach snapped, “You shouldn’t be in here, Jill! I’ll have whatever topping you’re having. Leave now! I’ll join you out there shortly.”

As Zach dried his body, he cursed himself for having spoken so harshly to Jill. He hated whenever Jay yelled at her or blew her off. But he’d just allowed his emotions to overcome him, causing him to do the same thing. Zach snatched a white tank top from the drawer and slid into a pair of plaid pajama shorts. He rushed into the sitting area and found Jill on the sofa, laughing at the movie previews before the feature film. She didn’t appear upset at all for having been chastised like a child. She was used to being scolded and told what to do. Kindness was foreign to her, and to Zach, that was a damn shame.

“Are you ready? I can fast-forward it if you’d like.” Jill’s eyes sparkled, and her smile was just as bright.

Zach sat down on the sofa next to her, leaving a reasonable amount of space between them. She aimed the remote control at the DVD player and advanced the disk to the starting point of the movie. Just then, the doorbell chimed.

“I’ll get it!” Jill hopped up from the sofa and skipped to the door.

She wore a simple pink cotton dress with spaghetti straps and a hem that came to rest at mid-thigh. The silhouette of her body was clearly outlined underneath. Just like Jay had taught her, she pranced about free from undergarments. Zach heard Jill and the room-service attendant exchanging pleasantries in Patois, their choppy Jamaican dialect. She seldom spoke it, because Jay did not approve. He wondered what the young man had said to make her laugh so bubbly. Zach felt a twinge of jealousy, and it annoyed him. He had no right to be possessive of Jay’s lover, but for some unexplainable reason, the bitter green-eyed monster had sneaked into his psyche.

“Dessert is served, sir,” Jill announced and rolled a small serving cart in front of Zach.

She removed the silver domed covering from a plate and reached over to hand him a fork and a napkin. Her perky breasts with their chocolate-drop nipples partially blocked his view of the TV screen, where a hooker was chauffeuring a potential john down Hollywood Boulevard in a Lotus.

“Strawberry,” Zach said and smiled. “It’s my favorite. How did you know?”

“It’s your favorite, eh? I honestly had no idea. It’s mine too!” Jill looked around, as if she were about to divulge some high-security classified secret, and lowered her voice when she said, “Jay absolutely hates strawberry, so I never order it when she’s around. She loves bloody raspberry, and I simply can’t stand it. Strawberry topping will be our little secret.” Jill flopped down on the sofa. Then she quickly turned to Zach with a conspiratorial grin on her lovely face. “I’ll tell you another secret if you promise to keep it for life.”

“Who would I tell, Jill?”

“You mustn’t ever tell Jay.”

Zach saw the seriousness in her eyes. The respect and fear Jill had for his sister was astonishing. No one person in the entire universe, other than Christ himself, should be reverenced in such a manner. The poor girl’s life was centered on Jay’s. Jill lived and breathed to please her in any way she could, without limits or any consideration for even her own happiness. Love and faithfulness bestowed upon any human being by another at such an immeasurable degree in most circumstances would be praiseworthy and inspiring, imitated even. But knowing Jay’s heart and her outlook on love, life, and relationships made this quite repulsive to Zach.

“You can tell me your secret, Jill, and I won’t tell Jay or anyone else. You have my word. I’ll even share something deep and dark about myself with you to level the score. That way, we’ll each know something naughty about the other, but we’ll take it to the grave.” Zach held up his hand and wiggled his pinkie finger. “Wanna pinkie swear?” he asked, smiling like a big kid.

Jill’s eyes grew wide with excitement. She giggled like a giddy school girl and hooked her pinkie around Zach’s much larger one. His flesh tingled from her innocent touch. The contrast of their complexions was rather obvious. Her rich darkness against his smooth pecan tan was metaphoric imagery of the sweet blending of chocolate and caramel in Zach’s eyes.

“Sometimes when Jay is away on business for an extended period of time, I visit my old dance teacher at her studio. I help her instruct the young students. I’ve choreographed some routines for them, and they’ve performed them at Carnival!” Jill swallowed a forkful of cheesecake. “Once, I bought show costumes for dancers who didn’t have money to buy them. My parents sometimes couldn’t afford to pay for my dance attire when I was a student, so I missed lots of performances. No little girl who’s been blessed with the gift of dance should have to sit on a stoop and watch others twirl about joyfully, ya know?”

“And what about a young woman who’s been blessed with that same gift?” Zach asked. “Why should she have to live idly in the penthouse of a five-star resort and abandon her dreams of perfecting her gift abroad? Why isn’t she dancing with a prestigious dance company?”

“I. . .”

“Don’t tell me she’s got you watching Pretty Woman.” Jay had sauntered into the penthouse with an unlit cigar wedged between her index and middle fingers. “Jill, didn’t I tell you not to watch that damn movie again this year?”

Jill lowered her head and discreetly placed the green cloth napkin over the remains of her barely eaten cheesecake. It wasn’t lost on Zach. He realized she was hiding the strawberry topping from Jay because his sister wouldn’t approve of her eating it. His eyes bore a hole through Jay as she walked toward them, the cigar now in her mouth. Jay lit it and blew out a cloud of smoke.

“I asked Jill what her favorite movie was, sis. She said it was Pretty Woman, and I told her I hadn’t seen it in years. I wanted to watch it.”

“Are you thirsty, Jay?” Jill asked. “Do you need me to order you a bottle of vodka?”

“Yeah, baby, please do that,” Jay answered, puffing away on her Cuban cigar.

Zach stretched his long muscular arms in the air and yawned just as Jill reached for the cordless phone on the end table. He did it again, with exaggeration, after she’d placed the order with room service and hung up.

“This old man is about to leave you ladies. A brother is tired as hell.” Zach stood and stretched one last time. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”

“You won’t see me, bro. I have to be in Negril early for a breakfast meeting. The resort’s lounge needs a new live act. Desmond told me about a band, and I’m gonna go hear them. If they’re any good, we’ll talk business.”

“Can I go with you, Jay?” Jill asked with pleading eyes.

“Um. . . nah, baby, that won’t work. I have some more business in Negril after that, and it might keep me there until after lunch. You stay here and hang out with Zach. He may get lonely.”

“No, take Jill with you. I’ll be fine. I plan to hit the gym and go to the beach for a swim. Then I’ll catch a cab and do some souvenir shopping at the straw market. There’re a few more things I’d like to buy Aunt Jackie and Nahima.”

“Who is Nahima, Zachary? Is she your sweetheart? Do tell,” Jill teased.

Zach’s and Jay’s eyes met and locked in an awkward and telling moment. Tension-filled silence lingered between them as time ticked away. Zach could feel Jill’s curious eyes on him while she waited for an answer to what had quickly transformed from a simple question into a million-dollar one in a matter of seconds. Jay’s eyes narrowed to slits, and she continued to hold her brother’s unshaken gaze as sh