Nights Of Fantasy. Sherelle Green

dinner?”

      “Of course we are! Tonight we’re celebrating the fact that you are almost done with your master’s in fashion merchandising. Going back to school and working full-time is a huge deal. Especially since our Bare Sophistication store in Miami has only been open a little over a year. So we definitely have to celebrate. Nicole, Aaliyah and Aiden should already be at the restaurant.”

      At least she didn’t mention what I thought she would.

      In two months she’d be finished with her degree, which meant she would have to officially accept the partnership Summer and her sisters had offered her during the grand opening of the Miami store.

      When they’d initially asked her to be a partner of the Bare Sophistication chain, Danni had been overcome with emotion considering the Dupree sisters had always dreamed of being in business together and Danni had just joined the team as store manager for both the Chicago and Miami locations. She’d never dreamed they’d give her such a huge opportunity. Her celebration was short-lived when she’d realized that despite how wonderful the opportunity was, she still had a major dilemma standing in her way of officially accepting the offer.

      “Yeah, I’ll trail you in my car since I don’t want to leave it here overnight,” Danni said. Her iPhone rang just as Summer was locking up the store. She shuffled through her purse to try to catch the call.

      Definitely not answering that.

      “Who was it?”

      “No one,” she said as she stuffed the phone back in her purse.

      “Hmm, are you sure it wasn’t a certain friend of ours who’s been contacting you for months?”

      “I’m not sure who you mean.” She took out her car keys as they made their way to the parking lot.

      “You know exactly who I’m talking about, even if you don’t want to tell me what happened during my wedding—”

      “Nothing happened,” she interrupted.

      “Well, regardless of what did or didn’t happen, I think you should call him back. I just spoke with him a couple of days ago and he said you’re avoiding him. I’ve never known Jaleen to even care if a woman avoids him.”

      Danni hated to admit that she was equally curious as to why he’d been reaching out to her these past few months. Yeah, they’d had a special moment in her hotel suite the day before Summer and Aiden’s wedding, but she didn’t see how that equated to him contacting her so much.

      “Okay, fine. I’ll call him back after dinner.”

      “Or maybe you should call him before dinner,” Summer suggested before getting into her car.

      “Or maybe I’ll just keep avoiding him unless I head to Chicago for the semiannual sale Winter and Autumn are having at the Bare Sophistication Chicago location,” Danni said under her breath as she got into her car, as well.

      Danni had enough on her plate and that didn’t include worrying about a certain handsome friend who just so happened to be the only guy she’d been thinking about for the past six months. Or try the past few years. It didn’t matter if she thought about him a lot or a little. She shouldn’t be thinking about him at all.

      Maybe I should call him since I’ll have an excuse to get off the phone once I arrive at the restaurant for dinner. That way, he couldn’t convince her to stay on the phone any longer than five minutes since the restaurant was so close to the shop. She clicked the audio recognition feature of her car and called Jaleen.

      He answered on the third ring. “Hey, beautiful.”

      She momentarily soaked in the warmth in his voice. He’d always called her beautiful, but lately she was starting to believe he really meant it.

      “Hey, Jaleen. Just a heads up, I have to meet the gang for dinner so I only have five minutes.”

      “Duly noted,” he said with a laugh.

      “How are you?”

      “Much better now that you’ve finally called me back. What’s the deal? Screening my calls and messages?”

      “Um, something like that. Why? Not used to women being so dismissive of your charm?” she said with a laugh.

      “Not women who threw themselves at me one day then avoided me the next.”

      “I did not avoid you. I had merely been fulfilling my bridesmaid’s duties. Besides, you haven’t even been in the States for the past four months.”

      “Exactly. And we’ve been talking a lot while I was away, then you suddenly go cold turkey.”

      “Aw, did I hurt your little feelings?” she said with a laugh.

      Jaleen was silent for about five seconds.

      “Let’s get one thing straight, Danni. There is nothing on me that is little, small, tiny or any other word used to describe the men you’ve been with in the past.”

      Her breath caught. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I was referring to you, not your male anatomy.”

      “Whether you meant to or not, you just offered me a challenge. And you know there isn’t anything I love more than a challenge.”

      She didn’t like the direction their conversation was heading. “Anyway, I have to go. I just arrived at the restaurant, so I’ll have to call you later.”

      “Will you actually call me later?” he asked. She thought about all the times she’d avoided his calls recently, knowing she had no reason to justify ignoring him. At least, no reason she wanted to explain to him.

      “Yes, I’ll call you later.”

      “Great. Then I’ll talk to you soon.”

      She hung up the phone, parked her car and then leaned her head back on her headrest. What is it about that man that has me so intrigued?

      She’d dated her fair share of men in the past... Even some that reminded her a little of Jaleen. Yet he got under her skin and the more she thought about it, the more she was unsure if that was a good or bad thing. By the time she stepped out of the car, she was already beginning to regret her decision.

      “At least he lives in Chicago,” she said as she reached to open the door to the restaurant.

      “Let me guess,” someone said, catching the door ahead of her and holding it open. “You’re talking about me.”

      Danni dropped her arm instantly and her eyes widened in surprise. “Ja-Jaleen! What are you...how are you...what are you doing here?” Oh, my goodness, am I stuttering? I never falter over my words.

      “It’s nice to see you, too, beautiful.” His eyes sparkled with amusement, but she was having a difficult time finding anything funny about the situation.

      Man, he looks good. True, it had been a while since she’d seen him in person, but they’d FaceTimed a couple of times. Tonight he looked extra sexy in his dark gray jeans and collared blue shirt that was unbuttoned to reveal his white tee. His gray-and-blue Nikes only added to his look. She’d never understood why, even in his casual clothing, he looked as if he were headed to a photo shoot.

      When she finally made her way back to his eyes, he was smiling too hard for her liking.

      “What are you doing here?” she asked again, walking through the restaurant door.

      “I think a better question would be why didn’t I mention I was in Miami when we were on the phone a few minutes ago,” he said, following her into the restaurant. When she gave her name to the hostess, it dawned on her that one of their mutual friends must have mentioned the dinner to him.

      “Who told you? Summer? Aiden?”

      He shrugged. “Does it really matter?”

      “You know I hate surprises,”