Embrace My Heart. AlTonya Washington

you. You had to know that.” She searched his bottomless eyes for a moment before she continued. “Yeah...I believe you did, and you withdrew anyway. I can accept that, but then you tell everyone else to stay away from me like I’ve got the plague? No, Qasim, I’m not playing a game. I only have questions. I’m guessing the answers aren’t all that easy for you to give.”

      She glanced toward his hands, smothering her waistline. “Excuse me?” She waited, walking away when he released her.

      * * *

      The attentive server smiled engagingly while Austin Sharpe praised Qasim for his banking skills. She then laughed good-naturedly when Qasim told her that given all the money he was making Austin she should expect him to leave her an outrageous tip.

      “Seriously now, man, about these investments. Should I buy stock in all three?” Austin queried while adding a wealth of cream to his coffee.

      “Not all three.”

      “Uh-oh.” Austin grinned. “So which one didn’t make the cut?”

      Qasim stirred his preferred black coffee. “None of them made the cut.”

      Austin stilled, the mug halting halfway to his mouth. “You’re kidding?”

      “No...but I could if you just really have a need to throw good money away on worthless stock.”

      “Forget I asked.” Austin sipped on the beige-hued coffee.

      “So what’s goin’ on in Miami?”

      “New investors I’m trying to woo.” Austin pushed at the shock of blond hair that consistently fell across his forehead. “I want a mixer that’s off the beaten path, hence me wanting to use Vectra’s gallery in Miami Beach.”

      “I didn’t know you knew her that well.” Qasim managed the comment in spite of his clenching jaw.

      Austin nodded amidst a chuckle. “I was an intern for her dad’s company—the man’s brilliant. I have a lot of respect for Oscar Bauer.”

      “Second that,” Qasim added.

      “Hmph...for all the good it did me.” Austin sounded playfully distressed.

      Qasim tilted his head. “How so?”

      Austin shrugged. “Well, it’s important to bond with the father of your intended,” he smiled, “but that was useless since I fell into the dreaded realm of friendship.” He looked up as if to measure Qasim’s reaction. “You know what I mean.”

      Qasim toasted the man with his mug. “Explain it to me.”

      “Look at her, Sim.” Austin nodded across the sun-strewn dining room where Vectra sat with her father. “I mean, what guy in his right mind would want to be ‘just friends’ with her?”

      Qasim felt his eyelids grow heavy beneath the weight of unexpected agitation and knew a bit more effort was warranted to maintain his cool. “Are you telling me that if you had the chance, you’d show her why she was making a mistake putting you in that category?”

      Austin’s expression changed to one that was unwaveringly serious. “As much as I’d enjoy a physical relationship with her, I’d never want her afraid to have me as a friend.” He shook his head, sending the blond shocks of hair tumbling across his brow again. “She trusts me. I’d never do anything to jeopardize that.”

      Qasim barely nodded. “That’s good to hear.” Beneath the table, he unclenched the fist he hadn’t realized he’d made.

      * * *

      “Just put one of those little packets on the side.”

      “Daddy. No.”

      “What’s it gonna hurt?”

      Vectra looked at their waitress. “Thanks, Kelly, that’ll do it. No salt packets for my dad.”

      “Yes, ma’am.” Kelly Dawes hid a smile as she scribbled something on her pad. “Sorry, Mr. B.,” she quietly tacked on before hurrying off to place the breakfast orders.

      “Party pooper,” Oscar Bauer grumbled. “Now I remember why I rarely ask you out to eat anymore.”

      “Hmph.” Vectra pretended to pout. “And I thought it was because you preferred my home cooking.”

      Oscar snorted. “That, too.” He grinned and pulled his daughter close for another hug and kiss.

      “So tell me about this trip of yours.” Vectra propped her chin on the backs of her hands. “Did you even take a little time out to just play around?”

      Some of the light doused in the man’s long, expressive gaze. “You know playing around doesn’t have the same punch it used to when I had your mother to do it with.”

      As far as Oscar Bauer was concerned, there was no woman he craved by his side other than his wife, but Rose had passed eight years prior.

      “So did you give in to your obsession to acquire more land, or were you able to resist?” Vectra asked, eager to pull their thoughts away from sorrow.

      “I only window-shopped.” An amused light began to creep into Oscar’s eyes, but not completely. “I wanted your advice before making any final decisions.”

      “Dad?” Surprised, Vectra laughed a little.

      “I’m serious, baby. It’s a place I could see spending the rest of my days. If it staggers you the way it did me when I saw it—” he shrugged “—then I’ll know I’ve found my spot. You’ve got your mother’s draw to the land. I’ll trust your reaction to it.”

      “You’ve intrigued me, Daddy.” Vectra sighed in a mock haughty tone before she sobered. “Do you think the visit could wait until after this gallery show I’ve got coming up? I’ve got to visit the Miami gallery, anyway. I could detour and check out your spot before I do that.”

      “Fantastic.” Oscar gave a single clap. He fixed her with an approving look and smile. “I see you haven’t been resting on your laurels while I was away.”

      “Don’t you mean I haven’t been ‘hiding out’?”

      “I didn’t say that.” Oscar shifted to a newer, more comfortable position in his chair. “But since you did, then yes. Yes, I am very glad to know that. I was concerned after talking to Oliver last night.”

      “Right.” Vectra served up a rueful smile, at last realizing the true motivation behind the sudden invite to breakfast. “What, Dad? Did he tell you he was taking me to Robb’s party tonight?”

      Oscar retrieved a minitablet from his inside suit coat pocket. “He may have mentioned it.”

      “Daddy!”

      “All right, all right, we talked about it, and just so you don’t go off trying to kill the boy, he actually stood up for you—told me he didn’t think there was anything we needed to be concerned about. You know how we get about you, baby. What you went through before...it did a number on us, too, you know?”

      Vectra squeezed her father’s hand. The server returned with coffee for Oscar and tea for Vectra. She helped herself to several sips, waiting for the herbal blend to work its magic on the nerves her father and brother could so easily rattle with their overprotective natures.

      Vectra didn’t hold it against them. They had every right to be protective of her after the nightmare she’d lived through. The fact that she hadn’t told them about it simply increased their tendency to worry that she’d suffer alone. She had discovered, though, that San Francisco and its surrounding areas encompassed a surprisingly small world. The Bauers were well-known. Word of her ex-boyfriend’s abuse, when he had taken to shaking her viciously during an argument in a popular restaurant, had quickly reached Oscar and Oliver.

      “Daddy, I’m good. I’m doing fine, really.” She leaned in