Always Means Forever Read online

  “Hey, beautiful. It’s me. Got any plans for the night?”

  There was something romantic about the atmosphere, Darwin mused as he took a seat in one of the gray upholstered booths in the Andaluca Restaurant. The room had an old-world feel to it with its rich fabrics, cherrywood accents and the exquisite contemporary designs that decorated the walls. He’d arrived a few minutes early, nudging his way past the blue-eyed hostess with the porcelain veneer smile to say hello to the chef. His friend had been guiding a staff of twelve almost effortlessly as they prepped for the lunch crowd.

  As he waited for his brother to arrive he studied the menu, making mental notes about the food choices. The selections were very European, fairly simplistic, with generous offerings of grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and an incredible wine list. As Darwin mulled over the selections, it was only his brother’s prompt arrival that kept him from racing back to the kitchen to see if he could be of any service.

  The commotion at the door caught his eye, the young woman leading Mecan to the table laughing warmly as the two headed in his direction. Darwin could almost visualize the events that had them chatting so comfortably. The confused expression on her round face, her neck snapping back and forth as she did a double take when Mecan had stepped through the door had probably been quite comical. It was a typical reaction when folks saw one and then the other, before realizing there were actually two of them. The young lady dropped a second menu on the table as she gestured toward the empty seat.

  “Wow, talk about identical twins! I can’t believe how much you two look alike,” she exclaimed, her head waving from side to side. “Your brother scared me to death. One minute you were sitting here, then the next minute you were standing by my side. I didn’t know what to think at first.”

  Darwin smiled. “Well, now that you see us together, you can see I’m the better-looking brother.” He gave her a quick wink.

  Mecan shook his head. “He’s not shy, either.” He extended his hand toward Darwin, who came to his feet to give him a quick greeting. The duo bumped shoulders in a one-armed embrace before dropping down into their respective seats. “So, how’s it going, little brother?” Mecan asked.

  Darwin nodded. “Can’t complain, big brother.”

  “Your waitress will be right with you,” the blonde said sweetly. “If I can be of any assistance please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

  Darwin winked again. “Thank you.”

  The two men paused briefly to watch as she sashayed back to the front of the restaurant, both appreciating the overt side-to-side glide of her lean hips. Mecan shook his head as he turned back toward his brother. Making himself comfortable, he clasped his hands together in front of him, eyeing his look-alike curiously. “You don’t look sick.”

  The other man chuckled. “What made you think I was sick?”

  “There’s something going on with you. I heard it in your voice last night.”

  Darwin grunted, a low growl rising from his midsection. Mecan noted his brother’s avoidance, his eyes dancing around the room, hesitant to meet his.

  “Yep. Something’s up with you. Spill it.”

  Darwin heaved a deep sigh as he finally met Mecan’s gaze. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, an attractive woman with a rich blue-black complexion moved to the table, a pen and pad in her hand. She smiled warmly, a brilliant row of pearl-white teeth greeting them.

  “Hello. My name is Mina. I’m going to be your server today. Would you gentlemen like to start your meal with drinks and an appetizer?”

  Darwin nodded, almost grateful for the interruption. “I think we’ll start with a charcuterie plate, please.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  “And, for the entrées, my brother will have the crab tower salad, and I would like to try the North African risotto.”

  Mina nodded as she jotted their orders quickly. “Will that be all, sir?”

  “No, why don’t you bring us a bottle of that Bootleg Sauvignon Blanc. And, just to get it out of the way, for dessert we’ll try the cheese sampler with the bûche maître seguin, the fiore sardo and the tomino, and two pots du crème.”

  “Yes, sir.” Mina smiled sweetly as she gathered their menus, her gaze sweeping from one dark face to the other.

  Mecan moved his head from side to side as the woman made her way to the rear of the restaurant and into the kitchen to place their orders. “You kill me! Have we ever gone out to eat together where I got to order my own food?”

  Darwin shrugged, the two men laughing warmly together. “Old habits die hard. Just stop me next time.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You must have been reading my mind, ’cause I really wanted to try the crab. Now, what the heck is all that other stuff you ordered? The charcuterie and that cheese thing?”

  “Their charcuterie is just like an antipasto. It’s a variety of salamis, pickled peppers, olives, and almonds. On the cheese platter, the bûche maître seguin is a goat’s milk cheese served with a black fig jam, the other is sheep’s milk cheese with paprika and almonds, and the tomino is a soft cow’s milk cheese wrapped in Cullatello and served with fresh honey.”

  Mecan shook his head. “Do I dare ask what the cream pot is?”

  His brother laughed. “Pots du crème! It’s caramel and mocha custards with Valrhona chocolate and cinnamon.”

  Mecan adjusted his napkin into his lap. “Well, it sounds like I’ll be eating well this afternoon.”

  “I told you I wanted to show the chef some love. You do that by ordering and eating well.”

  His brother leaned back against his cushioned seat. “Now, let’s try this again. What’s wrong with you?”

  Darwin cut his eye toward his brother, then dropped his gaze back down to the table. “Nothing.”

  “Liar.”

  “Says you.”

  “Says anyone who knows you.”

  The two men locked eyes, Mecan raising his eyebrows knowingly. “I know because it’s not often that you ignore a beautiful woman trying to get your attention and you’ve ignored two of them.”

  “What two?”

  Mecan shook his head. “I won’t even talk about our hostess, but how could you miss the eyes our waitress was giving you?”

  Darwin looked over to the woman at the bar, casting furtive looks in his direction as she stood in conversation with the hostess and the bartender. He shrugged again. “You’re crazy. And how do you know they weren’t looking at you?”

  Mecan tossed him a look of annoyance. With his elbows propped against the edge of the table he spun the gold wedding band on his left hand between the thumb and forefinger of his other hand. “I think the fact that I wear a wedding band and you don’t might have been the first clue.”

  His brother rolled his dark eyes and tossed the woman a second look. This time she smiled nervously, embarrassment flooding her face as she almost dropped the platter she’d been carrying.

  Leaning forward, his fingers still entwined in front of him, Mecan’s expression turned serious. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me nothing. I can see it all over your face. Something’s not right with you.”

  Holding his brother’s gaze for a second time, Darwin suddenly felt like the younger brother. He leaned forward in his own seat and whispered as if the duo were conspiring together.

  “Yeah, but I don’t know what it is. It’s like…” He paused, gathered his thoughts, then switched gears. “After I talked to you last night, I went to visit an old friend. She and I kick it every so often.”

  “Kick it?”

  “You know.” Darwin rolled his eyes. “We have a sexual understanding.”

  “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

  “You want to hear this or not?”

  Mecan gestured for him to continue.

  “Well, my girl set the mood right. Candlelight, a bottle of wine, some chocolate syrup…”

  Mecan grimaced. “Too much information.”

  “Don’t interrupt me.”<
br />
  “Sorry.”

  “We spent some time doing a little cuddling, a little tickling, then jumped in the Jacuzzi. Well, when the moment was just right…” there was a moment of hesitation as Darwin felt his cheeks flush with heat “…I couldn’t perform.” He let his last three words fall quickly from his mouth.

  Mecan nodded, fighting not to let a smile cross his face, the muscles pulling against his resolve. Clearly, Darwin didn’t find the problem to be a laughing matter. His brother’s expression was too serious, a sudden wave of anxiety sweeping over the man. Mecan attempted to assuage his discomfort. “Well, that just happens every now and then,” he finally managed to say, his smile not quite a smile as he struggled to keep a straight face.

  “Has it ever happened to you?”

  Mecan tossed a quick glance over his shoulder, then cast a gaze around the room. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, words failing him.

  “See. It doesn’t just happen. And that’s not all,” Darwin said softly.

  “You mean there’s more?”

  “I mean this isn’t the first time. I haven’t been able to get or keep an erection for weeks now,” Darwin confessed, embarrassment painted in his expression.

  “Have you seen a doctor?”

  He nodded. “The official diagnosis for my problem is—” he paused, leaning in closer as his voice dropped another octave “—erectile dysfunction, and they can’t find anything medically wrong to explain it. He thinks I should see a shrink, that maybe it’s related to something emotional,” he whispered.

  “So, what are you waiting for?”

  “I’m waiting for it to fix itself,” Darwin whined, exasperation balancing his words.

  Mina moved toward them with their bottle of wine and two glasses. On her heels another waitress was bringing the appetizers. Once they’d been served, she stepped back, pausing for just a brief moment. “Can I bring you anything else?” she asked politely.

  Mecan shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  She smiled at Darwin again, the look she tossed him a clear invitation for something more. “And you, sir? Can I do anything else for you?” she asked, an air of seduction coating her tone.

  Darwin forced himself to return the smile, his expression pained. “This is good for now, Mina. Thank you.”

  The young woman nodded as she moved to another station, tossing them both a quick look over her shoulder. Her expression was hopeful yet Darwin seemed oblivious.

  “I don’t know what to do, Mac,” he said, his eyes skating over his brother’s face.

  Mecan took a deep breath. He could only imagine the man’s frustration. He had never played the field the way Darwin had, and the day he’d met his wife, Jeneva, he’d fallen hopelessly in love. He’d known almost instantly that no other woman would ever be able to make him feel the way Jeneva did. As he thought about his wife and their family and compared it to his brother’s life, an idea suddenly crossed his mind. As if a lightbulb had gone off in his head, he smiled and nodded.

  “You need to settle down. That’s what you need.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You need to fall in love and commit to one woman. I’d bet my last dollar that would cure your problem almost instantly.”

  Darwin rolled his eyes skyward. “You’re crazy.”

  “No, I’m very serious. That love stick of yours is probably just tired of being shuffled from one bed to another. And I think your heart is, as well. I’m certain if your heart’s no longer in it, then you’re sure to have problems.”

  Darwin pondered his brother’s comments. He shook his head and the two men locked gazes. Maybe, he thought. Just maybe his big brother knew what he was talking about.

  The words out of his mouth, though, were pure denial. “I truly doubt that the only cure I need is to settle down with one female happily-ever-after. That fairy-tale crap may have worked for you, but I’m not buying it.”

  Mecan shrugged, a wry grin returning to his face as the waitress approached with the first course of their meal. “Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

  Chapter 3

  When Darwin finally made his way back to his office, there was a stack of legal documents lying in a neat pile on top of his desk. At lunch, he and Mecan had quickly changed the subject from his sexual problems to news of family members and their own recent exploits. Although they’d enjoyed an exceptionally good meal, Darwin had actually been relieved when it was over. His brother’s comments continued to haunt him, the idea having taken a firm hold in his consciousness.

  He was desperate for an answer to his problem. The situation was really starting to wreak havoc on his personal life. Last night’s fiasco had left him wounded, his ego sufficiently bruised as he’d crept from his friend’s bed and out the front door as fast as he could run. The woman had professed to be understanding but her disappointment had been obvious. He could only imagine the tale she’d had to share with her friends once he was gone and she could get her hands on a telephone. Darwin cringed at the thought.

  His new assistant, an intern named Rhonda Bishop, rushed into the office behind him, visibly flustered as she juggled a cup of hot coffee in one hand and more file folders in the other. She began talking at a rapid pace, words flying past her thin lips.

  “Hi, Mr. Tolliver. Mrs. Scott asked me to give these to you. She said you need to have your personal attorney review them, then you need to sign where indicated and get them back to the legal department ASAP.” The young woman took a deep inhale of air to catch her breath. “Did you enjoy your lunch, sir?” she finally asked, setting the mug of hot fluid down in front of him as he took a seat. She dropped the folders onto the other pile.

  Darwin nodded, chuckling under his breath. “Lunch was very good. Did my esteemed producer leave any other instructions for me?”

  Rhonda stared off into space, brushing a lock of red hair from in front of her eyes as she appeared to be searching her memory for a response. “Yes,” she suddenly answered, excited that she hadn’t forgotten something that was actually important. “Yes! She says she needs your final menus for the first week by end of business tomorrow. No exceptions.”

  Darwin nodded. “Attorney and menus. Sounds easy enough. Do you know any good attorneys?”

  The young woman shrugged, a frown crossing her face. “I don’t think so.”

  Darwin thought for a quick moment, then suddenly smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I actually happen to know a woman who’s a very good lawyer.” He reached for his BlackBerry and did a quick search for a telephone number. When he found it, the grin painting his face widened. Bridget Hinton would surely give him a hand, he mused, thoughts of the exquisite woman suddenly erasing the tension that had been holding him hostage since he’d seen his brother. As least I hope she will help, he thought.

  Bridget was his sister-in-law’s best friend. Darwin hadn’t missed the fact that Jeneva had been trying to hook the two of them up since he could remember, but he’d not given in to her exploits willingly. He’d not been looking for a relationship and it had been clear to him from day one that Bridget was a woman who wasn’t interested in being any man’s “sexual understanding.”

  Bridget came to the table with high expectations, making it clear that a man had to match what she was putting down or step off. Her legal-eagle demeanor was cool and confident and she was clearly not a woman to be taken lightly. Darwin hadn’t been ready or willing to test those waters and so he’d ignored the more flagrant overtures that his sibling and her friends had exhibited in their matchmaking efforts.

  But there was something about the woman that had held his interest, despite his unwillingness to act on it. Something in her deep black eyes that he’d found intoxicating. It had something to do with the way she looked at him, the way she smiled when he came into the room. How her presence made him feel. Darwin felt a quiver of heat shift in his abdomen. He bit down against his bottom lip as memories of the woman skated
through his mind.

  Rhonda cleared her throat, the noise pulling him back to the moment. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Tolliver?” she asked.

  Darwin shook the clouds from his head, focusing his attention back on the young woman who stood staring at him curiously. “No, thank you. In fact, I think I’m going to get out of here early today. I want to work from home this afternoon. I have to get those menus together.” He smiled.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He watched as Rhonda made her way out of the room and back to her desk, then he reached for the telephone to make his call.

  The ride home was too quiet for Darwin’s comfort so he fiddled with the buttons on his radio for some song to amuse him. With one eye on the road and the other on the scan button, he finally decided on a classic R & B station that was spinning an old Motown tune. His brother was more of a Motown fan, the style reminiscent of their late father and their parents’ Friday-night favorites. Darwin’s tastes tended to lean more toward rock and roll and alternative rock. At the moment his favorite group was the Gorillaz and he was kicking himself for taking their latest CD out of the car and forgetting to put it back in when he’d cleaned the vehicle earlier that week.

  After a few minutes Darwin decided Motown wasn’t what he wanted at all and he switched the radio off, falling back into the silence that had annoyed him in the first place. He heaved a deep sigh, thoughts of Mecan’s comments and the frustration over his medical condition once again playing havoc with his nerves. Images of Bridget tottered through his mind, as well, and he couldn’t help but wonder if his needing her services and the remembrance of his attraction toward her was happening for a reason. His brother’s prediction seemed to be holding hands with his fate, spinning him in the direction of a new destiny.

  Darwin knew that if there was any one woman he could see himself doing forever with, she would be a woman like Bridget. Bridget reminded him of his mother, and what man didn’t want a woman like the one who’d given birth to him and had loved him more than life itself? Frances Tolliver had a strength and fortitude that was uncompromising. She wore her emotions over her heart, loving deeply and standing on the power of her convictions. His mother was one tough cookie, with a chocolate heart of pure gold, the ability to laugh in the face of unfathomable challenges and a warm, gentle touch that instantly eased away any hurt. His father had been blessed beyond reason to have a woman like that at his side. Darwin could only begin to wish for half that in a companion of his own, and Bridget was a woman who came with an equally impressive list of attributes. Plus, the woman had the body of a goddess.