Chapter 1
“EXCUSE ME.” JANAE WATCHED VANESSA SHAKE HER head as Janae and Cree stepped into Vanessa’s new accounting firm. It was a small storefront with a large window that folks on the street could look into and find a warm and friendly accountant ready to help them with their financial planning. But warm and friendly wasn’t exactly the vibe Janae was feeling in this room right now.
Sure, Vanessa was all smiles, but the large Korean American man holding her wore a scowl that was equal parts frustration and annoyance. Michael’s expression might as well have been a neon sign flashing, I”M TRYING TO GET NAUGHTY WITH MY GIRLFRIEND. DO NOT DISTURB.
Well, too bad for him. Although Michael was a childhood friend she’d always had a soft spot for, and she was genuinely happy that he and her girl Vanessa had found each other, there was no way Janae and Cree were going to miss seeing Vanessa in her element. The final touches that would distinguish Vanessa’s ownership from the previous owners was now complete. After everything she’d been through in the last two years to piece her life back together on her own terms, Michael would just have to deal with this cockblock for a few moments while Cree and Janae celebrated the third member of the Savvy, Sexy, and Single Club.
Their club started two years ago when all three women snuck out of a divorce support group in favor of working out their problems over cocktails at the bar across the street. Their experiences as divorcées created an unbreakable bond and a promise that they would find their way to new paths after divorce. This accounting firm was Vanessa’s path, and Janae and Cree couldn’t be happier to witness it.
“I thought this was a reputable place of business.” Janae stepped into the wide room with light gray leather cushioned office chairs lined up against the front window. Her eyes fell on Vanessa and Michael again and she noticed while her girlfriend was laughing, Michael’s annoyance tweaked up a smidge more as the lines of his brow furrowed. Of course Janae ignored him. They were here for her girl, so Michael being annoyed really didn’t faze her one bit.
Janae turned to the side as Cree stepped in the door behind her with a goofy smile on her face. Seeing Vanessa and Michael hugged up brightened the woman’s already sunny disposition.
Cree loudly cleared her throat for dramatic effect. “Looks like the only business going on ’round here is funny business. Maybe we should leave you two alone so you can pick up where you left off.”
“That’s a perfect idea,” Michael replied. “We’d see you out, but we’re busy.”
Vanessa laughed, sidestepping his attempts to pull her back into his arms.
“Pay him no attention. What do you two need?”
Janae waved a dismissive hand at Michael before turning to Vanessa. “Nothing, we just wanted to wish you good luck before you got swamped with work.”
Vanessa opened her arms wide, bringing them in for one of their joint hugs. “Aww, the two of you are so sweet. What would I do without you?”
“Me,” Michael mumbled, running a hand through his ink black, short-cropped hair. “You’d do me.”
Vanessa laughed at Michael, but Janae could tell there were some low-key serious undertones in his flip comment. Unfortunately for him, Janae found his disgruntled rumblings cute. Just another sign that he adored one of her two best friends. Vanessa deserved that. They all did. But if only one of them could have this kind of joy, Janae was thrilled it could be her friend.
It certainly had never been her. Considering the drama her ex-husband put her through, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Janae would make herself vulnerable enough to have that type of love.
Never again.
A cold chill spilled down her spine at the thought of the toxic marriage she’d escaped. Her ex-husband’s actions led to a bitter divorce that left her broken and skeptical of anything having to do with romantic love. Fortunately, despite Vanessa and Michael’s PDA, today wasn’t about that kind of love. It was about sisterhood and the love that flowed so easily among the three of them.
“We love you, girl.” Janae’s heart swelled at the joy she witnessed on her friend’s face. “Of course we’d be here.” Vanessa beamed at Janae’s proclamation. Michael was attempting to be polite while still giving them the death glare that said “Get out now or I’m not responsible for my actions.”
“Well, since it seems we’re leaving you in good hands”—Cree looked over her shoulders to glance at Michael—“ we’ll let you get to it. Whatever it is.”
They turned toward the door when Janae stopped abruptly. The door opened slowly, revealing a familiar tall man with a butterscotch complexion and locs hanging freely around his broad shoulders.
Adam Henderson.
Former small-town sports hero who went on and did his town proud by becoming an NCAA champion before he went on to the NBA.
His distinctly good looks meant it was hard to not notice how attractive he was. And boy did Janae notice. Her blood rushed through her body, heart beating quickly, mouth dry, making her want to run her tongue across her cherry-glossed lips for relief.
You’d bett’not.
Her mental reprimand was the only thing that kept her from doing it. Because there was one other thing Adam Henderson had been . . . her secret childhood crush. And it would not do for her to fall victim to his sexy smiling lips and tempting skin when she knew Adam had barely noticed her when they were growing up.
A bit dramatic, don’t you think, Janae?
She definitely was. In a town as small as Monroe Hills, it was impossible not to know everyone, especially when they were in most of your classes from pre-K to high school. To pretend that Adam didn’t know who she was was a stretch, even for her.
“Adam,” Michael’s voice interrupted her thoughts, breaking the connection between Adam and Janae. “’S’up? Everything all right?”
“Morning, everyone.” Adam may have included the rest of them in that greeting, but it was obvious the only person he truly noticed in that room was Janae. He couldn’t stop staring at her, which meant she had to keep looking at him. Not that it was a hardship. The man’s long legs and broad, muscular build made the experience more than bearable if she were honest.
“You need something?” Michael asked, and Adam blinked, finally bringing his attention to Michael.
“Oh, I just picked up those two tickets for the reunion you asked me to get when I was near the school.”
Michael went to pull out his wallet, but Adam waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t insult me like that. You’re my boy; we look out for each other.”
Michael accepted the tickets Adam held out to him and pushed them quickly into his pocket.
“Did you get one for yourself?” Michael asked.
“Sure did,” Adam affirmed.
“You’re coming all the way from New York for our high school reunion?” Janae’s question seemed louder in the silent room, making her the subject of everyone’s attention.
“I don’t live in New York anymore,” Adam answered. “I moved back to Monroe Hills at the end of the summer.”
Janae turned to Michael, her eyes narrowed slits. If dirty looks could kill, Michael would’ve been in trouble.
“And you didn’t see fit to tell anyone, Michael?”
Michael shrugged before responding to Janae’s question. “Excuse me, but I’ve kinda been dealing with family drama. I didn’t have time to run down the movements of a grown man for you, Janae.”
“Derrick is going,” Cree added. “You know those three are joined at the hip. If Derrick and Michael are going, it’s a safe bet Adam would be there too.”
“Don’t blame Mike,” Adam directed his response to Janae. Those light whiskey brown eyes connected with hers and it was as if no one else was in the room. “I’ve been so busy getting settled, I haven’t had time to do much more than get in on a couple of pickup games with Mike and Derrick. I’m glad I got the chance to run into you.”
His eyes scanned Janae’s form up, down, and then up again, and Janae was shaken to her core. She knew that look, that barely restrained hunger that looked like it would snap loose at any moment. And it was directed at her.
Being desired wasn’t anything new to Janae. Contrary to popular belief, big girls are getting it too in these streets. But again, Adam Henderson had never paid much attention to her. Why the hell else would he be looking at her like she was the last slice of sweet potato pie on the Thanksgiving dinner table?
“You look good, real good.”
The usual Janae response would’ve been something along the lines of “Of course I do.” But somehow, her quick wit and smart-assed tongue just didn’t seem to work right, and all she could do was stare at him.
“Well,” Adam tore his gaze away from Janae’s to face Michael and Vanessa. “I still have a lot left to do today. Take care, everyone.” He walked toward the door and looked over his shoulder one last time. “Janae,” he called out to her again, and she realized her name had never sounded so good on anyone else’s tongue. “We should get together sometime. I left my phone in the car so I can’t text you my number. Mike’s got my contact info, though. Get it from him.”
Adam gave Janae one last burning look, as if he were pressing his signet ring into hot wax, making his unique mark across her mind. Then he opened the door and stepped out of the shop just as quickly as he’d come in.
All eyes focused on Janae as she stood completely still, staring at the door Adam had since exited. She blinked, trying to clear her vision and simultaneously break free of whatever spell his visit had woven around her.
When she had just enough control to speak again, she turned to her friends to ask, “What the hell are y’all staring at?”
What the hell indeed. She’d been in that man’s presence for a few short minutes and Janae didn’t recognize herself. Not her thoughts, not the way her skin sizzled with want, nor the way her fingertips ached with the need to gently caress Adam’s locs. She didn’t understand any of it.
Janae Tate was beautiful. Was her last name still Tate? Adam didn’t know. It didn’t matter, though. Whatever her driver’s license said, Janae would always be the prettiest girl in the room with her glowing deep brown skin and dark brown hair twisted into a neat bun at the top of her head. He had believed that since the sixth grade when he’d started noticing girls in the way that boys do.
Adam hung his dry cleaning in the back of his car, leaning against the closed door to process what had just happened in Vanessa’s accounting firm. It was supposed to be an in-and-out thing but running into Janae had changed that plan. He couldn’t deny his appreciation for how time had blessed this woman, taking her from a sassy little girl the boys avoided to a striking and plus-size goddess that any man with a lick of sense would beg to worship at her feet.
Back then, all he’d ever wanted was for her to notice him. She never did, though. Why? Because Adam was too afraid of his father to shoot his shot. His father had a plan for him back then: A D1 basketball college followed by an early draft into the NBA. That meant his father wouldn’t allow Adam to have anything that distracted him from constant practice on his high school team and at home.
“You’re grown now, Adam.” He murmured this as he slid into his driver’s seat and closed the door, hoping his tinted windows would prevent the people on the street from witnessing this one-on- one conversation with himself. “You don’t have to do what Grady says anymore.”
His therapist had repeated those words over and over to him throughout the years. Now it was time to speak them, and act like he knew those words to be true. That was a lot easier to say and think. Living like it was something altogether different. When your father had been everything from your coach to your manager, remembering that elusive detail was hard as hell.
“Adam,” he spoke sternly to himself. “When you decided to move back home you promised yourself you wouldn’t fall into familiar habits with your dad. Maybe running into Janae today was a reminder to honor what’s important to you and not worry about what your father or anyone else has to say.”
At that moment, he saw Janae get into her car and pull off, and hope and excitement grew inside him.
“Maybe the universe is also reminding you to finally pursue what you want.”
He couldn’t seem to drum up logic to the contrary, so he picked up his phone from the passenger seat and dialed Michael’s number.
As soon as Michael said, “Hello,” Adam’s words fell out of his mouth.
“Did you give Janae my number?”
Michael sighed like the ornery stick-in- the- mud Adam had always known him to be.
“Yes,” Michael growled. “I texted her right after she left.”
“Can you give me her number?”
“Nope,” Michael answered without the slightest hesitation. “I can ask her if it’s okay. If she says yes, I’ll send it.”
“Your propensity for always doing the right thing is annoying at the moment. Funny how all that truth and honor went out the window when it came to bringing Vanessa down here and falling for her.”
That pulled a hearty chuckle from Michael. “Have you seen my woman? I’d take someone out and bury the body just to be in her presence.”
Adam joined in Michael’s laughter. Like Sheldon Cooper said, “It’s funny because it’s true.” Adam’s friend adored Vanessa, and he would do anything to keep her by his side. Adam envied what they had. Not enough to try to find it for himself, of course. His divorce was the first step in him learning how to center his wants and needs when it came to choosing the proper path for his life. It might sound selfish, but he wasn’t willing to let anyone disturb his peace or his vision for what lay ahead.
It had taken him years of therapy to crystalize what he wanted in his life. He wanted to come home, be with his parents and his friends, and reestablish himself within their community. He wanted to solidify his job as superintendent to give the kids in town their best chance at creating a bright future for themselves.
“Yeah, but is that all you want? Can you dig deeper?”
His therapist’s words always popped up to challenge Adam when he tried to backslide into his old habits of keeping things superficial so he wouldn’t have to think too much about some of the rougher layers of his soul.
He wanted to be his own man in his father’s presence. He wanted to stand his ground and not let his father’s pushy personality overshadow Adam’s desires as they always had when he was a child. He didn’t want to keep running just to be himself. He wanted to be at home in the literal sense, but in his heart and head too.
“Listen,” Michael began again. “I saw how you were looking at her. Please tell me you’re not out to play that ‘hit it and quit it’ game you’ve been running since your divorce. I’m not gonna stand by and watch you dog Janae.”
“Mike,” Adam spoke on an exasperated huff. “It’s not even like that.” Adam sighed into the phone, slightly annoyed with his friend. “You know the school board has given me one academic year to turn things around or I’m out of a job.”
Just saying that out loud made his stomach sink. He couldn’t fail at this, not when his father was already harping on his same old song about Adam leaving the NBA for teaching. He had to show his father and himself that he was his own man and was the most qualified person to make decisions for himself. God, he couldn’t let his old man be right at this late stage.
His voice quieted, hoping his friend would understand just how serious Adam was taking his job situation, just how much succeeding at this challenge meant to him.
“I’ve got too much to prove to them and myself to stir up nonsense with Janae or anyone else for that matter. Women problems are a distraction I don’t need right now. Besides, I’ve been by myself for a good while now. I’m not looking for the grand love affair you and Vanessa are sharing. I just want . . . companionship, a friend, someone to hang out with and chill.”
The silence on the line stretched out for a long moment, making Adam wonder what was going through his friend’s mind.
“Just make sure you’re clear with her about your intentions, Adam. I don’t need the trouble of one of my best friends hurting one of my woman’s best friends. We clear?”
“As crystal,” Adam replied.
Janae sat at her kitchen table with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, soaking up the quiet and stillness the moment allowed her. The sun hadn’t yet risen, and the darkness of the room comforted the disquiet in her head.
As a nurse anesthetist, there was never quiet during her workday. It didn’t matter whether it was the day or night shift, there was always someone paging overhead, there were always beeping machines that monitored patient vital signs, and the chatter of her coworkers.
Constantly being in the middle of noise and movement, she cherished these moments on her days off when she could sit in the dark in her kitchen and just soak up the silence for a bit.
As if the universe couldn’t stand to see her calm and relaxed, her phone began to vibrate on the table.
She took another sip of her coffee, refusing to turn the phone over so she could see the caller ID. At this hour of the morning there were only two possible callers: work or . . . her mother.
One more sip and she took a long, fortifying breath and then turned it over. It was as if Evelyn Tate could sense when Janae was having too peaceful of a moment, and felt it was her personal duty to ruin it.
When she saw her mother’s name flashing across the screen she shook her head and let it go to voicemail. She’d had an amazing night of peace and she would do her level best to keep that Zen energy going. She wasn’t about to let her mother ruin her blissfully serene moment.
Instead, she slid her sleeping iPad in front of her, tapped the screen to wake it, and then opened up her crossword puzzle app. She was only a few minutes in when she heard a door shut upstairs.
“Ma!”
“And just like that, quiet time is over.”
Janae took a sip of her steaming-hot coffee and smiled. Although she could’ve used a few more moments of quiet, Janae’s mouth couldn’t help but bend into a happy smile at the sound of her pride and joy yelling her name through the house.
She stood, grabbing her “Nurses Save Lives” mug as she ambled to the wall, turning on the light before stepping behind the counter.
“And three, two, one . . .”
Heavy footsteps descended the back staircase that led into her kitchen and the greatest accomplishment in her life emerged into the room.
“Morning, son-shine.” Save for his tall and lanky frame, James Sanders was the fifteen-year- old spitting image of his mother. The moment he heard her call him by his nickname, his sleepy eyes brightened as he walked over to her, grabbing her in a hug.
“Morning, Ma. When did you get in?”
“About an hour ago.” She took a sip of her coffee before continuing. “My twelve-hour shift was long, but we didn’t have too many overnight cases. I got a bit of sleep in the on-call room.” He wrapped her up in his long arms and she laid her head on his chest and sighed. She remembered a time when she towered over him and it was his head against her chest. Now, her baby was almost an adult. Realizing she didn’t have that many more years of these kinds of morning greetings, she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.
“You got time for breakfast this morning? Do you need to leave early for dance practice, or is it fashion design today?”
That was the problem with working flex time overnights. She did twelve-hour shifts three days a week. As a parent, it was great. She had four days off a week to be there for her son. The only problem was, working those long shifts overnight meant she sometimes mixed up her days of the week.
Thank God for her calendar. She tapped on the icon to see she was right, it was dance practice this morning.
There was an extended pause, which drew her eyes up to his.
“No practice. I can have breakfast with you.”
Something about the way he answered her didn’t sit right with Janae. As a mother, you learned to understand all the cues your kid let slip, whether they meant for the slip to happen or not.
She pulled her phone from the front pocket of her robe and tapped her cellphone screen to check the day of the week. Shiftwork had a habit of blending your days together, so she needed to make certain she wasn’t mixing up her days.
“It’s Thursday, James. You always have early practice on Thursday. Did your schedule change?”
“You could say that.”
He walked over to the fridge to grab a small bottle of apple juice before returning to the counter where she stood.
“Principal Keller called a meeting during last period yesterday to tell us that effective immediately, the extracurricular design and performing arts programs would be suspended due to lack of funding from the district.”
“What?”
James twisted the bottle open, downing half of its contents in one gulp.
“She said announcements would go out to parents’ emails last night, and each of us was to take a written notice home with us.” Adding quickly before she could ask the question, “Mine is in my bag.”
She rarely checked her email at work, making it completely possible to have missed any communication from the school last night. A quick glance at her in-box from her phone, and she pulled the email up.
A fast scan of the email confirmed everything her son had reported. Her stomach sank at the realization of what this actually meant. The truth that would be revealed if this decision was allowed to stand.
“They can’t just do that with no warning.”
“Apparently, they can.” James plopped himself in a chair at the counter. “You making eggs?”
She pulled her head up from her phone and glanced at her son who was already picking up his discarded tablet that sat sleeping on the countertop.
“James, who are you trying to fool, me or you? Don’t sit there and act like this doesn’t bother you. You love that program.”
And so did she, for reasons she couldn’t disclose.
“I do.” He shrugged, purposely keeping his eyes on the screen before him.
Her heart tugged. Ever since James was a child, he’d taken it upon himself to try to not bother her. That meant he often downplayed things that affected him negatively. That practice had only gotten worse as problems escalated between her and her ex-husband that would eventually lead to their divorce.
Now, her almost-grown baby boy sat here trying to convince her he wasn’t fazed by any of this. But a mother always knew when things weren’t right. His hyper-focus on that tablet was sign number one.
“James, you love the arts. Dance, fashion, they both mean the world to you.”
He lazily swiped his finger across the screen, still refusing to look at her.
“Well, maybe if I hadn’t loved them so much, Dad would still be here.”
His words pressed heavily on her heart like a rolling boulder crushing everything in its path. She could see that old wound she’d hoped had been permanently closed slowly open back up.
Damn you, Marques Sanders.
Although she and her ex-husband Marq had found a way to co-parent, that hadn’t always been the case. His toxic masculinity, his constant need to impose his ideas of manhood onto their son, had torn a hole so big in their relationship, in their family, they’d never been able to repair the damage.
“James, your father didn’t leave because you love to dance or design clothes. He left because he and I weren’t healthy as a couple. The best thing we could do for you as your parents was separate so we could focus on being there for you instead of wasting our energy constantly fighting.”
James’ weary glance melted, giving her hope he’d somehow found truth in her words. Before she could ascertain whether he believed her or not, his eyes dropped to his screen and went back to playing with his tablet.
“Ma, you don’t have to sugarcoat it for me. I know Dad didn’t think fashion design or dance was manly. I know I was a disappointment to him.”
An angry simmer began to bubble up inside of her. She was pissed at her ex for putting this nonsense into her kid’s head. And she was doubly pissed at the high school principal who was taking away the one thing that made her kid happy.
She took the tablet out of James’ hand, placing a single finger under his chin, and tipping it upward.
“You could never be a disappointment to me or your dad. Your father may have some antiquated ideas about masculinity, but that’s not the same thing as him being disappointed in you. You are the absolute best thing that’s ever happened to us. You hear me?”
She saw some of his natural spark flash in his eyes, and her heart thumped just a little bit harder in her chest.
“Don’t you worry about the arts program. I’m gonna talk to your principal today to find out what’s going on. I’m the PTA president; this is something I should’ve been told before the notice went out to you kids. Let me handle it.”
He nodded and smiled, a real smile that reached his large, brown eyes, pouring concentrated joy directly into her veins.
“Now, would you like some sausage or bacon with those eggs?”
He tilted his head, giving her the “Ma, please” face he always used when he was begging her for something or another.
“Can I have both?”
“I swear you’re gonna eat me out of house and home.”
She gave him a wink and headed to the fridge to grab supplies. She was gonna feed her baby good, drop him off to school, then have a little talk with the principal. Because nobody, absolutely nobody, was going to snatch away something that had been so pivotal to her son’s development without hearing a strong word or two from her, especially when this program was one of a few feeder programs to the New York School of Performing and Fashion Arts.
After everything she’d sacrificed to free herself and her son from her ex’s direct influence, there was no way she could allow the one reward her son deserved to be taken away.
“Anything for my son-shine.”
Copyright © 2026 by LaQuette