Rival's Desire

Viv did her best, but her timing and pitch were way off. Caesar had gotten to her more than she cared to admit. He was all she could think of.

“You know, Viv, I can’t understand why you’ve never been able to get along with that man,” Anna noted, propping one hand on her hip.

Dacia nodded. “I can’t, either. I mean, Caesar Morrison is…mmm, Caesar Morrison.” She sighed.

“Sexy,” Diane added.

“And, mmm…delicious,” Ivory concluded.

“And you sluts have one-track minds,” Vivian retorted, giving them each distasteful looks. “Caesar Morrison and I have hated each other since we shared the same playpen.”

“But, Viv, girl, that was when you two were kids. The playpen could be a lot more exciting now.”

The entire studio came alive with laughter over Diane’s comment. Even Viv couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at her full lips.

“Listen—” she reached for her glasses “—I will admit that Caesar is fine, sexy and all that, but it could never work for us.”

“Why not?” Ivory asked. “He knows you’re not after him for his money. The two of you have known each other all your lives.”

Vivian shook her head at Ivory’s reasoning. “The man is just too pigheaded and too much of a sexist.”

Everyone groaned, but Viv stood firm. Luckily, they were able to get some real work done before parting ways for the evening. Vivian thought about all the advice her partners had given her during rehearsal. Of course, a relationship with the gorgeous athlete was out of the question.

“I hope that cools you down a bit,” Francine remarked, pulling the stylish sunglasses away from her face.

Caesar hoisted his muscular frame out of the pool. He reached for the thick towel hanging off the back of a chaise longue. “Funny,” he replied as he dried droplets of water from his body.

“Sweetie, is it really that hard to get along with Vivian? She’s so lovely and lively.”

“That’s it right there,” Caesar replied, holding out one hand. “She’s too lively. The girl is loud and pushy…nothin’ but a headache I don’t need.”

“I think you’ve met your match.”

“My match?” Caesar mocked, his deep voice muffled by the towel covering his head.

“She’s a woman who isn’t so in awe of your looks and stature that she literally falls over herself to get your attention.”

“Granny, you know I don’t date stupid women,” Caesar proclaimed, tucking the towel around his lean waist before taking a seat next to Francine. “Besides, I don’t think Plum’s ever seen me that way.”

A look of disbelief crossed Francine’s lovely caramel-toned face. “Baby, if you believe that, you’re crazy,” she said, patting Caesar’s cheek. “You know, it would be so nice if the two of you came to an agreement before dinner.”

Caesar’s long, light brows drew close. “Go see Viv again? No thanks!”

Francine just smiled as she shifted position on the comfortable lounge. “I think it would be very nice if the two of you showed up on my doorstep ready to cooperate. Together.”

Caesar’s mouth fell open as he stared at his grandmother.

Viv began running a bath in her sunken Jacuzzi tub. Just as she was about to add a bit more bath foam to the bubbling water, she heard a loud commotion. The bottle fell into the bath as she rushed out of the room. She flew down the burgundy-carpeted staircase and through the living room. Obviously the deafening boom had come from outside, so something major must have happened. When she pulled open the front door and saw her neighbor seated amid a group of boxes, she almost laughed.

“If I see one smile, your butt is mine,” Alex Trevor threatened.

“What happened?” she asked, gathering her long, emerald silk robe in one hand as she stepped out into the hall.

Alex smashed one of the huge boxes with his fist and grimaced. “I put the damned wedge in the door to hold it open, but when I got back with all these damned boxes, the heavy-ass door must’ve closed on the wedge. Thereby, producing the loud boom you heard when I slammed into the door.”

“Well, it looks like I’m the only one that heard it,” Viv noted, looking down the long, empty corridor.

Alex huffed. “Those deadbeats,” he muttered, referring to the other two top-floor apartment tenants.

“Are you locked out?”

“Hell yes.”

Viv smiled and pulled a long bobby pin from the ball atop her head. “Stand back,” she ordered, coming to kneel before the front door.

Alex crossed his arms over his wide chest and frowned. “What are you doin’?”

“Just hold on,” Vivian said as she jiggled the pin inside the brass lock. A few moments later she heard a soft click and twisted the knob. “There you go.”

“Where the hell did you learn to do that?” Alex asked, kneeling in front of his door to inspect the lock.

Viv chuckled and patted the top of Alex’s shiny bald head. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, stooping to pick up one of the boxes. “Dammit, boy, what do you have in here?”

A sneaky smirk crossed Alex’s dark face. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Funny,” Viv replied, though she was happy that she was able to calm her neighbor’s quick temper.

For the next fifteen minutes, Alex and Viv worked on getting the boxes inside. Viv discovered Alex had asked his long-time girlfriend to move in with him and she’d accepted. All the boxes belonged to her.

“How much more do you have?” Viv asked.

“A crapload.”

Viv laughed. The full, throaty sound filtered out into the hall as she opened the front door. It reached Caesar’s ears just as he stepped off the elevator. His sparkling, light brown eyes scanned the long carpeted hallway for any sign of Viv. He spotted her with a tall, dark man. They were laughing and had their arms around each other.

“Thank you, sweetheart. I really appreciate what you did,” Alex said, pressing a kiss to Viv’s cheek.

“Ah, no problem, hon.” Then, she turned toward her apartment just as the door closed behind Alex.

“Viv!”

Gasping, she turned at the sound of the booming voice. Her dark eyes widened at the sight of Caesar Morrison bolting down the hall.

Chapter 2

“What the hell were you doing?”

Viv propped one hand on her hip and glared at Caesar. “Excuse me?”