His Holiday Bride

She shrugged. “Just wondering.”

Satisfied that the chili was coming along okay, Paul wiped his hands on a nearby dishtowel. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned a hip against the counter. “Can I ask you something?”

Amber shrugged, her attention focused on the laughing baby in her arms.

“How did you end up in L.A. with someone like Dashuan Kennedy?”

She glanced at his face, then looked away. “I thought Luther would’ve filled you in.”

“No, he was too concerned with your safety to worry about details.”

“So, now you want all the gory details?”

Paul stood straight and began to put away his seasonings and spices. “Look, it’s your business, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay.”

“No…it’s no big deal. Hell, thanks to Dashuan’s entourage, most of Detroit probably already knows the story, anyway.”

She crossed the room and put the baby down in the playpen. Joachim started to protest, until he realized all his toys surrounded him. He rolled over on his tummy, and then up on his knees like a pro, crawling toward his favorite.

Amber wrapped her arms around her body and walked to the large window that looked out on the night, framing the mountains silhouetted in the background.

Paul just stood watching her, giving her time to decide if she wanted to share what was obviously an embarrassing memory.

“My sister Opal works for the Chargers owner D’marcus Armstrong. He gives me tickets to the games. The seats are so close to the team I could smell their sweat.”