A Los Angeles Passion
“I wonder who that is,” Kyra said. “I hope he’s a bachelor. But I didn’t flip through the bachelor book long enough to spot him.”
“There’s a reason some of the men aren’t very happy with him,” Vaughn said. “That’s Trey Moore, oldest son of Reginald Moore.”
Kiara stole her eyes away to look at Vaughn and Miranda. “The son of the man who caused the LA chapter to be placed on the six-month suspension?”
“In the flesh,” Vaughn said. “But I’ve been working with Trey for some charity events lately, and he’s a good guy. He and his two brothers were cleared of any wrongdoings, but I guess some of the members think the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“Well, I don’t know the story,” Kyra said. “But Mr. Daddy Daycare seems to be in the running for tonight’s greatest catch. Women are fawning all over him and that baby.”
“I don’t think he has any kids,” Vaughn said. “So, I’m not sure who the baby is. Trey is also the brain behind Rent-a-Bachelor. He’s involved with a lot of community outreach for the chapter.”
Kiara glanced back at Trey just as his eyes lifted from the baby and locked onto hers. She gasped, caught off guard by the intensity in his gaze. Even from across the room, she could feel the heat.
“Well, well, well.” Kyra nudged her. “Looks like our little Kiara has caught someone’s eye.”
Kiara swallowed, willing her eyes to break contact. Come on, girl. Why are you still staring at him? She vaguely heard her friends continuing to chatter around her, but she wasn’t comprehending anything they were saying. His gaze had her hypnotized and she was pretty sure she’d never stared at a stranger this long or this deeply before.
“I’m not interested,” she said as she finally looked away. She ignored the shared look between Kyra and Miranda. When no one began speaking, she realized they were waiting to call her out on her blatant lie.
“I’m seriously not,” she said again, before turning to Vaughn. “I know this isn’t your chapter, but do you think you could give us a quick tour?”
Vaughn nodded. “Sure. The LA members have opened some of the rooms for tours and such tonight anyway. We’ll start on the second level.”
“Great,” Kiara said a little too enthusiastically. When she’d finally agreed to a night out, she’d assumed she would catch up with her friends before their trip to Dubai and maybe have some good old-fashioned adult conversation since the majority of her day was spent around children and babies. What she hadn’t signed up for was the most intense eye contact she’d ever had. His eyes had seemed to penetrate right through her, and all she’d wanted to do was tell him to keep on peeling back the layers.
If he could do all that from across the room without even saying two words to her, she didn’t want to know what would happen if they actually spoke.
* * *
“Who are you looking for?”
Trey turned to face his brother Max. “No one. Just checking out the crowd and seeing who arrived.”
Even though they were members of the same chapter and were heavily involved in Prescott George, they weren’t particularly close. Their brother Derek was a member as well, but only because their father insisted on paying his membership dues. Trey had always wondered if Reginald paid Derek’s dues because he genuinely thought Derek would be a great member, or just for bragging rights to say that all three of his sons were a part of Prescott George.
“The turnout is great,” Max said. “Great idea, Trey.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” When Trey had initially presented the idea of having Rent-a-Bachelor as a fund-raising effort to support their big Christmas bash for the chapter, he hadn’t expected so many members to be on board given the crazy few months they’d had. Surprisingly, the vote had been unanimous.
Max smiled as he glanced down at Matthew. “And who is this little guy?”
“This is Matthew, Carmen’s son, and the reason I had to put you guys on hold a couple days ago when Reginald called.” Trey looked from his nephew to Max. “Actually, I was hoping I would see you tonight. I’m sorry to hear about Reginald. How are you holding up?”
Max’s smile dropped. “I’m okay given the circumstances. I know that you and Derek don’t care for him, but I can’t imagine him not being here.”
Trey clasped Max’s shoulder. “I may not like the man, but I would never wish death on anyone. After I got over the initial shock, I immediately thought about you and how hard I know this will be for you. It’s unfortunate, and if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.” As the words left his mouth, Trey realized he truly did mean every word. He wanted to be there for Max.
“Thanks, man.” Max grew quiet for a few moments before speaking. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. After the call, some things were sort of left unsaid. I know you and Derek don’t owe Reginald anything, but I want to do this for him. I want to investigate this a little more and see if he’s innocent like he claims to be, but I don’t think I can do it alone. I know we all have demanding schedules, but I can’t help but feel like this is something we should all be doing together.”
Trey had figured that Max would want to investigate the case for Reginald. He’d had a couple of days to think about the phone call, and although Trey didn’t think for one minute that Reginald deserved their help, he couldn’t deny the fact that it would weigh heavily on his heart if Reginald was telling the truth and died without them uncovering the real culprit.
“Although I’m not sure I believe that Reginald is innocent, I’d be willing to help investigate further,” Trey said. “Maybe we should talk to Derek and meet sometime this week.”
“I appreciate this,” Max said. “And I already spoke to Derek. I called him this morning. He told me he was sorry that Reginald was dying, but Reginald has never been a part of his life, so he won’t help. I know that although he is a member, he isn’t actively involved with anything for Prescott George, but I’m hoping that he attends tonight so we can talk.”
Trey nodded. “I understand where he’s coming from. I may not have the best relationship with Reginald, but Derek went through worse. I think Derek would be willing to meet with us, though. My schedule is swamped, but maybe you could swing by my place this Sunday morning. Are you free?”
Max pulled out his cell phone. “I think so. I can come by before an event I have to appear at. What about Derek?”
“He texted me that he’s supposed to be here tonight.”
Max’s eyes widened. “Really? Derek never attends anything related to Prescott George.”
“I was surprised, too,” Trey said. “But in case he doesn’t show or doesn’t stay for long, maybe we should just contact him after the event and see if he’s willing to meet with us?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Max said.
After they parted ways, Trey was still a little surprised that after all this time, he was finally going to spend some time with his half brothers. Max had once tried to get close to him and Derek, but they both had shut him down. Being the oldest, Trey knew what he had to do. Even if they discovered Reginald was lying about his innocence, it was time for the Moore brothers to finally try to forge a relationship of their own.
Chapter 4
“Come on, beautiful,” Trey said to himself. “Where did you go?” He’d been working the room for the past thirty minutes and had already scanned some of the penthouse in search of the brown bombshell in the white dress he’d seen when he’d arrived.
He was about to head to the second level, when he heard someone call out his name. Trey turned around to greet his friend and his wife.
“Kendrick, Nicole. I’m glad you both made it.”
“Thanks for inviting us,” Kendrick said as the two dabbed fists. “It’s a great turnout.”
“Thanks, man. How long have you been here?”
“A little over an hour. We brought a friend with us, but we lost her pretty early on.”
Trey leaned in to give Nicole a hug, careful not to crush the baby against his chest. “Hey, Nicole. Beautiful as always.”
“Thank you. You look handsome yourself, but I must say that this little guy is stealing all the attention. I haven’t seen Matthew since he was two months old. How’s Carmen doing?”
“She’s good,” Trey said. “She got a gig on some new television show, so I’m watching Matthew for her.”
“I heard about that,” Kendrick said. “Congrats to her.”
Trey knew Kendrick from the Hollywood scene and had even written screenplays for a couple of movies that Kendrick had been the creative director of. Now Kendrick and his wife, Nicole, owned an up-and-coming production company.
When all the drama was going on with Reginald, Trey had been able to count on Kendrick and his wife for their support, which was more than he could say for some friends that he’d known his entire life. Kendrick wasn’t a member of Prescott George, but he understood all too well how scandals could affect your career, having dealt with his own scandal a while back.
“Are you good, man?” Kendrick asked. Trey didn’t have to wonder why he’d asked. This was the first event they’d had for the LA chapter since the suspension was lifted.
“I’m good,” Trey said. “Except for the fact that Matthew is getting a little fussy and I’ve been trying to track down this beautiful woman I saw when I arrived.”
“A woman, huh?” Nicole wiggled her eyebrows. “Was she wearing a beautiful white dress and some gorgeous red pumps?”
Trey squinted his eyes. “How did you guess that?”
Nicole tilted her head to the side. “Because Kendrick and I brought my girl Kyra with us to this event, and right now, Kyra is wearing her Million-Dollar-Matchmaker smile and dragging a woman in a white dress this way.”
Trey glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing on the tall, curvy woman he’d been searching for. Nicole wasn’t lying. The other woman did appear to be dragging her his way, but he didn’t care as long as he got a closer look.
The white dress she wore fitted her hips and thighs perfectly, but it was her red heels with a strap that wrapped around the ankle that was doing wild things to his imagination. Top that with her silver raindrop necklace that dipped in between her cleavage, and he was sure he’d forget everyone at the party and leave with her if she asked him to.
Her shoulder-length dark brown hair fell in waves around her shoulders, and now that he could see her more closely, he noticed that her cat-shaped eyes seemed to be taking him in just as much as he was.
When they reached them, his throat tightened when he noticed just how plush her red-colored lips were. He could stand there and look at her lips all day. Had Kendrick not nudged him, he probably would have.
“Sorry—what happened?” he asked.
Kendrick shook his head. “Trey, this is our friend Kyra.”
“Nice to meet you,” Trey said, forcing himself to focus on the introduction. Kyra was definitely an attractive woman, but Trey couldn’t take his eyes off her friend.
“Nice to meet you, too, lover boy,” Kyra said with a laugh. “But I’m sure you want to meet my friend Kiara. So—” Kyra lifted Kiara’s hand in the air “—Trey, meet Kiara.”
Trey wasted no time lifting his hand and enclosing hers in his. When he did, Kiara’s eyes shot down to their hands before meeting his gaze again. That’s interesting, Trey thought. He’d heard about people meeting and feeling sparks when their hands touched, but he’d always thought it was a myth. Looking down at his hand and Kiara’s hand, he knew now what those folks had meant. When Kiara removed her hand, he had to refrain from lifting it again.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kiara,” Trey said.
Kiara smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Trey.” Even her voice is sexy. Kiara’s voice was sultry, yet subtle. A combination he’d never really heard before. Had they not been surrounded by their friends, Trey would have bit down on his fist to contain his excitement from hearing his name leave her lips. Instead, he returned her smile, oblivious to the fact that their friends had excused themselves, leaving him alone with Kiara.
“Where did they go?” he asked, looking behind him.
“Kyra pulled them away a few seconds ago as she muttered some inappropriate things,” Kiara said. “Therefore, I won’t dare repeat them.”
Trey laughed, remembering how Kyra had introduced them. “I’m guessing subtlety isn’t her strong suit.”
Kiara shook her head. “Not at all. I doubt subtlety is even in her vocabulary.”
“We all need at least one friend like that,” Trey said. “And I’m glad she introduced us. I’ve been trying to find you all night.”
“I doubt that,” she said.
“I was. Ever since I walked in and spotted you from across the room.”
Kiara glanced away. “I’m not interested.”
Okay, maybe that last line was a little cheesy. But it’s true. “You’re not?”
“No,” she said, meeting him with a cold stare. “It may have seemed like I was staring, but it was only because I was trying to figure out who you were.”
Trey studied her eyes for any sign that she wasn’t being honest. Ever since Reginald had been expelled from Prescott George, he’d run into a few women who knew the story and treated him as if he were his father. It only took one look into Kiara’s eyes to realize she’d heard the story and was also passing judgment.
But she genuinely looked interested earlier tonight, he thought. No way I imagined the look she had in her eye. Trey could admit that he’d once misjudged a woman’s interest in him, but that was way back in college and it had only happened that one time. Tonight, he’d felt the way Kiara had been staring at him all the way to his bones.
“He’s adorable,” Kiara said as she looked down at Matthew. “And he’s getting fussy.”
Trey bounced a little in place to try to calm down Matthew. “Yeah, I think it’s past his bedtime, but I can’t get him to fall asleep. He’s my nephew and I’m babysitting him for a couple weeks, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”
On cue, Matthew started wailing, gaining attention from people standing near them. Trey tried to remain calm, but he couldn’t figure out how to console him. Finally getting an idea, Trey reached in his pocket to pull out a pacifier, but Kiara swooped in, pulled Matthew out of the carrier and was already calming him down.
“Do you have a blanket or anything for me to cover my dress?” she asked.
Trey fumbled with the baby bag and pulled out a blanket. “Here you go.” He draped the blanket over her shoulder. “It took me over an hour to put that carrier together, and you unsnap him from it like it’s a piece of cake. You’re really great with babies.”
“I should be,” Kiara said with a laugh. “I own LA Little Ones Daycare and Preschool, so I’m around babies all day.”
“I’ve heard of LA Little Ones,” Trey said. “Quite a few folks in the film industry take their kids to your day care.”
Kiara looked up from Matthew. “You work in television?”
“I’m a screenwriter,” Trey said, as a thought came to mind. “And you may be the answer to my prayers. I only have a couple weeks to finish my screenplay, and it’s hard to do that with an infant. Placing him in a day care for the daytime would help me tremendously.”
“I would love to help you out, but I can’t. The current wait for an open slot in my day care is twelve months.”
“You’re kidding me,” Trey said. “A twelve-month wait? Any chance you can make an exception? I know we just met, but you’d be doing me a huge favor.”
Kiara was shaking her head before Trey finished his plea. “Sorry—wish I could. But if I make an exception for you, I’d have to make an exception for others.” Once Matthew was completely calm, Kiara placed him back in the carrier.
“I understand,” Trey said, deflated. “I apologize for asking for special treatment. That usually isn’t like me. It’s just been a stressful few months, so I’m not completely myself.”
Kiara’s eyes softened. “I know it’s not my place to ask, but is your stress because of what your father did?”
Trey frowned. He’d suspected her hot-and-cold behavior toward him was because she’d heard about the suspension and knew Reginald was his father, but it didn’t make having her ask any easier. “Unfortunately, yes, Reginald is my father, but we aren’t that close.”
Trey blinked, surprised that he’d shared that fact. He usually kept any thoughts about Reginald to himself.
“It must be even harder since you aren’t that close,” Kiara said. “I assume that if you were, you’d expect for people to associate you with your father. But since you aren’t, you’re guilty by association with a man you don’t have a close relationship with.”
Trey nodded. “I’ve never heard someone put it so clearly. Yes, that’s exactly it. And honestly, I don’t care for the man. To be investigated and have my character questioned was embarrassing and infuriating. To top it off, Reginald called all his sons to claim his innocence and asked us for our help to prove it. Why he feels privileged enough to even contact us is beyond my understanding. But of course, I will probably agree to help because what type of son would I be if I refuse to help him and prove that I’m no better than he is?”
The words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to reel them back in. Trey’s frustrated eyes caught Kiara’s understanding ones. Why the hell did I just tell her all that? He really needed to take a vacation after he turned in his screenplay because he had no doubt he was slowly losing his mind and, apparently, losing his filter, too.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m usually a more private person, but like I said, it’s been a stressful few months.”
Kiara reached out her hand to touch Trey’s. “It’s okay. I’m glad you told me.” Her fingers began moving in small circles over his skin, the heat from her touch making him wish he could keep her hands right where they were, all night.
“Tell you what,” she said. “This one time, I’ll make an exception and accept Matthew into LA Little Ones for the next two weeks.”
“Thank you,” Trey said with a grateful smile. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
Kiara laughed. “Don’t thank me yet. You don’t know how much it costs. LA Little Ones isn’t cheap.”
“I had a feeling it wasn’t.” Trey leaned closer to Kiara, immediately soaking in the sweet scent of her perfume. “I’m willing to pay whatever it costs because I’m grateful for your help.”
“You’re welcome, but I’m not only doing this for you.” Kiara looked at Matthew, who was now sleeping soundly. “I’m doing this for Matthew’s sake.” She tugged at the contraption holding up the infant. “The BabyBjorn is inside out and a couple clips are configured wrong. At this rate, there’s no way you can babysit by yourself.”
Her eyes were teasing, but Trey also knew there was some truth to what she was saying. He hoped that she realized he didn’t care if Matthew was the real reason she’d agreed to help him out, because accepting Matthew into her day care meant that she would be seeing a lot more of him whether she wanted to or not.
Chapter 5
“Here we are, M-dog,” Trey said as he pulled into the parking lot of LA Little Ones. Trey wasn’t sure what he suspected, but the upscale day care was a lot larger than he’d thought it would be.
When Trey walked through the doors of the place, he smiled as he was immediately greeted by the sweet smell of baby lotion. The lobby was painted in soft pastels, and although he couldn’t really see past the front desk, he could tell the colors and design were constant throughout.
“Welcome to LA Little Ones,” the receptionist said. “Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes,” he said. “My name is Trey Moore. Kiara Woods is expecting me at this time.”
The receptionist typed a few keys. “I see your appointment, sir. If you wait here, I’ll call Ms. Woods for you.”
Trey only had to wait a couple of minutes before Kiara arrived. “Hello, Mr. Moore. You can follow me to my office.”
“Of course,” he said, trying to maintain his composure. Trey wasn’t sure what it was about this woman, but Kiara’s beauty kicked him in the gut in a way a woman never had before.
Today, she was wearing a flowy peach dress and brown sandals, giving him the first peek of her French-tip-painted toenails. Matthew made a gurgling noise, reminding him that he was here for his nephew and not to soak in Kiara’s beauty.
“On our way to my office, I’ll give you a quick tour,” Kiara said as she glanced over her shoulder. The move instantly made Trey envision her spread on all fours, glancing over her shoulder in the same way. Okay, so maybe I’m here to soak in her beauty as well.
“Here’s the main room for our newborns and infants.” Kiara pointed to a room with crisp white cribs all lined in two rows and a cream-colored wall. In one corner were several rocking chairs, and in the other, a plush rug and huge stuffed animals. “Through those double doors are two additional rooms for infants and it’s equipped with its own large bathroom.”
Trey peeked into the room, noticing that almost all the cribs were full.
“And this is our main toddler room and activity center,” Kiara said as she walked down the hall. “This space also has two additional rooms and its own private bathroom. Infants and toddlers react best to any semblance of familiarity, so the warm colors and the type of cognitive and visual activities we provide at LA Little Ones will follow the child throughout their time in our program.”
As they walked through the day care and preschool, Kiara explained their nutritional program and showed him the preschool area in the second wing of the building. As she’d stated, he noticed consistency throughout the tour.
“Trey, I’d like for you to meet Monica,” Kiara said when they made their way back to the infant room. “Monica is the nursery director and my eyes and ears when I’m not here.”
Trey extended a hand. “Nice to meet you, Monica.”
“You as well,” she said, accepting his handshake.
Kiara waved over another woman. “Trey, I’d like for you to meet Penny. She’ll be the nurse assigned to Matthew during his time with us. We will be sending you live updates on Matthew throughout the day. At the end of the week, you’ll receive a detailed report on Matthew’s diet, health, sleeping patterns during naps and any additional findings we see fit to share.”
Trey greeted Penny as well, impressed by the professionalism of the staff and the entire operation.
“You can leave Matthew with Penny,” Kiara said. “And then we’ll head back to my office and discuss additional details.”
Trey did as Kiara suggested. Once they were in Kiara’s office, Trey finally let out an appreciative whistle.
“Wow. This is more like a luxury hotel for kids than a day-care center and preschool. I am thoroughly impressed and I can see why the wait to be a part of LA Little Ones is twelve months long.”
“Thank you.” Kiara smiled and motioned for Trey to take a seat, while she sat behind her desk. “I’ll admit that I was hoping the day care would be in high demand when I started the business, but I had no idea to what lengths some people would go to get their child placed here.”
“What do you mean?”
Kiara pointed to a locked file cabinet in the corner of her office. “That cabinet is filled with couples who are currently trying to conceive or have plans to try soon and want to leave deposits one to three years out for their future child to be accepted into our program.”
“Get out of here,” Trey said. “Although that’s surprising, you should be extremely proud of everything you’ve accomplished.”
Kiara glanced around her office. “I am, but it’s not just me. I have an amazing staff who believed in my vision and saw the potential before anyone else did. A lot of my staff have been with me since the beginning. Without them, I’m not sure I would have reached this level of success so soon.”
Trey observed Kiara as she went into more detail about how certain staff members contributed to the vision. She’d been such a maddening mix of friendly and aloof last night at the auction, he hadn’t been sure if he’d imagined her initial interest, or if she was just trying to appear to be indifferent.