Unforgettable, p.1
Unforgettable, page 1
Unforgettable
BETTE FORD
I give thanks to my Heavenly Father.
Through Him all things are possible.
To my cousins,
whose love and support mean so much.
Growing up an “only” can be lonely,
but not for me, thanks to all of you.
Diane Short, Marsha P. Carter,
Debra W. McCane, Judy C. Norris,
Cheryl M. Mays and Audrey Brown.
Dennis Porter, Larry Porter,
David Carter, Kevin Moton,
John Moton and Nathaniel Clark.
To the ladies in my Reading Group.
In the three years we’ve read and laughed together
we’ve also become good friends.
Ann Casey, Pat Frazier,
Michelle Hill, Gail Porter
and Debbie Sims.
To my agent, Nancy Yost.
You are the best!
To Jeanette Osborne Morris,
with all my love.
It has been a joy to watch you grow into
a warm, confident and lovely young woman.
Contents
Dear Readers
1
The northern city was green and lush from a long,…
2
“Everything looks great. Thanks,” Gavin smiled as he held Anna’s…
3
“The man is available.”
4
“Sounds serious,” she murmured as she began to fill plastic…
5
Gavin tried to make himself stop, but his hungry gaze…
6
“Kyle Reynolds, I’d like to see you after class.” Mrs. Winston…
7
“Well?” Gavin said once they were alone.
8
“You’ve been here a half hour and you haven’t said…
9
As Anna dressed for work the next morning, she studied…
10
“What in the hell is wrong with you, Mathis?” Wesley…
11
Anna had just hung up the telephone when it rang…
12
“Where is Gavin?” Anna asked as she slid two perfectly…
13
Anna was amazed how quickly Gavin regained his strength in…
14
“Not here,” she barely managed to whisper. “What if Kyle…
15
Gavin followed Wesley into the Prescotts’ spacious and noisy kitchen.
16
Her heart swelled with both fear of the unknown and…
17
Anna woke to the sweetest ache, causing shivers to race…
18
Gavin found the makings for sandwiches in the refrigerator. When…
19
“No. It has never been this good with anyone but…
20
Anna moved into the luxuriously appointed guest cottage on Monday.
21
Gavin took one of her hands in his. “You’re a…
22
“Oh yes. You are so beautiful.” His voice had dropped…
23
“I just got in. It’s good to see you.” Then…
24
Anna lifted her chin. “I know, but—”
25
She hastily explained. “I got soap in my eyes.”
26
When Gavin returned to the living room, he was relieved…
27
Holiday preparations were complete. Anna had done her Christmas baking…
28
It took all Anna’s resolve to get herself over to…
29
Was she making a huge mistake by taking their advice,…
Acknowledgments
Copyright
About the Publisher
Dear Readers,
Unforgettable is Gavin’s and Anna’s story. Anna Prescott is the only daughter in a family of rough and tumble males. I hope you enjoy Unforgettable as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
I’d like to thank the fans for all the emails and letters you have sent over the years. Your support and encouragement keep me going. Please write and let me know what you think. My response may be slow, but as long as I have a current address you will hear from me. Please don’t forget to include a self-addressed stamped envelope. You may write me at PO Box 944, Saginaw, MI 48606.
Happy reading,
Bette Ford
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
1
The northern city was green and lush from a long, sizzling hot summer and recent bounty of rain. September first had begun as a cool, crisp day with bright sunshine, but as the day progressed, it warmed enough for air conditioning or ceiling fans to be turned on.
Only one of the trees that surrounded Anna Prescott’s modest two-bedroom home showed hints of the rich russet and scarlet foliage yet to come. The house was situated in a residential area dotted with brick homes, schools, and a park on the east side of Detroit, Michigan.
“This is the last one,” Anna said as she sealed, then labeled the last of the aluminum containers lining her kitchen workstation.
“Good, it looks like I’ll be able to keep my promise this time. Carl is expecting me home in time to go out tonight for dinner and dancing,” Janet Raye-Matthews said with a wide smile.
The two African-American women owned Prescott-Raye Catering. Their business had been growing faster than either woman expected when they started three years ago. They worked out of Anna’s professionally equipped kitchen with one assistant, Krista Moore.
It was the big kitchen that had won Anna’s heart, with its double deep sinks, separate prep areas, and center island. It had been decorated in golden yellow with cream tiled counters, open shelves, and a large picture window that overlooked a spacious backyard.
They prepared twelve complete meals with very generous portions five days a week for their bachelor clientele, all members of the Detroit Lions football team. Not only did the meals have to be tasty but they also had to be nutritionally balanced, rich with rice or pasta, vegetables and fruits, an assortment of whole grains, meat, and dairy products.
The meals were being transferred in stainless-steel racks to the van specially equipped with both a warming unit and refrigerated drawers. Each lid was carefully labeled with the client’s name, contents, and heating instructions.
“Well, it would be nice, considering this is your first wedding anniversary,” Anna teased. “You should have spent the day pampering yourself in a spa instead of here cooking.”
The two women were opposites in looks and personality. Janet had a quick wit and ready temper, while Anna was level-headed and seldom ruffled. Janet was five-six, slim and shapely, with small features and soft, light brown skin. Her brown shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
Anna, on the other hand, was tall, five-ten, full-figured, with generous breasts and hips, and a small waist. Her soft black hair had been styled in thin, tightly coiled dreadlocks that flowed past her shoulders. She kept them pulled back into a high ponytail when she was working. Her skin was a rich and creamy mocha brown. She had inherited her height from her father and her dark gray eyes from her mother.
“Carl and I should wait and celebrate this weekend. We don’t have an event scheduled. Honestly, Anna. Why can’t he ever see that my work is just as important as his law practice?” Janet carried another rack of dinners out to the van.
Anna was right behind her, her hands, like Janet’s, covered by protective oven mitts. Together they fitted the last two trays inside the van’s heating unit.
“I’m sure if you just talk to him calmly about it, he’ll understand.”
“And whose side are you on?”
Anna smiled. “Yours, of course. But sometimes you let your temper get the best of you.”
Janet laughed. “You know me too well.”
“I should hope so. We’ve been friends and partners for years.” Shaking her head, Anna added, “I sure hope Sam likes the rack of lamb we made today. You know, I still can’t get over what happened the other day when he was entertaining his new lady friend.” She laughed. “I’m just the hired help. My outfit was hardly eye-catching.” After locking the van’s side door, they went back to the house.
Anna had recently made changes in her appearance. Instead of the loose-fitting pants and oversize tee-shirts she used to wear, she now wore form-fitting jeans and knit tops that skimmed her lush curves.
Anna had been referring to the time she’d been delivering defensive lineman Sam Roger’s meal and she’d run into his newest ladylove. The woman had gone into a jealous fit at the idea of another woman having a key to his place and threatened to dump the carefully prepared meal in the trash.
“I don’t blame her for being upset. A pretty lady in her man’s kitchen is a problem,” Janet teased. “Girl, you’ve changed your whole look over the summer. When are you going to tell me what or who caused this change? I don’t care what you say, it has to be a new man.”
Anna shook her head. “Wrong, wrong, wrong. How many times do I have to tell you? The change is all about me, no one else.”
“Why are you keeping secrets?” Janet tried another tactic.
They’d been super busy since the team had returned from their training camp. They’d added two new bachelor clients while maintaining their weekend catering jobs, which included weddings and an occasional baby or bridal shower.
“I’m not. Besides, this incident isn’t about me, but Sam’s lousy taste in women.”
Anna had quickly grown bored with the subject. It was all so simple, but others insisted on complicating the matter. One day she’d looked in her mirror and decided she was in a rut. She did something about it. End of subject.
Janet laughed, “No sense wasting time worrying about her. We both know he changes his women every other week.”
“After two years of cooking for these guys, nothing, and I mean nothing, surprises me anymore.”
They had started by catering weddings, luncheons, and banquets, and then they’d gotten lucky. With the help of Anna’s oldest brother, Wesley Prescott, and his best friend, Gavin Mathis, both Detroit players, Prescott-Raye Catering was soon catering team events. That was only the beginning.
Anna came from an athletic family. Her father, Lester Prescott, was a physical education teacher who also coached high school football, while both her older brothers were pro football players. Devin, two years younger than Wesley, was the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams. Even her little brother, Wayne, at fourteen, was already crazy about football. He was working hard to make his high school varsity team next year.
Only her cousin Ralph Prescott, who was like another older brother, wasn’t fascinated with football. He at one time had played basketball for the University of Detroit, where he now coached his old college team. His pro basketball career had ended after five years due to injury.
Anna was the only girl in the family. Although she looked like her pretty and petite mother, Donna, Anna had been five-seven by the time she was ten. She had been self-conscious about being taller than all the other kids in her fifth-grade class, even the boys. But thanks to her mother, over the years she’d grown comfortable with herself.
She couldn’t help being a tomboy, growing up with her rough-and-tumble cousin and brothers. It was only after her twenty-seventh birthday that she had taken the time to bother with clothes. Yet she’d always enjoyed floral-scented perfumes and bath products, as well as silky underthings.
Her mother, who had always given her form-fitting, feminine gifts, had been very pleased by the changes Anna had made, but like Janet, she was full of questions.
“Do you think she’s the one?” Janet asked, eager for a bit of gossip.
“Sam’s new lady?”
“Who else?”
“I have no idea and I’m not about to lose sleep worrying about who will end up with any of our bachelor clients.”
“You would be interested if it was Gavin Mathis we were discussing,” Janet tossed back.
“Why?”
“He’s your brother’s best friend. And it was his bragging about your food that started this.”
“Yes, we owe him. But what does one thing have to do with the other? Gavin is like a brother to me, as you well know. Besides, if he were seeing someone special, I’d know about it. Gavin wouldn’t keep a secret from the family.”
“They’re confirmed bachelors only until the right woman comes along,” Janet teased.
“I don’t know. Gavin claims it’s for life. He dates and probably sleeps around, then leaves as soon as he gets what he wants,” Anna surmised.
“Are you talking from personal experience?”
“Just speculating.” She laughed. “I’d better get these meals delivered. Forget about the kitchen and get out of here early. I’ll clean up when I get back.”
Anna gave her friend a quick hug. “Enjoy yourself. Bye.”
Gavin Mathis lived west of Woodward Avenue in the Palmer Park section of the city. His place was always last on her list. It was after six when Anna paused outside the high wrought-iron fences that enclosed the lush acreage surrounding his large, beautiful home.
When Anna had bought her own house, she’d done so because she knew she would have no independence living in her parents’ home. Her father, cousin, and older brothers were down right overprotective of her. Old-fashioned wasn’t the term to describe her father’s attitude when it came to his only daughter—he was antiquated. He’d gone so far as to teach not only his sons but also the nephew who grew up in his home to always look out for Anna, no matter what.
After Anna punched in the security code, the electronic gates swung open. As Anna recalled Janet’s questions about Gavin, she recognized that she had no idea how she would react if she ran into one of his lady friends at his place. Gavin, like her brothers and cousin, had his share of women.
It had only been since Wesley had met and married Kelli Warner that his life had changed for the better. And when sweet little Kaleea had been born, he became a proud father with hints of becoming as protective of his little girl as his own father.
What Anna couldn’t figure out was why Janet would doubt her claim that Gavin was like a brother to her. She’d known him since she was in her teens. Gavin and Wesley had been close friends since they played football together at Michigan State University.
Gavin had been invited to so many holiday meals over the years that she thought of him as family. After the men turned pro, Gavin and Wesley had become business partners as well. They jointly owned several sporting goods stores across the country.
Anna shook her head, bewildered by why her best friend believed there was anything between them other than friendship. It was ridiculous. Gavin was no more romantically interested in her than she was in him.
Anna didn’t need to look into a mirror to verify that she was nothing like the petite and exquisitely beautiful women Gavin dated. Besides, she was beginning to believe that there wasn’t a woman alive who could captivate that man’s attention for long.
She certainly wasn’t stupid enough to get in that very long line of hopefuls, even though Gavin was one of the few men she could actually look up to, even in three-inch heels. At six-foot-four with wide shoulders and powerful biceps, he was big enough to make even a big woman like her feel small. Not that it mattered, of course.
The house was set back from the road. Anna followed the paved drive, taking the curve to the right that brought her to the side entrance. She parked in front of the four-car attached garage done in the same pale beige brick as the impressive house.
Collecting the last covered containers, Anna let herself inside Gavin’s side door. She called out a hello, making her way past the laundry room, bathroom, and into the large, sunny kitchen. It was a kitchen that any professional cook would love. She should know, since she’d planned and decorated it at his insistence. He’d been too busy playing football to be bothered about the details.
The kitchen was painted a warm cream with long, hunter green granite counters and back splash. The floor was a beautiful gold-veined marble. Pale maple cabinets were placed around the room but there were no overhead cabinets to block the row of windows that overlooked the extensive garden beyond. A double-door, stainless steel paneled refrigerator stood beside the built-in desk, and the sinks and drawer-pulls were also stainless steel.
There were built-in convection and conventional ovens, as well as a six-burner stovetop built into the large circular center island with additional sink and prep areas. The island also sported a raised counter that served as a breakfast bar.
A cream marble counter for working with pastry was positioned in front of one of the wide windows, with two built-in refrigerator drawers underneath for cooling dough and storing cream and butter. The kitchen also contained every modern appliance on the market, such as built-in deep fryer, microwave, and KitchenAid mixer.
Gavin had lived in New York while he played for the Giants. His home back then had been decorated by an interior designer, and he hated it. When he moved to Detroit three years ago to play for the Lions, he had asked Anna and her mother to do the decorating. His only instruction was to make it feel like a home.
Anna had taken special joy in designing the spacious kitchen. It turned out to be her dream kitchen, and she often teased Gavin, telling him that it was completely wasted on him. He’d only laughed, inviting her to use it any time she wanted.
