I Heard A Rumor by Cheris Hodges Page A

he’d closed in New York. It wasn’t that she was bored; just like all the other guests at the table, that man enthralled her.
    She, however, was tired and a little drunk. Chante wasn’t a big drinker, but after her conversation with her mother she’d downed two more glasses of bourbon. Of course, Allison blamed her for Robert’s bad choice. She toyed with her fork as conversations went on around her.
    â€œAre you all right?” Zach asked when he noticed she’d gone silent.
    â€œYeah, yeah, I’m fine.”
    â€œNo, you’re not,” he said leaning closer to her. “What happened with you and your mother? Since your tête-à-tête with her, you’ve been quiet, and you seem kind of tipsy.”
    â€œI’m ready to go,” she blurted out. “I’m tired of pretending I’m getting married and acting as if that’s going to make my mother acknowledge that I’ve made something of my life.”
    A few heads turned in Chante and Zach’s direction, and she didn’t give a damn what they heard. When she saw her mother coming her way, she rose to her feet—in very wobbly fashion. Zach stood and held her steady.
    â€œWhat’s going on down here? A lover’s quarrel?” Allison asked.
    â€œNo,” Chante said, “Zach and I have decided we’re going . . .”
    â€œTo head back to the hotel,” he chimed in. “My fiancée had a little too much to drink and isn’t feeling well.”
    Allison shook her head. “You are so much like your father,” she said.
    â€œWell, thank God for small miracles.”
    â€œChante, why do you have to . . . ?”
    â€œLadies,” Zach said, “let’s table this for later. I need to get my baby into bed.”
    Chante and her mother looked at Zach with their mouths in the shapes of Os. Allison may have been scandalized by his announcement, but Chante was intrigued. In bed? Did he know that after this dinner party, that was a strong possibility? Did he know that she’d wanted to hop into bed with him right after they’d finished playing in the ocean?
    Knowing him, though, he probably meant he was going to take her up to her suite and make sure she got into bed and slept off her bourbon-induced insanity. Still, Chante brought her mouth to his and kissed him with an unbridled passion that made her mother gasp and some of the dinner guests clap.
    â€œIt’s so good to see young people in love,” said one of the women sitting next to where Chante and Zach stood. Breaking the kiss, she looked up at him and smiled.
    â€œLet’s go.”
    â€œI can’t believe you,” Allison cried out, then dropped her head in her hands and started to sob.
    Chante was sure her mother was faking it and didn’t give her a second glance as Zach walked her to the front lawn.
    â€œChante, what was that back there?” he asked as he unlocked the Mustang.
    â€œA lot of history and anger. Thanks to Jack Daniels, I just felt like telling her how I feel.”
    Zach helped Chante into the car. “You and your mother have some deep-rooted issues.”
    â€œAnd I’ve had too much to drink.” Chante blinked. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
    Before Zach could move out of the way, Chante barfed all over his leather shoes.
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    When Chante woke up, she was sure that the last few hours had been a dream. She was wrapped in a blanket in her bed at the Charleston Harbor Bed and Breakfast. She stretched her arms above her head and turned toward the double doors leading out onto the balcony. She saw how dark it was and realized she’d been dreaming about having an argument with her mother at the low-country boil. And there was no way that Allison knew about Robert, nor did she . . .
    â€œHello, Sleeping Beauty. You owe me a new pair of loafers.”
    â€œOh my God,” she groaned. “It wasn’t a