Baby Momma Read online

  Tosha Damaya

  Baby Momma

  Copyright ©2015 by Tosha Damaya

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be produced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior consent from the author.

  Baby Momma is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or settings is entirely coincidental.

  This book is suitable for mature audiences.

  ≈

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  Uncut Ink is accepting submissions.

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  To [email protected]

  Dedicated to my grandmother, Ruby Richardson. Thank you for always being there and providing your opinion, even when it’s unwarranted. You are the reason I fell in love with books.

  ≈

  Prologue

  Zeke tossed his nephew a few inches into the air and caught him softly in his arms. Little Gavin giggled in delight as he repeated the action again. Zeke seeing the smile on his chubby cheeks made the commute from Austin to New Orleans worth it. His work schedule was the reason for not being able to come home since Gavin's birth five months ago. He didn't realize how much he missed his nephew until he was in his presence again.

  At twenty-seven, Zeke was a lawyer in Austin, Texas. He devoted most of his life to his demanding career. In his spare time, he worked with small businesses and helped friends and family with legal issues.

  He was tired and appreciative of the holiday break. He came home the day before Christmas and was returning to Austin a few days after the New Year. Out of four children, he was the only one that ventured out and lived in another state. His three brothers still resided in their home state of Louisiana.

  Home. He never realized how much he missed it until he came back for a visit. He looked around the table and observed his oldest brother, Gavin, being attentive to his wife, Jeanette. While Trevor and Ethan argued about a football game, his mother was situated at the head of the table, cutting into an apple pie. He made the mental note to come back more often. Nothing could compare to a good home-cooked meal and quality time with his family.

  "You look good with a baby, Zeke."

  The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He should’ve known his mother would make a baby comment. Her head was down, but she didn't fool him. She was watching, always watching him and his siblings carefully.

  If Pearl Coleman had it her way, she would have a dozen grandchildren by her four sons. Gavin finally made her dreams come true by getting married and producing a child. Trevor would most likely be next in line to give her a second grandchild. He and his girlfriend were getting pretty serious after dating for over a year. The baby of the family, Ethan was too much of a gigolo to contemplate even settling down. Zeke wasn't so much of a player as Ethan. He wanted a wife, and eventually children. He was just waiting for the right opportunity to make it happen. He was hoping to get it accomplished in the next few years.

  "I need a wife first," he replied to his mother, still playing with Gavin Jr.

  "Not necessarily," Ethan commented.

  Ethan received a smack on the back of the head. Zeke was trying his best to compose a laugh, but a few chuckles slipped.

  "None of my grandbabies will be illegitimate."

  "Ma!" Ethan shrieked.

  "Your father and I raised four men and what do men do?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

  "Men take care of their responsibilities," they all said together. It was a mantra that was embedded in them since they were children.

  "That’s right. Ethan, you better keep that little pecker to yourself."

  Zeke, Gavin, and Trevor shared a laugh.

  "The same goes for you too, Zeke. Why would you want to follow a statistic of black men? You grew up with married parents, and your children deserve the same. Right?"

  Zeke stopped his amusement. He figured she wasn’t on Trevor or Gavin’s cases because they were settled down with partners.

  "Yes, ma'am."

  No matter how old he was, he always showed respect towards his mother.

  “Good.” Pearl placed the slices of pie onto small plates. "Now pass this around."

  ≈

  Later in the evening, as the sun was starting to drift away, Zeke stood next to his mother and dried the dishes after she rinsed them. He was the last son present. It was always hard for him to leave his mother alone in the house. A part of him wanted to move her to Austin. What kept him sane was the fact that his brothers lived less than an hour away.

  "I don't understand why you don't use the dishwasher."

  She handed him another plate. "It's for lazy people, when have I ever been lazy?"

  "Never."

  "Exactly."

  Pearl didn't hold a conventional job while they were growing up, but she ran the household while his father worked full-time as a mechanic. Theodore Coleman spent twelve hours a day working on cars so his sons could attend the best private schools. In return, each son graduated at the top of their class.

  While Zeke practiced Law, Ethan was a Real Estate Agent, Gavin worked in Finance and Trevor was a Dean at a high school. Theodore got the chance to see all of them succeed before passing from lung cancer. Their father was hardworking, but was also a man addicted to nicotine.

  Zeke dried the last dish and stuck it in the cabinet. It was time to go.

  "Ma, I have to catch my flight." He had court in the morning and couldn't be late.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Are you sure you don't want to come back home?"

  He kissed the top of her gray-covered head. She was barely five feet tall. It seemed that she got smaller every time he saw her.

  "I'm sure. New Orleans is home, but I can't see myself leaving Austin."

  After graduating from LSU with a degree in Political Science, he moved out of state for law school. The plan was to come back to his home city, but he was offered a job through his internship that he couldn't turn down.

  "I just wish I saw you more often. You're an adult, but you're still my baby." She gave him a gentle squeeze before letting go. "Thank you for coming to spend time with me. I love you, Zekey-poo."

  A crease formed on his forehead. He couldn't remember the last time he’d heard his childhood nickname. "Zekey-poo?"

  "Maybe I'll get to call my grandson Zekey-poo in the future."

  "First off, I would never name my son Zeke, and second, I'm not even close to having a baby." He wasn't seeing anyone right now.

  "How are you ever going to get there? You frolic with so many women. Find a good one and settle down."

  Zeke held in is laughter. Only his mother would use the word frolic. "Why are you so adamant about this?"

  Pearl sighed. She walked over to a chair and settled into it. "I'm getting old, and I want to see my sons married and happy."

  Zeke folded his arms across his chest. "I'm happy and single. If the opportunity presents itself," he shrugged his shoulders, "I'll fall in love and get married."

  "And give me grandbabies?"

  He chuckled. "Yes, and give you grandbabies.”

  Part I

  The Proposal

  Chapter One

  Sydney Adams stood in her store and observed the crowd picking and choosing different bouquets of flowers for their loved ones. It was Valentine's Day, one of the busiest days of the year for her. When she started her small business during her freshman year of college, she didn't expect it to be such a success. Her original goal was to make extra money. The goal changed after a productive summer of selling flowers from her home garden t
o classmates. At nineteen, she made the decision to leave college to open her store in a strip mall.

  Her father was disappointed at first, but four years later, he was now proud of his daughter, the business owner. Samuel Adams took the money he’d saved for her tuition and assisted her with the store. Sydney’s store didn’t only have flowers; she also sold gifts, merchandise, and gardening supplies to the community of Austin. Situated between a hair salon and a closed coffee shop, Sydney’s Flowers and Gifts was a place that people often frequented.

  On a typical day, Sydney was usually in her office. But today, she was out on the floor assisting her crew and helping with customers. Love was in the air, and she couldn’t wait to leave work to spend time with her boyfriend, Davis. They had a dinner date planned.

  "Sydney!"

  It was her older sister, Sierra. Sydney went over to where she was working at the cash register.

  "You called?"

  Sierra thought she was the boss and ordered everyone around, including Sydney. She only worked at the store part-time because she was in graduate school finishing her Master's degree. Her older brother, Jonathan, also pitched in on occasion.

  "There's a customer that needs help selecting flowers for his date," she sassed while still cashing out other customers.

  "Where is he?" Sydney asked, already looking around the store.

  Sierra shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I told him to stay here by the register until I could get help, but he left." She stopped talking when another customer walked up. Sierra took the teenager's money and gave him the change. "You can't miss him, Syd. He's a sexy piece of chocolate dressed in a black suit," Sierra finished when the young teen left with his purchases.

  Sydney walked away in search of the customer. There weren't many African Americans in the store, and even fewer that were men. She knew that she’d located him when she saw a young man standing in front a selection of roses. Sydney agreed with Sierra, he was good looking. From a distance, she estimated that he was six feet tall, maybe a little taller. He was medium built and carried a sense of power as he stood amongst the flowers in her store. She’d never seen him before and wondered if he was a local or tourist. She continued to watch as he grabbed a bouquet of roses.

  "Don't get those," she blurted out.

  His head whipped around in her direction. Brown eyes focused on her, "Why not?"

  Sydney took a few steps to bridge the gap between them and removed the flowers from his hands.

  "Red roses symbolize love," she informed him. "If you're just trying to get a quick romp in the sheets, I think you should pick another bouquet."

  The expression of surprise became plastered across his face. She realized that she’d shocked him with her honesty.

  “I didn’t mean to get into your business, but I wanted to lend some advice. Women don’t play around when it comes to Valentine’s Day.”

  He slid his hands into his pockets and glanced at the arrangements of roses through the display case. "I thought roses were the perfect flowers for V-day," he stated, looking back towards her.

  Sydney shrugged her shoulders. "They are if you're in love. My dad has given my mom roses for the last thirty years, but he's in love. Are you in love?" she asked directly.

  His head shook from side-to-side. "No."

  She didn’t think so. Especially since he was shopping so late for the holiday. "So you need to look at maybe a mixed flower arrangement. Stay away from these, I promise she'll get clingy if you get her roses.”

  He laughed softly as she dragged him to the other side of the store. "How do you know so much about flowers?"

  "I'm a woman, and the owner." She pointed to the sign on the wall. “I’m Sydney Adams.”

  His head turned to the large logo that held the store’s name. "You're Sydney?"

  "I'm Sydney," she repeated with confidence, reaching her hand out.

  He connected his hand with hers. "Zeke Coleman."

  She tilted her head to the side. "Is that short for Ezequiel?"

  "No, it's just Zeke," he stated. "Thank God."

  She chuckled at his response. "Well, it's nice to meet you, just Zeke."

  ≈

  Sydney showed Zeke an area with friendlier bouquets that wouldn't have his date going crazy. As she spoke about all of the flowers in the store, he focused on her appearance. How old is she? He wanted to come out and ask her straight up, but held his tongue and just examined her with his eyes.

  She was beautiful in a subtle way. Most women he came into contact with were flashy with their clothing and accessories, but Sydney was the opposite, dressed in only a plain white t-shirt and jeans. Full lips, perfectly arched eyebrows and shoulder length black hair complimented her heart-shaped face. When she smiled, dimples appeared. Sydney was captivating him, and he was quickly regretting that he already had a date tonight.

  He wanted to know more about her, but their time together ended when another customer needed her help. She looked up at him with her bright brown eyes, “Are you okay on your own?”

  What am I going to say? No? He didn’t want to look like a fool. Zeke looked at the other guy and could see that he wanted more than some assistance. “Stay away from roses, I think I got it.”

  “Right.”

  “What’s your favorite?” he found himself asking.

  Sydney was already moving away towards the other customer, but she turned and looked at him. “Take a guess.”

  “Tulips?” She shook her head. “Daises?”

  “Nope.”

  “Don’t tell me you love roses?” he asked skeptically.

  “Don’t judge me, but I’m a sucker for a dozen red roses.” A smile lit up her entire face. “I love everything about love.”

  After waiting in a lengthy line, Zeke cashed out at the register. He got his receipt and looked around the store for Sydney. He wanted to thank her for helping him. When she’d walked away earlier, he unconcernedly chose some Hydrangeas for his date. What Sydney said was true, he wanted to get his dick wet tonight. He wasn’t looking for forever. Purchase in hand, his eyes roamed the store in search of the little owner that had captured his attention.

  "Who are you looking for?"

  It was the cashier standing behind the register. Now that he focused on her, he could see that she looked similar to Sydney. The name tag on her shirt had Sierra written across it. She was too young to be her mother, so Zeke assumed she was a sister or cousin. She was attractive as well, but didn't have the same appeal as Sydney. It was probably the attitude that was seeping off of her body language.

  "I wanted to thank the owner for helping me earlier."

  Sierra cocked her head to the side, examining him. She mumbled a few words, but Zeke couldn’t catch them. “Pardon?”

  "She's in her office."

  She walked around the counter and pushed him towards the back of the store. When she got to the door, she knocked and walked away, leaving him alone.

  Zeke felt uncomfortable being in an area designated for employees and was about to leave when the office door flung open. Sydney stepped out in a red, form-fitting dress and heels. She looked a lot different from just twenty minutes ago when she was helping him. He appreciated the new look.

  "Oh, Zeke, I thought you were my sister."

  Zeke was rendered speechless. He started mumbling incoherent words. Spit it out. "I wanted to thank you.”

  Sydney dazzled him with a smile. "Don’t worry about it, it's my job," she finished with a small chuckle.

  Zeke continued to look at her attire. She looked incredible. "You have a date?"

  He’d just met this woman but wanted to know if she was in a relationship or not. Maybe he could cancel his plans and take her out instead.

  "I do. I’m meeting my boyfriend for an early dinner and then a show.”

  “He’s a lucky man,” Zeke found himself admitting. "I hope you have a good night."

  "Thanks. You, too.” Sydney looked at his purchase. He didn’t
miss the subtle look of distaste.

  “What? You don’t like them?” he asked, holding up the flowers.

  “Hydrangeas are beautiful.”

  “But?” Zeke knew there was something she wasn’t saying.

  “Some believe that Hydrangeas symbolize heartlessness.”

  He didn’t expect that response. “Maybe that’s what I was going for.”

  It was meant to be a joke, but she didn’t laugh. Sydney remained quiet and observed him.

  “Why do I have the feeling that you’re not that type of person?” she whispered.

  Zeke fidgeted under her intense gaze. He was usually calm, cool, and collected when dealing with the opposite sex. No other woman had affected him so much.

  She looked at the flowers again. “Your date will like them. I’m the only crazy person that knows the meaning of flowers.”

  “You’re passionate about your business; there’s nothing wrong with loving what you do.”

  “See, would a heartless person say something like that?” she pointed out with a grin on her face. “Enjoy your Valentine’s Day, Mr. Coleman.”

  “Same to you, Ms. Adams.”

  Zeke left the store with his purchase. He wanted to come back to the flower shop soon. He needed to know more about Sydney Adams.

  ≈

  “So what do you do for work?”

  Zeke took his eyes away from his menu and focused on his date. He’d met Monica earlier in the day at the supermarket. In all honesty, he was planning on taking a six pack of beer home and spending the night watching a game. Those plans changed when he saw the way Monica’s ass jiggled in her yoga pants.

  “I’m an attorney.” He didn’t miss the way her eyes popped at the mention of his profession. He had a decent salary, but he wasn’t wealthy. He picked up his drink. “What about you?” he asked before taking a sip of wine.

  She grinned. “I’m an actress and model.”

  Zeke started to choke.