“Everything’ll be fine. You’ll see. He’ll change his whole tune before you know it. Plus, even if for some reason he doesn’t, I have you, right?”

Diana smiled in a captivating sort of way. “As long as you keep up your end of the deal, I’ll give you all the money you need to promote both New Life and yourself throughout the entire city of Chicago. And I’ll also do whatever necessary to help you go national. But there is one other condition.”

JT wasn’t sure he liked the tone in her voice but said, “And what’s that?”

“With the exception of me, you’re to have no other mistresses. Your wife is one thing, but I don’t ever want to hear about you being with anyone else. Not ever.”

“You have my word,” he said. Then he rested his body on top of hers and kissed her more ravenously than he had earlier. He did what he had to do. For the sake of his ministry and its future.

Alicia sat up, stacked a couple of pillows behind her back, glanced over at her husband, who was still slumbering peacefully, and smiled. Right after leaving church yesterday afternoon, the two of them had gone to this quaint little Chinese restaurant, and then around five P.M., JT had left for a couple of hours, well actually four hours, to go visit a family who was losing a child to cancer, and also so he could drop by the home of another family who had a sick relative. Alicia had wanted to go with him but since she was still working on a few revisions her father’s literary agent had asked her to make and she wanted to get the manuscript shipped back to her in a few days, JT had told her she should stay and work on that instead. He was so supportive of her dream of being published, and she was very thankful for that. He encouraged her to write and do whatever was needed to get her work acquired by a major publishing house, and she was happy to say she was well on her way toward doing just that.

JT quietly breathed in and out, and Alicia scanned every section of their master suite. First, she looked at the thick, royal blue velvet drapes covering the huge picture window, and then she eyed the lavish-looking, king-sized mahogany bed, dresser, and matching nightstands. Next, she glanced at the forty-inch flat-screen HD television, two winter white chaises, and all the royal blue, black, and gold accessories. The entire setting reminded her of something she’d seen in a recent issue of Architectural Digest, and Alicia was impressed at how good a job JT had done as a bachelor. Although, he had told her that because his wife had died before the house was completely built, he’d hired an interior decorator to help him make quite a few decisions.

Alicia continued admiring all the expensive beauty that surrounded her and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, beautiful, and good morning,” JT said, stretching both his arms toward the headboard and smiling at her.

Alicia leaned over and kissed him. “Good morning, baby. And while I hate saying this, I wasn’t really thanking you…I mean no offense…but what I was doing was thanking God for giving me everything I’ve ever wanted. I was thanking him for bringing you into my life and for allowing us to have so many wonderful things.”

“There’s not a single thing wrong with that, and I’m glad you’re happy.”

“I am. Actually, I couldn’t be happier, and not many people in this world can say that.”

“That’s very true, but in all honesty, I want to give you even more than what we have now. You grew up in a very wealthy household, and I don’t ever want you feeling like you have to live with any less than what you’ve always been used to. That’s why I took you on that little shopping spree when we got back from our honeymoon.”

Alicia stared at JT, and tears rolled down her face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, drying her face with the back of his hand and then stroking her hair. “Why are you crying?”

“Because I spent the majority of my first marriage trying to explain to Phillip how wrong it was for him to expect me to settle for less than what I’d become accustomed to. I do admit that there were a few things I could have handled a whole lot better, but regardless, Phillip never understood any of what I was saying and he always made me feel bad about who I was.”

JT positioned his back against the pillows the same as Alicia had. “Well, now that you’re married to me, you don’t ever have to apologize or feel bad about anything. I’m not nearly as well-off as your father but if you decide you want a pair of five-hundred-dollar shoes on a Monday at ten A.M. just because you like them, then I want you to get your five-hundred-dollar shoes and not think twice about it. Okay?”

“I love you so much, JT,” she said, kissing him again.

“I love you too, baby, and I promise you, this is only the beginning. Your happiness is very important to me, and I’m very blessed to have such a loyal and loving wife by my side. When I lost Michelle in that horrible car accident, I thought my life was over, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever find the right person to marry again.”

“I’m still so sorry about that,” she said. “I’m so sorry you had to experience such a tragic loss. The entire thing is unfathomable, and I can’t even imagine how you must have felt.”

“It literally was the worst thing I’ve ever encountered, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone I can think of. I mean, it was terrible enough losing my wife, but then finding out after the fact that she was three months pregnant-well, that made the entire ordeal even more devastating.”

“I remember you mentioning that before, but I wonder why she hadn’t told you about it.”

“Well, when I spoke to her doctor, she told me that Michelle had taken an at-home pregnancy test the week before and had just come into her office the morning of the accident to confirm the results. So, I guess she never had a chance to tell anybody.”

“Gosh.”

“Yeah, but unfortunately, that’s life. And thankfully, you and I will have our own babies, just like we talked about. I know right now you want to focus on getting your writing career off the ground, but in another year or two I want us to start trying.”

Alicia nodded, pretending to agree, because while she did want to have a baby, she’d been hoping they wouldn’t even make their first attempt at it until maybe five years from now. It was true she wanted to focus on her writing career, the same as JT had just mentioned, but she also wanted to spend as much time as possible with just him before starting a family.

“So, what do you have planned for today?” he asked.

“Not much except more writing. I have a few more scenes to add and a few more to revise, but I should be finished by the end of this week and ready to do my final read.”

“I’m so proud of you, and how wonderful that your dad’s agent wants to represent you.”

“I know. At first, I wanted to find my own agent because I didn’t want publishers and reviewers showing interest in my work just because of how successful Daddy’s books are. But after I received back all those rejection letters, I sort of changed my mind about that.”

They both laughed and JT said, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of all the contacts your dad is willing to connect you with. You should consider it a blessing to even have a father like Curtis.”

“Yeah, I guess. But I just want my work to sell because people really like my writing and not because Curtis Black’s daughter wrote it.”

“I hear what you’re saying, but I’m sure the publishing business is the same as any other. It’s more about who you know than what you do.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.”

“Still, though, you have a really strong story line, and this will be your main driving force when it comes to sales. Your dad’s name will help you get more publicity than most new writers would ever get, but trust me when I say your story is what will make all the difference. When people read your first novel and see how great it is, they’ll automatically pick up your second one as soon as it’s published.”