Just One Taste (Kimani Romance) by Celeste O. Norfleet Page B

see their mom on stage.”
    “It looks like they’re getting sleepy,” she said.
    “Yeah, they are.” His cell phone beeped with a text message. He checked it out. “They need me backstage.”
    “Here, give them to me,” Nikita said, taking one-year-old Jayden in her arms and three-and-a-half-year-old Brice’s hand. “I’ll take them back to the nursery.”
    They stayed a little while longer then Nikita and the boys left the room and headed down the hall and around the corner to the nursery. Since the center offered babysitting services, there were a number of children already there. Some grabbed nibbles from the kiddy buffet, others watched a movie and some were in the story-time center. Brice hurried over to the center to join some of his young friends. Jayden wanted to go, too, but she told him she’d read him a story. He settled down quickly then climbed into her arms.
    Four pages into the six-page story he yawned and snuggled close. She wrapped her arms around him and continued reading. A few minutes later he was fast asleep. She laid him in one of the cribs, then checked on Brice. He was having the time of his life playing with a set of building toys. She sat down to help.
    She smiled. Being with her nephews, even for such a short amount of time, warmed her heart. They were bright, gregarious and inquisitive. With her schedule as crazy as it was, she seldom got a chance to be with them, so when she did, she treasured their time together. It might sound cynical, but she knew they were the closest she’d ever get to being a mother.
    Being left at the altar could do that to a person. Six years ago she stood and watched her fiancé jump into a cab with his best friend’s sister and drive off. The signs were there; she’d just chosen to ignore them. Afterward, she was fine with it. The only thing that nagged at her was the why. He never said a word, he just left. No explanation. No justification. He just left her. It was the not knowing why that had left her emotionally paralyzed.
    So, waiting for her life to begin had long since taken a toll on her. If she weren’t so busy with her business she’d definitely do as her sister Natalia had done and go the in vitro fertilization route. Natalia’s happily-ever-after ending was her two adorable boys. But now being an aunt was the most precious job Nikita could imagine. She got to spoil the boys relentlessly, free of any parental responsibility.
    “Aunt Niki, look what I did,” Brice said, hurrying over to her with a plane made out of building blocks.
    Nikita smiled bright. “Ah, sweets, that’s beautiful.”
    Brice frowned. “It’s not beautiful. It’s a plane. Planes can’t be beautiful.”
    “Some planes can be beautiful,” she said.
    “No way,” he said, shaking his head adamantly.
    “How about planes with bright yellow flowers painted on them?”
    Brice laughed. “No, planes don’t have yellow flowers,” he declared.
    “You’re right,” she agreed. “Planes with bright yellow flowers and pink bananas. They’re beautiful.”
    He laughed. “I’m gonna show Mommy and Daddy.” He turned quickly. She grabbed his hand before he got away.
    “Whoa, wait a minute. I have a better idea. We’ll show Mommy and Daddy in a little bit, okay?”
    “When’s a little bit?”
    She was just about to answer when a minibattle broke out on the other side of the room between two little boys who wanted the same toy. The two professional babysitters hurried over, but the crying and yelling woke Jayden. He started crying, too. Nikita hurried over to soothe him. Brice followed.
    She began to pat and rub Jayden’s back gently. A few moments later he drifted back to sleep. Nikita turned back to Brice. “Okay, little man, let me see that plane again.” But Brice was gone.
    * * *
    Chase applauded as did everyone in the room. The evening’s focus had shifted from a casual gathering to a more official evening of brief speeches, disbursement of awards and