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Jason the doorman stood in the lobby of The Horsford, the luxurious condominium building where Roni lived, and opened the door for her with pleasure. “Good morning, Miss Ross,” he said cheerfully as she made her way toward the exit. “You look beautiful today.”

“Ah, thanks Jace,” Roni said as she carried her lid-on tall coffee mug in one hand and her Hermes bag in the other hand. “You’re looking good yourself. Working out I see.”

“Yes ma’am, I sure am.” He pushed his stomach in further. “Every day after work. Thank you for recognizing that. Most people ‘round here don’t even bother to notice. Thank you.”

To Jason the doorman and to all of the numerous other black workers that populated the exclusive, resort-style condominium complex, she looked spectacular to them. Her big, curly, perfectly groomed afro against her big, beautiful bright hazel eyes, and her swelt, elegant figure on her supermodel-like five-feet-seven frame, was a stunning combination they rarely ever saw. And although she seemed to favor clothes that would look more throwback on anybody else, they looked fashion-forward on her. Like she wasn’t just a trendsetter. She was the trend.

The bottom line to them? She had style. And it was unlike any style of any woman in that building or, they would daresay, in that whole city.

But they knew she was out of their league. They kept it on the professional level because they also knew she had a man. And he happened to be a McCrae, not to mention one of the wealthiest men in the country. And although she’d declare to their faces that he was not her man at all, but just a friend, they all knew better. They saw the way he always had his hand on her lower back so protectively whenever he would pick her up and they would be leaving the building together. And whenever any man would give her that assessing glance, they saw the way he would look back at that man with eyes that said this girl is mine clearly and unequivocally. They admired her. But they admired her from afar.

When Roni stepped out of the lobby and waited for the valet to bring her Porsche around, she stood there checking her phone messages while the other valets at the valet station were checking her out. In her heels and bell-bottomed, flare-legged slacks, and her tucked-in white shirt beneath her belly-button-length Versace jacket that flapped over and buttoned up, she looked to them as if she was suited up and ready to take on the world. She was a cop, and they didn’t care for cops at all, but to a man they all liked her. She wasn’t stuck up like the rest of the residents at The Horsford, and she actually spoke to them and talked with them. She was just different in every way. Refreshingly so.

Roni tossed her phone in her bag after reviewing her messages and exhaled. She was anxious as could be. She had just turned thirty a couple days ago and for the first time in her seven-year career, she was no longer a beat cop at the NYPD. She was no longer a woman who had to patrol a city and dash from one crime scene to another crime scene only to hold it down until the detectives got there and did the real work. Now she was the detective. Now she was going to do the “real” work. A different city and police department, to be sure, but the same result: she was a detective now. This was the first day of the second phase of her law enforcement career. And she couldn’t wait to get started.

It didn’t start out on a great note with that call from Brax, waking her up, but she was well-accustomed to his heavy-handedness in her life. As if he owned her life. Which, to anybody that knew her and how fiercely independent she was, would be a joke. Nobody owned Roni Ross, her friends would make clear, and she would shout amen herself.

But it wasn’t as if she was dismissing Brax out of hand. She wasn’t dismissing him at all. She had already concluded that he was her person. Or, as her mother would say if she was still alive, her man . But she also knew that they had a long, long, long, long way to go before they ever came together that way. They took a step in that direction the night they made love, but it kind of felt more like a step backwards in the end. Because they both wanted more. And they knew that would be the problem. Even Roni wanted more. And considering the man she wanted more from, that was a problem.

That was why she would never even admit to her best friends, and she had many close friends in Victorville, how she truly felt about Brax. Mainly because they knew, like she knew, that Brax wasn’t ready to leave behind his womanizing and astonishingly domineering ways, and she wasn’t willing to compromise in such a major way that would give a man, even a man she inwardly believed was her person, that much control over her life. Because she also knew that to be with a super-alpha, accustomed-to-having-his-own-way male like Brax would require her to give up a lot of her independence. A lot of herself. She wasn’t ready to go there, and didn’t know if she ever would be.

But inwardly she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

Very much so.

That was the main problem.

But she knew a side of him that no one else knew: a vulnerable, sweet, kind, will do anything for her side of him. But she wasn’t about to expose her heart to a man who absolutely could break it. That was why, as of right now, they were only friends. Pals. And not even friends with benefits, despite that one night they spent together. But that was just one night. And until she saw some serious changes in him, and in herself , she was bound and determined to make certain it was only that one night.

The valet slung her Porsche around as if it was his Porsche, but she didn’t complain. They were good guys in the end who seemed proud to see a sister doing something big with her life. And she was glad to give them the show. She stepped high in her heels, got in her Porshe Panamera, put on her shades, and sped away, revving up her engine and burning rubber as she did. She could see the valets, through her rearview mirror, laughing proudly and high-fiving as if nobody could do it better than Roni Ross. She smiled too, just seeing their happiness, as she drove away.

And then her phone rang. When she saw on the car screen that it was her best friend Jayla, she answered. “Yes, mother, I’m up.”

Jayla laughed. “If I’m your mama, did your daddy call you yet?”

“Girl you know he did. And I knew you would too. I don’t know why y’all act like I don’t know how to handle my business.”

“Oh you can handle your business and mine beside. But you gotta get up first to do it. And you are not, I repeat not , a morning person.”

Roni sipped her coffee. “Got that right,” she said with a smile.

“Are you driving around in that bad-ass car he bought for you?”

“Yes, Jayla.”

“Don’t yes, Jayla me. That’s a badass ride that cost badass cash. No man has ever treated me that good. Even though the man that treats you so good is no good.”

“Stop saying that.”

“I’m just keeping it real. But I will give him credit for one thing.”

Roni was about to sip more coffee, but Jayla’s comment surprised her. “Oh really? And what’s that?”

“He doesn’t pretend to love any of those women he fool around with. He’s no cheater like a lot of men who want their wives and sidepieces too. That’s not Brax and never will be.”

Roni nodded. “I agree.”

“But he never will be marriage material either,” said Jayla. “You agree with that?”

Roni said nothing. “So what’s going on with you?” she asked instead. “Other than getting on my case?”

Jayla laughed. “I just want to confirm that you’ll be there Friday night.”

“I told you I would.”

“It’s your first blind date, and we’ll be there to introduce you, but we don’t want you getting cold feet and standing the man up.”

“I keep telling y’all this blind date stuff isn’t necessary.”

“It is necessary! Yes it is. We want our best friend to have a man too. And Brax McCrae doesn’t count.”

Why doesn’t he , Roni desperately wanted to ask her. Why did her friends always dismiss even the thought of Brax as her mate? She knew he wasn’t ready yet, but why were they so certain he would never ever be ready? Probably because a big part of her thought so too. That was why she even agreed to this blind date coming up. But she wasn’t about to go there. “I never said he did count.”

“You’re going to love Melvin. He’s a surgeon you know. And a hunk. And he’s black.”

“He’s black? What does that mean?”

“It means he’s perfect for you, Roni. Black love and all that? And let’s face it: Your ass just turned thirty. You aren’t a kid anymore. You haven’t dated since you moved back to Victorville.”

“Bitch, I’ve only been back three weeks.”

She had dated many men in her adult life, all of which failed miserably, and thanks to her busybody friends she was about to go on what she knew was going to be another disaster. But she was thirty now. She knew she’d be unfair to herself to sit back waiting for a man who’d already shown her that he wasn’t going to change. She was still going to wait for him because something inside of her told her that he was her person, even if it was just a friendship for life, and she had to see that through too.

But she also knew she could be wrong. And this blind date, this surgeon, just might be the one. Although it wasn’t easy, she was trying to keep an open mind.

But the main reason she agreed to this blind date that Jayla and her other best friend Taraji had set up for her was because it was a blind date. She could easily find any excuse, within a few minutes of the date, to beg off. Which was exactly what she planned on doing if sparks didn’t fly from jump. “I told you I’ll be there.”

“I’m serious, Roni.”

“I’m serious too. I’ll be there.”

“Bitch you promise?”

“Now look.” Roni was offended. “I’m about to hang up this phone if you keep on, Jay, now I mean it.”

“What did I do? I just wanna make certain you won’t be a no-show Friday.”

Roni frowned. “Why you got to keep asking me if I’m going to be there when I told you over and over I’m going to be there? I’m trying to maintain my temper since y’all love to claim I have a nasty one, but you aren’t making it any easier.”

“We never said it was nasty. But you do have a temper, girl. And it don’t take much to set it off. I just want to make certain you’re going to be there.”

“I’ll be there, Jayla, goodness. I’ll be there!”

“Okay okay. Don’t take my head off.”

Roni smiled. “Leave it to you to turn it all around on me.”

Jayla laughed. “I am an attorney, you know. That’s what I do. But that’s all I wanted to hear. I’ll let Taraji know that you one-hundred-percent will be there Friday. But anyway, I’ve got to be in court in a few minutes and if I’m even a half second late my client will let me have it. He’s the most obnoxious man I’ve ever defended. The judge has threatened to hold him in contempt three times already and this is only day two of his trial. And he’s looking at me like it’s all my fault. My fault! Like I’m the one that butchered that woman. It’s a mess, girl, just a mess. But I’ll talk to you later. Love you, bye.” And then she ended the call.

Roni sipped more coffee as she continued to drive. Compared to Jayla and Taraji, who had their acts together, she was still trying to get her career on track. And now they wanted to saddle her with man drama on top of all that? It took her seven years and, Brax was right, a lot of favors called in by him to get her in the detective door as it was. She wanted to focus exclusively on that. She had to be a success at that.

But her friends wanted her to focus on more than that. A husband and kids were their goal for her. And, if she were to be honest, it was a goal she had for herself too. But not right now and not with just any man either. Brax was the one she wanted and he wasn’t anywhere near ready. But Jayla was also right. Her biological clock was ticking. She was now thirty. She wasn’t a kid anymore. And Brax still wasn’t ready.

She turned off of Bridgegate onto McDuffy, as her new precinct came into view.