Read Ex-Terminator Life After Marriage for Free Online

you, Sylvia.”
    “Girl, eat your food,” Sylvia said, licking the barbecue from her fingers. “You know I don’t spend much time in the kitchen.”
    “Well, it tastes wonderful, Sylvia,” Marvin said. “My compliments to the chef, whoever it may happen to be.”
    The ladies giggled.
    “You have to admit, Marvin,” Mona interjected, “this ain’t nothing like Mona’s Cuisine. I’ve catered how many functions for your company?”
    “Hmmm, five maybe six…”
    “Too many to count. But this will do.”
    “That’s not nice, Mona,” Claudette cut in between spoonfuls of baked beans.
    “Ahh, Sylvia knows I’m messing with her. If I didn’t enjoy cooking myself, I’d probably be eating out, too.”
    “Are you all right, Rachel?” Sylvia asked.
    Rachel sat on the bar stool listening to the others’ antics. She seemed withdrawn, but managed to put a weak smile on her face.
    “Yeah, I’m fine. I have a slight headache, but I’ll eat something in a minute.”
    “So Ashley, how long have you been an Ex?” Mona inquired.
    Ashley looked at Mona thoughtfully, then put the meatless bone on her plate. “It was final two weeks ago.”
    “Oh,” Mona said. “Still fresh.”
    “Yes, the look of those eyes of his that wanted to kill when the judge awarded me the house and half of everything we owned is still fresh in my mind.”
    “I’m sorry,” Mona said. “Didn’t mean to open up fresh wounds.”
    Ashley got up from her chair and left the room in a hurry, with Sylvia close on her heels.
    “There you go, meddling again,” Claudette said.
    “How was I supposed to know that she had just left the divorce court?” Mona replied.
    Claudette waved a hand at her in disapproval.
     
    Marvin got up from his seat and walked over to the pan of ribs. There was something about Rachel that tugged at his heartstrings. She seemed so fragile, yet feisty—easy to break but tough enough to fight back. He thought she was courageous to get up before the group and share her story with them. It took a lot of guts to reach way down in your soul.
    “Would you like me to get you some ribs?” he asked her. “They’re pretty good.”
    Rachel placed her hand on Marvin’s arm. “No, not at the moment,” she replied. Then, as if realizing for the first time that her hand was resting on Marvin’s arm, she jerked away, but not before Marvin felt the flutter in his stomach.
    “Now, that’s a fine brother, Claudette,” Mona whispered.
    “So why aren’t you with him?” Claudette shot back.
    “He’s not my type. I like those dark, baldheaded brothers with a little more thickness to them.”
    “You’re a trip, Mona. If he asked to jump your bones right now, you’d be waiting on him to get his clothes off.”
    “Looks like he’s got his eye on Ms. Rachel. She wouldn’t know what to do with a good man if he fell into her lap.”
    “Well, right now,” Claudette said, “a man is the furthest thing from her mind. And I don’t blame her with all the heartache she’s been through.”
    “Yeah, I admit it was tough listening to her story. Makes you wonder what goes on in a woman’s head when they see a guy like Reuben and ‘playa’ is written all over his face.”
    “What’s done is done,” Claudette said. “Right now, I’m going to have a second helping of ribs.”
    “Eat up,” Mona said. “Our new divorcee is returning, probably ready to spill her Ex-Files. I like that Ex- Files.”
    “Ten more minutes before we head back into the meeting room to finish up,” Sylvia said as she and Ashley returned to the their seats. “Four more files to open.”
    Marvin sneaked a glance at Rachel, but she refused to look in his direction. He picked up his plate and tossed the remains of his meal in the trash. He moved toward the door of the kitchen, then doubled back and stood before Rachel. She had a smile on her face as she slowly looked up into his, and it warmed him from the inside out.
    “What is it, Marvin?”