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sure he could make her happy.
    In the end, all he could do was try his absolute best. That was all he had to offer, but if for some reason that ended up not being enough, he knew he could lose everything.
    Not just his wife, but his job, too.

Chapter 4
    A licia rolled her car to a complete stop, just outside their local mall entrance, and waited for the light to change. What she’d really wanted to do was head over to one of the larger malls that carried the higher brand-name labels, but at the same time, she didn’t want to chance driving all the way to Oakbrook or downtown Chicago because in a couple of hours, traffic would be treacherous. Then, if she wasn’t able to get back home until early evening, she’d have to deal with Phillip and all of his questions. And she didn’t want that. They’d finally called a truce, and she wanted to keep it that way. She wanted them to have peace, love, and understanding in their household, and she wouldn’t do anything to ruin it. Not today, anyway. She couldn’t promise him total cease and desist when it came to the amount of money she spent, but she was going to try her best to do better than she had been. She wouldn’t buy cheaply manufactured items, not under any circumstances, but what she would do was try to buy less in quantity.
    When the light turned green, Alicia proceeded into the parking lot and drove around to Macy’s. When she found an open stall, she pulled in it, turned off her ignition, and got out of her car. After locking it, she was striding toward the building when she heard someone calling her name.
    “Alicia,” the male voice yelled again, and when she turned around, she saw that it was Levi Cunningham, one of Deliverance Outreach’s former but biggest financial supporters—and one of the biggest drug dealers in the region.
    “Hey, how are you?” she said as he walked closer to where she was standing.
    “I’m good, and I see you’re looking as fine as always.”
    “Thank you.” She wanted to tell him the same thing because he’d always been one of the finest men she’d ever laid eyes on, but as a married woman, she knew it would be inappropriate so she said nothing.
    “So, I hear you’re married now,” he said as if he’d been reading her mind.
    “I am.”
    “Happily married or just married?”
    “Happily.”
    “Is that right? Well, I’m really sorry to hear that.”
    Alicia smiled and looked away.
    “Come on now, you know I always wanted you to be my girl but your father wasn’t having it. Not one bit.”
    “Oh, well.”
    “So, is this husband of yours treating you like royalty? Is he treating you the way a princess like you deserves to be treated? Because from what I hear, he’s working as your father’s assistant. Now, I’ll admit that I don’t have a clue about what the going salary is for an assistant pastor, but somehow I can’t imagine it being enough to take care of you. Not Pastor Black’s daughter. Not the woman who’s used to the good life and all its splendor. I mean, he might be able to pay a few bills around your house and what not, but can he buy you all the things you love and need? Can he do all of that? Can he give you everything you want and then some?”
    “Good-bye, Levi,” Alicia said, and started walking away.
    “Well, if you ever need anything, you can find me at my mom’s restaurant over on Chestnut. I hang out there just about every evening for dinner.”
    “Good-bye, Levi,” Alicia repeated, and walked inside the doorway. A few seconds later, he walked in behind her, but thankfully all he did was smile and stroll past.
    Alicia stopped in the first department she came to, which was shoes, and browsed through the sandal section. She couldn’t stop thinking about Levi, and she felt guilty. She couldn’t deny the attraction she had for him, not years ago when she was a lot younger, and not now that she was twenty-two and married to someone else. She knew Levi was bad news, and this was the