“Who the hell is Jesse?” Harris yelled, snapping me out of my horrific trip down memory lane. I was so pissed that Paris had even taken my thoughts there that I almost lunged at her again. Now I was going to have to listen to Harris question me for the next three days.
“Nobody,” I said dismissively, glaring at my sister. I would now also be forced to address the lies I’d told my husband about being a virgin when we met. I had made him wait until our wedding day before we consummated our relationship.
“Look, London, I fucked up. I was drunk and high that night. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t,” Paris argued. “Hey, look on the bright side. If I hadn’t done that stupid shit, you wouldn’t even have Mariah.”
“What is she talking about, London?” Harris asked angrily.
“Nothing, Harris,” I snapped, pointing a finger at Paris. “And you leave my baby out of this, and stay the fuck away from my husband. You’ve been warned.” I turned to walk away, only to see my father standing in the foyer entrance, with Junior standing behind him.
“What’s going on in here? Y’all gonna wake your mother,” he chastised.
“I’m already up,” my mother said from the first-floor hallway that led to her bedroom. “They were making enough noise in here to wake the dead.”
“Paris,” my father said, “what’s going on in here?”
“Nothing, Daddy. Just a little disagreement between us girls about something that happened back in the day. Nothing to worry about. It’s already over.”
Paris played with the truth so much that Daddy didn’t even want to believe her now. He turned toward me for an explanation.
“Is that true, London?”
Well, technically it wasn’t a lie, so I nodded my head, looking for a quick exit. “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”
“I know that’s right,” Paris said. “I’m going to bed too.”
“No, you’re not,” Daddy said, blocking her way. “As soon as Rio gets here, I want everyone but London headed to the office for a very important business meeting. It’s time all of you understood what’s on the line here.”
“What about Orlando?” Junior asked.
“What about him?” Daddy replied.
When I glanced in Harris’s direction, he didn’t even try to hold back a smile. Thank goodness his mind was on something other than me and Jesse.
Orlando
15
I pulled into my parking space at the dealership at about eight o‘clock. It had been a long time since I’d slept in past seven, but I had to admit it was worth it. After a wonderful evening highlighted by some of the best sex I’d had in a long time, I’d fallen asleep. When I woke, Ruby made me this bangin’ Jamaican breakfast of salt fish, ackee, eggs, bammy, and plantains. My mom could really cook, but I swear Ruby’s breakfast was better than anything I’d ever eaten. We topped breakfast off with another round of sex that literally had us falling asleep in each other’s arms.