“What did you say?”
“I just told him I’d met you and didn’t know who you were. And then I found out and was pretty shitty to you. But somehow, in the meantime, I kinda fell in love with you. I do love you, Fenton. I’m not saying I want to marry you tomorrow or anything,” I grin, making him laugh, “but I want to be here for you in the way you were for me. I want to make you laugh and smile and go with you on your trips and wear bikinis and make you mad so you’ll remind me who my man is.”
“No bikinis without me. That’s a deal breaker,” he says, trying to look stern.
“But I want to try this with you. For real this time. Starting over, me and you. Nothing lurking out there we haven’t said, no surprises. A real try.”
He laughs and drags me onto his lap. His hands lock around my waist and I can’t help the silly smile on my face as I look into his eyes.
“You make me believe in love,” he says, his voice soft. “I can see years of being together, taking trips, maybe even starting a family someday. I’ve never felt that way before. I’ve always felt like being with someone would be a compromise, that I would have to give up being me to be in that relationship. But with you, I want to do that. I want to make sure we figure this out so we are both happy. Together.”
I press my lips against his, the softness reducing me to a heap of mush. Our mouths fit together like they were made for one another, the dips and curves of our lips melding into the others’ perfectly.
“I don’t want you to have to give up being you for anything, especially me. I like you just the way you are.”
“I like me better when I’m with you.”
“Me too, Fent.”
“And I like when you call me that.”
Tossing my head back, I let out a laugh. For the first time in so long, happiness pours from my heart unbridled. When I look at him again, his face is cracked with a smile of his own. I kiss him once more for good measure and because I can. Because I’ve missed doing it.
“Will you stay with me tonight?” he asks.
“Yes. Presley left. So unless you’re going to take me home, I have no other choice.”
“Good thing because it really wasn’t a question. I wasn’t letting you leave,” he winks.
“I’m supposed to work tomorrow afternoon, but I’m going to call and see if they’ll give me the day off. I really want to spend the day with my family if I can. I know Brady has a bunch of things to do tomorrow,” I yawn, glancing at the clock. “Or today, I mean. But I’d like to hang out with him some if he’s able.”
Fenton nods, his face sobering. “I have a few things tomorrow afternoon too.”
“Oh, yeah? Work?”
“Sort of.”
The way he says it piques my interest. It’s in his tone, the way he clearly didn’t mean for it to be a lead-in for a follow-up, which is exactly why I want more information.
“Such as?”
“So nosey.”
“Like you’re surprised.”
He glances away from me, his jaw ticking. “Mandla is now defunct.”
“What? What’s that mean?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, it does matter!” I say, taking his chin and pulling his gaze towards me. “What’s going on, Fenton?”
“I didn’t have authority to go in after Brady. There are laws about those types of things and I broke quite a few of them.”
“Fent . . .”
“Yeah. So in my little meeting tonight with the FBI, I was told to start shutting it down.”
“Oh, no,” I say, pulling him in close for a change. “I am so sorry, babe.”
“Don’t be.” He pulls back, the tilt of his lips catching my attention. “I mean, I hate it. It was my mother’s thing. But you know, I ran that company out of obligation, really. Because it was the right thing to do. Don’t get me wrong—I wanted to do the things I was doing. But it had become more of a routine thing than an intentional thing. I need to do things with the right spirit, like my mother preached, with a servant’s heart. And I wasn’t doing that, anyway. Not really.”
“I still feel terrible you lost Mandla.”
He leans back on the sofa, putting some distance between us. He studies me in his way. “I think my mother would approve.”
“Do you really?”
“Uh huh. She would’ve wanted me to do what’s right for family, for the one I love. And I did that. So, by all accounts, this was the right thing to do—losing Mandla or not.”
I shouldn’t smile, but I do. “I love you.”
“I know.”
I roll my eyes, making him laugh.
“What other questions do you have before I take you into my bedroom and ravage you?”