“It is you,” he said. He took a step closer. “I wasn’t sure.”
In my mind I told my heart to keep beating, and I told my eyes to stay away from his locks . . . and his lips. So, I kept my eyes on his eyes. But it was hard not to see all of him. Dressed in jeans and a white shirt. O! M! G!
“Hi,” I said, as if more than a year had not passed since I’d last seen him.
He shook his head a little and his locks swayed and they had gotten a lot longer. Oh, God!
“You look . . . beautiful, magnificent.” His eyes traveled up my body and then down again.
I shuddered and hoped that he couldn’t see the effect he was having on me just by standing there. “Thank you.” I needed to get his eyes off of me and my mind away from him. So I said, “What are you doing here, in Brooklyn?”
“Some of my art is on display at a gallery down the street,” he said. “And, I love coming to Brooklyn. This is where we met, remember?”
Of course I remembered. All I’d been able to do for the past year was remember all the wonderful times I’d had with him. “Yeah, I remember. I’m just surprised that you did.”
He held his hand to his chest, as if my words had wounded him. “I’m sorry,” he said.
I frowned. “For what?”
“For letting you go.”
Oh, my! I didn’t have a thing to say to that.
But Noah kept going. “I thought about calling you a thousand times, but I could never pick up the phone. I knew I had hurt you, and I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”
“Well then, I’m glad you didn’t call, because I try my best not to be hurt.”
“I should have called you, though, because letting you go was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life.”
I needed to get out of here; I needed to get far away from this man and everything he was doing to me. We’d been standing there for two minutes, and already he was in my head. I couldn’t let him get down to my heart.
“Look,” he said. “Can we get out of here and go somewhere to talk?”
“No, I have other plans.” I tucked the card that I was still holding back into the display, then tried to step around Noah, but he blocked my path.
“Well, if not today, what about tomorrow or the next day or the next one? Now that I’ve seen you again, I know I have to make things right between us.”
He was hitting all the right keys, hitting all the right notes. And the feelings that I’d worked so hard to press down were surging up—he was getting close, so close to my heart.
“I want you, Skye. I want you back in my life.”
“You wanted me before, but I wasn’t enough,” I said, surprised at the hurt that was in my tone. I didn’t know that it was still there inside of me.
He said, “I was a fool, but I won’t be one again. I’m not going to let you go.”
I chuckled, though I didn’t find what he was saying funny. “You already let me go, Noah.” I folded my arms. “And when you let me go, what did you think I was going to do? Did you think I was going to just sit there and wait for you to come to your senses?”
I paused, giving him a chance to say something, but he didn’t.
I said, “Well, I didn’t just sit there. I wasn’t waiting for you, and now . . .” I held up my hand, wiggled my fingers, and let my ring sparkle in his face. “I’m engaged. So, we don’t have any reason to get together. You got what you wanted, you got me out of your life, and it’s been over for a long time.”
Even though Noah was as brown as I was, I could almost see the color draining from his face. “You’re engaged? To be married?”
“ That’s what engaged means.”
“But when we were together, I could feel it. I was a part of you, and you were a part of me.”
“And apparently, so was Monica, or whatever her name was.”
“I didn’t think you would be engaged. Do you love him?” He paused and I said nothing. “Do you love him like you loved me?”
Those words took my breath away, and it was definitely time to go now.
This time I pushed my way around him and headed toward the door. Over my shoulder, I said, “Good-bye,” then rushed down the street to the safety of the Tree House, where I was meeting Chyanne and Devin.
I rushed through the restaurant doors, and never in my life had I been so glad to see Devin.
“Hey, girl,” he said as he hugged me. “Who’s chasing you?”
He had no idea how true his words were. I hadn’t looked back and had no idea if Noah had seen where I’d gone, but I felt like I was being chased. I felt like Noah was after me and trying to steal my heart.
Before I had the chance to answer him, Chyanne came through the door, pushing Justice in a stroller, and right away all our attention turned to the baby.
Thank God for Justice! When I lifted her into my arms, I felt all the fear ease out of me. I didn’t have anything to be scared of, anyway. Noah couldn’t do a thing to me—Trent would make sure of that.
I had calmed down, but once we were seated and had placed our orders, I told my friends that I’d just run into Noah.
“I was looking for something for Justice and instead found my past.”
“Oohh!” Devin clapped his hands. “Did you get to rub your engagement in his face?”
But while Devin cheered, Chyanne stared at me, as if she knew there was much more to this story. It was hard to hide anything from her.
Chyanne said, “Don’t tell me . . .”
When she didn’t say anything else, Devin said, “Don’t tell you what?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I do,” I said, almost crying. “Standing there in front of Noah, I did start feeling something for him.”
“Oh, girl,” Devin said, waving his hand in my face, “that ain’t nothin’ but indigestion.”
“Or heartburn,” I said, “because all of those feelings I once had for him seemed to come right back. I felt it, right here.” I pressed my hand over my heart. My friends stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. “I know,” I continued. “How could I be engaged to this wonderful man, and as soon as I see Noah, I start thinking about him?”
“Well, first of all, you need to be honest,” Chyanne said. “Because this is not the first time you’ve thought about Noah.”
My mouth opened wide. I hadn’t told either one of them all the feelings and thoughts I’d had about Noah over the year. But Chyanne knew, anyway. It had to be that sister thing that we had between us.
Devin said, “Yeah, I could see it, even when you were with Trent. He would look at you all lovey-dovey, and you’d look back at him like he was just a friend.”
Dang! Devin too? I guess he had that sister thing with me as well.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Chyanne reached for my hand. “Do you love Trent?”
I waited a moment so that I could tell her the truth. “I do. I love him with all of my heart.”
“Well then, that’s it,” Devin said. “You’re in love with Trent. Period. Look, having old flames burning in your heart is normal,” he said, as if he was some kind of relationship counselor. “All you have to do is remember that you have an amazing man who adores you.”
Chyanne nodded. “That’s true.”
“Who has lots of money,” Devin added and laughed. “So even if you’re not head over heels in love with Trent, just remember his money. That’ll make up for a lot.”
Devin was still laughing, but Chyanne and I were not.
I said, “I’m not marrying Trent for his money. What he has in the bank means nothing to me.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Devin hummed, like he didn’t believe me.
“No, it’s true. I make my own money. What I’m looking for is that passionate love. The love I thought I had with Noah, but the love I hope to have one day for real with Trent.”
“Chile, please!” Devin laughed. “Forget all that passion stuff. Look, I would leave Antonio, my Mandingo, for Oprah at any t
ime.”
“Boy, you stupid!” I laughed, and Chyanne cracked up, too.
“Shoot! Y’all think I’m playing. Let Oprah call me, and I’ll jump back to the other side so fast, y’all won’t even recognize me.”
When Justice tried to clap her hands, that made the three of us laugh even louder, and for a moment all thoughts of Noah were gone.
By the time we finished lunch, I felt better than even before I’d awakened that morning. I was going to marry Trent. After seeing Noah, I had no doubt whatsoever that I was going to live one of those “happily ever after” lives with the man who truly, truly loved me.
Chapter 40
Chyanne
Central Park tends to be so peaceful on a weekday. There aren’t many people out, and the scenery is immaculate on a beautiful day like this. I parked myself on a bench and maneuvered Justice’s stroller in front of me as we took in the sights and sounds all around us. Well, I more so than she. Justice was concerned about the stuffed animal she had been fighting with all afternoon.
“Sorry I’m late.” Malcolm’s voice took me out of my trance. “It was hell trying to get out of the office.”
There he was, in all his glory. He was just as fine as the day I met him, standing there in his custom-made Armani suit. He made me feel underdressed. I was rocking mom jeans and a blouse. I had lost almost all my baby weight, but my stomach wasn’t as flat as it was when he and I were together, and I was hoping he didn’t notice. It was amazing that this man took me through so much and yet my heart still had a sweet spot for him. Maybe it was the fact that he wanted a relationship with Justice.
“Oh, that’s fine. We haven’t been here long. Plus, it’s really nice out here today.” I moved over a little so he could sit, but he was frozen in his spot.
His eyes locked on Justice, and it was like he fell in love for the very first time. I knew that feeling, oh, so well. It was the same feeling I got when I first heard her heartbeat, when I felt her kick for the first time, and when I gave birth to her. She was the light of my life, and the look in his face showed that she had just become his.
“So this is Miss Justice.” Malcolm finally sat on the bench, and I took Justice out of her stroller and handed her to him. “She’s gorgeous, Chyanne.”
“Thank you. She’s half yours, so I can’t take all the credit.”
“I know, but she looks like you.”
Malcolm never took his eyes off Justice. She stood on his legs as he bounced her up and down. She giggled and grabbed his face, and at that point I swore I saw a tear form in his eye.
“Thank you again for allowing me to see her,” he said, finally looking at me.
“My intentions weren’t to keep you from her.” I looked into his eyes, and I could see sincerity in them. “I just wanted to do what was right for me and her.”
He didn’t respond, but I could tell he understood where I was coming from. For the next hour it was all about Justice. We laughed and played with her. I caught Malcolm up on all her likes and dislikes and told him how smart a baby she was. He seemed so tickled when I told him she had some of his same characteristics, like how she rubbed her chin when she was sleepy just like him. It was a truly pleasant meeting, and we decided to put Justice back in her stroller and walk around the park.
“So I heard Kayla gave you a large sum of money.” His tone revealed that his divorce was still a sensitive topic.
“Yeah, she did,” I said hesitantly. “I opened up my own legal office in Brooklyn with it.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes. I couldn’t tell if he was upset with the fact that I not only helped his ex-wife in their divorce battle but took his money to start my own business. It had been one roller-coaster ride of a year for all parties involved, and I couldn’t blame him if he was a little salty about the situation. I opened my mouth to lighten the mood back up, but he beat me to it.
“I’m really happy for you both.” His words took me by surprise.
“Really?”
“Of course.” He paused and chuckled a little. “I mean, I must admit, at first I was a little upset about the whole thing, but then I realized that I put myself in that predicament. I tried to play a dangerous game to have it all and then some, and I lost.”
I didn’t know what to say. I never expected for him to even think anything like that, let alone say it. I tried to form words, but nothing was coming out.
“Honestly, it was harder giving you up than it was getting a divorce.”
Okay, now I was really shocked.
“You mean to tell me that losing me was harder than divorcing your wife, who you’ve known since you were eighteen?” I gave him a little chuckle of my own.
“I’m serious. Kayla and I lost whatever we thought we had a long time ago. We were merely keeping up appearances. I was and still am truly in love with you.” He looked down at the stroller and smiled at a now sleeping Justice. “Plus, you gave me her.”
I was taking his words all in. For the longest time I had struggled to see how I could have let myself be fooled by him. I had felt so used by him. I had blamed myself for even falling in love with him, and here he was, confessing his love for me. Malcolm used to tell me that a good attorney always had a rebuttal, and I was speechless.
“Listen, I was wondering if we could do this again. Maybe like dinner or something.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, which was a nervous twitch of his.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” The thought of us going out on a date actually made me smile.
“Sort of. I mean, I would like you to bring Justice, so it would be like a family date.” He searched my face for some sort of an answer. That was one thing I was good at that he never had to school me on, my poker face.
Was I really ready to revisit this chapter of my life? I was thankful that he wanted to be in his daughter’s life, because she definitely deserved a father, but was I ready to do the family thing with him? I did not even know if he would be here after a month or so.
“We can take it slow. I know you might not be ready to do the family thing with me right now, but I would like a chance to prove that I’m in this for both of you.” He said it like he was reading my mind.
The last three years quickly replayed in my mind. From the moment we met and he flashed that gorgeous smile at me, through our debacle a year ago, till this moment right now. We had had some really high highs and some pretty low lows. The logical part of me wanted to say no and kept this arrangement strictly about Justice to ensure I never got hurt by him again, but my heart took over at that point.
“Sure. We would love to.” He smiled harder than a kid who got everything he wanted for Christmas. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed me softly on the forehead.
Lord, I prayed this was the right decision.
Chapter 41
Skye
I hate wedding planning. You would think this would be the best time of my life and the whole process would be an unforgettable one, but between my mom, Trent’s mom, and Devin, I was another place card away from telling Trent we should just elope. They argued about the flowers. They argued about centerpieces. They argued about the cake. The only input I really had was about my dress, because I was designing it, and I talked the wedding planner into an open bar at the reception. I loved my family, but I was gonna need a stiff drink on my wedding day to forget all about this process.
Today Devin, my wedding planner, Sheila, and I were doing a tasting of the food for the cocktail hour and reception. This was the one part of the planning where I really wanted Trent to be here, but he was away on business.
“Whoo, girl, these crab cakes are the business,” Devin hollered with his mouth full. “You gotta serve these.”
“I told you I won’t make a decision until we taste everything.” I took another forkful of crab cake and let it melt in my mouth. “You know what, D? You’re right. These crab cakes are the bomb. Put these down as a favorite, Sheila.”
This was t
he most relaxing part about this whole thing. I wanted to make sure my food was on point because that was really the only thing people went to weddings for, anyway. That and the dress. The caterer brought us another entrée, and before I could stick my fork into the succulent filet mignon, my phone rang.
“Hey, future hubby,” I said so that Trent could feel the love through the phone.
“Well, hello, future Mrs. Hamilton. How’s everything going?”
“Everything is good today. Although I’m still recovering from the lilies versus orchids debate yesterday.” I cut my eyes toward Devin, who had initiated the flower war between my future mother-in-law and the florist.
“Don’t give me the side eye, Ms. Thang,” Devin said, putting another piece of beef in his mouth. “That Russian heifer started it.”
I could hear Trent laughing over the phone, which softened my look on Devin and made me chuckle a little bit.
“Well, don’t get too stressed out. I was just calling to check in on you before I headed to this meeting. I love you, and I’ll be home in a few days.” This man was truly amazing.
“Love you, too, babe. See you soon.” I hung up with a big smile on my face.
My wedding was getting closer and closer, and I was ready more than ever to say “I do” to Trent. I was trying to turn my mind back to food tasting and finally eat what looked to be a delicious contender when my phone rang again.
“Hello?” I was slightly annoyed and confused since I didn’t recognize the number.
“I want to see you tonight.” I dropped my fork on my plate when I heard Noah’s voice through the receiver.
They all stared at me like I was crazy. “You all right, girl?” Devin was the only one who spoke up.
“Yeah. Excuse me while I take this outside.” I put on a fake smile and rushed from the table like my hair was on fire.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I gave him much attitude.
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since we ran into each other, and I need to see you tonight.”
“Noah, do you understand that I am in the middle of planning my wedding?” If he didn’t want to hurt me again, he was definitely doing a bad job so far.
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