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“All of this can wait until tomorrow,” Allison announces. Then she looks at Tiffany. “Maybe we can check on my apartment. I was supposed to have a couple of deliveries. I haven’t changed my address to the store yet on my accounts.”
Tiffany dips her chin in a nod. “I am so excited. I finally have something to do, and I’m going to love it. Plus, this whole industry is my jam.”
I snort because it is just that fucking true. Tiffany isn’t known for her chastity. I’m her cousin, so I don’t like to think about that shit, but I’ve seen her at all the same fucking bars I’ve frequented. So the girl is no stranger to men or partying.
This is right up her alley, which is why I called her. Plus, it keeps that whole family just a little bit closer, and if nothing else, I can keep an eye on them from all angles.
“Dinner at Cousin Brenda’s? I’m down,” Tiffany states.
The three of us leave the store together. I make sure to lock it up before I load them into the car. Tiffany took an Uber down here, so at least she isn’t leaving a car anywhere, and I can get them to my parents’ together.
I don’t know why, but it seems important to me that they stay together. I shouldn’t give a fuck about Tiffany other than her being family, but I do. Especially now that I’ve witnessed their bond. It’s similar to the way she is with Parker but also different. I can’t quite explain it, but I like it.
Knowing that Allison has all these good women around her who truly do give a fuck about her makes my heart squeeze. Harper wasn’t that woman for her. She never would have been. I know Allison has only ever really had Parker, but now she has more. She has a whole fucking family.
A family I gave her.
The family she has always deserved.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
ALLISON
Hendrick’s lips brush mine, then he lifts his head, his eyes focusing on mine for a moment before he releases me and takes a step backward. I can’t believe the turn of events of the day. I’ve seen my baby for the first time. I know it’s all real.
I have a husband, the shop of my dreams, he’s brought Tiffany to me, and now I’m being surrounded by my best friends, my sisters, and my mother-in-law.
It all seems so surreal.
Like it’s all playing out in front of me, happening to someone else while I watch from afar. But that’s not what’s happening. It’s real life. And it’s better than I could have ever imagined.
“When you get done, I want to talk about something,” I whisper.
He frowns, his brows snapping together, and shakes his head once. “What about?”
I almost laugh, because he’s just as bad as I am. He wants to know everything, or it’ll bother him. I feel the same way. Always. I’m nosy as hell, and I want to know, or I’ll stress out about it. So I shouldn’t have said anything, but it’s cute the way he needs this information.
Looking behind me, I take in the rest of the women, who are standing with Wells and Coleman chatting. Shifting my attention back to Hendrick, I give him a small smile.
“I just… It’s that I feel really bad about everything I did. The NDA I signed, the contract, the money. I shouldn’t have done it. How do you forgive me? I need to give that back. The money, the lease.”
He picks up my hand and runs his thumb along my ring. “Sunshine, the lease has been signed over to me. There is nothing to concern yourself with there. Consider it your husband investing in your future. The money is the same. I’ve paid my father back what he gave you. Although he reluctantly took it. And the rest of it, the NDA and all that shit, it’s water under the bridge. I am far guiltier than you. So we’ll call it a wash. We’re even because you and I both know I am not innocent.”
I cup his cheek. “I do not deserve you. There is nothing I have done in my life to deserve the man you are.”
He smirks and shakes his head once. “It’s me who doesn’t deserve you, Allison. And as long as we both believe that, we’re going to be okay.”
“We are, aren’t we?” I ask.
“Fuck yes, we are.”
And after he says that, Henry walks into the room and announces they are leaving. There is a hasty round of kisses for all of us, except Tiffany, and then the men are gone. Though Henry reminds us that we have four guards on the perimeter, the alarms will be set, and we are to open the door for absolutely nobody.
Not a single fucking person.
I don’t plan on it. I know you can get kidnapped from opening doors, hell, from walking out onto the sidewalk, too. I’ll be staying tucked inside of this house surrounded by family. Soaking the family up. Unsure how this can be my real life, except it is.
