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“That’s good. You’re already light years ahead of Marcel.”
“Why did you have to bring him up?”
“Sorry, it slipped,” Sadie’s smile revealed she wasn’t fond of Marcel. I wasn’t sure if it was deserved or if she didn’t think he was good enough for Hailo. “Sounds like you come from a close family. How do they feel about everything?”
“Just as excited as you are. My mom has been blowing me up all morning.”
“That’s good that Hailo and the baby will have support there.”
She would but whether she’d be open to that support remained to be seen. We enjoyed our late lunch and spent a little time at Sadie’s house before returning to Hailo’s apartment. She went to shower while I called my mom back. I’d sent her the ultrasound pictures, but that wasn’t enough. Xora wanted a play-by-play of the appointment as if she’d never been pregnant.
Hailo strolled down the hallway, clapping her hands, causing my brows to pinch together. “You put on a hell of a performance today. You’re a better actor than I imagined, which scares me.”
“Nobody was acting Hailo.”
“You laid it on thick with my mom.”
“Which part? When I assured her I’d take care of y’all?”
“It’s not for the reasons she thinks.”
“I meant everything I said. I hope you know she didn’t fuck with Marcel either.” My heart was warming to Hailo and this relationship. I wanted her to feel the same. Sometimes I thought she did. Then she’d open her mouth and say shit like that.
“She had her reservations the same way she does now, but Sadie isn’t the type to interfere,” Hailo chuckled, swinging her feet onto my lap, ignoring my confusion. She didn’t care how I felt about it. She always found a way to put her stubby toes on me whenever we were near. “I’m sure your mom has reservations about me too. I can only imagine how that conversation went when you told them I was pregnant.”
I learned from my father’s mistakes. Confirming that would only create a bigger problem in the long run. Regardless of Xora’s reservations, she would support Hailo and me one hundred and ten percent. That’s all that mattered.
“You know we’ll have to try for a boy in a year or two, right?” I asked to change the subject to something more productive. She looked so beautiful laying on the couch with her legs in my lap that the nickname Pretty Lady didn’t do her justice.
“You are out of your mind.”
“How many kids do you want?” I asked because it was one of the many things we hadn’t discussed.
“I used to want a big family. Being an only child was boring at times. I didn’t have cousins around to keep me company like you, but the way this little girl is kicking my ass, I see why Sadie was one and done.”
“Nah, we gotta give her a sibling.”
“We? I’m doing the heavy lifting here.” I didn’t immediately reply because I honestly didn’t hear what she said. Watching our child in her stomach had me in a trance. “Something tells me you like being the only child.”
“Damn, what are you trying to say?” I finally responded with pinched brows.
“Gianni likes attention.”
My hand hit my chest hurt. That’s what Hailo thought about me. “I learned to tolerate attention because it comes with being a nigga like me.”
“You’re so full of yourself,” she smiled as the words lazily slithered out of her mouth.
Eyes don’t lie, and I could see Hailo considering the possibility of this situation working out. The room fell silent while she imagined scenarios of us genuinely falling for each other while I watched her like my favorite show. We didn’t need words; we just looked at each other and smiled.
Chapter Five
“Can you focus for one second!” Solana fussed as I neared the family room. When I broke the threshold, my mother was seated on the couch with one leg crossed over the other with a champagne glass.
“Calm down! You’re always so uptight.”
“I’ve shown you over twenty dresses; you won’t pick one.”
“None of them are my style.”
