She said it so loud, the couple in the next booth stared. I covered my face.
“Hyacinth, chill!”
“Oh no, I can’t chill. I will not chill. You staying with him?”
“Yes.”
“And waking up next to him?”
“That was after a nightmare!”
“And your face is red.”
“It is not!”
“It is, sis! You look like a freckled tomato. Just thinking about him got you blushing?”
I slapped my napkin on the table. “Okay, look. It’s not what you think.”
Hyacinth folded her arms and reclined like she was getting ready for a good story. “Is it not? Because it’s giving ‘romantic suspense with urban vibes.’ It’s giving ‘grumpy man, sunshine woman.’ You need to reach out to elle kayson, see if you could get this written up. You know she like them college girl, street dude stories.”
“Could you not narrate my life?” I sighed.
She snorted. “I’m your cousin. Narrating your life is part of my job description.”
“Anyway,” I muttered, “I’m staying with him until they figure out Trell’s motive and location. That’s all.”
She blinked. “And how’s that going?”
I stabbed a piece of catfish. “Annoying. Confusing. Terrifying. And?—”
“Sexy?”
I glared. “I didn’t say that.”
“But did you feel it?”
I shoved a beignet in my mouth.
She cackled. “You did!”
I chewed slowly, glaring harder.
Hyacinth leaned forward, her voice softer for the first time. “Cuz. Real talk. You good?”
The question made the tightness in my chest loosen in a way I didn’t expect. I nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay. Scared sometimes, but okay.”
“And Mekhi? He taking care of you?”
“Hyacinth—”
“Nah, for real. He protecting you?”
I thought about the way he held me when I slept. How he squeezed my hand after the break-in. How he stood over me at the ballpark like he could block the whole world.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “He is.”
She smiled, not teasing this time. “Then… stop pretending you hate the man.”
