Iskyiah jumped and pulled away from the kiss. She tried to pull away from him, but Moolah kept her planted in place as his eyes found the pretty girl standing just inside the house.
“You must be Brooke. How you doin’, lil mama?” Moolah asked.
Her eyes sparkled. “I’m good. Are you my mama’s new boyfriend?”
“I’m her hus?—”
“Yeah, baby. He’s my boyfriend.” Iskyiah turned in his embrace and elbowed him in the abdomen.
Moolah didn’t flinch. In fact, his heart hummed at hearing her call him her boyfriend. He kept it cool, though. He looked down at her and shrugged. If she wanted to pretend in front oflil mama like they weren’t about to get married, he would let her live . . . for now.
“Why didn’t you tell me the other day, Mommy?” Brooke hugged her mother around the waist happily.
Iskyiah looked nervous. “It all happened kind of fast. Brooke, I want you to meet Moolah. He’s an old friend of mine.” She hesitated before she said, “Actually, I named you after him. His name is Moolah Brooks.”
Brooke’s eyes widened. Moolah couldn’t help but notice how much she looked like Charles, but she was so much cuter. She somehow made that bitch ass nigga’s features look adorable.
“You’ve known him that long?” Brooke asked, her smile bright. Moolah could tell this little girl was about to have him wrapped around his damn finger.
“I’ve known him since I was younger than you,” Iskyiah said.
“You knew my Daddy?” Brooke asked.
Moolah frowned. “Nope.” The last thing he was about to do was talk about Charles. He didn’t have anything good to say about that nigga. That reminded him, though. He needed to ask Teyanna to find out where the nigga was buried so he could pay homie a visit. Not only did he want to piss on his grave, but he also wanted to dig up the bones or ashes and find someone to build them into a custom toilet. He would use that toilet for every shit he had for the rest of his life, with a fat ass smile on his face.Thatwas how much he disliked the nigga. “Y’all go ’head and pack a bag.”
Iskyiah’s brows rose. “Wait, what?—”
“Ohhh, are we going on a vacation?”
Nah. Y’all are moving up out of here.“We gonna spend a few days at my place.”
“Wait—”
“Yay!” Brooke’s squeals silenced Iskyiah. They watched her scurry away before Iskyiah turned to glare at him.
“Moolah, you can’t just do that.”
“Why not?” He was genuinely confused.
“We have to ease her into this. She’s a kid. It isn’t just me I have to worry about.”
“Aye, what I just tell you? All you need to worry about is being a good mother and being pretty. I got the rest.”
“This is a part of being a good mother, Lah,” she whined.
Moolah shook his head. “Stop blockin’ ya blessings, my baby.” Iskyiah’s mouth hung open. “And close that pretty mouth before I put somethin’ in it.”
Iskyiah’s mouth snapped shut. She sighed. “Fine, Lah. Fine. Come in so I can pack and make sure Brooke gets everything she needs.”
Moolah grinned for the first time all day. He happily stepped inside Iskyiah’s tidy home, happy she didn’t put up too much of a fight. He would have won either way, but he was glad to know she could listen to him occasionally. That, to him, was a real good sign. The sooner she got on board with their relationship, the sooner he could marry her ass.
Iskyiah almost got lost trying to find her way back to the living room where she had last seen Moolah. She couldn’t believe the size of his house. She’d increasingly become more curious about where the hell all this money came from.
A sigh of relief escaped her when she finally found Moolah in the same spot on the buttery leather sofa.
“You good? How’s lil mama?”
Moolah’s deep voice sent shockwaves through her body. Iskyiah knew Moolah always had a special effect on her, but she didn’t remember it being quite this strong. Her attraction to this man was dangerous, which was exactly why she tried running. Foolish, she knew. Hell, she knew it when she was on the plane back home that her efforts would be for nothing, but she just needed a little space so she could try to control her thoughts and the way her heart seemed to beat just for him all of a sudden.
