She chuckled softly. “I’ve heard that before. But looks can be deceiving. Don’t get me wrong, Ilovea man with money, but I like having myowntoo. And one thing I learned about relationships is that love feels alotdifferent when staying is a choice instead of a financial survival.”
That actually sounded wise as hell.
I nodded slowly. “So, whatdoyou do?”
“I own the boutique Élitaire House on Magazine Street,” she explained proudly. “Mostly women’s fashion, luxury streetwear, handbags, shoes… stuff like that. Surely, you’ve heard of us before.”
I almost saidnobefore catching myself. I had to remember I wasTalia, not Haelyn in that moment. Talia had lived in New Orleans far longer than I had, so she would’ve, or at leastshould have, been familiar with the boutique if it was as popular as Zonnique claimed.
I waved casually. “Of course, girl. I just never made my way over there. I gotta check y’all out.”
“Not really a need to do so… at least not anytime soon if you’re going looking for clothes. All, well,majority, of the clothes I bought you came from there.”
I smiled faintly while looking down at my outfit.
“Now maybe once you get a little bigger, we’ll have to shop again,” she continued thoughtfully. Then her eyes narrowed slightly. “You know what? I might need to start selling maternity clothes.”
Before I could respond, she was already typing notes into her phone like a woman possessed by capitalism.
“Maternity lingerie…”
Tap tap tap.
“Luxury pregnancy loungewear…”
More typing.
“Cute rich-baby-mama aesthetics…”
Once Zonnique finished typing, she slid her phone into her purse before pointing toward the door.
“Okay. Let’s go before I forget I have a business to run and I take these clothes off, soak in a nice bath, and pour myself a glass of wine. And after the morning I’ve had?” she scoffed. “That bottle damn near deservesme.”
***
It had been three days since I checked in with Talia.
All the chaos with Jace—well, notchaosfor me, more like alignment—had me distracted. But I hadn’t forgotten about her… not really.
I parked two blocks away, keeping my distance just in case things had changed, and took the back-alley entrance. As I opened the basement door, a wave of grimy air slammed into me. The bitter stench of sweat, urine, and poop overwhelmed my senses.
Talia was curled in the corner, her hair a tangled mess.
The moment she noticed me, she sat up with a furious glare, the fire in her tired, red eyes unmistakable.
“Where the fuck have you been?!” she spat, her voice thick with irritation. “It’s one thing to kidnap me in my own damn house, but you’re not even feeding me now?!”
I paused at the top of the steps, cocked my head, and couldn’t help but smile at her outburst.
“You’re right. My bad,” I remarked nonchalantly. “Life got in the way.”
I held up the greasy takeout bag like it was a trophy.
“I brought you something, though.”
With a flick of my wrist, I tossed the bag at her, watching it hit the ground with a sad thud.
“Eat.”
