“I agree. That’s part of the reason I’m back. They need more than just me.”
“Walk that back. You’re enough. But more love is never a bad thing.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Now, got all the shit settled. How areyou?”
“I’m… on autopilot right now. Just trying to steer this ship so it doesn’t sink.”
“Yeah. Well, look. Let’s tentatively plan a dinner. Let the kids meet me and Gigi and our kids. That way, if there’s ever a time you need someone to watch them so you can have a night out and decompress, you have someone.”
“Yeah, that’ll be good. Just give me a week to get work going and get the apartment right for everyone.”
“Done. But I can’t guarantee Gigi won’t show up unannounced with a lasagna or something.”
“I’d never turn down a lasagna,” I said, getting to my feet.
“Your number is the same, right?” Lorenzo said as he followed me toward the door.
“Yeah.”
“Alright. I will call or text later with details about a job. But the phone works both ways. If you need anything, don’t hesitate.”
“I won’t. Thanks, Enz. I know it’s not right to come back all these years later and ask for a—”
“You’re not asking for shit. You’re taking a place that’s always been yours, just a couple of years later. You have nothing to thank me for.”
With that, he gave me another hug, then I was walking away, feeling lighter than I had in years.
I was still carrying a lot of weight around, but it felt easier to carry now.
I had a job.
An income.
A support system.
Eventually, everything was going according to plan.
Until, of course, I got assigned to her.
CHAPTER TWO
Alara
“Is it toxic or something?” the woman in the flowing sundress with perfectly blown-out copper-red hair asked as I put on a pair of heavy-duty gardening gloves—the kind with the thick rubber grips—before reaching for the statue from the top shelf.
I was surprised she’d been around as long as she had. She was all out there in all of her thick-thighed, tits-out glory. With just a tiny swatch of fabric covering her vag.
She was stupid pretty.
But also stupid expensive.
And in this neighborhood, yeah, it wasn’t a big surprise she’d been sitting for so long.
But this lady with her designer bag and diamond studs that cost a few thousand bucks could more than afford her.
“No. Not toxic. But she’s a fertility statue,” I explained as I set the statue down on the counter. “It’s superstitious of me. But I don’t want any little mes running around. One me is enough for the world.”
