“I love you, Bunny.”
“And I love you. Are we good now?”
“More than good now that our truth is out in the open,” Mahari stated. “All we’re waiting on now is confirmation that Brooklyn and Mayvin are biologically mine. My gut has told me from the jump that they were, so I’m not even worried about it. Are you?”
Aspen shook her head. “Surprisingly, I’m not. I guess because you signed the birth certificate, and I couldn’t care less about Lance and what he thinks. He’s truly dead to me.”
“And you have every right to feel the way you do. I still can’t wait to get my hands on him again.”
“Again? You never told me what happened.”
Carefully, Aspen listened as Mahari told her about Lance showing up at his studio. All she could do was scoff and shake her head. While she understood why Lance was upset, he was bold to go in and try to check Mahari.
“I think his ego was bruised, for real. How can he be upset when he was always the one asking you to step in for him?” Aspen expressed with a roll of her eyes.
“I don’t know, and I honestly don’t care.” Mahari grabbed Aspen’s hand and kissed the back of it. “We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
With Mahari by her side, life felt complete to Aspen. To have him in ways she’d only dreamed of satisfied something in her only he could. There was no doubt in her mind that they were meant to be, that Mahari was her soulmate.
Three weeks later. . .
Mahari was running around trying to ensure everything was coming together, when his phone vibrating in his pocket stopped him in his tracks. He pulled it out and expelled a sigh upon seeing Dynasty’s name dancing across his screen. For over a month, he’d been ignoring her calls and texts. Not usually the type of person to ghost people, Mahari simply didn’t have the energy to explain himself to Dynasty. He knew she’d judge and chastise him for his truth, but it was time to put it to bed.
Running his hand down his face, Mahari answered, “Hello?”
“So, it’s true, huh?”
“What are you talking about, Dynasty?”
“Don’t play stupid, Mahari. I saw the video of you and Lance fighting, and I heard what he said about you and Aspen. My intuition has been right all along.”
Mahari had seen the video as well, and he was grateful it hadn’t gotten sold to any blogs or anything. His fans as well as Lance’s would’ve had a ball with that information. It didn’t bother Mahari, but it was a bit of a relief to know nothing would come of it.
“It’s not any of your business if we’re being real with each other.”
Dynasty sharply gasped. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Dynasty. Let’s keep this short. It’s on me for ignoring you over the last month, but I’ve had a lot of shit going on. Kicking it with you was cool. You’re good people, but you’re not who I want to be with. In the beginning, I was genuinely interested. As time went on, I couldn’t fight the feelings I had for Aspen. Things changed, and we’re together now. I apologize.”
There was a brief silence before Dynasty spat, “You’re not shit, Mahari.”
The sound of beeping was like music to Mahari’s ears. He meant it when he apologized to Dynasty, but if she didn’t want to receive it, that was on her. She was another loose end that he needed to be tied, and he was grateful it was done.
Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Mahari headed to his truck to go pick up Aspen. Their first stop was to see Brooklyn and Mayvin, and after that, Mahari had a surprise for her. He’d been holding it in for two weeks. The secrecy had Aspen on high alert. Mahari noticed she’d been questioning him more than usual about certain things, but he kept it together.
“Damn. You look beautiful, Bunny,” Mahari complimented when Aspen opened the door. “I knew that would be perfect for you.”
Aspen blushed. “Thank you. I’m not losing this baby weight as quickly as I want to, but I do feel good in this.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself. You’re only three weeks post-partum,andyou had twins.” Mahari snaked his arms around Aspen’s waist and pecked her lips. “And this weight looks damn good on you.”
Mahari was finding it harder to keep his hands to himself. Even though he and Aspen had sex before, it was almost a year ago, and he was intoxicated. He wanted to experience her sober. Ever since they’d made things official, he yearned for the intimacy only sex could bring. He wanted to be deep inside her, becoming acquainted with her body and soul all in one.
Jokingly, Aspen punched his chest before resting her head on it. “Whatever.”
“It does. I mean, look at you in this dress.”
