“I don’t give a fuck if they do or don’t,” he said straight up.
Auntie Vee leaned forward from the backseat. “Just don’t propose nowhere stupid.”
Kadeer laughed. “What counts as stupid?”
“A basketball game. A restaurant with sparklers. Anybody’s birthday party. Somebody else’s wedding. Near a pool. On Christmas. At a funeral.”
Jio stared at her through the rearview mirror. “A funeral?”
“You men be doing dumb things when y’all emotional.”
Kadeer pointed at her. “That’s true.”
Jio shook his head as he started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. He had one hand on the wheel and the other resting against the inside pocket of his jacket where the ring sat close to his heart.
For the first time since Charles told him no, the anger quieted. Her daddy couldn’t comprehend their love, but the fucked up thing was that he never even tried.
He didn’t know what it felt like to love Nina after almost losing her or how it felt to watch her sleep and silently promise God he’d trade his life for hers without needing heaven to negotiate. He wasn’t caught up in the moment or his feelings and it wasn’t a rushed decision either.
He had loved Nina in too many seasons for this to be impulsive, which was how he knew that he was doing the right thing. He was about to be somebody’s husband.
η
The city was unusually quiet as Roberto steered the SUV through downtown.
Traffic had finally thinned, leaving only the occasional set of headlights passing beneath the glow of streetlights. Nina rested comfortably against the leather seat, one heel kicked off, the other dangled lazily from her toes. The exhaustion she’d been carrying all week had finally caught up with her. She was tired, and the only thing that could fix it was real rest and maybe a ninety-minute massage, but an at-home one. She didn’t even have the energy to go to the spa.
Roberto glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
“Is everything okay, Miss Marcelle?” Her energy was heavy tonight.
“Danyelle irritated me.”
His eyebrows lifted. “How so?”
“She told me I should date other people.”
He chuckled. “Danyelle is… eclectic,” he found the best word he could use to describe her.
“Very.”
“You're too young. Date ‘em all,”Nina mimicked, rolling her eyes. “As if I have the time to entertain more than one man.” She sort of rubbed her the wrong way. Nina wanted to let it go but it wouldn’t be tonight.
She folded her arms across her chest before staring back out the window.
“I know she meant well, but still,” she expressed.
For a moment, Roberto said nothing. Years of driving around rich folk taught him that they didn’t always need answers. Sometimes they just needed space to hear their own thoughts out loud.
Finally, he spoke.
“You know why I don't give relationship advice?”
She looked up. “Why?”
“Because relationships are fickle.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
