“I don’t know. I guess we could …” I followed his line of sight and spotted Wes, Erica, and that woman as they walked into the building. Narrowing my eyes, I murmured, “Yes. Let’s order in.”
Chapter 16
Wesley
Something was off.
I noticed it.
Moses noticed it.
The only person that hadn’t clocked it was Erica, who’d been talking animatedly about everything that didn’t matter in this moment. Work, the gym, the last episode ofSeverance, and the latest political news … yeah, my sister was happily oblivious to the brewing storm.
Oh, and Whitney, because she didn’t know better. My sister’s childhood friend had recently moved to the city from Wellspring. Since I’d encouraged Erica to find some girlfriends, she’d invited her to lunch with us.
Erica brushed Mo’s arm. “It’s been a minute, Mo.”
Is she flirting with him?
“You look good,” my sister continued.
Yeah, she’s flirting.
Moses smirked. “You do, too.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “What’s good with you?”
“Nothing much, man,” Mo replied. “Working.”
Mo didn’t grow up in Detroit, but he’d often come around to spend time with Albany. He was cool. That didn’t mean I wanted him to kick it with my sister. I almost said something to that effect, but I stopped myself. Because Mo could essentially say the same about me. Ididdate his sister. She fell in love with me, gave herself to me. Then, I broke her heart. And now I wanted her to trust me not to do it again, to give me a chance. To give us a chance.
The cold hard truth smacked me in the face as I turned over the reasons this would never work. Even if she’d forgiven me, how could she ever take the leap of faith required to give in to the fire burning between us? Even now, I felt it. The pull to her, the need to close the distance between us.
“What do you do?” Erica asked him.
He snickered. “A lot.”
Erica smiled, her eyes sparkling with renewed interest. It was no secret she’d crushed on Mo hard. And now that she was in the market, looking for a situation … “When did you get back to town?” my sister asked.
“I flew in for the funeral.”
My eyes met Albany’s, held her gaze for a moment. “Someone died?”
Albany had the sense to look guilty. We’d spent the night together. Even before that, we’d talked almost every day in some form. And she hadn’t told me her family suffered a loss. “Yes,” she replied.
“Who?” I pressed.
She held her head high. “My grandfather.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Albany.” Erica embraced her. “Is there anything I can do?”
Albany shook her head. “No, I’m fine. As you know, I didn’t know him.” I recognized the pain in her eyes before she could hide it. I wanted to reach out to her, to hold her. “I just figured I should pay my respects.”
The situation between her grandparents had weighed on her heart. We’d talked about it countless times, how she’d wished her grandmother could be happy. She dreamed of meeting him one day. Not because he was a good person. He wasn’t. But because he washergrandfather.
Erica’s expression softened. “Still, he’s family.”
“I promise to let you know if I need anything,” Albany conceded. “Thank you.”
