Shrugging, she explained, “You were sharing a plate of food with her.”
A smile tugged at my lips. I remembered her being feisty. It’s what attracted me to her in the first place. If there was no Albany, there might’ve been an Amber in my life. “You saw that, huh?”
“And I seeyou. You can’t stop watching her.”
Amber wasn’t wrong. I was completely transfixed with the woman who’d captured my heart with a book about the weather. Although our future hinged on whether she could trust me with her heart again, I always knew that I’d die imagining her face. Those eyes.
“Told you,” Amber muttered, taking a sip of her iced tea.
Clearing my throat, I said, “You got me. About my grandmother … I assume she’s trying to play matchmaker.”
“All of the grandmothers are armed with their Cupid arrows today. I just wish I wanted a hookup. I actually met someone a few weeks ago. Coincidentally, the day after I spent the night at your place. My grandmother doesn’t like him. So, I’m here. Counting down the minutes until I can leave and go watch the fireworks with him.”
Again, my eyes drifted across the yard, locked on Albany’s. She smiled and waved. I tipped my head to her before I forced my attention back to Amber. “Then you should go to him,” I suggested.
Amber glanced at her watch and sighed. “In a few minutes. My Nana is talking business with a friend. I don’t want to leave before I can say goodbye.” She glanced at Albany. “She’s pretty.”
Once again, I stared at Albany. She was laughing at Hendrix now. A carefree, sincere laugh that lit up her face. My heart clenched in my chest. “She is,” I whispered.
“You should probably do something about that.”
Smirking, I nodded. “You just say what you’re thinking, huh?”
“I know no other way to be. Got it from my grandmother.”
“Seems like all the grannies are that way,” I agreed.
“Well,” she chirped, “I’m going leave you to your perusal. I forgot I can’t stand too close to you anyway. I don’t want to be the subject of the next Ms. Tea content.”
I chuckled. “You got jokes.”
“Have a nice evening, Wesley.” She offered me her hand, and I shook it. “Good luck.”
A moment later, Hendrix approached me. “Bruh, you might as well go to her.”
“Shut the hell up,” I murmured.
“No, seriously. She sent me over here to tell you to come now.” Hen clasped my shoulders. “I don’t say it much because I’m not a sentimental punk. But you deserve to be happy, bruh. After everything your father did, everything you’ve been through, I hope you can make it happen with Albany.”
“I hope so,” I admitted. “It’s up to her.”
“Well, it looks like you two turned a corner since the last time I saw you together. As long as you don’t turn into me and Bri, you’ll be alright.”
I eyed my cousin curiously. “What exactly are you and Bri doing?”
“Shit.” He finished his drink. “Living, arguing, and fucking. No commitments, no expectations.”
A few months ago, I would’ve dapped him up because I wholeheartedly agreed that was the only way to live. Now that Albany was back, now that she’d agreed to consider something more, I couldn’t imagine going back to that mentality. And as much as Hendrix would deny it, I knew that he felt the same way about Bri. Yet, for whatever reason, they were stuck in this cycle.
“If all goes well,” he continued, “you might be the first grandson to collect your inheritance.”
“I don’t know about that.” Marriage was a long way off, yet for the first time, the thought didn’t make me want to hurl. “We’ll see.”
Bri strolled over to us, a plate of chicken wings in her hand. “Hey, Wes.” Hendrix snatched a wing from her plate, and she popped his hand. “Don’t dip your hands in my food. I don’t know where they’ve been.”
Hendrix smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Oh, you know where they’ve been.”
Rolling her eyes, she shoved him away. “Shut up, man. Go somewhere. I need to talk to Wes.”
