Page 11 of The One He Desires

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take her with me?” my manager, Deanna, asks.

“No, we’ll be fine. Go enjoy your lunch, and I’ll see you in an hour,” I say.

In a rare occurrence, Milan is here at the boutique with me, thanks to Mom and Dad coming down with a stomach bug and not wanting to pass it to Milan. Vaughn Jr. is out of town so I couldn’t tag him in to babysit his niece. It’s been a week since the Sincere sighting, and thoughts of him have yet to waver. My eyes move from the front door, after Deanna leaves, to the windowsill, where Milan is occupied with one of the educational games Mom bought for her. I smile before I move from behind the counter to the rack where some clothes need to be rearranged.

“Pway hride and teek, Mommy,” Milan says after an unknown time of me getting lost in the task of stocking and organizing the clothes I have on hand.

“Okay. But don’t go too far.”

“Otay. Tount, Mommy.”

Milan’s enthusiastic voice encourages me to count, so she can hide and I can find her. My poor baby is too young to know that the beads I put in her hair will be a dead giveaway for wherever she attempts to find shelter. I indulge my baby and lead off with number one before I go up to five.

“Ready or not, here I come,” I say loudly.

Milan and I get lost in hide and seek as the sound of her laughter echoes around the boutique. It fills me with merriment with each occurrence as my heart gallops in my chest. I lose track of how long we’ve been playing when the doorbell chimes, alerting me to an incoming customer.

“Hey, Sweet Face.”

That voice scrambles my brain as I stagger to my feet, and my heart rate increases at the sight of Sincere. His concentration is on Milan as she hugs him around his right leg. I don’t know whether to be angry or stunned by her reaction to seeing this man. Milan has only seen Sincere once, so her stranger/danger radar should be fully active. But instead of running toward me, Milan waves animatedly before she extends her arms for Sincere to pick her up, which causes my mouth to drop open.

“Hi. Up.”

Lord, what has gotten into my daughter?

“You remember me?” Sincere asks as he scoops Milan into his arms.

Milan’s head bobs up and down as she gives him a full-toothed smile. I move closer to them and prepare to speak, just as Sincere’s brown eyes shift to me.

“Hello again, Ms. Journee.”

Lord, of all the boutiques and clothing stores in the city, why did you allow this man to walk through my doors?

Are you really complaining or giving God reverence? I need clarification.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you that it’s bad to pounce on a child who’s not old enough to know right from wrong?”

A deep chuckle escapes Sincere’s mouth, and it settles within my honeypot like fresh honey on a biscuit.

“My bad. Your daughter is too cute and has me forgetting all of my home training.”

All I can do is nod as I get stuck on the way he fills out the suit that adorns his body. I have never been more jealous than I am of the clothes that get the privilege of being so attached to him.

“Whas u name?” Milan asks with her curious eyes on Sincere as he disconnects his eyes from me back to her.

Fine time to be asking him, baby.

“My name is Sincere, Sweet Face.”

Milan’s face scrunches as she attempts to process the information he’s given her. I know it’s too difficult for her to pronounce and jump in to add my two cents.

“She can’t say that name. She’s only three,” I say with an unconscious smile that I’m incapable of preventing.

“You’re right, but I reserve Sin for special and grown women.”

Oh my God!

Yes, sir. I’ll gladly call you Sin, daddy, pussy magnetic, or any variation of the three.