Page 31 of The Way Love Heals

“Nyle? You good?”

Naheem stood behind my brothers with his brows bowed downward. Things were bound to get ugly if I didn’t speak up, but when a slow smile spread across Diamond’s face, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Aye, Dionte. This man got heart. I like that.”

“Me too.” Dionte smirked and held his hand out to Nyle. “I’m Dionte, Brittish’s younger brother. Who are you?”

Nyle’s shoulders visibly relaxed as he dapped Dionte and Diamond up. “I’m Nyle. It’s nice to meet you.”

“My fault. We had to make sure our sister was in good hands. If you would’ve let us step to her without doing anything, she would’ve been leaving with us. There’s no respect if you can’t protect her and stand ten toes down for her,” Diamond expressed and peered at me. “Is this whose house I picked you up from?”

“House? Wait a minute. When did this happen?” Dionte chimed in.

My eyes ballooned as Diamond ran down the story to Dionte. No wonder I never received a call from him that day. Diamond shockingly didn’t say anything, but now, I had to hear him explain face-to-face. Leave it to them to embarrass me. I looked at Nyle who rubbed the rim of his lips to hide his smile. He raised his palms in surrender when I elbowed him.

“What you do that for?” Nyle questioned, smirking.

“You know exactly why I did it. How can you sit up here and smile while my brother’s talk about a night we shared?”

“I mean, what can I say? It was a memorable night for us. I replay it in my mind often, so don’t feel bad.”

My eyes rolled so hard, I thought they would get stuck. The last thing I expected was for the dinner to be a family affair, but when Nyle invited Diamond and Dionte to join us, I wanted to wither away. I remembered how they acted when they first met Asher, so I prayed they were on their best behavior, especially since it was all Nyle’s family.

Before Nyle led us over to the table, I pulled my brothers to the side and glared at them.

“Please, don’t embarrass me. I want this to go over well, and I know how y’all can get.” I was speaking to them both, but my gaze remained on Diamond. With Dionte, I didn’t have too much to worry about except for him cosigning with Diamond.

“Man.” Diamond kissed his teeth, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me into him. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Just think of it like us being here for moral support. If his family were to gang up on you or something, you know we got your back.”

When he kissed my forehead, I calmed down a little. Diamond did have a point. It was comforting to have them there in case things did go left, but in the same breath, they could be the reason things went left. All I could do was silently pray everything went well.

Nyle had stood off to the side and waited for us, while talking to Naheem. He held his hand out when I approached him, and I eagerly took it.

“You okay?” he quizzed.

“I’m good. I’m ready.”

Briefly, he looked me over before nodding and following Naheem. All eyes were on us as we approached the table. I didn’t miss how Brielle’s gaze went straight to Diamond, and she swallowed hard. She adjusted her posture, leaned over, and whispered something to her grandmother, who was eyeing my brother as well.

Nyle went around the table to give them love while Naheem pulled up extra chairs. I settled in my seat across from Lela Mae and offered her a warm smile. To my surprise, she gave me one back. Part of me thought it was because of Diamond, but I’d take whatever I could get.

My eyes went to a pretty girl who sat next to Brielle. She closely watched me while scooting closer to Brielle. From the way the little girl had stolen Brielle’s face, I figured it was her daughter. When Nyle gave her love, and she clung to him, it was confirmed.

“Brittish, this is my daughter, Ellie.” Brielle introduced her. “She was with her father at the game.”

“Hey, pretty girl. It’s nice to meet you.”

Ellie gave me a quick wave before squirming out of Nyle’s arms and clinging to her mother again.

“I see we have some extras,” Lela Mae started with her eyes bouncing between my brothers.

“Yes. Somehow, my brothers ended up being here as well, so Nyle invited them to join us,” I explained before introducing them. “This is my younger brother, my baby, Dionte, and that’s my older brother, Diamond.”

“It’s nice to meet y’all.” Dionte spoke with a wave.

“Well, I’m Lela Mae. This is my granddaughter, Brielle, my grandson, Naheem, and my great-granddaughter, Ellie.”

The waitress came over to get our drink orders. I needed something good and strong, so I ordered a Blueberry Lemon Drop Martini. Brielle ended up ordering the same thing while everyone else got something different. Naheem ordered a round of appetizers for the table before the waitress left, allowing silence to fall over us.