Page 78 of Betrothed To Love

“Right.”

When she walks off, I remove my watch, empty my pockets, and place everything on the nightstand. My shoes are next and I place them on my side of the closet before undressing. She joins me in the closet and removes her heels and dress. Like always, my eyes are glued to her.

“You want some wine?” she asks.

“In the bathroom?”

“Yes. It’s permitted with a bath. Wine, candles, and the perfect bath elixir are a must. All three elements, no skips. So… red, white, or sparkling?” she says and I just shake my head.

“You pick.”

“Red sparkling, it is.”

She walks out of the closet and heads to the bar. I place my suit in the dry clean only hamper then venture back into the room. When she returns, she hands the glasses to me while she removes her lace panties and bra. She has a crazy rule about not being naked in her kitchen and her bar is located off from the kitchen and she had to walk through it.

Once she’s dressed in my favorite, nothing, she grabs my cell and we walk into the bathroom. She has it all set up. Several candles lit on the sink and around the tub. There’s a tray by the tub so she places my cell there and directs me to place the glasses down too. Then we get in, her first before I ease in behind her. When we are both submerged in the really warm, fragrant water, she grabs both glasses, relaxes into my chest, then sighs.

“Let’s drink to new connections,” she says.

“If she responds.”

“Aht aht. Positive only. To new connections,” she repeats.

“Okay. New connections.”

“Good. Now drink up.” She sips from her glass and I swallow mine in two gulps. When I place my empty glass on the tray, she laughs. “I forgot to mention drinking etiquette. You were supposed to drink slowly while we relax in here.”

“I’ll remember the next time,” I tell her. Since my hands are empty, I slide them onto her thighs. “But what’s next since my wine is gone?”

“Well, we are go⁠—”

The sound of my cell ringing halts her words and we both sit up. While I dry my hands with a towel from the side of the tub, she grabs my phone and hands it to me. Alami’s number is displayed on the screen.

“Quintus,” I answer.

“Hey. Um…this is Alami. You texted me?” her soft voice says.

“I did. I’m assuming you know who I am. My wife talked to your mo…to Laticia.”

“I do. I looked y’all up once she told me and I found some stuff. You’re the lawyer, right?”

“Yeah, I am,” I answer, a little amused at her admission about looking us up.

“That’s really dope,” she says, then there’s a pregnant pause. Not wanting to overwhelm her, I live in the pause with her until she breaks it. “I want to come to your office. Would that be okay? I kind of want to talk about law school. Fall break starts on the twentieth, so I’ll have the week.”

“You want to be a lawyer?” I ask excitedly, probably too damn excited.

“Yeah. Family law stuff though. I got questions.”

“Yeah. We can talk about that and anything else you want to,” I assure her.

“Okay. I’ll call you that week then. My iDrive’s about to pull up. I gotta go.”

“I understand, just call so we can plan your visit.”

“I will, but oh, I have a question. It’s a lot of y’all. Do I have any cousins my age?” she asks and I smirk.

“Cousins, no. But nephews, yeah, you got a gang of those and a few are around your age. Most are older though.”