Page 164 of Buy Back My Love

“Too late.”

She pushed at my chest. “Move.”

I laughed and rolled off her before either one of us changed our mind about where this was stopping. Lee pulled the blanket over herself and settled back against the pillows while I lay there trying to process how the hell I had come over because she blocked me and somehow ended up between her legs less than an hour later.

After a minute, she turned her head toward me. “You still blocked, by the way.”

I looked at her. “You’re lying.”

Lee reached toward the nightstand for her phone. “Watch me.”

I grabbed it before she could unlock it.

“Van, give me my phone.”

“Unblock me first.”

She started laughing and reached across me for it. “Give me my damn phone.”

I held it farther out of reach. “Unblock me.”

And just like that, we were right back to arguing.

JB

By Monday morning, Lee still hadn’t called me. I had spent most of the weekend checking my phone like a damn fool, waiting on a text, a missed call, something. Hannah’s engagement post had done numbers. Mine too. Everybody and they mama had been in the comments congratulating us, throwing rings and champagne emojis everywhere and talking about how beautiful our family was.

Lee ain’t like the post, leave a comment, or call me cussing. She ain’t react at all, and that wasn’t how I pictured the shit going.

I knew she was gonna see it. Half the reason I made sure those pictures went up Valentine’s night was because I knew somebody would send them to her even if she wasn’t following me anymore. Lee had spent the last few months walking around like whatever I did didn’t bother her. She didn’t want me, didn’t need me, and I needed to accept that we were over. Cool. I wanted to see how much of that shit she really meant.

By Sunday night, I had even checked to see if she watched my story. When her name never showed up, I finally called her and got sent straight to voicemail. I tried one more time, got the same thing, and that was when I realized she had blocked me.

I sat there staring at my phone, pissed off even though getting blocked should’ve told me the proposal bothered her at least a little. Still, that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted Lee to call me. I wanted her mad enough to ask how the fuck I could spend all that time talking about us being a family and then turn around and put a ring on Hannah’s finger.

I already knew exactly what I was gonna tell her. You the one said we were done. You the one kept telling me to move on. What you mad for? I had the whole argument ready, but Lee never gave me the chance to use it.

“Which one you like?”

I looked up from my phone and found Hannah watching me from across the kitchen table. Her laptop was open in front of her with about fifteen tabs across the top, and she had a notebook beside it full of shit she’d been writing down all morning. Our daughter was asleep in the bassinet next to her, finally home where she belonged.

“What?”

“The venues, Jabari.” Hannah turned the laptop around so I could see it. “I sent you these two yesterday and you never told me which one you liked.”

I barely glanced at the pictures. “Whichever one you want.”

Her face changed. “This your wedding too.”

There went that word again. Wedding. Hannah had been saying it every chance she got since Friday night. Our wedding. My fiancé. When we get married. At first, I liked hearing it. She had been happy as hell since the proposal, and after everything we had just gone through with Jaliyah coming early and spending weeks in the NICU, seeing her happy felt good.

Truth was, I just hadn’t thought much past getting down on one knee. I bought the ring, set everything up, and asked the question. I hadn’t sat around thinking about venues, dates, flowers, guest lists, or none of the shit that came after a woman said yes.

Hannah clearly had.

“I like the one on the water,” she said, turning the computer back toward herself. “But their Saturdays book up almost a year ahead. If we want something this fall, we probably need to put a deposit down.”

“This fall?”