Page 84 of The Wright Man

"Maleek?" Tina's voice screeched through the speaker on my phone, jolting me back into reality. "I thought I heard the sound of your panties melting."

"Oh my God. Tina, shut up."

"No. Put my brother on the phone and take a second to get your coochie to stop doing backflips."

I closed my eyes and exhaled through my nose, praying for strength.

Maleek arched a brow as I extended the phone to him like it was radioactive. "Your sister wants you."

He took it with that lopsided smile that had no business looking that good in fluorescent lighting. "Wassup, Sweet Tee?"

I couldn't hear what she said, but whatever it was made him laugh—deep and warm, head tilting back just enough for me to catch the flex in his neck.

"Aight, I'll keep that in mind," he said, still grinning. "I'll holla at you later. Love you."

He handed the phone back, eyes lingering on me like he wasn't ready to stop looking. I accepted the phone with one hand and held it to my ear like it might save me.

"Christina Raye Reed, what did you say to him?" I hissed.

"That's between me and my brother, thank you very much," Tina said with smug satisfaction. "Go ahead and talk to your future baby daddy. I'll see you Sunday."

"Tina—"

"Byeeeeee!" Click.

I stared at the phone like it had betrayed me.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Maleek. "Whatever she said, please keep in mind that she is mentally unwell."

He chuckled, deep and low in his throat. "She told me to take it easy on you," he said, still smiling. "Said she knows what I do to your blood pressure."

I choked on my own saliva. "Excuse me?"

He laughed harder, eyes dancing. "I'm just the messenger."

I shook my head, heat blooming in my chest and threatening to crawl up my neck. "There's something seriously wrong with her."

"I'm not mad at her," he said, eyes skimming me again in a way that made it very hard to breathe. "She keeps it real."

"You would say that."

I gestured toward his cart to break the tension. "So, what's this? Finally decided to get your sad little bachelor fridge off the struggle bus?"

He smirked. "Yeah, my Doordash driver and I were getting a little too familiar. Started calling me by name. Figured it was time."

I snorted. "Tragic."

He glanced into my basket, lifting an eyebrow. "Face masks and powdered sugar in the same basket? We baking, or are the Reed sisters having another spa day?"

"Both," I said, tossing a pack of graham cracker crumbs on top. "Sunday's our last night all together for a while, so we're going all out. Tina's bringing drinks, Bella's got food. I'm in charge of skincare and the venue. And I'm making lemon squares for Daddy before he leaves for his fishing trip."

At that, he let out a sound so guttural I almost dropped the damn basket.

"God, those damn lemon squares." His eyes rolled back slightly. "I dreamt about them every night during my last deployment. I used to try and bribe dudes with MREs just for a fake version."

My lips curled into a smile before I could stop it. "You never asked me to send you some."

"I didn't wanna risk them getting smushed or stolen." He stepped a little closer. "Besides... I was planning to get 'em fresh. From the source."