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He smooths back my hair, his fingers moving with a restless edge. “After brunch. We’ll talk then.”
“You’ll tell me everything?”
“I won’t make that promise, Dee. I haven’t thought it all through yet. But we’ll talk, okay?”
“Okay.” I hug him desperately.
It’s at least a start.
ChapterTwenty
Micah
“Bah, you’re late,” Mama Tscolds affectionately as she hugs us both. “What were you two doing in the car for so long?”
“Making out,” Gabi offers, all so helpfully, and grins at my predicament when Dani asks me what that means.
“Um…” I lift her into my arms. “It’s grownup kissing.” An answer that makes Dee blush. Damn, I love her. Ourbreakup—despise that term—was a week of utter hell.
But no one other than Victor and Isabelle appear the wiser. I hadn’t wanted to make the end real or final by putting it out there and it seems Dee hadn’t wanted to either. I hedge more of Dani’s questions on the topic of making out until Maria has had enough fun watching me squirm, and steps in to save me by distracting her daughter.
Welcoming the chaos of my family, I slide Justin a few bucks for another lost tooth; kiss Mason who is strapped in his booster seat, drooling all over a rubber toy; and give Dwayde a fist bump, gauging his mood.
“How you doing?”
“Aw’right.” He shrugs, but the last few days I’ve spent with him say otherwise.
The custody case and whatever he’s hiding have got to be overwhelming. I know what the hiding part feels like.
Mama T had chosen a traditional American breakfast. With brunch preparations already underway, she assigns me to the waffle station with Victor.
“Finally got your head out of your ass?” he says while stirring the mix.
“We’re going to talk later.”
“That’s good, man. Don’t break her heart again.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Then don’t.” I hear the clip in his warning. Victor’s on the right side of this—Dee’s side.
I steal a glance at her working the eggs and bacon griddle with Maria and Bells. Her curls bounce as she moves. She’s so pretty. So fucking brave.
The call from Stiles had scared me spitless. I’d been getting off the highway, still debating whether attending brunch and being around her was a smart move. But all second thoughts fled the instant I heard she was approaching Malcolm’s. I raced over like a bat out of hell. Luckily, it’s Sunday and the streets were empty. With the iron grip of panic twisting my chest, I’d made the trip in record time.
Stiles had caught up with her by then, but just knowing Dee had been alone with Malcolm… and seeing her merely feet away from him was like waving a red cloth in front of a bull. I was ready to charge when Dee got in my way, gripping my sweater. As savage and protective as I felt, the frightened look on her face, the pleading in her voice, stopped me from breaking Malcolm in two. All I wanted then was to get her away from there. But…
If my motive had solely been Dee’s welfare, I would have sent her off with Stiles. It’s what a noble man would have done. Instead, I’d whisked her off in my car with no real plan except to torment myself with her nearness. She looked so good. Smelled so good. I felt like a desperate man in need of water after a week-long drought.
I burned in silence the entire drive. By the time we reached Mama T’s, I’d worked myself up into a combustible mix of fear, anger, and desire. I railed on her, leading with my temper. Going to see Malcolm, what the hell had she been thinking?
That’s when Dee told me about finding the note. She’d pieced it together, not everything but enough. She’d seen my knuckles, she’d seen Malcolm’s face, she knew he’d been at my condo and that we’d fought. She just didn’t know why. But that hadn’t stopped her from confronting him. She’d gone there to stand up for me. To let him know I wasn’t alone.
Jesus. Hearing what she’d done…hearing her say she’d slay dragons for me, the darkness faded. And there in the light was Dee—my beautiful, avenging angel. I could no longer resist her. Truth is, I didn’t even try. Ikissed her, touched her, and still I couldn’t quench my rapacious thirst. I wanted her back, I wanted what we had, I wanted to remove the pain from her eyes. I said we would talk.
But what can I tell Dee without getting her caught in the crossfire?
That’s the damning dilemma I contemplate all through brunch. As usual it’s a boisterous affair with lots of loud chatter and good-natured ribbing. I try my best to relax and engage. But the closer it gets totalk-time, the more I question the wisdom of divulging my secrets.
