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As much as I wanted to tell her that wouldn’t be the case, I couldn’t. Daddy wasalwaysbusy. And even when he wasn’t, that was his excuse to stay away.
“I’m sorry, Lis. I wish things were different for you with both of them. But at least you have Ru.”
That caused a smile to spread her lips. “I do, but he’s not my real dad. I wish he was, then me and AJ could be real brother and sister.”
Knowing that she wanted that made dating Amaru feel like a safer bet. We hadn’t made things official, but he told me to be looking forward to a very special date. I was excited to see what he would come up with, seeing as he knew me better than anyone.
“Do you think you can find my daddy for me?” Alisia continued.
“Uh…” Sitting up on my elbow, I shook my head as I peered down at her. “I don’t know about that, sunshine.”
Even if I could find him, there was no guarantee Trent would want to see her. Twelve years had passed, and he hadn’t done so yet. He saw her once, right after I had her, and hadn’t tried to since. Last I heard, he wasn’t even in Memphis. I had no contact with his family. His parents didn’t give a damn that they had a whole grandchild they had no relationship with.
“Please, Ma. I’m tired of not having a daddy. Can you please find him for me?”
Licking the corner of my mouth as my eyes watered, I nodded slowly. “I’ll do my very best. I love you, sunshine.”
She hugged my neck, and I squeezed my eyes shut to keep from crying as she told me, “I love you too.”
I wasn’t sure what would hurt her worse—me not being able to find him, or bringing him into her life and he not be what she was expecting. All I could do was pray I could find him and he wanted to be in her life now that he was older and hopefully more mature. If not, I’d try and heal her heart just like my mother tried to heal mine.
* * *
That Friday
Since both Lis and AJ didn’t have grandfathers present for today, Ru and I decided to let them stay home from school. We made a day out of it, watching movies, playing games, and eating comfort food. Once they were ready to go their separate ways and chill, Lis went to the guest room she always occupied here, and Ru and I went to his office to try and get some work done.
We talked about our cases and a few networking events he had lined up to replace Eric. Losing him would be a big hit for the firm as a whole, but I didn’t blame Amaru for standing his ground and releasing him as a client. When Cheryl found out, she started raising hell for her daughter, and I would have done the same thing. Eventually, the partners decided it was best to have Eric find new representation. He wasn’t the only wealthy and prolific client we had, and we couldn’t let being associated with him destroy our relationship with others.
His phone vibrating on top of the desk gained my attention, but I didn’t bother looking up to see if he would leave to take the call. My interest was piqued when I heard him say, “Taylor… hi.” My pen stopped moving temporarily, but I forced myself to focus on my current task. “I’m getting some work done, so I am a little busy, but I’m glad you called.” Hmm, is that right? I was wondering if he’d cut her off yet. We weren’t in a committed relationship, so I couldn’t make him. I wouldn’t share him, though. “Yeah, I’m actively pursuing someone, so I can’t continue with our arrangement.” He remained silent as he listened to her response, and I had to keep myself from grinning. “I appreciate your understanding. Yeah, it’s Milli actually. We’re going to finally see what’s up between us.” Ru chuckled with a bob of his head. “Thank you for that, I appreciate it. And thank you for being so gracious about this. You be well. Bye.”
A few seconds passed after he disconnected the call before he told me, “You can stop acting like you weren’t listening now.”
My smile finally spread as I set my pen down and looked at him. “You noticed?”
He chuckled. “I did.”
“So… that’s really over?”
“It is. She wished us well.”
“That was nice of her. I was wondering if you planned to end things with her.”
“No doubt. I’m not a cheater. Plus, I have no use for her or anyone else now that I have you.”
Standing, I made my way over to his desk and straddled him. “I love you, Ru, and I’m glad we’re doing this. A little scared, but glad.”
“And I love you. I finally have enough courage for both of us. You’re not going to regret giving your heart to me, sweetheart. I promise.”
He’d never broken a promise to me before, and I trusted Amaru more than any other man in my past. Cupping his cheek, I connected my lips with his, and peace immediately washed over me. I was becoming more and more obsessed with this man by the day, and finally… I was okay with that.
Twenty-One
Amaru
Mecca and I were searching the streets of Memphis in search of my brother. Amir was out drinking with Tony and Tony lost my damn brother. Apparently, Tony had passed out in the parking lot of the club and Amir had left by the time he woke up. That was hours ago, and Tony hadn’t heard from him since. Mama, Adam, and I had been blowing his phone up, and he wasn’t answering for anyone. I’d called in a favor to see if any DUIs had been called in and there wasn’t, so that gave me a little peace, but I was still concerned because he could have been in a ditch somewhere out of view.
I was even more upset because I’d just fallen into a good sleep with Amelia when my phone started vibrating. A call that late was never good, so when I saw Mama’s name, I already knew something was up. Because Adam was finally sleeping on a more regular schedule, I urged him to stay home and try to go back to sleep, but the chances of that were slim.
