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“Exploring, my ass,” I tell her.
We both giggle.
“So how is married life?” Her eyes cloud with concern. My shotgun wedding is no secret among my family. As humiliating as it was, most of them were present when the news broke of Mathias and me kissing against his F-150.
Mama-Pete took it all in stride and commanded everyone else to fall in line. Not wanting to get on the wrong side of our family’s matriarch, no one said a word as I married our family’s enemy.
“It’s just been a couple of days.” I can’t hold her all-too-knowing gaze. “I really have to use the restroom.” I give her a smile, looking away, moving past her with an urgency I actually feel.
I close the door on her and relieve the aching pressure in my bladder.
“Oh,” I gasp when I come back out, and she’s still there. I go over to the sink. My face flushes when I look up in the mirror, seeing soft compassion in her gaze.
“It’s so messed up, Krie. He hates me now.” I sniff, my embarrassed confession spilling from me like metaphorical tea. Telling her the abbreviated tailored version of our truth, I watch her expression change from compassion to determination.
“This family, I swear. You know how Kiyoshi and I came to be, right?” she asks, continuing when I nod. “Thad’s actions put me in an untenable situation. Kiyoshi was going to kill his little ass, and everything fell on me to make it right. If we made it through, then trust me, you and Mathias can too. If you care for him, you have to be patient.”
“I don’t know—” Doubt makes my tummy cramp, has me shaking my head.
“Then leave his ass,” she quietly suggests, then huffs. “Be careful, though. By the way he’s looking at you, I can tell he’s not going to be easy to hide from. Don’t forget what happened with Easy.”
“Yeah, and he and Angel are best friends.” Patting my face with pressed powder, I reset my makeup.
“Don’t put anything past these men. See?” She shows me her vibrating phone with
Kiyoshi—WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG? ARE YOU OKAY
—before typing a quick
I’M FINE. ON MY WAY
and tucking it back into her bag.
“Girl—” I say just as my phone buzzes.
Mathias: COME ON. WE’RE LEAVING
I don’t respond, just tucking my phone away. Quietly she chuckles, looping her arm through mine.
“I just sentyou the agenda for the rest of the campaign,” Mathias tells me later as I sit across from him in the blacked out SUV taking us back to the hotel.
He’s been different since I came out the bathroom and found him talking with Natalie and LL. It seemed innocuous, but from the moment I joined the small group, Mathias has been cold.
“Okay…wow.” I take in the sheer number of cities and events we have planned.
Saying nothing, he quirks a brow, as if to say,This is what you wanted.
“One bite at a time,” I murmur, repeating the saying his granny would tell him when he had a seemingly insurmountable task:How do we eat an elephant, neto? One bite at a time.
“Humph.” His grunt has me looking into his stormy gaze. I can almost hear him about to say not to ever say that phrase again. Everything from our time before seems to be off-limits now that he hates me so much.
“What were you and Krie talking about in the bathroom?” The molten silver of his eyes is hot with accusation.
“Wha—” My confusion is cut off when he snarls, “Don’t fucking play with me, girl.” The warning is like blade across my skin.
“M-Mathias.”His phone interrupts us.
Glancing down, he sighs. “Jackson,” he says almost boredly.
