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Cadence and Gracie wouldn’t have happened.
He relaxed and smiled. “Shit, then the way I see it, you owe me.”
I threw my head back and laughed. A deeper smile jolted across his face. Genuine and raw. I lived for these moments. His darkness became my darkness so his light was my light.
“I owe you big for this one, Liq. Bank it for now, though. I’m not sure I can afford to pay what you’re going to ask for.”
“Nah, I doubt you can but I also feel Ike you’d hand it all over if it makes her the end game.”
Our eyes met. The silence that lingered was heavy but the affirmation was just as weighty. Because he was right.
I would.
sixteen
Cadence.
We finished the tour of the house with Gracie skipping beside me, eyes wide with every room and feature that we explored. Six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, theatre, gym, sauna, style room, state of the art music studio, office, and library.
That was only half the list but enough to have my little caterpillar’s head spinning. The first thing she announced after we were done was that this was indeed a hotel.
The only place she had ever laid her head was our house and Del’s but she was more than ready to argue that we were living in a hotel.
After a very exhausting day that included a mid-morning flight, getting settled at our temporary residence, exploring, and a few hours playing in the backyard, Gracie was finally wearing down. We opted to order in, even when I insisted on cooking, and had a spread large enough to feed an army.
I told Jaah not to order so much food but when Gracie rattled off a list of things she wanted, he made it happen. Pizza, curly fries, cupcakes, and chocolate chip cookies.
For the adults there were wings, calzones, and side salads. It was too much but he said it wasn’t a big deal because between he and Kaliq the food wouldn’t go to waste. He hadn’t lied. Of the three large pizzas, there was only one left and the wings were now a pile of bones.
“Mommy…” Gracie was running on her last energy reserves as she crawled into my lap and laid her head against my chest. “Can I swim now? I ate all my dinner like a big girl.”
“No baby, it’s late and you’re exhausted. We have to get you a bathing suit. Maybe tomorrow.”
“But Mommy, you promised,” she whined, crushing my heart. That tiny little voice could bring me to my knees and apparently it wasn’t kryptonite to only me.
“Your mommy’s right, Gracie. You had a big day. How about I make sure you have a swimming suit here tomorrow and you can swim all day if you want to?” Jaah tried his best to reason with my little caterpillar but she wasn’t having it.
“But I want to swimnow.”
Now.
Regardless of the fact that she could barely keep her eyes open.
“You’re tired, Gracie. It’s dangerous to swim when you’re tired. Tomorrow, okay?” I kissed the top of her head and that bottom lip quivered while those big brown sad eyes lifted to meet mine.
“Not for me. I can swim really, really good.”
“That’s a really, really big pool, Gracie. It’s different than yours,” I tried.
“Can she swim?” Jaasir asked from the seat next to us and I gently shook my head.
“We can get her some lessons. If you’re worried.”
“I already know how to swim,” Gracie asserted through a yawn bigger than her voice.
“I’m sure you can but your mommy’s right. That’s a big pool and even if you’re a good swimmer you have to be a great swimmer to be in my pool.”
“Are you a great swimmer?”
