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“I don’t know anything. I just found out you weren’t my man.”

“Well, what the fuck am I then?” he quizzed.

“You tell me.” I smirked.

“I’m your fucking man. We just have to figure out how to get Whitmore the fuck out of our mix.”

“Ugh, I don’t even want to think about him right now. I want to focus on you while I can. Let’s not even say his name.”

“I’m cool with that,” he agreed.

He started walking again, and I fell in step with him walking back into the house. A short time outside had my forehead damp with sweat. I welcomed the cool air as I made a beeline for the refrigerator.

“What’s in the box?” I asked.

“Tomatoes and your monthly care package,” he revealed. “I know I missed last month, so I brought something to make up for it.”

“You didn’t miss last month, did you?”

“Yeah. I was out of town. Remember how you pulled up on me at my folks’ spot with a new truck and shit?”

“I remember how you sent me running for the hills crying my eyes out.”

“That’s because I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation or that I was the one that got you into this shit in the first place. Now that I do, I can accept that you were not trying to play me. That don’t mean you can play me though.”

“I’m not going to, Liam. I told you I want to be with you. We just have to figure out how to make this work.”

“I’m going to talk to Bishop tomorrow,” he said, placing the box on the counter.

“Don’t do that, Liam. I don’t want them involved in our shit any more than they already are.”

“They’re already in it, baby. I don’t think they can get in it any deeper.”

“I can’t tell you what to do, but can you please think before you make a decision?” I asked, closing the space between us.

“I will, baby,” Liam said, nodding before placing a kiss on my forehead.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to get in the pool since it’s so hot.”

“I’m not fucking you in the pool again, Divine.” He grinned.

“I didn’t say that. I just felt like we should have a day to just unwind. I’ll make some cocktails, and we can forget the rest of the world exists.”

“But the world exists. There’s no running from it, Divine. Sooner or later, we are going to have to face this shit head on. You think Whitmore is ever going to be satisfied with his return? That debt is never going to be repaid. He’s going to keep coming back and wanting more. We have to be on the offensive. I can’t drop my guard right now, love. I have to protect you at all costsright now. I blame myself for letting this happen, but I’m not going to live with the consequences of letting it get out of hand.”

“What happened between you and Sherrod, Liam? I keep telling myself that you did what you had to do, but I need to hear it from your mouth so I can know that doing whatever I have to do is worth it. I want you to tell me the truth about what happened, and then we can just put all of this behind us.”

“Make the drinks, Cookie. I brought you some plums from my trees too. You like green plums? I hate them, but my mom loved eating them with salt. I brought you some just in case. There are some red ones too. They’re good as hell. I’ve been killing them.”

“I love plums, Lee. Thank you,” I sang and did a little dance as I rifled through the box. “I forgive you in advance for anything you do or anything you’ve already done to save our relationship. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. That’s why I’m doing this, baby. I don’t know anything else I can do to make sure that nobody does anything to take you away from me. You make all of this worth it.”

“I’m going to make it up to you, Cookie,” he promised.

Liam walked around the counter to stand behind me. His huge hands rested on my shoulders.

“You don’t have to do anything but love me, Liam. We need to keep things the way they are for now. Just be patient.”

“You’re the only thing I want at the end of all this, Divine.”