Page 25

Story: Just Right

“Don’t be. Ms. Ruby is something else. I love that woman.”

Funny how she’d said the same thing about him but we’d never crossed paths before this week.

A silent beat passed before Sincere’s fingers stopped moving. “So…what do you say to dinner? No pressure. Just let us feed you again and have a conversation. After that, you’re free to do whatever you want, but I hope you still stay the night. We have all that extra space that no one ever uses.”

It would be nice to take another shower in that bathroom and actually remember it. Last time was a bit fuzzy. But I distinctly remembered a gigantic walk-in shower, the best smelling body wash and a towel warmer. It was tempting. Still…the unknown made me pause. He said no pressure, but how would things really go? Would I be able to resist him when Lorenzo was around? Did Iwantto?

“One dinner, love.” His voice was quiet, almost pleading in its rawness. The soft timbre sent tingles throughout my body and made me clench in places that hadn’t been touched in too long.

“Okay,” I breathed. “I’ll go home with you.”

“She’s not going anywhere,Sin. You don’t have to stare at her to make sure,” I whispered against the shell of my husband’s ear. I stood beside him at the island and followed his gaze to the living room where Goldyn was reading, oblivious to anything but words on the page.

Turning to face Sincere, I cupped his nape and kissed his temple. “Stop worrying,” I urged before going back to the stove to check on dinner. I’d already been cooking when he called me on his way home to tell me he was bringing company.

How he’d gone out for a drive to clear his mind and returned with Goldyn was still a mystery. But when they filed into the house, whispering and laughing together, thehowwas forgotten while I watched them interact. I was just happy she’d agreed to come because I hadn’t seen Sincere this taken with another person in forever.

It took me standing at the entry of the foyer for five minutes before he noticed I was there. And when he did, he turned to me with a sheepish smile. That made my heart melt on its own, but then I glimpsed the joy shining in his eyes and knew everything hinged on this impromptu dinner.

An hour later, we were putting the finishing touches on the steaks, vegetables, and a last-minute dessert when the back door connected to the kitchen opened to reveal a frowning Romeo.

He barely spared us a glance before he walked to the edge of the room, sought out Goldyn like he knew exactly where she’d be and then turned around to face us.

“What is she doing here?”

“We invited her for dinner,” Sincere said, shoving his hand in an oven mitt. He pulled a tray of brown butter blueberry cookies out of the top part of the double oven and set them on the island.

“And what else?” Romeo deadpanned, knowing there was more. There wasalwaysmore with us.

He kept cutting his eyes to the living room like Goldyn would spawn a new head and if I wasn’t already so amused by the way Sincere was fussing over dessert, I would have had time to pick apart Romeo’s reaction to our houseguest.

Romeo didn’t get flustered. Ever. But apparently Goldyn possessed the ability to get under his skin just by existing.

“Go speak to her, maybe she could tell you.”

He cut his dark eyes at Sincere’s suggestion before he said under his breath, “Yea, aight.”

Then he walked out of the kitchen and down the hall toward the gym instead of going upstairs to his room. When he reappeared less than a minute later with two bottles in his hand, my jaw unhinged.

“Did you just steal the body wash out of her bathroom?” I asked in a loud whisper, making sure Goldyn didn’t hear any part of our conversation. Romeo didn’t take the same precaution. And even if he had, the way he spoke in an almost constant roar didn’t help shit.

His eyes narrowed on us. “You just called itherroom. Is she moving in here?”

“I hope so.”

“We don’t know yet.”

Sin and I spoke at the same time, and Rome threw his head back and gave a soundless laugh. “I knew it.”

“If you knew it, why are you stealing the body wash out of her bathroom?” Sin wanted to know.

“Because it’s mine. I don’t want her walking around smelling like me. I’ll replace it.” That was the last thing he said before he disappeared up the stairs.

I shared a long look with Sin.

Worry dimmed some of the earlier excitement in his eyes and I fixed a reassuring smile on my face. We’d just started getting the plates out for dinner when Rome reappeared, dressed down in sweats, and started setting the table.

“See?” I said, facing Sin. “Nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be fine.”