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No.But I also knew letting her go cold turkey wouldn’t be an option. Not with the way Sincere was already attached and not with the way I loved having her around. “We haven’t done this in a while. But every situation is unique. We wouldn’t just kick you out of our lives, Goldyn.”

“Good to know,” she replied dryly.

Silence dominated the room and she took the time to tie her hair up with the scrunchie on her wrist.

Still staring at both of us warily, she crossed and uncrossed her arms in silent contemplation.

When she finally spoke again, I released a breath I’d been holding too long.

“So…” She let out a heavy sigh. “The summer. And then we go our separate ways.”

She sounded like she was warming up to the idea, little by little, and I wanted to do whatever I could to keep things moving in that direction. Especially since my husband was mimicking a statue beside me.

“Just think about it. And give us your answer when you’re ready. No pressure.”

“Does that mean you want me to leave tonight?”

“No!”

Oh, now he found his voice?

“We don’t want you to go anywhere. And if you agree to this, I’d feel better if you lived with us.”

Before any of us could say anything, a loud bang sounded from the kitchen before we heard Romeo clearing his throat. “My bad!”

Goldyn’s lips twitched and I silently thanked Rome’s eavesdropping ass for breaking the tension.

“Okay, then I’ll sleep on it.” She shot a brief look toward the kitchen. “And Romeo? How does he fit into all of this?”

“He doesn’t. Not anymore than he already has anyway. He’s not interested in the women we date.” I picked up my wine glass. “At least he hasn’t been up until this point,” I quickly amended because with the way he’d been acting toward Goldyn, I wouldn’t call itdisinterest. “But if anything were to happen between you two, it’s up to y’all how you wanna?—”

“Oh, that’s not why I asked,” she rushed to say, her cheeks turning pink. “I was just making sure I understood everything.”

“Of course,” I said with a slight nod, a smile forming on my lips. “Ask us any other questions that pop up.”

Goldyn nodded and Sincere relaxed in his seat beside me, and all I could wonder was what the fuck we’d just gotten ourselves into.

Whether she said yes or no, I knew the outcome would turn our world on its head. And while that excited a part of me, another part of me was terrified.

Women like Goldyn Ambrose didn’t move through this world without leaving a mark on people. And something told me the mark she left on us would be hard to forget. It already was.

“You wanna talkabout what happened down there?” Enzo closed our bedroom door after dessert and a movie marathon with Goldyn.

He pressed his back against it while I walked over to my nightstand and started stripping my jewelry. I tugged at the white gold ring hugging my index finger and hesitantly met his eyes.

There was no explanation I could give him other than, “I panicked.”

My husband released a low chuckle and closed the space between us. “I can see that. So we’re back on this ninety-day deadline?”

“Yea,” I sighed. “Unless she says no to everything.” Because that was still a very real possibility. Goldyn could wake up tomorrow morning, say thanks for dinner and dip. The thought made my chest ache and I forced myself to sit down on the edge of the bed before my mind could run off in that direction. I was really good at thinking up the worst-case scenarios and tonight was no different.

Why did I think inviting her to dinner at the last minute was a good idea?

Enzo stood in front of me, a soft smile on his lips and understanding in his eyes. “I know how much you obsess over things when they’re important to you.”

He sat down beside me and his hands found my shoulders, kneading away some of the tension.

“She’s gonna say yes.” He paused even though his hands kept working. I leaned into his touch and felt myself fully relaxing for the first time since I got home. “And if she doesn’t, it won’t be the end of the world.”