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When I’d initially cut them off to marry into the Huffington-Bradwell clan, they were dead set on proving to me that I had made a bad decision. In the beginning, I ignored them. But after two years, at Jude’s urging, I hooked up with my boys again. Ididn’t let anyone know that I was friends with them again, but in time, they were able to give me enough information to prove that the Huffington-Bradwells didn’t have my best interests at heart.
In fact, they were able to convince me that Bethany’s family was using me as a scapegoat to swindle millions of customers on a larger scheme than the one they’d been caught conducting.
“I’m glad your ass got out before you did get stuck with kids. You got out fairly easy for this one, especially considering who you were involved with,” Travis stated before he took another swing of his beer.
“I know. I damn sure dodged a bullet on that shit.”
“This doctor you’re dating has a clean record across the board, and she hasn’t been involved with anyone since her husband.”
“I already know, man.”
“You ran record checks on her?”
“No,” I stated and stood. I turned my beer bottle up and finished it off. “She told me these things, and I trust her word.”
It felt good to be able to say that because I had never trusted Bethany.
I dapped Travis up, and we said our goodbyes before I hopped in the car and headed out.
Giselle
“Honestly, honey, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this,” Eriss declared.
“I’m fine. Truly, I am,” I replied as I dabbed my eyes with the tissue.
“Mm-hmm. That’s why I’m opening a second box of tissues for your ass,” Raegan stated dryly as she peeled the tab off the box and handed me another tissue.
“It’s better for her to get it out than hold it in,” Eriss chided Raegan.
“You mean like she did with Eli’s ass?” Raegan asked.
“Shh . . . You know we don’t—”
“It’s okay, Riss. Rae, say what needs to be said because God knows that I don’t want to spend another few years miserable while you heffas walk on eggshells around me because you’re afraid you’ll hurt my feelings,” I declared and balled another handful of tissues up and tossed them in the overflowing trash can Eriss had pulled up beside my lounge chair.
We were out by the pool to have some privacy. I had come to stay with Eriss and Aydan since leaving Casimir three weeks ago.
I hadn’t contacted Jude and asked him to help me find a new place. I had found another realtor altogether with my sister’shelp, and I would be making an offer on a house tomorrow. My realtor told me to sleep on it because she didn’t believe that I was completely sold on that one. She thought I was settling on something out of desperation because I had yet to find something that I loved.
Eriss had called Raegan over tonight when I had fallen into a crying session that I couldn’t seem to stop. It was the simple things that triggered me these days, and I didn’t know how to stop the tears.
Tonight, it had been Aydan’s mentioning that he was going to watch a basketball game after dinner. It reminded me of the nights when Casimir had done the same thing. I slipped out of the kitchen and came outside, where Eriss had found me five minutes later. She had tried everything in her power to comfort me, but when nothing worked, she called Raegan’s goofy self over to help calm me down.
It was almost impossible to be sad in Raegan’s presence because she always had something crazy to say that would either make you laugh, blush, or want to curse her out.
“You really like this dude, don’t you?” Raegan asked.
“Of course, she does. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be crying, Rae,” Eriss answered for me, like “duh.”
“I’m just saying because she’s not just in her feelings. She’s hurting bad, kind of like she had been when she lost Eli,” Raegan stated compassionately.
“I love Cas, Rae,” I whimpered.
“Damn. That was fast.”
“I know. That’s part of the problem. I feel like we moved too fast. Casimir was my client, and he’d just gotten out of a marriage himself. He hadn’t had time to heal. What if I turned out to be nothing more than a rebound?”
“Or what if he didn’t treat you as a rebound, sis? What if you were the one to hurt him?” Raegan asked. “We’re always tryingto protect our hearts, but brothas out in these streets risking life and limb to be that nigga, and sometimes we get in the way and won’t let them be that one we claim we want,” Raegan explained.