Page 36 of Love Me Now: Baltimore & Madelyn

“Where’d you disappear to?” Maddie asked, dashing away thoughts of her parents. I kissed her cheek, took Genesis from her, then sat next to her on the sleeper sofa inside Maja’s recovery room. She was still heavily sedated but stable.

“I had a meeting,” I answered.

“Oh. Did it go well?”

I kissed her again, and replied, “It went great.”

Mr. March had two days to update me on his divorce filing. By the time we left Dr. Bell & Associates, I wanted him and his wife halfway back down lover’s lane. Their foolishness wasn’t about to continuously bleed over to their daughters. It was time out for that shit.

EPILOGUE

MADDIE

Three weeks later…

"Signhere,andhere.”

Doing as Baltimore’s attorney said, I signed the documents before me. I wasn’t even this man’s wife, yet here I was signing documents making me one-fourth the proud owner of the Mobile Bears Major League Baseball team. My eyes were red from crying over these damn papers. Seeing Heir, Genesis, and Maja mentioned in the contract as beneficiaries really started the waterworks. Baltimore wasn’t playing about us. He wanted us to be secure not only in words, but in deeds.

This was just the beginning of our love story. I asked if it was too much to want someone to love me now, and Baltimore proved that it wasn’t too much to ask. Daily, he made it known that he had our backs.

Maja was a new addition and required special care. However, Baltimore was as patient with her as he was with me. She was still in recovery, but her progress was much better. Between me, Heir, Baltimore, and Adir, she would be just fine.

We left one season and jumped right into another. Genesis and I left summer as Bells and entered fall as Cooleys. Our wedding was held at Cooley Mansion on Cooley Island. What was supposed to be an intimate ceremony ended up being a Cooley and Bell ceremony. I’d always had the support of the Bell women. The support of the Bell men put the icing on the cake.

It was truly one of the most magical times of my life.

My mother… Well things were drastically different with her. Whatever she was going through a few months back was nowhere in sight. She called Nati, Kara, and I at least once a day. It was a little sad that she seemed to be getting to know us as women. Then again, I wouldn’t complain. At least a part of me felt like I was getting my mother back. She and my dad had their first trip together in a long time. They went to Cooley Island and celebrated their wedding anniversary. A lover of love, that made my heart swell with pride.

December…

TheentiretyoftheBell family gathered at Seas & Shores Restaurant and Grill for Christmas dinner this year. Christmas day wasn’t for a few more weeks, but this weekend was the first weekend all of the Bells’ schedules didn’t conflict. For once, I was grateful to have everyone surrounding me. DJ was heavily on my mind, but having the family around boosted my spirits.

I wasn’t the only one dealing with loss. Maja sat next to me, nearly suffocating me. Crowds were touch and go with her. If she wasn’t under me, she was under Heir. Honestly, I loved that for the both of them. My baby Heir didn’t have a jealous bone in her body. She took to Maja with the same care she took to Genesis.

A last name change wasn’t the only thing I brought into the winter season. I was holding off announcing my pregnancy until Christmas day. The only person privy to my secret was Mrs. Cooley. She was the first person I called after I received the news.

If it wasn’t for Genesis, I would’ve surely lost all my mind. Having a new baby at forty-eight-years-old was grounds for committal to the highest maximum security mental facility. Yet, my baby Genesis gave me a test run. I was glad to be birthing his best friend and little brother. So far, the pregnancy was going great. Hiding it from Baltimore was complicated, but I was doing good at keeping it under wraps.

One minute, I was in my own head drowning in love. The next minute, my head tilted as I gazed across the restaurant.

What the hell?

I wasn’t privy to Antonias Suarez and Bianca Bell’s inner workings. However, I knew damn well Antonias was heavy into Bianca. So, I couldn’t process why seeing him bend one knee in proposal to a woman who wasn’t Bianca offended me. The young lady he was proposing to wasn’t a stranger. Still, I thought she was just another one of his playthings. My eyes darted to Bianca, who was seated across the table from me witnessing the same shit. Her mouth was drooped open like a cartoon.

“You okay?” Heir asked her.

Bianca stood from the table and hurried off.

“I’ll go after her,” Heir stated as she handed me a newly walking Genesis. He was eager to get down and explore. However, there was too much going on in here, and my baby would get lost.

“No,” Coco said. “Give her a minute to calm down.”

Heir and I glanced at Coco like she was crazy. Then all of our gazes followed Bianca to the bar. Following Bianca led my eyes straight to Baltimore who was by the bar with Adir, Stacy, Russ, and Jahdi, who would be taking over lead security at the beginning of the year.

Baltimore caught me staring at him and grinned. I blew him a kiss which he returned. That wasn’t good enough for either of us. He came over, dropped a kiss on my lips, and plucked Genesis out of my arms.

“My ladies doin’ good?” he asked.