Page 139 of Perfect Rhythm

“Damn, sis, slow down,” Shade shot back. “This wasn’t a proposal.”

She waved him off. “That’s going to happen in no time. This is just the beginning.”

I laughed. “You have big dreams, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Now, where’s Xandie?”

“She’s in the waiting area. I’ll go grab her.”

I turned toward the door.

“Hey, wait up,” Shade said, following behind me. As soon as we made it into the hall, he kissed me. It was soft, sensual, and sweet. “You damn sure know how to surprise a nigga, don’t you?”

“I figured it would have a lasting effect.”

“Well, you figured right? So what’s up? Are we doing this thing for real? You and me?”

“Yeah. That’s if you still want to though. I know I’ve been all over the place throughout this situation. So much back and forth. So much?—”

Again, his lips pressed against mine, quieting the words that were trying to force their way from my mouth. One of his hands slid into my hair while the other pulled me closer to him.

There was no match for what I felt in his arms. Calm, security...love. So much fucking love. The kind of love that would do anything for me and never allow anything or anyone to hurt me. Not even himself.

“I’m going to give your fine ass the world, you know that, right?”

I giggled. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

“Damn, have some respect for the sick,” Ocean teased as he walked toward Jassi’s room with Xandie beside him. “Y’all out here slobbing each other down in front of these folks. Gonna give their ass a heart attack.

We looked around and saw the audience. Patients peeking from doorways, nurses giggling, phones up and recording. It was definitely a show.

“You know this shit is going to be on the blogs before the end of the day, right?” Shade muttered.

“Oh well.” I shrugged before yanking his face back toward me to kiss him again.

I really didn’t give a damn.

56

NYX

“Shade! Nyx! Over here,” a blogger called out, trying to get another shot of Shade and I as we walked out of the crowded restaurant.

For us, it was just another date night. But for the world, it was the perfect opportunity to ask us a million questions about our relationship and anything else they could stick their nose into.

It had been two weeks since we’d made things official, and once the news got out, the world was obsessed.

We stopped just as we made it to Shade’s Range.

Slipping his hand around my waist, Shade stared into the flashing lights.

It wasn’t often that we entertained the chaos. But clearly, he was feeling generous tonight. So I played along, flashing a camera-ready smile.

The crowd responded instantly.

“Beautiful.”

“Amazing.”