Page 68 of The Devoted Husband

“Wow,” Dante muttered as he took her in. “You look absolutely stunning, Smiley.”

“I think this is the first day I feel fat.”

His robust laughter turned her pout into a smile.

“Baby, you are not fat. Even if you did gain some weight, it’s for a good reason.”

“Mhm.” Her smile widened when his hands molded against her waist as he kissed her.

“You’ve never looked more beautiful than you do right now.”

“Thank you, Tay. Now, tell me where we’re going.”

Dante chuckled as he took her by the hand. “You’ll see in a moment. Let’s go.”

For the entire ride, Sade’s nerves got the best of her. She calmed down when they pulled into the parking lot of her favorite restaurant. “This really is just a date that you spoiled me to get ready for?”

“Would you be disappointed if there wasn’t a surprise?”

“No, just surprised.”

“Good.”

Dante got out and opened the door for her, then led her to the restaurant. As soon as they stepped inside, Sade’s hands covered her mouth, and her eyes watered.

“Surprise!” was yelled from everyone in the dining room.

The area was decorated in pink and blue for the surprise baby shower/gender reveal.

“You did this?” she asked as Dante’s hand went to the small of her back.

They walked farther into the dining room, where their family and friends were waiting.

“Nah. This was Veronica’s idea. She and Jessica put it together. You know Mama and Grandma Ava helped, but this was all your friends’ doing.”

That only made Sade more emotional. She went around the room, giving everyone hugs.

For a while, she was so in shock she barely talked.

Once she accepted what had been done for her, she warmed up to everyone in the room.

What put her more in her feelings was Imani calling Ava when it was time for them to reveal the gender of their baby.

A cart with a blue and pink cupcake was rolled from the kitchen.

“All right, Dante,” Olivia said. “You feed Sade the cupcake. Pink for a girl, blue for a boy.”

Dante lifted both with a wide grin. He licked his lips and asked her, “You ready, bae?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

She opened her mouth slightly, laughing when cheers erupted as he fed her the blue cupcake. He waited until she swallowed to give her a kiss that Sade happily accepted.

“This has been perfect,” she said after wiping her mouth. “Thank you to Veronica and Jessica for planning this. Thank you, Grandma and Mama Olivia, for the assist. And thank you all so much for coming to celebrate me and Dante’s little one. We truly appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.”

Her heart was light as she sat down and prepared to open the gifts everyone had brought. At the beginning of her pregnancy, Sade was sure she’d spend it stressed and upset. Now, she could finally enjoy her pregnancy, and she was looking forward to her little one entering the world even more.

Two Weeks Later

As Sade soaked her feet in water, she beamed over Simone’s good news.

Nico’s parents surprised her by agreeing to give her full custody of Carmen once she had a job and a stable living environment.

Sade couldn’t have been happier for Simone.

After they made plans to see each other that weekend, Sade ended the call and dried her feet.

It was Dante’s and her date night, which happened to be her favorite night of the week.

She didn’t know what he had in store, but he told her she could dress casually.

After slipping into a sweatsuit, Sade made her way down the hall slower than usual.

Being in her final trimester had been bittersweet.

She was excited it was almost over, but the extra weight and less energy made her days longer.

The breath she released gained Dante’s attention. His head lifted from his phone, and he smiled.

“You all right, mama?”

“Just a little tired, but that’s nothing new.”

“Normally, I’d ask if you want to stay home, but...”

“Oh no. I want to leave the house. I love our date nights.”

“Okay, good, because I think you’re going to really, really enjoy this.”

“Well, I really enjoyed the last surprise. That’s gonna be hard to top.”

“Hmm...We’ll see.” He gave her a soft kiss that caused goose bumps to cover her arms. “You ready?”

“I am.”

When they were seated in the car, Dante asked, “What’s your fondest memory of me?”

It didn’t take Sade long to think about it.

Her eyes misted at the memory. “How you reacted to my parents dying. As soon as I called, you came over. You spent two weeks with me until Grandpa put you out.” Sade chuckled and took his hand into hers.

“I don’t think I would have made it through that without you.

Imani was out with her girls, avoiding it.

My grandparents were...too jarred and busy with funeral preparations and getting adjusted to having us with them to really focus on me.

But you did. You gave me space to grieve, but you didn’t let it consume me.

You’d always been my best friend, but after that.

..That’s when I decided I was never going to let you go no matter what anyone said. ”

Dante lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it as he often did.

“I was glad I could be there for you. It was like second nature. You’ve always been my heart. When things aren’t right with you, they aren’t right with me. I love you more than anything and anyone else in this world, Smiley.”

“Ugh, you’re about to make me cry.”

“You do that a lot lately.”

They shared a soft laugh as she wiped her eyes. “These darn hormones. I was never this much of a crybaby.”

“Hmm . . . Now, I don’t know about that, Day.”

“I wasn’t! . . . Was I?”

Dante laughed. “I mean, I guess you have average emotions. I don’t have anyone to compare you to. Your sister didn’t emote like a normal person, so I can’t use her.”

“She’s getting better. What about Mama Olivia?”

“Nah, Mama was always emotional. She believes tears cleanse the soul and express joy, so there’s always a reason to cry to her. You’re like that now, but you weren’t before you got pregnant.”

Sade chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They continued to talk until they pulled into the parking lot of an event venue. At first, Sade thought their date night would be a party or concert, but no cars were parked there.

“Is everyone else parked in the back?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“So, what is this? A concert?”

“You’ll see,” he said, opening his door.

Her excitement grew as she stared at the venue entrance, trying to make out the movement. As they made their way inside, she had to keep from skipping. Usually, Sade didn’t like surprises, but she’d been enjoying them lately.

She immediately recognized the blue and white color scheme when they walked inside.

“Kirby High School class of 20—ah!” With a gasp, Sade gripped his arm and bounced from one leg to the other. “You re-created our prom!”

“I did,” he confessed, giving her a sexy smile and wink. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

They entered the double doors, and Sade felt like she’d gone back in time.

Everything looked almost exactly the same as their high school prom—the white and blue décor, round tables for seating in the back, light bites and refreshments to the left, and a dance floor in the center of the room.

Her eyes zeroed in on the blue and white strobe lighting and silver chandelier.

“Oh my God, Dante. This is absolutely perfect. I can’t believe you did this.”

“I felt like we both needed a redo after what happened at the first one.” He clapped his hands, and several women came from the right. “So, I got everything you’ll need in the back. Dress, shoes, all that. They’ll do your hair and makeup. I’ll see you in a while, beautiful.”

Dante kissed her cheek, and before she could thank him, he headed in the opposite direction to get ready himself. As happy tears raced down her cheeks, Sade walked to the small group of women waiting for her with broad smiles.

Sade stared at her reflection in the mirror and tried not to cry.

The night of their prom, when Imani doused her with punch, she ruined their mother’s dress.

It was Sade’s most prized possession from their mother.

Nothing Ava tried could fully remove the stain.

Sade was so disgusted that she never wanted to see the dress again.

Years later, Dante had the fabric turned into a pale yellow silk shawl that she draped over the white gown he’d gotten her for the evening.

The longer she caressed the fabric and looked at her reflection in the mirror, the harder it was for her to maintain her emotions.

For a brief moment, she felt like that eighteen-year-old girl all over again—weak, bullied, taken advantage of, no confidence.

Quickly, she reminded herself that was never an identity she should have taken on.

Regardless of how her sister tried to dim her light, Sade had no choice but to let it shine. Then and now.

When Kem began to play, Sade knew that it was her cue to leave. She took one final look at herself before leaving the dressing room. A giggle escaped her at the sight of Dante in a chocolate suit, just like years ago.

“Well, don’t you look handsome.”

“And you look beautiful as always.”

“Than—Dante . . .”

As he lowered to one knee, Dante took her hand into his.

“I’ve loved you since before I even knew what love was.

I made some horrible decisions in my youth that almost cost me you.

I’m grateful to God that during the most horrible time in my life, I was finally blessed with the chance to make things right with you.

We have a lot of years to make up for as husband and wife.

I want us to start now. Sade Griffin, will you marry me? ”

She nodded her head rapidly before she laughed a hearty laugh. “Of course, I’ll marry you. For real this time.”

Dante laughed as he pulled the pear-shaped diamond out of his pocket and slipped it onto her ring finger.

“I love the sound of that.”

Once he secured the ring, Dante kissed it, then stood and pulled her into his arms. The tender, deep kiss he gave her made Sade moan as she held him close.

Their bodies swayed to the music in the background as her heart processed what had just happened.

Dante Williams had just proposed to her.

He would soon be her husband—not just in her head, but from his heart.

They spent the rest of the evening dancing until her feet started to hurt. Then they returned home, where they made love well into the morning.