Page 95 of The Echo of Forever

“If you don’t feel like you could kill your own brother for her, she isn’t the one.”

Our eyes met, and he smiled before leaving.

Mm.

Maybe she was the one.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Joel.

Gather the immediate family in the community building and prepare for my arrival in three hours.

There were twelve hours left before we needed to give Lucien an answer, enough time for me to fill the family in about everything. Including Forever.

I’m bringing a guest.

I went across the hall in search of my wife, knowing she struggled with her hair after nights I had the thick strands wrapped around my fingers.

As expected, she was in the bathroom with her hair sectioned into four parts. I took the spray bottle from her and finished wetting the section she started with.

“You think I’m too obsessed?” I asked, trading the bottle for the paddle brush. “I learned how to detangle your hair cause I’m that in love with you.”

She watched me in the mirror, gently starting at the ends of her hair and working my way up to the root. I finished three before she dropped her gaze.

“I think I really want to catch up.”

Her response made a nigga feel good.

“You want it slicked back?”

Forever nodded and opened the jar of gel, already certain I knew how to style her hair, too. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t or wouldn’t learn to do for her.

“Try not to kill my uncle when he starts to puff his chest a little too far out. My grandmother would be devastated.”

She met my gaze in the mirror, just as I secured the low bun.

“Are you blaming your low tolerance for disrespect on me?” she asked, frown deepening. “Why do I feel this is a recurring thing?”

I smiled and turned to leave.

For somebody who didn’t remember anything about us, she learned quickly. Forever had the patience of a saint, me not so much.

“There’s a stop we need to make along the way. Meet me downstairs when you’re finished.”

I was halfway to the door when she barreled into me and wrapped her arms around my waist from behind.

“I took good care of you, right?” she asked, the question muffled by my shirt. “I hope I wasn’t taking advantage of your love.”

Her concern fed a starved part of me. That desire she’d had to be my everything would peek through the fog soon.

“Nah, baby, you made a nigga feel like a king,” I told her. “Ain’t no doubt in mind we’ll get back to that. I’m happy right now, regardless.”

She didn’t let go, so I turned in her arms to hold her properly.

I understood what she was feeling to an extent. We were starting over, but I was wholly invested in her already, and she wasn’t quite there yet. But we were making progress, and that’s what counted.

“I’ll meet you downstairs,” she said after a while, slipping out of my arms and back to her bedroom.

We moved in silence once on the road. I could tell she was in her head about everything, and only wanted to be near her while she did it.