Jeremiah turned back to me. “Yeah, about that. Angel, I spoke with Chris about that, and I know that I was dead wrong. I should never have tried to change you. I realized that I was insecure about a lot of things, and I took them out on you. I’m sorry.”
“Jeremiah, I don’t need your apologies. Just be a better person to the next woman.”
“Can’t we at least be friends?”
“No. You’re friends with Christian, and that should be good enough. Besides, my man doesn’t like me having male friends,” I replied sweetly.
“Yeah, I bet he doesn’t. I should’ve been that smart,” he stated with a chuckle. “Well, anyway. I’m sorry, Miss Lady. I’m not trying to ruin your day.”
“Jeremiah, you’re not. I took the long road, but I found healing, and I gave myself grace to take the time that I needed to get over you. I’m not traveling that road again, and I’m not indulging in your pity parties. We are good. I will be cordialagain, but we will never have a friendship. You never respected me enough to be my friend.”
“Well, I just came to holler at Chris. Hey, man, you wanna walk me down to my car?” he asked when Christian jogged back down the stairs.
Christian looked at me, and I gave a single nod. I loved that, although he didn’t need my permission, he checked with me to make sure that I was okay.
When the two of them walked out of the loft, I closed my eyes and lay down on the couch. I felt comfortable and at peace. I often wondered how I would react when I had to face Jeremiah again, but it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Yes, there was still some betrayal lingering, but more than that, there was just disappointment that I had wasted so many years on him.
Chapter 20
Angel
NEW YEAR’S EVE
“You good?” Christian asked, walking up behind me and wrapping me in his embrace.
“Yes, baby. I’m good, and I’m even better because I’m here with you. This view is amazing, Christian.”
“You deserve nothing less than the best. You give your all to everyone else, and you deserve to be spoiled in return,” he replied, kissing my bare shoulder and then up my neck.
I pulled my champagne glass to my lips and took a sip. I closed my eyes as the cool liquid slid down my throat. The feeling, paired with his warm lips on my exposed skin, was a high that I couldn’t reach with any drug. It was potent, and I realized that what I was feeling was the result of being loved by a good man.
We had left Belle behind in Cherokee Springs and traveled to Atlanta for New Year’s Eve. We wanted to be here to see the peach drop, and I was glad that they were actually going to do it again this year. They had gone on a hiatus for a while and then resumed last year. I had planned to be here this year, but I thought that I would be here with Sawyer. We were at the Hyatton Peachtree Street, and we had a wonderful view from our room.
“Come on. Let’s go out on the balcony,” Christian stated, grabbing his glass of champagne and moving from behind me. He tugged my hand and led me to the balcony.
We had been up at the rooftop restaurant, Polaris, but decided to return to our room and bring in the New Year alone. The celebration was festive up there, but we wanted to indulge in our love rather than a celebratory atmosphere.
“You already know, being close to the ocean, we would’ve been freezing if we had been back home,” I stated.
“Yeah, that’s the thing about Atlanta. Their weather is balmy when most cities are freezing.”
He kissed my shoulder and then turned me around to face him with my back to the city. Christian kissed my lips softly and then all over my face.
“We went through a lot in a short while, and our relationship may have moved fast for others. But I want to know, do you have any regrets, things you want to change, or something you’d like to address? Any concerns before the New Year rolls in?”
“Nothing, baby. I’m right where I want to be and with who I want to bring the year in with. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to celebrate the holidays with than you. You’ve made them more special than I could ever have imagined.”
“Good, I’m glad. I know that it was hard deciding to be away from Belle, but I just want to have some one-on-one time with you and make sure that you’re feeling strong and your mental health is in the right place.”
“I’m always good, baby, as long as I’m with you.”
Christian removed the glass from my hand and covered my lips with his. “Angel, I want to be buried inside of you when this new year rolls in. And I think we’ve got less than ten minutes.”
“Chris,” I whined.
“Come on, girl. I’m serious. You know, they say that whatever you’re doing when the New Year rolls in, that’s what you’ll be doing all year long. That’s what I’m trying to do. Get my scrapes and grinds on and be buried in your wet sweetness so I can make sure that I stay up in there all year long.”
“Well, sir, as long as you behave, that’s the plan anyway, whether you’re in there now or not.”
