Her eyes widened.
“That’s right,” I assured her. “The day he decides he no longer wants me, you have all my blessings to get yo’ man back, girl. All I ask is that you leave us the hell alone. Let us enjoy our holidays. Allow him to naturally fall out of love with me without your assistance. That way, when he drops me like a bad habit, you can talk all the shit you want. Deal?”
She sputtered.
“While we’re at it, you agree that Whimsy is entitled to call me whatever she pleases, including Mama. Of course, you don’t care, but I want to be transparent here.” I giggled. “You agree to never text him again. You agree to keep our names off the internet and out of your mouth. You agree…to leave usthe fuckalone. Deal?”
Again, she sputtered. Finally, she quipped, “Deal. And for the record, when he does drop yo’ ass, you’re free to keep Whimsy, or whatever the hell y’all call her. Ugly ass name,” she mumbled with her nose turned up. I was aghast. “I don’t need her getting in the way of me and Synder,” she finished.
On the inside, I had already dove across the table to choke this bitch. On the outside, I smiled. “Now that we have all that out the way…” I sat the recorder on the table for her to see. She balked at it. “If you go back on our agreement, my lawyers will be ready to bleed you dry.”
“That’s not fair!” she hissed.
“Oh, it’s fair,” I stated. “What isn’t fair is you sitting here speaking so ill of a child you conceived. Don’t worry, I will take great care of Whimsical Sneaux. It’ll be as if you were never her mother.”
Courtland glared at me.
I smiled. “Would you like a copy of our agreement? Or a light snack before you leave?”
Her ass growled at me, stood, then stormed out of the bistro. Giggling to myself, I slipped the recorder into my purse. All in a day’s work. Suddenly, the holidays were looking even brighter.
CHAPTER 22
SYNDER
Igotmywish.The last few days rushed by. Christmas was four days away, and all I could think about was spending it with Whims and Sienna. Tonight was our last holiday gala with the Jets organization. These affairs were always the nicest. Mostly because my teammates brought their families to the function.
This year, Whims was old enough to play with other kids and have a ball, which was exactly how her night was going. She wasn’t thinking about me or Sienna. Seeing my baby girl’s smile as she played with the other kids brought bittersweet thoughts. This was how things should’ve been with her cousins.
The Sneaux family was vast. However, because my pops fucked up his relationship with his oldest brother, Poppa Sneaux, shit was murky when it came to them. They hadn’t been cool since they were in their twenties. So, Yakira and I didn’t have a relationship with the majority of our cousins.
As for my mama’s family, there was no fixing them. After my grandma died, the family went to shit. The holidays just seemed so bland without family, but the family didn’t care too much.
“Dance with me?” Sienna asked, drowning my dark thoughts with her natural bright light.
“Sure, Baby. Anything for you,” I replied. I took her hand and brought her close. While keeping one eye on Whims, I took Sienna into my arms and held her close.
She smiled so hard that her eyes creased and sparkled. I’d never seen red worn so many times, yet I couldn’t find the slightest reason to be tired of it. The color was beautiful on my woman, and she radiated regalness at every turn.
“I still can’t believe you offered me to ol’ girl,” I said.
Sienna snickered. “Well, sometimes you gotta meet delusion with delusion.”
On that, I could agree.
“You gon’ do this again with me next Christmas, then? That’s what I’ve gathered from this.”
Her cheeks darkened. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Synder?”
I balked at her and said, “You just threatened my ex wit’ a lawsuit if she speaks on us again, or even texts me again. Plus, is not my name tattooed on you?”
Her cheeks grew darker.
“Am I not the nigga who has you hemmed up every night, callin’ my name and cummin’ all over my dick?” I asked. “It’s givin’ you tryna be wifey and not girlfriend.”
Passion filled her eyes, causing me to bite my lower lip with want. This woman was so effortlessly sexy, it was scary.
“Maybe,” she replied demurely.
