“What?”
“Seriously?”
“No way!”
Everyone spoke at once, and before Cree could respond, more questions were thrown her way.
“When did this happen?”
“How old were you?”
“Oh my God! How did we not know you were married?”
“And you’re divorced? What’s up with that?”
“Wait!” Raven yelled, waving her hands to get everyone’s attention and silence fell over the room. “All I want to know is—does your mom know?”
Cree couldn’t help but laugh. Their mom was a force to be reckoned with, and she made it her business to know everything about her kids. But Cree’s marriage was one of several things that most people didn’t know.
“Ha! If Mom knew, we all would’ve known. So, how’d you keep the secret all this time?” Nyla asked.
“Oh, boy. Mom’s going to be disappointed when she finds out,” Dorian said and then grinned. “She’s back to her matchmaking schemes and planned to introduce you to the youth pastor at her church.”
Cree rolled her eyes and sighed. She thought her mother was done with her matchmaking schemes. She’d been making her way through the five of them, and Cree wasn’t having it. Poor Dorian recently had to put up with that nonsense, but it worked out. Their mom unknowingly pushed her right into Lynix’s arms. Granted, Lynix hadn’t been the man their mother wanted for her baby girl, but he was perfect for her.
“How did you and Tristan meet?” Dorian asked.
Cree told her sisters how she and Tristan had run into each other at a club. Used to being hit on, she rarely gave out her number, but there was something about Tristan that intrigued her. Even more so after the first time they talked on the phone well into the next morning. That was a first for Cree, and the more she got to know him, the harder she fell for him.
But Tristan had been a few years younger than her, and they’d been at different stages in their lives. She honestly hadn’t thought the relationship would last, which was why she hadn’t introduced him to her family. Yet, they clicked.
“You ever meet someone who makes your whole body come alive whenever you’re in their presence? You miss them when they aren’t near you, and you count down the days, the minutes, and even the seconds until you see them again.”
“Yes,” her sisters said in unison.
“Well, that’s Tristan for me.”
“Don’t think I didn’t catch you saying that in present tense,” Raven said grinning. “So even after all these years, the feelings are still the same?”
Cree sighed as she pondered the question. The easy answer was yes, but she wasn’t sure if it was really him twisting her up inside and making her want what they used to have. Or if it had more to do with the fact that it had been a long time since she’d been with a man.
Then again, her heart still beat a little faster whenever Tristan was around, and the tingling sensation that swirled inside of her just thinking about him spoke volumes.
“Why does his name sound so familiar?” Raven asked, a frown on her face as she typed into her cell phone, no doubt Googling him.
“He plays football, and your husband is a fan of his,” Essence said.
Raven snapped her fingers. “That’s right! Zion mentioned winning money in the past with his fantasy football, and it was thanks to Tristan. Oh, and this brotha is fiiiine!” she said, showing Nyla and Dorian the picture of Tristan that she’d found online.
“Dang, Sis. I’m shocked you were able to walk away from all that,” Nyla cracked.
“And he looks even better in person,” Dorian added.
Raven squealed. “Zion is going to freak when he finds out you not only know Tristan Whitmore, but you were married to him!”
“But he’s not going to find out just yet, right?” Cree said firmly, eyeing each one of them.
If she and Tristan reunited, she wouldn’t be able to keep their relationship a secret this time around.
