Brazil sat down and watched Giavanna’s interaction with his daughter. He loved that aside from his mother, Unique had a woman in her life who could take on a maternal role—if she didn’t die. The thought made his chest tighten. He went back to the day he found her in the yard, and Brazil had to look away. Maybe it was harsh, but he didn’t give a damn about her being related to Kera. Kera was never his girl, and he was pretty certain that if the tables were turned, Kera would put that pussy on him without hesitation.
From the day he met Giavanna, she had always been about Unique. She never tried to get money out of him. She had never flirted or been inappropriate with him. Giavanna was genuinely good people. Yes, she was pretty as fuck, but he liked her personality. It was her kind spirit that made his dick stiffen.
Pulling items out of shopping bags, she began showing Unique the things that she bought her, and Brazil had the urge to pull out his phone. Three pictures had been snapped before Giavanna realized what he was doing, and her eyes widened.
“Brazil, I know you are not taking pictures of me. I don’t have eyebrows. I don’t have eyelashes. I probably look crazy as hell on camera.”
Kissing his teeth, he dismissed her comment. “These pictures are for me and Unique’s eyes only. They’re for memories.”
His words twisted her gut and made her sad and happy at the same time. It would be nice for Unique to have pictures of her to look at when she got older in the event that Giavanna was no longer around. There was only one picture of her and Kera, and Giavanna hated that. After snapping a few more pictures, he put the phone away.
Unique became whiny, and Giavanna got her bottle. Unique could hold her own bottle, so Giavanna stared down into herface while drifting, rocking her from side to side. Brazil looked through his phone and let them have their moment. By the time Unique’s bottle was empty, her eyes were closed, and she was fast asleep.
“How have you been?” Brazil asked in a low tone.
Her shoulder hiked into a half-shrug as she continued looking down at her cousin. Giavanna wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him the truth. The last thing on her mind should have been a man ghosting her. She had bigger fish to fry, but she was human, and she felt a way.
“The guy that sent me the flowers ghosted me.” She chuckled. “My common sense told me I shouldn’t even try to date. Silly me for having hope that something would work out for the better.”
Brazil stared at Giavanna as she stared at his daughter. He was annoyed. Annoyed that she gave a fuck nigga a chance, and he played in her face. At first, he told himself that he was going to fall back from being around her so much. Brazil wanted to do everything he could to keep his feelings from growing, but it wasn’t working. He could continue to attempt and push his emotions under the rug, or he could just get it off his chest. What was the worst that could happen? She reject him? He pretty much expected her to. Life was short. Extremely short. The last thing he wanted was for her to, God forbid die, and he never tell her how he felt.
Brazil’s silence made her finally tear her eyes away from Unique. “What?”
“He did you a favor. Fuck that nigga.”
Giavanna chuckled. “That’s one way to look at it.”
“Bullshit aside, Giavanna. If Kera wasn’t your cousin, could you see yourself with me?”
His question caught her off guard. Giavanna’s throat bounced as she swallowed hard. That was the last thing she everexpected to come out of his mouth. “If she wasn’t my cousin, sure.”
“Respectfully, Giavanna, she’s not here.”
It felt as if her heart skipped a few beats. Her current dilemma wasn’t one that she wanted. Kera’s mother wasn’t shit. She wouldn’t even take in her own grandchild, so Giavanna really didn’t care what she thought, but the rest of her family would judge her for sure. How could they not? To buy herself a little time, Giavanna busied herself with gently easing a sleeping Unique onto the couch.
When she finally had to look at him, her stomach quaked. When he was focused and serious, his sexiness only elevated. “You’re quite literally the perfect man on paper. Any woman would be super lucky to have you, but at the end of the day, I just don’t think it’s cool to cross that line.”
Having to say those words almost physically pained her. Brazil nodded his understanding, and an awkward silence filled the room. Brazil was a great person, and she didn’t want things getting weird between them. After a few minutes, Giavanna pulled her knees to her chest.
“What is it about me that you like?” Her voice was just above a whisper, but he heard her loud and clear.
“The way you are with my daughter. I know there are plenty of good women out here, but I’m damn near certain I’ll never find the woman that will love her more than you do. Your heart is pure. You never used this situation for a money grab. You’re beautiful. And when I found you out in the yard that day, and I thought you were dead, my soul left my fucking body.”
His confession made her breath hitch.
“I could die, though. And most days, I’m far from beautiful. I’m moody and depressed. All I do is cry. I rarely have energy. Dealing with me would be like having two kids damn near. And speaking of kids, I might not be able to have any.”
“I have Unique. That’s enough. I might die, too, one day. So what? You’re beautiful to me, and I gives no fucks about you being moody or depressed. All I hear is excuses. One date. Just one date, and if there’s no chemistry and you don’t rock with me like that, I’ll leave you alone. I swear.”
Chewing on the inside of her cheek helped Giavanna to appear cool and calm on the outside but on the inside, she wanted to scream. Life could be so cruel, it wasn’t even funny. Maybe if she went out on a date with him, she’d spend the entire time hating herself and feeling guilty. If that turned out to be the case, she’d never have the desire to go out with him again. That was the reasoning she used to try and justify one date with Brazil.
“Okay one date but only if you agree that if we decide not to take it further that it doesn’t get weird between us.”
“Bet.”
Khrome walked into the venue that Symphony told her to come to, and her mouth immediately fell open. No way had they gone all out for her like this. There was a huge circular ballon arc made of lavender, white, and pink balloons. The décor from tablecloths, center pieces, napkins, and plates were all either lavender or pink. There was a long table lined with pans of food, and there was a smaller table filled with desserts. Averi and Symphony were the only people she knew, but there were seven more women there.
“I can’t believe you did all of this for me. Wow.” She hugged Symphony and then Averi.
