El sat on the edge of the yacht, laughing at me. “I told you. She loves the water.”
Sweet Pea swam over to me, and I picked her up in my arms. “Again!”
I shook my head, knowing she was about to stress me out with this water independence. I placed her back on the yacht, to which she immediately jumped her little ass right back into the water. I stayed in the water, swimming and playing with her, while El went to sunbathe with her mom on the front deck.
Eddy was in the kitchen whipping something up for us to eat for lunch. I had to drag Sweet Pea out of the water when he called for us to come eat. I didn’t think I stopped smiling once as we sat and had lunch together. It was the first time in a long while that I felt truly happy.
After lunch, I pulled El to the bedroom with Precious. I made them sit down while I fished for the gifts I had for them. When I found the boxes, I handed them both their gifts. I helped my baby get into hers while El opened her box. She gasped when she saw the tennis bracelet.
“Perfect! What is this?”
“Just something I wanted to get for my girls.”
She shook her head and tried to put the bracelet back in the box. “No, no. This is too much. You don’t have to keep flexing your money for us. We both love you for who you are.”
“It’s not like that, El. The smiles on y’all faces are worth it. It’s what I worked for. While I was gone, it wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t laid up with another woman, living some glamourous lifestyle. I was in straight grind mode, barely came up for air until it was time for me to come home to you. I couldn’t do shit for you, El. I had to get myself together. I’m together now, and I want to spoil my girls. Give me the satisfaction of being able to do it without you thinking I’m trying to buy y’all love. You accepted me when I had nothing, so this ain’t that.”
Tears cascaded down her cheeks. “You really left to become a better man, huh?”
I nodded. “Exactly that. I did the mental work in prison, but I had to lock in to create a better quality of life in the physical.”
She sniffled and nodded. “I understand.” She squealed. “Okay, well, put this on. It’s so beautiful.”
I chuckled but did as she asked before she turned her attention to Precious. It was the same bracelet, just a baby version. “I wish I had diamonds when I was a toddler,” she teased.
“Well, at least you got ’em now.”
Leaning over, she placed a kiss on my lips and looked up into my eyes. “At least I have them now,” she agreed.
I hadn’t stopped smilingsince we made it to the yacht on Friday. It was two days of sunshine, clear skies, my baby’s giggles, and her father showering me in affection that I couldn’t get enough of. My eyes roamed to him sitting casually in the driver’s seat. One hand gripped the steering wheel, while the other rested on the middle console.
I licked my lips before reaching over to rub my hand over the back of his head. “It’s time for you to get a haircut,” I told him while messing with his tiny curls. Getting his hair cut off took my man from a ten to ten thousand. I damn near wished I could keep his ass locked up in the house. He was always getting stares when we were out, but I could say he never gave me anything toworry about. He paid other women dust, while worshipping the ground I walked on.
“Okay, can I get a house call?” he asked in a smooth tone. A sly smirk appeared on his face.
I laughed. “That is very unprofessional, sir,” I teased.
“Shit, I wanted you to sit on my lap while you did it, so I figured the crib would be better for privacy, ya know.”
I burst into laughter. “You’re nasty.”
He shrugged. “You like it, Princess. Can’t keep you from sitting on my face.”
I gagged because, why would he say that out loud? Even though I knew she couldn’t understand, my head snapped to the back seat, only to find our baby knocked out. I smiled, watching her little chest move up and down.
Leaning forward, I turned the volume on the radio down, and her little snores filled the truck. “My baby tired,” Port said with a smile.
“Very. I think she had the most fun out of all of us.” Turning to him, I said, “I feel like you’re gonna have to turn this into a yearly thing. She’s obsessed, and it’ll give her something to look forward to every summer.”
He chuckled and nodded. “I can do that.” Turning to me, he said, “All I want to do is create traditions with you.” His lips moved to say more, but his voice fell silent as he leaned forward, staring out of the windshield. “Now, who the fuck is that?”
I followed his line of vision and found Keiran sitting on my front porch. My heart rate picked up as I racked my brain for reasons he would have to pop up at my house. How long had he been sitting there?
“Looks like Kieran,” I said around the cotton in my mouth.
“Fuck that nigga want?” he asked with a frown.
I shrugged. “I really don’t know. I haven’t been talking to him,” I replied quickly. He pulled into the driveway, and Ireached for my door handle to hop out. He pinned me in place with a death stare. “I wish you would open that door.”
