“More than maybe, sweetheart. I know my son. I’ve watched the two of you tonight. You have him.” She reached for one of the wine glasses and filled it. “But he has you too.”
“This is new,” Samari admitted.
Kendra smirked. “New doesn’t change the outcome. I knew Lee for three days before he had me. Thirty-four years later, he still has me, and I’ve missed two decades with that man. Well, physically anyway. I never left him, he never left me.”
“Asao said that he wouldn’t let you see him.”
“He wouldn’t. He needed the separation, and if that separation brought him home to me, I was more than willing to give what he needed.”
“And what about what you needed?” Samari asked with pinched brows.
Kendra filled her glass and enjoyed the first sip. “I need my husband. Not having him was hard but I knew I would get him back. The thought of never having him in my home, in my bed, or inlife, was not something I could survive. Time I could handle, as long as it meant getting him back. I gave him what he needed and now I have what I need.” She smiled and glanced across the room before her eyes were on Samari again. “You can’t be selfish in love.”
“You don’t think he was being selfish by not letting you see him?”
Kendra laughed softly. “No. He did what he had to do to give me what I needed. Neither of us could do a damn thing about the time between us. The judge made a decision that was out of our control. What Lee could control was making sure the time was temporary and that he made it home to us. He’s here. It might not make sense…”
Samari smiled and cut her off. “It does.”
“Good, now let’s talk about you and my son. What makes sense between the two of you? And yes, I’m being nosy and you’re going to let me because before he was yours, he was mine and I need to make sure you deserve him.” She lifted her glass and smirked behind it. “Orthat he deserves you because I’m not naive. Heismy son and I do know him.”
Kendra had also known Asao’s first love. She would be willing to admit to loving Na’Mya too, but that love was young and represented a different time in her son’s life. It broke him when he lost her, mostly because he’d blamed himself. That was hard for a man led by his protective nature to deal with. Kendrahurt because Asao hurt. So to see that he was giving someone else the chance to reach the heart he’d locked away years ago settled her soul.
The few hours Kendra had been around Samari were put to good use. She watched and studied the woman who had her son wide open. Kendra could sense Samari was with Asao because she wanted ownership of his heart which the songbird, as he referenced her, already had. She prayed Samari handled the responsibility with care because as grown as Asao was, he would always be her baby.
Samari laughed. “Do I get to be nosy too?”
His mother didn’t hold all of Asao’s secrets but she definitely held some. Samari was curious as to whether or not she would share.
Kendra winked. “We’ll see.”
It was almosttwo in the morning when Asao and Samari made it to the beach house. Dinner had been perfect and the company was on point. Dom and Niles pulled up to show love considering Leedren had been a big part of their lives until he had to serve time.
As bad ass kids they spent years under his watchful eyes because they were his son’s best friends. They trusted his guidance and respected his leadership, even if they snuck around behind his back doing things he’d told them not to.
Samari and Kendra talked and drank wine, stealing glances at their men until they dozed off side by side on the sofa because they’d worked their way through two more bottles. After Nilesand Dom ducked out, Asao spent time chopping it up with his pops about any topic that crossed their minds.
Leedren made sure to give his thoughts on the woman his son had chosen to be at his side and the approval Asao received from both of his parents had further confirmed what he felt in his heart. When it was right, the world had no objections. Not that he would have given a damn who disapproved of the choice to have her in his life but to know everyone he held close welcomed Samari with open arms felt damn good.
While he unloaded the food his mother sent home with them, Samari sat on the counter smiling softly, watching her man.
“This is a lot of damn food,” he mumbled after removing the third glass container sent by his mother.
“She thinks I can’t cook and if I don’t cook, you won’t eat.” Samari playfully rolled her eyes. “At least not anything worth a damn.”
Asao chuckled because now the reasoning behind the excessive amount of food his mother insisted they take made perfect sense.
“You can’t cook, Mari.”
She frowned and he placed the three containers in the refrigerator before he made his way to Samari and stepped between her legs. The space between them was now home, even when he wasn’t stroking her deep. “Stop looking offended.”
“You said I can’t cook and I can.”
His arrogant smile expanded. “Nah, not like my moms though. She’s not talking about pasta with sauce from a jar, biscuits from a can, or cornbread out a box. My OG gets down in the kitchen. All that shit is from scratch. So if you can’t do that, in her eyes you can’t cook.”
“Nobody cooks like that,” Samari stated, bringing a smile to Asao’s face.
“She does. Don’t stress that shit though. She’ll probably offer to teach you.”
